girl’s nursery design board

Posted on 11.02.2014 by sarah

We’re waiting for our countertops to be finished and installed, but this doesn’t mean I’m not without distractions. I have a baby girl in my belly, and I get to decorate a room to celebrate it!

I made this same type of mood board back before we had Jack, here. It was a fun way to gather up the pieces month by month to make a nursery and what we now call Jack’s room. We would budget for one or two pieces a month, so it didn’t feel like a hefty expense, and we had something to look forward to each month! We plan to do the same with this nursery space. This mood board is a little more tech-savvy than the cut-and-paste version last time, but it serves the same purpose.

Source list: artist in kiev knob – anthropologie, dresser – west elm, 3 spouts basket sand camel – target, baby peacock mirror – wisteria, let them be little – easy, malibu chandelier – serena & lily, ribbon mobile – etsy, cool mint 582 – benjamin moore, organized girl’s closet (minus the pink everything) – the container store, rug – urban outfitters, crib – baby mod marley 3-in-1 convertible crib.

I have to say planning a girl’s room is much harder than planning a boy’s. There are SO many options, yes, but I also have that underlying voice to make sure it’s not too feminine so she grows up strong. Maybe I’m putting too much thought into the underlying effects of paint color on my baby girl’s self-worth and self-confidence. Just maybe. But I want her to be strong, independent, and know she can do anything she puts her mind to. Plus, the amount of accessories little girls can have! I can barely remember to put earrings and my ring on during the weekends!! Luckily, I expressed these concerns to a dear friend one night, and she calmly, more matter-of-factly said, you’ll teach her those things and she’ll accessorize you!

Simple as that. It made me smile and tiptoe off that edge of nervousness.

Back to the room, I plan on painting the walls Benjamin Moore cool mint 582. It’s a great pastel creamy-goodness, and I think our little girl will love it in the daytime and sleep well (hopefully) in it at night. I plan on applying some gold polka dots on an accent wall, as well. After thinking of these two colors; gold and mint, the other items above just came together!

I’ll keep you posted with the progress!!

cloth diapers

Posted on 10.04.2013 by sarah

Cloth diapers have always intrigued me, and I really wanted to try it with my own bambinos. Yes, it’s a weird thing to be excited about, but I was. Being “earthy” gets me all excited and it’s right up there, in my mind, with organization, recycling, and using glass instead of plastic! Plus, most moms who cloth diaper say they love it, AND it helps our planet, pocket book, and Jack’s bum. These all helped in my own decision to try!

That being said, you have to do what works with your household and your bambinos. I don’t think any different of friends who don’t cloth diaper. It’s my thing. I get that.

To start, I took advice from a couple different blogger moms (here, here and here), and even interacted with a few to ask questions. They were all super positive, and it was even more motivation to try!

I nervously bought everything to move forward with my decision and still remember putting that first cloth diap on Jack; I snapped a pic and sent it to the hubs saying, “we’re really doing it!“. Now its second-nature, and I don’t know why I was so nervous. Our cloth diapering routine has been going on for over two months now, and I cannot tell you how easy it is. Honestly, it’s pretty much the same protocol of disposables, but instead you’re throwing them into the diaper pail to be laundered instead of throwing them into the garbage.

Here’s our routine:

I bought 18 bumGenius Elemental One-Size All-In-One organic cloth diapers for Jack. The cloth diapers we went with mandated that Jack be at least 8 pounds before using them, so I waited until his 2 week appointment to confirm he was back up over 8 pounds and started at that point.

The plan is to have them grow with him until he’s out of diapers! Eighteen diapers until he’s potty trained? I hope so! Plus, if we have another kiddo, we could use them for him/her.

Jack’s excited about it, too!

We (obviously) just use the diapers like the disposable ones. Change when wet or soiled. I got an Ubbi diaper pail as a baby shower gift and bought two Ubbi diaper pail liners which can be washed and used again. When the diaper is wet, we just put them directly into the pail. When the diaper is soiled, we use the bumGenius diaper sprayer. We give the diaper a quick spray and put it into the pail.

For wipes, we use disposable. I know people use cloth wipes too, but having a little moisture to wipe is nice. Plus, this was the only way the hubs was on board. We put the used wipes in a separate wet bag which you can get on Etsy (that’s where we got ours), Planet Wise (I have one in my diaper bag), or most baby stores.

Once I’m down to 2 or 3 unused diaps, it’s about every-day-and-a-half, I grab the diaper pail bag and throw them (including the bag) into the wash. I wash them on heavy duty (stained cycle) with extra rinse and use Charlie’s Powder Laundry Soap, which claims to help preserve the diapers longer. One less thing to put on my grocery list!

I mostly dry them on delicate in the dryer, but if its nice out, I put them on a hanging rack and set them outside. They come out perfectly new and clean every time! It makes me so happy! Plus, if you ever do have stains, you can just set them in the sun to dry and it will naturally bleach it away! Amazing, right?!

As for negatives, I must say when we first started using the cloth diapers, Jack was pretty little. So on about three occasions it seeped out the side. Gross! This made for a mess, but once his little legs filled in (a week later) we never had that problem again! Plus, I got better at the cloth placement in the diaper, which may have been the culprit all along!

Another positive is that when we used disposables (the first two weeks and when we travel out of town), Jack gets a serious diaper rash, even though we change them more frequently than we do with cloth. I think the organic cloth saves his little bum from getting a rash, which makes a mama happy.

As you can see, we really like the diapers, and the system in our household is working great. If you are considering cloth diapering and have any questions or concerns, please feel free to write!

Cloth diapering for the win!

nursery reveal

Posted on 7.10.2013 by sarah

I know most of you have been waiting patiently for the Big Nursery Reveal! for a while now! It’s so exciting, no!?! I’m only kidding. I’ve been the one waiting to finally reveal the nursery because that meant I could finally say it’s finished!! And that is it, my friends! All I need is our baby boy to complete the space! Okay, maybe I’ll add the first letter of his name to one of the walls! We’ll see.

As I said in this post here and here, we went with a gender-neutral wall color and palette made up of natural woods and whites, then added some personal touches and gender-specific accessories. I wanted a calming place to have our baby rest his head and a place we can transition easily when he’s older. When ever I say that, I always think of those bridesmaid dresses they always say you can wear again, in the back of my closet, yep, still haven’t worn them. Maybe better thinking is Baby #2 will enjoy the space next while Baby #1 moves into another room all together. Yep, I’m a perpetual planner.

The bumper pad will be forgotten, due to the pediatricians new advisories against them in infancy. I may add one later when he gets a little older to protect his arms and legs but for now, it will stay open.

I’ll try to give a detailed list of all the goodies at the end.

Lastly, the other man of the nursery! We’re taking bets if he’ll sleep in our room or the nursery when the baby comes!

Source List: Wall Color – Benjamin Moore Pashmina (Affinity Collection) in Natura, Crib – Wal-Mart Parklane 3-in-1, Crib Skirt & Boppy cover – Handmade, Sarah Watt’s Collection fabric, Crib Mattress and Changing Pad – Nook, Ceiling fixture – Birds Nest Hanging Light, Serena & Lily, Sheepskin Rug – Amazon, Senegalese Storage Basket – Serena & Lily, Glider Chair & Ottoman – West Elm Graham collection, Floor lamp – Urban Outfitters, Orange side table – west Elm Martini table, Giraffe Bust – Anthropologie, Pouf – Handmade at City Craft Dallas, Dresser – West Elm Patchwork dresser, Animal Portraits – Berkley Illustrations on Etsy, Animal Portrait frames – Ikea, Changing table topper – Pottery Barn Kids, Rocking Bird – West Elm, Orange nightlight truck – Target, Leaf tray with nooks – Crate & Barrel, “XO” – Thrifted Canton, TX, Framed “baby Toms” – Vintage Bloom Photography, Pottery barn wood gallery frame, Shelf – West Elm Reclaimed wood 2′ with silver branch brackets, Worm – West Elm, Aesop’s Fables – Vintage from the hubs grandma, Yarn Rhino – Target, St. Louis Cardinals banks – Hubs/Gifted from childhood, Silver ABC bank – Mine/Gifted from Childhood, Diaper Pail – Ubbi from Buy, Buy, Baby, Rolling Storage Crate – Senera & Lily, Framed Baby – Vintage, Ha. My father as a baby, in Pottery barn wood gallery frame, Framed baseball – vintage single baseball by Shawn St. Peter on Etsy in Pottery barn wood gallery frame, Framed Arrows – Gotcha Arrows and Heart By ProjectType on Etsy in Pottery barn wood gallery frame, Wooden Alphabet – Bookhouathome on Etsy.

nursery art

Posted on 4.24.2013 by sarah

I’ve been thinking about the nursery walls lately but making little progress actually purchasing the wall art, until now!

Have you seen these? I don’t know about you, but I think these prints are adorable! They are handsome but playful. I found them on Etsy and saw them again on Senera & Lily a couple years ago. I’ve had them in my “favorite” section on Etsy since then but never knew quite where to put these creatures until now! All that time has passed, and I cannot think of a better location to put these wonderful animals than the nursery.

Actually last year, I tried to persuade one of my friends to put it in her nursery, but she had other prints in mind for her baby boy. Honestly, I’m glad she didn’t because now I get the chance to use them! I picked out six 5×7 prints (it was hard – there are so many to choose from) which I plan to frame and display on right side of the nursery window as you walk into the room. I already have a faux paper layout of my idea set up in the nursery and am looking forward to putting up the real thing soon!!

I’m so excited about these prints. I tried to pick animals the baby/toddler will be able to relate to and am excited for when he can point to them and give their names and sounds. So fun! I’m happy to see the starting point of my nursery walls and have ideas of a gallery wall above the changing table, a shelf above the rocker and maybe some family photos dispersed throughout. I’ll keep you posted!

kitchen nook evolution

Posted on 9.21.2012 by sarah

I’ve been working very slowly on our kitchen nook, and I feel like it’s time to update everyone on its progress! Plus, I haven’t had much on here about my house lately, and that needs to change. Today! I’ve been doing a lot of changes in this kitchen and still foresee more coming, but for now, it’s just nice to sit back and see the progress. We went from navy wallpaper, to robin’s egg blue, to chocolate brown, to no wainscoting after water damage, to removing decorative poles, to a very light gray. (sigh.) Yes, a lot of good changes.

It was a lot of labor, especially in painting, but it’s looking better and better. Plus, we added those beautiful wood floors and baseboards making it look extra special! I also decided on a yellow (well mostly green) accent color for the space which has been receiving accolades from the visitors we’ve had.

I still need a rug, curtain hardware, and curtains for this space but it’s coming together nicely.

I also have a pendant light waiting to be installed by the husband and father-in-law. Here’s a sneak preview of the pendant light. Fun, right?! Gosh, I can’t wait for this goodness to be up! And yes, I got it on sale! Score! :)

More angled views of the kitchen…

I’m especially happy with the farm table I found on craigslist. It has painted turquoise legs with a solid wood top. I sanded down the top and stained it with left over stain from our back door! It looks absolutely beautiful in this space.

Here’s a source list of my kitchen so far: Paint – Benjamin Moore – early morning mist, garbage can – simple human, chair – tolix french chair, dog bowls (beer crate) – Etsy, tray on table – west elm, pear – Z gallerie, Roman shades – imperial trellis fabric, made on Etsy, frames – thrifted, poster – “Work Hard & Be Nice to People” – anthony burill, Farm table – craigslist.

Happy Weekend!

spaghetti on bath night

Tag Archives: Etsy