peyton's room re-do

I have nothing much to write about today, as I have spent the bulk of the day dealing with the aftermath of our trip to RI (bringing things in from the car, unpacking coolers full of snacks, laundry, laundry, and, oh, laundry...)

So, anyway, I thought it would be fun to show the before & after of Peyton's upgraded room.

We decided it was time for her to transition from a toddler bed when 1) we were the fortunate recipients of a vintage set of twin bed frames (just needed a little tlc), & 2) when, after P & I had the stomach bug together in the Spring, I was forced to cram my body into her crib to sleep with her. Never again.

When we moved into our house two years ago, we were kind of in survival mode. The kids were still really small and I honestly didn't have the motivation to do much except repaint the bright red walls in the living room. Other than that, the house pretty much stayed as-is for quite some time.

Verrrrry slowly (and only after Peyton started nursery school giving me a heavenly two hours "off" twice a week), I have been trying to tackle the house room by room.

Below are pictures of Peyton's "BEFORE" room. I think we were going for some kind of loosely-based woodland theme, but to be honest, we just pretty much threw up stuff from Ollie's old nursery and didn't give it much of a second thought:

THE BEFORE:

The bed frame was given to us by Jon's parents- it had been sitting in their shed for years. I painted it a glossy white and used Covington Blue (Benjamin Moore) for the legs. This was actually the same paint I used for the dresser (also given to us by Jon's parents). I didn't have the energy to do a before/after for the dresser, but I pretty much just spruced it up, as it was already white, gave it the Covington Blue treatment on the legs, and got new knobs at Anthropologie (which are probably the only items of real value in Peyton's room).

So. Here is where we are so far: it's as done as it's going to be until I get myself in gear and order some wall prints. I found some that I'm slightly obsessed with at Land of Nod (like this and this) and an awesome dinosaur print on Etsy. But, knowing me, it could be another two years before I make that happen. I'm pretty famous for wanting to quit the marathon at mile 25. 

I first painted the room Organdy (Benjamin Moore) only on the top of the chair rail (leaving the bottom that chocolaty brown color) thinking it was going to be the palest pink... but Jon took one look and declared, "I'm in the mood for some Neopolitan ice cream." Noted. So, I re-painted the walls (top and bottom): Moonshine (Benjamin Moore). 

AND THE AFTER:

Tissue Pom Poms // Quilt // Bamboo Blanket

Tullsta Chair // Sheepskin Rug

Tassel Garland

Eco Cross Blanket

Knobs (similar)

Moth Print

Pom-Pom Garland made by Peyton!

Jewelry- or, in our case, hair clip- Tray

And that concludes our tour. (Which means I have to go back to my laundry... Desperately wishing I had more room re-do's to post here...) 

Oh wait, don't go. I've got one more picture for you. This was the day the bed was delivered and Pey naturally had to test out the jumpability, after which she exclaimed: 

"Oh. My. Goodness. Now I can be a real bunny."

It was a labor of love, friends. The painting (& re-painting) and sanding, and you know, buying... It was all worth it, because now my little Pixie-Do can be a real bunny. Oh, and if we happen to get the stomach bug in unison again, this momma is just gonna bask in all that leg room.

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early summer vacation to rhode island

{Sorry in advance for the bazillion pictures in this post! My camera is probably going to graft to my hand at some point!} 

We took off for a week at the beach house in Rhode Island, a little fun before Ollie has to go back to Summer School next week. If you don't know this about us yet, here it is: we don't sit still for very long. It just ain't our thang. And so, we kept quite busy in RI. Naturally, we made it to the beach a few times, but we also had a few adventures on the side when we needed a break from the sand and waves. 

 

 

ROGER WILLIAMS ZOO

We went back to Roger Williams Zoo, and this time we just bit the bullet and got a Membership Pass. Basically, if we go there one more time it's paid for... and I can 100% guarantee we are going to make that money back and more- the kiddos go CRAZY for this place! We actually visited some animals this time (I think I speak for us all when I say that the resident snapping turtle was our favorite animal of the day!) But, inevitably, we ended up at the water station at Our Big Backyard, and that was where we spent the bulk of the day. As you will see in the pictures, Ollie had just as much fun as the first time we visited. Peyton was loving it until she was splashed by another child (In a water park! Can you imagine?) and then, well, as you can see, she morphed into Miss Grumpus.

VISITING WITH FRIENDS IN MATUNUK

We were lucky enough to have friends staying nearby so Ollie & Peyton actually got to play with other kids. It was a thrill for Frucce's all around, as Jon and I got a break from playing monster trucks and Littlest Pet Shop and the kiddos got to run and scream and tumble. Our friends were staying at this great rental house in a little cove- dock included!- so the kids spent a great deal of time poking around for crabs and oysters and other sea creatures. It was really quite beautiful to witness them enjoy such simple pleasures. (Oh, and my friend Heather is this amazing cook and she put out this beautiful appetizer spread- garlic scape pesto bruschetta! artisinal cheeses!- which I basically plowed through single handedly as we chatted and watched the kids play... and somehow she got Peyton to eat pâté. Like, a lot of it. Scraping it off the baguette with her teeth. It was a thing to see.)

THE FANTASTIC UMBRELLA FACTORY

We always try to make it to the Umbrella Factory because the kids go crazy for it and really, it's just an all-around cool place. There are all these little shops and cafes hidden in this labyrinth of bamboo, flowers and branches... and the have animals (emu's, goats, chickens...) that you can feed, which is (naturally) the reason we go. The goats are absolute characters- if I wasn't so fearful of them, I'd adore them. On our way out, Peyton picked a fight with the nastiest looking goose I've ever seen. He got a stick pointed at him, she got hissed at, words were exchanged... It was nature's way of saying: it's time to go.

 

 

KITE FLYING AT THE BEACH

Peyton could spend all day at the beach, splashing in the waves and rolling in the sand... But Ollie is more of an inlander, shall we say? The beach is not his favorite place in the world. BUT: On our last day, Jon's parents bought the kids a couple of kites and oh. my. goodness! They went crazy for them! (They actually asked me this morning if we could go to the beach and fly their kites!) But mostly, Oliver couldn't get enough! At one point, Peyton asked if we could go back home and Ollie said, "No, we just stay here at beesh."

And then I fainted.

And that's the end of our first adventure of the summer. Next up: Massachusetts road trip for my niece's FIRST(!) birthday and then it's on to North Conway. 

I hope you all are enjoying the early days of summer as much as we are! 

Cheers!

P.S. I also got to read a book- a real book!- over vacation! (Like, one not authored by Dr. Seuss.) My sister loaned me The Fault in Our Stars and, though ample tears were shed, I would still recommend it.