Zach is one, and his room is done

So, this has been the most difficult year of my life, and our newest addition is the reason why.  This kid doesn't nap, cries and whines most of the day, fights like a boxer for each outfit or diaper change, and just generally is the most difficult baby I've ever met.  Here he is doing his best impression of mama.

But, we made it to one year old, and he's starting to walk now and trying to say some words.  He has 6 teeth, but has been eating absolutely everything including raw veggies and apples since before the teeth.  Once in awhile he sleeps for 10 hours at night, but mostly he wakes up every 5.  When he's happy, he's awesome!

It took me awhile to finish his room because I never get any time to myself, but I'll admit it's been done for months.  I took some photos of the room while it was clean for his birthday party, so here is the final post for you all!  I'm very happy with the space, it is exactly what I wanted.

The wood wall turned out amazing, we literally did nothing but frame out the edges with lattice that I stained and sealed.  Whoever put it up probably had no idea how on-trend this look would be in 30 years!  I cut it extra fancy on top to follow the same lines as the chevron.

The sign above the crib was chosen for it's funnies, since Zach has napped in this crib maybe three times and absolutely does not like naps.  I think he does like me, though.  So, it's half legit.  I liked that the sign has no glass, and is very lightweight for when he decides to pull it on himself.  That will definitely happen.  

This room gets a lot of light, which is great since he doesn't sleep in here during the day, anyway.  Across the hall you can see a glimpse of our FINISHED guest room, too!  Post on that in the works.

I originally bought the gazelle head for the wood wall, and it was hanging there until I got myself so worried about it falling on his head, I moved it to the other side of the room.  It looked better above the crib, but it's much safer where it's at, because it is super heavy.  I got that beauty at fauxwhitetaxidermy.com.  They have so many animals to choose from, and the detail in the faces is stunning!

The little Ikea bookcases that used to hold my rainbow wardrobe in my old dressing room now hold toys.  Sad.

You can see in these photos the blackout paper blinds I have on the windows.  I know I'm fooling myself by thinking a darker room will make him nap in here, they haven't worked for 12 months, but still they stay up JUST IN CASE.

My mom took the Urban Zoology Crocodile fabric I bought, and turned it into the most beautiful crib skirt!  She even lined it with matching green fabric, because it was a little thin.  She is just so good at sewing crafts like this.

The skirt looked even better before we had to lower the crib, but of course, this happened in September:

We joke that he looks like a crib spokesperson in this one.  The wall with the changing area is my favorite.  I got a lot of little doodads to make it more homey and cute for him.

This is the dresser I used to have in our den on Russet Street.  I'm still using Howard products on it, and I still love it so much!  It's a perfect changing area and dresser for a baby.  Tucked off to the right is a rolling cart from World Market, it fits in that space perfectly, and stores extra diapers, unmatched socks (a huge BOO to baby socks!!) and other miscellaneous stuff.  The changing pad cover was made by Etsy seller avaelliot.

The marquee letter hooks are from Anthropologie.  Love that they are mixed metal, and have that industrial look I wanted.

The print of Zach is one of my favorite photos ever.  My brother and future sister in law are huge Disney fans, and buy him all these adorable outfits.  I dressed him up as Dumbo at two months old, and I couldn't imagine anything cuter!

Here is the actual photo, so you can fully appreciate.  I'm so glad I got photos like this when he was little, because there is no way I will ever get him to lay still again.

The shelf is a simple cedar board we had laying around, and the galvanized pipe brackets are from great Etsy seller PipeDreamsDecor.   The galvanized wall hanging basket is from World Market.

On the bookcase wall, the art is very special to me.  The bicycle print used to hang in Ashford's room, and the little animal-riding-things prints on the right are from a talented Etsy seller, AmelieLegault.  There are two more of her prints in the tall white collage frame above the dresser.  They are so whimsical and cute!

Here is a closer look at the alligator riding a trike, along with a tiny but cute giraffe hook from Anthro.  But the star is the beautiful custom birth announcement print made by my favorite blogger, Meryl from Picardy Project!   She surprised me with this, and one for Ashford, shortly after Zach was born.

Look at this hand-cut detail!  It's just beautiful with the colored glittery backgrounds.  Obsessed!

And here is Ashford's, which she also did in his room colors.  LOVE!

I know Meryl was planning an Etsy shop, I sure hope it happens.  These prints are beautiful!  And, here's the messy closet.  The Malm dresser fits well in here, and luckily, because Zach has inherited a huge wardrobe.  

So, that is the finished room.  I'm so happy it's done!  Here is a before, during and after.  I hope you liked seeing all the details!

Now, I can go back to our regularly-scheduled mess.  Clothes are no fun in the drawers, right?  Happy birthday, Zach!  Let's give mom a break in 2017!

Function over form

You might not know this, but I don’t like useless things that are pretty.  My throw pillows are used (great to prop up the boppy!), my books are read, my candles are burned, my bud vases and ball jars hold flowers from my garden in the summer.  You will never see me do a post on styling a bookshelf because I don’t give a flying fart about styling bookcases.  I once put all my books in rainbow order and then realized that was dumb because they should be by author.  That is practical.

I think styled spaces look great in magazines, but I don’t live in a magazine, so I will not bother with it.  I do have a small collection of wooden cat statues because they make me smile, but for the most part I don’t have many things that only have the purpose of sitting somewhere looking nice.  Of course an exception is wall art and picture frames, it’s not like they are making me breakfast or telling me the time, but they make a home nicer to live in, which is something.  Anyramblingblogger, when I realized that I was logging lots of hours sitting in this here glider in the nursery...

I decided I was tired of looking at a blank wall.  I did want a little flat screen there, but I know it wouldn't get much use after his night feeding is dropped.

I bought a cute bicycle print from art.com, and realized a clock to log the minutes would be a welcome addition.  Specifically, I wanted to know how many minutes of precious sleep I was losing at night because I like to torture myself. I found a cute yellow clock at Target, and thought it would look sharp with my art and wall color. Then I hung it up and was pleased. 

So cute!  (Placement looks a little weird here, usually the buggy is against that wall and the closet door is open, so that is why I picked those spots.)  

I was happy until night time, then I was not pleased because this was what I saw:

Well, duh. How the hell am I supposed to see this thing at night?  I like to nurse in an almost totally dark room so Ash goes right back to sleep without a fuss, which he does.  A normal person would’ve invested in a digital clock for the nightstand, but I’m not normal. I decided to try something to make my clock work. I got out my teeny screwdrivers...

pulled out 5 wee screws...

and separated the clock from the glass enclosure.

Then I painted the hands of the clock with this glow in the dark paint I got at Hobby Lobby for $2.20 with a coupon.

I started off using a craft brush, but figured out by the 5th coat that a finger works best.  

I was glad that the paint dries pretty clear.  I charged this bad boy up with some light...

and was completely disappointed.  It is not visible in the dark, and barely glows even after laying under a lamp all night.  

This is the best pic I could get in the dark room.  This makes it look glowy, but that is more a trick of the camera.  Cry.  Guess I'm just not going to worry about what time it is at night.  Hey, at least this pretty clock is functional during the daytime.    

Ashford's nursery

We are off to the hospital in a few hours to start my induction, I'm 5 days past due and very annoyed to say the least.  Since I have no idea when I will post again, I wanted to share Ashford's room that is all ready for his sweet, stubborn little booty.   

I'm still shuffling things around, hopefully I will know more about where I want things to be when he's here.  The rug is the Pottery Barn Henley rug in Sailor Blue, found on ebay.  Walls are Behr Pier.  

I can't wait to see what this clean changing area looks like at the end of the week!  

Yeah, we still don't have anything in the Ribba frame.  I'm waiting for inspiration.  I also thought some bright toys hanging above the changing pad will keep baby busy while I fumble around, but maybe they will just be thrown at my head!  

My mom recovered the green gingham cushions on this hand-me-down glider.  We found this citron swirl fabric at Joann and thought it would be so fun with all the other ones in the room, but not too "in your face."  I love it!  

The little nightstand has all my boob accoutrements in the top drawer, and blankets and burp cloths in the lower one.  Owl lamp is from JC Penney.  

We lose some real estate in the room with the closet and main doors swinging into the space.  So, we may make some adjustments in the future.  

The crib sheet is made in Citron Dumb Dot fabric, from Etsy seller LittleBurpsandGiggles.  I got two and have a couple other spare sheets in navy and grey as well.  The crib skirt is just four panels hemmed and attached to the mattress frame with ties.  Fabric is from Tonic Living, Night Owl in Sky.  

My mom made the drapes from this Tonic Living Mini Chevron in Sky, with blackout liner sewn in.  She did SO much work, and I love them so much!  She added back tabs to make them fall really nicely.  Perfect. 

You can see here how much the cats love laying in the changing pad, I hope they stop doing that once baby is here.  

The closet is all organized.  Our his and hers diaper bags are packed and ready.  We also have about a million diapers jammed into this closet!

I made this canvas using a Groupon for Canvas on Demand, I just took a photo of some Uncle Goose blocks on a table with a board behind them and added some effects until I liked it.  I love all the colors in the blocks.  I still want to add more to this wall, eventually that will happen!   

Hopefully we will be bringing him home soon!  Wish me luck.  

I will be checking comments in the hospital, saying 'hi' would really raise my spirits!  Smooches.