It was only a matter of time.

The joys of having older sisters.

Elsa the Vet

(Thanks for the dress-up Aunt Stephie!)

Living Room Reveal

Remember the wall? The one that took us a few months to finish? Well, we finished it. And then it took me a few months to post about it. I guess I was waiting until our living room was 100% finished. But I'm still searching for a few finishing touches. And since I'm always changing things, it will probably never be finished.

The stenciled wall:




We were really tired of our living room. The style was never really us. And the furniture made it feel way too cramped.

The before:

(Originally there was a matching love seat squished in there. Those paintings had been floating up there for a few years ever since we moved the armoire to the corner. Definitely time for a makeover.)

AFTER:




BEFORE:


AFTER:

couch (which converts to a bed!): major bargain at World Market
rug: carpet squares from FLOR


metal chair and orange geometric chair: World Market
side table: thrift store ($15!)


blue chair: Urban Outfitters
tv stand: Modern Mobler (great store in DC with mid-century modern furniture)




My mom made the pillow covers with Joel Dewberry fabric I got on Etsy.


Our old curtain rod was sagging. We changed it out for plumbing! I love repurposing things. I might attempt to spray paint this a copper color.


This clock used to hang in my Grandpa's grocery store back in the 50s. Then it moved to the meat shop behind his house. My cousins and I would play in there all the time and I always loved this clock. I'm so glad I was able to snag it. It had been hiding in my dining room but I realized it was a perfect match for the new living room. It actually works perfectly and even lights up. The cord is too short right now so we're working on a solution that doesn't involve a huge extension cord hanging on the wall.

Cardboard Box Party!

My inspiration for Elsa's cardboard box party came from this post on Hello Lucky. I loved the idea of getting creative with boxes (and what kid doesn't love to play with a box?) so I took the theme and we went crazy. Ben and I had fun staying up late every night for a week coming up with new cardboard box creations. It's a good thing there was a deadline because we may have never stopped. Elsa had such a great time with all of her friends. Whenever someone would tell her "happy birthday," she would respond with "happy birthday!" We love our spunky little 3 year old.






















(Ben's awesome castle had a working drawbridge!)






















(Six kids fit inside the rocket.)




(The kids had fun coloring all over the boxes. And themselves.)





Eating their box lunches:







(In honor of Elsa's love for nutella, we had peanut butter and nutella brownies and nutella cookies.)




(I didn't notice that the cupcakes ended up in the sun...melted frosting!)














(The party favors.)