Ever since I purchased IKEA's Laat table about 2 years ago, I have been wanting to give it a makeover, but was having a hard time deciding on what to do. My kids did their own hack job to it with lots of crayons in the meantime, haha. When I was picking out Walt's crib I fell in love with a Serena & Lily crib that is white with caning detail on the ends, and the other day when I was nursing baby Walker I thought to myself, I should do that to the kids' table! But after thinking more about it - I decided to add contact paper that looked like real cane instead because I thought the boys would have a hard time coloring on the table or would think it was uncomfortable (and it would be hard to clean). 

I ordered this cane contact paper and used these spray paints (white then sealed it with clear).  I did things a little backwards because I wanted to see how the cane contact paper looked with the natural pine finish that the table comes in, but I didn't love it, so then I had to tape everything off and spray it. I'd recommend doing that process in reverse. :) I love the way it turned out and I actually ordered a baby blue umbrella for it so the kids can use it outside, and will share more pictures once I have it all set up. This project was super easy and super affordable! 

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I love every holiday and love to dress the boys up for them, too. I put the boys in their 4th of July outfits for Flag day yesterday. I can't help myself when it comes to dressing the boys in rompers and bubbles. There's nothing cuter in my opinion. :) 

​Those little girl swimsuits are so darling and I also love those navy gingham melamine plates that are perfect for outdoor picnics! You can shop all of these items by clicking on the links below. 

With baby boy #3 soon to arrive, we decided it was time to move Parker into his new "big boy" bedroom. He doesn't love change so I was worried about how the move was going to go.  To get the new room ready, we did a whole DIY project to install panel moulding and brighten it up with white paint. Papa (my stepdad) helped and Parker and Papa have a super special bond, so Parker's been so proud of his new room saying, "Papa worked so hard on it". It's really sweet. The before and after pictures as well as a high level how-to is below.

I also wanted to share the design board I pulled together for his room, as well as some of the inspiration that I used to get here.  I'm pretty obsessed with the CAIT & KIDS line by Caitlin Wilson and wish I could splurge on so many of those items, but I'll just admire them for now. :)  My next project is going to be to re-upholster an old headboard we had in storage with navy blue Belgian linen, and then I want to make a baby blue or chambray sash with his monogram on it that can be removed if we wish.  So funny, I had always wanted to put a FREE sign on that old headboard because it was so ugly, but I'm happy I never did because I'm looking forward to this project! 

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Below are the designs that inspired me - and although the final design isn't going to look a ton like these, they got me inspired and I think they are beautiful and wanted to share! 

Sources
1 Pinterest, 2 Cait & Kids, 3 Cait & Kids, 4 Monika Hibbs via Instagram

Here are some before and afters of the space that we transformed, previously our guest room/Todd's office.  When we originally remodeled our home a few years ago we had each level painted one color and the level that Walt and Parker are on was painted in Benjamin Moore Museum Piece. It's a beautiful color, but I didn't like how dark it was in their rooms. I painted Walt's a very soft blue (BM First Snowfall) and Parker's we did Chantilly Lace.  Lightening up the walls really made the spaces seem much brighter and bigger. There was also an electrical box in Parker's new room that really stood out against the paint color that I wanted to try and hide - and I'm really happy with how much more it blends in now with the white.

​BEFORE
To start, I just put painters tape up and eyeballed approximately where and how I wanted each of the panels. This was great because it allowed me to play with things and change things really easily. 

• Then my stepdad came up and helped me measure everything so it was all perfectly placed and spaced. He handmade each of the frames in his shop. He used a 1 & 3/8" base cap that we ordered from a lumber yard for the frames and I picked out the chair rail from Home Depot.
• Once the frames were made he brought them up & we installed the chair rail first as all of the other measurements anchored off of that.
• I had the room all taped and ready to go for painting, too. 
• Once the frames & chair rail were installed, we had to caulk them all (soo time consuming!) but worth it. :)
• Then, we started to paint with BM's Chantilly Lace. After two coats we discovered we were going to need a third to cover up all of the darkness that still wanted to peek through and I changed the sheen to satin for the third coat and LOVE how the finish looks. So happy I did that. 

AFTER
I still need to take some nice shots of the space, but here are some iPhone pictures from right after we finished! 

Can't wait to see it all come together with the furniture and decor soon!

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The past couple of years I haven't really made a big deal out of the Easter bunny or baskets, because honestly I was conflicted about whether this took away from the true meaning of Easter, the resurrection of Jesus Christ, our savior.  Each Christmas and Easter I struggled with how to juggle the balance, and reached out to a few Christian women that I really look up to to get their advice. One woman actually came and spoke to our small group about this topic and I love the essence of what she said, keep the magic in the holidays for the Children but always point it back to Christ. Essentially, there's room for both, but make sure you keep the focus on what's truly important, Jesus.  This year since we are going to be hunkered down at home with the quarantine, I am hoping to add in the more of the non-religious Easter activities that I grew up with and do a fun Easter egg hunt outside with big bunny footprints and Easter baskets for the boys.  I want to make it fun for the boys while getting to tap into my creative side. 

I've curated a collection of a few of the things that I am eyeing right now for the boys' baskets and wanted to share with my readers. I've tried to be mindful to select things we'll actually use a ton like PJ's, books, toys, instead of cheapo dollar bin things that will likely end up in a drawer somewhere or the trash. Todd thinks I'm nuts for not wanting to fill it all with chocolate, so I told him I'd add some M&Ms and fruit snacks, too, along with some bubbles. :) 

I hope you all have a great Easter this year, even though it will likely look a little bit different since we are all likely going to be at home.  I've been looking up tons of Easter crafts and baked goods on Pinterest and hope to share another post soon with my favorite ideas!

Wishing health + happiness to you all.
​Lindsay

As I was looking back at how I decorated our home last year for Christmas, I realized that I never shared everything here on my blog.  I loved this classic and traditional red and white theme and will probably do a lot of the same decor this year.