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san diego (toddler-friendly) travel guide
we had the best little last minute trip down to san diego a couple of weeks ago for our birthdays!! it was such a perfect place for the three of us, super arlo friendly and a quick drive! we debated going to the zoo or legoland but ended up keeping it low key, which was just perfect– meaning we ventured out in the mornings, got back to our rental house for naps in the afternoons and then left again for dinner. Read More
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first day of school printable sign
a very last minute little printable i designed (because a friend asked me to haha) — a fun little sign to fill out for all your kiddos heading back to school! arlo is starting preschool in a few weeks so obviously i had him model, he doesn’t talk a ton but we were able to pry these opinions out of him lololol. he will make a fantastic elmo blue car someday when he’s a grown up.
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our playroom : before and after with amazon home
this post is in partnership with amazon home
the playroom is done! i am so excited to have this shared space, we’ve already used it a lot– and arlo has more than enough toys in here to keep him occupied while we get work done, i’m so glad to have it finished!
again, let’s take a look at the before… Read More
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arlos mamma mia themed 2nd birthday party
YAY! arlos 2nd birthday party was so much fun, excited to finally share it today!
after spending the better part of a year watching mamma mia 2 (but then transitioning to the original for the last few months), it just seemed obligatory to theme his party around it. the day was super fun and chill with friends and family and an… unforgettable live performance by his grandparents lol. it was perfect cloudy weather all day until an hour before the party started and the sun started blasting, as you can see in the photos!
we had the party at my mom and stepdads house– it was a pain to schlep everything over, but their backyard couldn’t be more perfect for the theme. for the weeks leading up to the party, the bougainvillea at their house was giant and thriving, and then right before the party it all died. so that was a bummer but it was too late to cancel the party lol.
(ps you probably don’t recognize those silver ARLO letters from last years party because if you do thats like a little crazy, but they’re from last years party!)
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our studio : before and after with amazon home
this post is in partnership with amazon home
wowowow this is a long time coming, but finally! the studio is done and usable and i love it so much. years ago, we refinished the space by insulating, drywalling and adding laminate flooring, added a couple of windows, but beyond that– not much was done. i always planned to use it as an office space, but i didn’t invest in AC and the wifi signal was never that great, so i just never really used it whatsoever unless i was shooting in there.
the older arlo is getting and the more toys we’ve acquired i started to think about how nice it would be to have a designated play area away from our main living spaces and realized we had the perfect place for that– so i put “convert studio into playroom” on our bucket list and then maybe a week later amazon actually reached out! kismet. the studio (which was once just a shed) is two separate rooms divided, so it seemed like the perfect place for us to all co-exist, for gid and i to work and arlo to play and all be together. it seemed like the perfect chance to actually spend the money and install an AC unit and ACTUALLY use this amazing space, finally.
i never actually shared it on the blog, but after we added the flooring and windows, we also had a wrap around floating wood desk built for the office side, i got a couple pieces, but i never actually finished the space to my liking and as i’ve now said multiple times, i never really actually worked here. it was always a goal, but always more comfortable to sit in bed and work lol. here is what it looked like when we first bought our house:
and after we added the wraparound desk and the flooring (please excuse the mess):Read More
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our backyard : updates
been meaning to share the evolution of our yard over the years, because i never really documented how everything grew in and now we’ve removed all the sharp cactus! oops. but still fun to share how much it’s changed over the years. and now that the fence has been refaced, it feels like a giant breath of fresh air where no aspect is ugly!
we are still happy with the decomposed granite ground covering– mostly, in retrospect it would be nice to have some grass for arlo to run around on, and even though people warn you, before you have a kid you just really don’t know how you’re gonna feel! i still love the look of it though, it’s just not the most comfortable so we don’t usually sit on the ground. luckily we have lots of furniture to lounge on! Read More
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updating our old fence on a budget
this post is in partnership with ace hardware
when we redid our backyard three years ago, we put off replacing the dingy old fence that totally didn’t belong whatsoever, but was functioning just fine. it always stood out as the only eyesore and it was always on my list to fix someday, but my neighbors on the other side of the fence didn’t want to replace it since it is in fine condition (and is much less ugly on their side since we’re on the backside of it).
but when we updated our backyard recently and replaced all the cactus with softer toddler-friendly plants, we started spending so much more time outside and the ugly fence started bothering me more and more. so i made some calls to fence companies and realized i could reface it instead of replace it!
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our primary bathroom : the reveal
GAH! so happy to be finished with the renovation and able to enjoy what is definitely the prettiest room in the house now! and as always, let’s do a little trip down memory lane…
EW! i knew the room was dark before, but wow what a difference. we added two VELUX sun tunnels in the 14″ size in the shower to add some natural light into the room and it’s insane! the room is so bright now. we skipped adding more ceiling lights to save on money and luckily we didn’t end up needing them, the sun tunnels provide a ton of natural light for doing makeup. also they have a built-in nightlight that goes on in the dark so i can go to the bathroom at night without turning on the light. love it.
the plaster shower
we went with a plaster shower (in glacier white), my contractor was confused about this and ended up finding a stucco guy to do the install. it took 2 full weeks to do, and i’m not sure how it’ll hold up in 10 years, but we are so happy with it. it’s so clean and bright and european. it’ll definitely end up showing some age and wear, but i’m ok with that. for those wondering, we’ve been told to clean it normally, just use water and gentle cleansers. the product is called merlex super shower, so it’s designed to be water resistant!
we built out a large niche for all our products, i actually wanted it even longer but without more work it ended up fitting between the header and matches the window above. we kept the bench like it was (although it was rebuilt before the plaster).
the gorgeous brass faucets are by watermark brooklyn from rejuvenation. we got the west slope shower set with a hand shower and this shower head that i am looooving.
the bottles are an old school DIY of mine that i still love.
we tiled the shower floor with this hex mosaic from bedrosians tile. for the shower door, the guy i hired to install was the supplier of the hardware, i just requested everything was satin brass to match the fixtures. he had two choices for the door handle and i sprang for the one that was $100 but i love it! it goes so much better with the vibe of the room and we can hang towels from it. another massive improvement was the placement of the shower door. you’ll see it’s centered now, but if you look at the old photos, it was all the way to the left. every time we went to turn on the shower, you basically had to step all the way in and get soaked — now i can actually reach the faucet without having to get wet!!! very little design thing that is so much better functionally.
the vanity and sinks
i wasn’t sure that the vanity would match the medicine cabinets because i sourced them separately and only based it off online photos — so i was sooo relieved when i saw them in person together! they totally match! the medicine cabinets are from build.com (similar ones linked below), i’ve always wanted medicine cabinets because it seemed so nice to be able to hide all the products away, i love them. everything is out of sight! the only drawback with my bathroom design is that everything goes vertically so i don’t see past my shoulders — but i’m fine with it haha. we actually cut 3″ off the legs of the vanity and i’m so glad we did, with everything else it would have been way too tall. i searched for months for a handsome wood vanity that had drawers, wasn’t $3000 and was the right size for our room (60″) and it wasn’t easy, but when i found this one i knew it was THE ONE. it’s so stunning in person, the wood is perfect.
we went with a quartz countertop and a 3″ backsplash which was the minimum — it is the perfect height to blend in right behind the sink.
the basin sinks are from nood, they’re gorgeous concrete — i wasn’t sure i wanted a vessel sink and was originally leaning towards undermounted, but i’m glad we got these ones! they are so stunning in person and feel like they make the room more special.
the wall mounted faucets are also from rejuvenation by watermark brooklyn. i am obsessed. it definitely takes more planning and attention to detail to do wall mounted, but man they look good and it’s so easy to clean around the sink area.
the pop-out outlet from the adorne collection by legrand (i posted earlier in the week about these!) they are amazing — totally incognito when not in use!
accessories
i didn’t originally plan to do a shelf in the room, but really glad we found this one. it provides a little extra storage but also houses the step stool that i use constantly. all the towels (similar ones here) and robes (similar ones here and here) are from parachute, they’re soo soft.
the floor tile
onto the floor — you may remember we originally had another tile picked out for the floors, but unfortunately there was an error made and the sample color didn’t match the shipment. after a 24 hour panic, i found these gorgeous tiles from bedrosians that are timeless and the perfect putty color in person. they came on mosaic sheets, so we had to peel them off, and did this parquette pattern which i love so much. ultimately things always go wrong during renovations, but this worked out for the absolute best!
sources
vanity / sinks / medicine cabinets (Similar 1 / similar 2) / SCONCES (in pinto) / soap bottles (similar) / sink faucets / pop-out outlets / palm leaf / toothbrush cup (similar) / toothpaste / toothbrushes / floor tile / shower floor tile / shower drain (similar) / shower head / shower fixture set / storage shelf (stool is no longer available!) / sun tunnels / towels (similar) / robe (similar 1 / similar 2) / toilet / toilet lever / toilet paper holder
rug is vintage but i got it from this etsy shop
pottery i didn’t link was made in pottery class
art by gideon boomerphotos by jeff mindell
shop the room
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how to choose the perfect white paint
this post is in partnership with
easycare ULTRA PREMIUM PAINT BY TRUE VALUE
a question i am asked so frequently is about how to choose white paint and what colors are on our walls, you’d think white paint is white paint, but it can be a really tricky decision! i struggle choosing any paint, but white can be the most challenging because it’s such there are so many different shades of it.
for our newly renovated master bathroom, i went with EasyCare Paint’s Coconut Water in a satin finish. we painted our house prior to moving in and way prior to having arlo, so now that he’s here, i really appreciate using a paint that is low VOC (and certified by the asthma and allergy foundation because it minimizes irritants and pollutants in the air!)
, especially in a less ventilated space like the bathroom. and the scent of the paint was actually so mild– unlike that intense smell of paint that we’re all used to.
i am really happy with the color we chose because i wanted a shade that blended with our plaster shower, but it’s not always as simple as matching your white paint to an element of the room, sometimes it’s way more complicated! so here is my advice that will hopefully help you a bit…Read More
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the coolest plugs i’ve ever seen
this post is in partnership with legrand
another bathroom tease leading up to the big reveal and one of my absolute fave elements of the room is the pop-out plugs we used from the adorne collection by legrand!
they are totally incognito until we need them, and blend in so seamlessly with the rest of the space. we don’t use plugs in the bathroom frequently because our toothbrushes are battery powered, and i’m not super versed in giving myself blow outs, so the plugs are mostly there just in case. which is why i am so stoked to have them hidden the rest of the time! (btw the popouts aren’t GFCI, so we added GFCI boxes into the back of the vanity!)
OBSESSED! you don’t even notice a plug is there. it’s definitely one of the first features i show people when i give them the tour haha.Read More
