This is not a book

Thank you one and all for your thoughts on my bureau. I have to say I was not expecting so many "leave it alone!" responses. I've decided to heed your wise advise for the time being and just leave well enough alone. We plan to paint this room within the next several months so I will wait and revisit the bureau once the room takes on its new look.

In the meantime, I have discovered a fun new book! Well, as you can see it is not a book, truly words defy this little diddy. It is a book that you interact with and make into your own unique creation.

There are crazy fun pages like the above. Hmmm, what will I do to this page?

Writing and drawing directly on the pages is directly encouraged...

And defacing the book by cutting and tearing pages is also mandatory. For a total Type A, in control all the time personality like myself - this is difficult! But I do have to say, it is very freeing and allows me to step out of my box in so many ways.

This is a wonderful book, err diddy or what have you. I'm having lots of fun with it and will take some photos as it evolves into its own unique creation.

Your Thoughts?

I purchased this bureau at a tag sale several years ago. I was drawn to it because I liked (and still do) the worn look of the drawer facades. I was going to paint the tan part but never got around to it.

We are (hopefully) going to be painting the living room back to the creamy white we painted it when we first moved in (and I then decided was too boring - oh how my style has evolved since then!) so I'm revisiting this bureau. I have a few days off next week and hope to tackle this project. I'm going to replace the drawer pulls (I think with clamshell style pulls) but I'm still puzzling over what to do with the rest of the bureau and if I should do anything at all.

I think I'm going to leave the drawers as is, they were the reason I loved this piece to begin with. The tan part - what do you think? Paint it? What color? Distress it? I was thinking of doing one coat of brown and then a second coat of ivory and distressing. Or should I just leave well enough alone?

Baby Girl's Room

Are any other Blogger bloggers having issues with the new post editor? I just switched back to the old after spending over an hour trying to get my photos where I wanted them to go in this post. But I digress. I wanted to share photos of Chelsea's nursery. We were on a tight budget and overall I'm very happy with the way it came out. Simple, clean, and neat. Hopefully this room will not get cluttered up, however, with all the toys and miscellaneous kid items beginning to accumulate, I'm doubting that will be possible (She is almost 11 months old! So fast.). I'm going to begin looking for some affordable organizational options for toys, etc. When we first moved into the house, we painted this room a sage green. I wanted it to be light and airy as a nursery and we went for this creamy white. I can't remember the name but it is Sherwin Williams Harmony no VOC line. Hubby did not think the paint covered very well. Not sure if it is because it is no VOC or just this particular brand.

The photo above is a view as you walk in the doorway. We purchased the curtains from IKEA. At $9.99 a pair, the price couldn't be beat. They are the self hemming kind and come with their own no sew seam tape. Just trim to the length you need and iron on the tape. Easy! Thanks to my sister for helping me with the measuring and hanging. The tissues poufs are from Martha's Michael's line.

The bedrooms all get pretty hot in the summer so we have to use the dreaded ceiling fans to help circulate the a/c. But with this decal, I still was able to put a lovely chandelier in Chelsea's room. It was a bit of a chore as it didn't want to stick to the no VOC paint we used. Hubby persevered and almost a year later it is still nicely stuck on the wall. The decal came from here.

We picked a convertible crib that can be transformed to a toddler bed and then a double bed. Cost effective but I do wonder if I will regret that we can't buy one of the cute twin/double beds I've since seen in catalogs. The bed skirt is a queen flat sheet from Garnet Hill. Didn't even require sewing! I just folded it.

The fabulous minky soft bedding was custom ordered through Mari Robeson. Mari was my very first blogging friend and my inspiration behind starting a blog and getting back to the creativity I let lie dormant for so long.

The crib bumper is from Pottery Barn Kids. It is a soft pink on the outside and creamy white on the inside and made of a nice faux fur type of material. I saw it and loved it but held off. When I was ready to purchase it, it no longer was being sold! I took a chance and went to the local store and lo and behold - one left! Half off and I had a gift card. It all worked out very well in the end.

The teddy bear is from the Vermont Teddy Bear Company and was a gift from my mother and sister. The crib aquarium was a gift from my MIL and has come in quite handy when Chelsea needs to put herself to sleep or keep herself amused.

She has started to get quite the collection of books. I keep them in this Simply Shabby Chic fabric bin right next to the rocking chair. Goodnight Moon is our nightly read. Please excuse the radiator in the background. It is going through some repairs.

This is the changing area. I may have to take down at least one side of the curtains as Chelsea loves to grab at them and play peekaboo while she is being changed. It is cute but as she gets bigger and stronger we don't want any curtains being pulled down!

There are many bloggers represented in this room. Jenny and Aaron's cupcake tower was perfect for this space.

Two of my most favorite things in this room. The diaper caddy is a great system with a sectioned fabric insert for diapers, wipes, creams, medicines, etc. Keeps the top of the bureau nice and neat. The clock helps me keep track of time as I rock (and rock, and rock). Rocking Chelsea at night is one of my favorite activities. The ipod on the left is mine. We started using it as soon as Chelsea came home. Playing some soft music and vacuum, hairdryer sounds helped lull her to sleep at night. Now we use it more to play music and dance around. I'm sure the ipod is the first of many of my things she will confiscate over time.

The mirrors came from IKEA and are sold as a set (pink velvet ribbon included!). The prize ribbon is from Andrea's store. I bought it to use in Chelsea's room but Hubby is the one who thought to hang it from the mirror!

More fun artwork from Jenny.

I purchased these lollipops from Analise and glued them to some cheap plastic shade pulls.

This is the most recent addition to Chelsea's room. A fabulous fabric bag from Sis Boom. I have the privilege of living in the same state as the fabulous Jennifer and attended her winter show with my mom, who decided to pick this little cutie up for her grand daugther. The how to on this project will be featured in Jennifer's upcoming book. Keep your eyes on her blog!

I knew I wanted this type of rug but everywhere I looked it was rather expensive. I found this one on clearance at JCPenney. I think we may move to some sort of larger rug as Chelsea grows so she has a soft area for playing in her room but for now this works.

The shelf is another Simply Shabby Chic item. I do not believe Target carries it anymore. It was meant to be a bathroom shelf unit but I thought it was perfect for displaying this homemade quilt. The quilt was made by a friend of my in-laws.

Hope you enjoyed the tour of Chelsea's room!