Opinions for Nothing

Call for Opinions: Redecorating a Little Girl's Bedroom

If the title of this post sounds familiar, it's because I asked for your opinion on the same subject a couple years ago. (Check it out.) I didn't buy new furniture at the time, though. My older girl came out of her crib and moved into the daybed (with trundle) that used to be our guest bed. My younger girl went into the crib we originally bought for the older one. My older girl is now four, and my little one is two, and potty-trained, and still sleeping in her crib.

We'll be moving soon and I don't want to move the baby furniture. I'd like to sell the crib and matching dresser as a set. Both girls will need new dressers and we will need one bed; two if we'd like to have a guest bed again. I love little girl bedroom sets, but I don't want to be going through this again in five years when my oldest girl decides her furniture is too babyish. I'm going to start with her room first and then do the little one's room.

I want to find a great bed and a great dresser. I'll build the room around those two pieces. Start sending me stuff! I am keeping it all on Pinterest. Here is some of what I have so far:

I love a dresser with a cupboard. Even though this is from Land of Nod, it doesn't look like kid furniture.

Adorable, two separate pieces from Pottery Barn Kids.

Awesome, from Pottery Barn Kids.

Rustic, and easy to open for kids, from Anthropologie.

I love this one for me, from Crate and Barrel.

More.

Is Chia Obama racist?

I was listening to the John and Ken Show on KFI AM 640 on Monday. They were talking to Joseph Pedott, founder of the Chia Pets company and creator of Chia Obama. He was so earnest in his description of how he conceived the idea of Chia Obama. He wanted to honor the President with something respectful that represented the hope the President was bringing to the nation (a year ago, when Pedott first had the idea).

Pedott carefully chose every word and phrase in the television commercial and on the Chia Obama packaging so that each sent an uplifting, patriotic message without being political. Pedott took the product to Walgreen's, with which he had a long-standing business relationship. They were thrilled with the product and tested it in the Chicago and Tampa markets, debuting it on a Saturday. Each day the Chia Obama was on the shelves, sales increased 50% over the day before. Walgreens told Pedott they wanted to go nationwide with the product. Pedott shelled out the bucks and ordered 500,000 units. That Friday, Walgreens pulled the plug because there were some complaints about the product being racist.

"Since when is an Afro racist?" asked Pedott. He added that owners can trim Chia Obama's "hair" to any length they want. When Pedott gave one to President Obama, the President liked it. Even Jesse Jackson didn't think it was racist. Jesse Jackson, dudes.

My question is the same as Pedott's: How can an Afro be racist? Obama wore an Afro when he was younger. If he let his hair grow out now, he could have one again. (How awesome would that be?) Recently, I heard a news story about the inventor of a line of black Barbies who was criticized for making their hair too "white." The creator is black herself and said her favorite thing about playing with Barbies when she was a girl was playing with their long hair.

Right now, the only place you can buy Chia Obama in stores is at Fred Meyer in Seattle and Portland. You can also buy Chia Obama online at www.ChiaObama.com or on Amazon. Even better, you can win a Chia Obama right here.

WIN IT

To enter to win a Chia Obama, leave a comment on this post telling me if you think Chia Obama is racist or not.

To get a second entry, tweet this "RT @PeevedMichelle Can hair be racist? (Enter to win a Chia Obama!) http://bit.ly/3FMN2o" AND post a second comment letting me know you tweeted it.

Contest closes Black Friday (11/27) at Midnight Pacific. I will choose a winner randomly from those who comment.

Toddler Bedding Update

Thanks again for all your opinions about what type of bedding I should get for Kenna's new room. I did finally find a garden-themed bedding set that I like. It was really difficult! All the ones I was seeing were just so pastel or so bright. They would have looked really cute with the white furniture I was planning on getting, but they weren't really my style.

Then, to throw another wrench into the works, a friend gave us her old crib and changing table. We are, of course, very grateful for it, but the coloring made finding bedding even more difficult. The set has a natural stain (like light oak), but the top rail on each of the two crib ends is a dark country blue. (This crib is in astounding condition after having gone through three boys.)

Last week, I got a JC Penney baby catalog in the mail and found this perfect garden bedding set. The colors are darker than I had been seeing in other sets, so the blue on the crib will go nicely. It was lots cheaper than the one from Pottery Barn I had been considering, especially since my mom had a 15% off coupon.

Now we just need to get the new crib out of the living room and up into Kenna's new room.

Note: We only got the 4-pc bedding set, not every matchy, matchy thing in the picture.

Call for Opinions: A Little Girl's Bedroom

Kenna will be 18 months old this week. We will also find out this week if the new baby is a boy or girl. Fortunately, we decorated the nursery in gender-neutral colors because we knew Kenna would not be our last baby. Before the new baby comes, Kenna will move out of the nursery, into her own room. She will stay in a crib for as long as possible, but the new room will have big girl furniture as well.

Here's where the need for opinions comes in. I have zero ideas about how I want to decorate her room. What color should I paint the walls? What type of bedding should I get? What should I put on the newly-painted walls? What should I put on the window, besides a black-out shade that is?

Do you have any ideas? To help, below are pictures of the furniture I have chosen, but not yet purchased.

 

 

(Links to the items can be found on Kenna's Amazon Wish List.)

Rainbow Bookshelf

I LOVE this way to organize your books on shelves. It might be impractical if you have to find a book regularly, but for most people I am guessing your books are collecting dust so you might as well put them to use making your home more beautiful.

 

chotda's picture via freshome