permission granted. . . sort of

The baby's room is (mostly) ready...he now has permission to arrive.

Although, my mom would probably say otherwise. She's wanting him to wait until April 5 so she can make sure to be here. And really, I'd like that too.

So scratch the permission granted bit, and let's just say if he does decide to come early, we're ready for him.

Here are a couple of not-so-great pictures of the room. But you get the idea...

the below pic shows how we are using our one extra room as a nursery/office ... and as tim gunn would say, "make it work"

both the changing table and the rocking chair were purchased used and not the color we wanted, but with a little bit of sanding, primer and black paint - we're good to go.

So there you have it. A little peak at Wyatt's new "crib"

more of the nursery...especially for you, mom :)

So I did some more work in the nursery this afternoon and thought I'd share some of it with you all...and ask for your input as well.

For above the crib, I found this super cute "cherish" sign at Ross for only $3.99 (can't beat that) and wanted to pair it with 3 frames that will be filled with our little guy's adorableness (is that even a word?) once he arrives. I already had some black frames at home that will definitely work, but then I found these 3 other frames (each was less than $6!!) and thought that maybe the different colored/textured frames would make things a little more interesting to look at. ??? Thoughts ??? Is it too much? Which combination of frames do you like better?



For above the dresser, I found 3 AWESOME old prints at Spencer's Alley here in Salem (for those of you who enjoy decorating and good deals, if you haven't been there, you should definitely go...it's my new favorite place) and then purchased some cheapo black frames from IKEA. Along with the 3 prints, I created an ABC sheet on Microsoft Word with our little guy's name included in it, and I love the way it turned out.

Here are some close-ups of each of the prints:







Aren't they cool? Not to mention perfect for a little boy! They make me smile.

We still have a couple big projects to tackle, including painting our changing table and rocking chair, but other than that we're moving right along! Only 2 months to go...

Nursery Sneak Peek

Slowly, but surely, the nursery is coming along. There is still a lot of work to be done, but I am really happy with the way things are turning out. Here are just a couple photos of the crib and bedding along with the mobile I made. I'm still not sure what I will be hanging on the wall above the crib, but I have a couple ideas that I'm toying around with...so I'll post more pictures once the decision has been made.

Also, I'm pretty excited about how much each of these items cost...because let's be honest...babies cost a lot of money, so deals are ALWAYS welcomed!

*Convertible Crib (that we absolutely love!) - $187

*Bedding (which includes the bumper, fitted sheet and crib skirt that my amazing mom whipped together!) - $52...plus, I have lots of leftover fabric!

*Mobile (after 57 attempts of trying to get just what I wanted, I think I finally got there) - $5

checkin em off

My list of "projects to complete before baby comes" is quite lengthy...and I just keep adding to it. But, with the help of my amazing mom, I have been able to check a couple things off my list:

• Set up crib - check
• Have mom make crib bedding - check

My mom still has all the crib bedding, but once she sends it, I'll set it all up and take a picture of the crib in all it's glory. But for now, here's a picture of the bumper...

28 weeks down, by the way! I can't believe I'm almost at 30 weeks. Baby's growing and time is flying, that's for sure!

crib bedding

I love my mom. She has agreed to make my crib bedding since I haven't been able to find ANYTHING I like in the stores. Everything is too themed for me...animals, abc's, trucks, planes...they just don't do it for me. So, I went out today to find fabric and am so excited with my picks (not to mention that it was all on sale).

I was planning on going with black, white and cream and then sprucing it up with more colorful accessories, but then I found this fabric and couldn't resist.

Thanks, mom! :)

Another Project

Every once in awhile I get really tired of/bored with something. Once that feeling sets in, it doesn't go away until I change it. So. . . .

I've had these three mirrors (which I don't know why I ever purchased) hanging on our wall for some time now. For whatever reason, I've been SO OVER them lately, and finally decided to do something about it. For $12 I created a new look - Nothing too spectacular, but it will keep me satisfied for at least a little while.

the "blah" mirrors:

the $12 dollars:the "happy for now" look:

In Need of Some Color

We spent our Saturday painting. Originally, I thought we would do the kitchen and both of the bathrooms in one day...YEAH RIGHT! I guess I didn't realize how long the kitchen would take us. Even though it's a small space, there are lots of corners and edging to do with all the cabinets and such. It took us most of the day and by the time I had the kitchen put back together, I was exhausted. I guess the bathrooms will have to wait a couple more weekends for their color. For whatever reason, I've been really in to decorating and updating lately. All of these recent and upcoming projects are in an effort to make our townhouse feel more like home (for those of you who aren't aware, Brett and I manage the townhouses on Corban College's campus, where we both graduated from). Sometimes I wish I could just completely re-do things in here - like new flooring, new appliances, new cabinets, and so on. However, we have been so blessed with this situation because we don't have to pay any living expenses... I really can't and shouldn't complain. So I guess for now, a little bit of color will do. I can definitely be happy with that. :) Here are the before and after pics -

What have I started?

Here is my IKEA purchase -

It's nothing too exciting, but it hides away all of our games and dvd's while storing all my craft supplies as well. Prior to this, everything was either shoved into the closet or sitting out on an open book case. It all had a place but it just looked a little sloppy for my taste. Now it looks put together and pretty (at least more so than it used to). Now - I'm not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing - but this project has inspired me to start tackling other things around our home as well. I think Brett and I are going to start with painting our bathrooms and kitchen this weekend...we'll see how that goes and if we can agree on the colors. Should be fun!

In need of an update...in more ways than one!

It's been awhile since I posted, so I figured it was time for an update. Brett is doing much better after having mono and is back at work and doing well. After 7 + weeks we were both more than ready to have him back up and running (okay well, maybe he's not quite running yet, but we are making progress). Nothing super exciting has happened lately, but yesterday, I did a complete "spruce up" of our home. Sarah Officer helped me pick out some great stuff from Pier 1 and also helped me rearrange my whole living room. It came out looking 10x's better than I expected! Take a look...

the before - this fabric was on all of our living room furniture:

the great throw pillows Sarah helped pick out:

the complete look: this chair was also covered with that nasty fabric in the first picture, and look what I was able to make of it!

...and I thought I was going to have to buy new furniture to change the look of our home. You can accomplish so much with a slip cover and some great pillows. Thank you Sarah, for helping me get a fresh new look in our home!