The nursery (phase 1)

We finally started doing some work in the nursery...and when I say "work," I'm not kidding! So far, we have:

• Scraped the popcorn ceiling and re-painted the ceiling
• Painted the walls...twice, because we didn't like the 1st color of green
• Added the crown molding
• Touched up the doors and other molding
• Bought and installed new wood blinds

I think it is going to look very nice when we start getting things put together and moved in. The green is a very soothing color, while hopefully still "stimulating" enough for the baby. I know everyone will probably tease me about not choosing a pink color, but frankly, I have always loved the color green and since it is versatile enough for a boy or a girl, I had already planned on using green before we ever knew the baby's sex.

Jesse and I spent Valentine's Day evening together (1st time in awhile, since we have both been so busy lately), went to dinner, and then went shopping for nursery furniture. We found this beautiful crib at USA Baby, on sale "as is" because it was a floor model. No, we still have not had time since then to actually put it together, but at least you can kind of see the color and style.
A close up of the pillow for the bedding. The name of the bedding is called "Patchwork Pooh," and though I'm not a huge fan of Winnie-the-Pooh, this bedding is too sweet. The whole thing is a giant patchwork quilt, of green, khaki, and white, and is made with that soft, cuddly material we all love. Pooh is kind of sporadic, and I'm not going to go overboard with the Pooh extras for the nursery, but I just could not pass up the soft, green quilt pattern. If you want to see the whole nursery set (for whatever reason), go here:
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2415159&cp=2255986.2256244.2256251.2256261&parentPage=family

I'm sure I will post more pictures once we get closer and start to get things more together. We're still looking for a dresser/changing table and trying to decide what kind of rocking chair we want to use in the nursery. At least you have a visual now, when I talk about it!

Home upgrades and additions

We have not had much time lately to do much...but I have been extremely focused to use the time I have had to "pretty" the house. It's not that I've done major changes, but mainly just added all the extras to make the house become a home. I figure it is about time, since we have almost lived in the house 2 years now.

The guest bathroom: added matching rugs and all the bath decor for the sinks, toilet, etc.
The office/guest room: We had to convert the office into the conglomeration of a guest room and an office in order to make room for the nursery.
My office desk no longer faces the window, but it is functional, and that's all that matters.
(Can you tell that work has been slightly busy by the mess everywhere??)
The master bedroom: Since buying our new furniture, I have been working slowly but surely in our bedroom. I re-painted the walls a dark khaki, and went and bought some new bedding. We're still in phase two of the project, still wanting to add crown molding in the bedroom, new wood blinds, and of course some kind of curtains, but it is starting to come together.

Our master "Elfa" closet: Yes, I gave in and allowed Jesse to install Elfa in our closet. As much as I hate Elfa right now, the new arrangement did give us a little more useable space, and having the drawers in the closet is great for storing my sweaters. Now I just need some shoe boxes to organize and stack shoes, and we should be good to go.
The fireplace mantle: We bought this new mirror from Pier 1 after Christmas, and got a great deal on it. We had been looking for a mirror since we moved into the house, and could not agree on one we both liked. We still need to hang it, but it already looks so much nicer.
The kitchen curtains: After almost 2 years of having no curtains in the kitchen (and a big open window with no privacy), we finally agreed on some curtains. The valance is across two windows, and the bottom of this window has the matching green and khaki plaid "cafe" (half)curtains.
T.V. armoire: We actually got the armoire for the t.v. last year, but most of you probably have not seen it. It is definitely an upgrade to the table cabinet thing we had the t.v. sitting on before. At least now we can close it all up and make the room look presentable, without having a t.v., videos, etc everywhere.
I'm becoming slightly obsessed with all of this home decorating and designing, but it sure is fun. It's a good thing Jesse keeps me on a budget or I could get really out of control! :)