Today is not Friday

David Easton via The Foo Dog

I'm so sorry to have to break that news to you.  I've been operating under the assumption that it is Friday since about 6 am this morning (thank you Edward).  I literally have half of my weekend links post finished (it's so good, too).  Now that reality has set in, I would like to crawl back in bed - that bed above to be precise.  It's like a cloud.  It reminds a lot me of The Suze's bed, which is so comfy it's nearly impossible to climb out from under the covers.  It's like a white fluffy marshmallow cloud of whipped cream. 

In other random prettiness, how lovely is this little girl's room from At Home Arkansas?

Pink and Green Happiness. 

Moodboard Monday: Edward's Big Boy Room

Morning y'all!  Edward has been taking quite an interest in his future big boy room lately.  I think it's because all of his books are in there, but he spends a lot of time in it even though there are no toys.  So Kip and I are talking about maybe getting it ready for him to move in after Christmas.  There's no hurry, but maybe if it's his idea the transition will be smoother (clearly the tactic of making men think it's their idea starts very early on).  I loved the big boy/playroom I did for him in the old house (above).  I'd like to do something similar minus the toys. 

Here is some of my inspiration:

 

I've loved this layered dorm room since it first debuted in NY Magazine in 2009.  I love the layers, the unabashed prep, and the amazing use of small space.  I'm sort of going for a preppy dorm room vibe for Edward. 

via Cote de Texas

Antelope carpet.  I'm campaigning for it big time.  Kip thinks it's ugly.  I have no idea why.  I think he is just leery of animal print in general, but I love how it makes this room. 

Love the clean crisp feeling of this room from one of my favorite houses by Cathy Kincaid. (see the entire house here).  The goal for Edward's room is to eventually have twin beds although we just have one for right now.  I love the leather chair and the white walls. 

Other elements Kip and I want for Edward's room: Robertson tartan (to remind him of his roots, plus it's awesome), a desk for all of his scholarly endeavors, and I'd like to switch out the canned light in the middle of the room for a flush mount light (no chandeliers for this little monkey, way too tempting for him).

So here's sort of a quick roundup of ideas. 

My in-laws have the Professor's Leather Chair from Restoration Hardware that you see above.   It is really tiny and perfect for a small space, but then you sit in it and it is soo comfortable.  It's the kind of chair he could have forever so I'll probably be campaigning for that as well. 

We probably won't start on that until after Christmas.  Until then I'll be gathering more inspiration on Pinterest and in Ralph Lauren ads.  Have a lovely day!

Suzeday Tuesday: Children's Rooms and Bunk Rooms

The Suze is pregnant.  Just kidding.  I would freak out if that were true.  Much like I did when I was 13 and she told me she was prego.  I was all, "UGH, Guh-ross Mom!" But then I was happy because we got my baby sister Lulu, and she's turned out to be a pretty nice addition to our family. (Btdubs, awesome Lulu's listing tomorrow) Anyway, the fact that The Suze is finally finished having babies does not stop her from gathering inspiration for rooms for the wee ones and grandbabies.

That would have been my dream bedroom as a child.  I blurred the line between my imaginary royal status and reality.  

Love that playroom.  Especially how the children are dressed to match the room.  

Reading nooks should be a part of every house.  Even if it's just a corner or a closet.  

This last one isn't a child's room although it has a cute child in the picture.  However, The Suze though that the walls would be good inspiration for a nursery.

The End. 

Oh wait wait wait!  I forgot to share with you Edward's Bieber-inspired pic from the pumpkin patch yesterday.  

Mini-Biebs

It was colder than this irresponsible mom realized and so we showed up a tad underdressed for the weather.  Talk about embarrasing! Luckily, one of the nice moms in my group lent me her daughter's purple sweatshirt. It was a perfect way to celebrate this ...

I've listened to it like 12 times already. Yes, the first song on my 2012 Awesome Christmas Playlist, which I will share with you the day after Halloween when it's officially appropriate to listen to Christmas music in public - yes, I'm one of those.

I can't wait!

Bieber hearts everyone!

Country French

Morning y'all! Yesterday, Edward decided it would be okay for me to go to Lowes (then he was all, psyche I don't really want to be here Mom!).  Anyway, I was there to pick up some primer for the armoire and some tools with which to paint it.  I also impulsively grabbed the Fall/Winter 2011 Country French magazine at the checkout, and I'm very happy I did.

Country french is my first love. Taken to it's extreme, it can be a bit much, but I love so many elements of the casual elegant style.

This first kitchen is my dream kitchen designed by Julie Charbonneau. Ahh, I love it.  I wish I could find a better image.  I'm sure a digital image will pop up online, and when it does I'm going to show it to you again.

White. Natural Light. Black Island. Brass Hardware. Copper Pots. It's perfect. 

I still love the classic look of toile, especially when it's repeated all over the room like it is here.

I actually love a simple, sparse bedroom like below.  I'm contemplating removing all of the pillows from my bed and keeping it simple like this one.  I want to maximize the time I get to spend actually sleeping and removing 45 pillows does not help.

It's hard to tell in the picture, but the bedroom below has a gorgeous royal blue velvet bedskirt and pillows.  I love the color combination of blue, gray, black and white here.

To me this kitchen shows a great example of french blue.  People are always trying to define french blue and I think it's more how you use the color and less the actual color.  The blue is so much more delicious in the actual magazine picture, this scan doesn't do it justice.  I also love the leaded glass windows and the ship lanterns over the island.

In a different kitchen, a vintage french wine cage is used to store tableware.  

 This is a little girl's room.  Très sophistiqué.

I love the leaded windows on the armoire in this bathroom. 

An adorable, simple blue and white kid's room.  

There are a lot more pretties in this issue so if you like the country french style as much as I do, this issue is definitely worth picking up.

One last note, next Friday will be my 200th post and I have a very fun giveaway for y'all that I'm super excited about.  Here's a sneak peak ...

Have a lovely weekend y'all!!

Children's Club House

Backen, Gillam & Kroeger Architects 

How fun would this be? Except I would probably steal it from my children.  I always dreamed of having a playhouse to decorate.  Would it be rude of me to build myself a grown-up playhouse? (only people who drink champagne are allowed in)

The same architects also built a pretty awesome chicken coop. 

Backen, Gillam & Kroeger Architects

Yeah, I might steal that from the chickens, too.

That's all I have for today.

Sorry for being lame.  

Loverly Rooms from Leta Austin Foster

Hey y'all! Hope you had a lovely weekend! My littlest sissy Laura (y'all know her as Lulu) came in town to spend some quality time with her nephew.  Edward is a walking machine, which is rather bizarre given his size and the fact that he just turned 10 months. It's just weird to see my little baby walk into the room like a grown-up. As The Suze says, "he's walkin' short."I think back to the early days when I felt like I just held him on the couch all day and I'm really glad I savored those moments and didn't let the guilt that I should be up and doing something get to me too much.  What? Oh, you want a picture? Oh well, okayyyy, if I must...

Gratuitous Edward Picture 

As you can imagine, I spend most of my day chasing him down. He's a very busy little boy.  It's great for my figure, bad for my blog reading and writing.  I'm currently writing this post as he eats his breakfast.  I'm not complaining though.  This is definitely a fun age! 

So enough about me and the munchkin, here's a pretty family room for you to enjoy this Monday morning.  It's from Leta Austin Foster, a designer I just discovered while looking through  Farrow & Ball: The Art of Color.  I really like her work.  

In this room, I really, really love the herringbone brick floors and the window treatment details, and, obvsies, the blue and white color palette.

Here are a few more rooms I liked from her portfolio:

Lovely, right? 

Suzeday Tuesday: Bedrooms

The Suze doesn't have too many master bedrooms in her files.  This is probably because she has the world's most comfortable bed and thus change is not a priority.  I, however, have beds on the brain because, really, all I want to do in life is sleep.  So I pulled the bedroom files I do have and am sharing them with y'all!

First up, this gorgeous blue and white canopy.  I still like the look of a repeating pattern and I'm pretty sure The Suze has this fabric on something, but I can't remember what it is.  My eye is drawn to that beautiful bedskirt.

Next, bunk nooks.  This is undoubtedly her vision for a beach of lake house.  I love bunk nooks.  Notice the curtains, the shelves and the pretty paneling.

Another pretty nook.  I'm not a big yellow person, but I do love yellow and green together like it's done here.  I'm obsessed with hiding in nooks, which is bizarre, I know.  

Gorgeous guest room.  I love the paneled storage and the way the twin beds fit into a cozy alcove.

More blue and white.  That chaise looks cozy.  Once again, I picture myself sleeping.

Finally, a gorgeous check.  I actually saw this image on The Enchanted Home yesterday! The Suze would say, "great minds think alike!"