Planning for 5 in 1100 square feet...

Whew, ever since we discovered we were expecting my first thought is WHERE will we put everyone.

As the weeks have progressed the idea of being in a little home has grown on me and I am purging with much greater intent now.

After removing all the unnecessary we actually have a decent amount of room for everyone.

The most necessary change has been everyone moving rooms.

Sister moved upstairs, we moved to her room and brother is now in the master.

The master has been my main focus as of late seeing as that is the only room that will not require to be repainted. 

This room has become nursery/playroom/ new baby's nursery.

Here is a "rough draft" of what I have envisioned.

Simple, somewhat rustic, and gender neutral as we are not finding out the sex of the baby.

The changing table, whale, white table and chairs, and rug are all currently in the room. 

Everything else is a sample of the items we hope to create for this new ones room.

The bedding will be purchased this go around and will likely not be monogrammed until after baby's arrival.

Anyone have any suggestions on glider options? we moved our other one into the den and we are LOVING it in there.

Be back with pictures of the actual spaces once I can get everyone's room clean :) happy monday folks!

(ps still updating and backdating a few posts, stay tuned for those as well)

6 months.. The Gear

Over the past few months I have had several moms either expecting or with a little one ask how I have done things differently with number two than number one. 

(I am by NO means an expert, but after years of nannying I have learned a few tricks over the years!)

Honestly not much has changed... except the gear. 

We try to be consistent with naps, feedings, and love. 

We try not to over react when baby falls over while sitting, etc. 

(trying to not promote inner drama queen/kings.. haha)

Gear wise we have not spent a fortune but Thoroughly enjoyed the things we ARE using!

Here are our "use daily" go to items.

Thought I would number this to make things easy.

1. Fischer Price Jumparoo- as of recently little bear is loving this thing! A dear friend is letting us          borrow it and I fear we may wear it out! haha

2. Oh my Momaroo! We are still going strong using this thing! Baby loves to sit in here every morning!

3. Baby Jogger City Select- Thankfully a local third party discount store had this incredible stroller for 1/3 of the retail price. I LOVE being able to transition from single to double stroller. Our 3 year old will still occassionally ride and that makes store manuevering easier for sure!

4. Baby Bjorn Bouncer- Said local discount retailer also had this bouncer for 90% off of the discounted  price. I snatched this sucker up for $9.00 and have used it for everything from a beach seat to a modified highchair.

5. Boppy- This thing is soo transitional great for new born baby bottle feeding or nursing and then supported proping and now nestled behind baby for our wobbly sitting. I tear when I have to put this up! At my mom's house we use my brothers 20 year old boppy and the family I predominately sat for gave me theirs. New cover and this sucker has been a champ with Connor being the 6th child to use it!

6. Sophie Teether- We have been drooling since 3 months and still no tooth in sight, this has been a great toy to satiate the need to gnaw.

7. Sophie the Giraffe- Well for starters she is absolutely adoreable. Every child who seems this toy or has one lights up! They are just great to carry around in the bag to keep baby occupied.

8. Aden and Anais Swaddle Blankets- I have now purchased 2 sets of these blankies and might head for more! My baby will ONLY sleep with them and I adore how light they are throughout these summer months.

9. Boon bottle drying rack- Last go around I had the Dr. Brown's rack. It was so ugly and bulky!! So glad I decided to purchase this one this time around. So... easy to drop various baby accessories in here.

10 Baby Bjorn Bib- For those ultra messy feedings at first this is awesome! Does a great job catching all the food!

11. Skip Hop Puppy Activity toy- This toy has like 4 in one. This has been the only toy we have bought for brother seeing as sister had lots of "first toys" and I thought he needed one of "his own" The rattle, squeeker, teether all of it keeps him engaged for quite some time. 

12.Plum Organics Baby Food- We have tried several brands from gerber, earth's best, Up and Up and ella's kitchen. The flavors and combos in this brands seems to be my baby's favorite. Helps that previous mentioned retailer has bulk of these items and I can get them for a great price!

13.Boon Attachable Spoon for Plum Organics- At like $4.00 this attachable spoon screws onto the pouch baby food. It has made a fidgety hungry baby situation soo much easier! I also love it comes with a storing case so I do not loose them!

14. Boon Fillable baby Spoon- Similar to the attachable spoon this spoon is hollow and made of silicone. At most retailers this is about $10.00 I found a plethora of them at TJ Maxx so I bought several  for $2.99. This is great if I have jars of food that I know will be messy when we are out to eat and I want to save the pouches for school. I just load up our pears, mangos, or homemade avocado's and off we go!!

(everything mentioned above can be found at Babies R Us, Target, or online at Amazon)

What are your favorite baby items? I love seeing how things change between kids and How you get to try out all new items!

Traditional Meets Modern-client

We have made quite a few strides in a clients dining room.

She already owned the furniture and had already decided on a high gloss navy wall color. 

The color was an Awesome launching point!!

Here is where we are so far.

1. New lighting was key to update the look of this room

2. We "wallpapered" the back of the china cabinet to make the traditional china pop!

3.A modern interpretation of a plate gallery wall. When paired with a traditional gold mirror its a striking contrast

4. A mod cut velvet fabric was used on the seat cushion to incorporate the turqouise color

5. And most importantly a modern print drape.

Here is a look at the other side of the room

What's left?

1. accessorizing above the china cabinet

2. Styling the table and sideboard

3. a rug

And we can call this room done.

Nursery Diaries: My Must Have Baby List

To be completely honest all you REALLY need is that sweet baby in your arms. 

But, the items I am sharing with each of you are my personal opinions of what helped me with my daughter and I know are sure to help me with our son.

You know... the things that make life a lot easier and help you sleep better at night!

 1.I lived with my baby sling and my Moby wrap with my daughter. I can only hope and pray our little man is going to enjoy being close to mommy like lil bit did.

2.Bla Bla Dolls, or Zubels even. These knit dolls make me weak at the knee's and even though I love them our daughter loved snuggling with them more!! 

3. This is an official "lovie" snuggler. Angel Dear makes this one and it wasn't until about 6 months ago lil bit became super attached. Now it is a bedtime "must-have"

4. Blankets!! Both of my babies will have been born in the winter, I think swaddling and an extra layering blanket are a must with this crazy southern weather we experience. It is like layering your clothing, you can always add and take away!!

5. Hooded towels- What did the world do without these things before they existed??? I have created quite a collection of these things and for me they are a bathtime must from birth through... well as long as I can continue to get them to use them!!

6.The Boon grass drying rack- I did not have this with our daughter but several friends say it is way less cumbersome than the Dr. Brown's one I have. You just stick everything right in and tada... it holds the item. Genius in my book!!

7.The Boon feeding spoon- I got a LOT of unusual looks when I fed our daughter with this 3 years ago. Boon had just released this product and I LOVED IT!! I recently found some at TJ Maxx so we will have 3 for our little guy. The food goes inside the silicone spoon and the stopper on the spoon part holds the food in. No contamination between when you pour it in and they finally finish it. Not done?? pop it in the fridge and feed more at the next meal. Easy peasy lemon squeezy!!

8. Adiri Bottles- I only have two of these but they SAVED our lives when I was nursing my daughter. I had to suppliment her one feeding a day due to underproduction. This bottle (although will cause quite a few ppl to ask what it is) has had studies performed to reduce nipple confusion. We had a rough go last time nursing and usually the feedings ended in both me and the baby crying so hoping for a "not so lazy nurser" this go around and a break for at least one feeding so I can create a "supply"

9. The 4Moms Momaroo- Oh this swing is just divine. Its a bouncer,  and a swing in one!! We live in a small home and floorspace is key! This guy takes up little to no room and has tons of features. This will be a first time using this swing but we have "tried it out" on several friends babies and everyone seems to love it!!! Sooooo glad I chose to get this piece of gear!!

10.The Summer Video Monitor- The lady I babysat for in high school got this exact monitor when her twins were born. I HEAVILY relied on this thing when watching her 4 babies. The night vision feature is great and when we found out we were expecting last time I knew this was a must. It is so comforting to be able to peer into their room while they sleep and see them on the screen, nice and warm!! We are still using this for lil bit and going to get a second camera to have in the nursery.

11. The Chicco Carseat- I because a consumer reports FREAK last go around. {I mean come on... I was driving a volvo at the time, we LOVE safety!!} Anywho this seemed to be a really great buy and performed impeccably in all the various crash test ratings! Already have this sucker loaded up in the van waiting on the baby's arrival!!

12.Boogie Wipes- I know i know, you are thinking.. really wipes just for boogs?? Ever had to wrestle a 2 year old kicking and screaming and not wanting the crusties wiped away?? Well not any longer, these wipes are saline based and makes those battles way WAY less severe!!

13. Dreft detergent- I am STILL making my own detergent, but who doesn't love the smell of Dreft?? It is probably one of my most favorite scents to date!!! Yes this is a splurge we won't continue for long but ohhh so worth it when you have a new bundle in your home.

14.Frog Humidifier- My husband and I both have horrible allergies and sinus issues. Almost from the minute lil bit was born she was sniffly. Keeping the dry winter air moist really seemed to help her not be so rattly. I am considering buying one for my room, using lil bit's in her room and buying one for the nursery!!

15.NUK orthodontic pacifiers- Okay this is my "guilt-transfer" if you will item I deem a MUST. I had an obsession with my paci as a child. Heck I even cracked my skull open as a baby diving after a falling paci. These days the paci is designed to keep the roof of the mouth flat and not do as much damage as the paci's I used to use. They "pacify" the child, keep things nice and quiet for mommy, and they aren't harming their dental future!! Sounds like a win, win win in my book.

And for those of you curious about this "space-age" swing {as my dad so endearingly calls it} Here is the official video.

Thanks for letting me share my Top items....

Now to photograph the nursery for yall!!

An "All- Boy" Nursery-Client

Recently, a friend from college contacted me about helping her gather some ideas for her nursery.

Her husband has kept all his transformers and what not from his childhood and she wanted to find a way to get the bedding she picked out to go together with some of his "vintage" toys. 

Here is what I was able to come up with.

 

Also wanted to tell yall I am going to be doing some "maintenance" to the blog this week so I apologize in advance for "re-posting" things. Need to go back and re-tag/organize everything from the beginning. 

Den Design Board-client

Do you remember the post on the completely bare den?

Well here is one of the sample boards I shared with the couple.

It is crazy how you think you are going one direction and you end up going the complete opposite!

I go this weekend to do the final install of all the accessories.

Can NO WAIT to share with you guys!

A Nursery For Addison-Design Board

A friend is having a little girl and trying to figure out how to use existing paint and custom drapes and incorporate these into a nursery she loves.

These fabric options allow you to make these drapes work for the room.

For the rug bring a real punch of color to the room!

{a 4 x 6 of this Dash and Albert is only $104.00!!}

Be back soon with some accessories!!

Dreaming of a Luxe dining Room

i guess i have been watching too much Candace Olsen lately, here is what i am inspired to do in my very blank slate dining room.....