Up To Speed...

I'm almost 36 weeks pregnant. I'm cranky. What else did I expect? With such a smooth-sailing, no complication pregnancy, I was bound to hit a wall sooner or later. A lot of people wonder if I have been nesting - I don't think I've done anything crazy and I still could care less about things being clean....but let me tell you, I am throwing things away like a mo-fo. All I want to do is scale-back, de-clutter and minimize. And it's not like I was some kind of hoarder pre-pregnancy - I always threw things away, but it's gotten to a comical level.

 

Things at Casa Murphy are moving quickly, but all the work being done is really small projects. Hopefully next weekend we can start on something big (like the guest bath, stairway, etc.). For now, let's take a whirlwind recap of what's been going down (sorry for the cell phone pics):

Nursery:

A few weeks back I decided to order a 5x7 jute rug from Overstock for the nursery. Then it came and 5x7 seemed like 2x3. I had never ordered a rug, but everyone said the same thing - you think a 5x7 is going to be perfect and then it arrives and it seems like the smallest rug in the world. We moved the rug into every position we could think of and it just.didn't.work. Booooooo. Thankfully Overstock has a great return policy and now we know that we need an 8x10 or possibly a round rug.

On a high note - we got the crib!!! Honestly the crib itself requires it's own post...but long story short, you get what you pay for. We ordered the Graco Crib from Target and it was terrible. Poorly packaged, scratched, dirty, cheap AND smelled like a hamster cage (I swear). After some hormonal tears, I devised a plan to use a friend-of-a-friend's Pottery Barn discount and we got the Kendall Crib. It was all I ever hoped it would be - sturdy, well-made, well-packaged. Check it out:

We threw up the 'Amelia' sign from my shower just to have something on the wall for pictures. I do love it, but I think we will do a frame with some art above the crib. In a weak moment, I picked up a glass pink knob from Hobby Lobby to see how it will look:

The picture doesn't really do the knob any justice, but it's very pretty and softens the dresser just enough. I think we'll wait until the end to decide if they are worth changing. The most exciting nursery update? I made curtains!! My mom taught me to sew when I was a little girl and I used to make pillows, Barbie clothes - you name it. Then I learned how to knit and cross-stitch. Sadly, I hadn't used a sewing machine in yearsssss and had developed some weird anxiety about it. Aside from a temporary freak-out trying to figure out how to re-thread my bobbin, the project was so easy and now I want to make curtains for every room.

Lastly, I found this capiz mirror at HomeGoods and it was perfect for hanging above the changing pad. The capiz is not as sparkly in real-life and just girly enough! Hopefully we get it hung this weekend.

Master Bedroom:

After the 5x7 rug fluke, I bit the bullet and ordered a Pottery Barn rug off the website. I know, I know...I didn't but it used on CL, or try to make it myself, I actually paid the people at PB for it. This only happened because a) it was on sale, b) I had a coupon and c) I could order it to store thereby saving on surcharges and shipping. All in all, $220 for a Pottery Barn 8x10 rug is a good deal. I chose the Mason Boucle Jute Rug in Linen and ended up putting it under our bed in the master:

 

 

Ignore the mess please. What else did we get done in our bedroom? Well, I don't have pictures of this, but we bought a black/brown Ikea Hemnes Dresser off CL and then bit the bullet and bought the matching tall-boy dresser and two matching nightstands. Did I always dream of the Hemnes line for my bedroom? Not exactly, but for the price and design they are the greatest bang-for-our buck until I robbed the Pottery Barn store win the lottery.

 

New Guest Room:

 

We decided to move our beloved guest room from the first floor to the second floor, taking over Brian's 'office'. Having a guest room downstairs was incredible, but we had to be realistic and since we only had people come visit us a few times a year, that room could be used in a more functional way for our family. We stuck with the same paint (James River Gray), mainly because I was too lazy to find something new. You know what? I love it more upstairs! I think a cozy (aka: small) room can handle a darker paint better and this room gets tons of natural light.  

 

We still need to hang the headboard, mirror, art and find a nice, long, skinny console table for this wall. That is on the to-do list.

 

 

Well, that's all I have for now...even though I am sure I've forgotten something. More updates and tutorials to come, so stay tuned.