Wicked Excited.

I am so incredibly excited.  I have just booked a "girls weekend" for E and I with some friends to take New York City by storm.   After a million years I am finally going to see Wicked on Broadway and I can't wait!

 Has anyone else taken their little girls to NYC for the weekend?  Any must see's? (Besides the obvious...) We will be staying in Midtown. 

Gold Athena Tray Giveaway

See this baby in the top left hand corner?   I'd like to you to meet the Gold Athena Tray.  

Isn't she lovely?  Thanks to Vanillawood who will be giving a tray to one lucky Kiki's List follower.

Here are the rules for the contest: 

1.) You must be a follower of Kiki's List.  If you are not sure how to follow, click here.

2.) To enter the giveaway, leave a comment in the comment section of this post between today, Wednesday, May 30 and Friday, June 1.  A winner will randomly be selected.

3.) Each of the following are worth an additional entry:

• Share a link to this post on Facebook.  Leave an additional comment on this post, letting me know that you have done so (include link.)

•  If you have a blog, share a link to this post.  Leave an additional comment on this post, letting me know that you have done so (include link.)

•  Tweet about this giveaway.  Leave an additional comment on this post, letting me know that you have done so (include link.)

• “Like” Vanillawood on Facebook.  Leave an additional comment on this post, letting me know that you have done so.

• Follow Vanillawood on Twitter.    Leave an additional comment on this post, letting me know that you have done so.

Photo 1 via, Photos 2 & 3 via.

A Sneak Peak...

As you may already know, E wanted her room redone for her 7th birthday (which isn't until September, btw.. but at the rate I am going I am lucky to have it done by Christmas.)  So, while the painters were at the house, I had them paint our guest bedroom, and I couldn't be more in love.  I chose Silver Chime by Duron.  It's so calming.  When I first painted a swatch on the walls, I thought they forgot to mix it and gave me a can of white paint.  It's ever-so-grey and ever-so-calming.  Of course, I am a color girl and plan on turning up the color with artwork and accessories.  My quest for color started with my framed Vera Scarf that I bought months ago.  

 I finally found the perfect frame (I had to save up for it) and couldn't be more excited with the outcome.  Hopefully, I'll be able to give you a full reveal much sooner than Christmas. ;)

Photo taken by Ryann Colleen Photography

Cover it Up.

Ahhh.... Memorial Day weekend.  Time to hit the water.

 I can not fathom how another year has past and another summer is about to begin.  I fully understand and appreciate that Memorial Day is about remembering those who have lost their lives for our country and am so grateful to all of the people who risk their lives daily to defend our freedom.  However, Memorial Day for me marks another year where I promised myself that I am not going to be the fat Mom sitting at the pool in her MuuMuu. Yet once again, I have failed to deliver on that promise.   I don't want anyone to think that I am a self-loathing 35 year old with no self confidence... that is certainly not the case.  I am just stating the facts;  wishing I had run a few hundred miles or stopped eating Chipotle before this weekend so that  I looked a little more like this:

But perhaps I should just resign to my fate and just start shopping here.

Hardware Heaven.

I have been searching for hardware for a few open projects and have come across some of the most beautiful, elegant pieces.  I thought I'd share.

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Time to Share.

See this little chunkalotta?  That's my niece, Olivia with my beautiful Sister-in-Law, Milena (at Lou's Tinker Bell Party last year.) 

After a long night at the hospital, she now has a sweet baby sister.  Julia Grace, born at 12:03 this morning, 8 lbs. 9 oz.

As you can see from this picture, she is not so good at sharing.

This should be interesting.;)

From Blah to BAM!

Let me take you through the transformation of a cabinet....

This picture is just plain embarrassing.. We used to use this in our family room to store our baby arsenal of diapers, wipes and burp cloths.  I actually took these photos three years ago because I was going to sell it on Craig's List.

as you can see, it was distressed..

I decided to give her one more chance, so we moved it to the foyer as a catch all for everything that comes into our house.  Chinese Red was the color that came to mind.  It was really hard finding the perfect red.  It turned out to be Red Geranium by Glidden.  (That's the sample smack dab in the middle.)

I painted on a sample to make sure it was just the right color.

And it was!  I removed the starbursts from the existing draw pulls and spray painted all of the hardware in Rustoleum Brass spray paint. As you can see, this needs more styling and I still need touch up some areas but nonetheless I am super happy with the results.  It brings a smile to my face every day when I walk in the door.

Last image taken by Ryann Colleen Photography

This Takes Balls.

But God Damn do I love it!

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Fashion Friday: The 411.

I received several emails from readers asking me about the dress and earrings that I wore to Lou's Party.   (Not the most flattering picture of me..  I look like I have no teeth!)

The Darleena dress is from Lilly Pulitzer.  I picked it up at the Austin store.  I am not normally a Lilly kind-of girl, but I could't pass this one up!

The earrings are Coralia Leets.  I picked these up at MayaStar in Austin several years ago.  While these earrings are not the exact earring that I own, they are the closest thing that I could find online.

Hope that helps!

Purple Velvet.

I am looking for the perfect purple velvet for that pesky bench in E's Room.  I have ordered a few dozen samples, keeping my fingers crossed that one of them is the perfect shade.  In my search, I came across this chair from a 300 square foot apartment that Nick Olsen designed in Brooklyn. 

 That is right... 300 SQUARE FEET!  That man is amazing.  Look at everything he was able to cram in this space, and it doesn't even look slightly crowded.   

Lou's 4th Birthday.

This year, Lou wanted a Strawberry Shortcake theme.. So I went with it.  I tried to incorporate as many tasteful strawberries as possible, but the overall theme tying everything together was pink.  Perfect for a party full of four-year-old girls.  We had such a fun time!

Photography- Ryann Colleen

Invitations- Belly Bean Cards

Envelopes- See Tutorial Here.

Cake- Tastefully Treated

Marshmallows- One More Bite

Ombre Ruffled Table Cloth- Gravina Sisters

Flower Poms- Martha Stewart Crafts

Strawberry Sunglasses-MakesParties.com

Strawberry Boxes- Simple Tastes

Strawberry Jewelry- Similar found here

Strawberry Shirt- Lemon Lime Babies

Strawberry Piñata- Shindigz