Bedroom Things I Like

We're working on the bedroom right now. After moving here last year I wanted to make sure we didn't rush to get everything done, so we've taken our time in figuring out what to do with the bedroom, since we needed a break after doing everything else. This month we built a headboard (post to come!) and put up wooden blinds, but that's about it so far. 

I still need to buy a duvet cover and take a trip to Ikea for a bookcase, but other than that it mostly depends on several projects that I need to do (of course)..

I'll Fly Away print by Sara Norris Photography

Meet Me In St. Louis by CAPow

I love these prints because they remind me of Albuquerque and St. Louis (Albuquerque has an annual hot air balloon festival).

Zig Zag Duvet Cover


Ikea Hemnes Bookcase


Doe C Doe

This clock is pretty similar to the one I thrifted not too long ago, and I have plans to paint it pink! 

Aka Design

This is actually the headboard tutorial that we used! It turned out great. I want to make some sort of bunting to decorate it, but even though it's adorable I don't want to copy the 'love" banner.

Dots In Red- Tanya Whelan 

Joel Dewberry- Opal in Green

JLeeLo2

MadameBricolage

 Knock-Off Decor 


Wit & Whistle stencil pillow tutorial

I have a vision of making the bed super cozy with lots of extra pillows, so I'm about to go on a throw pillow-making spree. I like the idea of using burlap and muslin fabric and printing iron-on transfers from Etsy onto them, and I want to do a couple of stenciled lyric pillows, too. 

Esme and the Laneway has the best room! Even though our actual bedroom only holds my coats (I have a closet all to myself in my craft room), this picture inspired me to hang up some of my fancier vintage pieces as decoration, like maybe my two '20s nightgowns.

Lots to do! I'm excited that we're finally on the way to getting it finished, especially since we'll be doing the bedroom and the nursery at the same time!

A Pouf: Part 2

Done!

The hardest part by far was trying to make this thing round-ish. It's stuffed with an old Full comforter and a set of old flannel sheets. It's hard to believe this was made out of one long rectangular piece of garter stitching! It really couldn't have been an easier project. Now I have to keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn't shed-- I hate sheddy things, we had to replace our old green rug with this Ikea one because it's sole purpose in life was to shed everywhere and make my life miserable. So far so good with the pouf! As long as it holds up I can see getting lots of use out of it.

Here's the pattern again, if you're interested in trying it out.

Pregnancy Style: Seventeen Weeks

 The humidity makes all the fluff fall out of my hair.

I felt the baby move this week! I thought for sure it would take way longer than normal because of my placenta position, but last Saturday I was sitting all twisted up on the couch with one leg bent into my stomach and clearly felt six or seven little thumps. Since then I've felt it every day-- still not very frequently or strongly, but enough to recognize it and stop and smile. It's mostly at night when I'm sitting quietly at the computer or lying down to go to sleep, and the last few days I've felt a few gentle wooshy-squirmy movements. It's neat, to say the very least.

I've worn this dress way too many times this week. Way too many times. It needs a rest. I really love it, though.

F21 dress & sunglasses

Modcloth belt & bunny ring

Thrifted vintage oxford flats and bracelet

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Sixteen

Fifteen

Fourteen

Thirteen

DIY Duvet Cover

This was done for my friend Kalyn. She had two Queen sheets and a length of Ikea fabric and wanted to turn them into a duvet cover, so I used this tutorial and whipped it up for her. It was really easy! The most difficult part was cutting the sheets down to the dimensions of the duvet, because I've never been great at cutting a straight line, no matter how many times I measure and trace. It's a lot of fabric to wrestle with, but the whole thing was done in a few hours and I think it turned out pretty well. I probably should have pressed the finish product one last time (or threw it in the dryer), but I was lazy and counting on the wrinkles to fall out after a few days.

I want to make one for our bed with chevron sheets, but I can't find any good ones! I'd like to recreate this cover instead of spending $80, but apparently chevron sheets like that do not exist. Or either my googling skills are failing me. Wah.

A Successful Trip

The thrifting road trip was a success! We picked up lots of random bits and bobs and scored a few good baby-related things, like this awesome pony:



Apparently he's called The Wonder Pony, from the '50s or '60s. We named him Bill. He's in great condition and was only $25!

Vintage nightstand for the nursery, a magazine rack that I'll use to hold children's books, a few Beatrix Potter books, a little wooden rabbit toy, and storage baskets. 

Vintage fondue pot! I used to have one just like it, but gave it away when we moved because I never had any of the accessories. This one has everything, and the lady even threw in a pack of those cooking fuel cans to go with it.

A wooden piggy and two new sets of vintage salt & pepper shakers.

Vintage amber pitcher.

Heart-shaped mini waffle iron!

This hangs above the kitchen sink.

We did cheat a little and went to a few vintage/flea markets as well as thrift shops, because I just can't resist. I'm still really happy with everything we found!

Pregnancy Style: Sixteen Weeks

This is one of my favorite dresses, although I somehow forgot about it for a while. It has an unfinished hem, which is annoying because it makes the lace unravel, so I threw it in my "to-mend" pile and forgot it existed. But it's so good for showing off the bump!

Time is flying by now, it's kind of alarming. We still have so much to do! Like.. well, everything. I've been focusing on getting everything ready for our reveal party at the end of the month, so we plan on really cracking down on nursery things after that. Post-its and lists. Nothing but post-its and lists around here lately. ORGANIZATION. EARLY NESTING. I MUST ORGANIZE OUR PHOTOS!

Watching my belly grow has easily been the most awesome thing I've ever experienced, especially since I hit another growth spurt this week! I finally feel like I look pregnant when out in public, although I'm sure it's not super noticeable to other people. On the downside, I fell twice this week. TWICE. I'm usually pretty clumsy anyway, and a lot of my joints are already weirdly flexible (I can painlessly pop out my shoulders and hips, my elbows bend weird, my ankles are twisty, things like that) so this whole relaxin-hormone thing has really made me a danger to myself. A few days ago I apparently stepped on a sidewalk crack and my ankle collapsed and BAM. I crumpled so fast that Jeremy didn't even know what happened (he's usually on guard for sidewalk falls). I caught myself with my hand (ouch) and scraped my leg, but I was okay! Later that night I bent over to straighten the throw on the back of the couch and my right knee kind of.. slid out of place and got stuck and I fell and I really don't recommend that to anyone, because yikes. It fixed itself right away, but my knee still feels funky and I have to be careful with it. That sort of thing has happened before-- since my ligaments are already abnormally stretchy, sometimes things (shoulders, hips, knees) pop out too far and get stuck for a few seconds. It's a weird unpleasant thing that I didn't even realize was weird until my early twenties, and now since hormones are making me even more flexible I'm basically turning into Violet Beauregarde at the end of Tim Burton's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Saturday we're going on a big thrifting road trip-- Wilmington to New Bern, all the little thrift stores in the tiny towns along the way. I've been wanting to do this for ages. When we lived in New Bern and would make the three hour drive to visit our parents I wanted so badly to stop every time I saw one of those promising old shops along the way, but we never did. Hopefully I'll have tons of goodness to show for it on Monday.

Spotted Moth dress
My Selvaged Life necklace
H&M flats
Disco bracelet, vintage shop
Hair bow, knit by me

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Saturday Yard Sale Finds

I'm so happy with these! I grabbed a friend and braved the yard sales this morning even though it was so hot oh my god why, but it totally paid off. I love the little set of '50s storybooks and the '40s stacking toy, and the weird little bird thing that makes a jingle-jingle sound and wobbles.

Shelves: $2
Books: .50 each, $4
'40s toy: $5
Jingly toy: .50





I can't wait to do the nursery.

PS I finally made a facebook page for the blog, please do ~like it! 

Pregnancy Style: Fifteen Weeks

 

Well, it's getting super hot around here. Already.

No big changes lately! Babybel cheeses are not my friends anymore, and bananas are also on notice (but not Trader Joe's banana chips, those are perfect just the way they are). I interviewed doulas this week but now I'm leaning towards not using one at all-- I'm planning for a homebirth as long as everything stays nice and low-risk, and my midwife told me recently that she and her assistant would be there for me in doula-like ways, which makes a lot of sense (although I've read about a lot of homebirthers loving their doulas, which is great too). She said that her assistants are doulas, so I suppose hiring an extra one doesn't make a lot of sense, except that I really need someone there to take pictures right after. I hate being indecisive about things. Pregnancy seems to have driven my already compulsive planning side into overdrive! There are so many post-its lying around about SO MANY THINGS.

My blood pressure is back to normal which means no more headaches and dizziness yay! (It dropped pretty low during the early weeks.) Oh but I also found out that I have an anterior placenta, and my midwife confirmed that I probably won't be able to feel the baby until later than usual. Oh come on! HOW RUDE, PLACENTA. I'm a first-timer!

I can't believe I'm already in my 16th week-- we find out the sex at the end of month, ahh! We're also planning to throw a little reveal party for a few friends and family so we can all find out at once, because I think those are so fun. I've been going a little nuts on Pinterest trying to plan it all. I thrifted tons of neutral onesies over the weekend but it'll be so nice to know what kinds of little clothes I should start picking out..

Thrifted top* and flats
Modcloth skirt
Aroha Silhouettes book necklace

*I shrunk this dress in the dryer right after thrifting it. So. Top!

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Fourteen Weeks 

Thirteen Weeks

What I'm Making: a Pouf!

When I planned this post I was hoping to be finished, but I'm.. not. Obviously. So here's a progress post!

This is my first piece of knitted furniture and I have no idea how it's going to turn out. It's the easiest pattern in the world-- I thought it would be a huge dramatic construction project, but all you have to do is knit a big rectangle, stitch together two sides, and stuff it with a huge old comforter or something. Easy! I've been working on it for a while but it's just laziness on my part, since I didn't buy all of the yarn at once and have to keep buying more. It's the Puff Daddy pattern and knit with three strands of bulky yarn held together (I'm using Wool Ease Thick & Quick).

I'm slightly worried about my orange choice, because we already have a green rug and a granny square blanket on the couch and I'm afraid the orange will take the room into a non-interesting '70s situation. It'll just have to live in another room if that happens. Hopefully it will turn out as awesome as these:

Pickles Patterns

kyndal-elisabeth via Ravelry

erincdiaz via Ravelry