Macmillan Collector's Library Giveaway

Allie's favorite thing these days is to read.  I love it.  I wish I was more like her and could make myself sit long enough to enjoy a good book.  I am planning on making her a pretty little reading nook in her room in the new house.  There are so many great ideas!  

Easiest Blackout Curtains for $15!

After having 3 kids and Allie starting school early in the morning my kids bedtime became VERY important to me!  Haha!  Allie and I used to stay up til 1am sometimes when my husband was working full time AND in school full time just so we could see him.  After Macsen came along bedtime was still pretty late- around 9/10pm.  It makes me laugh to say that my kids are now rarely out of their beds later than 8 and I usually get them in their beds at 7!  It is AWESOME and keeps me sane, but when the sun starts hanging around later it created a little bit of a problem- that is, until I made their black out curtains.

Allie & Baby Girl?

So, the top floor of our house has 3 bedrooms, and we are trying to figure out where we will put the baby.  There are 3 possible solutions:  Allie & baby girl together, Macsen & baby boy together, or Allie & Macsen together.  I have been looking at ideas of what I would do in each scenario, and today I want to share the ideas I have for Allie & baby girl in one room.  They would be in the bigger room (blue-gray walls, and I DO NOT want to change any paint!) Here are my ideas:

Purple accents and lots of white:

Allie & Macsen's Room Reveal!

Well, I FINALLY put together the finishing touches for Allie and Macsen's room on Saturday and took some pictures!  Here are a few of my inspiration images for the room:

And here is the finished product:

Wood letters from Craft cuts

Giraffe pillow from Chic Decor Pillows on Etsy

Pompom pillows handmade by me :)

White down comforter from Ikea

Lantern mobile from Janiegirl crafts on Etsy

Pom poms added to mobile from Perfect Poms on Etsy

Steiff bear- gift from the grandparents :)

Stripes on the wall- contact paper (thrifted)

More details about the letters since I get a lot of questions on those:
The font was Quorum Blk BT.  I did the size 16 inch with 1/4 thickness and it is perfect for hanging on the wall with a couple nails at that thickness.  I also had to stain it myself, but that was a cinch and I just bought a tiny thing of stain at Walmart and a foam brush.

Crib Skirt from Carousel Designs

Changing cover- Wendy Bellissimo (thrifted)

Turquoise vase- thrifted

Horse piggy bank- Dollar store

Mirror- thrifted
Flowers- thrifted

Quilt- Made by my mom!

Thermal blanket- my old baby blanket with satin edge added

Sunshine print- Sugarfresh Etsy shop.
Frames- thirfted

Embroidered Picture - gift from my sister :)

It is so nice to finally have this room done!  Now my goal is to have Macsen sleeping in his crib before he turns 3 months old in February!  

Planning Kids' Boy and Girl Room

I know I have already posted on this here, but I am getting more excited about Allie & Macsen's room as things are starting to come together.  Fortunately, I have been able to incorporate some of my future review and giveaway products into the room, and I am really excited to share those with you.  So far here are the main changes I am going to be making:

Hanging lanterns, pom poms, and stringing circle garlands over the crib...not sure how I am going to do this yet or how it will turn out, but can't wait to start.

 Big letter "A" and big letter "M" above crib and bed.

 2 big pictures above Allie's bed of Allie and Macsen.

Striped accent wall on Macsen's side of the room (turquoise.)

Color combo of yellow, blue, and turquoise with lots of white/cream and some dark browns.

 And for the first review/giveaway coming up on the blog: Giraffe pillows on Allie's bed (where you see these zebra ones-behind the others in a big square size.)

images via

Allie + Baby Boy in One Room

Since we live in a 2 bedroom apartment, Allie & the baby will be sharing a room.  This means it's time to redecorate :)  Allie is such a girly girl, so I am trying to come up with a room that is still a little girly for her.  Luckily she loves horses so I am going to try to incorporate more of that in their room.  I also think I may keep some of the pink and just add a little more blue and yellow.  So far I have a few inspiration photos to help:

Dream House: Girls Room

I am not sure why I don't just decorate Allie's room this way, since I already know what I like...I guess when you are on a strict budget you take whatever you can get :)  Maybe I will do some redecorating in the next place we live.

I love all the accessories in this image.  Sometimes I think the small things really make a room.

 via Bloomingville

I am a huge fan of thick stripes for the kids rooms, as you can see from my last post.  I also love the color combo in these images:

 via Oliveaux

 I am so mad that I can't remember where I found this gorgeous baby's room, but I love everything in it.

 I love simple photography as artwork, and I plan on using photos of my kids in their rooms.

And, of course, for Allie, horses.

 Lonny Magazine

I have seen this little girl's room in a number of places and I love it:

 via Just Beachy

I am also a huge fan of bunk beds and I loved these:

So, what do you love for a girl's room?