Mom Cave latest

latest photos in the Mom Cave project. I'm still not finished and hope to put a bed in there. But these sides of the room are pretty much done!

A Secret Garden Party

A few months ago, Waltzing Matilda had a post about her daughter's Secret Garden Birthday. Mary Clare was looking over my shoulder when I was reading it and took to the idea immediately and never went back!

We are still adjusting our birthday party plans for the kids. We have 2 birthdays very close to Christmas, a host of homeschooling friends (where 1 or 2 families could be a party in and of themselves), and a bunch of relatives and cousins on the other side of town who usually aren't able to make the drive up north for the parties.

So, my initial idea was to have a larger friend-party every other year and a family outing/party on the off years. Well, now that they are getting older and have many ideas themselves, this isn't working out quite like I'd hoped! After a huge party last year, I told Mary Clare that this would have to be a very small party with only a few friends. She had already had a lunch and Claire's Boutique outing with the family, along with an ear piercing afternoon with friends. She got a whole week of celebrating this time!

She reluctantly agreed to the toned-down party and just had her cousin and 2 friends attend (plus a few siblings). I had lofty ideas and had even found a book at the library that had been recommended called "Inside the Secret Garden," which we somehow managed to lose until the party was over! Oh well, it turned out nicely and was a great motivation for me to (almost) finish up my mom cave, ie "the Garden of Eden!"

The "garden" door was "locked" closed with some flowery ivy and a lock (made of cardboard painted gold) tied to the doorknob.


I created a scavenger hunt to find the key (also gold-painted cardboard with pretty ribbons tied to it) about half an hour into the party, nothing like last minute creativity! Mary Clare said it was her favorite part of the party, and she enjoyed videotaping it!


I made rhyming clues that sent them all over the house.


To ultimately find the "key" in the piano bench!


"Unlocking" the garden!


To find a garden-y table set for the girls in the mom cave!


Eating lunch


It turned out to be a gorgeous day for playing outdoors.


She wanted a cheesecake for her cake, and I also make a silly Oreo castle for those who didn't care for cheesecake. It was gone in a matter of minutes!


She waved out her "8" candle with a plate! One unique girl!


Some favorite gifts were a stepping stone to make,


a table and chairs set for her dolls (which was put together immediately to use with a tea set she received),


and some charms to go on her little charm bracelet that she got at Gap Kids last weekend.


I didn't get photos of our craft. We made flower pins and barrettes in the garden room.

Our last activity was a little drawing my mom did with the kids. They chose a type of flower on a slip of paper and when the matching one was drawn, they got to choose a prize bag.


Aunt Kathy did the drawing! Such fun!


As a special treat, her cousin got to stay with us all weekend, which made for a lot of fun and a lot of tired children today! We had a fun day celebrating our big 8 year-old and can't wait to see what God has in store for Mary Clare this new year! Happy Birthday!

Mom Cave in Progress

getting closer! bopbop was a huge help in getting all the walls and furniture painted, including our kitchen chairs and the girls' beds, plus grouting the bathroom. THANK YOU!!!

the walls actually look more blue in person, i was going for the turquoise and it's a bit more muted than that. but i think it will work well with all the bright and colorful accents. chairs belonged to my grandparents, fabric on chair will be the seat cushion (thanks, grampatti!), red sheet on the window will be curtains, big framed print is garden of eden we bought in rome...and i think that's what i'll call my room, my little garden of eden :)



tomorrow the big tom heads back home and Daddy is just working a half-day so we can go to the zoo! hope it's a beautiful day! more photos to come!

Room painted!

Sneak Peek

I've been doing some shopping, getting ready to put together my MOM CAVE! Looks like my father-in-law is going to come to help the week of the 12th. Can't wait! I'm still trying to pick a color for the walls...maybe Whythe Blue or one of these? Send your votes in!


Looks like quite a mess of colors and random accessories right now. Some of the stuff (pillows) I'm going to have to recover, and I'm also going to have to make curtains from sheets since there were probably less than 5 random curtain panels at HomeGoods. But I kind of have a vision in my head on how it's going to come together. Should be fun!

Mom Cave Inspiration!

My mind has been going a mile a minute, both in thinking about my "mom cave" project and also with Christmas ideas! I was thrilled when my father-in-law called yesterday and offered several days of help to put my room together in December! So that gives me a few weeks to figure things out and do some HomeGoods pricing. My mom, the artist, is also going to help to my shopping and planning!

I've been thinking about what colors and room decorations inspire me and make me smile. I think I've decided on turquoise for the walls, with lime and red accents. Here are some different images I've found on the internet to use as inspiration. Many were found through the House of Turquoise blog.

I like the little lime drawers and the colorful yarn!

Amber's craft room via Apartment Therapy

This room is just so sweet!

Alicia Paulson's Studio

Love the red curtain and rainbow ribbons

turquoise craft room on craftser

I like how the green and turquoise go together well here.

Holly Dyment Design

This room made me consider painting green walls, but I think I'll just use the lime as an accent color.

scrapbook room from HGTV

I love the accent colors used and palette shown below this image, although I'm not sure I'd want my walls plain white.

Design*Sponge simply color

and I'm going to have to incorporate some rainbow artwork somewhere in the room. It just makes me smile!

I love this flower gradation!

flower gradation from Design*Sponge

Okay, back to real life. Time for ballet class!
Oh, and if you could spare some prayers...One, for little Thomas who has been congested with a stuffy nose for about 5 days now. And also for my aunt and cousin who could use some prayer this week.
Thank you!

I WON!

Click here to see the announcement. I won the grand prize, $250 at HomeGoods to decorate my "Mom Cave!" SO EXCITED!

Mom Cave

Come and listen to a story 'bout a mom named Blair,

Raising four kids, so time for herself was rare,

But then one day while folding laundry,

She had an idea that would set her mind free.

A "mom cave," that is. No more junk room, but something pretty.

With curtains, pictures, lamps, and some nice décor,

She could turn this room into something much more,

So that on those days when she really needs a break,

She can go into her "cave" and some projects she can make!

To sew and craft, that is. Read or pray. Enjoy her mom cave every day.

After a long day of homeschool, she could jump into the car,

Down the street to HomeGoods, it’s hardly very far,

Instead of garage sales and thrift stores, she could buy new stuff and rave,

That with her new gift card she could make a mom cave!

Thanks, y'all. Here's the Mom Cave link party!