Not All Pink For This Baby Girl!

We welcomed little Miss Blaire into the world on September 12th and she’s been stealing hearts ever since. She’s a healthy bouncing baby girl and her parents couldn’t be any more proud. It’s no wonder that this little princess needed a room fitted for her little tiara wearing self. But no traditional pink for this baby. Oh no, not with a mother who is a self-proclaimed lover of all things purple. Add a little green and there you have it! Baby Blaire’s nursery color scheme is complete.

Blair’s mother was inspired by the colors in an adorable baby shower card. With that in tow we went hunting for the perfect shades of purple and green paint at Home Depot and walked out 5 minutes later. Score! That was the easy part. We scouted a nearby Target for the perfect wall art. Score again! Very cute and girly white 3D butterflies. Michael’s had the perfect stencils (However, I don’t recommend using paper stencils when painting. The paint got underneath the stencil which required a lot of stencil clean up by hand) and mirrored flower and butterfly shaped wall decals were found at Babies “R” Us. The furniture and rug are from Buy Buy Baby. Pillows were purchased from Home Goods, which is one of my favorite places to shop for accessories. The white pillow with the star was custom-made by a friend of her grandmothers creating the perfect touch to the nursery. The futon and wall coverings were already in place which turned out great. The stuffed animals are courtesy of her mommy.

The challenging part of this room makeover was…you guessed it! The stripes on the wall. This was actually my first time attempting to paint stripes. It was a really fun project. I definitely learned a lot. You must measure, measure, measure! That’s really the only way to ensure you’ll be pleased once you remove the tape and your stripes are revealed.

I must say this project was a real treat. I started a little over a week before Baby Blaire was born and it was a lot of fun to see her settling into her new digs. Her mother picked out much of the decor so painting and styling was all that was required. This room is now fit for the princess affectionately known by her family as Blaire Bear. By the way…no repainting this room till she’s 16 *wink*. Enjoy, Blaire!

Raynée Crowe, TMF’s primary modern home contributor, is an interior decorating consultant who ironically never considered herself creative, and then one day the ‘ol proverbial light bulb went off. Her love for mixing and matching colors, patterns and decorating had manifested itself into daydreaming of color swatches, textiles and room arrangements. That passion and excitement grew and soon it was pure enjoyment as she worked with friends and clients to select color pallets, accessories, furniture and arrange spaces. Finally she understood the saying “if you do what you love you’ll never work a day in your life” and so in 2008 Color Vision LLC was born. For more information, you can email Raynee at yourcolorvision@gmail.com. For more great tips and ideas, check out her blog at www.yourcolorvision.wordpress.com.

Easily Transition Your Summer Wear to Fall

It’s almost September and time to start switching your closets from summer to fall. If you’re a fashionista on a budget like me then you’ll be happy to know that a lot of your summer items can make an easy transition into your fall wear. How so? Glad you asked!  You can take those cute skirts you loved during the summer, pair them with cute tights, a blazer and boots or pumps then presto change, you’ve got yourself a new outfit. 

 Have a favorite t-shirt? Try pairing it with a cute blazer, jeans and heels and you’ve got an easy outfit that you can wear to the store, dinner or anywhere else. 

A simple sweater or cardigan with heels or flats will allow you to continue wearing your summer dresses. Some dresses you’ll need to leave in the summer like those halters but even your long maxi dress will be cute to wear this fall.

If you feel the need to buy something new this fall but don’t have a lot of money to spend, try updating your look with new accessories or buy a few staple pieces that you can mix and match with other items in your closet. Never be afraid to venture into a store like forever 21 or Charlotte Russe,  you may not like their clothes but you’ll be surprised at what you can find on the accessories table. Both stores have great accessories for even better prices. I believe you’re never too old to be fashionable. Play around with look until you love until you find something that works for you. It’s all about you and YOUR personal style! Check out these reasonable priced pieces (all under $100) that will instantly take your outfit from drab to fab!

Baker's necklace $14.00

Old Navy Blazer $29.50

Forever 21 Bracelet $8.80

Simple Black Dress from Target $24.99

Baker's Shoes $79.95

Pants from Newport News $19.00

Ta’Keisha Violet Ryan is currently the Assistant Director of Midwest Fashion Week and works side by side with some of the best designers in the Midwest. A love of fashion is what led her to create her blog Violet Meets Fashion where she encourages her readers to live life fabulously. Ta’Keisha is inspired by Kimora Lee Simmons but she attributes her sense of style to Sarah Jessica Parker/Carrie Bradshaw.