The Nursery: Paint and Curtains

*Note:  This post was actually written in November 2012 we when completed the nursery remodel, but  I didn't want to share them immediately since we decided to keep the gender of our baby a secret.  I figured I wouldn't have the time or energy after our sweet little one joined us to post pictures and share all of the details.  Some of the after photos may be different now because of this, and I promise a current post as soon as we are all settled in.*

Blair and I spent four days painting the nursery, hanging curtain rods, and making curtains.  I love to paint, however, I was still on rest at the time, so I had to take it slow and let Blair help.  We spread it out over several days to make sure I wasn't over-doing it and to accommodate his very busy schedule.

I started early by spray painting the curtain rod I purchased.  I loved the bird finials, but hated the finish.  I wanted to make sure it had plenty of time to set and off-gas before we brought it in to hang.

Bird Curtain Rod

From Lowe's, painted in Valspar's Golden Maize spray paint

Getting the paint on the walls normally would only have taken me an afternoon, but we spaced it out doing only one wall at a time.

Wall Paint

Valspar's Sparkling Sage in flat finish

I absolutely adore how the curtains turned out!  I spent a week in October with my parents in Knoxville, and my mom and I went to Joann's together to find fabric.  This pattern is nothing like what I originally had in mind, but I'm sooooo glad we found it!  It's a twill and stitched up like a dream.  Each panel is two yards long and backed with a simple white, flat cotton twin-sized sheet from Wal-Mart.  Eventually, I may get some curtain hooks to hold them back, but for now they look so sweet and simple off to the side of the crib.

Curtains

Made by me with home decor fabric purchased at Joann's

The day after we finished this part of the work, I spent several hours sitting in the rocking chair in here with my knitting.  I found that there was a cool, calmness to the room that I truly enjoyed.  Before, it was just a cluttered up "office space" catch-all with a paint color that reminded me of our first cruddy apartment.  A fresh coat of paint and window dressing made such a huge difference in the overall feel of the room. Blair commented that evening that it might just be his favorite room in the house.

I hope you have enjoyed this part of our little "nursery tour."  I'll have some more pictures for you soon!

Friday Photo

For Little Girls

As promised several times over the last few months, I have some pictures of finished sewing and knitting projects for you.  We'll start with some fabric.

When it comes to children's clothing, my philosophy is "If I wouldn't wear it, I won't make them."

You aren't going to find much pink or frill in Miss Kathrynne's closet (and certainly no hair bows), but there will be plenty of sweet little girl things for her to wear once she grows into them.

On a different note, IUGR babies have several milestones to reach in their first few weeks of life, and Miss Kathrynne met another yesterday.  She stayed awake for longer than an hour!  She made it an hour-and-a-half, actually, and it wore her out so much that she didn't open her eyes until way after 10:00 last night.  Here's to progress and little girls!

My How Things Change

Oh, me!  I went to the doctor Thursday for a routine appointment, and nine hours later we had our sweet baby girl!  After being sent to the hospital after some abnormal labs, Miss Kathrynne decided that since we were already there, it may as well happen now.  In the short time frame of only 45 minutes, we met our little one.  With no time for pain meds or waiting on the doctor, our little girl was delivered by my nurse weighing only 5 pounds at a petite 18 3/4 inches.  She's beautiful and precious, and we feel so blessed to have a healthy little one in our arms.

Filling Out With Some Furniture

As promised a few days ago, I do have some finished projects to show you, and the first one's up today!  We finally had some sunshine here long enough for me to take some pictures, and this may be one of my favorite before and afters ever.  

Five years ago, Blair and I bought a bed from a friend, and it came with a homemade upholstered head board.  We used that up until this past Spring, when we switched over to an open and more light-friendly one from Blair's parents.  We tried to get rid of the original headboard to no avail, so Blair ripped off the fabric and batting to find some really great plywood underneath.  The cloth went in the trash and the plywood went to the shed.  

Over the summer, I decided I wanted a round table to help fill out our living room.  The space in there was just so empty and bare, but I couldn't find a table I really liked.  We finally had the idea to use that free piece of plywood.  So a couple of days before Christmas, Blair simply cut out a circle and attached it to the top of a side table we already owned.  A little batting, fabric, and a few boxes of upholstery nails later we had this:

It makes a huge difference in the room space-wise and function-wise.  Mr. Noah loves to work puzzles on it, and it gives the room a visual boost.  Best of all, it was free!  It's probably not a permanent fixture, but while we have young children in the house, it's soft, round edges are the perfect fit.  

So, here's the big before and after:

Before:

and 

After:

Just Some Quiet

We reach full term tomorrow.  I don't know where the time has gone.  Parts of this pregnancy have seemed so long and drawn out while others have just flown.  It's been complicated and had it's problems.  We have a very tiny baby on the way due to some growth restrictions.  We are excited, however, and can't wait to bring our new little one home.  Two weeks at the most.  So we're taking the next few days to sit and snuggle and be a family of three for just a little while longer. I don't plan on being present here very much, and my phone stays off for most of the day and all of the evening.  I do, however, have several posts already written and ready to share with you once our little one is here.  We also have a couple of projects in the works and some that are finished but not photographed (we've had two or three weeks of cloudy, rainy days here).  

So here's to quiet, rest, and some last minute prep work to get ready to bring our new baby into the world.

A project for a project

Redundant, right?  Not really.  Blair and I (well, Blair, mostly) are in the middle of a project that I can't WAIT to show you, but until then I thought I'd ease the wait by showing you something that I have  actually completed.  I made it to go with the larger project that Blair is constructing.

I doubt you were expecting a quilt.  All you fabulous quilters out there are probably unimpressed, but we love it!  It turned out really well.  I haven't made a quilt in 8 years, and the last one I did was a patchwork that I cut and pieced and stitched entirely by hand.  It was also a queen sized.  This is actually a crib-sized/lap throw size, and it's just perfect to sit on the couch right now until it's permanent home is ready (and, no, it won't be in the nursery).  I got the fabric at Joann's and loosely used the instructions from here to make it.  It took all of three hours, but then, I cheated and stitched the binding on with my machine.

Finally Some Curtains

For the last two years, Blair and I have been looking at this in our bedroom.  Classy, right?

That's not a real curtain rod, but those are real binder clips keeping the curtains closed.  After finally having enough, several days ago I remedied our situation.  

Cheaply.

Those aren't real curtains, either, but they look like it.  They are $5, flat, twin-sized sheets from my local buy-everything-here Mart.

After living with them for several days, I can tell you that this is a vast improvement.

I Grew Out My Hair

Not only did I spend the year growing a human (aka being pregnant), I also grew out my hair.  Again.  There are several bloggers out there who have recently done posts on how to do this.  I just let my hair grow.  For the first couple of months, I took scissors and trimmed the back myself to keep it from looking rather mullet-y.  Other than, I just let it do it's thing.

There you have it!  A whole year's worth of growth crammed into one blog post.

Two Years

I can't believe it, but we've now been in our house for two whole years!  While a complicated pregnancy had prevented us from doing the remodels we'd hoped to do this year, we have grown to love this house more and more.  Noah's room (paint and bookcase) and the kitchen had major changes made, but other than that, everything pretty much still looks like it did last year.  Well, and the nursery, which you are forbidden to see until after our little one arrives. 

Home, sweet home!

Conversations with Blair::Noah Edition

Blair:  Noah?   Noah....Noah.....Noah.....Noah.....Noah....Noah....Noooaaahhhh!

Noah:  What, honey?!

A Boy and His Hat

The Crud has hit.  Blair had it last week.  Noah and I have it this week.

So, we went to the doctor.

I insisted he wear a hat.

He chose mine.

That Night

It wasn't silent.  It wasn't calm.  Or clean.  Or easy.  Young girl.  Dirty cave full of moldy straw and animals.  Their noise, her noise.  

Young girl.  No midwife.  No familiar female face for advice.  Just the knowledge that she was chosen.

Then the noise of a baby.  It was beautiful.  It was sweet.  

God entered the world in an unusual, beautiful, humble way.  

Please take the next two weeks and focus on this beauty.  Let it fill your mind and heart in preparation for Christmas morn.  Remember the Child that came for you.

Comfort in a Bowl

Also known as:  Homemade Soup

I love love love soup in the winter, and homemade soup just can't be beat.  Soup is the perfect quick meal when you need one, and I love to pair it with either my mama's cornbread or my mama's quick muffins.  If you think about it in time, soup can be put in the crockpot (to be smelled all day!) or it can be quickly boiled on the stove.  Now, while I do keep a couple of cans of chicken noodle on hand for those rare times when Blair and myself are both sick enough to not feel like cooking, I really really prefer homemade.  

Homemade soup does take a little more of your time, but it is so good.  It's easier if you keep these ingredients on hand like we do (no trip to the store), but if you plan in advance you can pick things up with your weekly groceries.  Here's what I threw together last week on a whim (meaning I forgot about planning for supper until the last hour). 

Whatcha Got Noodle Soup

3-4 cups chicken (vegetable) broth this depends on how soupy you like your soup.  Also, I pull mine from the freezer because I refuse to buy broth, but Swanson does still work.

1 (large) carrot stick, peeled and thinly sliced scrapings and end pieces go into a bag in the freezer to use in making more broth (because I deplete my supply rather quickly in the winter).

1 celery stalk, thinly sliced the ends of this also get frozen for later stock-making

3 ears of corn already cooked and cut off cob Leftovers from Sunday lunch.  This came from my parents' garden, but you could also use a couple of cans of corn

1 1/2 cups (?) of zipper peas these were also leftovers (and from our garden), no idea how much I used.  Any kind of pea or bean would work

2 finely chopped dried tomatoes store-bought ones work, too, if you don't have any in the freezer.  Oven-drying tomatoes is actually a great way to easily preserve that excess of tomatoes you may have in the summer.

1 TBS dried parsley

Dash of salt

However much pepper you want

About 1 TBS bacon grease totally optional.  This was saved from the last time I cooked bacon.  I keep it in a Mason jar in the fridge.  I promise it's not gross.

Pasta  this is up to you.  Whatever kind you want.  However much you want.  I used spaghetti.  I used about as much as when I make spaghetti for two people, but broke it into two-inch pieces.  

Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer.  Leave alone for about an hour, or until the carrots and celery are tender.   (Or, put it all in your crockpot and let cook all day.)  At some point during this process, cook your pasta.  When your veggies are done, drain the pasta and add it to the soup.  Bring back to a boil, turn off burner, and let sit for about 10 minutes.  Now, enjoy your comfort in a bowl.  

This is easily customizable for whatever you have on hand or like to eat.  

.....

Quick Muffins

Makes 6

1 c All Purpose Flour

1/2 TBS baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 c. milk

1/4 c. mayo

Preheat oven to 425.  Stir all ingredients until smooth.  Pour into greased muffin pan.  Bake for 20-25 minutes or until tops are golden brown.  

** You can use self rising flour for this, just leave out the baking powder and salt if you do.  You can also double the recipe for 12.**

Simple, Beautiful, Small::His Room

This is the only decoration I put in Mr. Noah's room.  A simple white tree with red-and-white felt garland I stitched up at the machine.  He's thrilled.

Simple, Beautiful, Small::The Mantle

Simple, Beautiful, Small::The Jesse Tree

Humble and gentle, the Jesse Tree is a simple reminder that God has always loved us, and, even from the very beginning, had a plan to save His children.  Twigs and hand stitched ornaments are a daily reminder during the month of December of the One who was born to free us from the bondage of sin.

Simple, Beautiful, Small

And full of wonder.  Just as Christmas should be.