Bedroom Corner Makeover {Before & After}

A few months back my husband and I–along with little Miggie’s help–did a quick make-over on one of the corners of our bedroom.

I desperately needed a place to study for my real estate exam (because sitting at the lounge chair in my son’s room was not cutting it for me). Studying on our laptop desk also wasn’t working out…it was simply too distracting.

Our solution was to turn this neglected part of the bedroom into a bookstore/cafe-bar inspired little nook.

Before…

The corner used to have some leftover boxes from our move, a couple of bins and keepsake boxes, and our laundry basket.

After…

I didn’t want to buy anything new for this space. A few items that have been put away in the garage for storage did the trick.

My hubby installed a wall shelf to house some books. A bar-height stool and table (that used to be in our apartment kitchen in Jersey) made for the perfect sit-down study area for me (a bonus is that my little one can no longer get to the stuff on top of my desk).

Here are some shots of the made-over office corner:

The bar-height table-top area provides ample space to spread books + a refuge to keep tools and trinkets away from a toddler.

The only thing we bought for this space…a poster of the Holstee Manifesto I featured in my post entitled, “And So I Turn 30…“

Favorite books grace the small shelf over the table. These days, most of my reading is done on the iPad.

A friend and former co-worker of mine brought me this carved elephant from one of his trips to India. It’s one of my favorite gifts. If you look closer, there is a baby elephant inside…it’s a Mommey!!!

A printable I got from Pinterest…

Dove Dark Chocolates…always a must-have on my desk…

I hope this post has inspired you to create a little nook for yourself, for whatever purpose it may be.

Here are some *behind-the-scenes* look at how this make-over came to be…

Miggz helping out...

Daddy's eager helper.

Monday Morning Thoughts

As you both lie in your sleep, I look at you and your dad on this early Monday morning. He loves it when you’re in the bed with us. He lets you get away with a lot.

You are his best friend. And he is yours. You encircle and enrich his world. And he does yours.

You bring endless smiles and laughter and energy into our lives.

Yes, you tire us out, too. At times to the point of exhaustion…(especially Mommey).

But we would not have it any other way.

You are our son, whom we are thankful for every day.

For the life, the laughter, the love.

There is never a dull moment since you came into our world.

Photos taken from our Flagstaff day trip this month.

Apple Absorption

We are a tech-using, tech-absorbing family. Aside from my husband’s quick stint with an Android tablet (we still have it, but it rarely gets used), we are all about Apple products.

Here’s a peek into what my hubby and son were doing as I watched the Oscars…

Dad is on his iPhone while Miggz is on my iPad. I try not to get him so used to handling the iPad. If I do let him, it’s usually when I read him a story (there are some great–and FREE–kid-friendly stories on the iBooks app). A few of our mother-son bonding moments have been over an iBook (though I prefer–and am glad he does too–his traditional board books over the electronic ones).

In this instance, Dad gave him the iPad to watch some cartoons on YouTube.

How often do you let your kids use technology at home?

Dozing Off

I love it when he just dozes off into a nap out of sheer tiredness…

This was on a lazy Saturday afternoon (around 1-ish). He had slept with Gramma and Lolo–his grandparents–the previous night. I’m not sure who woke up who, but according to my Mom, they’ve been up since 6:45 am. That is way early for Miguel, hence, the early nap.

He spent his morning running and playing soccer with his Dad…probably another reason for the earlier-than-usual nap.

He dozed off for a good two+ hours.

Snow Day, Fun Day in Flagstaff

We’ve wanted to go on a snow trip to Flagstaff for a while. This was a short one…just a day trip to take the kids sledding.

Flagstaff greeted us with some fresh snowfall upon arrival (it was awesome to see winter again…as it should be: snow-covered pine trees, powder-soft grounds, white-capped mountain tops). Even though our target destination–Wing Mountain–ended up being closed, the day made for a quick wintry escape our whole family enjoyed.

We–along with other families who drove up hoping to play at Wing Mountain–had to settle for one of the side lots along the road leading up to Snowbowl. There was ample parking for all, but not enough hills to sled. We had to make the most of it because of our two-and-a-half hour journey. I saw that most families with their kids also did the same. All in all, we had a blast (but we are hoping for more snow on our next trip).

I purchased our sleds from Amazon. They came in a pack of three for around $36, but I see that they have gone cheaper ($32 for a three-pack as of this post).

We didn’t get to do much damage on the sleds as we were in a very modest, toddler-friendly hill most of the day. They held up even with the grown-ups having a go on the sleds. I’m glad we’ll get more use out of them on future snow trips.

Here are some photos from our fun Flagstaff day trip…

Until our next adventure…

Here You Go, Ducks

It’s early February and it almost hit 80 degrees in our part of the world yesterday. While it’s still winter in most of America, it’s pretty much spring-summer where we are.

I wanted to make sure we took advantage of this great weather before it gets too hot, which, judging by how early in the year it’s getting warm, doesn’t feel too far coming. This is our love-hate relationship with sunny Arizona’s temperature highs and lows.

We decided to go to the park (Discovery Park in Gilbert) where Miggz and I got to feed some ducks around the lake for the first time while his Dad and Uncle Tedi played some basketball.

Here are some pics of Miggz having a blast throwing some bread at the ducks. He kept saying, “Here you go, ducks.”

So cute.

Today, Auntie Anna and Uncle Jon came over with Joci. Though it got a little cooler, it was still warm enough to eat lunch in the backyard with the rest of the family.

We gave the kids some Philly Swirls for dessert. I didn’t know they have packs that come with candy spoons now. I used to love eating these sweet Italian ice cups when I was younger.

Looks like they enjoyed it, too.

DIY Not?

This is the first time in ages that I’ve done a DIY project, thanks to the endless inspiration on Pinterest.

I really wanted to build upon what I’ve started in my son’s safari-themed room, and the recent catalog I got in the mail from Pottery Barn Kids gave me lots of ideas for things to add.

But PBK stuff is pricey!

Take, for instance, this “Explore” Garland, which I thought was perfect for the whole travel/safari/outdoor/adventure theme we have going in the room…

Explore Garland - Pottery Barn Kids

It defines Miggz and our family’s love for adventure. Too bad it’s $20 (which I was so close to ordering had I not given it a second look, and thought… “I could SO do this!!!”)

And I did…

My handmade "explore" garland - almost done.

It was real easy.

First I cut out the backboards from an Amazon shipping box that was waiting to be recycled.

Then I printed the animal shapes (in beige) directly from my computer onto plain copy paper. (You can download, free for personal use, some animal-shaped fonts from dafont.com).

Next, I printed the EXPLORE letters (in green). I printed these on glossy photo paper to let them pop and not make the whole thing look flat, as in my inspiration from PBK.

Then–the most time-consuming part–just cut out the animals and letters and glue them on (I had some extra animal cut-outs and cardboard, which I will find somewhere to affix to later on).

I’m really pleased with the job I did…it looks so close to the original!!

The only thing I have left to do is to put holes on the cardboard (which irks me right now because I can’t find my hole puncher), and hang the finished product.

Pretty neat, huh!

Honestly, for the time it took me to do this, I probably should have just bought the garland from PBK.

But it feels GREAT to have created something by hand for my son’s room.

And I saved the planet by re-purposing that Amazon box 😉

Update this evening:

I still couldn’t find my craft hole puncher, so I used the one dad has in his office. I had to reinforce the hanging cardboards, and decided that some clothespins would work best.

I hung the “explore” garland on Miguel’s window, which is right by his bed.

And I did not forget about the leftover cardboard and animal cutouts…I used them to add character to some plain old storage bins underneath the changing table.

I just love how these turned out!

The Inherent Value in Pinterest

Raise your hand if you can relate to any one or more of the following scenarios:

– You’ve put buying a house–your dream house–on hold.
– You’re waiting to have another baby (or considering having your first one in the near or distant future).
– You’ve learned to curb your lavish expenses and make do with modest lifestyle changes.
– You are putting off financial splurges like grand vacations, big parties, and expensive home remodels.
– You’ve pushed that pause button on your career and decided to concentrate on other pursuits (finding yourself/becoming a mom/starting up your own business, etc.)

If you’re me, you’re likely to relate to most (if not all) of the above. You might say that it all comes with being a mom–and that is true to some extent. But I can bet the above apply to a larger portion of the population these days, whether mom or not.

The thing is, in the current state of our economy, most of us average folk are in this frame of mind right now.

The dream state.

The non-splurge state.

The state of modesty.

Enter Pinterest, a social networking site that allows you to “grab” images from the web and within other user boards and “pin” or “repin” them onto your own self-created vision boards.

It’s pretty amazing what you see on Pinterest…all the beautiful, interesting, crafty, creative, delicious, monumental, massive, and smart photos users have gathered and pinned. They are ideas of–and inspiration for–anything and everything you can think of: dream home spaces, stylish outfits, travel destinations, thoughtful quotes, beautiful people, life events grand and small, etc., …each photo a possible inspiration to your own vision.

It is perfect for the now most of us are in. The now when we are planning, rebuilding, restrengthening. The now when we can benefit from the most inspiration and vision.

The now when–one can hope–we are working happily and not wearily in achieving that vision.

Whether it be for a dream home, dream trip, dream job, dream wedding, dream outfit for the evening, dream room for the baby, dream office, dream every day reality.

Vision is everything.

Have you pinned lately?

My virtual vision board on Pinterest.

A few of the images I've pinned onto my vision board.

So true! Photo credit: milenuts.tumblr.com

Related articles

• Pinterest – Who’s Using It, How and Why (millerlittlejohnmedia.com)
• What is Pinterest? (socialsense1.wordpress.com)
• The Real Reason Pinterest Is So Popular (justinkownacki.com)
• The Buzz about Pinterest (digitalbrandmarketing.com)
• We’re on Pinterest. Are You? (bellasugar.com)
• 12 Most Smart Business Uses for Pinterest By Kim Phillips (12most.com)
• Do you see what I see? (sweetseatsatl.wordpress.com)
• Pinterest – A Social Media Game Changer? (savvyblogging.net)

It’s Not Good When Mamma Gets Bored

I’ve been wanting to color my hair for a while now. The bottle I’ve purchased from the grocery store has been in my beauty armoire for over a year. A year!!! But being a mom to a two-year-old doesn’t really permit a lot of time for anything, let alone an at-home DIY hair coloring job.

I finally found time for it this weekend. My sister came home from college and was able to help me with the full-head coloring. I liked the result…a really subtle shade of brown.

But of course I had to mess it up with a highlight job I did myself the next night (without my sis). Before I realized it, I was in too deep (with uneven highlight distribution all over the top of my head). I had to call in my husband to the rescue to help me fix anything that can be fixed.

Now I’m partly freaking out deep inside, wondering what I can do to fix what I did without costing me a lot (or any) money.

I guess I have no choice but to love it…