Gallery Wall

I can finally mark one of the projects off my "Forgotten Projects" list. Back in October, I started the gallery wall that I was super excited about... then completely forgot about it until a month or so ago. Okay, okay, so I didn't really forget ~ more like I shut one eye every time I walked past the half-complete project. And then, when the frames started falling off the wall, I decided it was time to just finish the darn thing.

So, we have a huge blank wall between the bedrooms upstairs. I always thought it would make a cool frame wall. My first attempt? Not so great.

Yeah, a little pathetic. And it made me realize the vast size of the wall. It was going to take a little inspiration to fill that sucker. I found this spread in the Potterybarn catalog and fell in love.

I just love the mixture of frames and random objects. So, I went around collecting random frames. Some from a Garden Ridge sale...

...some from the Target clearance section...

...and a few that I saved from the trash at work.

I also wanted to incorporate some random stuff, so I just starting laying it all out on the floor and included a couple of small cabinet doors I found at the Habitat Restore awhile back. I did measure the wall between the light switch and the AC control so I'd know how much space I had to work with.

After several rounds of arranging and rearranging, I came up with something I liked:

I even found a use for the black shelf I got on clearance at Hobby Lobby a year ago. The hard part: getting everything from the floor to the wall. J was out for the day, so I was a little scared to start hammering. He's usually the one to perfectly measure everything, and make sure it's all even and aligned. But I figured I could manage. The first nail is always the hardest, right?

I measured and leveled each one as I went along, but of course I got off at certain points. I even thought I'd be smart and use the sticky tape that says it'll hold a frame on the wall so I wouldn't have to contend with the little double-eye hooks on the back of several frames. And I got to a stopping point before I thought I was going to go cross-eyed.

Not bad, huh? Even J was impressed when he got home. And then it sat. For weeks. And months. And then the frames that were up with the sticky strips began to slowly fall off the wall. Seriously, I'd almost pee my pants in the middle of the night 'cause I'd hear a horrifying crashing sound. Luckily only one frame broke, and I never really wet the bed.

I digress.

Fast forward to several weeks ago. I was sooo tired of looking at it and stepping over the mess in the hall, that I just picked up a hammer, some nails and went at it. Because I was pretty frustrated with it at this point, I didn't take any pics. But I ended up using wire to hang the frames with the double-hooks. No measuring tape this time, no level ~ just me, a stepstool and a hammer. The result?

Not exactly the pattern I had planned, but I like it. I even included a clock we got as a wedding gift years ago that I could never quite find the right spot for in this house. I'll eventually paint the small cabinet doors, and I still need to re-mat some of the frames. Oh, and select pictures!

But I do think it fills up the wall nicely, and it gives you something to look at as you're walking up the stairs.

Once again, the before:

And the after:

At least it's {almost} done!

Linking up to these fabulous parties:

Saturday Nite Special @ Funky Junk Interiors

Sunday Showcase @ Under the Table & Dreaming

DIY Project Parade @ The DIY Show Off

Creative Bloggers Party & Hop @ Homemaker on a Dime

Accessorizing Baby's Room

Now that the baby room is moulded and painted, it's finally time to start adding all of the cute, fun stuff {that baby probably won't even notice or care about for years}, like:

...this cute cow rocker from Restoration Hardware. J grew up on a dairy farm, so we have to include cows somewhere!

...the hippo and frog towels I ordered from Potterybarn Kids {on sale, had a 10% off coupon, and I got free shipping!}. And is it sad I'm scared to take them out of the plastic? Maybe white towels weren't such a good idea for a baby!

...some chocolate brown curtains to help block the intense sun that pours in during the afternoon.

...and a cute curtain rod.

...can't forget new light fixtures.

...and fun storage baskets.

...wall art, too. I got a vinyl tree on sale at Babies R Us {I had a giftcard ~ thanks sis!} so hopefully it's as cute up as it is on the box.

...and a mobile for the crib. Why is it so hard to choose a mobile? I either like the top or the bottom, rarely both. But I think these two are sweet:

...and then there's the bathroom. Luckily, thanks to my wonderful work peeps, I have most of the cute bathroom stuff already. Just need to get it cleaned and painted.

I also have a neat idea for these Hobby Lobby letters I found on clearance awhile back.

Seems like a lot to do in the next seven weeks ... but the fun stuff always goes fast, right? :)

WIWW: Preggo Edition

Another edition of WIWW. If you're a new reader (welcome!), then you can catch up on all the fun here. Basically, working from home most days kept me in a pajama-clad funk. Then, I found Lindsey's blog and was totally inspired by her and the large group of ladies who join in each week. So check out her blog and start linking up! ;)

As for me, I'm kind of bummed that many of the wonderful comments from last week's WIWW post disappeared in the Blogger meltdown. Mainly because I don't really have anything cute to share this week, and you guys were so sweet last week. Although, I did find a couple of cute dresses at Target over the weekend that hopefully I'll put to good use soon!

Working from home / running errands

maternity sweater ~ gift from mom

maternity jeans ~ Motherhood Maternity

silver flops ~ Old Navy

More errands

green tank ~ Target

brown cardi ~ Kohls

same maternity jeans

brown flop wedges ~ Walmart ($3!)

Weekend of cleaning / more darn errands

blue maternity tee ~ borrowed

white tank ~ Target

wow, are those the same maternity jeans?!

Office meetings

white sweater ~ Ann Taylor Outlet

brown tank ~ Target

brown maternity pants ~ Kohls

coral sandals ~ Old Navy

gold & coral earrings ~ Target (new)

When Paint Goes Wrong

...terribly wrong. I'm talking attack you like a glowing Smurf wrong. It was supposed to be lucky #17. Yep, that's right, I tested 17 different colors on the wall. And #17? Had me swooning. I had already decided I wanted a brownish tan on the bottom, and loved Glidden's Olivewood. And I thought #17 was the perfect, airy blue to go with it. I mean it was called, after all, Mount Airy.

Boy, was I wrong.

J took Wednesday off to paint the baby room while I was at work. He called a little after lunch to say the brown looked awesome, but he wasn't sure about the blue. I told him to stop and wait until I got home and looked at it. Then he sent me a picture and said it was drying fine -- and from the picture, it did look fine. So he kept going.

And when I got home at 5? I was greeted with a nervous husband. I asked him what's wrong. "It's glowing," he said. I didn't have to go far upstairs before I could see what he meant. It was literally glowing, like a house for Smurfs. Or Thomas the Train. And I burst out laughing. Laughing. Not exactly the reaction J was hoping for. I felt bad, considering he'd spent his whole day off painting, but it was better than crying, right?

We went back and forth on what to do. I hated the idea of him repainting, but not sure I could live with it. J wasn't in the mood to repaint, but frustrated he didn't just stop. What was amazing was that the color was perfect with the light on. Gorgeous.

But with the light off? There aren't words. And pictures hardly capture the "glow"...

How could one paint look so different?! I guess it wouldn't have been that bad if we hadn't done the ceiling, too. And, the darker it got outside, the darker the room became, even with the light on. I told J I'd do whatever he wanted, and I think he knew I really wanted to do it over. So, we grabbed some dinner and headed to Lowe's to pick out new paint.

We each grabbed sample chips we liked -- me grabbing blues, J grabbing greens (at this point he decided that maybe I didn't like blue... I started to think so myself...), and narrowed it down to two greens and two blues. We got the samples home and on the wall, and I quickly decided on Valspar's Cool Sheets, a light blue with a hint of mint. J was hesitant, but wanted to get it done that night. So, we went back to Lowe's and got the Valspar with Primer in eggshell, and it thankfully covered that blue mess.

Poor J stayed up until 2 a.m. repainting that room. I didn't get a good look at it until the next day, and I looooved it. J was even glad he repainted. And that it was all done before his fishing tournament Thursday night. {Priorities, right?}

I'm super happy with how it all turned out, despite the double money spent in paint. {Note to self: when J says use a certain brand, use a certain brand. The cheap stuff? Glows.}

Excited to finally starting pulling together all the final -- and fun! -- touches over the next few weeks. Maybe we'll actually get done before baby! ;)

Linking up to these fabulous parties:

DIY Project Parade @ The DIY Show Off

Remodelaholic's Anonymous @ Remodelaholic

Saturday Nite Special @ Funky Junk Interiors

Sunday Showcase Party @ Under the Table & Dreaming

WIWW: Preggo Edition

It's been awhile since I posted for WIWW, so I thought I'd dust off a few of the pictures over the last month and show off the growing bump :).

Dressing is getting harder -- just out grew another pair of pants, and down to one pair of actual work pants. I was really hoping to make it the last 8.5 wks without buying more maternity clothes, but I'm sure my work peeps would appreciate me wearing more than just the same brown pants to every meeting. Thinking of selling a few things to Clothes Mentor, and seeing what "gently used" maternity clothes they have. Sometimes those kinds of places aren't worth the trip, but it might be to save a few bucks!

work meeting

dress ~ Target

black cardi ~ J. Crew

maternity leggings ~ borrowed

silver ruffle flats ~ Ann Taylor Outlet

sunglasses ~ Coach Outlet

necklace ~ Tiffany

casual day at the office

coral tank ~ Target

old black skirt ~ GUESS Outlet

jean jacket ~ Gap

flop wedges ~ made by my MIL

working at the coffee shop

{thinking my bum is bigger than my bump here?}

headband ~ Target

black maternity tee ~ Target

Joe's maternity jeans ~ Pea in a Pod

coral sandals ~ Old Navy

flower ring ~ Pier 1

work meeting

navy maternity dress ~ gift from mom

same silver ruffle flats

friend's baby shower

dress ~ Target

black tank ~ Target

maternity leggings ~ borrowed

same flop wedges

hanging around the house

{now that's a baby bump!}

teal tank ~ Target

black cotton gauchos ~ Target

casual day at the office

maternity dress ~ Target

white cardi ~ Ann Taylor Outlet

earrings ~ Target

silver flops ~ Old Navy

same Coach sunglasses

Linking up to these fabulous parties:

what I wore wednesday @ the pleated poppy

Mould It, Baby!

We're finally making progress with the baby room -- seems like the ball's really rolling now and every thing's starting to fall into place. Or, at least, I have a picture in my mind of what it'll {hopefully} look like when it's done!

J got the moulding up this week. I know, I know, some people spell it "molding" -- but that always brings to mind that green fuzzy stuff I find on muffins when I leave them out too long. Or the veggies left in the fridge for months... I digress...

I originally wanted to do a board & batten treatment like this or this, but after much debating with the hubs (and many more grey hairs), we decided on just a simple moulding hung around the room. Kind of like a chair rail, only wider and higher. I think it's actually a wide baseboard turned upside down.

So, after a few trips to Lowe's for supplies and new "toys" J insisted he needed, the actual process of putting up the moulding went fairly quick. And our game room? Became the workshop.

Once we decided on a spot above the light switch, J used a level to mark a line all the way around the room. He then went back with a stud finder and marked all the studs.

He used a little wall adhesive and a nail gun to hang the moulding. I pretended to help by holding the pieces while he nailed.

Sorry the pictures are so crappy -- our camera takes better outdoor photos than inside. But, at least it's water proof so there's no chance of me dropping it into a river this time. Anyway, this room has a Jack-n-Jill bathroom, so when it came to the opening around the sink area, J angled the edges so that it would lay flat against the wall.

The only corner that was a pain was where we have one rounded corner where the wall juts out. It only took him a couple of tries to get it cut right -- I think it went easier than either of us expected!

After the nails were in, J went around all the edges with paintable caulk and filled in the nail holes.

Once that dried, he went over everything with primer, and we had the baseboard moulding color-matched. I figure it's not too big of a deal if the colors aren't exact. And, I even managed to finally pick a paint color out of this color sample mess!

Seriously, I think I have a paint-picking problem. But I love the colors we chose -- J should have the room painted in the next couple of days, so I'll share it this week!

Linking up to these fabulous parties:

Mad Skills Monday @ Support Blog for Mom's of BOYS!

DIY Project Parade @ The DIY Show Off