Redecorating the Clinic Rooms

I don't recall if I talked about it here or on Twitter, but ever since Patrick started at his new practice a year ago, he's wanted to redecorate his patient rooms. Things have been a little busy, but we finally got around to it this last week, thanks to the help of my fabulous mother!

Somehow we forgot to take before pictures of all of the rooms, but they were basically like this - just kind of random, dated stuff in there. Our goal was to modernize them a bit, and make the space seem a bit more warm and inviting. And of course, doing it all on a budget.

For the first room, we went with kind of a "modern" feel. We painted the room gray, and used mostly turquoise and orange accents, and some fun prints. We debated painting the chair rail white, but in the end, for times sake, decided to leave it be. I'll go ahead and put this out there now - I had a horrible time trying to take pictures of these rooms. Aside from the funky lighting, I really need a wide angle lens. So you'll just have to use your imagination through my guided tour here. :) The turquoise cube was from Kirkland's, and the chairs are from TJ Maxx. 

The chevron and quatrefoil frames, as well as the chevron magnet board, are from Hobby Lobby. And the mirror? You guessed it - Hobby Lobby too. 

 I added a few family pictures, and some free printables I found via Pinterest. You can find the "This is the day the Lord has made" one here and the Faith one here.

On the opposite wall we hung all of Patrick's "DAD" pictures from the last few years. We put this canvas on the wall where you walk in, and another chair is sitting underneath it.

The next room is a kids type theme. After we moved, I never hung up the alphabet cards that were in Manny's nursery, so I thought this would be the perfect spot for them. (info on where I bought the cards is in his nursery post I linked to.) We also hung a canvas of Maeva in a doctor's bag from her newborn session, and have one of Manny on the way from his newborn session where he's wearing scrubs. It will replace the one of just Maeva on the right. I wish I would've ordered these bigger, but they'll work.

We also put a long mirror along the side of the exam table so little kiddos could check themselves out. I added a few things from home on top of one of the cabinets, but might switch this out for something else later. 
This is on the wall to the right when you walk in. I have been obsessed with these rain gutter bookshelves ever since I saw them awhile back. You just use a vinyl rain gutter and a few other pieces to make these gallery style bookshelves - SO clever! If I ever get to have a play room, these WILL be the first things that go up! There are tons of tutorials out there, so I just googled and used the first one I came across. You can find it here.
We wanted a quote to go over the books. I wanted to use "I like big books and I cannot lie", but Patrick vetoed it. (lame-o) But I do think this turned out cute! I ordered the vinyl from Expressions Vinyl and cut it with my Cricut using the Sure Cuts a Lot software, that sadly, is no longer available for purchase...but that's a whole other post. Underneath the chair rail we painted chalkboard paint, and added a little bin for chalk and erasers (which we didn't have yet in this picture). We still need to replace the chairs in this room, and will probably add some little plastic kid's chairs and/or table.
 
This is the 3rd room. It was the hardest to photograph and really doesn't depict the color of the faux finish accurately. My mom did an amazing job on it though!

The majority of the decor is from Hobby Lobby. The vase on the right and the filler is from Kirkland's, and the wire basket is from Marshall's. We are still looking for new chairs for this room.
I love the memo board for announcements instead of just hanging them on the cabinet. The picture on the right inspired the decor for the whole room. Everything in these pictures is from Hobby Lobby.

My mom had the idea to add hooks for people to hang their clothes on if they have to undress for exams. I think it's a really nice touch! Everything in this picture is from Hobby Lobby except the vases on the right, and they are from Kirkland's.

Well that about wraps it up! I tried to cover any questions you might have, but please let me know if I missed anything. I'm so glad we finally took the time to do this. And mom, you are THE BEST! As always, couldn't have done it without you. Love you!! :)

Project 366: Week 34

Meet the Teacher & The First Day

It's back-to-school time, which means a change in teachers for Manny at Mother's Day Out. Last Wednesday night was "Meet the Teacher", so we went to his class to check things out. His new teacher has a British accent and he is pretty intrigued by that. I think he gets that from me, as I've always been intrigued by British accents too, and may or may not secretly wish I had that accent. But he really seems to like her as well as the room, so that is great!

Tuesday was his first day, and here we are before leaving the house. I think he looks SO old in this picture!!

I don't know if he understood things were changing or not, but he was so excited to go to school. He and Little Red were galloping and galloping and galloping around the kitchen.

When we got there, I asked him if I could take his picture before we went in. This is the reaction I got. It's like he was thinking about it, then got excited. Ha!

I think he looks SO grown up and precious! My friend Hillary made his outfit and I just love it. He had a great first day! His teacher seems to have really good procedures in place and high expectations of the kids, which I think is great...especially for a little firecracker like Manny. :)

Project 366: Week 33

Tidbits

--We finally spent some time setting up Maeva's nursery this weekend. We didn't get as much done as I'd hoped, but it is a start! I need to get a bookshelf or something along those lines for the room, as well as a few other odds & ends to finish it out. I bought this cute Scentsy warmer from Megan. I have a warmer in Manny's room too. It really helps so much with that funky smell nurseries seem to get, no matter how hard you try to keep it smelling clean. I hope to get more accomplished in the nursery this weekend, and will post some pictures once I do. 

 --I couldn'2012/06/one-in-which-i-try-to-be-trendy.html">decide on a pair of glasses from Warby Parker, so never ordered any. Then my best friend told me about a deal on fab.com for glasses from Lookmatic (which is a similar glasses company) for only $48.  Though I couldn't try them on at home, they do have virtual try-on, so I decided to just go for it. For that price, if I didn't like them they'd be fine to just wear around the house. This is the pair I ended up ordering. They look much bigger in person than I thought they would, but I think I'll keep them anyway. Aren't you glad we can check that off our list?

--Here are a few pictures of Manny with Maeva and Little Red. Maeva has a serious look of fear in her eyes in the bottom right picture, but I suppose I would too if Godzilla was always hovering over me. I mentioned that Manny is obsessed with Little Red, and some of you are wanting to know what that is all about. Well Manny loves to watch YouTube videos. He loves the old Donald Duck cartoons, and he also likes to watch songs with animals, counting, etc. He stumbled across this Little Red video one day and it is now his favorite. You can view it here if you're really curious. But don't blame me if you can't get the song out of your head. :)

And here is a video of Manny (and Little Red) loving on Maeva.

--Last year I shared a free printable of a form to give teachers to find out things they like, so that way you can give them gifts that they enjoy. I've gotten some emails lately from people looking to locate that post, so I thought I'2011/08/teacher-favorites-free-printable.html" target="_blank"> here to find the post - the download link for the printable is towards the bottom.

Happy Tuesday! :)

Project 366: Week 32

Beach Trip 2012 {Part 1}

Well we are back from the beach and just trying to get settled back in. Things have been so busy since we've been home that I haven't even had a chance to clean my house blog. I have a ton of pictures to share but haven't loaded all of my pictures from my "big girl camera" on the computer yet due to storage issues (again). So I thought I'd start out by posting my phone pictures, and do a separate post (eventually) with the other pictures. I complicate everything.

My aunt and uncle have a house on the beach in Cape San Blas, Florida, that they rent out the part of the year they don't live in it. Lucky for us, it was available one week so they were kind enough to let us use it. Thanks so much Aunt Nan & Uncle Jack! We absolutely love it there.

As soon as we got there, Manny was ready to hit the beach. I think it was due to the fact that he had been cooped up in the car for so long and just wanted to run free. He was indifferent about the ocean, but it grew on him and he loved splashing in the water.

Manny pretty much walked around like a big shot. He loves being outside so life is always good when he is.

Here is sweet Maeva girl...isn't she a little bathing beauty?! My friend Ashley gave her this suit and with it being size 6 months, I wasn't sure she'd get to wear it this year. Turns out we could barely squeeze her into it. :) Thank you Ashley & Lily for this cute little thing! 

We spent a lot of time just hanging out on the beach and playing in the sand.

My parents and my sister and her family also came. The grandkids all adore my parents, and it was awesome having extra hands to help with all the kiddos. Thanks mom & dad for making this vacation feel like an actual vacation. Not so sure you'd say the same....but we do appreciate all your help! :)

Maeva loved being outside and would sleep forever in her little swing. It was so relaxing with the nice ocean breeze. In the bottom left picture you can *kind of* see a dolphin fin. They always have lots of dolphins swimming in front of their place. So fun to just watch them swim. The top right picture is my mom and the kids at an ice cream shop down the road. They took a walk there to burn some energy, and I would definitely say that goal was accomplished. :)

It actually rained quite a bit when we were there, but most days it cleared up. On Thursday that wasn't the case, so we went and did some shopping and sight-seeing at a cute town nearby.

Of course when we tried to take a family picture, guess who wasn't on board?

But there we go! He redeemed himself. :)

Here we are on our last day at the beach. It was pretty overcast at this point but still nice to just sit out and relax. I managed to read 1.5 books while we were there, so I'll take that as a win!

On Saturday, it was time for the dreaded drive home. Actually both kids did FAR better than I ever could have hoped. SO thankful for that!!

We stopped in Pensacola Beach for lunch. We lived there for a little bit when I was in high school, and that place has awesome memories for us!

We stayed the night in Jackson, Mississippi, and drove the rest of the way home on Sunday. We stopped to eat at Cracker Barrel, and Manny just HAD to have this $10 plastic horse. I was a sucker and let him get it, but I've never seen him happier. He even held on to it the whole time he was coloring. We call him Little Red after a super annoying YouTube video of a horse song that Manny loves to watch over and over and over. And over.

That wraps it up for my phone pictures! I'll post some more pictures from my actual camera eventually.

Happy Wednesday!

Project 366: Week 31

Fun Finds Friday

You guys know I'm all about finding fun new things & products. I try to share them when I can, because that's how I usually learned of them to begin with (from other people telling me about them). Here are a few things I've recently discovered that I love.

--Colored Skinnies from Forever 21: While I haven't worn these yet, you can see I treated myself to a few pairs of these little jewels. Rachel posted about these, and I ordered some online after I wasn't able to find them in my local store. They are only $15.80 each, and are super comfortable (from trying them on anyhow). She said they stretch quite a bit, so you might go down a size or two. Thanks for the tip Rachel! Be sure to check out her new blog for fun fashion tips. You can find the skinnies here.

--{Free Printable} Colorful Address Label Template: My sister pinned these the other day, and I immediately went to check them out. I've been meaning to design some return address labels but just haven't had the chance. But now I don't need to thanks to Daffodil Designs! She is sharing this template for free here.

--Goody QUIK STYLE Paddle Brush: I heard about this brush from Andrea (who is to blame for many of the new products I get. :) Thanks friend!) Their website says it is "designed for detangling and drying wet hair" and "allows for quick removal of excess water and styling with or without a hair dryer." Now, I know it has received mixed reviews. But for me? I really can tell a difference. I have thick, and I mean thick hair. Most people can't tell until they actually run their fingers through it. (And by that, I mean hairdressers. I don't have lots of people running their fingers through my hair.) But for whatever reason, this really does seem to cut down on my drying time. I don't have any official percentages or scientific statistics for you on how much it cuts it by, but guesstimating? 34%. I'll take that any day of the week.

--Cinnamon Toast Crunch Muffin Mix: I saw this in Wal-Mart a few weeks ago and didn't grab it then, but you better believe I have since gone back realizing the error of my ways. Though I haven't made it yet, I can only imagine the goodness that is to come. I mean, muffins + Cinnamon Toast Crunch? It's like the perfect storm.

--And finally, while this isn't a product, it was still a "fun find" for me. I was cleaning out Manny's backpack from MDO the other day when I came across his daily report. He has been so hit & miss about what he'll eat, both at home and at school. I try to switch it up, but the teacher's tell me he's pretty much just interested in what everyone else has to eat. After I saw this note I asked about it, and apparently he was handing the food out to other kids and bossing saying, "Here. Eat it!" This kid just makes me laugh.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! Wish us luck getting to the beach...we'll be driving this time...yikes!! :)

Project 366: Week 30

Weekend Recap

We spent the weekend up at my parent's and had a great time! We headed up on Thursday afternoon, and stopped in Tulsa on our way to meet up with Megan, Lindsey, and Megan (who happened to be in Tulsa too). Sloane and Jack were there too, and they are the cutest little babies! I love how Sloane is touching Maeva's head in this picture...so sweet. It was great to hang out with these girls for a little bit and I'm glad we had the chance to meet up.

It was closing weekend for my parent's amphitheather, so we were glad to get to be there. This year they showed "The Elijah Factor" and it was awesome! I wanted to get a picture with my kids. Guess who wasn't on board with that idea. (broken record)

I had wanted to be in a little bit of the show but it just didn't work out with MB, so Manny went with my sister for the first scene to make a little appearance.

I watched this part from backstage. He did pretty good and just checked everything out. He loves animals, so was all about seeing the camel, horses, and donkey. He did get a little scared when King Ahab came by in his chariot, but Jen kept him under control. Thanks Jen for taking him with you! I'm glad he got to do it, even if just for a little bit.

I also took this picture of my nieces Gabi and Laci dancing in the prelude. This scene is supposed to be like a welcome home celebration for King Ahab and it's one of my favorites. So fun!

On Saturday, Aunt Fe came over to see us. Maeva loved all the attention, and Manny was too busy running around like a hooligan playing to get his picture made.

Saturday night we headed back up to the amphitheater for the final show. The show was awesome...I'm so proud of you mom for another great season!!

Before we headed back on Sunday, we had to get a little lake time in. My dad stayed on the dock with Maeva for a little bit so I could hang out with the girls on the rafts. Thanks dad! :) Manny loved riding around in the canoe with Zack & Hayden, and it was so nice to lay around and chat with the girls. My Aunt Babs was in visiting from Wisconsin and it was so fun to see her. Never a dull moment with Babs & Sophie...love you girls! :)

And that does it for the weekend! Patrick was on call so wasn't able to come, so we were excited to see him when we got home. Now we're getting ready to head to the beach next week! I monogrammed this little coverup for MB last night and I just love it. This is one of the reasons I love having a machine...it's fun to be able to personalize stuff real quick if you want to. And I know some of you have requested a post on my machine, so I will try to write about it soon.

Happy Wednesday friends! :)