Snoozefest Turned Love Shack

This is a before shot of my and Hubby's lame bedroom. Can you say snoozefest? Yawn.

We've been in our house over 3 years and our bedroom was more stale than the popcorn I occasionally find in my bra. The color we chose for the paint when we moved in was not a horrible color but it matched the ugly bedding we had, so we just lived with it. I finally decided I couldn't take it anymore.

This color was too dark and dreary for a hit-the-snooze-button-8-times kinda girl so it was the first to go. I wanted to wake up to something bright and happy. Something that would make me open my peepers with a smile while singing "tra-lalalalalalalalalala!" and put a morning skip in my step so I figured key lime paint would do the trick.

Once again, like Curious' bedroom I had to press my thrifty button into overdrive. I don't make millions with Sweet Love Vintage or my random art endeavors, but even if I did, It's not my style to buy new, trendy, high-end decorating pieces. I need a room to be decorated with fun personality, things I love, pieces that have a story and character, a mix of styles, and always a sense of humor or a surprise tucked in there somewhere.

I found this vintage arm chair at a yard sale for 5 bucks. (giddy-up!) This is my future meditation chair. Neither I, nor my overactive mind have zenned out in it yet, but I'm super awesome at shoving clothes behind it and tripping over it in the dark.

I traveled through my portal to Awesometown where I scored a pair of 1960s sunshine yellow glass lamps for $12. They are perched on an art deco black dresser and on an old table that I layered with a suitcase to match the height of the dresser. I have old suitcases all over my house as side tables and such, and they are great for layering and storing things. I store lots of air in mine. I threw a large thrifted flokati rug on the floor so I can feel soft shaggy fuzziness on my feet when I wake up, but more importantly so I can lay on it and make fur angels.

I invested in new bedding because I'm not a big fan of sharing bed bugs or dust mites with strangers so I picked up a cheap dark brown quilt and new light yellow sheets. The three jewel toned embroidered pillows along with the black and white damask curtains are from Pier 1, and were the only other new purchases (and my biggest splurge) in the whole room. At the edge of the bed sits a vintage lime green and white chenille bedspread.

Old sheet music is right up my eye candy alley when it comes to vintage graphics. The titles and pictures tickle my funny bone and I like to wake up to something smile worthy besides my bed head. I admit I haven't been springing out of bed singing "tra-lalalalalalala!" like I was hoping, but I do sing whatever the latest song stuck in my head is.

The other morning it was "Jimmy Crack Corn".

Jimmy crack corn, and I don't care, Jimmy crack corn, and I don't care, Jimmy crack corn, and I don't care... and how in Jimmy's name did I get this song stuck in my head? Aretha Baby, where are you when I need you?

Then I started thinking about Jimmy and maybe I should care. There's obviously a reason he cracks corn. Maybe I should write my own story about Jimmy and the perils of cracking corn. Maybe I'm just cracked corn. Or just cracked. Cracked and corny.

Yes, these are things I think about. Things I think about while lying in bed waiting for the next time I must sling my arm out and hit snooze again.

Even waking up in this bright and cheerful happy place, I still hit snooze.

The good news is it's only 4 and a half times now instead of 8.

First Born Curious. The End.

I excel in procrastinating.

I also excel in obsessively working on a task until complete.

Once I decide to get 'er done.

(Larry the Cable Guy is way overrated. As is his overdone phrase I used annoyingly above.)

Here is the final product of my almost-10-year-old-curious-boy's-bedroom:

Probably the only time it will be a nicely made bed.

Curious and I both stinkaroo at bed making. Workin on it.

Well, he is. Me? Not so much.

I've never really understood the art of daily bed making.

Someday I'd like to learn it. But I've got better things to do for now.

Painted a section of black wall behind the bed to ground it in the room.

Added an old barnwood frame with a display of curiosities.

Wrote some random words around the perimeter of the paint with white chalk.

Next to the bed he has lots of places to store his gatherings:

A view directly across from the bed. His coin collecting desk area.

His favorite coins went into plain frames that he can easily access.

Fake wood clipboards are the el-cheapo version to display stuff.

No need for an expensive built-in window seat.

A set of wood and metal schoolhouse chairs does the job. Scored the whole set for $10:

His collections and curiosities are displayed on the black shelves in front of the black window wall. I wanted it dark so the objects would pop.

The 6 foot antique snakeskin mount became an unusual window dressing.

Not my original plan, but not planning is typical for me.

So is spilling food on myself daily.

I adhered vintage game cards around the window trim and Mr. Puffer hangs from Mr. Snake.

Last, but not least...

This is for the peeps who thought there's no way an old elk leg could look cool:

I know you're out there. And you still may not think dat's cool.

It's okay because I like it. Plus Curious is the only one I need to please.

And Curious loves it.

His room.

All of it.

First Born Curious

I have another Sweet Love in my life.

(If you want to know who Sweet Love is, and the story behind my shop name, read this)

My other Sweet Love is my first-born son who I love just as sweetly.

He doesn't have a nick name so I'll call him Curious. Because he is. So is his mother.

Curious is 9 with a birthday coming the end of May. Double digits.

Woah! (said in the voice of Joey from the 90s sitcom, Blossom)

Where did the time go?

Curious has always been a collector. Always into gathering rocks, specimens, shells. Anything small and sortable. Even as a toddler, he would walk along the sidewalk and study any little speck. Pick up a leaf in wonderment. He was a happy but serious toddler. And curious.

My latest creative project is to finally decorate his bedroom. After 2 years of living here.

I excel at procrastinating. Obviously.

Here is the starting inspiration of some of the things that Curious loves:

• An old diamondback rattlesnake skin mount
• Antique elk leg (it's twin is in the shop!)
• Gigantic steer horn mount
• Wolf or coyote skull
• Preserved puffer fish I brought back from Mexico
• Gator head he picked out on a family vacay to Florida.

Curious also has jars full of rocks, shells, shark teeth and fossilized miscellany. Along with:

A kangaroo foot his auntie brought back from down under.

Blue Morpho butterfly mounts from Brazil. Done by my dad, who is also quite curious and always has a hobby/obsession of some sort. Grandpa has recently gotten his grandson into major coin collecting. Fits the bill. Small and sortable.

1938 schoolhouse map I found thrifting. Curious begged me not to sell.

A vintage preserved snake head I also bought to sell in the shop. Again, I got the, "Mom, please-please-please don't sell this!"

I must admit, I love this. I love that I'm not doing a stereo-typical boys sports room. Not that it wouldn't be fun, but this road is much closer to my house in Unusualville.

Next steps: Paint. Bedding. Incorporate textures. Assemble. Repurpose. Re-arrange. Think outside box. Research. Donate old stuff. Bring in old stuff.

And do it all in my creative, thrifty way.

It definitely won't look like a page out of the Pottery Barn Kids catalog. Thank God.

(No offense Pottery Barn. You are just too mainstream. I want it to look more unique than you and not scream POTTERY BARN!)

So stay tuned...

For his Museum of Natural History living space.

And quite a curious one it will be.

Boo!

Ironic.

I can't watch horror movies.

I don't watch the news. That's a horror movie in itself.

I am a total scaredy-cat.

I won't even get into my fear of germs.

If I'm watching anything remotely scary I curl up in a ball and watch through my fingers with my eyes barely open. Sometimes I also plug my ears and say "ohmygodidonwannahearitsomethinsgonnapopoutanysecond" in a really annoying high pitched voice.

I could never go into a haunted house. Fake or real.

Yes, I believe in ghosts or spirits, whatever you want to call them. But mostly friendly ones.

Like Casper.

If I met a friendly ghost, it would still scare me.

The ironic part? I love Halloween.

I also love walking through graveyards to read the tombstones.

And I have a love/hate relationship with the movie "Silence of The Lambs".

But I really love decorating for Halloween.

With scary stuff. The dead bloody rat-in-a-trap next to my toilet makes me smile.

I love dressing up scary for Halloween too. Any excuse to make myself look completely different is so much fun.

My Halloween decorating on a budget: Old family black and white photos, old pharmacy bottles (in the shop!), vintage items, spray paint this and that, and purchase cheap novelty skulls, mice and spiders. Throw them in some jars and you're good to go. And the spider web stuff for a dollar is so much fun.

Happy October!!! Ooh ooh ooh, aah, aah, aah.