Nursery 1.5: Final Stretch

I'm so excited to share the almost done pics of the nursery! In truth, it's been this way since last Thursday, but I had to wait until after the events of this past weekend to post because I wanted everyone on Saturday to be able to see it in person first.

Our wonderful handymen-Jesus and Carlos who helped us with our house after we first got it-graciously stopped by after work Thursday evening to install the light in the nursery as well as to put up the rod for the drapery. They are the masters of all things house related and B and I are very thankful for their expertise.

We ordered this pendant light from online retailer Serena & Lily. I had high hopes for it because Serena & Lily are known for their upscale products and my expectations were that their product would be high quality. Unfortunately, I can't say that I would order from or recommend ordering from them again. The lamp is cute (I love the polka dot detail on the inside of the drum), but the hardware is cheap and Carlos actually had to go out to the hardware store twice because there weren't enough parts to make it function as it should. Disappointing.

On the other hand, I am extremely happy with the rug that we ordered from Urban Outfitters. I signed up to receive e-mails from them and they sent me a 10% off code so the rug came in under $70, tax and shipping included. That's a steal for a 5x8 rug that really pulls the room together!

Because we literally just painted the house a few months ago, Blane didn't really want to repaint the baby room and I didn't blame him. So I had to get creative with how we were going to get some color onto our walls. Enter our drapery! We originally bought a rod+drapes at Pottery Barn Kids but I was walking around Target one day and found some other (cheaper!) drapes (and a rod) and they ended up working perfectly so we took the PBK stuff back. I love that the drapes inject much needed color into the room and having them go across the entire wall not only serves to effectively cover all light sources (we have both a door and a window in the room) but it creates the illusion of "paint" on one "wall" of the room. Perfecto!

Everything is coming together and it makes me so happy :D. There's still some finishing touches left-a side table for the glider, another lamp, bedding and some wall decor but all the major things are done. Yay! 

12 weeks and counting...

Aim

Nursery 1.4

Big news in nursery-land today guys. Our replacement dresser was delivered and switched out yesterday and the new and improved dresser is better than what we had hoped for.

Let's recall the first dresser...the Camp Dresser by Pottery Barn Kids.

 Pros: loved the color, tons of storage and built to last.

Cons: Way too tall for it to be a changing table

Enter new and improved dresser...the Camp Extra-Wide Dresser also by Pottery Barn Kids.

Pros: Still the same great color, even more storage, built to last AND it's about 10 inches shorter in height than its counterpart making it the perfect changing table base. Score!

On top of all this goodness comes something else I've gotta say-Pottery Barn Kids has THE BEST customer service out there. No kidding. And I've had to deal with a lot of companies in the past year or so what with wedding planning and all. (Don't even get me started on the "kill me now" service that Macy's provides. I don't think they should even call what they do "customer service" since everytime I've dealt with them has been horrendous and akin to a full blown hernia. Sorry, enough about them haha) Anyways, PBK not only switched out our dressers FOR FREE (and the new one cost $150 more and they didn't even charge us for that!) but I noticed yesterday that the dresser had gone on sale online so I called today and they're sending me a credit for the difference...a couple hundred dollars credit!!! No questions asked, just nice and friendly and efficient like they always are. 

Moral of the story is-although they may be a little bit pricier at first glance, IT IS WORTH IT. Not only do you get a superior product (solid wood and detailing that will last for years and years) but you also get superior service (awesome and efficient delivery with no mess clean up, great furniture customer service reps). That, my friends, is well worth the buck.

So thanks, PBK, for an excellent experience!

From one happy Mama-to-be,

Aim

Hello Guys

Meet Remington (back right) and Riley. These are Blane's parent's kitties and we are taking care of them this week. Yesterday when J and I went over there to check on them we opened the door and found them sitting right inside waiting like this for us. I think they are lonely and miss my father-in-law, who dotes on them daily. :)

I'm not a cat lover, but I have a special place in my heart for these two. Over the years I've come to like them-I mean, they are part of the family! I've been told that pregnant women should not handle kitty litter (whoo-hoo! haha) so B's on poop duty while I just say hi, make sure they have food and water and a treat or two.

J and I left yesterday furrier (is that a word?) but convinced that Rem and Riles would be fine for the night. They're like our babies for the week! Hahaha

Aim

A Mid-week Hello

Last night I got a text around 10pm from this guy asking if Blane and I were home and if he could stop by with his friend because he was "in the neighborhood." Noah is our youngest cousin on my Dad's side and to me he's really more like the little brother that I never had because he's essentially grown up with J and I. We go to church together and more recently, he's been serving with me in the youth program. I love seeing him on a weekly basis and last night was neat because it was an unexpected mid-week visit!

It doesn't happen very often, but I really do love it when friends and family drop in to say hi. I'm a family person and it means a lot when those I love take the time to stop in and say "hey." 

Thanks for dropping in No! We love you :D

A

P.S. This pic was taken a couple of summers ago when No's hair was long and curly, we were all a bit more tan and my face was in good working order, obviously ;).

A Sprinkling of Fun

Over the long weekend B and I got to spend some good quality time together. We had a fun dinner Friday night with friends, cleaned our house, went grocery shopping, hosted a Memorial Sunday get together for both sides of our families, B played golf, we enjoyed the weather and the Heat won the first round in the Eastern Conference Finals. Couldn't have been better ;)

One new thing we tried was Sprinkles Ice Cream. Sprinkles is famous round these parts for their gourmet cupcakes. A week or so ago, they opened an ice cream shop next door to their cupcake bakery in Beverly Hills. I'm not one to "hop on the bandwagon" but something about the ice cream shop intrigued me and so Blane and I meandered over there this past weekend. 

Fortunately, the line wasn't too bad (we waited about 15 minutes or so) and we found parking right in front (no small feat in Beverly Hills) so hopefully this was going to be good :). They had ten or so flavors featured and after trying two each (the limit) we went with coffee (B) and dark chocolate (me). I'm pretty sure their "signature flavor" is the red velvet but somehow the chocolate called my name today. I'd say the majority of people had the red velvet in their special "red velvet waffle cone" to boot so if I ever go back, then I'll have to try that.

The one big downfall is the price-we didn't get anything fancy (just one scoop each, no toppings) and it was $7. Can you tell from the pic below how teeny-weeny the scoops were too?!? Not cool Sprinkles :( Ya'll make Baskin Robbins look like a deal!

Of course, I couldn't pass up a chance to peek into the cupcake shop next door to see what flavors they were featuring and one-Key Lime Pie-caught my eye. I used the "I'm pregnant" excuse and snapped one up to bring home for later :).

Hope you all had a wonderful holiday weekend as well. Here's to a great week!

Aim

Pause

God Bless America.

Happy Memorial Day!

Aim

Nursery 1.3

Nursery big item #3 has arrived!!!

Yesterday, J and I were home to welcome our newest (and last big purchase) item to the nursery. Drumroll please...

Welcome to our glider chair! It looks exactly like this picture (because I chose the all white slipcover) so what you're seeing is what we got. The scale of it is humongous. It's the biggest item in the room now, easily. J and I laughed but we both agreed that it's also going to be one of the most used and therefore, the "bigness" of it is a necessity since it is so comfortable.

Here it is in our nursery! (excuse the wrinkled slipcovers-J and I quickly remedied that issue with our handy dandy steamer) I'm not sure if you can tell how huge it is from this shot, but I invite you to come over and see it for yourself...maybe curl up in it for a nap or to read a good book. Mmmm....sounds delicious doesn't it? :)

Now on to the final touches, a tweak or two and some little details. Stay tuned!

Aim