My Big Girl's Big Girl Room

I guess my blogging slump is over, for the moment anyway.

I've been under the weather, trying to stay on top of the house, the family, and everything else under the sun.  Not to mention that big project that I so rudely haven't shared about (soon!)...but since I rarely journal anymore, due to the ease of blogging, I thought I'd better get caught up.

Then I remembered that I never posted about Isabelle's transition into her beautiful, albeit tiny, big girl room. 

First came the bed...

Isabelle liked her big girl bed right away!

But I wasn't thrilled with the bedding I'd found

I was in love with some Pottery Barn things

Not so in love with the price tags

 

And then I got discouraged because I couldn't find what I liked, and what I was willing to put down cash for.  Having wasted money, time and energy in the past settling with things I don't really love (and never grow to love, either!), I took my sweet ole time.

I returned the heart quilt, used old blankets for a while, and then found this adorable bed-in-a-bag on sale.  It was very similar to the one I coveted from Pottery Barn.

I know, thou shall not covet.

Anyhoo.

Then I discovered some adorable butterflies online, and lo and behold, found them at great prices on ebay.  They're from Bugs'N'Blooms, and they're really fun!  Not so much fun when they're sitting in a box on the floor of your closet for over 2 months.

Well, yesterday was the day!  I had a hard time figuring out to hang them at first, but wound up playing around with the strings and knotting this, pulling up that, and voila!  Now there are "posas" in Isabelle's beautiful little bedroom.  Posas is her special word for mariposas, which means butterflies.  

I love this room!  I love spending time in this room!  And I LOVE the precious little girl who lives in here!

How funny- of course since I'm trying to get good pictures, it's an overcast, dreary (and very cold and windy) day.  This past summer, every time I participated in Kelly's Show Us Your Life, I had the same conditions with which to contend!  But that doesn't stop me...

May I present....Isabelle Kate's Big Girl Bedroom

I wrote about Isabelle's nursery (when it was intact) here
We transitioned to her big girl bed in October, after getting some new carpet down
We figured since the crib was already disassembled for the installation, we may as well keep it...disassembled.

Yes, that was a sad day.
It took me two, maybe three, weeks to accept the change
And almost a month to really be content with it

***I just realized this is a bit out of sequence...sick brain I suppose***

This is the happy face that (usually) greets me each morning from her big girl bed

Some of our cute accessories

(All these pics are from my very first trip to Guatemala in 2007 to meet our Isabelle!)

The window (on an inside wall) you see below is actually an old storm door panel my Dad found in some antique shop in MA several years ago ~ that wall used to be a railing, it made an L-shape, and was going to be the kids' reading nook before surprise Baby Caleb joined our crew

When we closed it in I was worried about the loss of natural light, though of course it was supposed to be vertical, and on the other skinny, right above the stairs, but that's when we had to move the closet because of that pesky load bearing wall fiasco...I've grown to love it!

I generally dislike themed rooms, because then you're stuck

However, when I spied these princess wallies at Target before Christmas, I was quite smitten!

I think they add just the right touch without overwhelming the space

Hmm, this is definitely in need of some attention...
I keep her dance shoes and leotards, shoes, crenolines and slips, small costumes, and other odd and ends in these pockets- I love them!
I think it may be time for a shelf, however...

There was another time early last summer when I was feeling particularly saddened over missing out on Isabelle's first year, so I made this special baby collage of my favorite pictures that the agency and her foster family had emailed us- I'm so thankful for technology!  This would not have been possible several years ago!

My heart smiles when I look at those photos

Bill put in the shelves below...that mini-wall was never supposed to be there, but when we were remodeling the foyer into the nursery for Caleb, we found out the hard way that it was a major weight-bearing wall and couldn't be replaced.  (It wasn't supposed to, according to the specs the builders gave us)

I had to go back to the drawing board for that one, but the vertical shelving works great in such a teeny tiny space

One extra valance = instant secret hideaway

And someone loves to hide in there!

Isabelle loves to play Mommy in her big girl room

Another angle ~ from the hallway

You can see the railing that used to extend the full legth

It gives us lots of extra room in the hall, which I like

The dresser matched the cribs we had, but I'd always dreamed of a white bed for my little girl...

It didn't end up mattering because the dresser doesn't fit with the twin bed in there, hah!

Good thing I've got those shelves!

I really like the soft, calming colors up here

You know, so my life with 4 loud little humans seems a bit...calmer   :)

Hope you enjoyed the peek inside!