Railing It Up

Wow, I can’t believe we are already setting up a crib! Of course I had to document Joey putting together the new bed for our baby. Even if he pretends to be camera shy, I know he secretly loves his candid photo opsJ

 

 

We went with the Davinci Jenny Lind Crib in white from Target. Honestly, I was a bit worried about the quality because the price was so affordable (under $200!), but so far I am really loving it. I have seen this exact same crib at specialty stores for more than double that price and its made by the same manufacturer and looks identical. So I am baffled as to why someone would pay the extra cost for it, but not I! My amazing sis gave the crib to us as a baby shower gift so I have her to thank for helping this nugget sleep in styleJ

It was super easy to put together- took us less than 20 minutes, and it felt really solid and sturdy.  The white is a nice crisp color and the wheels on the bottom make it easy to move around when I want to vacuum the dust bunnies from under there ( bahh- who am I kidding, I will never do that, but it sounds like something a good mom would do…).  I went with white because the gender of the baby is going to be a surprise, so I figured something clean and simple would be the way to go.

 

*Please note Joey's "If you don't stop taking pics of me I'm just going to make funny faces" face. The boy loves to model, just hates to admit it :)

 The space is pretty tight in the nursery/guestroom, but I was pleased to see that the crib fit right into the little nook that I imagined for it.

 

I ordered the mattress on Amazon that is specifically designed for this style of crib- The Davinci Twilight Ultra Firm Crib Mattress-6”. Apparently the crib is slightly longer than a standard crib, so this mattress is the best fit. At $68 plus free shipping (booya Amazon Prime!) I didn’t break a sweat like I thought I would. I thought the mattress would be relatively expensive since adult size ones can cost an arm and a leg. So under $70 was a pleasant surprise. It is totally waterproof for those lovely middle of the night accidents J

Time to start on the bedding! Of course I plan to DIY that because how hard could it be? If anyone can sew a few rectangles, its this girlJ

Anyone else enjoy the photo-op of their significant other putting together their crib? I feel like that is something I wanted to document for baby’s scrapbook, and thought you might too!

 

XOXO Katie

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Holiday Baby Shower!

This is about 6 weeks overdue, but I wanted to share a few quick photos from my holiday themed baby shower! Because I don’t live in Chicago with all of my family and friends, my sis and mom hosted a shower during the holidays to ensure everyone would be home and I would not have to take an extra trip back (especially when I will be super preggos).

The timing was perfect because house was already decorated for Christmas, plus we are not finding out the gender so there was no need to have pink or blue plastered all over the place.  It was so nice to have everyone over to celebrate my little bump (at the time, I was only 20 weeks pregnant), and gave us another reason to snack on yummy treats and catch up.

Here are a few pics of the set up!

 

 

It was amazing to see how excited all of our loved ones are for this baby to arrive. We will be the first couple in our extended family-friend group to have a baby, and the ladies were so generous excited for the new addition.

 

 

The food was so yummy and all homemade, which made the day feel really special. We had about 35 people and with no real room for tables, so it was fun figuring out what finger foods would work for a brunch.

The bite sized menu included:

-mini caprese

-mini quiche

-apricots topped with blue cheese ,walnut, and honey

-my mom’s special veggie pizza

-deviled eggs

-lox on a baguette with herbed cheese spread

-muffins & scones

-sausage meat balls with a maple dipping sauce

-fruit kabobs

-cheese tray

My sis kept it simple and we ate, laughed, mingled, and opened gifts to keep it short. It was December 23^rd, so everyone had lots to do before the holiday. It meant so much that everyone took the time out of their crazy schedules to come and celebrate!

I can’t believe how many amazing gifts we received- this is going to be one spoiled and loved baby! Getting everything back to Boston was a breeze- I have some serious packing skills and was able to ship everything back in 2 medium moving boxes. Look at all of this stuff!

Thank you to everyone that could make it and even those who sent their love from afar. We cant wait for the baby to arrive and you can all meet the little person otherwise known as “bump”!

 

XOXO Katie

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Furniture Find

I am starting to think that the girls at the thrift shop down my street think I am a hoarder. For real.

 

I go in there every weekend and see the same people working all the time. But how could I resist when I find amazing pieces like this?!

 

For less than an eighth of the price of similar styles at Restoration Hardware, how could I pass this set up? Regardless of the fact that I DO NOT need any more furniture, nor do I need to be throwing down my hard earned cash on a whim- I still went for it.

 

But these beauties were not for me, there were to go straight to Craigslist. Mama needs a little spare cash!

The details were really nice, and although I didn't exactly who made them, I guessed they were not sent over on the boat from China. The down feather cushions said they were made in Brooklyn, so I will assume the whole chair is US born.

 

Needless to say, these chairs sold in less than a day for more that 4xs what I paid for them. Amazeballs!

 

I am thinking that once baby comes, this resale hobby of mine might need to become more of a part time job. Its the thrill of the hunt that keeps me going :)

 

XOXO Katie

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Deal of the Day

Just in case you are like myself, and do a clean sweep off all of your emails without reading half of them, there was one that you might not want to miss.

This popped up on in my Livingsocial email the other day:

 

 

 

Love Rugs USA.

They have great rugs for super affordable prices. Here are a few on the site right now that I have been lusting over...

Homespun Inspire Navy Rug
 

 

Homespun Chevron Light Blue Rug
 

 

Overdye Jalsa Turquoise Rug
 

 

Santa Ana Verden Ikat Teal Rug

 

 

Tuscan Terali Moroccan Trellis Sunshine Rug

 

This deal ends on Monday so nab it up while you can!

 

XOXO Katie

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Snuggle Up- Its Movie Season!

Happy New Year!!

 

I hope you all had a good holiday/new years break and are looking forward to 2013 as much as I am. Since the Mayans were not correct and the world will keep on turning, its time to relax and enjoy that the new year brings.

 

One thing I have really been enjoying lately are all of the amazing movies out in the theaters right now. I am not usually a movie go-er. I maybe see one every two or three months, but there is so much out there right now that looks amazing that I had to jump on board.

 

Movies I have seen so far:

 

Lincoln

 

I am a total sucker for a good historical movie and this was one that both Joey and I were eager to see. I highly recommend it. Rating: B+

 

 

Les Miserables

 

OMG- I died watching this. This musical is absolutely one of my all time favorites and I know every word to ever song. I have vivid memories of my mom playing this cassette tape in the car when we were little, so it has been ingrained into my bones. I LOVED the movie and would see it ten times over. The singing was amazing and the best part was that they did not work regular conversation into the dialog. It was 100% singing. I laughed, I cried, I sang softly to myself like a freak- I did it all.

Rating: A+

 

Movies I want to see in the near future:

 

 

Zero Dark Thirty

 

I am not usually a fan of present day war movies, but the hubs read No Easy Day and raved about it so I thought I would give it a go. 

 

 

Twilight: Breaking Down Part 2

 

Can you believe that I have not seen this yet?! I feel ashamed as a huge Twilight fan that I have yet to go see the final installment of the series, but I need to go before it is out of theaters. I mean, who can resist watching the offspring of Bella and Edward on screen.

 

 

The Impossible

 

With very vivid memories of watching this unfold on the news, the tsunami was both heartbreaking and unimaginable from an outsiders perspective. I am really interested in seeing this take on one family's experience. And who could play it better than Ewan McGregor and Naomi Watts?!

What movies have you seen lately? Would to recommend any or steer me away from any that would be a waste of my precious $12?

 

XOXO Katie

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'Tis the Season!

You want to know one of my most favorite things about the Christmas season?!

 

The holiday cards!!

 We did not do holiday cards this year because of a few reasons:

 

#1) I've been a little distracted the last few weeks and I couldn't get my act together

#2) We can't compete with the my extended family and their ADORABLE babies and kids

#3) I tried and failed miserably getting the kittens to sit still close enough together to snap their pic ;)

#4) Joey refuses to be married to the crazy cat lady who spends an hour trying to get two kittens to sit together for a photo...

 

I can not wait to send out our first family Christmas card next year, and I am gathering inspiration already. Here are a few that I have seen online:

Love the cut off shot of the parents in this pic, and who can resist a little holiday bunting...



source


Twinkle lights and baby chub...can't beat it!


 

  

If I could get my kittens do to this I would be a magician!





source

What did you do for your card this year??

XOXO Katie

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Two Tone Tammy

I can't tell you how excited I am to be able to start sharing my nursery projects with you. I have been holding off doing anything until I reached 14weeks, just in case I jinxed it. But I am officially 18 weeks now and the projects have begun! I told you all about the vibe I was going for last week in this post. Neutral is the name of the game :)

 

Here is the checklist that I have started (and I am sure will evolve as I go) with what I want to do to get the room ready:

 

-design and sew bed skirt and bumper (bumper we will use when baby is a little older)

 

-makeover vintage dresser for changing table

 

-buy a crib

 

-rehang and accessorize chalkboard

 

-rewire standing lamp

 

-dress up back of bookcases

 

-reorganize closet

 

-figure out storage (toys, laundry, books)

 

-art for over the crib

 

-make pillows for bed

 

-find a home for old office space

 

All for as close to $500 as possible

 

 

The first project I tackled was the dresser makeover. And you all know how I love a good furniture face lift! Of course, I went straight to Craigslist to find something that was going to work. I wanted a dresser that was tall so changing baby would not kill my back, had good storage, and was not a true changing table. I would love this to be something that baby can use for a while.

 

I found this for a whopping $85.

 

Honestly, I really did like the original color, but it was not quite the right blue and it needed a little love.

 

First step was to remove the hardware, then sand and use a filler to fix any dents or chipped areas.

 

 

 

Up next was primer (2 coats).

 

 

I was debating going all blue like the one on my inspiration board, but then I realized the the pale blue kind of blended in to the light gray walls. Blah...

 

So I decided to go two-tone with it. A white body and pale blue drawers. I knew I liked the two-tone look from this side table project I did, and if it went south then it would just take a can of paint to fix. I already had the blue and the white semi-gloss paint from past projects as well as a foam roller. Whoop Whoop for having to buy NO supplies!

 

After two coats of each color, I accented the detailing that frames the doors with a thin pinpoint of white paint. I just used painters tape to make sure that it was not messy.

 

 

I loved the hardware so I was able to just reattach and the dresser was good to go!

 

 

 

I think baby will love it. If not, I will tell it how my back was sore for a week after painting this sucker, so that's just too bad!

 

All in all, I am in this project for $85. Not too shabby...

XOXO Katie

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Salty'n'Sweet

I love baking cookies, but there is only ONE cookie that Joey actually requests in particular. I don't know what that says about my baking skills, but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. I just tell myself that he loves ALL my cookies, these ones just must be extra special :)

 

 

Of course, I found this recipe on Pinterst so I will not pretend like its my own genius that came up with this salty'n'sweet combination. It was all Sarah over at her blog Sugar Cooking. It pretty much a delicious chocolate chip cookie with broken pretzels in it and then sea salt on top. I know you mouth is watering right?!

 

 

The only substitution I made was I didn't use the peanut butter chips that were in Sarah's recipe, instead I used half milk chocolate and half semi-sweet chocolate chips. Oh, and I doubled the recipe- obvs.

 

 

 

Here are the directions from Sarah's Blog:

 

 

Recipe: Chocolate & Peanut Butter Chip Pretzel Cookies

Makes 24 cookies

 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour

1/2 tsp. of salt

1/4 tsp. of baking soda

1/2 cup of butter at room temperature

1/2 cup of tightly packed light brown sugar

1/3 cup of granulated sugar

1 egg (beaten)

1 tsp vanilla extract

 

1 cup milk chocolate chips

1/2 cup peanut butter chips

1/2 cup broken up pretzel pieces

Pretzel Salt or Sea Salt

 

 

Directions:

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

 

In a larger bowl, beat the butter and sugars together on medium speed until light and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes). On low speed, slowly add the beaten egg and vanilla extract.

Beat to combine, scrape down the sides of the bowl.

 

Add the flour mixture and beat just until there are no more streaks of flour. Stir in the chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, and pretzels. Cover and refrigerate for an hour.

 

Preheat the oven to 350F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Scoop out well rounded tablespoonfuls of the dough and sprinkle with pretzel salt. Leave about 2 inches between each ball. Bake for 10 minutes. If you prefer crispier cookies increase the baking time by 1-2 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before removing.

 

 

 

I'm not joking- these cookies are SOOOO good. They have just that little hint of salt that makes a tall glass of milk that much better.

 

 

 

I told Joey that I was going to take some to work and he actually got mad. As if 48 cookies was not enough to hold him over until at least next weekend :)

 

 

 

 

 

XOXO Katie

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Neimies

Loving the new Neiman Marcus collection for Target that just came out today. Maybe now I can feel like I am shopping in the "fancy" stores without breaking a sweat (or the bank). There were a lot of great hostess gifts and outfits in this collection so I am definitely going to check it out this weekend. Hopefully it has hit the shelves here in Boston!

 

Glass /  Shaker / Tray / Top / Blazer / Ornaments

 

 

 Have a great weekend everyone!

 

XOXO Katie

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Going Neutral

A big "thank you!" to everyone that sent their kind words when I dropped the news about the baby on the way. We are so excited and I can't wait to share all of the fun things that this new chapter will bring!



We have decided that we are not going to find out the gender of our little nugget before his or her arrival. For the control freak planner in me this is going to be a little tricky, but I never walk away from a challenge :) Alas, people have done it for millions of years, and I don't think my baby will be any less bombarded with colorful and (probably) unnecessary accessories than the next on the block.

 

Honestly, I didn't really have to think twice about not finding out the sex of the baby. I just remember listening to the story of when I was born and how exciting it was for my parents when the doctor called out, "Its a girl!". My parents had been convinced I was a boy as they already had my brother and there had been a long string of boy cousins all born in a row. So when they realized that a tidal wave of pink and sparkles had just entered their life they were shocked and excited (or so they say...). I just want that same feeling when our own baby arrives!

 

 

Here are the challenges that I am going to be working with in the soon-to-be baby's room:

 

 

#1. It has to be a fully functional guest room as well as baby's room. My mom and sis are going to come and stay once the baby comes and I want it to be totally comfortable for them. Not like they are sleeping in a Toys-R-Us.

 

#2. We are on a VERY tight budget and I am determined to do this room for as close to $500 as I can get.

 

#3. Storage is a huge issue. Our closet in the guest room is already 3/4 full and we have no additional storage in our apartment or building. When it comes to "baby gear" we are going bare bone style. Like, "does a baby really need a crib?" bare bones style...

 

#4.  Since we won't know the gender, the color pallet needs to appeal to both a boy or girl. It can be somewhat adapted later, but I would like all the main components to be in place before I'm working on 2 hours of sleep a night.

 

#5. I already have some of the components of the room in place because it was already a functioning guest room (light gray walls, rug, chair, drapes, comforter, bookcases) so whatever I do needs to be in line with those elements. I really don't want to buy anything new if we already have something that is in good shape.

 

 

Below is the inspiration board that I am going to be working from. I am sure some things will change but so far I am loving the look!

 

The color pallet will be tan, cream, white, and pale blue. I will add in pops of pink if the nugget ends up being a girl, but I think that baby will be happy with the room no matter what!

 

Crib / Rug / Lamp / Dresser / Basket / Fabric / Chair

 

XOXO Katie

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Dressing Up For December

I will be the first to admit that I am not a huge holiday decorator. I find the clutter that seasonal decorating brings to be unbearable (at least while we live in this apartment). I am sure when I have a basement, attic, or at least a free closet that I will feel differently. But for now I keep the holiday decor VERY limited.

 

Now this poses a problem for my husband. He grew up in a house hold that would be decked out to the nines for every holiday, and Christmas was the holy grail of twinkle lights and stockings galore. Literally, his mom should win an award for decorating every surface of an 7 bedroom house before the first snowflake hit the ground.

 

Just to be a good wife ,I make sure that I do a little decorating so that I wont get nicknamed "the Grinch" during the holiday season.

 

There is one other small issue that we have in this household. One live tree + two crazy agile cats + breakable ornaments = disaster. Two years ago when we brought them home from the animal shelter on New Years day they bolted STRAIGHT for the tree. Literally climbing up it and knocking things off before I even had time to put the crate away.

 

 

 

 

So this year we went a slightly different route and didn't spring for the tree, instead we went for the Christmas ball! Ok...its a little sad and Joey looked like Tiny Tim walking out of the lot with a ball rather than a tree strapped to the car roof. But since I (and crossing my fingers that Joey will be with me if the residency stars align) will be traveling home to Chicago for the actual holidays, so I didn't see the need to have a big tree to put gifts under. I know...I know... Grinch, Grinch, Grinch. But this Grinch also hates vacuuming dry tree needles in July.

 

How do you like to decorate for the holidays? Are you a clutter-phobe like me?

 

 

XOXO Katie

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