Saturday, September 24, 2011

{Things are starting to move along...}

So, things are starting to move along around here. I haven't actually done anything in the nursery per-say, but I am about to dive in head first.....

As I mentioned, Ali has given me her hand-me-down white Jenny Lind crib that I plan on painting gray. I am super excited about it but am slightly nervous about painting all of those tiny spindles and am hoping that I will not end up with something drippy and poorly done. We will see. I am going to buy the paint and tackle that project next week.

For the bedding, I am about to press "BUY" on my Etsy order. Black & white chevron skirt, yellow sheet, gray and white ikat bumper with black piping and ties. YES!! I cannot wait!

Also, I have been searching for a vintage dresser to be used in the nursery as a changing table/dresser. Unfortunately, I have been having the hardest time finding something that I like that is in good shape. All of the ones I have liked seemed to be misrepresented on Craig's List....

Most recent scenario....
*Email from guy - "Oh yeah, it's in PERFECT condition"......"Everything works perfectly"...."It was hardly used at all"..."Looks brand new"

*I show up after driving 25 miles and walk in to see the following -
1) The middle drawer on the left side won't push in all of the way (broken glide, not sure).
2) There are HUGE scratches on the dresser top and legs
3) The owner had sprinkled baby powder all along the inside of the bottom of the dresser (under the bottom drawers). Why, you ask? "To be used as an air freshener and to get rid of all of the ants"
!!!!!!!! SERIOUSLY!? Seriously. And that was only one of the dresser-finding journey's I went on. I actually went on 3 before I actually learned my lesson. Then, finally, when I was about to take a break from looking for a little while, I found a nice honest woman that was selling an entire bedroom set (dresser, (2) nightstands, and headboard) for $150.00. AND it was located only 10 minutes from home, thank goodness. I really like the look and it is in AMAZING shape (although it's much different looking than what I was originally thinking - Ali says it looks a bit Asian (?), but when I paint it, I'm hoping it won't). It has dovetailed drawers, and solid 1960's construction.


SOLD!
(I picked up the set yesterday & I plan on selling the other items on Craig's List for an extra added bonus)

My plan is to paint the dresser a bright yellow (the base too) and to paint the hardware white. I think it will look super cool when I am done with it (fingers crossed). I will keep you posted on the progress.

And in other news, I had still been struggling on the rocking chair front, even after sitting in the Eames one and liking it a lot. The look is amazing, of course, but at the end of the day, I just didn't feel like it would be a good middle-of-the night cozy rocking chair for me and the babe, so, I dragged my hubby to Babies R'Us ONE MORE TIME to sit in the Klaussner Lacey Glider that I mentioned in my previous post (the one that I REALLY loved, but that my husband thought was not comfortable at all). After sitting in it and really feeling it out, he decided he liked it and that we could get it :) YAY!! It is $399.00, but I have a 20% off coupon that will apply if I buy it after October 14th, so that will save $80.00 right there. Awesome!!!! And, there is a 90 day return policy, so once we get it home, if we aren't happy with it, we can return it and start over (hopefully this will not happen - I really don't think it will). Here it is once more for your viewing pleasure.....

The Klaussner Lacey Glider in Slate
I love it SO SO much!! I think it is super duper comfortable. After sitting in it again, I've decided that I am actually going to pass on the $200.00 ottoman. You may think I am crazy, but it is kind of tall for me, so it makes my under-knees sore - like they are being hyper-extended. I think I would rather have a stationary stool, or something a little lower . . . . . ooh - like a Moroccan pouf......


YES!!!!!

And on one final note, the baby loot is growing....

I MUST STOP NOW!! LOL

(**Yeah right, who are we kidding!!? Baby clothes are tooooo much fun!!)

Happy weekend :)
-L

Friday, September 16, 2011

{One more rocking chair post..& then I'll stop!}

Ok, I know that it is pretty silly to obsess over something that really isn't that big of a deal, but I just wanted to ask one bit of advice before I lay this issue to blog rest (of course I'm still going to think about it until I make an official decision, but I don't need to bother you guys with it again).

So, my question is, knowing that I won't be indulging in a fancy-pants-upholstered-soft-as-a-cloud-yet-still-modern-&-stylish-looking rocking chair like the ones that I posted in my previous post, which of these 3 still nice looking but not plush rockers do you like best.........?

**The fabulously modern/vintage Eames shell rocker (good quality replica's can be found on ebay for around $145-$199 + tax)



The Ikea Poang rocking chair & 0ttoman ($169 + tax)


or the Dorel Monaco Bentwood rocker ($89.99 available at Wal-Mart)

None of them are super plush, but they have all gotten good reviews and are still pleasing to the eye.

Thoughts?

:)
thx!
-L

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

{A new friend & a rocking chair dilemma}

First off, I want to say that it was SO SO SO great (understatement of the century) to meet Cassie of Primitive & Proper. She is all that we hoped for and MORE!!!!! We wish she could stay forever, but since that's not possible, Ali and I are looking forward to visiting her next year sometime in her new home. Yay for Cassie!!!


Ok, now onto the rocking chair dilemma. So, everyone tells me that I MUST have a rocking chair (or a glider) in the nursery. I agree that it will be so sweet to rock my little one throughout the day/night, BUT.....why....oh WHY are rocker/gliders SOOOO ugly!!! (no offense to anyone that has one that they love, this is just my opinion). I do like the look of the regular old wooden rocking chairs like my Grandma used to have, but as far as a cozy breast-feeding rocking chair goes, I'd rather it be at least a little bit plush/upholstered. The ones that I have seen that I L-O-V-E are of course eighty-bagillion dollars, and I am not willing/able to pay that whatsoever!

But, just for fun, here are some of the chairs that I have seen that I L-O-V-E......

(Nurseryworks Empire Rocker)

(Dwell Studio Savoy Glider)


(*Gus modern sparrow glider)

(brand unknown)

(Oilo Cohen Glider)

Pretty much all of those chairs range from $900-$1500. Crazy!! I'm sure they are worth it, but they are NOT even close to being in my budget.

This is one that I actually REALLY like that has a similar look but it isn't in that super crazy price bracket....

It is the Klaussner Lacey Glider in Slate and it is sold at Babies R Us. It is still expensive ($399 for the chair and an additional $199 for the gliding ottoman), but after sitting in it and liking it a lot and pleading my case to my hubby, he said that if I really loved it and would use it for all of our kids...if it was the "dream"....then we could look into it. :) Yay!! I was so happy. So, I dragged him out to Babies R Us so that he could see it/sit in it and we could lock in the decision.....and.....he really didn't like it. He said it wasn't comfortable on his back at all and that it almost had too much lumbar support. Boo! :( I know I'll most likely be doing the majority of the rocking, but I still want him to like it too. So...the search continues.

Oh....and just for fun, here I am at almost 18 weeks (the picture is from Saturday and tomorrow (Wednesday) I will be 18 weeks). I am finally showing a little bit. :)
Happy Tuesday!

-lisa

Friday, September 9, 2011

{Feeling better & more baby stuff}

Happy Friday everyone. I am feeling better finally. I am still a little stuffed up, but am feeling much better than before. We had a power outage last night that forced me to bed at around 8:30, so I woke up today feeling refreshed and ready for the day (and the temperature cooled off by about 10 degrees around here, so that has definitely helped).

Now, on to to baby stuff (of course - duh!! (haha)). Since I will be using Ali's hand-me-down Jenny Lind crib (and plan on painting it a charcoal gray), I have decided that I want to get custom crib bedding made on Etsy rather than purchasing one of the traditional crib sets that they sell at babies r us. The prices are comparable and I like that I get to pick everything that I want. There are so many great designer fabrics out there, and so many great companies to choose from. I am not and never have been into baby rooms that look super baby-ish. Yes, I know that babies are stimulated by primary colors, and it's important to surround them with soft and cozy things, but I don't think having baseballs or bunny rabbits or Elmo surrounding them when they sleep is necessary (haha), I'm just saying (and I know I am not alone in this either).

Now some insight about me - I am TERRIBLE when it comes to making decisions. I either like everything too much or not enough or am unsure about what I like, so when it comes to locking things in and placing an order, I get pretty excited, but also pretty overwhelmed. So, designing crib bedding from scratch has not been an easy task but I think I finally know what I want to do. I am obviously going to wait another couple of weeks to be sure that my little guy is for sure a "guy", and then I am planning on pulling the trigger. These are the textiles that I have chosen so far......boyish without being too cliche, right!!? :)

Box-pleated crib skirt out of this.....

Yellow fitted crib sheet out of either plain yellow or a smaller pattern like this....

And a slightly stuffed bumper using this fabulous ikat fabric....(with the inside panels possibly being gray minky fabric so it's soft if the little guy rubs up against it. I also need to decide what color piping and ties I want - maybe black? or yellow? or white? Not sure yet.)

It's going to be so cool, right!!!!? I am starting to get super excited. And I may even add some of this fabric for a fun extra pop of color.....
Isn't it awesome!?! I think it is super vintage looking and kind of unexpected. I cant wait to see it once it all comes together!

I love it!!! & I hope you do too!! Have a great weekend :) I know I will!

-L

Monday, September 5, 2011

{Ahhh-chew!!}

So, I was doing great, we went to Vegas, my energy was back, and then BAM....an end of summer cold hit me, just to get me in the mood. So, sorry for the lack of blog posts, but this is what it looks like around here at the moment...

Super fun!

But, I did have my 16 week ultrasound/appt last week and the doctor says that all is well :) One more awesome thing that the doctor said was that we will be adding a little B - O - Y to our happy family!! Yay for baby boys!! We are so excited! And although I think I could do way more damage if the doctor had said the "G" word, check out this baby boy loot....

The Labor Day sales were calling to us....and we were listening! Carter's had a sale that was 50% off of their entire store, and in my defense, I have been VERY good about waiting to find out what we were having before going hog wild, so we were due!! :) yay for cute snugly baby clothes!!

Once I kick this cold in it's behind, it is onto name deciding and nursery decorating :) I know I skipped the master bed/bath on the home tour posts, but eh...I'm just not in the mood. It's on to baby!! Here are some of my baby boy nursery loves. Some aren't overly boy-ish, but it's the overall look that I like and could tweak if needed....




A lot to think about!! :)

Happy labor Day!

-L