A Friday Collection

Well, I'm sitting inside on a Friday evening - in my pajamas - watching tv. Hubby is out of town and I feel like this would be the perfect time to blog, but I can't seem to focus on one major blog subject. So... here is a mini run-down of stuff that I'd like to blog about...

1. Sherwin Williams Harmony Interior Paint - Not only do I LOVE Sherwin Williams paint, but I LOVE LOVE the fact that they have paint with ZERO VOC's. Yep - that's right. I said zero. (Most paint has 200 if that gives you a good comparison) This low-odor and anti-microbial paint is PERFECT for preg-o's who are anxious to paint their nursery - or just for anyone who enjoys painting without the nasty lingering paint smell. Even if you don't get the Harmony paint - you gotta get Sherwin Williams. I've tried the rest and I'll never go with anything else. I love them. Seriously, I do.
2. My "new" bike trainer. I say "new" because it's new to me - but I got it on Craig's List. I typically hate the idea of Craig's List because the sellers are always so sketchy, but for $15 I couldn't pass up this deal. Most basic bike trainers are $75 - $100 new, so I figured it was worth the risk to see if this one worked - and guess what - IT DOES!! So now I can ride my Giant hybrid bike (aka my wicked witch of the west bike) indoors without the risk of falling off! Yay for a Craig's List victory.
3. Birthdays: Did I tell you that it was my birthday last week?? Hmm, well - it's really worthy of it's own blog because my husband TOTALLY went above and beyond to surprise me. I'll summarize:
   
   • surprise Carvel ice cream cake (holy YUM) the night before my b-day
   • surprise balloon, happy birthday song and breakfast in bed on my b-day morning
   • SUPER SURPRISE Easter egg scavenger hunt around the house with the sweetest clues leading to an egg hunt outside - and a prize egg which said I could get my BOB jogging stroller!!!!
   Here are some pics if you really wanna see - click here.
4. Garage Sale: I'm having one to get rid of some clutter and hopefully make a little extra cash to accessorize the baby room. I can't WAIT to get rid of this stuff... ahhhh
   
5. Mom's In Motion: It's a class I take Tues and Thurs that I just love. Get's me motivated to move and try to stay fit in my last few months of pregnancy! Love my instructors and my friends in the class :)

I think that covers everything... sorry this is a relatively boring post. I really do have intentions of making this blog worth reading one day. Once I get the room cooking I'll have more to blog on because I'll be crafting, tearing down walls, making stuff etc... In the meantime - this is what you get :)

Easy photo album cover

Looking for a cute way to dress up a brag book for you little one?? My mom showed me these cute little covers made of wool that were easy to put together and made GREAT gifts.

I have a collection here... My mom made me the one with the dog on it (my cat is on the other side!), my Granny made me the one with buttons on it for Christmas, and the plaid is the one she made Chris for Christmas, and the pink one in the back is one I just made for a friend walking the breast cancer 3-day.

All you need is:

• Felt (you can find it almost anywhere - walmart, michaels, joann, etc)
• A cheap photo album (again - walmart has them for .99 cents)
• Embroidery floss
• And buttons (if you choose to use them)
  

Once I learned how to make them, I decided to get creative... I had a baby shower to attend and was looking for a cute little gift for her. The pattern my mom had kinda looked like a diaper to me, so I thought how I could craft the cover to look like a diaper and baby butt!!

Didn't take long and I figured out this pattern. It was a HUGE hit at the shower, and now that I'm pregnant and have a lot of pregnant friends, I think I'll make more! It's a GREAT thing to do if you are on bed rest - or just bored. Materials are SUPER cheap if you use felt, but you can use wool or any other substantial fabric.

(The picture shows regular safety pins, but before I gave it to her, I got real diaper pins and it looked MUCH cuter!)





Looking back - I probably could have been a little more creative with the diaper - maybe put the kids name on the front and some ruffles on the back (if it was a girl)... but that's the beauty of creativity - it's always a thought process!

Instructions/pattern to come soon!

Getting over being sick

One thing I promise to everyone. When my kid is sick, I will keep my kid home. I will not send her out to school, gymnastics, cheerleading practice, play dates, etc. And I will do this out of the sheer respect for all the other kids and families out there.

If there is one thing I can't stand in life, it's when people put their wishes above the health and prosperity of others. Yes, I missed 2 of my Mom's in Motion classes last week (and yes, I had to pay for them too) - but if it meant keeping the other preggy's well, then so be it!

On a happy note - I'm feeling much better and hope to be back to blogging... I will not let this blog go - I wont.... I WONT!

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And now on to something I have just marked on my calendar: The Indie Craft Experience, coming to Atlanta Centennial Olympic Park May 30-31. There should be a lot of really cool vendors this year - and they have made it a 2 day event, so now you have an extra day to get out there! Be sure to check it out.

Cordless blinds for the nursery

I can't tell you how bad I HATE blinds with cords!!! Loathe may be a better word. I absolutely refused to put blinds with a cord in the nursery, so I went out on the search for a better alternative.

I thought I vaguely remembered seeing some type of honeycomb type blind that you could push up and pull down without the use of a cord. After a brief google search ("cordless blinds") I found a bunch of options for blinds that are made of "light filtering fabric" that does just what I want!!

Here are the options:

• Remote control cordless blinds (Bed Bath and Beyond)
  These were awesome - but pretty darn expensive.... and I really dont think I need a remote, it's not like the windows are inaccessible.
  
• Ready Shade Cordless Blinds (Bed Bath and Beyond)
  Loved that these had a peel and stick "technology" so that you didn't have to drill or screw anything. They also can be cut to size using the included tool. The price is also really good at $24.99 - $34.99.
• Cordless Pleated Shade (Domestications)
  I liked the fact that these came in colors other than ivory and white. I think the chocolate or linen color would be good for blocking out a little more light. These are also at a great price ($19.99 - $39.99) and come in 13 different sizes.

I think I will try the Cordless Pleated Shade.... (pictured below). I really like the linen color and think it will be a nice accent. I wish I could see the color in person, but I'll check out the return policy before I buy and let you know what I find out! Yay! No cords!!!!

Changing over to new layout

In my attempts to stay current on the blog and hopefully create something people read - I have changed over my layout so that I can add widgets. I have been stuck in the "Classic Layout" for quite some time - but coming from a website background - I guess it's understandable.

Anyway, this may mean nothing to you - but I wanted to warn you that the layout may be messed up - please comment back if you notice something that is not right. I'm trying to get it fixed asap!!

Thanks for the patience!

Things I'm looking forward to...

Even before we started talking about having kids, there were a few things that I have looked forward to. The closer it gets to ACTUALLY having one - the more things I get excited about! I thought this would be a good blog topic... a list of things I'm looking forward to once the kiddo is here.

These are in no particular order:

1. Scholastic Book Fairs - I used to love these things!!
2. Making Easter baskets and Easter egg hunts (and tooth fairy visits, and putting together bikes at 2am for Christmas...)
   
3. Tent-forts with sheets and sofa cushions
   
4. Going to games/recitals
5. Birthday parties
   
6. Halloween costumes/dress up days at school
   
7. Being a room mom
   
8. Girlscouts
   
9. Girlie stuff: tutus, glitter, makeup, dresses, tiaras, etc.

What are you looking forward to when your little one arrives? Or if you already have kids, what are some things you really enjoy doing that you couldn't do before you had them?

I suck at blogging...

Ok, I totally suck at blogging... but I think I've finished my last 'major' commitment so maybe I can stay on track.

Over the past month I've been trying to finalize my design ideas for the baby room... and I think I'm pretty sold on purple/green as the room colors. I'm still sticking with a vintage theme - and at first thought it wouldn't go with purple... but the more I'm researching - it's very much a vintage theme color. Wow, that was a run-on sentence if I've ever seen one.

Here is my idea board. I'm pretty sure that is the "built to grow" crib and glider we are getting... we have to go back and check it out again and then just decide! Ugh, I hate decisions. The glider is RIDICULOUSLY comfortable. It doesn't recline, but it's positioned perfectly so I don't think I'll need



More detail on the fabric. The purple floral print will be the bumper pad and curtains. The other fabrics I'm still deciding on for accents. I really want to find a good stripe as an accent, but purple fabric just isn't that popular right now.




I love the idea of silhouettes, but was concerned that I couldn't pull it off with the new color scheme until I saw the print of the queen (in the shot above) on a vintage purple paper. I may not use purple against my purple walls, but I like the idea of it.

Here are some other good ways to use silhouettes with fabrics and patterns. I saw this in a magazine and then was thrilled to find it online (I hate scanning stuff haha - although I DID just get a new printer/fax/scanner that I'm excited to try out! It's wireless too!!)

Ok, so that's the major thing that's had me preoccupied recently. I also just finished working at a race expo for a friend, so now that it's done, I will try to focus on blogging and getting the room FINISHED!