Nursery Idea Board.

Good Morning! I don't know about you but around here we've had some pretty early mornings as of late but that is probably a good thing seeing as how the days are beginning to fly by until the arrival of baby, I start some classes, family comes to visit and we ourselves will be heading out of town and there is still much work to be done in our little house before all of these things take place. The home improvements are sailing along quite nicely and we are getting really excited for the culminating project, the nursery! 

I decided to work on this lastly since he shouldn't be here demanding attention until late-ish June and the majority of our home is in immediate desperate need of some TLC. Although it will be a while before I get started I've made a little idea board to share with everyone the projected vision for the nursery and to remind myself not to forget any of the really awesome details.

This is the fabric that started it all. We had a big baby/stroller blanket made out of this fabric for us and I just love it. When our boy is big enough to sleep with actual blankets and things I might get a little duvet cover made from it, until then though it will be folded over the side of his crib and used for snuggling our sweet baby. My favorite part of the fabric was the little gray birch trees, I love the color gray in nurseries and I was so excited that the fabric incorporated gray with orange and blue.

I like this warm gray for the walls, it's the same gray that is in the birch trees and it will allow us to use gray in a huge area without it feeling too cold.

This is a picture of the EXACT same dresser that we found on craigslist for 45$, which is a steal!!!! I don't know if you've ever priced these dressers but if you want to shock yourself just google mid-century modern dressers one day. I'm going to paint just the outside of the dresser except for the drawers so the end result will be something like this(left) but in frozen vanilla(right) instead of green.

The fabulous thing about this dresser is that it's size will allow us to use it as a dresser and a changing table!

This brings us to our fabulous crib that my husbands parents bought for us. I think it's really great and classic with it's wide square rails.

I found this fabric in the same collection as the baby blanket fabric and it coordinates perfectly with our little guy's blanket. when the crib gets here and I can take all the proper measurements I'm going to order some of this pumpkin orange fabric and make a bed skirt for his crib. Because of all the safety precautions we must take with baby's they don't seem to have very comfy or cute things in their cribs, but a colorful bedskirt is a perfect way to add color safely. 

A few months ago before we ever left Virginia we paid one last visit to Ikea ( sigh ) to pick up this great rug for the nursery for only $19.00! It totally matches the birch trees in the blanket fabric, they look just like a stylized drawing of trees with lines, just like this rug and since we have all wood floors it's a great way to cut down on noise and soften our baby's room.

My Mamaw's very orange chair has finally found it's place. It's going to tie in great with the color scheme and I'm glad the nursery will have a comfy place to sit since I feel I may be spending lots of time in that room.

Accessories! I love accessories. This target lamp will be a great addition to the top of the dresser. I'm thinking that this vintage egg basket I found at a local antique store will be perfect on the floor beside the arm chair to hold stuffed animals (the basket doesn't look it in the picture but it's pretty huge!) And this ceramic garden owl will look phenomenal in a pair to use as book ends on a shelf.

These little guys are two more accessories that I'm hoping will add some accent colors from the blanket into the room. The cute toadstool clock is going up on the wall over the dresser along with a few other items and pictures and the little yellow fox will sit snuggly in the orange chair.

These are some great 11x14 posters that I came across on Etsy. I may buy a few of these or create my own to hang on the wall over the dresser to add some color and fun art to the walls. 

That's all I have for now, I'm sure I'll come up with more and I will be sure to post pictures as the room get complete, I hope you enjoyed this for now!

Color Theory.

I love ironic color schemes! What I mean by this is colors that you wouldn't normally put together, colors that aren't traditionally grouped together and labeled as "matching", but when you pair them they perfectly compliment each other's uniqueness. I see this a lot in J. Crew catalogs and it inspires me. One of my favorite ironic color combos is aqua and orange, so I was completely thrilled when we moved into our new house and our laundry room was painted a very pale aqua.

I repainted all the white trim and the door to freshen up the room and put down a tan grass rug that we had and a shoe rack just inside the door. In our neighborhood all the parking is behind the houses so we always use this back door, this made our rug and shoe rack a necessity. I made curtains from black and white chevron fabric. I searched for curtains like these on the internet but found the fabric here and it was much more economical to make the curtains myself than to buy the curtains pre-made.                                                                                   

The white shelves were up when we moved in and the black fabric baskets we previously owned that hold all our cleaning and laundry supplies and we added a jar to store laundry detergent in. I used remaining fabric from the curtains to cover our ironing board. 

I hung up black hooks in different locations around the room to hang up brooms/steam mops/Chewie's leash etc. The orange laundry basket is a find from our local hardware store, I love the way it looks against the aqua wall. The window is a window into our pantry which is really great for letting natural light into our pantry. I want to find other ways to incorporate orange into the laundry room. Do you use any ironic color schemes in your home? What are your favorite nontraditional color schemes?

A Classy Faker.

I've taken about a month and a half long hiatus from blogging anything in order to move in to our new home and to start making it livable. Hopefully soon I can put the finishing touches on the living room, laundry room, kitchen and bathroom and  put up before and after pictures of those rooms in our little abode. 

In the past few days I've been finishing the bathroom, Alex and I put up a pendant light in the bathroom  but for about a week it has just been a bare bulb with no shade. I had been wanting something classy and glassy to compliment the glass drawer pulls and fancy gold molding in the bathroom. I wanted something like this.........

But my budget does not allow for a $300 Lamp, so I decided to get crafty and create my own classy glassy chandelier. Here's how...

1. Gathering supplies, you'll need a hot glue gun and glue sticks, two metal rings of different sizes(your choice of size dependent upon how big you want your chandelier), fishing line, bead garland(make sure you have plenty I had 90 ft and used every bit of it) which I purchased here. You may also want a measuring tape or a ruler unless you just want to eyeball it.

2. Attach the end of your bead strand to the metal ring using your fishing line to secure it tightly.

3. Cut a long piece of fishing line, secure the end of the line around the metal ring and the bead strand and begin to wrap the fishing line around the beaded strand and the metal ring. continue this around the whole ring. when the ring has ben completely wrapped, cut the bead strand and secure the bead strand to the ring with the fishing line.

4.Cut another piece of fishing line and wrap just like before, except in the opposite direction and tie off at the end.

5. This should be your result. Repeat steps 2-4 one the remaining metal ring.

6. Decide how long you would like your dangling strands on the larger/outer ring to be. I chose 1ft. Now cut lots of strands the same size.

7. Use your glue gun to glue the first bead of each strand to a bead around the perimeter of the metal ring. Continue to glue a new strand to each bead until you've completed the the full circle.

8. This should be your result. 

9. Now move on to your smaller/inner ring. depending on how full you want your inner ring to be you can glue the strands on each bead of the ring perimeter or every-other bead.

10. Place the rings inside one another. Decide how far down you want your inner ring to hang. I chose 6in since my dangling strands were all 1ft. I then cut 3 pieces of fishing line about 9in long to give myself room to tie the ends. Tie one end of the line to the larger ring and the other end to the smaller ring making sure that there is 6in of line between the two rings. Repeat this step on two more locations of the rings making sure they are equal distances apart.

11. Combine four pieces of fishing line, each about two feet, fold in the center and make a knot just above the loop. Make two more of these.

12. Wrap one group of the line around the larger metal ring and pull the end of the group through the loop end. do this at two more locations on the largest ring, once again all equidistant. 

13. Gather the three groups of the fishing line in the center and tie them in a knot making sure that the shade will hang level. Use the excess fishing line to attach the shade to your hanging pendant or to the top of your lamp.

Voila! This is what I ended up with and I love it! I'm playing around with the idea of adding some bigger beads to the ends of the strands to add some interest to the shade, if I do I'll post pictures.

eBay Made Easy

The early spring is the best time to get rid of stuff that I don't need/want anymore. For me the extra weight is clothes. I buy a lot of clothes, especially during a sale. When I was in college I lived near a J. Crew factory warehouse, every month there was a warehouse sale and everything was cheap cheap cheap. They would give you a trash bag and a price list, you would wait in line to get into the warehouse and it seriously could take up to an hour. The wait was totally worth it! Pants and dresses priced at 10$ and shirts at 5$ and wedding dresses 50$. There weren't any dressing rooms so sometimes I would get a few items that were too big, too small but most of the time I was very happy with my purchases and got to enjoy them so much!
So, what do I do with the items that don't fit or I've worn for a while but I want something new? They get sold! Especially now while my tummy is getting bigger I won't be able to wear any of my shirts from last spring and summer, so what better time to trade them in for something new? There are now lots of ways to sell clothes you don't want anymore... Plato's closet, eBay, craigslist, but the one you should pick really depends one what you're trying to sell and how much are you looking to get for it?
Plato's Closet: Plato's is a thrift store that will buy your gently used clothing and accessories and they resale them. Plato's is great for your regular mall brand stores like American Eagle, Gap, Aeropostale etc. These are brands that exist in most malls and are less expensive, you wouldn't get as much money back on your sale if you tried to sell on eBay.
Craigslist: Personally I've never sold anything on craigslist, but I've bought plenty! I only have experience buying furniture and baby gear items from craigslist. Craigslist is great for these larger items which really seem to be the most popular items to buy and sell on Craigslist because the sale is localized and you wouldn't ever have to pay shipping.
eBay: I have made so much money in the past selling clothing on eBay. People sell all kinds of items on eBay but I think the bigger items are doing better on Craigslist because the seller won't have to front money for shipping and sellers won't be deterred by a high shipping price.
The secret to my success: I have a few rules to selling on eBay that I like to stick to.
1. If I'm going to sell an item on eBay, I make sure it is a more expensive brand. People who are looking to buy on eBay are looking for high-end products that don't look worn for a less expensive price-tag.
2. Your item pictures need to be classy. When you take the pictures it should be in a clean well lit area. I usually try to hang the clothing on a nice wooden hanger on a clear tack or a small nail against a plain wall. This gives a buyer a really good sense of what the item looks like and it looks a lot more professional and that definitely appeals to people.
3. How to price your items is really important. You really really don't want to set your starting bid of the auction too high because that will detract from interest in the item. A buyer will look at a highly priced item and say to themselves "I really like that, but it's already priced pretty high and there are 3 people 'watching' that item and if they bid on it, it will be out of my price range". Also don't low ball yourself and start at zero. The minimum I start with is 5$.
4. Advertising is key! The way you list your item will really affect your success. ALWAYS put the brand of the item and a very short description of the style and condition in the listing title. For example: J. Crew ruffle tank- NW/OT. Translation: J.Crew tank with ruffles, new without tags.
This really tells people the most about your item without the title being long or looking cluttered. You should put up at least one picture. I usually do just one if the item has the same front an back however if there is an interesting sleeve detail or special design on the back pockets of jeans having another picture showcase those features is important. The description is really where you need to draw the buyer in, here you should tell about the item, if you never wore it or if it is a little more gently loved. You should talk about the material, is it breathable? Does it keep you warm? And lastly give suggestions about what to pair the item with. Sometimes people will pass over an item because they don't know if it is really their style or if they have anything to wear it with, this is where you can inspire them and convince them that they cannot live without the item.
5. Shipping can be a challenge but don't make it any harder than it has to be. My favorite way to ship is the good 'ol postal service. For shirts thinner sweaters and mini skirts I usually just get a padded 2$ envelope from Walmart and if the item is light you shouldn't have to pay anything for shipping. For other items I pick up the flat rate envelope from the post office and ship in that. As far as charging for shipping I think about what I'm sending. If I'm going to be sending a tank I'll go for the padded envelope and charge around 5$ shipping which generally will be around 3$ in profit from shipping alone. If I'm going to be sending a little bit heavier of an item I stick with the flat rate envelope and charge a 10$ shipping fee which usually brings in a 5$ profit.
I hope all these eBay sales tips were helpful!

Moving Up and Moving On

Alex and I plus baby and our two little critters be moving out of our current dwelling in exactly 19 days. And let me tell you I AM SO EXCITED! The move is going to be a challenge with the distance alone, one of our challenges has been finding a home. We want to rent because with the military you never know how long you may be some where. We've seen some contenders online and we will have to make a decision before we move but I have my eye on a cute little historical home (emailed them and they told me that I could paint if I want to). We have a town home that we've paid half of a deposit on and if the cute house doesn't work out the town home will be our fall-back, but we should know something by the end of the week. The Rest of this post I wrote about a week ago but we've been so busy and with our current lack of Internet it makes it incredibly hard to stay on top of these blog updates, but I hope you enjoy.....
All that in mind since we are ending our lease early we must pay two months of rent while we are in Kansas which would not be ideal. Yesterday I used the day as a relaxation time. I started cleaning up around 4pm and I hadn't even showered or put decent clothes on for the day when my husband called me and asked if the on-site realtor for our building could show our apartment to a potential renter and if it went well we may not have to pay the two months rent. I was not in any shape to be seen by ANYONE and the apartment looked like it had exploded. The realtor and prospect agreed to come back tomorrow.
I then spent a good chunk of my evening and all of my morning feverishly cleaning our little home. This really wasn't that much of a burden though, our apartment is getting packed up gradually and we've been cleaning but having early clean-freak deadlines is really nice because it gives me a goal to shoot for.
Now that my house is virtually spotless I couldn't help but take some pictures of my favorite places in my home that I'm really going to miss.
Our dining table!
It looks so beautiful next to our exposed brick wall and our huge windows that let in so much light all day long! Our windows are so awesome and let in so much daylight, and our brick wall is something that I don't know if we'll ever get to have in our home again but I love it so much and it adds so much interest to our home.

Our adorable bathroom!
Our bathroom is beyond perfect, it has wonderful granite counter tops and great tile. We added the glass shelf above the towel rack as well as the picture frame on the mirror. It definitely added some class to a plain wall mirror.

Our family wall!
I worked on gathering personal stuff for this wall. Our engagement story from the paper, coral from our honeymoon in Hawaii, a cross my best friend's parents bought for us and lots of pictures from our wedding and dating days. I love it! It's a good representation of us.

I can't forget about our church pew! 
This is probably the most random item in our home and everyone comments on it and asks where on earth we got it. Answer: creepy abandoned church. I love it though and it is just the right length for our super long entry hallway (ignore our moving boxes stacked at the end).      


































The view from the pew!
If you were to sit on the pew this is what you would see. 

The wooden artwork is a really pretty addition to the back wall, which I think adds a lot of color to an otherwise very plain hallway. 

UPDATE!!

We just received word today that the potential renter for our apartment has decided to rent it!!! Yay! we are so excited because this means we only have to pay rent covering till the day we move out. Also, when he came to look at our apartment he noticed some wall shelves that Alex and I built when we first moved in out of pretty iron brackets and re-purposed wood from some of the historical buildings in the area and offered us 50$ if he decided to rent. He's coming by with a check tomorrow! We are really excited that we don't have to go through the trouble of taking the shelves down and that we are making our money back on them! Now we just need to keep our fingers crossed that we will get the house that we want in Kansas!

Nursery Inspiration

Of course since the day I thought I might be pregnant I've been trying to put together the perfect nursery. Since we still don't know what we're having and because we're wanting some bigger items to last through a few babies I decided that I wanted to use grey in the nursery and then depending on boy or girl we would pull in other colors.

I really love this Chicco baby bouncer, I think the wooden accents make it look so much cuter and more artistically designed than plastic. And of course it's grey which fits perfectly into our color scheme.

I also want to stick with grey crib sheets and then find coordinating bumper and other linens. I found these on amazon. There isn't much grey in the baby section at target and other stores these days.

LITTLE GIRL
I think that grey and yellow are so pretty together and they seem to be a really popular color scheme, however I never wanted to have a yellow nursery, for some reason that idea just never really appealed to me. I would totally have a pink nursery though, and I love pink, grey and yellow together.




















I've been looking around to find accent pieces that would look great in both nurseries. I found a really classy yellow lamp stand at target that is so cute.Apparently chevron print is really in and I'm totally okay with that. I love this pink chevron print pillow.

I want to tie the dark grey into the color scheme with furniture pieces. This Ikea dresser is the perfect height and width to be a changing table and it has drawers for all of baby's clothes! If we end up going this route I plan find a crib with fancy-ish looking legs to coordinate with the changing table and then painting the crib to match.

LITTLE BOY

Rust and light blue is such a cute color combination, and the grey is subtle enough that it compliments the color combo without being overpowering. I have drawn the rust color from an armchair that was my Mamaw's, and it would coordinate perfectly in this little boy room.

I found a blue chevron pillow just like the pink. And today at Target I found these great blue and grey curtains on sale for $20, you can't beat that!!

I plan to buy a crib and matching dresser in the dark wood color. I really like the babyletto crib and dresser from target. It is a bit steep for a crib and dresser but I found a very similar(as in absolutely the same) dresser and crib on Walmart.com much cheaper.
I guess we'll have to wait until Febuary 7th to find out which color scheme will be in our baby's nursery!