Not Enough Time in the Day (Part 2)

I need more time and more energy in my days. I have slacked on blogging (my apologies), the house is in total chaos, and I seem to keep getting further behind.

But ... today we were finally able to somewhat put El's room back together. (sorry for the dark photos, but I was working during daytime hours).

Ta-Da!

I am really liking her "grown-up" room. Her bed was a great find - from my Granny! She got the iron bed originally for her home, but found another that she liked better ... so she gave this one for the benefit of Ellie's room. A couple coats of Rust-o-lem Hammered White spray paint (approx. 4 cans), new mattress, and her quilt (purchase months ago from jcp online) = 1 happy little girl later. The canvas is courtesy of aunt Jenner (given to her on a birthday), so I was glad that we are still able to use it in her room redo. I am still on the hunt for a new dresser for her room.

On another note, we just returned from a 3 day trip in Nashville. I had to attend for business, so luckily we were able to visit Court & family while up there. Unfortunately, I didn't take any photos of the great time with them, but Ellie enjoyed play time w/ Max - who is super funny! And to end a fabulous trip, we took Ellie to Build-a-Bear for the 1st time - her new friend's name is "Olivia Lou" (see above photo - middle stuffed animal).

Ellie is still enjoying gymnastics & she is signed up for t-ball this spring, which will be interesting to say the least.

Room Upgrade: Part 1

So I finally got around to my 1st of several home projects I have been longing to do. I have been trying to decide what color to paint Ellie's room for sometime - you should see the number of paint swatches I have collected. But this past weekend, Ellie finally made the choice for me (nothing like allowing a 5 year to make a color decision). After narrowing it down to a few colors, she chose - Purple! (After I had to talk her out of red, white & blue polka dots).

The actual color name is "Fragrant Lilac" by Valspar, so it isn't a "Barney purple", but a periwinkle shade that has just enough gray/blue that doesn't give me hives. The last time her room was painted/decorated was the year she was born - it was painted a "Limelight" green and had hand painted dragonflies in bright (non-"baby" colors). So, because I was concerned of painting the room several coats to cover the dragonflies, I decided to opt for the new Valspar paint series w/ the primer already in it. I LOVED IT! One coat & it covered beautifully! And, because I go into hives if the ceiling is basic white, I painted the ceiling "April Morning", a shade lighter than the walls. And, we (by "we" I mean Hubs) are adding crown molding. I LOVE MOLDING! This picture shows the previous color & the new colors.
And, I have more ideas rolling in my little brain. The other night I let go of my OCD (temporarily) and let El paint 4 canvases for her room. In case, you are wondering - the yellow animals are a cat (with a square booty) and a dog (tied to a stick). Quite cute & she likes them.

I still like her bed, dresser, entertainment center, and a bunch of other stuff, but at least my motivation is flowing.