calling all interior designers!

Evyn is eager to move into her 'new' room!

Over the weekend we told her that she'll be moving into what now is the office. She'll be gaining about 30 sq ft, plus a HUGE closet - compared with the tiny one she has now. We told her to start thinking about how she wants to decorate it and what color to paint the walls. On the paint, she picked - blue!

One of these days I should dig out & post pictures of what the house looked like when we bought it in 2001. Suffice it to say, it looked much, much different! Awful shades of purple, blue, and brown matte... I still shudder to think of it. So, when Evyn mentioned blue, I'll admit, I didn't think "pretty."
So I need help! What shade of blue, and what can I do with it that will

1. not look terrible or outdated in 5 years
2. grow with Evyn from age 5 to age 10
3. match a neutral/tan carpet
4. look snazzy enough that Evyn will like showing her room to her friends

Here is what her room looks like now. I love the carpet in there, it has held up wonderfully and shows absolutely NO wear after 5 years, so we'll be using it again in her new room. It's a relatively long pile, thick and soft (not that you can tell by this photo). We can go one shade lighter on the carpet for the new bedroom if necessary.




This is the room she'll be moving into. Big, by comparison, but still only about 13 x 13. The ceilings are low, too - around 7 ft. The room gets great natural light (and hot summer sun) , so we could get drapes (like in her current bedroom) OR keep the existing cloth blinds, OR - suggestions? Only thing NOT on the table are miniblinds.






Not sure what to do about lighting, either. With the low ceiling, I am thinking a center ceiling light is out. We could probably get some sconces on the wall with the single window (where the desk is) but it would be a little tricky. Recessed can lights are an option, but would they look sterile in a bedroom with a low ceiling? Or, we could buy wired, wall-hung lamps (there's one in there now).




The only design thought I came up with was for the closet (ignore the mess, I was working on cleaning it out!). I am picturing a much lighter shade of blue on the inside, and then something funky - polka dots, maybe? on the closet's interior walls.




So what do you think, any ideas for us? Color shade suggestions in particular. Paint only, no wallpaper or borders (after painstakingly peeling the 30-year-old paper off the walls when we moved in, we are officially an anti-paper family - ha). If you're wondering - the border that's there now around the ceiling is paint.

HELP!! We need it!

construction update

Finally!!! First estimate is in. The bedroom addition project is well within our anticipated price range, which means - it's a definite GO!

Which is not to say that the plans are settled... still waiting for a second estimate, then there's tweaking the building plan & getting a structural engineer to sign off on it, applying for permits, and of course dealing with the inevitable weather-related setbacks that come with wintertime construction. But, with a little luck we should be able to get started by mid-December.

Rockvale commercial

Rockvale sure got a lot of mileage out of the commercial footage they shot last year! Emily is in a Christmas spot again this year. This time, she is shopping for a plasma TV!

Click for video :)

Update: It's a...

....baby! Silly, did you think we would cave and find out the gender? Nope, it's going to be a surprise. Though, I could swear I saw three lines (which would mean girl) but the doctor was moving quickly, so who knows!

It was great to see the baby again. S/he was wide awake (I drank a cup of orange juice on the way to the hospital, to be sure!) and very active. We had declined amnio, quad screening, and other tests that would show markers for concerns like Downs, but all measurements were right on target, nothing that would indicate any potential problems. His/her heart rate was 148 bpm, and weighing in at 300 grams, or 10 ounces. The baby is 19 weeks old today, and should be about 6 inches long from head to rump.

Other than the great news that the baby is doing well, the appointment was a bit of a disappointment. In fact, I am starting to think I am the un-luckiest Mom when it comes to prenatal care! The appointment started 15 minutes late. Dr. Neubert didn't do any of the routine checkup stuff (fundal length measurement, weight), just rushed us in and out of the exam room. The two photos he gave us were a letdown, too.... we have the most beautiful, clear pictures of Evyn at roughly the same stage, but this time the Doctor went about getting his measurements and spent no time letting us just look. In fact, he seemed relieved when we told him that we weren't interested in learning the gender, and cut the exam short.

But, we're healthy. And in 147 days, give or take, we'll get to take lots of great pictures of our own :)