Our Staircase: Reno Series Vol. 3

Greetings and happy Friday!

Today I'm continuing our Renovation Series, i.e.  the never-ending project that is our house. Luckily we have made a lot of progress, even just over the past few months.

Other than the kitchen, the renovation of our staircase probably makes the second biggest difference in the overall appearance of the home. The stairs are the first thing you see when you walk in, and they were bad. The spindles were thick and far apart, Cooper could fit right between them and there were gaps between each stair. Super safe. The carpet was brown shag. Need I say more?

As I began research on how to remedy our situation, I was surprised to find that I could literally, replace our staircase; my husband was thrilled! And that's what we did. Take a look at the before and after pictures:

Right when you walked in the front door BEFORE:

AFTER:

BEFORE view from office:

AFTER view:

Who's sad I didn't keep the lovely yellow paint? 

I love the end-result, regardless of the huge headache it was doing this project while living in the house with a toddler and a newborn. Chew on that for a bit.

Paint colors used:

Benjamin Moore Clay Beige (Walls) - Note: we darkened the paint 50% because we have a ton of natural light come in the front of the house.  

Benjamin Moore Alabaster (Trim/stair spindles and risers).  

Here are 5 sources of some of what you saw in the pictures:

Chandelier / Sconces / Paintings / Gold Decor / Rug

Thanks for stopping by! We have a few more projects to do around the house, but in the meantime, I am just trying to finish one room at at a time in - I'll share pictures as I complete them.

You can check out other posts in my Renovation Series here (the kitchen reno) and here (the simple front door reno).

Have a great weekend!

Keep in touch! Follow along on Happy Haven Blog's Facebook page.

One piece of advice for the new mom.

I've been a mom 3-years and 4-months now, and I can tell you, I have changed.

Old me was a resource-hound. Any little thing I deemed a problem with my child (sleep, eat, illness, behavioral) you name it, I was online and finding the solution. I spent way too much time and energy stressing about, well, what exactly? I wasn't worrying about problems per say, more like looking for problems. This ushered in by the "comparison game": why is her baby sleeping at 6-weeks, and mine 6-months? Why isn't breastfeeding working for me? Why is my son falling back on the growth chart?

And now, here I am almost 11-months into baby number two (GASP) and a TOTALLY different, MUCH happier mama. For all who were wondering, it turns out baby's just sleep through the night at different ages, because, you know, they're different people, nursing isn't a breeze for everyone, and well, we just make short babies. Now I don't just know, but I understand that every child is different. If I could go back and give new-mom-me a piece of advice, it would be: put the book down, and don't worry so much.

My mom-mantra is grace and my mom-motto hangs on these three beliefs:

• First, 'this too shall pass.' Seriously! Your child WILL sleep through the night, AND eventually be potty trained. I promise.
• Second, we find our mom-joy in the little moments with our kids - and THIS sustains us through challenging times. Little voices saying "I love you mommy," happy smiles and coos. Small, easily missed moments are our life-line.
• And finally, any type of parenting revolves around a whole lot of trial and error. Baby not napping well at 9am? Put her down earlier and see if that works. And by the time you figure it out, guess what, she'll change her schedule once again because, haha! So is life with a baby.

I can't be sure, but I believe my second has greatly benefited from my laid-back shift in parenting. Nothing is ever a big deal or a problem to be solved, it is simply a baby being a baby.

So, to you new mamas, as a recovering by-the-book-mom, heed my advice and soak in the imperfect moments. Know your child is perfectly made and you are doing a great job. Simplify parenting; follow your intuition and the lead of your baby. Don't be a slave to books or the comparison game. You will be less stressed, your child will be less stressed, and your family will be much happier.

Five on Friday: Guest blogging, lipstick, pictures and decor.

Ah, Friday. Bless you. How are you folks this week? It's been pretty breezy for us over here, I'm starting to figure out our schedule for the summer and I am excited to soak it all in with my boys: pools, zoo, water parks, hopefully some workouts for mama- all squeezed in between our two-nap-a-day schedule. Should be special.

I'm back linking up today with the Five on Friday crew, sharing more randomness from the week!

One. I'm over at Her View From Home blog this morning, guest posting about the greatest gift we can give our kids. Hint: it's all about numero UNO. Check it out!

Two. Found a new lipstick I adore. Brave by Mac. It's like a Twig, which I consider a colorful neutral, but more summer-y. You know for the two nights a month I put on makeup. I don't even recognize myself anymore!

Three. The sun is out here in Denver, hallelujah! I mean, these two are cute right?

Four. I talked about my favorite Memorial Day shopping snags on Wednesday but can I just reiterate how much I love these shoes? They are the perfect, lightweight, summer shoe. And they're cute on, I love them.

Five. Decor is on my brain every day. So much to decorate around here, folks! Anyways, at long last I've ordered what I think will be THE pillow cases for our family room. 

They'll be going on this stone colored couch.

Reminder: this room looked like THIS when we bought the house:

I just threw up in my mouth a little bit. And, yes, I am a neutral gal and my rooms start with a neutral palette. I plan to add pillows with pops of color seasonally. E-ventually. I'll be sharing more of the house reno next week, next up, staircase! You'll be shocked.


Wishing everyone a great weekend!

Mid-week ramblings: monologue from a threenager and weekend purchases.

Back again this morning with "shit my threenager says." I mean, people, you just can't make this up. Lately we've been talking- correction, HE has been talking, about what his "weenis" (but it starts with a 'P'), will and will not do.

"Cooper, go potty and wash your hands before nap time please."

"But mommy, my weenis doesn't want to go potty! My weenis says, 'nope! no potty for me, sorry!''" 

"Um, okay Cooper, just go wash your hands please."

"OK mom."

I mean, how you can I argue with his weenis you know? YOU KNOW?

I hope everyone has had a wonderful week so far. I wanted to share some pictures of my favorite cowboy from his last day of school.

And my favorite baby who is finally recovering from a terrible virus over the last four days. Ben scares me when he's sick, y'all. He's mean. And ladies who have young babies, take lots of pics now when they smile on command. Because when they become threenagers, they get weird.

In other news I snagged some shoes this weekend during Nordstrom's annual sale. I love Nordstrom so much.

Kendall & Kylie Flat, Tory Burch "T" Logo Leather Thong Sandal, Sole Society Gladiator Sandal

And the K&K flats have already arrived and are SO comfortable. I'd highly recommend if you are looking for a summer flat. We'll see if the other two will be staying or going back.

I shared this article on Facebook this week from One Thousand Gifts author Ann Voskamp. Here's an excerpt:

"We won't act like what's happening with ISIS isn't the story of our times, isn't the story that defies geography, isn't the story that threatens the cradle of civilization." 

Deep stuff, heavy stuff, but important STUFF. The organization she talks about is doing incredible work, I was glad there was some small thing I could do from my little part of the world. "I am only one, but still I am one. I can't do everything, but I can do something. I will not refuse to do the something I can do." -Helen Keller

And THAT my friends, is a whole lot of RANDOM. Happy mid-week!