Better Master Bath

This project just goes to show how a little paint goes a long way to make a BIG impact.  Sean convinced me that painting the entire bathroom the red/orange color would be too much, so we went with a neutral on top, added a chair rail and did the coral color on bottom.  I am really happy with how it turned out and am so glad I do listen to my husband sometimes!  Once again, the bulk of this project fell on Sean's shoulders as he painted the whole space (including the water closet-or "toilet room" for you non-construction folks), built the towel rack/hooks, and did the chair rail for me.  Love him!!  Oh, and took down that huge builder-grade mirror.  Let me tell you, that thing was beyond heavy.  It took both of us to carry it.

 But, I think the change makes the whole bathroom look a lot nicer.  I got each mirror on clearance at Target for about $30.  Big impact for less than $70.  I think that switching out a big, frameless mirror and adding a fresh coat of paint is the fastest, cheapest way to update any bathroom.  *That's the DIY tip of the day, in case you missed it.  

 See how the white walls and trim just used to go on forever? 

 Sean hard at work!  He also switched out our el cheapo ceiling light fixture for one that matches the rest of our fixtures.  Another inexpensive improvement.

 

There you have it!  The only two rooms left to be painted are the boys' bathroom and the guest room/bathroom.  I think we will take the summer off on indoor projects and I'll put my handy husband on full time deck-building duty.  ;-)  Thank goodness for him!

I Love Mondays

Mondays are the start of my "weekend" and four days at home with my boys!  Carter's Preschool is closed on Mondays, so we have a full day of  doing things on our own schedule.  It is wonderful!  Some of our favorite ways to spend our lazy Mondays:

 1) Getting Happy Meals and eating them with swim goggles on.

 2) Playing with Play-Doh on snowy Spring days.

 

 3) Wearing our favorite blankets as hats.

 4) Playing with Legos.

*Davis is showing that not everyone is a Monday person, or a morning person for that matter...

Master Bedroom Reveal

I am happy to say that the master bedroom is nearly done!  It looks about 10 times better with a coat of paint, some curtains and artwork on the walls.  After those changes were made, our mismatched furniture didn't look so bad!  (The bed is from IKEA about a year ago, but everything else is old Craigslist and Target stuff.)

Blah "before" pic. And "after":

 The bedding (aside from flower pillow) is all from West Elm, on clearance.  They have the best sales and practically pay you to take it home!  The curtains are from Pottery Barn, also a super find on clearance at 70% off.  The lamps are from Target and the art is from Hobby Lobby, Target & Etsy.  I added the pieces over time & that made it more affordable. 

I got a really neat print of the state of Missouri with our names, anniversary date and wedding location (Kansas City) on Etsy for about $12. I thought it was so cool and looks good above the bed with our wedding photo and the art from Target.  

 The California print is special because it has some of the places we visited on our Napa/SF trip a few years ago. 

 The coral accent wall turned out nicely and ties the bedroom to the bathroom.  The bathroom is about 95% done, so I will post pics of that separately when it's finished.  A big thanks to Sean for all the painting and hanging of curtain rods.  I am so, so lucky to have a husband who puts up with my home-improvement projects and takes on the bulk of the workload.  Thank you, babe!!  I appreciate all of your hard work!

Happy Easter!

The boys had a fun-filled Easter this year!  I was working all weekend, so Sean pulled out all the stops...they went to the Children's Museum on Friday, the neighborhood Egg Hunt on Saturday and saw the Easter Bunny at the Railroad Museum on Sunday.  Sean even threw in lunch with friends at a restaurant nearby and Easter Dinner at Aunt Debbie's house.  Whew!  I was impressed at how ambitious he was--and that he survived it all!

Our neighborhood egg hunt, complete with Easter Bunny!  A much better time was had by all this year as they put out about 10 times more eggs for the kids.  No tears this time!

And, they're off!

Carter planning his strategy...

Davis & Avery sharing some candy...apparently Davis was hand-feeding them to her.  So sweet!  The fact that this boy is giving up candy means she must be something special!

Carter on the Easter steam train and Davis with the Easter Bunny.

Look what the Easter Bunny left for us!

Gotta love Peeps impaled on a stick!

And, he's out!  Notice the sweet outfit that Daddy picked out... Yikes!  (Love you, babe.) ;-)