pretty in pink

18. Re-do Sadie's bedroom - DONE!

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Since yesterday was officially Sadira's half birthday, that means this post has been sitting in draft form in my blogger post list for SIX MONTHS!  Time to step up and finish this baby off.

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When I was pregnant with Sadira I vowed that I would not have one of these ultra-pink princess girly girls.  (Not that there's anything wrong with that...) but I didn't want my girl to fall into the gender stereotype trap of thinking that anything pink is for girls, and anything blue is for boys.  We are equal opportunity toy lovers in our family, and girls can play with trains and cars too, if that's what they want!

So when I was pregnant with Sadie and found out that she was a girl, I took great pains in creating a bedroom for her that was feminine, yet strong.  Not too over the top girly, but not denying of what she was--a little girl!  I chose a color that I loved and something that I thought could grow with her...a lovely shade of lilac on the top, and a bold royal purple on the bottom.  (No, this color choice, was NOT an homage to my beloved Baltimore Ravens...I just really do like purple!)

I loved that room!  In the new days of having a newborn it was calming to sit in there with a sleepy or nursing baby, rocking in the glider.  It was probably my favorite room in the house for a very very long time.  A peaceful little retreat for me and my girl.

But over the past two years, Sadira has made it perfectly clear that despite my best efforts, her favorite color is pink.  Pink pink and more pink.  And she wanted a pink room.  Very badly.  And she started asking for one.  Very often. 

SIGH.

I put this item on the list to give me a swift kick in the butt.  I had promised her a year or so ago that we would re-do her room, and if she really wanted, it could be pink.   It wasn't my first choice, but it's HER room.  And while I certainly don't plan or re-doing her room every couple years, I wouldn't mind giving the room I loved so much a fresh new look.  Plus, it did seem a little baby-ish after awhile.

About a year before her fourth birthday, there was an adorable pattern that Target put out through their Circo brand called, "Love and Nature."  I noticed that quite a bit of my friends were decorating their daughters' rooms in this whimsical pattern, and even though I don't like to hop onto the hottest trends all the time, I have to admit, this one was super cute. 

I pointed it out to Sadie once while we were in Target, and she loved it.

But I didn't get it then.

I waited til it went on sale. :-)

Which happened to be over last summer, a few months before her birthday.

When I was able to get the entire set at 50% off, including the decals.  :-)  Which made both of us happy.


Fast forward to about a month later.  We were at IKEA just picking up a few things when out of curiosity I ventured into the "As is" section.  Now for those of you not familiar with IKEA's "As is," it's pretty much just a section of furniture that was either a floor model, missing a piece or damaged somehow.  Most of the time the things that are missing or damaged are so tiny that it really doesn't matter, or can very easily and inexpensively be fixed.

We weren't shopping for anything in particular when we went in there, but I always like to stop and check it out.  The dresser that sits in my bedroom right now was a previous "As is" find.

So imagine our surprise when we come across the pink bed that Sadira had been admiring for what felt like years.  The bed retails for $159.99, but the slats on the bottom of the bedframe were broken and needed to be repaired.  I checked out the price tag and the bed was marked down 50% to $79.99.

Half off is OBVIOUSLY a good deal, but Sadira didn't NEED the bed.  She was still sleeping in her crib converted to a toddler bed, and it was working just fine.  I knew she loved the pink bed, so it was a bummer to pass it up, but $80 on a bed that she really didn't NEED still seemed excessive.

Until...

I looked up and saw a sign.  Nothing big, or even really noticeable, just a 8.5 x 11 sheet of white paper taped the wall with typing that said, "TAKE AN ADDITIONAL 50% OFF ON WEDNESDAYS.  'AS IS' MERCHANDISE ONLY."

I stood there blinking at the sign trying to register exactly what it meant, and then realizing, "oh! Today's Wednesday!"  Just as I made that realization, a guy who worked at IKEA happened to notice my bewilderment and looked at the sign, then looked at the price of the bed I was eyeing, and said, "yeah, that $40 today, since it's Wednesday."

HOT DAMN YOU GOT A DEAL!

(and that is how I scored a $160 bed for $40.) :-)

I bought the bed that night and was able to fix the broken slats that even with just some extra strength wood glue.  Naturally Sadira was thrilled and wanted to set up her new bed that night.

Not so fast.

I did the ultimate mean mommy thing.  I put it away.

I knew I wanted to re-do Sadie's room for her birthday, and it was still summertime!  Perfect amount of time for me to hide the bed, and long enough that she would forget it even existed until her birthday when I surprised her with her bedroom makeover.

So the weekend before her birthday we took a trip to Home Depot, and I managed to buy a can of perfectly pink paint behind her back by lying to her (yes outright LYING to my child) and telling her it was white paint for the basement. (Hey, it was white before they mixed it...)

Sadira's birthday this year was on a Monday, and I had plans of taking her to my grandmother's house on Sunday night (she usually goes to bed at my grandmother's on Sunday nights because my grandma watches her on Mondays and they both like to sleep in).  I planned on dropping her off a few hours before bedtime so that I would have time to get her room prepped and then paint it first thing in the morning (I had off work on her birthday).  THEN, I planned on picking her up, celebrating her birthday with the family, and coming home to her *hopefully dried* newly pink-painted room.

HOWEVER, that Sunday night the Ravens played the Steelers. In Pittsburgh.  On Sunday Night Football.

And my girl DID NOT want to go to Mommom's. She wanted to stay home and watch the game with Mommy.

WAY TO SCREW MY PLAN, SADES.

So I, of course, allowed her to stay home, and watch the game with me.  She almost made it to the end of the game, but fell asleep some point in the fourth quarter.  Alright, so I let her fall asleep on the sofa, while I moved ALL of her furniture to the center of the room, brought up the ladder and supplies and laid down the dropcloth.

After doing all of that (and stifling my cheers of glee as the Ravens pulled out the 4th quarter victory!) I managed to verrrrry quietly move my girl into my bed, without waking her up and spoiling the surprise.  Then, at MIDNIGHT on November 7th, I began painting her room.  Finished up around 4am, then slept for a few hours, before dropping Sadie off to my grandma's, and racing home to finish the second coat.

And THEN I took a proper nap. :-)


So in less than 9 hours her room went from THIS:

 

 

To THIS!

 

And Sadie's favorite part..."the secret hedgehog," as she calls it :-)

Oh yeah, and before I forget...total cost to redo Sadira's room, including new bed, sheet/comforter set, decals, curtains, new shelving unit and paint?  Less than $115. SWEET!

It's Pink-tastic!

 

(I think she likes it)