Room Re-Vamp

With all the billowing brick dust and dirt that comes with a house reconstruction, a cold winter with a leaky radiator and the general wear and tear a room suffers from a gnawing, crayon wielding beaver/toddler our room has definitely seen better days. Now that said radiator is fixed and we are planning to replace the wooden flooring with some nice thick carpet we thought a fresh re-paint would be in order. We aren't decided on whether we are keeping the previous colour (powder blue) or whether we can go for something a little more vibrant (I'm thinking perhaps an electric blue or a plummy forest fruits shade?) Here are the three mood boards I have in mind..

Powder Blue

Forest Fruits

Electric Blue

Native American Theme

I was watching Peter Pan with Noah last night, his favourite part is the bit when Peter and Tiger Lily rub noses haha he goes all bashful and red! It got me thinking of another possible design for his new room- a Native American Theme. This mood board is pretty chaotic but I wanted to get some ideas together as quickly as possible before I fell asleep and forgot all about them. The possibilities with this theme are endless, and there are so many DIY opportunities too (dreamcatcher, little paper mache bears, silver baskets, the painted driftwood, even the antlers could be fashioned from some old tree branches).

The little Native American doll in the Bottom Left hand corner was a brilliant find on Etsy and is even named the Noah doll! The moon clock glows in the dark, which I think is a lovely alternative to a night light and is ideal for children who still feel a bit unsettled in the dark. The ceramic bear figure doubles up as speakers, so you can attach your iPod and play some relaxing music to get your little one off to sleep. You can buy it from West Elm and it comes in four different options- Bear, Squirrel, Fox and Owl! Hmm now to decide which theme to use..

Noah's Room Plan

We're going to start decorating Noah's room in a few weeks so I had to get a plan together of what we wanted to do to show others exactly what we had in mind. I made a moodboard on my Ipad using the MoodboardLite app, it's free to download and so quick and simple to use.

Most of the items on here are making use of the things were already have knocking about. I will be doing the cushions and artwork myself and the rest are things we will be purchasing from eBay and Amazon. This will hopefully be finished by Christmas, and then we can add bits here and there later on.

Halloween 2013

Happy Halloween!

This was Noah's first time Trick or Treating and he had such a good time :-) The costumes were a little bit last minute and quickly thrown together but I think they turned out alright. Noah thought it was the best night ever, seeing as he got to do two of his favourite things, jumping out and scaring people and receiving sweets for doing so! Can't wait to do it again next year

Little Pudding's Birthday

Noah's face was an absolute picture when he first clapped eyes on the big bunch of golden balloons waiting for him at the bottom of the stairs. Just a hunch but I don't think he was too impressed, seeing as he ran off shouting "ARRRGH SCARY".. Not the reaction we were hoping for!

The doughnut breakfast went down much better, although who can say no to sticky chocolate doughnuts with candles on top?!

He was a very happy chappy opening up all of his lovely presents, I've never seen anyone so excited about a fedora (this boy loves his hat wear people!)

Not forgetting his brand spanking new Uke.. He prefers to turn it over and use it as a drum or a weapon but I'm hoping in a year or two he will be able to strum a little tune. Hmm, probably being a tad optimistic seeing as I am a complete dud when it comes to playing an instrument. If he winds up being a musical prodigy it definitely wasn't inherited from my side of the gene pool!

Afterwards we headed to The Gourmet Burger Kitchen, where I think we all suffered from Eyes-Bigger-Than-Belly syndrome. The burgers there are soo tasty, I'm pretty sure I could easily polish off three of four, and they have such amazing milkshakes, I had the Chocolate Oreo and Noah had his all time favourite- Banana! It was finished off with one (ahem.. several) helpings of his triple chocolate fudge birthday cake (oof!)

I can't believe how quickly the time has passed. Although I look forward to every new milestone there is still the little pang of sadness knowing he is no longer our tiny little baby. He's becoming a determined little soul, so talkative, adventurous and brave. I am very intrigued to see what this new year holds for us, potty training and 'the terrible two's tantrums' should be.. interesting! But also being able to have a proper conversation with him, seeing his personality continue to develop, there is a lot in store for us and it is very exciting.

Illustrated Children's Book Wish List

Story Wish List
1. Oh No George!- Chris Haughton
2. Iggy Peck Architect- Andrea Beaty
3. The Book With A Hole- Herve Tullet
4. Color- Alexander Girard
5. I Know A Lot Of Things- Ann Rand
6. Good Little Wolf- Nadia Shireen
7. How To Catch A Star- Oliver Jeffers
8. The High Street- Alive Melvin
9. ABC- Bruno Munari
10. When I Was Born- Isabel Minhos Martins
11. I Want My Hat Back- Jon Klassen
12. Henry's Walk To Paris- Saul Bass
13. Spot It!- Delphine Chedru
14. Sparkle And Spin- Ann Rand
15. The Game Of Mix And Match- Herve Tullet
16. Little Master Carroll: Alice In Wonderland- Jennifer Adams
17. The Heart And The Bottle- Oliver Jeffers
18. Little 1- Ann Rand
19. The Runaway Dinner- Allan Ahlberg
20. A Bit Lost- Chris Haughton

Noah is finally of an age where he can sit still for a few seconds long enough for me to read him a story (as long as I read at record pace) whilst he turns the pages very quickly. At first all he wanted to do was gnaw his teeth along his board books and any attempt to read him a story was greeted with fury that I wouldn't let him sit there contently ripping the pages out, scrunching them into little balls and then trying to eat them. So far the only main casualties has been his pop-up Spot book which I've managed to mend with plenty of cellotape (Spot's Mum was missing her head for a while).

Here is a selection of amazing illustrated books I want to add to his library collection this Christmas. They are like small works of art and inside are some really amazing illustrations and colours that will definitely ignite the imagination of both children and parents alike. I was a huge book worm when I was younger, I'm hoping Noah follows in those footsteps and loves reading as much as I did as a child.

Another important thing in children's literature is the moral lesson behind the book. It was quite insightful going through some of my old books as there were quite a LOT that were based on feminism, equality, being the princess that sword fights, battles giants and saves the prince sort of thing. I had a quick look on Amazon for some morally insightful literature for Noah, came across 'Wish My Daddy Didn't Drink So Much' 'The House That Crack Built' and 'My Sister Does Drugs.' Not quiiiite what I had in mind!!! That's some pretty heavy reading for children don't you think?! Reminded me of this funny article I came across based on French children's books with some extremely scary story lines and illustrations.

Midnight Sky Themed Nursery

Shopping List
1. You're my star print
2. Origami lampshade
3. Stripe and pompom rug
4. I love you to the moon and back print
5. Rabbit lamp
6. Globe pouf
7. Knitted cushion
8. Zinc letter
9. Star blanket
10. Owl ornaments
11. Sheepskin rug
12. Brown rabbit
13. Can't you sleep little bear
14. Star print cushion
15. Gold star cushion
16. Star print bedding
17. Cream bear
18. Grey blanket
19. Blue blanket

This mood board is the type of idea I have in mind for when the wee man gets a bit older. The colours are more relaxing and calming, and are very similar to Noah's first nursery colour palette of cream/biscuit which means several items and bedding pieces can be re-used in the future. The idea for this theme came to me when I was reading Noah a book that I loved as a child, 'Can't you sleep little bear.' When I came to the page where Little Bear is being shown the big bright moon I instantly fell in love with the picture and decided that some day I would have the image blown up to hang in Noah's room. I told my Mum the idea and turns out she had loved the picture too and had it up in my room when I was little. Great minds think a-like! I can't remember this at all but maybe that's why the image seemed to stand out to me when I was flicking through the pages.

The bedding is a mixture of Noah's previous bedding- the Millie and Borris range from Mama's and Papas, and a starry range from Zara home. Although it was quite expensive, the quality is unbelievable and despite frequent washing and Noah's attempts to rip it apart when teething it really has stood the test of time. Unlike the cot which was also very expensive however now looks as though a shoal of beavers have set upon it. 

I love the idea of Ralph Lauren's constellation wallpaper which glows in the dark- how amazing is that! The price is completely out of my budget, however the personalised 'you're my star' print featured in the mood board above also glows in the dark and is an absolute steal, which I think is a pretty sweet compromise.