A Shared Boys Room

Hi friends! I have missed you! I am so happy to be back writing on this little corner of the web. We have had so much going on the last couple of months.  And because of all that, this blog got put on the back burner. Really everything but the necessities got the back burner. I have laughed at myself multiple times about the fact that I wrote about being the CEO of your own life and being in charge and then right after writing that post, our lives got turned a bit upside down and really, the last few months I have been living day to day to get our family through this huge transition we’ve been going through. I am confident I’ll be back to my CEO in Command status by fall. Hopefully ;).

I have much to update you on, but the long and short of it is that my husband got a new job opportunity, we recently sold our house {one I thought was going to be our forever home} and moved to the Midwest. Yup, these California natives moved our little family smack dab to the middle of the United States. True story…On a trip out here in April to look for a home, I got off the plane and I was walking through the airport with Jason and there was a giant map of the United States in the terminal. I had to confess that I seriously had no idea which state we were actually moving to! I’m terrible at geography. When we lived in Rhode Island, it took me about 3 months to realize we were north of New York, and not south! He tells me I shouldn’t say that out loud to people ;) but it’s the truth! Anyways, after being here 4 weeks {I should add that we are living in an extended stay hotel currently with 4 kids-oh yeah, I had a baby last week and she’s here too :), 2 adults and a giant yellow lab} I still look around and think, “How did this all happen?!?!”

I am looking forward to sharing the journey of making this new life ours. We closed on our new home a few weeks ago and started working on some updates to fit our lifestyle and design aesthetic before we move in {hence the extended stay} and I am loving the updates that are happening so far. In fact last week, I stopped by the house with my week old baby and the carpenters and I figured out our new staircase and I got unusually happy seeing the new posts and spindles for the staircase. :)  Seriously, this whole process {like the last 4 or 5 months} has been 1 step forward, about 3 steps back, so focusing on the little joys are what’s keeping the last strings of my sanity in tact!

But today, I wanted to share my boys’ room from our last house. It was a room full of light, looked out to the trees and boyish, yet not too juvenile. When we moved in, our boys were 3 years old and 9 months and I wanted it to feel like little boys lived there but that was also a space that could grow with them. I am looking forward to making their new room feel like home. They’ll be sharing a room again and my oldest has adamantly requested to have a desk in his room, so I’ll be on the look out for two desks I can incorporate into their new room!

Madras Quilt & Sham / Gingham Sheets

This large flag was in a box for approximately 8 or 9 years. It was flown over the Capitol on our wedding day and given to us as a wedding gift. I knew we wouldn’t want to hang it outside because it would eventually get worn out, and I didn’t want it sitting in a box for the rest of time. So I had it framed a few years ago and I love it. I think I read awhile back {after I had had it framed} you aren’t supposed to frame a flag like this. Oh well. It fits our style and our family. My husband went to the Naval Academy, served in the US Navy, all our kids are named after US presidents…If you didn’t know it already, we’re kind of a patriotic family :) And I love that it’s a big statement piece.

They each have their own color of comforter and it has become their “color” in our family. I’ll have to share more on that whole concept later, but it’s helped across the board from bedding to water bottles to their laundry hamper color.

This was their gallery wall before. I didn’t love how it turned out the first time around. There were too many small pieces and not enough varying sizes of pieces.

Last fall I changed up this gallery wall. I ordered an inexpensive map from Amazon and found an open frame for it, added some fun sports memorabilia, their silhouettes from Disneyland and one of my favorite photos of them together that I had put on a canvas. I threw in some art of animals they love, and this gallery wall became a true expression of the little boys that lived here. They needed a spot for trophies, Lego creations, etc. so I added two shelves from Pottery Barn to hold all their treasures. I also added the lights from Barn Light Electric  so they could both read independent of each other and not keep the other awake. I had to leave those behind, but I hope to get something similar for their new room.

These two pieces of art are special too. Years ago, we had a fun day trip to Nantucket and I can’t wait to get back there some day. The needlepoint picture is one my mom made for us, and has a yellow lab just like our dog, Lancer.

The Madras Quilt was a queen size back when I had one bigger bed as our guest room bed in our first home. Once we had two beds in the room, I had it cut in half and banded so they could each have a little throw quilt.

I look at these pictures and miss this home already. But I’m looking forward to making their new room feel like home.