room tour {emery's hodgepodge bedroom}

i suffer from an inability to stick with a theme.
what started as my obsession with Hoot by MoMo fabric, turned into a love for vintage pieces and a bit of asian flair. and, well, i don't really have a style. this room isn't perfect and i'm sure i'll never finish it. before long it will be rearranged for a big girl bed. i figured i might as well snap a few pictures before it changes.

to give you a starting point, the first 2 photos are from the day we closed on this house in april 2012 (a foreclosure)...and the third shows the state of emery's room while the rest of the house was being rehabbed for 8 weeks. i nearly cried when i came to the house and saw a table saw in the middle of her room.

those were L O N G days of hard work. i'm so very glad they are over :)

i am trying very hard to use only what we already have or items i can find free or on the cheap. it's been a fun challenge, and this room is a great example. i purchased 3 items in this room. can you guess which ones?

i have begun an obsession with painting furniture.
this little teal shelf was found on the side of the road on trash day.
i love trash day :)

it was dark brown and old. a few coats of primer and teal paint = love.

i will someday modge podge fabric on the top and sides...but for now, a little chevron quilt works just fine.

miss emery is quite obsessed with tea sets. this vintage set gets carried all over the house. it's a miracle we have any tea cups left.

 in fact, she is obsessed with just about anything. she is such a fantastic sponge of wonder and learning. there isn't anything that doesn't fascinate her...what a sweet little learner, she is!

 

this sweet vanity and mirror are my favorite. i found it for $30 at my favorite antique shop. i'm still deciding if i want to paint it or leave it shabby and natural. regardless, emery adores it.

she keeps all of her favorite things in the little drawers.

 

 

(ikea spice rack bookshelves)

 

 

every night, as i stand and rock emery to sleep, i stare at these doilies. i love them and hate them. i have rearranged them countless times. clearly they need rearranging again because they still bother me. maybe it's the odd open space? i had them spacey and drooping lower at one point, but a certain someone decided to pull down all the ones she could reach during her nap :)

 

 

old window makover {chalkboard calendar}

i've been all about quick projects as of late.
actually, i've been quite good at starting projects and not finishing them.

exhibit a:
my bedroom dresser. antique shop score for $30. a month ago i chalk painted it grey. (someday i'll write a about homemade furniture chalk paint, my new favorite obsession).

it looks awesome... but i haven't taken the time to wax it or put the repainted hardware back on.
so here it sits.
in my dining room.
when will it finally make its appearance in our bedroom? no idea.

i have at least 7 more similar mid-stage furniture pieces.
someday they will be finished.
someday.

but today, i found a little something that went from project zone to finished in under 2 hours. now that's a project i can get on board with.

my small white board calendar and i have been at odds with each other for quite some time.
i think she's irritatingly too small, and she thinks i can't color in the lines.
we are both right, i fear.

years ago, when my husband was a full-time carpenter, he saved me piles of beautiful old windows every time he rehabbed an old home. i have a slight obsession with them. although i have lots of ideas, i haven't gotten my act together enough to use any of them. so they sit in storage. 30 very sad, unused, adorable windows.

when my irritatingly small and sloppy white board calender and i had our worst month ever, i decided those huge windows would be my solution.

 

quickly scrub, let dry, lightly sand.
2x coats chalk paint, lightly sand again.
done.

(ps. using a sponge brush is the ONLY way to go. no taping necessary)

 

(this is what the boys were doing while i was chalk painting.

unstacking the mountain of packing boxes destined for recycling day. yikes.)

add in a screw gun and a chalk pen, and my old calender does even come close to this awesomeness.
2 months at a glance and i'm in heaven.

before and after:

i still have more ideas that will someday happen.
i love this bedroom headboard (or even just as an accent wall)

 

 

i see these cold frames often at antique shops for growing herbs, etc. they can't be that hard to make...

 

don't tell my husband, but this is my real idea...

someday, when we have our farm and little plot of land, you will find him building me one of these...

 

the greenhouse will be built right beside the pottery studio he's going to build me :)

i have a kiln in storage right now, sitting right beside my pile of windows. they are both awaiting the day when they can can come out and play. 

daughters who are stubborn and headstrong {give thanks}

i found this print on the LWB website, and i love it so much. it's such a true statement of my daughter and so many other sweeties like her. God is using these girls to create great and powerful change in the world. it is a treasure to walk alongside of such courage and perseverance.

 

every photo i take of emery reminds me of that moment. that smile. her mood and her ability to brighten up a room. she is silly and funny and very headstrong. she has specific ideas about life, but is also moldable and teachable. i am constantly in awe of her loving and kind instincts to nurture and care for the people around her. she watches and notices everything.

looking back over her first weeks with us, i can see glimpses of who she was becoming...the girl she was created to be. the big personality that was waiting to emerge from such a little body.

 

this collage might drive you crazy (because it's not in order :) but i love it because she is the same little girl, even if her appearance (and crazy hair) change. God created her in a most spectacular way.

the no-brainer DIY {infinity scarf}

these are the kinds of crafts i've been doing lately.
the kind that make me say "duh, why didn't i think of that??"

today, it's the infinity scarf.
i was eye-balling them at target last week, even momentarily putting one in my cart.
then it donned on me...i have at least 10 regular old scarves at home. i should just sew the ends together and make myself one. duh.

but when i got home, it was simply too much hassle to pull out the sewing machine. the thread. the scissors. drag it all out to my kitchen table, which was covered in leftover dinner, books, toys, mystery sticky stuff, etc.

so, my dreams of an infinity scarf evaporated. like my dreams of being hip and cool and fitting into my favorite jeans. 

but today...today my brain worked. i double knotted the ends of that old scarf, and voila.
infinity.

i double knotted 9 other old scarves...they, too, are now infinity.

hip and cool? no.
not remotely.
but i am donning infinity today...no shower...but infinity nonetheless.

the cutest little dollhouse you ever did see

this item is one of the gifts i treasure deeply.
it was given to emery by one of my dear friends. she (and a few other friends) worked feverishly to craft and finish it for emery's 2nd birthday.
(they found the idea from Hart + Sew)

i love it so much, i almost don't want the kids to play with it.
almost.

it's one of those gifts that is so special, it must be played with. otherwise, it would just be wrong to withhold such a treasure.

i need to make a few more dolls to give this little lady some company. the boys are requesting one for each of us...including light sabers and a tea set. i've got my work cut out for me.

emery has recently become very attached to "dolly". she carrys her everywhere. snuggles her close when she sleeps. gently rocks her and feeds her bottles. it's downright adorable.

has anyone else made one of these? i'm curious to know if anyone has any tips or patterns for making dolls or clothes.
maybe i just need to hop on it and make one.
i'm lazy, i tell ya. lazy.

a glass of sweet tea {with a side of conviction}

give me a strong southern accent and a glass of sweet tea, and you can tell me just about anything without hurting my feelings.

that's one of the truths i am learning about God as i listen to beth moore.
(we are studying her series on David...i would highly recommend it. i'm learning so much more than i ever realized about the complicated and incredible life story of David.)
God's Word is strong and the conviction in my heart is painful, but like a soft southern accent, He is not looking to shatter me. to destroy my tenderness. in the midst, i can feel God calling to me that my feelings of exhaustion and obvious shortcomings aren't failure.

instead, they are the perfect place for God's supernatural strength...the kind that can't be explained.

it was just yesterday that i was telling myself about all the things i can't handle. the things i can't keep up with no matter how i try. it's the daily things that should be more manageable. after all, i've been doing this mom thing for nearly 7 years. shouldn't i be better at it by now? shouldn't i be better equipped to handle squabbles and sharing and what to make for lunch and dinner? shouldn't i have brilliant cleaning tactics to scrub spilled formula off of new couches and inventive ways for keeping laundry perfectly folded?
what's the matter with me?
so and so blogs every.single.day.
so and so's house looks like a magazine ad.
so and so is always dressed and ready for the day by 7 am.
so and so has a thriving home business and still manages a home and kids and everything else.
so and so is so positive and productive and crafty.

what's the matter with me?
i can't remember the last time i blogged.
the last time my whole house felt moderately orderly.
i have no idea how many months it's been since i woke up and felt rested.
i constantly feel as though the day ahead is already ahead of me.

i don't feel like i'm the right person for this job. this big, important, meaningful, incredibly difficult job.
i'm not what i should be.
my shortcomings are splattering everywhere.
me, me, me.

filling my mind with my failures keeps my focus on the things that i am doing wrong instead of the things that God is trying desperately to do right through me.
do i allow Him?

i was challenged today by this thought:

God has created me for this day. for this life. for these kids and this family. even if i don't realize it, He has given me what it takes to thrive, no matter how unworthy i am of His passion for me.

what areas can i let go of today, so i can allow God to rush in and show His faithfulness?

siblings.

they have a friendship that is unlike all others.
they see each other through life in the best and worst and whiniest days.
they learn everything about life, side by side.
and they will effect each other's lives for the rest of life.
these two have something so special, it can't be explained.
clearly, they are two of a kind.

the oldest dress i own {and equally as ancient teacups}

i found a few items hidden away today.

i couldn't help pulling this one out...

we had a the worst wedding photos of all time.
posed. uncreative. stiff and boring. i disliked them so much that i never had any printed outside of our proofs. looking back, i'd love to have a few...but being that they were shot on 35mm, (yes, 35mm, it was that long ago), i have no access to them. i'm sure the photographer has undoubtedly long since thrown them away.
oh how i wish to go back in time and at least have a few pinterest-ish shots of our special day together.

it's old and getting yellow...but the way i felt with it swirling around me...with a sparkling new wedding band and a sparkling new husband...it's a day i'll always cherish...even if we don't have beautiful photos to remember it by.
(since i never had it "preserved", i'm going to try vacuum sealing in one of these...has anyone done this to a wedding dress before?)


i also found these in my favorite vintage shop.

i have a strange obsession with these little tin tea cups. these are from the 1930's and while the pattern isn't my favorite, for some reason, anything on a tin cup looks lovely.

emery has a set already, so these will soon be gifted to a friend's baby girl. tiny teacups might be my favorite all time little girl gift.


and then there are these...
per usual, i ran out of time last month and never peeked on my camera to see if there were any gems amidst the daily snapshots. 

these capture her so well and make me smile when i see her scrunched up nose, clearly upset about something :)

i also found documentation of a blossoming friendship and caught the tale end of a moment with these two standing together. arms around, content to be together. just standing still. highly unusual.
they are learning to treat each other sweeter and irritate each other less. big news around here.

and then there is this one. big brother washing mud off of her shoes.

good heavens. 

the cuteness.

scantily clad lady {who i adore}

there is something so endearing about this sassy lady.
though she's short on clothes, she's full of vintage style and demure years of well worn fabrics.
i found her years ago at a yard sale, and then she landed in storage when we sold our house 2 years ago.
i unearthed her this weekend while cleaning out our many items still in storage. i'm prepping for a giant barn sale to rid ourselves of said storage...but she is one of the items i just can't quite part with.
poor gal. she seriously needs a few limbs and a place to live.
but i can't do it.
i can't let her go.
so my scantily clad lady and i are sticking together.

anyone out there have one of these? any creative suggestions of ways to use her in order to convince my husband she shouldn't be a sad patron of the barn sale?