A Reading Nook

Ever since I made my nieces poufs for their new reading area in their playroom, I've been looking at reading nooks for adults and kids alike. Growing up my favorite place to read was in this cushy yellow gingham chair that sat in front of the window in our spare bedroom. Now, I would love a space that had no other purpose than to be used to enjoy a book. The top and bottom nooks pictured are definitely my favorite - one is dark and moody while the other is light and bright, and they are both fantastic!

                     

Red Pants and Leopard Shoes

I have been on the hunt for the past six months or so for the perfect red pants and leopard flats. I have tried on, purchased, and returned countless of both with no luck thus far. I still keep my eye out for each, and I'm hoping to find what I'm looking for soon! Until then, I'm perfectly happy dreaming about the outfit below, plus we all know I love a well-tailored blazer.

Out Shopping by awmc56 featuring topshop

Reading Poufs (aka Floor Cushions)

My brother and sister-in-law moved into a new house right before Thanksgiving, and my brother built his two girls rain gutter bookshelves like the ones below.

Since the girls now have a reading nook, I decided that they needed poufs to sit on as they read on the floor. I found this tutorial online, and I think mine turned out pretty well!

It was so funny to watch the girls (who are only 4 and 1.5 years old mind you) pick their poufs and become immediately possessive about whose was whose. If I ever make these again I would do a few things differently, so hopefully you will find these helpful too.

• I bought more "inner fluff" than I thought I would need, and I ended up using every bit of the 5 lbs (2.5lbs/pouf). Use more fluff than you think you need. (I also used two 15-pound kettle bells as my 30 pound child to test the resilience of the fluff.)
• If you use extra fluff like I did you may want to reinforce the stitching of the middle part of the pouf because a single stitch seam tends to pull and possibly rip.
• Actually, just reinforce all of the stitches. I wasn't expecting my 4 year old niece to pretend the pouf was a horse and bounce around holding the handle as reins. (I know. WHY did I not see that one coming?!) She came to me crying because she found a hole where the stitches had pulled out of the fabric. Thankfully Aunt Anna is a whiz at hand-mending just about anything.  :)

When all was said and done each pouf only ended up costing me about $20 to make thanks to some great JoAnn coupons, and I will definitely make these again for other little ones in my life. If you decide to make a pouf, let me know if you have any questions - I'd love to help!

New Year's Goals

Growing up I never liked the idea of New Year's resolutions. They just seemed like things you said because you were supposed to yet all the while knowing full well you'd never do any of them. As I've gotten older I've rebranded resolutions as goals. Maybe they're the same thing, but to me they feel different so it helps. (I've also read somewhere to call them "New Year's Intentions". I kind of like that too.) I enjoy taking time to reflect on the year that has ended and looking forward to the possibilities that a new year holds. It always feels like a bit of a clean slate - no matter what I messed up on or didn't finish in 2012 I can change or do better in 2013. That glimmer of hope helps us move forward I think. In the spirit of the new year, I figured I'd share a few of my 2013 goals with y'all.

• Learn a good bit of medical Spanish
• Sew (and wear!) my first dress
• Quilt a bedspread for Lars and I
• Finish the Coursera courses I am signed up for

Most of my goals for 2013 involve learning, being more creative, and actually finishing what I start. I am great at beginning projects - I just need a bit of work on actually completing them. Those are just a few of my goals that I wrote out last night and am striving to accomplish this year. What are your 2013 goals?