Big-Girl Garden Room Reveal: Dressing Up

Dear Em,

* This is part of a five post room reveal. For more peaks into the room, see also Big Girl Garden Room Reveal: The Bed, Big Girl Garden Room Reveal: Your Book Nook, Big Girl Garden Room Reveal: Star Gazing, & love letters. *

You've loved playing dress-up for a while now, but we never had a place to store all of your dress-up clothes in your old room. Since you were moving into a bigger, big-girl room, I wanted to create an area where dress-up fun can happen.

In one corner we have your dress-up rack from Ballard Designs. We bought it with a coupon. It was still pricey, but I love it. It has all the storage solutions your last rack does not, & it's sturdy enough to hold all of your dress-up things. You have a lot. Mostly past halloween costumes, hand-me-downs, & things bought after halloween for great prices.

You enjoy sitting at your vanity while you put on your costume jewelry. Someday the vanity can double as a desk. For now, a sense of whimsy is added with these butterflies your Nonnie found at Land of Nod. We used ceiling hooks & fishing line to hang them. They look like they're kind of fluttering around your garden room.

In the middle of your dress-up area is your dresser that holds your regular clothes. It goes with your bed from Pottery Barn. We had bought your first dresser from Babies R Us. It was not a cheap dresser, but it was made with cheap materials & promptly fell apart in less than a year. This dresser is sturdy & will last after continued use. We love it & how much it holds. The best part was that your dresser & bed were assembled upon delivery (even though we had gotten a special for free delivery). Do you know how happy that made your daddy? Have I told you how much we love Pottery Barn?

You're rocking on your "rocking lamb" which was a gift from your aunt Gina.

The wall is decorated with prints we bought when we traveled to Ireland & my grandma had framed before you were born. We used them in your nursery, & I wasn't ready to let them go yet. The definition of your name was a baby shower gift. The bright yellow & blue candle holders we've had but haven't displayed, & the cute blue owl we found at Home Goods (had I gone there first, I probably could have done your whole room from HomeGoods).

I bought a mason jar & silk flowers from Michaels to add to the garden theme.

Santa had put these letters (from Kohls for super cheap) in your Christmas stocking, but we hadn't had anyplace to put them. Now they hold pictures of us, your nonnie & papi, your grandma & grandpa, your aunts & uncles & you. I thought it was a fun way to display the people you love so dearly.

In the corner, by your closet, sits a blue chair that used to be my grandma's. Wasn't my grandma so fun to have a blue chair, & how perfectly does it fit in your garden room? The girl in pink on the circle of wood hanging on the wall is something your Nonnie made for me when I was a little girl. Great, right? The little Emma ornament was a gift to you from your Uncle Briant & Aunt ErinShea, the hope ornament we bought in Ireland, & the Angel ornament was my grandma's. I like to think she's watching over you while you sleep. I love having pieces of our different family members throughout your room.

One of my favorite pieces is the personalized TuTu Bow Holder I ordered from Etsy. It is so beautiful & fun. It combines two of myfavorite things: asthetics & function. As you can see, you have a whole lot of hair bows & this is such an amazing way to store them. 

Last but not least is your very favorite spot, your mirror. We often find you dancing around in front of it...no matter how you're dressed. It was off-white rather than white like the description suggested on Amazon, but that doesn't matter to you. You twirl & dance & giggle in front of it no matter what color it is. 

Lucky for me, your Nonnie painted beautiful vines & flowers throughout & now I'm OK with the color.

A fun spot for a fun girl...& boys...& everyone else who comes to play.

Tomorrow we'll look at the part of your room I would have most enjoyed at your age.

I love you so,

Mommy