The Mudroom is Done!

So about that mudroom...yeah. This may be the most hype leading up to the most boring room reveal ever. But here it is, finally. All five of the changes we made to the place ;) The painting and fixing up really didn't take all that long, it was the silly bench fabric I ordered from Spoonflower that took forever. Spoonflower lets you design your own custom fabric if you aren't familiar with the site, which is really cool. Until it takes 6 weeks to show up, then you're just kicking yourself for not ordering a ready made and being done with this shiz already. Oh well, you live and you learn.  

In case you forgot, this was the mudroom/back entry before...

The whole before post can be found here if you were wanting a more thorough recap of where we were coming from. In short, we ripped out the stair runner, painted the walls, ceiling and trim, added a bench with custom cover, removed the door draperies and added some art/rugs. Oh, and probably most importantly we replaced both of the outdated light fixtures that were down here with pretty new ones. Nothing major, but a world of difference in terms of the look and feel of the space. It just feels so much more me. And that makes me happy. So, without further ado, the after... (by the way because of the size and shape of this area it's pretty much impossible to photograph so bear with me)

After looking just about everywhere I actually found this bench at Target of all places and it is the perfect size. It fits like a glove right into this little nook. It came with the cushion but the cover on it was just a generic solid beige. I figured since we weren't adding much to this space to begin with, the bench seat was a good place to add in a little pattern and excitement. Inspired by this gorgeous Hygge and West wall covering that costs approximately a million dollars a roll, I created a similar pattern on Spoonflower and made my own fabric. I love how the cute little crescent moon design came out and the darker background should help hide dirt down the road. 

Source List: Wall color, Farrow & Ball hague blue. Trim and ceiling color, Benjamin Moore, OC-17 white dove.  Bench and rugs from Target. Schoolhouse style light fixture (I actually ordered from ebay).  Minka Lavery flush mount fixture (I actually ordered through work). "Overgrown" print from Clare Elsa Esser and framed by me.  "Peony Study" print from Pencilbox shop (out of Dayton, Ohio!) and framed by me. 

Oren: Age Three

Look, I know my blog and instagram have been on Oren overload the last couple weeks because of his birthday. But. Katie just sent me the files for Ori's three year photo shoot and I could not resist posting my favorites here. I realize I am 100% blinded by bias but could this kid seriously not be a child model? I mean, if he wasn't always covered in bruises and scabs and snot? He totally could.  Thank you, Katie!!!

Can we pleeeaaassseee figure out a way to bottle him up and keep him this way forever? I am convinced three is the perfect age on him.

Easter, 2014

So, Easter! What a good weekend we had for it this year. We had an egg hunt at Stan Hywet saturday morning before Oren's birthday party and this was the first year in recent memory we weren't freezing our faces off, so it was a nice change of pace. Also, Oren was very into the photo taking as you can tell.

Waiting for the hunt to begin was pure torture for a certain three year old

Wes was literally doing stretches and calisthenics before his hunt started. Dude was SERIOUS this year.

Fast forward to saturday night after the party festivities had died down and the boys, freshly bathed and pj'd, set out their empty baskets along with the eggs they'd decorated for the Easter Bunny and a bowl of radishes. (With everything else going on, mama forgot all about buying carrots to leave out, so radishes had to suffice ;)

In the morning they woke up to lots of sweets, new bathing suits, some books and games and most importantly two brand new light sabers.

I can not even deal with Oren in these pictures. 

Copious amounts of chocolate were consumed and then we were out the door for a full day with family and lots more good food. 

(But not before I managed to grab a few photos of (all) my babies in their easter best.)

Hope you all had a very happy easter too!

xoxo

Oren's Birthday!

Below are some photos from Oren's third birthday on Saturday if you'd care to take a peek. When I asked him what kind of party he wanted he told me a red party! Red being his favorite color, of course. So red it was. (Which is way better than a red wedding, I think we can all agree*).

Abby made him his own little birthday pie that morning as she does every year. Raspberry in keeping with the red theme.

Marisa actually designed these adorable invitations for me. Isn't the little cartoon Oren just perfect? I loved them! And we of course asked that everyone wear red, because, well, red party!

We had lots of red treats and food too. Abby made strawberry and cherry pies and these delicious little raspberry cheesecake bars. I ordered the cake from a bakery and the bottom tier was red velvet and the top was white with raspberry filling. Red, red and more red! I made baked rigatoni in red sauce and an all red fruit salad, but my favorite was probably the big punch bowl mix of shirley temples with maraschino cherries on the side to top them off. Red foods are delicious, guys.

About three minutes into the present opening Oren received a batman utility belt and a handmade batman cape and mask. It was pretty much all over after that. The cape, belt and mask would stay on the remainder of the evening and well into the night.

He was one happy boy.


*that was a GOT joke in case you're not up to speed. No offense to those who had red as a wedding color, it has nothing to do with that ;)

ps. ori's first birthday and second birthday.