Taming the Chaos

When K first came home from the hospital, the only evidence of her presence outside of the nursery was a little stack of receiving blankets next to the couch, and a little canvas bin with diapers and such in our windowseat. Times have changed. Not only can she climb on almost all the living room furniture, it looks like her toys are reproducing each night. Our living room is blessed with high ceilings and abundant light, but cursed with absolutely no built in storage or closet to contain her mess.

Courtesy of the Container Store and Ballard Designs, there is a little more living in the living room, now that it looks a little nicer.

I've instituted a five bin rotation of toys. Each day, K gets an new bin filled with a variety of toys and books. It makes picking up after her so much easier, and she doesn't seem to notice that she's only playing with a fifth of her toys.

Now that she can touch everything, I've had to move books and remotes to a safe space. That's where the Ballard Designs shelves come in handy. I will post a picture, but they hang out right over one couch, and provide a safe space for the books I want to read - and another place to display photos of her. I'm ordering two more to be installed further down the wall. I shopped around for a while at Pottery Barn, Crate and Barrel and West Elm before going with Ballard. I loved that they don't charge tax if shipping to California, and thought they were the best value around.

How do you stay organized? Any other toy/clutter containment ideas? Her bedroom and bookshelves are a whole different story :)

Illumination

Baby K's room has no overhead lighting. Now that she's clever and can pull on a floor lamp, I'm in the hunt for a table lamp that sits out of her reach and is relatively attractive. Any thoughts on these?

projects

I feel that I'd be a lot more organized if I had a label maker. It's a round the clock clutter purge around here. I'm getting rid of stuff that I should have thrown away years ago, and starting to look at our place in a whole new light. I'd love to ask you how you all stay organized, and what your secrets are for purging your closets, kitchen and other places of all that clutter!

We had friends over for a big meal of spaghetti, salad and brownies on Saturday - it was great to catch up and enjoy some quality time. With this gloomy economy, and how much fun it is, I'm going to start having people over for dinner more often. This big Juliska platter caught my eye! Can't you just imagine it filled with pot roast or spaghetti and meatballs?

Grey. I am thinking about getting our living room and dining room repainted, and grey is my top color. I'm thinking a very pale, silvery blue grey. Any thoughts?

Odds and Ends

Happy almost weekend everyone! I think Baby Icing is ready for the weekend too - she's been staying up pretty late at night, so I think she wants to sleep in!

How delicious does this brownie sundae look? It's one of my favorite features in the LA Times; their food section does a recipe on request from a local restaurant. I'm going to try to make these brownies...I may just buy the coffee ice cream and fudge sauce though! http://www.latimes.com/features/food/la-fo-sos11-2009mar11,0,6537428.story That's the link for you to check them out yourself. BLD is a great restaurant (and a really fun place for brunch) if you're ever in LA!

I picked up this pretty cherry blossom photo on Etsy. Here's the link to the seller: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5246696 I think it will be pretty in Baby Icing's room!

This weekend we'll be keeping it pretty low key. I have a long meeting tomorrow morning/mid afternoon, and then a doctor's appointment (I get so nervous for all of them that I'm wiped out afterwards). I'm thinking of picking up some duck breasts and good cheese/bread/salad for dinner, and then whipping up the brownie sundaes for dessert. Saturday, we're going to Mastro's for a birthday party. I've never been, so I'm excited to try it, but I'm also nervous - I hope I can still squeeze into my party dress one last time!

Other than that, it will be organizing Baby Icing's room, and working on gathering the little essentials that we need for her. Let's hope tomorrow goes by quickly!

Happy Weekend!

Thank goodness we made it through the week! This adorable little castle for your prince or princess was on the Cookie magazine blog...wouldn't this be the most adorable addition to a room? I used to run away with a backpack, oreos and a cup of milk to under the dining room table, but this would be even better!

My doctor's appointment was normal. I'm a little paranoid about big babies, because I was 9 12 (and turned into a very average sized adult), but Baby Icing and I are measuring right on schedule, and my doctor thinks she looks just perfect (and average). I'm now going to appointments every two weeks, and we get to visit with Baby on the ultrasound once more at 36 weeks. Right now, she's curled up head down, with her little tush on my right side, and her little legs kicking on my left. That explains why I'm feeling so much movement.

And, in very exciting news, my stroller has arrived. It's too heavy for me to lug indoors, so I have to wait for my sweet husband to do that (Since his only opinion on icing is a strong aversion to cream cheese frosting, I'll be referring to him by his initial "N" from here on out.). I'll post on the assembly later this weekend.

Right now, I'm spent. I was too busy at the office to eat lunch or drink much, and went straight from there to my doctor's to the grocery store...so I just made some soup and am planning on remaining on the couch all evening. Have a good weekend!

Nursery - Progress

I love Carousel Designs! They have a great assortment of beautiful bedding, and after lots of debate (internal) and a brief conversation with my husband, we're going with the black and white Central Park toile with black and white gingham accents. I love it and can't wait for it to arrive! Here's Carousel's website in case you need to do some browsing. http://www.babybedding.com/ They make a lot of cute supplies that aren't part of a crib set, like pillows, mobiles and diaper storage bags.

Here's what the whole set looks like! Now, Pottery Barn Kids needs to hurry up and deliver Baby Icing's mattress so I can set it up. I'll take lots of pictures when it arrives.

In depressing baby-related news, both Right Start and Baby Style have filed for bankruptcy and are in some sort of financial limbo. That means I need to order my stroller from some other place, since I don't think the Right Start store near me will be getting new shipments anytime soon. I hope these stores survive, because they had a lot of great products and helpful staff!

Nursery - Step One

I have some challenges with the nursery. First, the only window is the sliding door. Secondly, the door to the room opens at one end - the same end as the closet and the sliding door. So, I end up with all the furniture mashed into the other part of the room.

This isn't the final placement, as I'm still waiting on the glider, but you get an idea of the challenges. I need to find a good lamp (or two, because there's no overhead light), a rug, and get some stuff for the walls. And, get the mattress delivered to finalize the bedding. (And do it all in 9 weeks). Yikes! Any suggestions? How do you think a nursery should be lighted?

Para La Nina

This is a great blog by a designer who is expecting a baby too! I found this post, and wanted to share these darling posters for nurseries! http://gogoabigail.com/blog/2009/01/27/caught-my-eye-for-the-nursery/

It led me to Bold and Noble, where I bought the grey print below for Baby Icing's nursery. This blue ark would look adorable for a little boy, wouldn't it? It also comes in red for the gender neutral nursery!


I loved this grey print. It's about a moonrise, and I thought it was so beautiful and restful. I have yellow walls in our nursery, and although I want to dress my little girl in lots of pink, I'm going for a more calming and neutral look to the nursery. This is for a couple reasons - one my preference (Mr. Icing veers strongly towards lots of pink for Baby Icing - which has thrown me for a loop!), and two, we live in a two bedroom townhouse. When we were doing renovations this fall, our contractor (a father of four) strongly recommended that we keep our nursery so that other buyers could imagine using the room for something else (because most people who live in a townhouse with open staircases do not have small children)!

Plus, I loved these prints for other than nursery use - and their prices were pretty reasonable. I'll do an update when the grey print arrives. I'm thinking of matting in ivory and then using a brushed steel/silvery frame - it will match the curtain rods and hopefully the lamps.

Cat Studio

Check it out! You can get these adorable pillows for all sorts of cities, states/countries, etc. http://www.2catstudio.com/ I'm thinking of getting this pillow for Baby Icing's nursery rocker. It still surprises me seven years later that I don't live in Boston anymore.

Progress

Baby Icing has been kicking me hard lately, and it has motivated me to do some serious nursery work. First up, the little things. Thanks to the Container Store, I'm good on little hangers and canvas bins to hold her clothing and other stuff.

I'm addicted to these canvas bins. They are the perfect size for storing jeans/tees/workout gear for me, but they also work really well for storing baby things. And, I love the neutral canvas color - it goes with everything. Plus, the Container Store now lets you order online, then pick up in the store - at the Century City mall, they even walk your order down to the car!

We went with the Dream chair and ottoman from Pottery Barn Kids. I got it in the neutral canvas color, and got an extra slip cover for any accidents :)

We went with the kendall dresser and changer kit - but in espresso. Mr. Icing really preferred the espresso finish, and I think he may have better taste than I do...so we went with it.

And, here is Baby's crib! I love it- and it converts to a toddler bed, then to a "big kid/person" bed! We love you Pottery Barn Kids! I'll post the reviews when we get delivery!

Mr. Icing also took apart the large bed in the nursery, and we're having the Salvation Army pick it up next weekend. Now, let's hope the decision about sheets and the nursery rug get made as quickly!

Design Problems

(Via Habitually Chic)

(Apartment Therapy)

Our guest bedroom is becoming a nursery. So, our loft needs to become a guest bedroom when we have adult visitors. This comes with a set of challenges. It also needs to function as a small office, and be a place where I can do a yoga dvd if I feel like it. This is a tall order for a space that is about 8' by 10'. I thought the two images above were good ideas...especially the desk made of file cabinets! Habitually Chic is a beautiful blog I just found - the author does such a nice job of discussing all sorts of design issues, and includes interviews with really creative people!

Here's an interesting article about redoing a guest bedroom:

http://www.bhg.com/decorating/makeovers/room-makeovers/3-step-makeover-guest-bedroom/

The problem is that we don't have room for a bed up there, in addition to the office stuff, unless I put the desk in the closet...I'm working on it! Are any of you out there dealing with a baby-related decorating challenge?

Rockabye Baby

I was apparently not the world's best sleeper as a baby. I really hope Baby Icing is a good sleeper. On the off chance that she isn't, or even if she is, I want a nice comfy place to sit in her room. So, I trekked over to the Grove to Pottery Barn Kids and tried some out.
This above was the the "eco" glider. Tree hugging aside (I have no problem with it), the back of this glider was REALLY short. I'm 5'7", so not spectacularly tall, and Mr. Icing is 6'2", he would not be able to sit in this comfortably.

And this, the "Dream" which was not present in the store, and I couldn't test out. I like the look though...but I think I want to test the glider, cause I'll be spending LOTS of time in it!

This one was nice, but the back was a little hard. You sort of sank in then got trapped with the hard back of the chair. Still, much more comfy than the "green model."

Baby, It's Cold Outside

I went for a walk around the neighborhood this evening and basked in the legitimately COLD (and not just weenie California cold) weather. It is in the 40's tonight. Baby and I stayed bundled up with a cashmere sweater, scarf and three layers. Lululemon should think about doing a fleece pant for this sort of weather! It was so nice to get out, even though it was pitch dark.

Now that I'm home, I just unpacked a box of Christmas goodies from Crate and Barrel. All we need is the tree, and some little hooks that won't totally destroy the paint over the fireplace, and I can display my goodies! I also got some adorable little glass beaded snowflake ornaments.

Plus, I'm a huge nerd, but I love coming home to LOTS of old fashioned mail. And, the Christmas cards have started arriving! They are all displayed on the fridge, and I'm so excited to track all the kids and babies, not to mention, see all the pretty cards everyone chose.

Cribs

We're a week away from finding out if the muffin is a boy or a girl. So, I should really start working on some cribs. I'm going to get around to posting pictures of the bedroom/nursery, but the thing I'm most interested in is the crib.

There are so many different options out there. Different finishes, different shapes, and different styles. Some evolve from a bassinette to a crib to a toddler bed, some are just cribs. And the range in prices is astonishing. So far, here are some that I like - posted above because I can't figure out how to post photos within the post!

Cute

I think I am in love with this little elephant hamper! I saw it in Domino, and am now seeing it all over the web. Whether the little one is a boy or a girl, I think there is definitely room for this in a nursery.