Otto Bean Nursery

The countdown is officially on -- 10 days until my due date.  The nursery is pretty much ready and my co-worker (she's become a good friend!) who is going to be managing a lot for me while I'm on maternity leave just spent the last two days going through everything with me and hopped back on her plane to ATL tonight.  I'm now trying any and all old wives tales to try and get the baby to make his debut.  Any tips or tricks are welcome :)

View from the hallway door

Let's take a look at a few pictures during the renovation process of this room.  These are all from March 2012, what a difference two years makes!  It had a little porch off the back of the house.  Not something we wanted our children enjoying off their bedrooms...asking for T-R-O-U-B-L-E.  We bumped out the room and got rid of the porch, thus making room for the jack-and-jill bathroom that now connects the nursery to my office.  Overall the room stayed roughly the same size.

Josh is standing on the wall where the glider is now.  You'll notice this double window is now a single window.

This is the wall the crib now flanks.  The door is gone and two single windows are on this wall.  Closet remained in basically the same spot as shown on right (two double doors that open).  You'll see this one day once I get a bit more organized.

Wall with closet doors and door to hallway

Here is my original inspiration board I posted in October.  As expected, some things I stuck with and some evolved.  Overall, I stayed true to the same color palette and tried to keep it not too theme-y or baby, but did end up with a number of elephants and giraffes around the room.

Continuing with how it looks now - view from jack-and-jill bathroom.

Standing by the closet doors

The piece I'm using for the changing table was the very first item I bought for the nursery.  I got it at Furbish's big tent sale (50% off) and couldn't love it more.  I think it could be used as a server or bar down the road or could easily stay in a child's room too.  Very versatile!

The mobile took a few months to finally arrive from Lithuania, but it was worth the wait.

I need to work on styling this little shelf once I have some pictures of the baby and other trinkets.

Someone is getting quite used to the room and thinks all the toys are for her.

Sources:

Note: I refused to pay full price for many of these items.  I became obsessed with watching sites and waiting until I could get 20-30% off (on average) with promotions and bought them over the last 6+ months.  Some were Christmas and shower gifts as well.

1 Giraffe Painting - a collaboration between my parents and one of my most cherished things in the room.  The frame is from my favorite place for frames - Jerry's Artarama. 

2 Jenny Lind DaVinci Crib - Amazon (love this and the pricetag, only thing I changed was the casters - see that here)

3 Glider - Pottery Barn Kids Comfort Swivel Rocker (cream twill with white twill piping)

4 Pouf by Glider - Serena & Lilly Square Gingham Pouf in Oatmeal

5 Rug - Lulu & Georgia Sultan Rug by Alix Soubiran

6 Changing Table - Furbish (can't find it on the website, but locals - they still have one or two in the actual store, but you will have to pay full price, unlike my tent sale find!)

7 Throw on Glider - Furbish Herringbone Throw (can't find my color online) so soft and it's washable!

8 Elephant Table beside Glider - I spray painted an elephant planter I already had, but you could get the Serena & Lily Ellie Side Table for the same look

9 Baskets on changing table - Serena & Lily belly baskets (holding diapers and other changing needs)

10 "Naps fix everything" print - this was a shower gift from a sweet friend

11 Changing pad and cover - Serena & Lily nursery basics diaper changing pad aqua & insert

12 Elephant mobile - Etsy (do allow time for shipping to US and I'd recommend paying extra for expediting, but can't recommend this mobile enough).  My mom gave me the little bunny rattle and I decided to attach to middle for a little color.

13 Mirror - Wisteria French Gilt Mirror

14 Pendant Light - RH Baby Spence Pendant - this and the giraffe painting are definitely the two things that people immediately comment on when they've come in to see the nursery.  I liked that it was different without being too frilly and girly.

15 White lamp on changing table - another favorite item - from Printer's Alley here in Raleigh (gift from my mother-in-law) and have also seen it at Acquisitions in Raleigh.  I can't find the name brand listed on it though, so unable to locate it online.

16 Baby Wardrobe - family piece that I painted and changed the hardware on - details here

17 Animal prints above wardrobe - The Animal Print Shop's babies collection (I framed them myself from Bed, Bath & Beyond for a fraction of the cost)

18 Brass Giraffes - from Cotswold Market in Charlotte (one of a kind, but have seen other great brass animals in this Etsy shop)

19 Elephant Hamper - Home Decorators Collection Animal Hamper - large and in natural finish.  I love it so much I may end up moving it down to the den to house toys and baby items

20 Giraffe Rocker - from one of my best friend's mom's as a gift, but similar here 

21 Crib Sheet & Crib Skirt - Serena & Lily Aqua Trellis crib sheet and I made the crib skirt (no sewing) - details here 

I think that covers the list.  I had so much fun working on the nursery and it's now become one of my favorite rooms in the house.

XO,

Whit

Weekend recap - party time for Kiki & Chris

We hosted a couples' shower for our dear friends, Kathryn & Chris, on Saturday night at our house.  They met at our wedding (bridesmaid & groomsman!) and almost 5 years later they are tying the knot.  We are so excited!  It was a blast and the snow caused a work trip to Miami to be cancelled, so I was able to take my time preparing the food and house - it was fun!

For the first time since the move we actually set up food around the dining room table and desserts on the buffet.  It was only partially successful at getting people to the front of the house...the kitchen is definitely the heart of our house.

I moved our kitchen table to the corner of the breakfast room and set up the liquor and wine bar.

I was so excited to find these little milk glass compotes for my drink garnishes for next to nothing at Davenport Florist.

I didn't do a good job of capturing pictures of people, but here's one shot of some of the girls.

Trader Joe's majorly hooked it up in the flower department for me last week.  I bought two bunches of forsythia and stuck them in these glass urns (from Homegoods last Christmas) that still had moss in them from Christmas when they housed poinsettias on my den mantle.  I put some oasis down in a pint glass and stuck them in - took about 2 minutes and I like the blooming twig look for a change.  Total cost = $15

I also got 4 cheap orchids from Trader Joe's for my dining room table.  These should last me a few months.  I just always add moss and the fake green flowering twigs (from Atlantic Avenue Garden Center) to make it look a little nicer.

The kitchen island was simple with roses from Josh for V Day.

A week or two ago I snagged these little hydrangeas for about $4 each (TJ's too) to put by the kitchen sink.  The green plants (blanking on the name) are leftover from Christmas and are dead, but they dried green so I've left them.  Probably time to ditch!

I also got 4 heart balloons from the Dollar Store to tie out front for guests to know our house was the party house.  I've been too lazy to take them down, so hopefully neighbors aren't thinking we had a baby girl. :)

Ignore the dead gardenia topiary

Speaking of baby...we are down to about 24 days!  I'm actually in Richmond today and tomorrow for work (against doctor's orders), but staying the night with one of my best friend's from college, Julia, in case the Otto Bean decides to make his debut a bit early.

More finds from the weekend coming soon...as well as nursery reveal.

XO,

Whit

Baby shower kind of weekend

After being in NYC all last week for work, I headed to Charlotte this weekend to help host a baby shower for one of my best friends from high school, Ellen, and then my mom's friends hosted a grandmothers' shower for her and another grandmother-to-be (her older daughter is pregnant and her younger daughter is one of my lifelong besties, Caroline).  Both were full of such fun details!

First up, Ellen's fun shower - she's due with a little girl, Miller Marie Wilson, about a month after me.  Invitations from Charlotte's in Raleigh.

Wilson ladies

Ellen & McRea

Almost 8 months and 7 months

Ellen and her sweet mama

My sweet mom and I

Sunday's "grandmothers' shower" for my mom and one of my "second mom's" was absolutely darling!

The grandmothers-to-be with the moms-to-be (Katie is expecting a girl in mid-April)

XO,

Whit

Merrimon-Wynne Grand Opening

We went to the Merrimon-Wynne grand opening event on Friday night.  After a 6 month renovation, this gorgeous historic home is Raleigh's latest event venue and it sure doesn't disappoint.  Jodi did an absolutely wonderful job and the house and grounds are stunning. I have a feeling this will be the go-to spot for weddings and other events this year and for many years to come.

My brother-in-law, Jason, and his future bride, Marie, are having their rehearsal dinner there in May and we have some other friends getting married there the very next night. 

I was blown away by the flower arrangements

Jason & Marie

Such a jokester

Some of our sweet friends SHOCKED us with a little couples baby party last night.  I don't have any pictures yet, but it was such a fun surprise - neither of us had any idea!

XO,

Whit