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I am making progress on Genevieve's room. It's been a long, slow process!  If you remember, I bought her bed back in May of LAST YEAR!  I really need to make progress since Genevieve is only in daycare twice a week until the end of August.  As many of you know, it's near impossible to get anything done (especially painting) with a toddler (and an almost toddler) running around your feet!  I ended up jumping on the chalkboard bandwagon and doing a chalk wall in Genevieve's room- or I should say half a wall!  I've seen many rooms feature chalkboard paint and my inspiration room (which I'll share at a later time) had an entire chalk wall.  I loved the look and really wanted to try it.  Genevieve has chair rail in her room so I figured rather than do one wall I'd go under the chair rail around the entire room.  Then I started painting.  And man, chalkboard paint is dark.  Black. Very black.  And I just couldn't do it!  There is only one window in Genevieve's room and the lighting is quite poor in there (I plan to add a couple of adorable lamps I'll show you later!) so I just couldn't risk it being too dark.  I could just see my almost 3 year old suddenly filled with teenage moodiness and angst due to her dark and gloomy walls! Let's put that stage off as long as possible please.

So I still have a few areas to touch up before I reveal the walls...and the full room reveal will be in quite a while since I'm trying not to spend money on her room (and instead throw it at Nadia's party--with gusto).

And that's where the zulily reference comes in.  Oh my.  Did you see this event?!  I am in love with so many items in it!  And it would perfectly match Genevieve's new room!  Argh- why can't Joe and I be Beyonce and Jay-Z so we could spend a gajillion dollars on Blue Ivy's  our girls' rooms?!  Here are just a few items I'd buy in a heartbeat:

And here are some children spaces featuring chalkboard walls that make me doubt my decision not to paint the entire wall!

So, I'm pluggin along planning Nadia's Circus Celebration and came across these cuties at HomeGoods.  (You remember my obsession with HomeGoods right?).  I'm not sure what I love more--the fluffy pink and blue yumminess inside or the adorable packaging.  I got the wooden trays in the $1 section (well, the $2.50 section) at Target.  I'm considering painting them...but I'd really love to find natural wood trays/crates at a super cheap price.  Anyone able to point me in the right direction?!

Do you have virtual friends? You know- people you really only know through Facebook.  It's not as creepy as it sounds, I promise.  Kristin Austin is one of those friends.  I've met her once (and on accident) but she used to work with my husband and helped introduce me to people at BAE which I like to believe was instrumental in me being hired there.  I follow all of her stuff on Facebook and she often comments on my stuff as well.  So, see, we are virtual friends.  Well one thing I've learned about Miss Austin is that she is a go-getter.  You can read a little of her story here.  She recently launched Paige Simple Stationery.  It's a collection of adorable personalized preppy note cards in fun color combinations.  Kristin is working with Melanie of Simply Mella (the awesome photographer who took Nadia's newborn photos), who shared this discount code {PHOTOSHOOT} to get Kristin's cards at a whopping 50% off! I don't know about you, but I'm all over that deal! Hurry; Deal is through Saturday!

Here are a couple of my favorites:

These make perfect gifts!

How sweet would this be for children's thank you notes?

Kristin's shop will feature party printables and paper decor in the future and she is in the process of launching a blog (which I'm sure will feature her son's amazing first birthday party--I'll be sure to alert you when it's live).  Head on over to her etsy shop and tell me, which set of cards is your fave?

When researching inexpensive pouf options for Nadia's nursery (can't remember if it was before or after I gave up the dream of a Moroccan Pouf), I came across this one on Living with Punks.  At the time I didn't have a sewing machine and hadn't sewn in nearly 10 years...and something told me it would be a tad more complex than my specialty back then--hair scrunchies. I didn't end up having time to make it but I saved it with the hopes of making it one day.  Well then Pinterest came along (or I should say I finally came to my senses and created a Pinterest account) and I pinned it.  And then, as so often is the case, forgot about it.

Enter Colleen Hamilton.  [As a side note I mentioned Colleen in the post about our adventures in homemade baby food.  And Meg mentioned her here.  And I mentioned her again here].  Anyway, from what I can gather, Colleen is one of those people who actually attempts what she pins.  Imagine that!  So she FB'd me to share her result.  And I'm so glad she did! I was suddenly re-inspired to try one myself! I'm slowly but surely working on Genevieve's big girl room and thought this would be a nice addition to it.  This project wasn't easy for a beginner seamstress.  And it certainly wasn't fast.  But I have to say I am super proud of myself for the final result (regardless of how novice-y it is upon close inspection!).  PS- I know adding a dash and a Y after a word doesn't make it a real word, but I can't help myself.

I love that this project only requires 1 yard of fabric!

batting and piping are required also but still not a bad total price (see end for breakdown).

final product

because I'm all about keepin it real- the toughest part for me- the blind stitch! Some things I wish I'd known/Did: How to measure and cut a perfect circle.  (seriously. any suggestions?). Plan out all the "finishing" parts and put them all in the same place- in other words, seams on the sides, and where the piping comes together.   Have a clear "front" and "back," "top," and "bottom"- I sorta did but next time I will make sure to plan all that out. Cost for this project: piping: $2  Fabric: $6 (on sale from here) Polyfill: $4.50 for 2 bags  Total: $12.50  and I have leftovers of everything which I always feel makes a project even cheaper... Um I think that's it.  I will say that I'm pretty sure this is one of those projects that is toughest the first time around. I imagine next time it will be much easier.  And my cute friend Colleen has already made her 2nd one!!  Wasn't this my idea?!  ;)

After attending my nephew's 1st birthday party a week ago it hit me like a ton of bricks that I didn't have long to plan Nadia's 1st birthday.  I remember asking my sister-in-law periodically how party planning was going and the panic that would set in at the question.  I soooo know the feeling!  Genevieve's first party was awesome but was 2 hours from beginning to end...and I took on so much cooking and DIY that I have to admit I overdid it just a tad.  It's tough to find that perfect balance of making it special for you and the birthday girl (or boy) and enjoyable for everyone else, yet not going crazy!  I feel like I struck a better balance with Genevieve's 2nd birthday but it was a simple theme and family only, not to mention my  mama was here to help.  In any case I figure if I start planning a couple of months in advance it will give me time to order products online (I refuse to pay rush shipping), DIY till my heart's content, and be organized and on top of everything come the big day.  That might be a little optimistic of me but a girl can dream right?

So my first task was to settle on a theme.  I've always wanted to do a fairy party.  I love the thought of mixing lilac tones, moss, woodsy elements, and some shimmer and tulle.  But I keep putting it off thinking my girls will appreciate that theme so much more when they're a bit older.  Next I considered a sweet shoppe (or ice-cream shoppe, or soda shoppe) theme.  I still love that one and it's quite possible it will be used for Nadia's second birthday.  My final option (and choice) was a Circus/Carnival theme.  I'm a little nervous because I can totally see going completely overboard with this theme! There are just so. many. possibilities. [Just peruse my Pinterest board!] But since I have to keep the budget in check or husband will leave me and I'm trying to keep the workload manageable I really have to stick to my guns and not bite off more than I can chew.  But geez, these inspiration parties don't help do they!! [side note: I'm always a bit nervous to share "inspiration" pictures because then you'll know my secret: I'm a big fat copycat.  But caring is sharing right? ;)]  Take a look at this eye candy and let me know-what was your kiddos 1st birthday theme?  And how far in advance did you start planning?!