Urban Backyard Garden Party

With this beautiful weather I thought I would share with you a recent event request for a garden party to showcase a recently acquired wall mural and updated landscaping in a backyard in Baltimore City.  I immediately had a vision that included strung globe lights, soft music playing in the background, good drinks, and great company.  Below are some images I found that perfectly illustrate that vision.

Image from The Daily Nest

Image from Pinterest

Image from Pinterest

Once I had a chance to discuss the party and space with the client I set to work on a design board and (very) rough sketch of the backyard.

The mural mentioned above has a flamingo theme which I attempted to highlight with accessories.

I will be sure to take before and after pictures of the set up and post them soon!

Oddities

We've discovered lots of little interesting finds while on shopping missions for new items for our house.  Here are a few:

Exceptionally Large Chair



Strange Little Dog with a Suit Holding Umbrellas??

Tyler's Room Update: Potterybarn Kids Snafu

We decided to get to work on Tyler's room makeover this weekend. I wanted to dismantle the convertible crib and attach the back (headboard portion) to the full size bed frame that came with the mattress set.  Thinking this would take about 20 minutes we figured, "no problem" and got to work. 
Wrong!
The standard frame did not match up to the holes in the headboard.  They were off by about 2 inches.  We called and spoke to the store where we purchased the mattress set and frame and worked with them to figure out the issue: Potterybarn headboard.  Apparently this is a very common issue.

Ugh...Potterybarn Kids!

It seems they purposely make their beds a little wider than the standard so that you have to purchase either their frame or a headboard adapter kit. Had I known this would be an issue I would have just purchased the conversion kit when I got the crib. But no, PBK states that it will work "with most standard bed frames".  I am here to tell you it doesn't.

 

 

Here is the adapter kit we purchased:

 

Instead I placed my order Sunday afternoon and am patiently waiting for it to come in.  In the mean time Tyler's room looks like this:

Yeah, kind of a safety hazard for a two year old so in the mean time he is sleeping with us and we all know what that means:

Please, Potterybarn Kids, send that darn conversion kit fast!!

I'm not trying to knock Potterybarn Kids(well maybe a little out of frustration).  I still love their products.  They are great quality and I love their style.  Just make sure you buy the conversion kit when you purchase either a headboard or convertible crib from them and that goes for Potterybarn, too.

Tyler's Room: Big Updates for a Big Boy

I've been wanting to update Tyler's room since May (when he decided he was over the crib and crawling out was so much more fun).  I bought him a full size mattress and box spring to use with his crib (it converts to a full size headboard).  It's been sitting on the floor in case he falls out he wont hurt himself.  Also so he can get back in on his own because this Mama likes her sleep.  A lot.  :-)

Here is an inspiration board I put together of everything I have been considering doing in his room:

Source List:
Curtains, crib, dresser, chair, shark sheets: PotteryBarnKids
Striped duvet: West Elm
Sailboat picture and pillow: Etsy
World map: EBay
Paint: Behr

Here are a few pictures of Tyler's room when we first moved in:

The lovely light:

Here is some of the progress we've made:

We painted the walls,  hung his curtains, and added his furniture.

To see his nursery in the old house click here .

What we've been up to: June Edition

Where is this summer going? It's July already and I am just now posting about June. I've already posted about our vacation to the Outer Banks.  Here is a little more of what we've been up to:

Dining Room Furniture Delivered: 
We finally made a decision on dining room furniture and it was delivered.  Tyler, of course, ran to get his screw driver so he could help the guys set it up.  I wish I had gotten a picture of that.  They were so kind to be patient and let him "help out".

The set we ordered was from Macy's.  I had a specific idea in my mind of what I wanted and it was surprisingly hard to find.  The side chairs are Pottery Barn Napa side chairs.  I just ordered the slip covers for them (I waited for a "free shipping" event).  It saved me almost $30 AND they were on sale $10 off each. Woo-hoo for saving $90!

Here is a better shot of the end chairs:

We still have a ways to go in this room but I want to take my time and find things I love.  Next up is sewing the curtains from the bolt of fabric that is leaning up against the wall in photo #1. 

Tall Ships Picnic:
We had a play date at Thomas Point State Park to watch the tall ships come up the bay for the "Star-Spangled Sailabration".  Tyler had a lot of fun playing with his friends.

Ocean City Vacation with Gramma and Grampa:
We took another beach vacation this time to Ocean City, MD. 

"Cheers!"

watching Elmo

Kitchen Table Delivered:
Our old table was round, with a glass top and 4 chairs that were on wheels.  A little scary with a toddler and their friends running around.  I wanted chairs that did not have cushions so that I could be comfortable entertaining Tyler and all his friends for meals and crafts and not have to worry about spills, whether it's spaghetti or paint. I was surprised at how difficult that was to find.  But low and behold, here she is:

New Cabinet and Tapeña Wine Party

Tapeña asked us to host a tapas and wine tasting party using their 4 wines and we graciously accepted.  The party is this weekend and I'm looking forward to good wine (of course we had to taste it first!), friends, and yummy food. 
When Casa Pena first found out we were going to be hosting, about a month ago, I decided we needed a new cabinet for our dining room.  Tyler could stand up and grab liquor on the old one and since it was basically just glass shelves, it was entirely too unsafe for my liking.  Here is a picture of him doing just that in case you need a visual:

It seems he prefers Captain Morgan to wine at this point.  Or maybe it's just that the bottle was smaller? Either way I set out looking for an inexpensive, dark wood, durable enough to hold bottles of liquor cabinet.  After lots of searching online (even on craigslist) I finally decided to just go with Canopy Living's console table.  We already have one in our master bedroom so I knew the quality was decent (it weighs 150 lbs!) and I liked the color of the wood. 

Here it is in our bedroom as a TV console.  We wanted something tall enough that we could see the TV over the bed.  This was perfect for the space and the size of the TV(hubby talked me into a whopping 42" TV).

I bought new knobs from Cool Knobs & Pulls online to dress it up a bit.  I might do the same with the cabinet in the dining room but for now the knobs it came with work just fine.  It actually comes with 2 different sets of knobs - wood that matches the cabinet and brushed nickel.

At the price of $250 I was happy with my purchase.  It arrived via site-to-store at our local Wal-Mart and we picked it up and assembled it ourselves. Here it is piled high with party decorations and supplies:

Easter Dinner

We are hosting Easter Dinner here at Casa Pena. It's just a small gathering this year (only 5 of us) but I hope to turn it into an annual event going forward (any excuse to get a new dining room table that will seat more people).  Here is what I am planning:

Decor

Center Pieces: I am going to attempt this little Easter Grass project as the centerpeice/place card holders.

Egg Chandelier:

Here's my little helper.  I was trying to make an egg garland but once Tyler got involved it was a tangled mess.  Oh well, it was fun "working together" on this little project.  Looks like he's saying, "Who, me?" LOL!

Menu
Rotisserie Chicken with Herbs
Arugula Salad
Pineapple Bake
Asparagus
Homemade Yeast Rolls

Easter Basket for Tyler
I bought this basket from Target for $12 and had his name monogrammed on the front of the liner for $10 at the mall.  I love the way it turned out so much I went back to Target and bought another basket in cordinating colors for the next little one we will have (in the distant future).  This year it will serve as Jeff's basket full of Cadbury eggs and peeps.