N is for Nesting

So over the weekend I was pretty sick. Poor Noah had to deal with my incessant whining and tossing and turning all day/night. I felt bad..really I did...in more ways than one.

While my body ached everywhere except my earlobes...I also felt bad that Noah had to wait on me hand and foot
and lose sleep
because I couldn't find a comfortable position with the
4 pillows I had on the bed. -cough-

But I was definitely feeling better yesterday.

I had hemmed 6 curtain panels by the time he got home.
My bedroom finally...FINALLY has curtains.

I'm actually pretty excited about this.
You see, I haven't had curtain in my bedroom since mom redecorated my room with Martha Stewart pastel blues and greens and daisies back after Anna got married...12 years ago.

That's a really long time.
Not that a person can't survive without curtains. I'm obviously proof of that fact.

But lately I've had this incredible urge to finish decorating my house before the baby comes.

I believe they call this syndrome 'nesting'.
And let me tell you...I've got it bad.

It's so bad that I woke up around 4:30 this morning...and proceeded to lay in bed while I:

-repainted my kitchen and dining room
-finished painting/antiquing the baby's dresser
-decided to move the baby's dresser to the dining room
-bought a new baby's dresser from craigslist
-decorated the now 'dining room dresser' with burlap, candles, and a really cool mirror that I'll find...somewhere.
-finished decorating my bedroom with small accents of twine and starfish
-planned thanksgiving dinner

All in under 2 hours.

gosh...if only I could work that efficiently when I'm not laying in bed.

-sigh-

So here I am...not even 6:30 in the morning...ready to rush out to Benjamin Moore, Goodwill, JoAnn Fabrics, and Walmart. Too bad the only one open right now is Walmart.

Besides...I GENEROUSLY left the bedroom so Noah could sleep without me fidgeting back and forth while I tried NOT to mentally 'nest'.

Well...that is...I left after I asked him if a half-gallon would be enough for the kitchen.

To which he said, '....whaaaat??'

poor Noah.

5 am and his wife is asking him about paint quantities.
In my defense, he was already awake from having made a trip to the bathroom.

I really am sorry, Noah. But I just can't help it.

I know I made you hold pictures and shelves all over the bedroom today
while I stood back and said...
'up...no, down. 2 inches to the left. Hmm. Now...let's try the other wall'.

...sorry.

Moving on..

Here is a picture of the bedroom basically right after we moved in. I had painted it that blue because I didn't have any clue how I wanted to decorate in there.

And below you can see the recent improvements to the bedroom. We repainted it about 2 months ago...and added carpet before that. Laminate is nice but it was really hard to keep clean. It was a cheapo laminate so I didn't feel bad at all when Noah offered to tear it up and put in some carpet he got free from work. I still have a pillow or two to sew, a lampshade to recover, and some odds and ends to finish decorating but I'm really happy with the progress we've made.
I just noticed that I have a headboard and footboard in this photo. I owned those before we bought the house...but we hadn't set them up til earlier this year. Amazing how much of a difference that makes.

Yesterday...after I hemmed my 6 curtain panels...I made these nifty cool shadowbox pictures. I really didn't know what I was doing...they just kind of evolved. If I had planned ahead I probably would have had some more items to work with...but..oh well. As it is, I made do with the burlap, linen and leftover wedding shells.



As far as the baby room goes...we've painted, added curtains, and some furniture, but it's not finished either. I'm hesitant to share pictures because I know what reaction I'm going to get.

'...it needs more color.'

ya think? I KNOW it needs some accenting. I'm working on it! Well..here are some pictures to show what I'm building on.


Here's a close up of the crib skirt I made. I tried to copy one from Restoration Hardware and while its not perfect...I'm pretty happy with it.
Especially for not knowing what in the WORLD I was doing.

See that dresser? That's now the dining room dresser.
Shhhh..don't tell Noah.

I opted to put in curtains across the closet rather than closet doors. They aren't hemmed in this picture..but I completed that...yesterday (6 panels..remember?) So they look better now.

OBVIOUSLY I still have to put pictures on the walls,
finish the crib bumper, make some pillows, blahblahblah...


Nesting.
I'm sure it's every husband's nightmare.
The time when his wife finally discovers all the
things that "they" can do to improve the house.
Things that require levels, picture hanging kits, drywall screws,
paint, power tools, and lots and lots of time and patience.


I don't think I'll mention repainting the kitchen and dining room to him again until I've bought the paint and done it myself.

It's probably safer that way.