Paprika's Room!

I have had a lot of fun transforming Paprika's room. I wanted her room to be a beautiful place for her to relax, have quiet time to herself...kind of her own personal sanctuary.

When we moved in to our house two months ago, her room looked like this:

Before:



Definitely not a little girl's room!



The light fixture was coming out of the ceiling and the curtains were old and very dusty.




The inspiration for the room was "Come Fly With Me"- I wanted the room to be about reaching for the sky, following your dreams, and soaring to imaginative, beautiful places.

I decided on a hot-air balloon theme. Paprika loves all balloons, especially hot-air balloons. So, I decided to run with it and this is where it took me!

After:



Overstock happened to have a hot air balloon rug. Score! Mr. Mustard helped me lay down the rug, and when Paprika saw it in her room, she got so excited that she laid down and kissed the rug. It was a big hit!

You, of course, know the story behind the queen-sized bed. The canopy is from Ikea ($19). The hot air balloons on the wall are vinyl decals from Etsy ($15 on sale).

I got kind of lucky on the bedding. It's a Pottery Barn Kids (PBK) quilt that I've had my eye on for awhile, but it goes for about $200 new (including shipping). I found the same PBK quilt on Ebay for...drumroll please...$26! So, her new quilt was $26 instead of over $200. Of course, it's pre-owned (that's my word for used- ha!), but it's in great condition, and don't quilts get better with age and history, anyway?



The lighting fixture is from Ikea ($19). I loved how the clouds tied into my hot-air balloon and soaring theme. I left the original curtain rods (mostly because I didn't want to have to hang new ones- ha!).

I replaced the old curtains with pink gingham curtains from PBK. I had tried the Target blackout curtains, but they let in so much light! So, I splurged a bit on the curtains and it was well worth it. I don't want anyone in this house waking up at daybreak if they don't have to! ;-)



I rounded out the room with a little lamp from Target ($13) - it's the same one that's in Ginger's room. I figure if they ever share a room, it will be a matched pair!

Overall, not bad for her own little bedroom nook. I think it looks pretty cozy, but then again...I might be biased! :-)

A Tale Of Two Days

Today and yesterday have been a bit of deja vu days for me. Yesterday (Tuesday), I took the girls to The Grove to wait for Mr. Mustard to finish work. He usually goes to work on Monday morning and we don't see him again until Tuesday night because he works through the night getting things ready for Tuesday's show. Needless to say, these long shifts of working 30 hours (or more) straight make him really tired...too tired to drive home. So I went to pick him up from work so he wouldn't have to drive.

I wasn't sure what time he'd be leaving work (sometimes he can get off work a few hours before the show airs), so we headed over towards the Lot and decided to hang out at to the Grove (an outdoor shopping mall) in the early afternoon.

We bummed around and had ice cream at Haaggen-Dazs, checked out the cool gadgets at the Apple Store, and then went to The American Girl doll store.

Paprika is really into putting on make-up now. You can see she did her own eyebrows! :-)



Ginger tried some ice cream, too. Nothing like chocolate ice cream. Yum!



All told we were at The Grove for about five hours waiting for Mr. Mustard to finish work...and that was probably a mistake on my part. Five hours was too long for them...much too long (especially because I was by myself with them).

I figured it would be fun to go to The American Girl Doll store, right? I have been wanting to get Paprika one of their little dolls (the Bitty Baby ones) for awhile now, and what a perfect opportunity. Right?

Well, we got there and she found this doll that she LOVED. It had to be THAT doll. That doll was her friend. Not the other dolls. That doll.



But THAT doll was out of stock, and they would not sell the floor model. Paprika was so upset and sad and hurt and mad. She was really heartbroken and wanted everyone to know it...(it was a SCENE!)

We had a big heart-to-heart last night about disappointment, frustration, anger, and sadness. It was a pretty big teaching moment, I guess...even if it was just about a doll.

So, today we had to go back to the Lot to pick up Mr. Mustard's car (after he had rested and slept enough to drive it home), and The Grove is right next door...so we stopped by the American Girl store and what do you know, they had just received a shipment and the doll was in stock.



I hesitated on whether or not to get it for her...but I think she learned her lesson, and it was something she really wanted and she was very appreciative to receive. I know I won't always be able to fix things for her, and I won't always be able to make her dreams come true. But I can now...so I did it.

I haven't seen a girl more in love with her doll...ever. And it made my heart happy to make her heart happy...even if it was just a little thing.



But don't you know if she ever makes a scene like that again, I am not above taking the doll "back to the store" (or hiding it in my closet) until she can learn to behave. ;-) But for now, things are good...really good! All's well that ends well!

Before & After Pics of Ginger's Room

I'm not going to say I'm "done" with Ginger's room. It is still a work in progress. But, it's come a long way, baby!

Here are some Before/After pics of the room's transformation.

Before:



When we began, there was really nowhere to go but up. It was more of a cave than a bedroom. ;-)





After:

I changed out the curtains first thing, but kept the original curtain rods. The crib was Paprika's (purchased used on Craigslist in 2006). The wall vinyl decals are from Etsy ($25). The lamp is Target ($13) and the dresser is Ikea ($60).

The bedding on the full-size bed was Paprika's. It's a floor-sample quilt from Pottery Barn Kids that I bought for $20 a few years ago. The crib bedding was bought at the Right Start going out of business sale last fall for $30. When Ginger sleeps in the crib, I am very careful to make sure the crib canopy is tied back so she can't get to it...

Overall, I am really pleased with it how it turned out. I stayed in my budget, and think it's a room she'll enjoy for a long time. :-) You can't really see the rug from these pictures, but it's a giraffe print I bought at Overstock. It's actually one of my favorite parts of the room and adds a little bit of sophistication and whimsy to the space (if I do say so, myself). Haha.

I fell in love with this light fixture (Ikea, $19) and the crib canopy (Ikea, $9) the moment I saw them. I wanted her room to be like a sunny day, as having Ginger our lives is like a big ray of sunshine and blue sky.

I think it's a cozy little nest for her now, and she seems to like it, which is what's important, right?! :-)

DWTS - Here I Am!

If you go to 36 minutes, 23 seconds into the broadcast (right when they come back from commercial break), you can see me and my friend Lauren in the front row! Don't blink or you'll miss us!

http://www.hulu.com/watch/148395/dancing-with-the-stars-week-8-part-1

It was really fun. I have been on the stage before during dress rehearsals, but nothing is like a live show. It was so much fun.

The only snafu was that when we got there, I didn't have a seat (all the seats are reserved). There was a mix-up, and so I ended up sitting in an open seat off to the side. Tom Bergeron (the host) came over to chat with Mr. Mustard, who had stopped in to say hi. Tom asked where I was sitting, and I said, "Here." And he said (in the nicest way), "No you're not because this is my seat!" So, the seating person found Lauren and I some great seats in the front row...it could not have worked out better!

Lauren's parents were sitting on the other side of the stage (they had great seats, too). The guy sitting next to me took up half my chair and kept shouting out scores at the strangest times. It would go quiet in the theater and all of a sudden, he would yell out "8!" I had to keep myself from cracking up!

All in all, a fun night. Thank you, Mr. Mustard!!!!

Dancing!

I went to a taping of DWTS earlier tonight (well, technically I guess it was yesterday). It was GREAT! I had so much more fun than even I thought I would. I went with my friend Lauren and her parents- and we had a superb dinner afterwards at The Grove. It was fancy, and so grown-up...a rare treat these days! ;-)

At the show, we were seated in the front row and had the best view of the stage. It was a blast! I have been meaning to go to the show for four seasons now, and I was so glad that I finally did it. Last season I was pregnant with Ginger and didn't think I'd be able to sit through the whole taping, but this time I had no excuse...

Mr. Mustard's mom, Pat, watched the girls, and they did pretty well, all things considered. Pat was visiting from Santa Barbara for Mother's Day (she came on Sunday)- and it has been really nice having her here. She made Mother's Day very special, and I was so glad to have her here as Mr. Mustard was working all day Sunday...we had a good time together!

I am beat, but it was just so fun to get out (and wear my new dress)! After the show, Mr. Mustard came and found us (he was working during, of course)- and I got to snap this pic with him...

We made some good memories tonight. It was so fun, and a night I will remember for a long time!