The Schmitt House

Throw Me Something, Mister!

Cara S. — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 19:57:42 +0000

This post is munchkin heavy- for all the Kennedy fans out there (hi, Dad!) It was Kennedy’s first Mardi Gras (at least the first in which she participated) and here it is, in pictures.

This Mardi Gras season was filled with rain. By the time the third parade we planned to go to got cancelled, I feared we wouldn’t make it to a single parade this year.

That day, we got King Cake instead.

Kennedy thoroughly enjoyed her firs King Cake experience. And BTW- Daddy got the baby.

We finally made it to a parade in Lafayette the day before Mardi Gras. The parades in this particular city end at a fair. We went to the fair first.

I don’t think Kennedy’s ever been to a fair at night before. The lights and the sounds were a little unnerving for her. But like a trooper, she braved the crowds via Radio Flyer Wagon and made it to the merry-go-round.

And here’s a big first(, probably more for me than her), she, along with her BFF,Chloe, went on a ride without Mommy and Daddy. Apparently it was no big deal to them- they liked it so much they asked to go on again.

Kennedy (accompanied by me) also ventured down that monstrosity. The kid has no fear!

We were having so much fun on the rides that we actually missed the first parade. We settled for the second parade. I wish I had a series of well formatted artsy photo’s that perfectly captured the spirit of Mardi Gras, but sorry, not this year. Parades are accompanied by crowds, flying objects and drunk people. I was not about to take my eyes off my child for a second. Instead I have a few photos of a happy but exhausted toddler.

Lights and beads are right up her alley, but the parade started around 8. She usually goes to bed at 7:30. Plus she’d spent most of the day on a playdate. By the end of the night, the poor baby looked like this looked like this:

It was some weird state of euphoria and exhaustion. Thankfully, there were no tears, but once we got in the car she was asleep before we got out of the parking lot.

Mardi Gras day was beautiful too, so we headed out to a second parade. This time, Daddy joined us.

This parade was in New Roads, about an hour outside of Baton Rouge.

I like the parade goers as much as the floats. They can be just as amusing.

Between the two parades. Kennedy racked up on beads and toys.That’s the best part. She loves the beads. At home she puts on dozens at a time and proudly struts around the house.

Or sometimes just one.

Or two.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Cara S. — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 18:49:33 +0000

The title pretty much sums it up, but I just wanted to say Happy Valentine’s Day!

And so does Kennedy! (She got a little carried away with the hearts, sorry!)

Toy Storage: Check that off the list

Cara S. — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 18:35:30 +0000

So last week I shared our nursery. What I didn’t show you? Our nursery’s closet. It’s bad.

And that’s on a good day. In addition to her pretty little dresses, the closet was home to (a very small portion of) her toy collection. When she was four months old, a the little box in the corner held all her rattles and teethers with room to spare. That’s not the case anymore.

It was clear that Kennedy’s room needed dedicated toy storage. So a few months ago, Devin and I decided to put our aside our nightly tv watching to build her some custom toy shelves.

It started out like this:

And then, eventually, this:

Then we built shelves over it:

We worked on it on and off again over the last few months. But finally, this weekend, after a few coats of paint, we moved it into her room and filled it with toys.

Problem solved!

We chose the trough style of toy box so I wouldn’t have to worry about any little fingers getting crushed. To be honest, I don’t love that all her toys are in plain view, so we may add a lid when she gets a little older. I may add a couple of pretty storage boxes.

Still, make no mistake, it’s so much better. We’ve been spending a lot more time playing in her room, rediscovering some of the toys that had long been buried in the closet.

And Kennedy, she loves having easy access to all her toys.

Our Nursery

Cara S. — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:01:46 +0000

Even 18 months in, there are a few things I’d like to do before I consider it complete, Little things, like the curtains that resemble high waters, and the naked wall to the left when you walk in. Still, the nursery is my favorite room in the house. It’s so peaceful in there, I swear it even smells better than the rest of the house. I thought I’d share it with you.

If I had to describe the “theme,” it would be color palette, which was taken from the crib bedding, this pattern:

Over time, stuffed animals were added into the mix, like in every nook and cranny of the room.

We got the dresser from Goodwill for 20 dollars. We painted it and bought new hardware and now it’s the perfect pop of color, aka dresser, aka changing table. The shelves hold an assortment of her, (well, truthfully, my) favorite toys, knick knacks, and a few photos.

Gotta love Mr. Potato Head.

Over her crib, her name is proudly displayed in flowery letters.

I got the letters and the backings from Micheal’s and painted them with acrylic paint.

The French Doors let a lot of light into the room. First thing in the morning, when the curtains are still pulled shut, the whole room glows in pink light. It’s amazing. You feel like your inside a girly sunset.

The rocking chair is really comfortable. I’ve logged a lot of hours on that thing. (Yes, that is Kennedy playing with the diaper pail, it’s now the toy pail.)

This corner of the room needs help.

Yep, that’s a bed, a full size one. Until recently, Kennedy’s room has had to double as a guest room on the rare occasion that we have had overnighters.

On the upside, a giant cuddly puppy lives on the bed.

But now that we have a playroom that can serve as guest bedroom, so that mattress is on it’s way out. We’ll be replacing it with some much needed custom store toy storage.No promises, but I’m hoping to share on Monday!

Holy Paintbrush! I Painted the Dining Room Too!

Cara S. — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 15:48:48 +0000

I was planning on doing it, just not right now. I was planning on concentrating on the living room, making that room thoroughly fabulous before moving on the another room in the house. But after living with the fresh new paint in the living room for a few weeks, the rest of the downstairs started to feel a bit jarring and cave-like. The rooms totally disconnected from one another. I already had all the tools, so I thought why not!

Here’s the before and after:

When you walk through the front door you essentially see a long hall. Too the right is the living room, then a half bath, then then the dining room. The kitchen is to the left, across from the dining room. All the way to the back is the master suite, aka our new playroom.

Now you see:

Minus the kitchen (which I have BIG plans for!), It looks like the rooms belong together again. Once again, they flow, and it’s a lovely feeling.

Before the red made an awesome statement (my husband would disagree), but the room was just to dark and felt a cramped.I could have added lighting and bought new furniture, but that just isn’t in my budget right now. The color I used is Sherwin Williams 7534 Outerbanks, same as in my living room.

I’ll be the first to admit, the afters are significantly less exciting, but use your imagination to slap some art on the walls and add a couple colorful accessories, and it’s going to look good.

The dining room is also home to our 90 gallon salt water fish tank. Say hello to the fishies.

Side note: This is my favorite fish, he’s a Mandarin Goby. Psychedelic and frog-like, isn’t he?

The tank is pretty awesome… most of the time… when your trying to paint the dining room is one of those exceptions. Then it’s not so awesome. So, a single red wall lives on in our house (secretly, I rejoice in it’s presence!)

You probably noticed that I rearranged the furniture too.

I moved the table off to the side to get it out of the way, and turns out I like it there. The placing is odd, but the room finally feels open. It’s the first time it’s ever been easy to get to the patio door. I can even contemplate fun things, like curtains!

Of course, ideally, the table and chairs should go where the fish tank is and the tank should be moved to the the other side. Just one monkey wrench it that plan, according to Devin (it’s his tank,) moving the across the room would take a day or the and that is an effort he’s ~~just not willing~~ hasn’t been convinced to make in the name of good space planning. So for now the table stays here. (Feel free to tell him I’m right in the comments, I’m be sure to relay the message!)

What do you think? Any painting going on at your house? Any serendipity happenings in your furniture arrangement lately?

The Mini Table for the Mini Me

Cara S. — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 21:12:36 +0000

Remember my post a couple months ago, Her New Chairs? This is a follow-up to that post.

Let me give you a little background. We got those chairs in anticipation of the fact that are roommate of over 5 years was about to move out. And now that that has happened, it’s like there is a new room in the house. Kind of amazing in that sense. All the stuff that never quite had a place seems to be migrating in there. We’ve decided it’s official purpose will be a playroom/ guest room. We’ve had the playroom for about a week (haven’t gotten to the guest room function yet) and it’s been amazing. Devin and I like to joke that we can’t believe such a little person can have two dedicated rooms, while we, her full grown parents, are stuck sharing a room. But it’s like the rest of the house is ours again. Our living room is no longer a precarious path winding around piles of toys, and I haven’t found a plastic figurine in the fridge in at least three days. Love it.

When my roommate left, he left behind his desk, which is actually my old dining table (the first piece of furniture ever bought for my first apartment! Oh, the memories!)

It’s not the sexiest thing in the world. But it’s nice enough. Solid wood. Definitely exceeds all the necessary criteria of being a table.

And Kennedy needed a play table. All arts and crafts were being done on her belly on the floor and that just wasn’t working out. It was kind of like fate. This table was meant to live another life. A life as Kennedy’s play table. I did a little Google research. The recommended height for a table with 12″ high chairs is 20″. (Our chairs are 11″ high.) I initially marked out 19″ on the chair leg. As always, I had a cute little helper.

But, by the time Devin got home, I was doubting my measurement. The table has an unusually wide apron, and I was afraid her legs wouldn’t have enough clearance. So Devin held Kennedy, sitting in her chair up to the appropriate height, and I marked (on one of the table legs) where the legs on the chair ended. Then Devin unscrewed the legs and worked his power tool magic (i.e. he cut the legs down.) Then he reassembled the legs. Kennedy, as always, helped.

Look at her wield that screwdriver(, I know it’s dangerous, she didn’t hold it for long) She’s going to be a great little DIYer, no?

Batta Bang, Batta Boom. Just like that, she got her own her-size table.

Granted, the table is a bit on the large side. And it needs a facelift. I’m thinking chalkboard paint on the top, with a bright purple or maybe orange on the apron and legs. Maybe I’ll get more adventurous though, try a pattern. Think the table could pull off some checks? I’m not sure yet, but I’ll keep you updated! (Any ideas? Please, shout ‘em out!)

Kennedy, however, doesn’t care about the scale or the finish. She loves it.

She colors on it.

And reads on it.

And plays with stickers on it.

She plays with Playdough and drinks milk on it.

And, unfortunately, she occasionally climbs on it,

and dances on it.

She’s even learning how to take pictures on it (Excuse the lack of togetherness- it was first thing on a Sunday morning. I’m showing the photo any way, because my 18 month old took it and I hope that means she’s following my love of photography. And FYI- the camera survived, undamaged!)

What about you? Given any furniture new life lately? Has it been danced on? I kind of think that should be the measure of a furniture’s worth, how often it’s danced on, or at the very least how often dancing occurs around it.

Embracing the Rainbow: DIY Painted Candlestick Holders and Lessons Learned in Accessorizing your Fireplace.

Cara S. — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 21:12:10 +0000

Mantle decorated… go ahead and check that off the list!

This living room is starting to look like the people that live here have got it together! (Don’t let it fool you, we definitely don’t)

Three sentances in, and already on a tangent. Any hoo… Look! Look!

Ok. So, I know mantles are not the most exciting topic in the world, And, as far as mantles go, it’s probably not the most amazing mantle in the world. But, still, I am pretty proud of it!

I have a confession to make, Decor accessories freak me out. Ceramic knickknacks, while I often admire them on the racks at TJ Maxx, we don’t own a single one. (I really love those glass sand timer things… but I have no idea where it is appropriate to display one) I always look on in envy at the little vignettes, created of frames and candles and odds and ends, that other people are able to arrange so easily. I’ve just never been able to do it. Until now.

What really makes the mantle, is those rainbow candle holders. My latest little DIY project. (When I dreamed this up- I thought I was a genious! That this was a completely original idea. Then I started seeing painted candlestick holders all over Pinterest. Martha Stewart even has a tutorial… Damn you Martha!)

Here’s how I did it:

I bought several brass candlestick holders from the local thrift store. All of them were under $1 (What a deal!) (Kennedy liked them too. She wanted me to tell you they make a lot of awesome noises when you beat them against the floor.)

Next, we washed them. (Or rather, I tried to keep the water in the bucket while Kennedy helped.)

There was still a little wax residue in the hard to reach spots. So we boiled it.That did the trick.

I gave the candle holders time to dry completely.

Time to prime. I used a primer made by Valspar (from Lowes) that was designed especially for metal. I sprayed a coat of primer over each candle holder. The candle holders had a lot of nooks and crannies, and I wanted to be thorough, so, after a couple hours, I turned them upside-down and sprayed another coat.

Then I went wild on the spray paint aisle. I looked at dozens of colors before settling on these (later, I switched out that farmhouse blue (upper middle) for a brilliant orange):

And sprayed away. This took several coats. Some more than others. I used a variety of spray paint brands. The most difficult thing was getting the color even on such uneven surfaces. A more experienced spray painter may be able to do it in a coat or two.

(As you can see, at this point I had developed a vision for the mantle and added a couple frames.)

And look at those beauties! Don’t they make you smile!

Here’s a close up of the other side, just in case you’re wondering about my the rainbow frames.

Turns out I didn’t use all the pieces I spray painted on the mantle. It looked way too chaotic with the whole mantle filled up. It took me countless rearrangements and hours of staring to figure out that the ‘less is more’ mantra is really the way to go when it comes to mantle accessorizing.

I may used the extra candlesticks somewhere else. Maybe on our bar. Or maybe one day I’ll get the courage to attempt a centerpiece arrangement on the dinner table and they’ll be a part of that. Who knows? Another post for another time.

For now, lets just admire my beautiful mantle one last time. It’s everything I could hope for in a mantle… playfully sophisticated… subtly colorful … eclectically traditional.

Do you love it?

What about you? Have you been playing with spraying paint lately? I now have a collection of spray paints in the garage and I am on the prowl. Give me some ideas!

One of Those Everyday Moments

Cara S. — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 20:48:00 +0000

This morning was a rough one. Breakfast featured a bowl of cheerios, tossed on the floor. She’s also developed an aversion to clothes, so getting dressed was a twenty minute tug of war session. A trip to the grocery store ended abruptly with the onset of a temper tantrum.

We pulled in the driveway of the house. I unbuckle her and set her free.

A moment later, I see this.

It was either get upset or just go with it. There was no way to win this one. Her shoes were already soaked. We had nothing better to do. I sighed, grabbed the camera and started snapping.

She splished.

She splashed.

She explored.

She found treasures.

And splashed some more.

She searched for other puddles.

The mud got on her face.

And in her hair.

It was just a wonderful everyday moment that almost didn’t happen. Sometimes I get so caught up with what our plans are and what we should be doing.

Sometimes I forget that she’s a little person who just wants to express herself. So I write this post as a reminder to myself; To let always let her play in the mud; to not fuss over spilled Cheerios; to let her run around naked, occasionally. To let her be her amazing 18- month- old self.

Mirror, Mirror

Cara S. — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 21:01:19 +0000

Another living room project to check off the list! I’m on fire this week!

I bought this mirror a couple years ago from Pier 1.

I have always liked it… but not really that much. It just never really jibbed with what I was trying to accomplish in the living room. When I decided give the living room a serious makeover (read more about that here), that mirror was one of the first things that I knew needed to change. I didn’t want to trash it- there’s nothing wrong with it, and I paid a pretty penny for it (well, a pretty penny in my world, a world where large accessories are not normally purchased, but made.) So I decided to paint it.

I’ve been working on it for months, just a half hour here and there, whenever a surge of focus and energy coincided with a sleeping toddler.

And drum roll please!

I am really pleased with it. It may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I felt that before it just took itself to seriously and now it has that playful to match the rest of the room.

You can see I wasn’t real precise about staying in the “lines”. Believe or not that was intentional. The imperfections adds the whimsical quality. I think my favorite part is the yellow- it really pops! Although the blue holds it’s own too!

I opted not to paint the red on the bottom. I may one day, but for now it works, keeps the frame grounded. I already had the black and grey, but I picked up the blue and yellow up at Hobby Lobby. They were on sale for 2 dollars each. That’s right, this makeover cost my 4 dollars plus tax…. that’s right in my budget!

Doesn’t it look good with my freshly painted walls? Oh, I love easy improvements!

Before & Progress: The Living Room

Cara S. — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 20:35:49 +0000

It’s been quiet round here, atleast at the Schmitt House Blog. At the actual Schmitt house- it’s been anything but. Perhaps you remember my longwinded, gripe-filled post about my living room a few weeks back? Well, no more griping, it is official- I have completed the first few steps towards making my living room fabulous!

I am so excited about how it is coming together already! And this is just the beginning!

Before I reveal all, let’s back track… Here’s a few before photos:

Kind of makes you want to pull your hair out, right?

And now, the very same room after a couple coats of paint!

Don’t mind the dust on the mantle- I was a bit over eager to document the loveliness that is my living room, I promise it has been since cleaned up. And ignore the toys all over the floor, just keeping it real. If it’s between 8 in the morning and 8 in the evening, there’s no getting away from them. But other than those little details… isn’t it just a marvelous change? Come on say it.. Oh la la! The color we went with is Sherwin Williams 7534 Outerbanks. I love it, It just infuses light and warmth into the room.

Here’s another view:

We also got new curtains. That was a big decision. That bag in the foreground- it’s filled the three sets of curtains that didn’t make the cut. As for the keepers, I have had my eye on similar curtains from World Market for a while, but at 25 dollars a pop, I was waiting on a super good sale. Instead, I scored these sparkly gems at TJ Maxx for $25 for the pair. At the store, I thought they might be too bright, but no, they are just right. It’s not over though, I might add some white sheers… What do you think?

One more angle:

(Please excuse the exposed bulbs on the fan. Another project to put on the list.)The red wall is gone. I kind of thought I would miss it, I fought so hard for it, and defended it for so long, but I have to admit (grudgingly), everyone was right. It was too dark. Although I remain fond of the memory, this is so much better. When you open the door and walk into the house, this new color quietly beckons you in, tells you to take off your shoes and gives you a hug. The blood red wall just kind of said “BAM! I’m here!”

There must be a dozen things I still need to do, the biggest of them being to paint all the trim and moldings, the smallest being to put up art. One wall hasn’t even been painted yet. But It’s an inspiring start. Devin, who could care less about anything decor-related(, unless it relates to where his electronics are stored,) actually told me that “he can see the room’s potential and is excited about it!”

What about you? Anyone painting? Redecorating? Anyone else tripping over Let’s Rock Elmo all day long?