sprucing up the master bath

I pretty much hate my "master bathroom". I say master bathroom in quotations because while it is technically the master bathroom it is also connected to the rest of the house for use as a powder room.

Other grievances against the bathroom:
-It is incredibly small a fact that is emphasized by the strangely low ceilings.
-There is no bath, only a shower stall. (I haven't had a bath in almost six years!! I do shower regularly though!)
-There is no window and therefore no natural light.

I would love to do a complete renovation on it but that is not in the budget currently and probably never will be! :) So for now I am just trying to make it less ugly.

I didn't take proper before pictures so I dug through my iPhoto and found these pictures from Sutton's first hair cut.


One dark red wall and the rest of the walls primed white. I hated the red from the minute I rolled it on so I never bothered to properly finish the other walls (the plan was to paint them white). It stayed this way for almost five years! I can't believe that we let it be like that for so long but other projects received priority.


It's hard to believe but the red was actually an improvement... when we bought this house the walls were dingy white and had a green and pink rose border like this:


Who am I kidding? The red was hideous! I don't know what I was thinking. Red is a lovely color it just isn't me.

My General Contractor brother-in-law, Jon, came over recently touched up the drywall in bathroom (and lots of other little projects) as a thank you to Michael for building Jon's website. Michael can do drywall but just hadn't gotten around to it. Finally the bathroom was ready to prime and paint!

AFTER:

I used Martha Stewart 'Morning Fog'. I have to say I love Martha Stewarts new line of paint at Home Depot! I have used it on three projects now and I love the colors and the quality of the paint. It has a really nice finish to it and I LOVE that it has low VOC's.

The other side of the bathroom:


The door on the right goes to the hall and the partially visible door on the left goes to the master bedroom. The center door is a closet.


For artwork we have this adorable illustration done by Shai Zagury. My husband bought it for me years ago as a Christmas present. I think he worked with Shai's spouse at the time. I love the simplicity of the illustration.


Michael's grandmother was getting rid of this painting when she was moving from Brooklyn to NC. I love the colors and the texture.


The bathroom is still small and windowless but it feels bigger and lighter. It is amazing what paint can do!

dressed up onesies

I made these onesies for a friend's new baby. I used fabric scraps from my stash and vintage buttons.

I didn't really have a plan, I just started cutting and sewing.


I am so pleased with how they turned out I can't wait to start sewing things for my new baby. Which, by the way, we found out is a GIRL! I am so excited to have another daughter.

apple cinnamon pancakes

The last week's weather has been amazing! In the mornings the temperature is in the high 60's or low 70's and the humidity has been lower too. I open the windows every morning and relish in the beginnings of Fall.

This morning I was craving pumpkin pancakes. If you have read my blog for awhile you will already know about my pumpkin obsession that my family politely puts up with. Alas, when I went to the pantry I realized that I had no canned pumpkin. Time to improvise! Inspired by our plans to go apple picking next Saturday I thought, "apple cinnamon pancakes". I used Bisquick so they were super easy and quick.

apple cinnamon pancakes

2 cups Bisquick mix
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 eggs
1 cup apple sauce (I used Mott's Natural with no sugar added)
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup melted butter
1 tsp lemon juice

Combine dry ingredients. Add all other ingredients, stirring until moistened. Don't over mix. Using a 1/4 cup measurement pour onto hot griddle and cook until brown on both sides. Serve with maple syrup.

The kids gobbled them up and were extravagant with their praise. They deemed them The Best Pancakes Ever. Can't beat that!

nightgowns

Poor Sutton has been wearing hand-me-down pajamas from her big brother for years. She has never minded until the last few months. The problem is that I have a hard time spending money just for something my kids sleep in and I rarely find pajamas on sale. I have made pajama pants for the kids before but the other day my husband suggested nightgowns. Of course! Little girls love nightgowns. Why didn't I think of that?

I did a quick search for 'free nightgown pattern' and some how found my way to this site and this dress tutorial. The dress is adorable and without the elastic around the waist it works perfect for nightgowns also. I have made many peasant style tops and dresses for myself and Sutton in the past but this tutorial may be the simplest I have seen and comes together very quickly!

I made each one slightly different. The blue jersey with the scalloped edge was the first attempt and it was a little big, but it's okay because she'll be able to wear it for years. I made the floral nightgowns a little smaller and each have a ruffle at the bottom. All the material was given to my by my mother-in-law, in fact, the peachy-pink floral is a vintage bed sheet. Sutton thinks the nightgowns are fantastic and wants to wear them all day!


Happy Labor Day weekend! Enjoy the extra time off work/school. I know I will!