It's been a while

School started a few weeks ago and I've been crazy busy ever since. My poor ankles have disappeared =o(

I went to the doctor on Weds and my blood pressure was good and the baby's heart beat was 139/140. I also managed to move my induction date to Oct 24th. It's insane to me that crazy doctor wanted to induce me Oct 12th and here I am planning to have baby two weeks later. It wouldn't have surprised me if we induced on the 12th and baby would be in the NICU or something. Stupid doctor.


We have lots of things that need to be done for the baby room and we are going to keep working on it this weekend. I plan to buy a mirror I saw at Hobby Lobby, Stephen is going to have up our curtains and valance as well as make a crown moulding shelf. I wanted to start working on my art project for the room but the light bulb in the overhead projector I borrowed went out so I have to wait until Tuesday to get a new one =o(

Stephen is going to make a large shelf like this:

but much wider and we plan on panting it dark gray (to hang on our light gray wall). This shelf will go over the crib with two canvases hand painted a snoopy theme.


I was trying to think of what kind of art would work in our Snoopy room and I remembered Stephen had purchased me "Happiness is a warm puppy" so I started to flip through it and found the perfect quote- "Happiness is a thumb and a blanket". So, I purchased the stuff to make a stencil and I plan on painting the words teal. This is my prototype I worked up on word:

The other canvas I plan on painting will have Linus with his thumb, blanket and snoopy:

 The two canvases will be propped up side by side on the shelf with some other small knick-knacks like the snoopy piggy bank and maybe some block letters.

The room is coming together... I don't think I ever posted a picture of our AWESOME chair after it was reupholstered. 

Remember before:

Here it is after:

 Love it, love it, love it! And between the chair, fabric and labor it was the same price as some of the over-priced rickety gliders they have for sale out there. I was very, very pleased.



What else has been going on... hmm.. oh! Stephen and I are infant CPR certified now after our all day child birthing seminar:





The seminar was good- we took a tour of the labor and delivery wing and we were pretty pleased with it. The weekend we went it was pretty dead- there weren't any babies in the nursery at all! I think one lady was giving birth, but that was it. I worry how full the labor and delivery will be near my due date because 9 months prior was the massive snow we received in Texas when everyone was stuck indoors.

My sisters-in-law (or is it sister-in-laws?) are throwing me a baby shower and the invitations are super cute! I can't wait to see what they put together for the shower. The baby shower is less than a month away and baby is expected to make its debut in less than two. This is crazy! There still is a lot of work to be done in the baby room. Hopefully that will be squared away over the next two weeks.

That's all I got for today. Hopefully next update will talk more of completed projects.

Last week of summer break

This past week we have been so busy. We finally have our guest bedroom complete and functional and we are waiting for the furniture to arrive in the baby room (I think it should be in next week). Last weekend we went with my in-laws to  purchase our crib, mattress and dresser! While we were there we spent 2 hours registering- that was overwhelming but really fun!

Stephen took the week off this past week for our 3 year anniversary and so we were able to get a decent amount done. On our actual anniversary we took our rocking chair in to be reupholstered (I pray that it looks good), thirft store hunting (how romantic) and then ate dinner at III Forks. I could have had an entree portion of their beef crustades- they were sooooo yummy. Stephen found a muppets shirt to wear around the house and I found this little gem (new, with tags) for $2. I just had to have it!

If baby Sturge turns out to be a little girl, I will add some pink ruffly pants and a pink bow to make it less "boyish" looking.








Then, the next day Stephen and I set forth to find valance fabric and an anniversary present. But first we toured what will be our daycare come January. As much as I'd like to be a stay at home mom, we just can't afford it. Some perks about this daycare is they offer a 10% teacher discount, on planned weeks that baby can't attend (like spring break, thanksgiving week, etc) you don't have to pay as long as you give notice. Oh! And since the school has a 5 day plan and a 3 day plan... when Stephen has a bank holiday all we have to do is get my mom to come out and babysit the next day and we only have to pay for 3 days, not 5. Not many daycares do that. They also have a webcam in each of their nurseries (which I guarantee my mom will watch all day if given the chance). Over all, we really liked the place and its on my way to work- even better!

After that we went to JoAnns fabric and finally found fabric for our valance. At first I really wanted the greyhound toile fabric, but it was just too expensive, unfortunately. But we settled on this fabric and curtain:

Its not as blurry in person, it must have been the picture. But it has light gray, black and beige cream and then the curtain below it is a matching beige cream color. When baby gets here we can easily add pink and blue accents to it. We were able to get both of these for 50% off so we didn't spend as much as we originally budgeted.












After our JoAnns score we went to Macy's to pick out an anniversary present. Stephen and I decided our first year instead of buying each other a gift, we will buy something "big" for ourselves. We try really hard to follow the traditional or modern anniversary gift guidelines. The first year we bought a HUGE clock to hang above our fireplace in our living room. The second year we bought two place settings of china and this year the gift "needed" to be crystal. Well, considering how much money we have handed over to Home Depot this summer we set a budget of $100 or less because our bank account has dipped below where we would like it to. So, we get to Macy's and we look and look and look. Naturally, the first thing I fell in love with was a candy dish with a $275 price tag- little out of budget. I started to get worried because we found two other things we liked okay but weren't in love with... and we didn't want to buy something for the sake of buying something. Then.. I saw it.. it was sitting right next to the candy dish I wanted (probably why I didn't see it sooner). It was this little tiny Waterford bowl but it didn't have a price tag. We asked the lady working how much it cost and she couldn't find it online nor could she find the original box. Well, since it was similar to a votive they had (which was $65) she sold the little crystal bowl to us for $60. When we got in the car I did a little research and apparently it is a sugar bowl that is supposed to come with a crystal creamer which sells for... are you ready? $165. I think we got lucky!

Here is my precious Waterford sugar bowl:

Here it is all sparkly in my China cabinet (ignore the Christmas China... its on my list of things to put up.. hehe)














Happy Anniversary to us!

Astrology anyone?

While I don't know how much I believe in Astrology, I find it incredibly interesting. One year for my birthday I asked for "The Secret Language of Birthdays" which provides profiles for people born on each day of the year. It is surprisingly accurate and very entertaining.

So naturally, when talking about inducing I turned to my birthday book. Over the last few months, I have been worried about inducing too early because currently my induction date is set for Oct 17th (my due date is the 26th). I would feel better if either a) baby came on their own or b) induce the week of my due date instead of before.But if I have to pick a date, I figured I'd do some astrological research.

Oct 17th people-

• Strengths- Self-confident, resilient, daring
• Weaknesses- Overconfident, reckless and stubborn
• Also born on this day? Evil Knievel 
• People born on this day are risk-takers and attracted to life-threatening risks/activities. 
• Their mistakes are usually large ones and costly ones when it comes to health and finance 
• Their temper can explode when their authority is threatened or intentions brought into question
• STDs are a common threat because that requires careful precaution

Now, that is a summary of the two pages of information... there wasn't a whole lot of great attributes for people born on this day

Oct 24th people-

• Strengths- magnetic, perfectinist, dramatic
• Weaknesses- jealous, claiming, overstressed
• People on this day have two themes: dramatic revelations and discoveries as well as painstaking attention to details
• They take their work very seriously
• Their personal magnetism aids in getting people interested in what they do
• Rarely do they comment or act on matters which they know little about
• They despise phoniness and are capable of recognizing pretense and dubious information a mile away
• They have stress related difficulties.
• Others born on this day?? Antoine van Leeuenhoek. That's right, the inventor of the first microscope. That nerdy little bit of information sealed the deal for me.

Oct 17th has personality traits that come genetically on my side of the family- I really don't need the stars to align those traits in addition to the genetics. Oct 24th people resemble Stephen and myself a little bit more- harder workers, attention to detail, magnetic (har har). Granted, I would hope baby comes on their own, but if I have to pick a date you better believe I am going to turn to my astrology book for some sort of guidance! 

Paper Mache Letters

So, I am at a crossroads with some decorating stuff but I can't complain too much because I did it to myself by not wanting to find out the gender.

I originally wanted to decoupage the baby's entire name but, because I'm not finding out gender, I would have to do both names. Elizabeth + Barrett = 16 letters > than what I want to spend on wooden letters. Next, I figured I would purchase a large letter E and letter B and go from there. Large letters are also very expensive and not as easy to come by (unless I wanted to spend money to ship something to the house). Also, I have yet to find a neat font for larger letters.

So, I turned to my old friend, Google and found this tutorial from Green Zebra Crafts on how to make your own paper mache letters. What caught my eye is she used a really interesting font for a letter that I'd like to make.

Isn't it pretty? This allows me the freedom to make a letter as large as I would like with a font that I would like. And the best part it, the project is essentially free! So if I wanted to spell out names I could or I could just make two large letters... or whatever!

Baby room officially painted!

The baby room is officially painted and it looks REALLY good. I don't hate it at all at this point. I put one of our ornate, mahogany dining chairs in there and the mahogany looks really pretty against the gray so that makes me feel a little more comfortable with our nursery furniture choices.

Below are pictures of the accent wall. Considering it is night time and two of the overhead lights are out it looks really gloomy but it isn't in person- don't let the lighting fool you!

The rest of the room is the light color you see off to the sides.

The pictures don't do the room justice, maybe its because I used my camera phone. I'm sure once we get lamps in there and put the ceiling fan on a dimmer it will look much better.





We also picked out our fabric to reupholster our nursery chair. It was $26 a yard but we had a coupon for 40% off so that REALLY helped with the price. It isn't what I had initially set out for but I think it will look good once it is finished.

It's difficult to take a good picture of it:

This is with the flash on, it made it looks strange but you can see the pattern really well.


















Here it is draped over the chair.. the pattern doesn't look so severe at a distance. I think we will do a dark brown pipping with brown buttons to give it a little pop.


Again, it isn't what I originally had envisioned but I think the pattern will hide stains and it will look good in every other room in my house if we ever wanted to take it out of the nursery.






Earlier today we moved the chair into the baby room and we are having to rethink out ENTIRE layout of the room.. but I think we have it figured out.

We will have to purchase the taller dresser instead of the longer changing table dresser for the sake of space.

I am okay with this because I can do more with something taller since the baby will have a harder time climbing on top of it.

I am glad we took measurements this weekend because we are purchasing the furniture next weekend. It would have REALLY sucked to get the dresser only to realize it won't work. Or, if we did keep it, we would probably stub our toes or run into when we first walked in the room. 




The last thing I found for the baby's room is this fabric for the valance and possible for my mobile redo:

I found it at Spoonflower and thought it would fit wonderfully in my Snoopy themed room. I originally wanted to do the valance in a gender specific color so lighten up the gray color in the room but Stephen and I kinda would like the baby room to be as finished as possible when the baby gets here. The last thing I think we want to do is make a valance. So we decided on the gray and we could easily add pink and blue ribbons to it later.

That's all I have for today- lots of decorating decisions took place today and I am worn out!

Almost painted

I am posting because if I don't do something I might fall asleep and considering its only 8:30 if I sleep now, I'll most likely wake up around midnight and stay up till 4 or something ridiculous. Stephen is painting the accent color in the baby room- I think it is turning out okay!

Here you can see the light gray and the "test stripe" for the accent wall.














And here you can kinda get an idea of what the room will look like with the main color.


I think the gray looks better in person than in these photos.


Right above the closet door, I plan on hanging the fabric embroidery hoops (mentioned here).





I started hunting on ebay and got a great deal a set of hoops. I think I paid $16? dollars for 9 wooden hoops. Considering the larger ones can be $5 on their own, I think it was a decent price (not a steal, by any means... but a good deal)

They came in the other day:

I think I have a can of black spray paint somewhere... if not, I'll get some and paint these a dark gray/black color. I plan on putting pink fabrics on one side and blue fabrics on the other and strategically place them above the closet door. Then when baby gets here- they will be flipped to the appropriate color and viola!










Next week we get our carpet and that weekend we will order our baby furniture. I doubt the furniture will come in before school starts back up, which kinda sucks because I'd like to get the baby room as finished as possible before I go back to work. Oh well, it is what it is.

OH! I remembered I had this book on one of our bookcases. It is one of my childhood favorites! For our baby shower, I think we are going to ask for childrens books in lieu of a card so we can fill the cloth hanging book holders I plan on making.

Which reminds me! We have narrowed down the date for our baby shower- Sept 24th at our house. I am so excited!


I don't think I have much more to blabber on about... that killed about 30 minutes. I guess I could check on Stephen's painting progress or look and fill my baby registry with random stuff to keep me awake.

I found my chair!

I have been worried about finding a rocking chair for my nursery that I like for a good price. Because if you recall the chair I wanted I could only find at Pottery Barn and would cost around $1500 - $1800. JcPenny had upholstered chairs that were really cute but all the reviews said they were made for people shorter than 5'7.. considering I'm 5'9 and Stephen is 6 foot their $500 chairs would be uncomfortable to use and a waste of money. I don't like the gliders they have at Babies R' Us... sooooooo my hamster wheels started to spin.

First thought- I could get a comfortable club chair from craigslist, spend $170 on the hardware to convert it to a rocking chair and then upholster it. So, for $400 - $600 I could get a chair I really love. Realistically, it would be closer to the $600 end which is more than I'd like to spend.

So, I hopped on Craigslist to see what was out there and I found this chair for $100 in Frisco. EDIT: I wanted to edit my post to mention how awesome my friend Megan is. She went with me to Frisco and carried the chair down a flight of chairs. (I had no idea stairs were involved!). I couldn't have done it with out her- thanks Megan!


Not only is the shape and style beautiful, it already rocks and swivels! So now I don't have to worry about attaching hardware to make it rock.

As much as I like the pink and yellow toile, we are going to reupholster it something gender neutral. Then, when baby gets here I can add a toile pillow that is pink or blue.

As much as I'd like an ottoman, I can live w/o one for the time being. Worse case, I'll get a cheap one somewhere and make a slip cover.. or something. I'll cross that bridge when we get there.



The hardest part is deciding the color and pipping to reupholster. Ideally, I would like a cream color fabric, but I know having a baby + cream fabric = stains. But the other color option I have is gray, but that is just too much gray in the room. I really, really, want cream.

At first I thought I would like cream with gray pipping and gray buttons, but I'm not too keen on the chairs I'm finding online that fit that description. I don't know if its because most of the chairs are white and not cream... or if its because the style of chair is so totally different from mine... its hard to get a mental image.  This is what I've found so far:

Thoughts?