Cheerful Sunday

These bright and happy curtains from Ikea all hung up in our nursery make me feel very cheerful!

The Wall

You guys... I've finally hit the wall of my pregnancy.  You know that wall where all of a sudden the simplest things exhaust me.  Where I'm feeling BIG.  Where I'm frustrated by my lack of physical stamina.

37 weeks, 3 days

One Wednesday we went to Ikea.  Finally!  I'd been waiting and waiting.  We got a bookcase for our lounge (pictured above) and the chest of drawers for the nursery.  By the time we left, I was practically hobbling and certainly huffin' and puffin'.  

On Thursday, I got up and met two new friends that I met through the birth classes.  We walked around nearby Heaton Park (Europe's largest municipal park) which was really cool.  It was great walking weather and there were fields and some animals.  There was good conversation and then a stop for refreshment.  We each had a slice of tasty carrot cake.  I was jokingly accused of being posh because I got a plastic fork to eat mine with, rather than just using my hands.  The park seems like a great place to go walking with kids (especially given the insane number of mums with prams and toddlers that we saw) and is only 2 tram stops away from us.

After the walk, I was tired, but determined to construct the bookcase.  And it damn near killed me.  I never thought putting together a simple Billy Bookcase would do me in, but it nearly did.  It was so frustrating because it was the first time I've truly felt physically hampered by my pregnancy.  Not that I can really complain, given that I made it to 37.5 weeks before hitting this wall.  I attributed it to the walk plus the bookcase being too much for me.

But then today, we did a little shopping and by the time we got home I was knackered!  I guess it's just hit that point for me and I should cut myself a little slack and succumb to it.  Thankfully, I am still happy to be pregnant.  I've heard other women talking about hitting a secondary wall of "Dear God, just get the baby out! I'm so over being knocked up."  I'm curious about whether I'll get to that one or if the baby will come before I hit it.

When did you hit "the wall"?

Did you ever hit the second wall?

Did you notice that part where I slipped it in a sly and subtle and cool about my new friends (FRIENDS! TWO!)?

Nursery Inspiration: Sneak Peak!

I told y'all ages ago that I had a vision for the nursery.  A vision that booted my awesome jungle roller-blind fabric out of my nursery plans.  I've also told you that we are making slow, but sure progress in the nursery.  That progress has continued and I've been slowly amassing the elements of my vision.

To the naked eye, the nursery still looks a shambles.  The twin bed is still in it.  The cotcrib is still in it's box and we don't have a mattress (YET!  It's ordered and on the way...).  But I've got full confidence that the final coming-together will happen fast.  It's only a matter of getting rid of the last few things and moving the other things into place.  I'm a decorating ninja!  And since the fully-decorated nursery has existed in my mind for several months now, it's just a matter of making it reality.  And that's the easy part. :)

So now, let's talk theme.  I'm not good at concise themes.  In fact, I've decided that I object to themes and only will speak of them in quotes.  Our wedding's "theme" was Glamorous Vibrant Elegant Bold Colors with a Quirky Twist.  Or something like that.  Our nursery "theme" is Vintage Childhood Nostalgia.  Now, what does that mean?  And how did we pick it?

To answer the first question, I present some pictures of things from my stash:

A vintage Tom (& Jerry) Jack in the Box

A sweet little mirrored Paddington wall plaque

An old-school Ernie

Awesome metallic postcards, framed

Metal 7 Dwarves

A close up of Dopey.  The figures have a great patina and aged quality.

Framed postcards of stamps showing famous Children's stories:

The 3 Bears, Peter Rabbit, and Rupert Bear

To answer the second... Well it was a combination of factors really.  It all started from Ross talking about finding some neat old animation cells to frame.  Ironically that hasn't happened.  It was the jumping off point for the concept because I was trying to figure out how to incorporate cartoons without going too "theme-y" or being too cheesy.  Then I started looking around at the stuff that we already had on hand.  I realized that Ross already had a huge stockpile of collectibles that fell into the category of Vintage Childhood Nostalgia.  I needed some place for all these things to go anyway... what could be cooler than incorporating all of these cherished possessions into our son's nursery.  I haven't purchased anything in those pictures above (frugality bonus!).  Ross had all of them on hand!  I've cleaned things up a bit and re-framed stuff- in frames we already had, but I've found a wealth of great stuff in our home.  By keeping things firmly in the vintage and nostalgia categories, I'm hoping to avoid tacky (in my opinion, but to each their own) cartoon "theme".  So I'm mixing silver and brassy-gold and bright colors and hoping to end up with something charming, whimsical, and super-cute.  I'll keep you posted on how it turns out!

So, how do you feel about themes/"themes"?

Cheerful Sunday

A brand new stripey shower curtain for only £3 is very cheerful!

Cheerful Sunday

Progress makes me VERY cheerful!

The nursery.  It may not look like much, but it's enough to get me smiling!

Our bedroom with a new wardrobe.

(That gap bothers me a lot more in this picture than it does in person. Yikes!)

Hope you're all having a cheerful Sunday!

Rocker Buy Baby!

(see what I did there?!)

In contemplating decor for our nursery, I started to think that I'd quite like a rocking chair in the room.  I've laid it out in my mind and there should be room for one in the corner.  In talking with my mom about the plans, she told me that she would be following in her mother's footsteps and purchasing a rocker for us.  So sweet!  I love the rocking chair that my mom has and I'd not realized that it was a present from my G'ma when my older brother was born.

I started looking at options for our rocking chair online and these are some of the options that I found.

Lots of people rave about this style of rocker, which is actually a glider.  While I hear great things about these, I'm just not sold.  I'm sure they are comfortable, but I just don't like the way they look!

available via Amazon UK £119.99

The current trend for mid-century modern furniture means that this Eames-style rocking chair is a must-have for hip nurseries.  I love that it comes in bright colors, like this cheerful yellow.  This chair is more aesthetically pleasing, but word on the street is that it just isn't very comfortable.  

available via Amazon UK £59.99

This next option looks like a nice piece of furniture that I would be happy to have in our home.  On top of that, it looks very comfy and converts from a rocking chair into a regular armchair when you're ready.  Two problems though: 1)  It's huge!  2) It's expensive!  Ah well, moving on...

available via Amazon UK £320.00

Another option is from the always popular IKEA.  I hadn't realized that the fabulous Poang comes in a rocking chair style.  This chair appeals to me because it's sleek, well-constructed, and comfortable.

Available via IKEA £133.99 (for this configuration)

I'm still not completely sold on the IKEA rocker, but I'd call it a contender.  There is part of me that is wanting something more... something more... well... like the one my mom has.  I can't seem to find any rockers like it!

My instincts were confirmed when I asked Ross what kind of rocking chair he was envisioning for the nursery.  He looked a little confused and then struggled to find the word he was looking for.  "Something... traditional."  Ah!  I guess the search continues.

What style of rocking chair do you like best?

Is it more important for it to be comfortable or pretty?

The State of The Nursery

Yesterday I made a start on clearing out the spare room.  The spare room that will become our son's nursery.  It is tiny and impossible to photograph.

Seriously, my walk-in closet in my apartment in Dallas was bigger than this room.  It's not unusual here in the UK for bedrooms to be small.  Real estate listings describe bedrooms as "single" and "double" indicating the size of bed they will fit.  Queen and king-sized beds are a rarity.

This room is plenty big for a twin-sized bed and other essentials, but it isn't the size of room that Americans are used to.  You can see in the picture the industrial shelving unit that Ross and I made into an improvised wardrobe.  There's a third half-shelf unit farther to the right that you can't see.  All that clothing needs to find a new home.  Yikes!

The beige thing piled with stuff in the middle is a twin-sized bed.  It needs to go away.  We've been talking about getting a hide-a-bed for the living room (our couches are dying a slow death anyway) so that we can still have guests.

The red bookcase is in an awkward little nook in the room.  It's moving to another wall, but actually staying in the nursery.  The books on it, however, need a new home.  And we don't have another bookcase.  I guess we'll be making a trip to IKEA soon.

So what is all that junk, you ask?  It's falls into 3 categories:

1.  Ross' clothing.  He has more clothing than any person (especially a male person) should have.  He loves a good "bargain" so will buy things when they are a good value, regardless of whether that item fills a hole in his wardrobe.  Combine this with his dislike of getting rid of things and you've got a problem.  Well we do.  I've started implementing a new technique where we discuss things "going away" instead of getting rid of things.  For some reason, it doesn't upset him as much.  What can I say?  He's a special man...

2.  Odds and ends from work.  As I mentioned previously, we end up with odds and ends of lines. Ross brings home samples and then they never leave.  I'm working on a system to help with this also.

3.  Family stuff.  Now this is the hardest category.  I've mentioned previously that Ross sister and parents are all deceased.  That means we've got all the family "stuff".  His mom's tea sets (man she had a TON of tea sets), crystal, and knick-knacks.  All of that childhood stuff that is safely stored in your parents basement/attic. Pictures that were framed in his family home.

Giant (like poster-sized) portraits of Ross' great-grandparents

It feels wrong to throw them away, but what do we do with them?!

This third category is the hardest to tackle.  I can only do so much of it without Ross' input.  I don't know what is junk and what is important.  It's tough for him to work on because every box contains potential emotional land mines.  None of it is as simple as it should be.  I've tried to clear things from this category out (obviously keeping important and sentimental things) since we got married.  It's hard to be encouraging about letting go of things that aren't needed or wanted, whilst remaining encouraging and supportive.  The good news is that having the baby as motivation for working on these things seems to make it easier for him.  Which makes sense.  There is a positive reason to be going through these memories.  

Early in the process, I was really wrestling with hopelessness.  I felt like there was just too much stuff and it would be impossible to get rid of/find new places in our home for all of this STUFF.  But once we got going, I started to see light at the end of the tunnel.

Don't get me wrong.  There is still a fair amount of work.  A room like that doesn't get sorted out in one session.  Once we do get it cleared out, we've still got to get a crib and a dresser.  Ross and I both feel strongly about having a nice room for the baby to come home to and that will keep us going.  Let's do this!

Did you have to do a lot of work to prepare your baby's room?
Were there any special challenges you faced in getting rid of stuff?

Nursery Inspiration

For the longest time I was holding off on thinking about how we would decorate the nursery.  A big part of me wanted to go with bright, bold colours regardless of whether we were having a boy or a girl.  I have always hated the "pink for girls, blue for boys" school of thought when it comes to baby related goods.  So, I thought, I'll just do something bright and fun and mostly gender neutral.  I can throw in a few feminine touches if its a girl.  Right?

But then, I also had visions of sweet pastel wonderlands, full of fairies and twinkle lights and pink, pink, pink for our darling princess!   We could hang these beautiful pictures, that I found in the gift shop of our favourite theatre and have been looking for a reason to buy for ages now, over the crib.

They Danced by the Light of the Moon by Sally Anne Lambert

They Sailed Away for a Year and a Day by Sally Anne Lambert

And so I waited.  I decided that there was no reason to get all worked up or tied to any ideas until we knew whether we were having a boy or a girl.  (Even though I totally knew we were having a girl because my husband told me so because his dead relatives told him so in a dream.)

OOPS!  Whatever, I so totally knew it was a boy all along.  Ross says he did too, but he's lying.  So this revelation meant I could move forward with my bright, fun nursery inspiration.  And I knew exactly where to start.

The first time I walked into our warehouse, I noticed 2 roller blinds in the corner by the door.  One of the hazards of Ross' line of work is that he buys LOTS of an item.  He then sells those items on to others, usually in smaller quantities.  We almost always end up with 2 or 3 of any given item "left over".  I can only assume that these 2 roller blinds were left overs from some long-ago stock, but I adored them on sight.  They remained by the door.  

Once we knew we were having a boy, my thoughts strayed to these roller blinds more and more often.  I declared to Ross that our nursery would be based around them.  We put them in the car to bring them home. No, our nursery does not have 2 windows the correct size for these blinds.  Our nursery has one teeny tiny window and is smaller than the walk-in closet in my old apartment in Dallas.  But I had a vision!  A vision of quirky jungle animals!  It was perfect.  It would be the most adorable (teensy) nursery ever in the history of time!  And I would accomplish it with style, panache and zero dollars because I'm so creative!  

But then I decided to go an entirely different direction.

(Those roller blinds are still in the back of our car.  I refuse to let them go.  Eventually we'll move and have a playroom or something.  And that playroom will be the most adorable, quirky animal de-decked room of all time!)

Did you find inspiration for your nursery somewhere unexpected?

Did you change your mind about your first idea even though you, like really REALLY liked it?

Word of the Week

throwpillowcushion

Hee hee hee

Definition: the (largely pointless, but I still like them very much) decorative squares (generally) of stuffed fabric used to adorn and embellish couches, chairs, and beds
Used in a sentence:  Ross loves to squish, sit on, and otherwise mangle our throwpillowcushions into unrecognisable lumps.

Hooray for Ross!

This weekend, Ross gave me yet another reason to love him.  (As if I needed more.  Seriously- he's like the best ever.)

my fancy new bathroom floor

This weekend, Ross completed the final phase of our bathroom redo.  After living with a floor that was better than it's warped predecessor, but still not good for several months Ross put the finishing touches on our bathroom.  Just as a refresher, here's what the floor looked like before:

It may not look like a huge difference, but up close it is a million times better.  The tiles in the corner between the sink and tub were cracked and peeling and there were patches of left over adhesive from the original floor that was collecting all sorts of stray hairs and debris in a truly gross way.  

Ross did an excellent job and it looks fabulous!  Hooray Ross!  

And now to thank him, as I'm sure you all want to do, someone should arrange to have the following product imported into the UK:

MMMmmmm This is one of their new flavours that looks delish!

We discovered Coconut Bliss during a visit to Central Market on one of Ross' visits to Dallas.  Since Ross doesn't handle dairy well, his options for frozen tasty treats are somewhat limited.   He was wowed by this ice cream substitute.  It's creamy and has the right texture, something a lot of the other options don't have.  I think you'd be hard pressed to know it wasn't milk-based if you weren't told.  It's actually pretty good for you (in the grand scheme of things).  We've looked a few times and there's not sign of Coconut Bliss in the UK.  So pretty please, someone rectify this problem!  

Thanks. Kisses

A table for 2

Remember forever ago, when I teased you with this picture?

Well we finally got around to pulling it out of the warehouse.  The fact that my mom is coming for a visit next week is a good motivator.   So here's what I'm talking about:

Ross' great-aunts gate leg table

Ok, so the table came apart in transit.

The initial plan was for me to refinish the table at the warehouse, but we decided that it would be better to just bring it home.  It needs some TLC, but we can put it to use now and refinish it later when we've got more time.

It's SO much better than our old table.  You can see it in the picture below that's from this post.

Yuck!  It looks like the ones that we used to have in the common areas of my dorm back at Austin College.  And it takes up way too much space, considering that it's usually just the two of us.

So, Ross steam cleaned the whole thing while watching Emmerdale.  (Anyone else over the whole Charity and Whatshisname story line?  I don't get them together.  She's much more interesting with Kane.)  It was pretty grimy from having been buried in the warehouse for a long time (Ross estimates 10 years!).

Then he went to work with another of his all natural cleaning methods.  He used a combination of the miraculous bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) and cider vinegar.  I can't believe how well it is working!  The mixture is pulling all of the grime out and too the surface.  We may not even have to refinish the table at all!

Can you see the clean bits and dirty bits?

Gross!!

Stay tuned for how it all shakes out...

New Curtains

This is the story of how I got new bedroom curtains for free.
Or how I got new bedroom curtains for several thousand pounds... either one...

I've never loved our bedroom curtains.  They were shiny and pewter coloured.  I didn't hate them, but they didn't really go with anything in our bedroom.  The throw on our bed is made out of a similar material, but in orange, so I lived with it.

Old curtains

Shiny close up

But!  But.  I was secretly always on the lookout for alternative window coverings.  I couldn't justify spending too much on replacements as the ones we had were perfectly fine.  I kept an eye out, but never saw anything great.  Ross sells a fair number of curtains, so I also kept an eye on our inventory for any possible curtains to "steal".  No joy.  There were some green sheers that would have gone with our bedding, but they were- well- sheer.  No bueno.

Then, one magical day last week as Ross was unloading the van of items purchased at a recent auction, he brought me a packet and said, "Did you see these?"  Oh huzzah!  They were white curtains, that were sheer and floaty, but also LINED!  They were in a size that fit our window.  The angels sang.  Well maybe that's an exaggeration.  They've got this pattern embroidered on them that I'm not in love with.  But I'm not mad at it either.  They're fine, but in a much better way than the old curtains were fine.  So I call it a win.

Yesterday, I opened the package and gave hanging these babies a whirl.  Ruh-roh.  They're meant to be used on a drawstring!  We've just got a regular old pole.  But, not to be deterred, I soldiered bravely onward.

First I dug around in our spare room (the black hole of all crap in our house)  to try and find the rings that had come with our curtain rod.  We hadn't needed them since our previous curtain was tab top.  Since Ross had installed the old curtain before I arrived in England, I knew that the rings would not have been thrown away.  Hahhaha! Ross.... throw something away.... hahahahh.... It's ok, I'm ok.  I've stopped rolling on the floor with laughter.    After just a little digging, I was able to locate the rings.  Then, because I've got a mind like a steel trap, I remembered that I'd seen a pack of curtain hooks on the floor in the spare room (probably a sample from something Ross was looking at buying a while back).  Haha!  Awesome.

Rings!

Random free curtain hooks

This project was going to be completely free!  (If you don't count all the money that Ross spent at the auction...)   So, I removed the old curtain, settled on the bed with my supplies, and got to work.

Yes, that picture frame is empty.

I noticed this label on one of the panels and had no idea what it meant.

oooh... blurry picture...

I tried to just put a curtain hook through the string at the end of the curtain, but the string pulled free.  I figured it would happen, but it was worth a shot...

The string before I put the hook on.

The string after I put the hook on.

So, I pulled all 3 strings loose and started pulling on them.  The curtain started to pleat.  

I kept pulling, from both ends, until the pleats were pretty tight.   I estimated that the curtain width would be ok, even though I had a niggling suspicion that it would be too narrow.  I ploughed on and pleated both curtains. (Did anyone else hear that ominous music of foreshadowing?)  Then I tied a knot in the strings at each end of the curtain panels.

Pretty pleats!

Next I did some fancy calculations to determine that the hooks should be 11.5 pleats apart.  By fancy math, I mean just regular division.  And yes, I counted how many pleats there were.  Making an executive decision, I alternated between 11 and 12 pleats.

So, after I'd completed my complex mathematical equations, I attached the hooks to the top cord.  Here is a series of pictures that shows that process.

Pointy end inserted from the bottom.

Twirl it until the pointy end points down.

Ta-da!  You can also see the knot tied in the end of the strings.

Then I slid the ring onto the hook.

Then I repeated that process many many times.  (Well 16...)

Then I put the curtains on the rod and hung the rod back up.  Ta-da!

Whoops.

Remember that foreshadowing... yep.  Too narrow.  So I took it all down, undid the knots and loosened the pleats.  Then I put the rod back up and...  TA DA!

So light and airy!

And open...

Finally, I put a couple of little hooks on the wall, so I could use the matching tie backs that came with the curtains.  The first thing I do most mornings is open the curtains and let the light in.  I love how the tie backs hold them back and look nice and finished.

Don't they look so much better than the old ones?  Here's a night shot.

Wasn't that fascinating?

I bet you were riveted the whole time.

Did you see the plot twist of too narrow panels coming?

What's the cheapest home decor item you've ever used?