Rate My Space - My Bedroom Revealed

My poor bedroom was neglected and in much need of an update. I had intended to repaint for years (I never liked the green I painted) but somehow the bedroom was never top on the priority list. So, when Brent went to Europe for work this week I decided to do my own HGTV inspired "surprise design". Seven days later Brent came home to a repainted, redecorated, and revitalized bedroom.

BEFORE...

Notice the attractive forest green and burgundy matted cherry frames. Yup, artwork from our first apartment. We bought the maps on our honeymoon and had them matted to match our forest green and burgundy decorated apartment--fashionable home decorating in 1994. I'm not really sure why I thought it was a good idea to hang the maps in our bedroom 16 years later. Yes, we really had two nightstands stuck next to each other on one side of the room. An HGTV nightmare. Since they were hidden on the far side of the room I told myself you couldn't really see them and it wasn't too bad. But now that I see it in a photo--argh, what was I thinking?! What a cluttered mess!

Drum roll please... prepare for the big reveal...

AFTER... I dusted off the sewing machine and made the black pillows myself!
Notice the vintage photography from 1994 :-)...a little throw back to the wedding.

This was my grandma Regan's dresser. She found it in the garage of a house her family once rented--left behind by the previous tenant. All the years she lived with us, this dresser was always in her room. I have fond memories of rummaging through these drawers as a child. They were jam packed with all sorts of treasures--boxes of cards, a baby food jar of polished rocks, a blue plastic container of buttons, and sometimes (if you were really fortunate) a piece of Brach's candy.

Oh, and I also whipped up this cool little upholstered board for my necklaces (we have a weird duct that runs up the wall in 1/2 of one of the closets, so this was a great way to put that wasted space to good use)...

So the reveal wasn't quite like HGTV, Brent didn't burst into tears overwhelmed by the beauty of his new bedroom. But, he was caught off guard and he did like it a lot. I was just happy to have the deadline of his homecoming so I could get the whole thing completely 100% finished with no lingering half finished details.

Don't Worry Mom

While Ethan was sitting on the toilet recently we had the following conversation:

Ethan: "Mom, I don't want you to worry, I'm just going #2 right now."

Me: "Oh, um, okay, that's great." I was perplexed as to why I should be worried and didn't really know how to respond.

Ethan: "No mom, it's not great, IT'S AMAZING."

I'm still not sure why #2 is so amazing, but Ethan seems to find joy in many things. And I find joy in his hilarious commentary.

20 Years Later

I loved this article in today's Sunday paper -- Return of the Class of '80 Parade.com. The author perfectly summed up my thoughts about my 20-year High School reunion last month. Everyone seemed so genuine, so normal and down to earth. I'll admit I had a fair amount of anxiety over going to the reunion to reveal my aged and expanded self. Somehow I assumed I was the only one who no longer looked like she did at seventeen. Miraculously, everyone else had changed a bit too (go figure). While the girls were all beautiful, no one looked just as they did before. What's more, no one cared. We were a bunch of old friends genuinely happy to reconnect and reminisce. Go Titans!

It's For the Ladies

A few days before school started Isaac got a new "Justin Bieber"-like haircut. We were joking around that his new haircut was, "for the ladies". After the first day of school I asked Isaac if "the ladies" liked his new haircut. He responded, "No one really said anything about it...but a few girls did keep staring at me during class." Can't say that I blame the girls, I think he's pretty dreamy myself.

Isaac Knows a Few Things For Sure

Just found this in Isaac's "Friday Folder". Made me smile.

Sister Love

My friend, Jennifer, just lost her sister to cancer this morning. Her sister had five kids ranging in age from 5 to 14--not too dissimilar from two of my sisters. I can't stop crying as I think about how painful it would feel to loose one of my sisters. I see my sisters twice a year at best, and I'm not a great phone person, but just knowing they are a phone call, email, or plane ride away means everything. My heart aches thinking of my nieces and nephews and how seemingly alone in the world they would be if their mom was no longer on earth to love them. So today while I am sad for Jennifer, I am also grateful. Grateful for health. Grateful for sisters. Grateful to love my sisters so much that my heart aches and tears flow just thinking of one of them missing from the world. Grateful to be a mom and know what it feels like to be the center of someones universe. Grateful for kids who can come home from school today into the eager and anxious awaiting arms of their mom.

Roadtrip to Utah - August 2010

We spent an uber long vacation (2-1/2 weeks) in Utah this summer. It kicked off with my sister Rachel's engagement party followed by boating at Bear Lake and a weekend of camping at the Tony Grove campground near Logan with my family. My uncle Ron brought my grandma Adair to visit, we haven't seen her in a few years so I was so happy the kids got to spend a little time with her (you can tell by the photos that Ethan was a little wary of her wrinkles). We spent the rest of the week with the Shaeffer cousins slip-and-sliding on the lawn, going to the drive-in theatre, playing Ms. Pac Man and just enjoying being together with cousins and sisters. Then we switched to the Paul cousins for fun at Snowbird, rafting down the Provo River, golf (Brent), and the Provo River Half Marathon (Brent & I). The kids spent hours outside at night playing a new game called 21-dot-dot. In the midst of it all we went to my 20-year High School reunion and spent time with many of my best girls from school. Fun times!