Pier 1 now sells bedding! I'm loving their selection, which you can see here. These are my two favorites. I love white bedding, especially the ruching on this one to give it texture. The blue paisley is also very pretty.

Pier 1

I am starting my morning off with a pre-natal massage, then I have lots of errands to do for Ellie's 2nd birthday party. I am having two parties- one with her friends and another just family the weekend of her birthday (the 12th). Since Ellie loves the book, Baby Beluga, that is the theme of her party. Navy and hot pink whales!

This is the invitation:

via Etsy

Party planning includes the food (it's a morning party so lots of brunch ideas), dessert, navy and pink decorations, activities for the kids, balloons, and party favors. Party planning plus prepping for baby makes me one busy mama! Plus, I can't believe my baby is going to be the big 2!

Bits of Our Week

This past weekend Nick and I had a wedding to attend. I borrowed two dresses- one was long and non-maternity and the other was short and maternity. I really liked both, but I felt that the long dress would have been better in warmer weather with flats or wedges. It was fun to get dressed up and even more fun to dress up my bump! I wore high heels and even danced a bit. It was a fun night out. Here is a picture (Instagram):

I wish I had gotten a good picture of the two of us with my camera and not my iPhone! Here is one my hubby took when we got home. I was exhausted and even undid the straps on my heels:

Last weekend we had an Easter photo shoot for Ellie with bunnies. It was too cute!! Here is one of my favorites (via Instagram). I can't wait to receive the pictures!!

We went to an Easter egg hunt this past weekend with some of her play group friends. It was a fun morning!

Last Friday Ellie told me she was going potty all by herself, and she did! I was a proud Mommy so we went to Starbucks for a special treat! Coffee for me and a piece of brownie for her:

The next 4+ weeks are going to be so busy with prepping for baby, but I want to savor these weeks will Ellie, as well. Although, I'm super excited to meet our second daughter I am also a bit sad that Ellie will no longer be the only child. Ellie already brings me so much joy and happiness and love and I can't imagine having that with another, too! I already love this one so much, but I know my heart will make room for even more love- something I didn't even know could be possible.

Nursery Furniture

We have the glider and ottoman and the dresser and now we have the crib! We decided to get one from Ikea since the prices are so reasonable. Once Ellie moves to her big girl bed we will move her crib into her sister's room and sell or donate the Ikea one. I had initially planned to buy the Gulliver crib, but when we saw it in person it was not to our liking. So, instead we went with the Sundvik:

The baby will be sleeping in our room for the first few months, then will move into the crib. But, I wanted to have the crib set up so as I'm getting ready in the morning I can use the crib, especially when Ellie is up and I have my back turned! I would love to dress up those side panels with possibly a monogram or decal.

Although we are saving on the crib we are still splurging on a good mattress. We are buying the same one we have for Ellie, which I love. See it here.

This week is my hubby's spring break so I am looking forward to painting the dresser and setting up baby girl #2's nursery!

I find this to be very true!

via Pinterest

First Day of Spring & Birthday Celebration

Wednesday was not only the first day of spring (woohoo!), but also my Mom's birthday. As I mentioned here my siblings and I gave my parents a joint gift this year since it is the big 60! My Mom is the most beautiful (inside and out), caring, loving, positive person I know. She admits so much joy into our lives and so many more. She is an inspiration not only as my Mom, but also as a wife, friend, and grandmother. She is a delight to be around and I'm so lucky to be able to call her my Mom! Her hobbies include being with her grandchildren, running, working out, and gardening. She has the most amazing garden and I've mentioned in the past that I am grateful she helps out in our garden, too!

Smelling the birthday roses

Happy girl! Wearing the cute sweater dress from her Aunt Mia!

 Happy, Happy 60th Birthday, Mom!

New Feature Wall

We finally hung the tempaper (mentioned here and here) and I am in love! I attempted to hang it myself with my husband's help, but it was a disaster. I was able to smooth it out well (using my palm) so there were no air bubbles, but the paper wasn't sticking evenly to the side of the wall, which was so frustrating!! It's a narrow wall and I didn't have much elbow room plus the wall isn't square. So we hired our handyman (he did our house and playroom painting) so it was a little bit of an additional cost, but well worth it. It looks amazing. I was initially going to hang frames vertically or a mirror, but I really like it the way it is so we'll see in the future. I love the metallic diamond pattern. Here is our new feature wall in our downstairs hallway:

Our next project is to replace this light fixture with our newly spray painted chandelier:

Tempaper

New Office Curtains

Although I was really busy with Ellie last week and didn't have time to blog, we still were able to get some projects done which makes me very happy since I am in my nesting stage. I was looking for fabric online to make into curtains for our office. Here were my favorites:

All images via

But, then I was in Home Goods last week (I was able to get out for a few) and found two curtain panels by Cynthia Rowley in a color and print I loved. Plus, they were only $20 for the pair. They were not only cheaper than buying fabric online, but I also didn't have to do any extra work by ironing the hem to make it my preferred length.

More office pictures coming soon!

Ellie's Recent Accomplishment!

Sorry I've been MIA the past week. We were potty training Ellie and I literally did not have a free minute. I literally could not take my eyes off of her in case she had to go potty. We did the 3 day potty boot camp last Saturday to Monday and followed this plan. It was intense, demanding, and exhausting. The fourth day I was hesitant that it worked because she had a lot of accidents. But, she has been doing great since last Wednesday and improving every day! The only tough part now is her sleeping schedule. She used to sleep 13 hours straight, but now that she isn't wearing diapers anymore (at all) her sleep has been interrupted. It's been really tough on me being 34 weeks pregnant, especially because I really need my rest!

Ellie was officially potty trained on her 23rd month birthday. I can't believe she will be turning two in another month! Here are a few recent photos of our last week and one of me at 34 weeks! And, honestly if I wasn't due in just a short time I would have waited until 25 months to potty train. But, I didn't want to do it with a new baby so now was the best time for us.

Had to post just one in her undies. So cute!

Loading up on the fiber and liquids!

Our first day outside in 4 days!

Having fun with Daddy outside

And, my bump at 34 weeks:

via Instagram

Ahh, only 6 more weeks to go! Do you notice my wedding dress hanging on the door? I have to get that preserved this week. It's only been a few years since our wedding...

Ikea Dresser Makeover

I came across this incredible makeover to Ikea's Malm Dresser on Amanda Carol's blog.

Here is what she started with:

 And, the final project:

She used Overlay's to create the project. There are tons of different options and I'm loving the final result. The Malm dresser is only $139. A great price for a diy makeover!

Amanda Carol

It's been a busy week. My Nana has been in the hospital for over a week now after she got reconstructive knee surgery. But, there were complications during her recovery with her medications, which caused irregular heartbeat and her kidneys to stop working well and her. She is doing better, and will hopefully be moved back to rehab this weekend. Ellie and I have visited her as often as we can. I've also been more trying to get things done before the baby arrives. I created Instagram posters using Prinstgram and chose to print them via pdf files (no charge). I also uploaded an album to mpix (my favorite go-to for ordering prints) and made a large order to update pictures in our home from the past few months. We are also doing a three-day potty boot camp with Ellie this weekend so we've been preparing her and ourselves for this process. It's intense and strict, but hopefully will be worth it!

Since I'll be the designated person with Ellie this weekend I have a few projects for my husband to complete. Oh, and we attempted to hang the wallpaper last night and it failed! I was able to smooth it out using my palm to avoid the air bubbles, but because the way the wall is configured it was impossible for us to evenly apply it adjacent to the wall. After getting frustrated with it (and each other) we decided to hire someone to do it for us. So, it will be hung next week. I can't wait to see it- I loved what it was looking like! Unfortunately, neither of us took a picture before taking it down.

My husband will be taking advantage of the nice weather and completing lots of spray painting projects for me. We will also be either ordering the crib or picking it up this weekend. I am deciding between this one on Amazon or the Gulliver at Ikea. I will order the crib mattress on Amazon. 

Spray Painting Projects:

• Chandelier
• Plastic chairs (purchased for 25 cents each at a yard sale): for Ellie's playroom
• Frames
• Ellie's ceramic dog
• Door hardware

I hope this weekend is a successful one in both checking off my to-do list and in Ellie's potty boot camp!

Addition to the Nursery

It is going to be a busy month with lots of projects. I'm excited that my hubby picked up this changing table/dresser last week from Craigslist:

I plan to paint it light gray and replace the knobs. I'm excited to what it will look like. Definitely much prettier than it does now! It is just what I have been looking for. I like that it's not too big and the drawer sizes are perfect. And, at only $50 it's a bargain.

Now, I'm shopping for the perfect gray and there are so many great shades. My top two colors are both Benjamin Moore:

Gray Cloud

Silver Lake

Whichever color I choose for the color I will also use for the inside of her closet. I am looking forward to going through Ellie's baby clothes and re-using them for her sister. I have bought a few new things, too. It's always fun to get what's new in store! Plus, I know not everything is in great condition.

Happy March!

I am so happy today is March 1st! I'm hoping warmer weather will be coming soon and we can spend more time outdoors. This is also the month before baby girl #2 arrives so it will be a busy month of painting, projects, nesting (that has already kicked in), prepping, and spending lots of one on one time with Ellie. Speaking of Ellie, this little girl will be 2 soon! I will also be planning her party this month. We already have the theme picked and are looking forward to sharing her special day with all the friends she has made over the past year. Her birthday is April 12th, but I am thinking of having the party the weekend before so I'm not too close to my due date (April 28th).

I am looking forward to our tulips and daffodils blooming and seeing the pink on our cherry blossoms. Can't wait for this view:

March 20th, the first day of spring, is also my Mom's birthday. The last week in March my husband has spring break (hooray for teachers!) so we will be able to spend quality family time together. I can't believe this pregnancy has gone by so quickly. I'm ready to meet our baby girl and for Ellie to have a sister. It's going to be a wonderful spring!