getting there

I'm feeling pretty settled into my role as mom of two. Gray is such a sweet, sweet baby... so thankful for him. And Collins is sweet too... in his 19 month old way!

The house is slowly but surely coming along. The windows are still bare along with a few empty rooms.. but we have time and are in no rush.

I've been spending some time trying to get my office organized. I have so many fabulous spaces pinned on my Creative Spaces board on Pinterest... but just can't get there with my new home office.

Here are some that are inspiring me:

And here is my office in it's current state... and no I didn't clean up before I snapped the pic.... trying to keep it real around here:

I need to get it organized, find a fabric to cover my bulletin board in and hang it, along with a new fabric for the seat of my chair (it also needs some casters and a fresh coat of spray paint).

I have also been trying to gather up everything for my design business. While my first priority is being a stay at home mom--- I do enjoy working on design projects during my little bit of downtime. I'm trying to get my website up and running along with my rates set, etc. I'm getting there.

*on a funny note... I was kind of reluctant to post a pic of my unfinished office. It's crazy how fast things get pinned on Pinterest these days! I've noticed several pics of my unfinished house on there!

matteart

Last year Santa brought me two prints by artist Matte Stephens. I had them hanging in my home office in our Birmingham house... but decided to hang them in the playroom in our new house. The three Ikea Ribba frames worked perfectly over this bookshelf/toy storage so I decided to order a third print. The three that I have represent some of our favorite places to visit- NYC, New Orleans, and Boston.

You can see more of his work here.

around here

Adjusting to life as a mother of two.... I'm enjoying every minute!

It's a . . .BOY!!!

nursery and big boy room

The nursery here is pretty much Collins' nursery from Birmingham relocated. The new one is below (and yes... I repainted the lantern & crib. Had to tone it down a bit!). It is ready for Baby #2 who should make his or her arrival within the next week!

Collins has been staying in it for the past 6 months and just last week we moved him down the hall to his new big boy room. Even though he is still in a crib....I am going ahead and finishing the other parts of the room. It will have two Jenny Lind twin beds once he outgrows the crib. But for now... one twin bed is set up and the crib is on the other side.

Here is what I am going with:

Twin beds painted BM's Van Courtland Blue

Standard shams made out of the Doggy Days fabric

Bedskirts and Roman Shades out of the brown/cream ticking

cream quilts (have yet to find these!)*

BM White Dove on walls, trim, & ceiling

jute rug

Very simple but I think it will be great for a little boy. This room should be finished soon and I'll post a pic!

*love the pick stitch quilt from Pottery Barn but don't really want to pay $119 each


My friend in Baton Rouge found this one below for her little boy at Marshall's. I would LOVE to find two of these (looking for ivory/off white... just not a stark white)!

thoughts on the dining room

Happy New Year! I'm wanting to get things checked off my to-do list before the little one arrives. As I told Doug earlier today... there is a lot to focus on and I keep jumping from one thought to another. Today it's the dining room (yesterday it was barstools for the kitchen and the master bedroom the day before that).

Back to the dining room. I've gone back and forth on this room and it has changed quite a bit (luckily before I committed to anything).

Here is my original design board:

I decided to use my table in the breakfast room so that leaves me with no table (or chairs). I still haven't decided between the two chandeliers but hope to decide this week. The West Elm rug is currently on the floor and the chest is in the room as you can see below... but all of this could be temporary. My new thought is to do a round table. I am leaning towards something inexpensive and with a skirt to the floor... that will get me by for a few years until I can find a pretty antique table that I can afford.

With that said... here is the current state of the dining room (added note: hard to tell but walls, ceiling, & trim are all BM White Dove):

And here is my updated design board (with the two rooms that inspired the round table idea):

Skirted table with possible chairs shown above. Some ideas that I am pondering:

- light fixture above table (I know, I've blogged this before... still loving both of these Visual Comfort Fixtures)

- dark or light table cover

- dark or light panels for windows (and do I do velvet or linen?!)

I love hearing from my blog readers and would love your thoughts!

Thanks a million.

the planner

It's that time of year. New calendars and planners. Even though I do own an iphone... I do not use it for keeping up with appointments, birthdays, etc. I am a paper calendar kind of girl.

For the past two years I have received this planner for Christmas from Paper-Source which I have really enjoyed:

Tonight while playing on Facebook one of my college friends asked in her status update what planners people recommend. I was blown away that almost EVERYONE responded (over 20 people) with the Erin Condren Life Planner. While I have heard of Erin and her work before... I wasn't familiar with her line of planners. The comments made me want to order one ASAP even though I have a brand new P-S one sitting on my desk!

Do any of you have a life planner by Erin Condren? Would love to hear your thoughts!

let's see here...

Where did I leave off? I have been a terrible blogger. I would like to say that I might get better... but see number three below.

1. Most (note: most) boxes are unpacked except for a few that are in the living room. Might just leave them there considering it's the only thing keeping the living room company. Oh, that and the Christmas tree.

2. O' Christmas Tree. It's in the stand but has no lights or ornaments. Hope to get to the lights tonight. Ornaments... they can stay boxed up until next year. Not worried about getting them on this week with an 18  month old eager to pull them off.

3. Baby clothes washed, nursery ready upstairs, cradle set up downstairs, my pjs in a pile on my closet floor ready to be thrown in a bag, and a pack of newborn diapers on the shelf. Guess we are somewhat ready for Baby Chamblee to arrive! Three weeks til the due date. Well, we are ready if Baby C is a girl. We have her name. Not so much if it's a boy!

4. Christmas gifts bought. Not wrapped. Hope to get them under the tree (with lights) by tonight.

5. A couple of new blogs that I've been loving. Go check them out if you aren't familiar with them. This one and this one.

6. One thing that I did knock out pretty early this year was our Christmas cards... Merry Christmas! Hope to be back blogging soon!