Saint and Sailor Studios | A Giveaway

When thinking about a nursery for my baby boy, there wasn't a question in my mind that it would be sports related. You all know what a sport-loving team-supporting household we are so there really wasn't much else that made sense in terms of a theme. I did know, however, that I didn't want the room to be over the top themey. I wanted it to be cute and calm and unique and not necessarily the classic "sports theme" that I've seen so many times. As the decorating and planning has progressed, a style for this room has really evolved so I am BEYOND excited to be teaming up with Saint and Sailor Studios to not only give you a little sneak peek of Ziggy boy's room but also give you a chance to win a set of canvases for yourself.

Shawn, the artist behind all these incredible prints has a fantastic collection of artwork to chose from and not just related to sports, but so much more. I really love his work and his style and it's actually a little embarrassing how much time I spent looking through all of his pieces in an attempt to choose some for Ziggy's room. After much perusing, I decided on a set of 4 vintage sports prints for my little guy's room. 

I was so excited about these and once they arrived I was blown away. The print quality is incredible and the colors are perfection. I very honestly can't say enough about how happy I am with these prints. They look so great in the room and are something that can grow with Ziggy as he gets older. 

Shawn offers a variety of prints, canvases and home decor in a varying sizes in his Etsy shop and sells pre-collated sets as well. There's really something for everybody. I thought I had Kenley's room all decorated but now I have my eye on those ballet slippers and am scheming a spot where I can hang it. 

 Shawn has very generously offered to give one of my lucky readers their very own set of four 11x14 canvas prints!!! Can you say heck yeah? Enter below and I will announce the very lucky winner on Monday! GOOD LUCK! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Nursery Progress

It's official. I am nursery crazy. I don't know what it is about this room, but I am obsessing! I think it might be that it is literally the only thing about this pregnancy I can control. It's one of those design projects that I know exactly how I want it to look in my head and am executing it so, but when people ask "what's the theme?" or "what's the color scheme?" I don't really have an answer. There are DEFINITELY sports involved {I mean duh, this kid is being born into a huge sport family} BUT that does not mean that it is a sports themed room and that I am just throwing in anything with a ball on it. I'm being so fussy about the decor and have searched high and low for just the right pieces to make this room special for my little man. I think this nursery is going to be a good mix of myself and my baby daddy and I am so very excited for how it is coming together! 

So far, I've managed to get the guts of the room finished which feels incredible! It doesn't look like much, but I have actually checked quite a few things of the nursery to do list. So far I have cleaned out all the non-baby related items; gone through all of Kenley's clothes and sold or donated everything that can't be used for a baby boy {and held on to a couple of things my heart could just not part with}; sanded, primed and painted all of the trim including the window and closet doors {both of which I cursed the whole time I was doing it}; freshened up a wooden window treatment originally in Kenley's room; purchased and hung knew blinds AND replaced all of the existing beige outlets and plates with white ones.

The room has gone from a catchall space to an empty boring room to the beginnings of my son's room! It makes me so excited to look in there and see some personality! Here's a little look at the transformation so far.

Now that the base of the room is done, I can move on to the exciting parts like FURNITURE and DECOR!!! I am working on refinishing the dresser we are going to use as our changing table, our crib has arrived and I still have my rocker from Kenley. We have baby's bedding {just need to get a crib mattress} and I have also started on a few of the decor projects, one of which was inspired by this hoop from my favorite show, Fixer Upper.

I also came across some incredible sports prints from Saint and Sailor Studios that I am super excited about!
 
 
I think a few of these prints will go perfectly with the other ideas I have floating around in my head! I wish I could just snap my fingers and have everything at once because I am so excited about every last detail! 

I also need to start brainstorming what I am going to do to organize the closet. I cleaned out all the crap and got it painted but as more and more Ziggy baby stuff arrives, I am going to need to store it in there as well as get all of our existing baby stuff out of the family room which is where it's currently residing. So doing a little baby item inventory and getting some shelving and storage in there should probably happen sooner rather than later. Most definitely before my Sprinkles!

So there you have it! I cannot stinkin' wait for this room to be finished and to show you all! It has the makings of being my favorite room in the house! 

Operation Nursery

I am so so so so excited about decorating this nursery! I loved how Kenley's nursery turned out, but I was pretty limited on what I could do in there. Her room was also our guest room and was huge! Not to mention I painted it gray to make it into a cuter guest room two weeks before I found out I was pregnant. So the black furniture and gray walls were non-negotiable. Like I said, I loved how it turned out and it was fun to do but this time around I feel like I have more creative control and have been anxious to get the ball rolling! 

my blank canvas!

While technically not a thing has been done to the room, things are in motion. Before I started on baby's room I wanted to get Kenley's big girl room done which I finished ON her birthday {I'll get around to posting it eventually :)}. With the makeover of Kenley's room and the move in general, this baby's room has become a catchall for everything without a home. So it's going to take a lot of work to get it suitable for baby. Not kidding. 

This is the current condition...

OK, in all honestly, as of yesterday it no longer looks like this {though it did for 3 months}. Kenley's stuff is all out of there now, her old furniture is currently being stored in our laundry room and all of the non-baby stuff is piled in the hallway waiting to find a new home. My original plan was to paint Kenley's black furniture white {I painted her bed white too} and move it to the baby's room and then get her a new dresser {which my mama gifted us, it's the white dresser in the pic} and then get a new crib {that converts into a toddler bed & big kid bed like Kenley's} for Ziggy. I had started on the furniture and then began looking for cribs which then lead me to measuring and trying to configure the room in my head...only...there was nearly no way to do it. Unless I positioned the crib in the very middle of the room or in front of the window the furniture was just not going to work together. The dresser is too wide and cribs are too deep so no matter where they were in the room there was overlap.

Cue irrational pregnant breakdown. I basically had four options. 

Option 1. Swap Kenley and Ziggy's furniture which, really, wasn't a reasonable option because we made a big stinkin' deal and got all excited about Kenley's bed being painted white and her getting a new dresser and the last thing I want is for big sister to resent baby before it's even born for jacking her new furniture. 

Option 2. Move Kenley into the smaller room. The big furniture would fit in Kenley's room and Kenley's furniture would fit in the baby's room and naturally I determine this a week and a half after I've worked my butt off to finish Kenley's big girl room and present it to her on her birthday. 

Option 3. Put time and money into finishing the current furniture, try to sell it, then use that money to buy new furniture. Which would be done in approximately August and lead to sleepless nights until then.

Option 4. Mope and whine and complain to my mom and friends via text. 

I went with option 4 and it totally worked in my favor! Turns out my amazingly awesome friend Nikki is not only really good at calming me down but also has a spare dresser she is not using that has the perfect dimensions to be a changing table that FITS in the bedroom WITH the crib! It needs to be painted, but I was planning on painting furniture anyways so PROBLEM SOLVED! 

With the furniture debacle figured out, we were able to decide on a crib! Hooray!

Haven 4-in-1 Convertible Crib by Delta Children

And, I was able to get the room configuration planned out and a preliminary to-do list mapped out! 

✔ Move giant non-fitting furniture to basement {thanks hubby & brother!}
✔ Clean out all non-baby stuff

□ Sort through Kenley’s baby clothes {Keep, Sell, Donate}

□ Prime and Paint trim, window & closet door white
□ Buy new white knob for closet door

□ Paint walls {light blue or mint green???}
□ Paint wood valance white

□ Buy new blinds

□ Buy new outlet / switch plates in white

□ Pick up dresser from Jeff & Nikki

□ Sand, prime and paint dresser white

□ Add knobs to dresser

□ Buy crib

□ Buy cube storage

□ Plan Décor!!!

Once we get this stuff checked off and find out the gender {on FRIDAY}, the fun part can begin!!! I have a ton of ideas for a baby boy nursery and one somewhat concept I'm not completely sold on for a baby girl nursery. 

that poop looking color in the middle is supposed to be metallic gold, fyi

Either way, I am so excited to be starting this fun project and can't wait to start making this room special for my BABY!!!!

..............................

And speaking of BABY you should probably head over to my friend Erin's blog because she has an itty bitty announcement today!!! 

The "H" Word.

There's a word that's been looming over our heads for the past several years...

HOUSE. 

Jason and I have been renting our townhouse since November 2008 and we love it. We have two floors, two bedrooms, one and a half baths, a pool, a community room perfect for parties, a work out room, a wonderful location and all the perks of renting! Read: when your bathtub starts to leak and all of a sudden there's a giant gaping hole in your downstairs ceiling you call a number,  it's repaired in a day and costs a grand total of $0.00. 

Our little place is perfect for the four of us. 

But, as our family grows {which we are actively taking measures to avoid for at least a couple of years} we will need to move, there just isn't room for another human in our current home. 

Plus, it's not ours. We are allowed to paint which I have taken full advantage of but that's about it. I can't get new carpet or expand the kitchen. I can't update the light fixtures or put in crown molding. 

I don't want to leave the convenience of renting {or our pool} but I do want a place to make our own. 

When I start thinking about owning a home I get all kinds of overwhelmed. 

The thought of having to save for a down payment - terrifies me. 

The thought of searching for a home - terrifies me. 

The thought of getting a lemon or a money pit - terrifies me. 

The thought of buying a house with a creepy ghost in it - double terrifies me. 

Our current lease is through February 2014 and my guess is we will sign one more either 12 or 15 month lease which puts us in a home probably spring of 2015. So with a little less than two years until home-ownership, where do I start? Start saving? Get pre-qualified? Or do I just create a new Pinterest board for home decorating ideas and just hope for the best? 

Seriously though, I am CLUELESS when it comes to this. Do any of you have any good resources to help me calm the F down? 

While I wait for your advice I'll just be pinning...

{I wish}

via

{yeah right}

via

{yes please}

via

{genius}

via

{an absolute MUST}

via

Baby's Room

Ladies and gentleman...we have a nursery!

Since moving in to our townhouse in November of 2008, this spare room has acted as a storage area, guest bedroom, office and den. Back in February, once all the wedding gifts had been cleared out, I decided to make it my project to decorate and convert this room in to a lovely guestroom and den for me to watch all of my trashy television (Jason prefers that I don't record Keeping Up With the Kardashians on our family room TV). With the thought that we would probably be using the room as a nursery in a year or two, I decided to go with a gender neutral color scheme, which truthfully was an excuse to do the whole room in my favorite colors...black, white, yellow and gray.

Less than a month after painting the room we got a little surprise...

...and this room became a nursery sooner than anticipated.

Finishing this room has definitely been a labor of love and a long, ongoing project. After hundreds of ideas and concepts and countless hours on pinterest, etsy and bouncing ideas off Carolyn, it has finally come together! I had free range from Jason to do pretty much what I wanted, and I absolutely love how it turned out! 

Before I can show it off though, let's take a look back at what the room looked like back when:

And now, I am SO excited to show you the finished baby's room!

 please excuse the photo-bombing puggle.

the details: 

*Clock, Bedding, Throw Pillows & Nightstand via Target

*Valance originally via JoJo Designs but redesigned by Kelly & Cedar Street Creatives!

*Framed bee art via Etsy - Doodling A Smile compliments of The Beeb

When the original plan was to make this a guestroom/den, we got a new TV and my father-in-law built us the shelves. I love having this little "me" corner in the room.

*Glider & Ottoman via Babies R Us compliments of my dad & step-mom

The dresser in between the closets is packed with all the fun things that baby will need once she's a little older...so bigger clothes, toys, etc.

This panda (which is my sorority's mascot) was given to me by my Big Sis, Holly, on the day I was initiated. 

This lamp was the very first thing I bought for the nursery the day after I found out I was pregnant.

*Carter's Bumble Collection Lamp & Shade via Babies R Us

*Baby Nambe Moon Bank compliments of my mama 
*Frame via Target

*Print via Etsy - Fancy Prints for Home compliments of my mama

Instead of buying new furniture I just converted the other dresser into the changing table. The drawers are stocked with diapers and all the necessities, as well as blankets, spare sheets, towels, etc.

*Letter 'K' via Etsy - A Touch of Sunshine 
*Frame via Amazon

*Bunting banner via My Baby Shower! compliments of my friend Robyn

*Furry friends compliments of my mom & sister-in-law, Ally 

*Basket via Pottery Barn Kids

*Changing Pad & Cover via Babies R Us

*Mobile via Etsy - JanieGirlCrafts 

*Frames via Amazon
*Photographs compliments of Sara Jayne Photography

*Delta Canton Convertible Crib compliments of my Grandma

*Sheets via Potter Barn Kids

*Sleep Sheep compliments of the lovely Brynn.

*Musical Bee Rocker compliments of my Auntie Lisa

So there you have it!
I hope baby girl loves it in there as much as I do!

And, YES, for those of you observant folks...Nugget's name will start with the letter K.
But that's all you're getting....just be happy I didn't blur it out. :)