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ORC: The Big Boy Room – Before {ORC Spring 2016: Week 1}

I’m going to skip all the jokes I could make about taking oh, 14 months off from blogging.  I never really expected to take that long of a break, buuut…I did. I thought about posting a clip of the opening 3 seconds of Sid the Science Kid but realized how lame it is to admit that was the first thing that popped into my head as my welcome back post.  #transformationtoparentcomplete #IusedtobecoolIswear

Reasons why I stopped blogging: my baby became a toddler, I’m expecting #2 in a few short weeks, work seems to be busier than ever, you know, life in general. In short, blogging just didn’t make it on the priority list anymore.

Reason why I’m making myself start again now: as mentioned above, and fairly evident in my instagram feed, baby boy #2 is coming soon. I’m 32 weeks now, and in case anyone remembers slash cares, William was born at 37 weeks. I’m told we should just be ready for anything as far as timing – this one could be earlier, could be later, no one friggin knows.  So – as my tax season winds up we are in overdrive to get William transitioned into his “Big Boy Room” and into a toddler bed ASAP.  And what better timing than to document it all and participate in the internet-famous One Room Challenge! This room is getting updated in a short period of time no matter what, so let’s see if I can eek out 5 more posts on the next 5 Thursdays? Challenge, accepted.

Of course you might also recognize some of the Featured Participants as well. I’ll be linking up on Thursdays (hopefully) to the Guest Participants page. Go check out the other 200+ bloggers that are joining in on the fun (or at least pretend to).  And if you landed here from the ORC main page – kudos to you for clicking through this far. I know I’ve gotta be one of the last thumbnails. That is dedication.
So let’s look at the glorious “before” of this room. I’m going way back to the MLS listing. We bought this house back in June of 2014, and had the rugs ripped up and the floors refinished before we moved in.  After that, this room became a catchall for out grown baby junk and whatever else we didn’t want to look at up until about 3 weeks ago.  Feast your eyes:
The real estate photographers get a lot of credit. I haven’t seen this picture in a long time and this room doesn’t look terrible, just majorly dated.  What you can’t really tell from this picture is:
  1. Those radiators have about 10 layers of paint on them, and are constantly falling away from the           wall. Hours of fun for a curious toddler.
  2. There are about 3 different types of molding in this room. Some clamshell, some colonial, some walls have shoe molding, some don’t. This inconsistency is quite consistent throughout our house, by the way. Drives. Me. Insane.
  3. This room is pretty small. Like 8 x 10 small. Trust me, that bed, if it were still there, is way closer to the doorway in person.
  4. And that doorway is in the left corner of the room (basically where the photo is taken from), however, the door opens TO THE RIGHT. Whyyyyyyyy.
  5. The ceiling boob light is about 11 inches to the right of the center of the ceiling. I repeat. Whyyyyyyyyy.
Good news is 1, 2, 4 and 5 are fixable to a satisfying degree for me. And, even better, they actually are now fixed.

So come back next week to either see if I had this kid super early (dear god let me at least make it to 37 weeks again) or to see what we did next in the room.  #nailbiter

Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 6

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Mistle Toes Ornaments {Dare to DIY 2014 – Give Homemade }

Last weekend we kinda killed it with festive activities.  I found a shopping center that has all of my favorite big box stores to shop at and we knocked out all gifts on our winter wishes list from NewYorkCares.org.  We got a tree from Home Depot where we were recognized by workers (I guess we’ve been there a few times lately). And I finished decorating the house inside and out. If felt good to get so many tasks done since I had several days of commuting into Manhattan for meetings for work this week, and we are having a few friends over this weekend for a little holiday dinner.  And through it all, I even found time to make some handmade gifts for the grandparents. Spoiler Alert Grandmas: stop reading if you want to be surprised on Christmas morning!

I recall a few years ago a friend telling me one of the best things about having kids was that you had automatic gifts for the grandparents at every holiday – just give them something baby related and they will be happy.  So here ya go Grandmas, they aren’t perfect, but they are made with baby love!
For this project you will need:
Ornaments (I found these flat-ish plastic ones at Michaels for $2.99 each)
Craft Paint (I did a little research on this – some sites said acrylic on skin isn’t great in general, but tempura or washable paint would flake off of the ornament.  I did a little skin test on myself and had wet paper towels ready to clean him up within seconds of putting the paint on him. The sites that said acrylic wasn’t a great idea were mostly talking about face painting where the paint would stay on for hours so I felt ok with it since it was literally on his skin for less than a minute. Do your own research to determine what you feel comfortable with. If you have tempura paint, maybe a sealant spray on top would help with flaking)
Flat Paintbrush
Paint Pens 
Wet paper towels or washcloths
Sleeping Baby
If a sleeping baby is not available, Extra Patience and Quick Hands
What was good about the acrylic paint on the plastic ornament is that it was forgiving for a few seconds.  I got two ornaments done before he woke up and then it was a little bit trickier to get a good smudge on the last ornaments so I was able to wipe the paint off and try again.  Working quickly is key here on many levels.  My kids does not like to get “got” so holding his foot was a challenge, even for a few seconds. 
I threw in some crinkle paper since the ornaments were see through, and if I get around to it, I might even tie a bow to the tops of these.  The possibilities are endless.
“Mistle Toes” was an easy play on words and great given his age and size of foot – but I’m really looking forward to making these cute finger snowmen in a few years when he is a bit bigger, which is the project that was my original inspiration and got the ol’ gears turning.
I’m linking up on Maybe Matilda today!  Go check out the fun!
So what was the over/under for me coming back and joining in a second linky party?? Will I make it to the final party??? Don’t fall off the edge of your seats, people.
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Christmas Tree Napkins {or Dare to DIY 2014 – Entertain! Edition)

I’ve followed the Dare to DIY link parties for a few years. Last year I actually pulled myself away from the toilet (morning sickness lasts all day for some) long enough to make these painted cork placemats.  It was fun.

So I told myself last year I would join in at least two of the link parties this year.  Baby steps people, blogging on a regular basis is not my thing.  And when you are staring at primered walls, that you told yourself you would get painted by Thanksgiving, and there is an adorable 4 month old that is figuring out how to bring his tiny thumbs to his mouth, it’s kinda hard to justify to yourself to sit and get crafty.  But I saw this video on FB and was reminded of how much I actually enjoyed the task of folding cloth napkins. I was a waitress at two different family owned resorts growing up, and I actually loved the task of folding napkins for dinner. I still find myself refolding cloth napkins when I’m at restaurants if their fold job isn’t up to my standards. #formerwaitressproblems

So I thought, oh I’ll go find some vintage tablecloths and make my own festive napkins for some dinner parties we are hosting in the coming weeks. Then I remembered I have no idea where to get vintage anything in my new town.  Seriously, WHERE ARE THE FLEA MARKETS AROUND HERE???  I found one antique shop that takes itself waaay too seriously with the pricing.  Someone, someone, tell me where I can find cheap used junk to make glorious again in central New Jersey please.

So then I thought, ok, I’ll skip this link party. And then I thought, NO KAYLA JUST FOLD YOUR WHITE NAPKINS.  True, I didn’t lug out the paint, the orbital sander, or the sewing machine for this project. I didn’t even lug out the iron, and really, I should have at least done that.  But whatever. I still like them.

Feast for your eyes, people:

Can I make a table look sexy or what?

Blogger confession: I bought washi tape for the first time. I used it to make little place tag flags attached to little ornaments from the dollar store. Little woodland critters sent down by my mother and Boom. Tablescape is done, ya’ll.

I’m still searching for that perfect vintage holiday tablecloth and napkin set.  But for now I still dig this burgandy/gold/aqua number.  It really pulls in the gold and aqua from around the room. The room that I’m not ready to show you until it’s a little more “done”. You know, like more than just primered (it’s a real word, trust).  But I did put up some pre-lit garland!

I’ll only gush about that chandelier for a minute – but it’s literally the first thing we bought after we bought the  house. It is hands down my favorite piece we added. Tom knew a lighting guy and we got it for a steal which was the only way we were actually going to get that thing into our house. I’ll give you a real breakdown of the dining room/living room/kitchen soon enough (translation: before the end of 2015).

Kitchen teaser. Yup, that’s an antique rug from ebay in my kitchen. I’m so en trend. And that is my Stokke Steps high chair.  Hands down, best money we spent on a single baby item (even though its really like 4 items).  I love that thing and so does the little one.

And here’s that napkin folding video. Looks like there a couple versions on youtube, but this is the one that gave me the idea in the first place:

And if you are here from Decor and the Dog – welcome!  If not, check out the other party animals here to see what everyone came up with! Will I meet my personal goal and come back for a second link party in the next two weeks? ONLY TIME WILL TELL.

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