Playroom

So this is the next stop in my "look at my new house" series. Part one was the upstairs bathroom, kitchen, living and dining rooms.

When deciding where to rent while in Provo, we had a few options. I really did my homework and shopped around. Over the course of a month I was probably in 30 homes. The biggest concern we had about the town home we chose was the stairs. We really wanted to be all on one level if possible, because Wes had never dealt with stairs. But this place had 3 bedrooms, the middle floor living area in my last post, and this awesome extra living area downstairs as a bonus. I immediately thought playroom. There are NO toys in the bedrooms! LOVE! And after a week, Wes was completely independent on the stairs.

I've had the playroom put together for a while, but I had one last project I was being too lazy to complete. Those rain gutter bookshelves. But I got them done this week, and I think all in all, the room turned out really cute.

This is the stairway going down. I put the aquadoodle up on the wall, which has worked out well.

A lot of the stuff is items we already had, like the toy box, hanging baskets, and valance. The rest is like Ikea exploded in our house (thank you tax refund), and the little arm chairs are potterybarn and were an awesome craigslist find. All of the riding toys- cars, strollers, shopping carts, skateboards -are in the "garage" (the closet).

The bookshelves are my DIY raingutter bookshelf project.

These shelves are the perfect place to display my favorite kids' books from my own childhood, 'My First Steps to Reading' by Jane Belk Moncure. There is a different book for each letter of the alphabet, and they each start out with the classic "Little a had a box. He wanted to fill his box...." And then the character fills the box with all items that start with his or her letter. Moncure has redone these books, but I don't know much about the newer version. I absolutely adore the original artwork of the version from 1984.

I still want to make an ABC wall art project on the wall by their table, and we need some artwork for the stairwell. But I'm finally put together enough to post some pics.

And yes, that bottom stair and landing are the location of the Great Nail Polish Disaster of 2010. Can you tell?

Putting that sewing machine in its place

I am not great at sewing. My mom is. She majored in it at BYU. I could hardly sew a straight line by the time I left for college. And I didn't have much interest to learn at that point.

But slowly, I have gained more interest. And the more interest I gain, the more I realize just how much I do not know. I can do a straight line around a baby blanket. But a skirt? Scary stuff.

A little over a month ago I was in a fabric store. Just looking. I don't dare buy fabric unless my mom is visiting and can help me accomplish my vision. But while in the shop, I came across the cutest diaper bag I had ever seen. As fate would have it, my diaper bag (that I had been using since Carly was under 1 year old) was just about dead. My heart stopped. Time stood still.


I never considered actually making it. I just wanted to buy the already put-together version displayed in the store. But they wouldn't sell it to me. I begged. Offered large sums of money.

And finally, I bought the pattern.

Too intimidated to even cut out my fabric, the pattern has been sitting sealed on my kitchen counter. Finally, this week, I decided to not let IzzynIvy (design company) terrorize me any longer.

And I started to sew.

After 3 solid days of not doing anything else (my husband can attest to that), I finished my bag this evening. Kids are largely dirty and unfed, dishes are 4 days old in the sink. But I actually MADE that bag! And it didn't turn out too bad.


I ruffled.
I put in a magnet snap.
I basted canvas.
I ironed interfacing.
I zigzagged straps.
I hand stitched.
I bind-ed (bound?) What is the passed tense of put on a binding?
My fingers are poked and bloody.


I believe I can now claim that I can sew.

Getting unpacked

Marshall got into the UVU paramedic program, so we moved back down to Provo. He starts in January, but I really didn't want to move in snow, so I begged to move asap. We're renting- who knows how long we'll actually be in Provo, but most likely just a year.

I've had some requests of pics of the new place. So as I get rooms unpacked and clean, I may post some pics on here. We moved 2 weeks ago today, and these pictures were taken on Wednesday. That's some speedy unpacking!

Main floor:

View from the stairway

Looking past the couch into the dining area

Carly trying to be in every picture

Standing by the table looking back at the living room

Vogue

The kitchen (love the pantry!)

Upstairs bathroom:


Downstairs there is a playroom, a guest bedroom, and another bathroom, and our 2 bedrooms are upstairs. So more pictures to come!

First things first

We got the keys to our new place on the 18th, and moved in on the 20th. Those first 2 days were spent prepping the house for our arrival.

What could be so important it would take 2 days of work?

The yard.

We only wanted to rent a place with a yard. It was super important. This place was great- the yard was smallish and manageable, and completely fenced. But the yard itself was an overgrown garden. Peppers, strawberries, pumpkins. And lots and lots of weeds.

I wanted a lawn.

Luckily, the yard is smallish (meaning tiny), so landscaping was reasonable.

We spent the first day (and by we I clearly mean Marshall) ripping out all the old foilage. And raking the 2 inch layer of dead leaves. Then we rented a landscaping rake and put down a bunch of topsoil and fertilizer.


The next day we drove to the sod place. I called a bunch of sod farmers and found that the general consensus is that fall is a great time to lay sod. Even in Utah. So we bought our 200 square feet of sod, and loaded it into the back of the minivan. Yeah, we're cheap like that. We at least put down a tarp first.

The van was sooo low. Like trailer hitch 3 inches off the ground low. We took the drive from Orem to south Provo at like 20 miles an hour with the hazards on. All the other drivers on State Street loved that.

When we got home, Marshall did a great job laying all the sod. Russ stopped by to lend a hand. What a great team!


And in the end, wah lah! A green, grassy yard. And it was amazingly cheap, too. The sod was only 40 bucks.


2 weeks later, we had our first good snow, and this is what Marsh and Carly managed on Sunday after church. The face is m&m's, hence the weird bleeding appearance.


Yay for a yard!!

More baby blankets

So I've been learning to sew baby blankets. I like sewing baby blankets. It takes me forever, and there are a lot of flaws. But they are all I can do. They're all straight lines, which I can kinda handle.

Emily had a little guy, Heath, a couple months ago. I had had the fabric to make her blanket for a while, but was intimidated to start because I hate sewing on minky. Its slippery, and sheds, and bunches, and never lays flat. But I had an idea in mind and was committed to do it. So I finally got it done, and sent it off to her. Now that she has received it, I can blog the pictures without ruining the surprise. I am proud of myself because this involved a lot of measuring and extra sewing since I used 3 fabrics (a first for me).

Maranda is due with a baby girl, name tbd, in a couple weeks. I found this cute fabric and knew it had to go to her little girl. This blanket is more basic, just 2 fabrics and both flannel. But it is probably my best yet and took the least amount of time to make. I could tell I was getting better, and think it turned out cute. She just had her shower last weekend, so no surprise ruined here either.

I also (not so recently) made a blanket for Breann's little Amelia. I forgot to take good pictures of it before I gave to her at her shower. But I did get some pics on my cell phone. Sorry about the bad quality. The blanket was flannel on one side, brown furry minky (same as Heath's border) on the other. This was a beast to sew! That brown minky is the devil, and I don't think I'll be using it again.

But now the surprise is ruined for everyone else. If you invite me to a baby shower, you'll most likely get a beginner quality home made blanket.

Music for all!

So Russ introduced me to grooveshark 2 months ago.

And my life has been changed.

I was able to make a playlist of all of my favorite songs. It has every song! There was not one I looked up and couldn't find. Now all of my fav's are in one place. It's like 3 awesome mixed cd's in a row. (like an ipod, but without having to pay to download the songs, which I am waaay to cheap to do)

I'm in love.

You should go make your own playlist.
Or listen to mine. It's now on the sidebar --->

Sew Crafty!

While my mom was here visiting, we began a few projects aimed at boy-ifying my baby supply stock.

First up: Flannel blankets.

I have made a few of these in the past, and felt most comfortable with this project. I bought fabric for 3 blankets, and my mom introduced me to a new pattern. I have only finished one so far.

Next up: A quilt.

I wanted to make a quilt for our new little baby. I'm not a quilter though. But while escorting my mom to dozens of quilt shops while she was here, I began to get a few bits of inspiration. I finally found a fabric that I loved, and my mom and I decided to go for it. We got the whole quilt top made, and my mom has generously offered to take the top home to do the actual "quilting" and binding on her fancy machine. But here is the top.

Finally: crocheting.

My mom taught me how to crochet around the edges of blankets and burp rags. I finished a burp rag, and have just started on the matching blanket. My hands have become permanently curled into painful little balls. Apparently I need to learn how to relax while maneuvering the needle, fabric, and string. lol.

More to come!

Moving!

We're moving to Salt Lake next week! I just thought I would let everyone know. It is a big lifestyle change for us. This means a whole new town and neighborhood. It is a little intimidating. We have moved a million (well 3) times within Provo, but those moves have never affected daily life, like which grocery store to go to, which exit to use, or which theatre or mall to go to. Provo feels like home after having lived here for 6 years. It's a little intimidating to know we will be up in the big city. So wish us luck!

Ta Da!

Check out Carly's new and improved nursery/play room:

North Wall

East Wall

South Wall

West Wall

(you just went in a circle)

Nothing too fancy, we're renters afterall. But I was excited to move around the furniture and get some actual play space in there for her. There is a gate at the door, and a camera in the corner. We can let her play and actually go to the bathroom without her ever being unsupervised. LOVE IT!

Speaking of bathroom, since Carly is a self sufficient walker these days, we decided to get her a potty chair for her first birthday in a couple weeks. Don't worry, we'll go at her pace. We actually just plan to have it in the room and get her used to sitting on it at first. But with any luck, it won't take the whole year. Wish us luck!