Happy Halloween!!

Roman is a lucky boy.  He gets to have a Halloween party for his birthday every year.  This year he chose Goosebumps as the theme.  This was the first year we really spooked it up.  I managed to find some really good props at discount prices at the Halloween store.  The kids had a great time with a treasure hunt and then a scary movie. 

 

Funny thing about living in Utah, they don't like to do "things" on Sundays.  So we went Trick A Treating yesterday!  And we'll be going again tonight.  Nothing like a bit of "double dipping".

Master Spy & Slappy (not Richard Nixon or Frank Sidebottom, but an evil ventriloquist's dummy)



Happy Halloween!

It was 8 years ago today......

It's beginning to look a lot like Halloween..........

So I don't know about you, but ever since I've had kids, decorating for Halloween has become a big thing in our house.  I think the first time I became really aware of how Halloween should be celebrated was when I watched ET at the movie theatre.  I had no idea kids dressed up to go trick-a-treating, let alone the adults.  It seemed so much fun, and I'm now glad that I can experience that fun through my own kids' eyes.  Having said that, there are some decorations that I draw the line at.  And if I had it my way, they would be all vintage and pretty, not scary and plasticky.  So I have zones, kids zone (kitchen) and more tasteful adult zone (living room).

I thought about taking the pictures down, because really, there's a lot going on.  But the thought of that is overwhelming, so cluttered it will be.

And now to the adult section, courtesy of Martha Stewart's Crafts.

So the above room is in desperate need of a new paint job.  Something less yellow, I think.  Do you get the hint?

And finally onto the boys' room.

Thanks for visiting, come back often.

First Post {is there anyone out there?}

Wow, hello peeps!  Or maybe peep.  I thought that this would be the perfect opportunity for me to finally start my blog - with a competition.  No I'm not giving anything away, well maybe some paint if I win, but check out my entry on Apartment Therapy's Room Color Contest, http://community.apartmenttherapy.com/contests/color/2010/entries/813.   Please vote, because some rooms in my house are long over due for a new lick of paint, and above all because who doesn't love to win?  Anyhow, this blogging thing is new to me so please forgive me if I'm rambling or if I make some blogger faux pas.  So here are the photos that I submitted for the competition:

It may seem like a disparate use of patterns, but I just can't help myself they all make me so happy.  I was 8 months pregnant when my husband decided that I had only a couple of hours to make a paint decision on the bedroom.  Do you know what it's like making any kind of decisions when you're pregnant?  So after many teeny tiny swatches and a trip to Home Depot, I decided upon this very calming aqua blue.  It looks more green in real life but very subtle and peaceful. 

Behind the linen curtains is my husbands closet. Not very large, but how much space does a man need?  The blue velvet chair is unfortunately often a landing zone for all my husbands laundry, clean and otherwise.

It was very hard to find a bed to fit under the eaves that didn't look like a platform bed.  At the time this was the only option that West Elm had.  I've never really been that happy with it because I'm more of a traditional kind of gal.  Since we bought it they have come out with a lovely linen covered bed with nail head trim.  Ah, don't you hate that when that happens?  That is exactly what I was envisioning for this space.  So unless West Elm is gonna give me a free bed, I'm just going to have to improvise and do some DIY of my own. Check back for future linen-covered-nail-headed bed project.

Aah, my beloved Anthropologie lamp.  Don't look too closely or you may see a huge crack in it.  Not from an unfortunate accident, but a lucky find in the clearance section of my local Anthro store.  I think I scored it for just over a hundred bucks when it normally retails for five hundred.  Also topped by lovely flower lampshade, again on sale from Anthro. Are you beginning to see a method to my madness?  Flowers, patterns and lots of pretty shades of blue and orange.

Because there are a gazillion angles, walls, ceilings and eaves in this room I decided to mix it up a little by painting a couple of accent walls chocolate brown (more of a Hershey's chocolate, than a dark Swiss Lindt).

Hello Ringo, don't you look all innocent & fluffy?

 

I love the swirling patterns of this Anthro rug.  This was one of my first purchases for the room and it's funny how everything has just spring boarded from there.  Someone commented that my room is very Amy Butler like, but I hadn't even heard of her until a couple of years ago, after I had bought the rug and the duvet.  But yes I do like her style.

Here are some more photos of my bedroom which I wasn't able to enter into the competition:

This window looks directly onto the main city park across the street.  It's lovely in all seasons with loads of big trees and green spaces.

I have french doors that lead into the bedroom that I found at an antique salvage yard.  Haven't found the need for privacy curtains yet, but I'm sure as the little ones grow up they'll become a necessity.

More orange and blue, and yet another pattern to add to the mix.  My latest fave, chevron.  (Yes I know I'm slightly behind the curve on that trend).

This dresser was originally yellow and started its new life (it's from a vintage store) in the bathroom.  I spray painted it white when I moved it to the bedroom.  Unfortunately Anthro only had 2 of these blue knobs left, but I will eventually replace all of the knobs with blue ones.  Doesn't the rug look all lovely and swirly, like leaves floating in a pond?

I just bought the photo frames today, so please forgive the lack of photos in them.

And here's a sneak peek of some other rooms that I've done:

Hope you enjoyed my little sneak peek!  Come and visit again, soon.

P.S I have no idea why my photo's don't all line up nicely.  I'll get the hang of it soon, I hope.