happy living Design

not giving up

Lots of starts and stops here.  But still staying in the game.  I'm just spending a lot of time learning how to balance it all.  And loving every minute of it.

Last week (7 months old) watching the front end loader take away our leaves

I just love those stray curls on the top.

Kheri's room

I have my parents to thank for taking the trip to Ikea with me, my dad for putting together 3 bookcases and hanging the shades and Annisia for coming in March to have tea and help me put the room together.  Carl was working 80 hour weeks leading up to Kheri's arrival...tax season...so I was on my own!  There are still quite a few things I need to do, such as hang more pictures, but rather than have the room completely 'finished' when she arrived I decided to let it evolve.  So like everything else that I do around here, it is a work in progress.

crib: It was mother-in-law's when she was a baby and then my husband's.  Check current crib safety guidelines if using an old crib or cradle.

rocking chair: craisglist

bookcases: Ikea Expedit, of course!

white baskets: Ikea Agen

blue round baskets: our local dollar store

breastfeeding stool: By Medela at babiesrus

multi-colored blanket: knitted by Aunt Jill

green knitted blanket: knitted by my great-grandmother

animal pillows in crib: Zid Zid Kids

bamboo roman shades: JC Penny

mobile: James Cornell & Annisia Cialone (architects & furniture designers for Starting Small)

'Fiona and Her Cub' picture: Creative Thursday

mobile: by Elena of Shoosha

changing table: another piece from my in-laws' attic

changing pad and cover: LA Baby and Bobby from Target

white baskets: Container Store

We were lucky to have been given the crib and changing table by Carl's parents.  (Otherwise I probably would have headed to Walmart.)  They are usually the big ticket items in a baby's room.  We debated on getting a glider but I just couldn't spend the money on something that I didn't really like in the first place and I don't regret it.  Honestly, the first several weeks I breast fed in the old La-Z-Boy chair in our living room, on the couch or in our bedroom in a big armchair.  The most expensive items we purchased were the Ikea Expedit bookcases.  As long as you don't get swept up into the frenzy that has become 'setting up the baby's room' I don't think you have to spend a lot of money.

wall color is Irish Spring, trim color is Super White both by Benjamin Moore

before pictures

and pictures of when we were using it as our temporary bedroom while redoing ours

making room and bittersweetness

We met this amazing little guy this past weekend.

 

I showed you the apartment of these dear friends of ours here.  Wherever they live, they really know how to make a home for themselves.  And the wonderful (500 square foot) home they have made for 6-week old Beckett is even more amazing.

A lot of people we know have had children, especially in the past couple of years, but no one as close to us as these guys.  It is interesting experiencing things closer to home.  I can clearly see one life-door closing and a different one opening up.  In a way it is a bittersweet kind of experience.  Life will never be the same.  The world will never look the same.  I don't know what is in store here on Price Street, but I do know that regardless of what is going on out there, there is hope and excitement for what is to come.  We have big plans, don't we, Beckett?

mini moderns

I don't post that much about kids and kid stuff, but I have an expecting bff and am absorbing lots of fun sites and links.  Keith from Absolute Zero Degrees emailed me back in the fall about mini moderns.  Today I just noticed some new to me wallpapers that I love.  On a personal note, my first bedroom in my parents house was yellow and had an accent wallpapered wall.  When my brother was born (I was 4 at the time) I moved to another room.  Can you believe I still remember the wallpaper in that yellow room.  I am sure I can dig up a picture of it.  It had yellow, orange and green colored pull toys on it.  So I think something graphic in a baby or child's room can have a great impact on their memory and understanding of colors and shapes.

The architect geek in me is partial to the "Do you live in a Town" wallpaper.  That milk chocolate would go amazing with so many other colors.  I also think all of the wallpapers above are timeless and could be used in a baby's room all the way up to a teenager's room.  What do you think?  Also, don't miss the other mini modern stuff like the cute plates and bowls.