The Great Rocker Debate

I have been having the hardest time finding a rocker/glider for the nursery that is both modern AND affordable. I want something comfortable and something that will last. I imagine that beyond the whole late night nursing thing, I'll use this for storytime,etc. I have found several that I like, but just don't know if I love them! Here are few of my options:




I actually do love this green rocker, but I don't love the price. I was almost sold on it because we have a pretty decent gift card for Amazon that would make this one in my target price range, BUT then I saw that shipping is an extra $133.00. Yikes! But I like the look of it, the colors goes well with the room and it looks roomy and comfortable.





This rocker is from Walmart. I like the brown with the white piping, but don't really like the shape of the chair. It does look like it has good support however. I also like Walmart's site-to-store shipping option (read: free)!

Now here is the typical Eames rocker that I see in a lot of nurseries on the web. I love the look of it! However, I hear mixed reviews on the comfort level. And I have no idea where I can try one out locally. Anyone have an idea for me?! There's also the debate on whether or not you should get a knock-off. Ummm...knock-off all the way. The original company doesn't even make them like they did back in the Eames era anyway.


Then there are the two Ikea options. I have yet to try and sit in these, but I have read reviews from people that really like this option. I would paint or stain the wood and probably cover the cushions so that would cost a little extra. But at such an affordable price, it might be worth it.

I like the look of this one. I would also paint or stain the wood and cover the cushions on this one. But I have heard that it's not really a rocker...as in, it barely moves.

I've thought about getting one off of KSL or Craigslist and then recovering it, but the cost to reupholster is expensive so I might as well just get a new one. I wish I could DIY, but I have never attempted upholstery and don't really see it going very well. I can sew, but this would be a whole other ballgame. If anyone has any other suggestions or has experience with any of the ones I listed above I would love to hear from you!

Office Before/Afters

xHere it is...finally. We're still finishing up the little reading corner, so I'll have to show that another day. We got the wallpaper up...but please don't come examine closely. We definitely know what to do the next time we decide to wallpaper. Imperfections and all, I still love it.

SO glad to be rid of that green color. I love green, don't get me wrong. It's always been my favorite color. The nursery is even painted green. But not that green. The ENTIRE house, every room, every wall and every ceiling had this green slopped on it when we first moved in. And it's almost all gone. Just the laundry and our bathroom are left!

Here is our ugly bookshelf that we got from someone on KSL. All it needed was a little love, in the form of paint.


Upon examining this after picture, I see that someone moved/added some things on here, so it's not as pretty as it should be.

My clock! I decided to put black & white paper in the bigger frames and let the smaller frames have seasonal paper in it. I love how easy these are to switch out...you can do photos, paper, fabric, etc.
Ta-da! So glad to have that crossed off of our list. We're moving on to the nursery now!

Make Do & Mend

I've been on a sewing kick lately. I like the actual process of sewing just alright, but I LOVE the results. I love looking at something and knowing I actually made it myself. I made a dress for our little girl, one for my friend's baby (who is on her way as I type!), and I'm currently working on some Christmas projects for my nieces and nephews. Then I'll be moving on to the baby bedding...We'll see how that goes!? Here are some pics I took awhile back of the dresses.



Here is the pocket detail on the dress I made for our baby.

I just love the buttons and flutter sleeves on this dress. I think I want to make a dress with this pattern for us. It's adorable!

Halloween

So this is several weeks late, but I couldn't go without posting a picture of our costumes. We actually only got 2 pictures of us in our costumes and they were from a professional photog at a party we went to. I had to wait until they sent us the picture and then scan it in. Hence the weird quality. Can you guess what we were?
Yep, Adam was Tom Hank's character from Cast Away and I was Wilson!

Ch-Ch-Changes

I love reading design blogs. And I read my fair share of them. So I've seen a ton of Before and Afters. But this has to be one of the BEST Before and Afters I have ever seen. Lindsay, who blogs at Living With Lindsay, found this hideous coffee table for free on Craigslist. Someone had painted half the table with Kid Rock and the other with Britney Spears. Yep, seriously. And well, it's not exactly a great likeness to either of them. Somehow, she had a vision for this piece. And it turned out beautiful...out of a catalog beautiful.

It absolutely does not look like the same table! Amazing! You can read about how she did it here. Check out tons more inexpensive and easy tutorials on her blog.

25

Less than 100 days left. I'm actually 26 weeks today, but here is a 25 week pic for all of my fam and friends!
Camera should be returning to me this week! Can't wait to have it back and show you all of the fun new things in our house. Especially the wallpaper in the office...Yep, we finally did it and I am SO pleased!

Fill Light

A few Fridays ago I decided to take a Photo 101 Crash Course from Nicole Hill. I really wanted to learn a bit more about lighting. I love the light in Nicole's photos, so who better to take from?! I would definitely recommend this class if you're interested in learning how to shoot on manual. It was a bit of a review for me since I've been shooting manual for a little bit now, but it's always good to refresh and hear tips from a different source. And the lighting portion was just what I was hoping for! We learned great/easy/cheap tips to use when working with natural light.

Here are some photos of the models, who are Nicole's gorgeous younger sisters. We took turns stepping in a snapping some photos of these girls, but oddly enough, my favorite pictures are the ones where I was just metering so I would be ready for my "turn".
You can see one of the great secrets we learned during the class for fill light. Foam board!



Nicole's classes are being held across the US, as well as Art Weekends, full of tons of different amazing classes. Check it out here.

Donuts for Days...

In the last two weeks, we have got so many things done around our house. Two weekends ago my Dad and Martha came to help us with a bunch of projects. I am amazed at everything we did in those 3 days. And be "we" I mean my Dad, Adam and Martha. I mostly was on clean up duty (And sadly, still am. You can't imagine that layers of dust collected from a weekend...I'm on my 5th mopping). I'm especially proud of Adam...My Dad showed him what to do and then he did a lot of the work. I never imagined that Adam would be handy (did anyone?!), but man, he can pretty much do anything these days. Things we accomplished:

• Knocked out a wall to give us a two door (funtional!) closet
• Built a closet in the baby room
• Built a small deck off our back door
• Installed a garbage disposal
• Fixed our spraying kitchen sink
• Got "rid" of a window in our bedroom
• Restained our vintage furniture
• Put in a microwave/vent above our stove (You know, instead of the cabinets above a gas stove. Were they asking for a fire when they put that in?!)
• Painted the baby room
• Patched some holes in the hardwood
  
• Rearranged the living room to make room for our new chair

Woohoo! Now we just need to wallpaper the office wall (Yes, we STILL haven't done that), finish up the baby room and lastly, redo the kitchen. I cannot wait to get that going! My Dad went over what he was thinking for the kitchen while he was here and I am beyond excited for it. Once we do those three things, that will be it for our big projects!

Here is a sneak peek at the closet, minus the doors. My camera should be returning from Canon soon and then I can post more pictures, including before and afters, of what we've done so far!
A big THANK YOU, to my Dad and Martha. Without them, we wouldn't have been able to do any of this! We love you guys!