Ambrosia Creative

My friend Allison, who writes the awesome blog All for the Boys, did a fun post showcasing real boys’ rooms. Click over to see what inspired her and view some other kid rooms in situ!

You can see that my boys’ room is nearly devoid of any decor. Sad. I’d like to use the excuse that we’ve moved here only in July, but six months is ample time to at least get a couple photographs on the walls! So, I’ll use the baby excuse instead. That one gets me out of all sorts of things! Besides, the boys are totally into decorating their room by themselves. See?

One thing I had never anticipated with raising boys is how sentimental they are with treasured objects. Now that they’re a little older and more conscious of their living environment, they’re wanting to save and display their creations or little prizes they earn. Time I start thinking of ways to organize it all.

And one last thought. Have any of you ever stumbled upon anything gross/weird in your kids room? For me it was a black, BLACK half-eaten banana hidden under Kai’s bed. This AR mommy nearly had a heart-attack coming across that one!

I really ought to be cleaning/nesting but making stuff is so much more fun.

My sewing skills are pedestrian at best, so I’m glad I was able to pull off this cloud pillow to the degree expected of myself (not very high). I even hand-drew the chevron pattern using a fabric marker. Brilliant idea by Mer that I’ve been wanting to try out.

A happy cloud is so apropos right now because it’s going to be a rainy weekend.

It’d be kinda great to have the baby room put together before she arrives. I have about 10 weeks to fill up the empty spaces and move out empty boxes (the vacant room has become a dumping ground of sorts). At least clothes shopping is moving along at a better pace. SO fun.

My bed and I are reunited after being separated by the country for a whole month. Yeah! Graduating from the air mattress and getting to sleep with my million pillows (instead of the Pillow Pets we stole from the kids) is such a luxury. Ryan and I made a pact to never complain about our mattress again.

And speaking of luxury, why are hot dogs + relish so good to me right now? It’s funny that when I was pregnant with the boys, I had a wicked sweet tooth, but with this baby it’s been all about salty, sour, aaand…water retention. She’s kicking right now as I’m writing this and wants queso dip.

Lights, stars, hot cocoa, an awareness/cognizance among all to be kinder and more charitable…these are just few things that make December so wonderful.

So I got mildly cultural for this year’s Relief Society Christmas dinner by bringing some cucinta (steamed rice cakes topped with coconut) and made a parol, a traditional Filipino star lantern. I was smart by ordering the cucinta from a Filipino bakery. With the lantern, I was dumb (I was so dumb. I was really dumb…for reals) and made it from scratch, thus spending hours and hours. But I’m happy with how it turned out and can check that project off my life’s to-do-list!

Made some decorations for Dax’s upcoming bake sale at school. I really love the jaunty, scattered colors on a recent purchase of mine, this Poketo bag designed by Joe Rogers, so that was my inspiration for the mobiles. Another cheapy project using cardstock, tissue paper, vellum, and thread.

{last image via Poketo for Target}

So I just discovered the Polaroid app for the iPhone and went a little picture crazy this morning. I took images of my so-called “happy corners.” Do you have those too? Little pockets around your home that are especially pretty and bring serenity now? My emotional stability depends on those corners. I am exaggerating.

For my birthday this year, I would like to sweep the piles of envelopes, and papers, and catalogs, and magazines. Off. My. Desk. Into a trash can. And not even give it a second thought. Same with vacuuming. Would be a treat to run the vacuum without having to pick up Lego pieces, or marbles, or army men. My vacuum would just take it all away.

From writing this, I realized I must have been harboring a subconscious-but-now-conscious desire to spring clean. Blogging: it’s the new self psycho-analysis!

I’m pretty sorry at the sewing machine, and thought I should practice some basic stitches in preparation for an upcoming project (clue: new button in my sidebar). So after salivating over the floral-patterned wallpaper here, I decided to put some new floral fabric to use and sew some garland. Garland is so played out, right?

Ryan teased me in a Sarah Palin voice by saying my finished product looks ‘country’ and that I’ve gone ‘country.’ But I reminded him that he was the one born in Texas and raised in Fresno, so he will always be more country than me.

And I’ve been thinking lately how poverty-chic is SO in right now. Twine, kraft, felt, hand-drawn, everything hand-made or thrifted… In five years, how much will our design aesthetics change, and are we going to look back and wonder why the heck did we wrap everything in paper akin to brown paper bags?

Gray paint is magical. Crayon marks, mouth marks, 4ft tall wall etchings with a paper clip…all gone with a can of gray paint! I am overly excited to paint the rest of my home.