Monday, November 5, 2012

Prepared

Of all the nights to have an extra hour, Saturday night would not have been my pick.  Sleep does not come easily these days and I find myself awake in the middle of the night wishing for morning.  When the clock finally ticked 5am on Sunday, I nudged Alex awake, only to be reminded that it really was only 4am.  I forced myself to toss and turn until nearly 6 and then delighted in getting out of bed to take a hot bath.

Finally around 7am, I crawled back into bed while Alex fixed us decaf coffees and bagels for our usual Sunday breakfast.  After eating, we laid around in bed a little longer until I just couldn't take it anymore.  So up and at 'em.  We cleaned the bathrooms, hung shelves in the nursery, assembled the Pack n' Play and took a vacuum to the floors.  All this and it was only 9:30!  We could still make it to church if we wanted to.  I'm not thinking I want to.

Every day is day of preparation for little Eleanor.  We are anxiously awaiting her arrival and in anticipation I obsessively clean the floors, bathrooms and kitchen daily.   On Saturday we ran errands to Target, Babies R' Us and Ikea to pick up a few final items that we needed.  So Sunday morning was a matter of finalizing all the preparations around the house.  Now I can't think of a single thing left to do until she arrives.  Check out her beautiful nursery that we put together!  Photos are all compliments of my dear friend and talented photographer Sadie Culberson.
I love the clock Sadie brought to represent our due date.  Unfortunately it is not ours to keep.  I hear she purchased it on Etsy so I may be after one to match the nursery.
The nursery came together beautifully through a true collaboration of random pieces.  The glider is a "love"-me down from Alex's sister Karina.  She bought it over 18 years ago for her daughter and all 4 of Alex's nieces and nephews were rocked in the same glider.  It still works perfectly and doesn't even squeak like most gliders do.  The best part: my friend Leslie has the same glider that she used for her kids years ago.  They no longer use the footstool part and brought it over to us.  It matches exactly!  What an amazing coincidence!
The crib is a gift from our dear friend Tiff and is probably the only item in the room that is not used in some way.  It amazes me how perfectly everything matches although none of the pieces were meant to go together!  Unpictured are a dresser that we already had and a changing table that I picked up at a yard sale for $15!  Both match the crib almost perfectly!
We started with a yellow and sunshine theme based on the theme from my first baby shower.  The painting above was a gift from that shower.  Whitney (who also took photos for our pregnancy announcement and baby girl announcement photos) painted this piece of art for us.  Naturally we had to use it in the nursery!  Eleanor's name means "shining light" which is where the theme came from.  You will notice in a photo above there is a second piece of artwork that Whitney also made with Eleanor's name and the meaning.
When we started decorating the nursery we also wanted to incorporate these adorable yellow giraffes.  Since visiting Africa on a mission trip, we have infused our home with subtle African memories.  These giraffes are a play on our African experience and remind us of what is important and how we want Eleanor to be raised.
One of my favorite pieces in the room is this beautiful ribbon decor that Whitney also made for the shower.  This was an unintentional gift to us, but I just loved it so much and begged to use it in Eleanor's room.  I think they were planning on reusing it for more parties.  Well, it's hanging on my wall now if you ever want to borrow it Julie and Whitney!
To add to the artwork in the nursery, I enlisted my dear friend Kristen, a graphic designer to help me pull together the pieces above and below.  (And those amazing yarn toys are made by another amazing friend!)

The top one is a Shakespeare quote that Alex just loves and we both fell in love with the verse above.  There is so much we want for our baby girl, but a strong faith and great self-esteem rank at the very top.  We hope that by surrounding her with positive messages, as well as positive examples will help her to grow up happy and loved.
This last piece of art I purchased off Etsy.  "First we had each other, then we had you.  Now we have everything." It makes me cry just thinking about it!  Now if only she would come so we could have everything!  All of these pieces are displayed in frames I received for free and spray painted a buttery yellow color to match the room. 
My favorite nursery project is this elephant mobile.  I saw an example on Pinterest and decided to attempt it myself.  I hand-stitched 5 little elephants and stuffed them with cotton balls.  They are strung together and hung on a simple wreath from Hobby Lobby that I also spray painted with the same buttery yellow paint.  I am not a very crafty person so I was very concerned this would not turn out.  After hanging it I was pleasantly surprised.  I think it is simple and darling!
You can't see it clearly, but behind the mobile is another Pinterest project of mine.  I simply cut out a giraffe head from scrapbook paper and framed it.  It is also very darling and another big surprise given my lack of creative talent!

Also hidden in the photos above is Alex's amazing wallpaper job.  We bought this wallpaper shortly after moving into our house.  It was on sale at Lowe's for 25 cents a roll.  I had nowhere to use it but just loved the soft and cheery pattern.  When we started piecing together the nursery I just knew we had to use it.  It is my favorite part of the entire room!
One last Pinterest project are these adorable pinwheels also made from scrapbook paper.  I found the small pink vases at a yard sale and with some simple hot glue, I put together this whimsy decor!
All these little pieces make our baby's room so cheery and bright.  I cannot wait to bring her home to it!  We are definitely prepared!

No comments:

Post a Comment