Kid n Kitties » Nursery

Sweet Creative Relief

Wendy — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 04:14:50 +0000

Since Izzy started pulling herself up in her crib, she’s been gnawing on it in an attempt to relieve herself of teething pain. I’m really bummed because we paid a pretty penny for this set and plan to use it for quite some time. The crib converts to a toddler bed and then to a full sized bed. I expect it to get us through to college. Now, it looks like the termites have gotten to it.

I’ve been thinking of a way to sew some kind of protector for a while and I finally measured the crib and made some sketches this weekend. I used some fabric that I bought at Ikea and lined it with a cotton batting to provide an added layer of protection. I attached some snaps at the bottom to secure it on the crib. It’s easy to take of for laundering.

I also made a crib blanket that has matching fabric on one side and animals in the same colors on the other side.

It felt good to plan, design, and create the vision I had in my head and to see it executed as perfectly as I had hoped even though Murky occasionally thwarted the creative process.

On a side note, Izzy and I spent the afternoon in San Anselmo at a friend’s baby shower. Isn’t she simply adorable in her little garden party dress?

Three Day Weekend To Do List

Wendy — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 05:52:40 +0000

In order of priority with status update:

Clean/Organize Closet – Not Started (The reason I took a vacation day to begin with. Lame. Can someone come over and do this for me?)
Sew Pantry Curtains – Complete (See below for before and after photos)
Bake Banana Bread – Complete (and all of it nearly eaten)
Go to Crafty Party at Mo’s House – Complete (I didn’t get any crafting done, but ate some really awesome homemade vegetarian chili that Elena made. Yum!)
Sew Felt Baby Shoes – In Progress (See previous. I’ll probably finish them in time for Izzy to have already outgrown them.)
Sew in ends of scarf for… – Not Started (Don’t want to say who it is for. It’s a gift)
Attend Art opening at Studio – Not Started (We completely missed it. The art is still there, so we’ll swing by next weekend to check it out. I love the Tiny show–totally affordable tiny art. I bought stuff a couple years back, and I see quite a few things online that I like. Hope some of it is still available when I get there.)
Put Away Clean Clothes – In Progress (We finished our clothes, but not Izzy’s)
Put Away Clean Dishes – Completed (Many thanks to Blanca for washing the dishes last night while I slept.)
Buy a Crib and Mattress – Completed (Yay! After weeks of agonizing over which set to get, we finally decided on Munire’s Urban Crib. When we saw it in person, neither of us liked it. It looked and felt cheap, so we decided on Bonavita’s Metro Crib and five drawer dresser. We also got the toddler bed and full size bed conversions so the furniture grows as she does.)
Sell Co-Sleeper on Craigslist – Completed (I posted the ad around midnight, and had an inquiry by 9:30. It was sold before noon. I heart Craigslist.)
Sell Maternity Clothes – Not Started (Dependent upon me cleaning/organizing my closet)
Pay Bills – Not Started (I’ll probably do this after dinner…Update. Nope, I decided to eat ice cream instead. Maybe tomorrow.)
Take a Shower – Not Started (There’s always tomorrow)
Tidy Desk – Not Started (There’s always next weekend)
Tidy Izzy’s Room – Not Started (If I leave it long enough, Mitch will take care of it.)
Post extra stuff on Freecycle – Not Started (So close to dropping this crap off at Goodwill.)
Grocery Shopping – Not Started (We have frozen and canned stuff. We’ll eat that for dinner this week. Oh and take out. We’ll have some of that too.)

Awesome, but cluttered looking pantry:

Pantry with fabulous curtains hiding the clutter (and a kitty):

We’re moving on up.

Wendy — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 02:55:23 +0000

Er…more like moving on over since we’re already on the top floor. We finally got word that we can have the two bedroom apartment down the hall. It has been painted, and they’re working on some renovations in the kitchen and bathroom. We’re also going to get a full-sized refrigerator to be placed in the giant pantry (Curses to the mini fridge we’ve been using for years).

Our building caretaker is currently on his annual month-long vacation to St. Petersburg, so most of the work has come to a halt during his absence. As soon as Andrei is back, he’ll finish up the work, and we should be able to move in late this month or early next month.

We’re so excited to have more space! We have fantasized about living in that apartment for years because it is the best two bedroom in our building. It is the only other apartment we ever could have considered living in because we currently live in the best one bedroom apartment in our building.

I would like to get in there and measure the rooms so I can draw the layout and figure out how I’m going to place our current furniture. I have also been doing some browsing online and found a few things that I want to purchase. I am just dying to nest!

I already purchased this Dutailier glider/recliner, but it hasn’t been delivered yet.

I don’t think our kitchen renovations are going to include a dishwasher. If not, I want to get this portable Whirlpool:

I picked this model over the Kenmore because the Whirlpool model has a locking system so it can’t be opened easily once it’s started and it has a food disposal system. It also has a butcher block counter top that will come in so very handy in my kitchen as it lacks counter space. It will be such a relief to not have to do dishes by hand any longer.

I also want to get this pretty awesome couch from Pottery Barn Teen for Izzy’s room:

I like it because it converts into a full sized bed. When we have guests, they can sleep on the fold out couch and Izzy can sleep in our room. It’s on sale right now, and it looks like they’re already out of the brown and black versions, which is fine by me because I did want the colorful striped version. I think the color scheme will go great with the painting that Dan gave us for Izzy’s room. I just can’t order it now since we don’t know when we’re moving in. I can’t have it arrive and try to cram it in to our current place. That just won’t do. I’m keeping my fingers crossed it will still be available when I have a place to put it.

The last piece of furniture I want to get is a dining room table. I am so excited that we’ll have room for a table. We have been eating our meals on the couch or at our desks because those are the only spaces available in our current place. I still haven’t found exactly what I want. I do know that I want something that is expandable, preferably with self contained extensions, but I’ll deal with leaves if I have to. I am looking forward to hosting dinner parties again!

We’re ready.

Wendy — Tue, 13 May 2008 06:28:58 +0000

We set up the nursery in the hallway. It’s the best location in the apartment with the most consistent temperature–no drafts, no direct sunlight. It is also central to the apartment. No need for a monitor. We’ll be able to hear anything from either the living room or the bedroom. The crib, cart and diaper pail hardly take up any room. We used to keep an Ikea Lack table in that space, so we don’t even notice the difference. We can even access the closet without having to move anything.

Here’s the view from the front door:

Here’s the view from the living room:

The photos were taken during a very rare occurrence wherein Murky was not laying on the change table. She really only leaves the crib when it is absolutely necessary.

How to paint a mural.

Wendy — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 05:42:52 +0000

I love this mural!

Mafe Maria wrote about her process in great detail. It’s such a great idea. When we finally get in to the bigger apartment, I’d like to tackle a similar project. She found the art on iStockPhoto, which I discovered recently when I was designing the baby shower invitations. It’s a great site and the prices for the artwork are very reasonable.

I’m going to poke around a bit before I make my final decision, but so far, I am totally loving this image:

via ohdeedoh.

Resin Alabaster Deer Head

Wendy — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 22:29:06 +0000

Here’s another lovely little item I thought about picking up for the nursery, but it was vetoed by my baby daddy.

What do you think?

Too Creepy for the Nursery?

Wendy — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 18:42:39 +0000

One of my favorite artists, Liz McGrath, just posted some new items for sale. I really love this limited edition print, and thought it would be cute for the nursery. Mitch thinks it is way too creepy for a baby’s room.

What do you think? Please leave your vote in the comments.

**UPDATE**

Mom gave this to me for Christmas. Awesome!