Nursery Reveal: Before and After "On Parade" Baby Girl's Room

At my doctor appointment today, it was decided to schedule me for induction tomorrow at 5:00 in the morning! So as I finish up a bunch of things around the house I thought I'd do one more pre-baby post of the nursery, we finally hung the curtains today and are all ready to go!

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Sources:

PB Teen Blue Velvet Blackout Curtains via Ebay

Curtain Rods homemade and spray painted white

Pink acrylic curtain rod finials - PB Teen $1 each on clearance

Changing table - Craiglist

Changing table baskets and liners - garage sale

Side table - Ikea

Rocking chair - wedding gift

Pillows- handmade with Sarah Jane for Michael Miller Children at Play On Parade Fabric

Lamp - family antique with mod podged fabric lampshade

Picture Frame - PB Kids, thrifted

Crib Sheet - Target Circo on clearance

Crib - hand me down

White crib bedding - Ebay

Almost everything for this room was either what I already had or given to us. The only thing we bought specifically for this space was the EMT and brackets for the curtain rods and the curtains. We love how it turned out! Now we just need a baby :) 

Wish me luck ~ until next time!

Eggplant Parmesano / Natural Remedies for Labor Induction??

I have had several friends and some sources on the internet say that supposedly Eggplant Parmesan is supposed to help induce labor. Here I am, 4 days till due date still pregnant, so my awesome husband brought home an eggplant and made me this super delicious dish! It's worth a try, right?

I used the recipe found HERE 

I have never had Eggplant Parmesano, or eggplant at all for that matter so this was a new "adventure" for me. It was SOOOO good! So good, in fact, I told my husband it was the type of gourmet dish that would tempt me to become a vegetarian! I definitely recommend this dish and for you to check out this recipe over at The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

It's been about an hour since I indulged and I haven't gone into labor yet (ha!) but at least my tummy is full and happy :)

Happy Memorial Day, enjoy your holiday!

Counting down to baby...

Swollen face, swollen feet, all worth it when this babe I will meet!

Quick & Easy Crafts for the Nursery and a Sneak Peek! Part 2: Easy Scrapbook paper and washi tape banner

After the tissue pom poms (see previous post), I make this super easy banner/ garland? / pendant? / bunting? using scrapbook paper and washi tape. I used my scrap pad of Sarah Jane's Children at Play for girls and some washi tape I bought from Pick your Plum. It took about 10 minutes.

1. So gather your supplies: paper, tape, scissors, and a template for the banner. I just cut one really quick out of a scrap in the size I wanted.

2. Cut out triangles with template. I chose to cut 9. I want to possibly put her name on it but we haven't decided on one yet so this should cover all the names on our list :)

3. Lay out the triangles in whatever order you want. It would also be cute to use just a few papers and repeat the pattern. 

4. Roll out your washi tape as long as the triangles plus about 6 inches extra on each side, leaving the sticky side up.

5. Place each triangle on top of the sticky side of tape, halfway up.

6. Fold over the tape evenly at the middle al the way across over itself and the papers.

7. Hang, step back, and enjoy your handiwork!

This is over the changing table and the Children at Play On Parade fabric canvas I made. Love it :)

Quick & Easy Crafts for the Nursery and a Sneak Peek! Part 1: Tissue pom poms

So... it's crunch time. The baby's due in 2 1/2 weeks and there has been 2 simple things I wanted to make for the nursery that I finally got around to doing today. We still need to hang the curtains and are waiting for the handmade quilts from the grandmas (hint, hint) and then it will be complete. So this is kind of a "sneak-peek" :) With my stomach hardening in braxton hicks all day though, she might come before it's done. But let's not get our hopes up :) 

The first project was these simple tissue poms. Poofs? Flowers? Whatever they are, I had read all over the internet that they are super simple to make. I followed a tutorial I found on pinterest here:

This was a no cost project for me since I always recycle tissue paper and bows and I had just enough of the colors I wanted, score! I wanted to use these instead of a mobile over the crib. So here is how they turned out:

Before I did this project I considered myself a crafty person, but somehow I managed to botch this "super easy" craft that every one and their dog can do (PINTEREST FAIL!) So don't look too closely!!! I kind of tweaked them a bit till they looked passable and decided that at this point, in between contractions, I just wanted the darn things hung. Done.

I just love the colors and the theme of this nursery, isn't it looking cute?

Come back for part two next!

A few living room updates

After being inspired by my visit to Pottery Barn (see last post), I was itching to switch things around on the ledge and see if I could make it look like what I saw in the store. Now yes, I realize my home is not a store showroom, nor do I want it to look or feel like it is, but I have had such a heck of a time trying to figure out how to decorate this space! So after taking some pictures I was interested in taking on this design challenge. The neat thing about this "project" was it cost no money, I simple rearranged everything that was up there and added my big chalkboard to ground the grouping and define the space a little. All I did was look at the pictures I took and tried to recreate what I saw- and I learned a few things! Every grouping started with the tallest things in the middle and moving out toward the smallest things on the ends. 

So here is the BEFORE:

And the AFTER:

What do you think? Does it look like "too much stuff" bunched together, or does it look ok? I am getting used to it...

Also this Spring, I was able to save up some "odd-job/side-job" money and give my living room a little make-over. It was super fun and I love the way it turned out. 

New curtains from TJ Maxx and I sewed new pillow covers from a Target Threshold shower curtain I got on ebay. The fabric has all the colors I wanted in the room- green, blue, yellows, browns, and cute birds too :) The curtains are white with a gray/taupe trellis type design and cool metal grommets on top. Everything was just TOO brown before and it needed some color and style - a breath of fresh air. (Sorry the picture lighting w/ my phone is tricky...)

This was my BIG purchase! I had been wanting a new recliner chair for our living room for quite some time. Don't get me wrong, I still love my old chair but it was truly falling apart and looking quite dingy - it was getting embarrassing! We took it upstairs so I can still enjoy it out of public view :) But when I walked into TJ Maxx one day I was on a mission to find a new chair. My husband was doubtful but I went straight to them and lo behold there it was! Actually, I was looking at another chair but it was quite uncomfortable and did not recline. My husband said "How about this one?" It is a Lane brand which I love and it was pretty comfortable, but it didn't look like it reclined either. Then my husband looked at the tag and said "Well this tag is for a recliner, but you get the idea." Then while I was sitting in it, he said, "Wait a minute!" And pulled out the footrest and sure enough, it was a recliner! I was like "Shut up!" And he was like "No way!" And we were like "Sold!" It was quite exciting :) It was right within my budget and when I got home and googled it, I found out we got it for half the retail price! Sweet! It is called a Lane Fritz High Leg Recliner, and not sure what fabric, in case you are interested. I also bought this pillow while at TJ Maxx to bring in the grays/taupes and blue.

And here I have my fun Spring blocks (tutorial here) with new hurricanes I scored at Target on clearance for $5 a piece, my coffee filter wreath (tutorial here), and a cute metal key my sis -in- law gave my for Christmas. The mirror was from Walmart.

So that's my updates for now! Hope you enjoyed, have a great weekend!

PB Summer Vignettes

On vacation... last "hurrah" before baby comes... had to stop by my favorite store. I got some great ideas for large decorative groupings, I had to take pictures to remember (am I the only one who does this?!) I would love to be able to pull something off like this on that odd ledge in my living room, or even on top of my china hutch.

So here are 5 lovely pictures for you to enjoy and maybe get a little decorating inspiration from....

Have a great weekend!