Isn’t this just dreamy? It’s making me consider dark gray walls for her room, instead of light gray… and makes me dream of a wicker headboard, but I do think the bed we have will shine once I know what to paint it! Also, the quilt… Can I do such fine hand quilting? It’s so gorgeous! Credit to Derek Swalwell.

I sure hope I’ll get out of the habit of writing these late night posts after this long weekend!

Today I don’t feel like I got as much done, but that’s probably because a lot of the work I did in/for Laelia’s room required me to either make more of a mess (going through closet, drawers and toys will do that), or required me to sit at the computer searching for the right item, sifting through pinterest, and planning on how I am going forward.I patched her walls, and spray painted the last handle on her kitchen set. I’m moving some curtains from our room to her room, so I moved her tassel garland around, it hasn’t settled on a home yet (see photos). I went through her clothes, and determined what’s going back to people who let me borrow, what’s going to be sold, and the few items I’m saving for sentimental reasons. I also packed up her cloth diapers, diaper bag, moby wrap, ergo, and baby toys. I have got to say, this is a really emotional thing to do. I’m not saying that I was sobbing mess of a mother, but I it was hard not to become sentimental in my mind. I bet a lot of people have babies by the time they need to do this for their older child, and I can’t say if that would be better or worse, but in my experience it’s definitely a little sad. Will I ever use these things again? Tyler did say to Laelia, however “You’re growing! That’s what you’re supposed to do!” and I appreciate that. A little reminder that all is going the way things are supposed to go.

I’m struggling with a few areas in her room. Her closet is overloaded but only one drawer is being used (what can I say, I significantly prefer to see clothes hanging over stuffed in a drawer–I’m way less likely to use an item of clothing if it is stuffed away in a drawer). I don’t think I can set up her easel (which I want to do for a little “art” area) unless I put the EXPEDIT on it’s side and move something else on the old quilt wall. I’ve also decided that I would really love to have a playroom and a garage. I’d put all her toys and activities in a playroom, shove everything that’s if-y or not being used in the garage and it’s a done deal. The idea that John and Sherry from YGL are putting together Clara’s (she’s about a month older than Laelia) big girl room leisurely before she even leaves her nursery is so insanely irksome to me! I mean, of course that’s exactly what I would do if I were them,  because we’re all smart like that. ~.^ And I love them and what they do, and it’s totally my problem, but sometimes when people talk about spare rooms, guest rooms, play rooms, garages AND basements AND attics AND sunrooms, it’s just like, ugh! Meanwhile, as a person lacking all of those things, if we are going through stuff, it has to sit in our living room, kitchen or under our desk until things get sorted. And there is always something that is being sold or stored. It’s so not awesome to share an otherwise beautiful living space with a rotating supply of temporary storage. Anyway /end rant! I do very much enjoy living the curated & simple life, but it does require a lot more care and thought, and it’s definitely not as easy as having a lot more space (or at least a patio! yeesh). I suppose I’m just envious, but maybe there is some slight injustice in the way that people will very off-handedly discuss this sort of thing like it’s nothing. People, you are very lucky. :)

Because we want to get my dresses out of Laelia’s closet and our fallout/storage/stuff situation is completely out of hand at this point we have decided to buy our PAX wardrobes a whole month early. We’re thinking of having a garage sale (We have SO much stuff to sell, it’s too much for Craigslist and Ebay alone!) and selling our bedroom furniture will cover, and maybe more than cover the wardrobes. Buying the wardrobes now will also force us to go through our clothes, which we could then add to our garage sale stuff. IKEA has a super fun PAX planner, for anyone who wants to play around with building a closet. An added bonus to purchasing these is that it’s likely that we can use these in our next home, even in a walk-in closet, and add on to them. :)

Anyway, we’re probably off to IKEA tomorrow for curtain rods, storage boxes, a frame or two, and maybe even to order our PAX! I think I’ll end my night by going through my fabric to see if there are any I’d like to use for Laelia’s quilt! Hopefully I can get more day time photos; photos with artificial light are just never as pretty! D: