Baby Barber Shop

Since the twins' arrival people have inquired how best to tell them apart. We would direct them to the hair.

Jack had it. Cohen did not.

Jack after his very first bath:

Hair, no hair.

Hair, no hair.

 

We recently concluded that Jack was starting to look a little shaggy.

He has super straight hair that loves to stand on end, along with some newborn locks that kink at the tips.

"I don't have hair - I've got feathers."

(Any Notting Hill fans out there?)

Yes, it was time for a haircut.

(Sorry, grandmas.)

Around these parts we opt for home haircuts. With four boys in this house we save a lot of money by doing it ourselves.

"Haircuts are no sweat, Mom."

 

"Yep, I can handle this."

 

"Uhhh, on second thought let's not do this!"

Much better! 

And then Cohen said, "I want a turn!"

Not really.

In fact, we may have scared him off haircuts forever.

Like I said, Cohen really doesn't have any hair, but what he does have on the back of his head was making him look like a balding old man, so he got a little trim too.

"And just what do you think you're doing with that, Dad?"

 

"Wahhhhh!"

All is forgiven.

Now for laughs and memories, take a look at these:

 

That is Kendry getting his first haircut at 10 weeks.

What can I say? We like 'em clean cut around here.

 

 

BIG Boy Bed

You got the sneak peek back here when it occurred to me just how big this bed actually is. Now I'll treat you to the full reveal!

Ready, Freddy?

Sadly, I didn't get a great 'before' picture of this bed. We bought it as a package deal on craigslist - the bed and the mattress for $200. The seller had a decent picture of the fully assembled bed on the listing, but by the time I called for information, the bed was disassembled and in storage. Since it was solid wood and in great condition (i.e. the wood was completely unfinished, meaning it was essentially prepped for painting - yeah, baby!), we bought it on site without assembling it.

Don't get me wrong, I truly appreciate you as a reader, but you're crazy if you think I am Justin is going to assemble an entire captains bed for the sole purpose of taking a 'before' picture for you. We are full-time working parents, after all. Our time is precious.

Plus, I was impatient and ready to get painting!

So this will have to suffice as the 'before' pic:

 

 

There, now you see what the wood looked like.

After hemming and hawing over the paint color for a few weeks, I went with the Annie Sloan Aubusson Blue.

I love the look of dark wax on Aubusson Blue, but since I didn't have dark wax I just used my Valspar Antiquing Glaze.

My process went like this:

1. Paint (only 1 coat! See why I love this paint?)

2. Distress lightly

3. Glaze for a dirty/worn look

4. Top with clear wax

 

I love, love, love it!

 

The dark glaze adds so much character.

 

 

 

 

 

I found the Pottery Barn quilt in impeccable condition on Ebay for $42 shipped.

 

 

My favorite finishing touch is the little baseball knob, which I found on Amazon.

 

 

This cabinet at the foot of the bed opens for storage underneath and, as Kendry just discovered, also serves as a spectacular hiding place.

 

Now back to the topic of disassembling and re-assembling this bed...

as it turns out, we're moving Kendry into the guest bedroom in order to use his current bedroom as the twins' nursery.

 

The DIYer in me is excited to complete two room makeovers before May.

The preggers in me would rather nap.

 

A Little Organization Never Hurt Anyone

Let's not dwell on the fact that its taking me for-eh-ver to truly finish my guest room.

Instead, let's focus on the positive. Progress, however little or slow, is still progress.

And in order to really make progress on the guest room (aka my craft room) I needed to add some storage space.

I found two built-in cabinets at our Habitat store last winter. I used the first one in our basement to organize my paint and supplies.

The second one started out like this:

Now, if you recall, our guest room already holds a king size bed, not to mention a few other finished pieces like my desk, piano bench and nightstand. As much as I wanted to add storage to this room, I knew I needed the piece to blend in so it didn't crowd the room too much.

My solution?  I painted the entire shelf the same color as the walls (Fleeting Green) and finished off the bottom with white baseboard. In a sense, I tried to make it resemble a built-in again. 

Except it needed a little more Jody, so I coated the back of the shelves with a green/white floral contact paper I found at the $1 store.

The top of the built-in was unfinished when I purchased it, so I threw some natural colored wood slats on top.

I also kept some of the original hardware for added character.



Before:

After:





Everyone crafts better in an organized space.

Fall Film, A Sneak Peek & An Epiphany

This weekend I began my traditional Fall Film Festival, kicking it off with a Chevy Chase classic: Funny Farm.

At the start of the movie, Chevy and his wife move to the country. Their first night in their new home, however, is spent on the floor because their movers get lost.

"When they say hardwood floors, what they really mean is hard wood floors."

I never tire of this movie.

On the to-do list this weekend - you know, aside from spending half the weekend in bed with a stomach bug - was assembling Kendry's big boy bed.

When I say big boy bed, what I really mean is BIG boy bed.

Note to self:

objects on Craigslist may be larger than they initially appear.

Sorry for the blurry pic but I couldn't stop laughing over the fact that Kendry's new bed is almost to his shoulders. Thus the stepstool.

I will post a full reveal soon. Just gotta finish up the drawers and wait for the quilt to arrive.

A Touch of {Functional} Vintage

I love a little vintage here and there in my decor.

I snatched up these two old suitcases at a yard sale awhile back.

I could stare at their wear and tear for hours and ponder where these suitcases have been, who they belonged to, how old they are...

 

There are some incredible decorating possibilities out there for old suitcases like this:

source

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One reason I fell in love with the idea of using these suitcases in my decor:

STORAGE SPACE!

In my opinion, you simply cannot beat a fun accent piece that doubles as storage - something our house seriously lacks.

Would it have killed the builder to throw in a linen closet or a coat closet somewhere?!

Anywhere?!

Sheesh.

Anyway, back to my suitcase.

As much as I love these pieces, I couldn't bring myself to throw a cherished item like my Christmas quilt into an old suitcase not knowing what that inner lining has been exposed to. Eww!

So I ripped it all out. Then I picked out some spare fabric, fired up my trusty hot glue gun and got to work.

Hot Glue Guns 101:

STOP all projects by 11pm or you are sure to burn yourself.

Doh!

Here is suitcase #1 with her new pretty lining:

 

Not only does she add a little character to our guest room but she also provides storage for the beautiful tree skirt I completed in December. Remember all those 'ruffles, ruffles, ruffles'?

Yeeeaah, ruffles = poofy.

Very poofy.

"Where on earth am I going to store this mass?" poofy.

But she fits well into the suitcase, and now I have peace of mind that my tree skirt is staying clean and pretty.

On a side note, do you ever have those moments where you forget about a craft/project you have finished?

Last week I went to retrieve some old drapes from my fabric stash and stumped myself for a few minutes when I couldn't find them.

Then I remembered I used them to make this tree skirt.




My beautiful shabby chic tree skirt!

I swear I'm not looking to set up my Christmas tree any time soon, but that tree skirt is really calling my name.