In and Out of the Nest

There is Nesting and then there is Super Nesting.  Since with Lucy there was a chance she could come quite early, I was in Super Nesting Stage for about three months. Once I had nested and gotten the essentials taken care of (nursery set up, baby clothes organized), Super Nesting hit. I vacuumed everyday which was very unnecessary, I had every drawer and closet organized down to the fact that our junk drawer no longer existed. I had even started packing away maternity clothes because I just wanted everything to be so ready. If I hadn’t been in the hospital giving birth on February 7, I probably would have been home separating pens and pencils into different containers in our non-existent junk drawer. 

Well, with this baby I once again over did it. But unlike with Lucy, I didn’t have energy or drive for three months of Super Nesting. So I Super Nested about a month ago and now most of the work I have done has regressed into a stage called, “Do I even Own a Washer and Dryer?” and “I Should Probably Buy a Diaper Bag” or “Dinner is Overrated”. But here are a few of the fun things I did get done while I was still feeling like a busy hen.

I had my eye on this beautiful four poster bed at a local thrift store (I am learning that thrift stores on the East Coast are nothing like West Coast stores. There are treasures hidden everywhere out here!)

This bed was $175, which is a great deal, but we didn't need a bed frame and this bed didn't come with rails, slats or finials. I kept checking back in and a few weeks later it went down to $125. I stopped by recently and it was out front and down to $55. After a few minutes of haggling I got it for $35!

Brian was able to use parts of our old bed and some new adapters pieces to get it all set up. I'll have to keep my eyes peeled for finials to finish off the bed posts.

I have redone our room in neutrals- black, white and tan. I found black silk curtains, painted a bookshelf and did a cross-country switch with my sister Margeaux for a tan duvet cover and moved around pillows, rugs and accessories to fit our new room. I thought about painting the bed black but the wood is in good condition and it brings a lot of warmth to the room. I haven't fully decided yet.
I'd love to find some art for over the bed but its so hard to commit to something that big and for some (even bigger) reason our Excel spreadsheet for the monthly budget doesn't have a row labeled "Art Piece Investment".

I found this little glass and wrought iron bar cart at an antique store and it fit just right along a blank wall in our room facing the foot of our bed.

The shells and coral we found on our trip to Vieques bring back so many good memories I love to see them out.

So this was a pretty dull white IKEA lampshade that I wanted to do something with. Thanks to a generous friend (thanks Sarah Mortimore!), I had some beautiful Amy Butler fabric that fit. I had never covered a lampshade before and was so nervous about ruining that wonderful fabric. So if it hadn't been for the Super Nesting urge I would have left it in the fabric box and felt so much better about letting it sit there for probably the rest of my life. But it went well and with just some measuring, cutting, ironing and a little fabric spray- it transformed this LÄK into LOVE for the girls' room.

I got several pieces of art finally framed and hung. Two pieces by my sister talented Monique- one for the girl's room and one for ours:

And one poster we bought a few years ago and Portland and never had a spot for.We hung it over Lucy's toy chest.  

I have also been spray painting everything in sight gold. I won't bore you with all those pictures. But now I have a lot of gold pots, gold pinecones and acorns, a gold iron hall table and any jewelry or knick-knack that fell prey to the can.