A Good Scolding

I got a nice slap on the wrist for neglecting to mention my commenters, Mrs. J and Mrs. R, in my last post. Call me crazy, but I was having a hard time figuring out how to naturally work them into a post about curtains :)

Instead I'll say thank you to both of them for helping to stock the nursery with an all-star of a baby shower way back when I was just waddling around like a duck. Now instead of waddling, I'm racing at full-speed to keep up with my almost-two-year-old, but Mrs. J and Mrs. R are still right there with me. All I can say is thanks so much, ladies. And when you can't see (or reach) your feet, I'll be there to tie your shoes too!

The Undressed Window

As I mentioned recently, I've been working on a few projects to spruce up the nursery. A long while back, I posted very early pictures of the nursery when all we had done was paint the walls a cream color and put together the furniture. Obviously we've done far more than that over the almost two years that we've had Baby, but getting it to look like the picture in my head has taken much longer.

One of my least favorite parts of the room is the window. It's actually a nice big window with an inset frame that will someday be perfect for a bench or some low shelves. Because of the configuration of the room, the window is partially blocked by the glider where we sit and read with Baby before naps and bedtime. The other big problem is the curtains and the horrendous sheet hanging to help darken the room. See for yourself...

I love how you can see the masking tape holding the sheet (sort of) to the wall to keep the light out. It was an in-the-moment desperate attempt to darken the room so Baby would possibly take a nap by herself after months and months of struggling. While it did do the trick, it looks awful and I'm always so embarrassed when people see it. The first step is admitting you have a problem right?!

The brown curtains aren't my favorite but they actually coordinate with her bedding while helping to keep the room dim during daytime naps. My plan is to shorten them and to hang the sheet from a suspension rod so you can't see it behind the curtain. I also found this great pelmet box tutorial on Little Green Notebook that I thought might do the trick to dress up the window.

In the midst of cleaning out our linen cabinet, I happened to find a red checked sheet from an old bedding set that coordinates with Baby's bedding as well. Following Jenny's tutorial, all I needed was batting, foam core board and some red bias tape. I stapled the fabric and batting to the foam core board just like she did and trimmed it with the bias tape using fabric glue. The only real difference is that our nursery window is a lot wider than the windows in her girls' bedroom so my pelmet box is a lot bigger.

The masking taped foam board ready to be wrapped in batting & fabric.

The final product!

A close-up of the checked fabric and red trim.

I'll have the Husband help me hang it once I work some magic on the curtains, and then I think the depressing window should be just a little less pathetic looking. I can't wait to post the official "after" pictures. For now I'm proud of my little project and grateful to Jenny at Little Green Notebook for such an easy fix.

New Background

In honor of the fabulous weather we've been having here in southern California, I decided a brighter, more springy background was in order. I'm not completely sold on this one but it's called "Paradise" from Shabby Blogs and that sounded nice. It might feel more fitting if someone... ahem... with graphic design experience... ahem... would design me a new header. Just saying.

What do you think? First 3 people to comment will get a shout-out in my next post. What a selling point right?!

My Funny Valentine

One of the projects I've been working on recently is a Valentine's dress for Baby. I found this tutorial at Made and I had a couple extra shirts lying around that would work well. In particular I had this red shirt that never quite fit right but had been hanging in the closet for a couple years with the tags still on. The big question is why did I even buy this shirt in the first place? Sigh.

I know the picture is awful but try to ignore that and you get the general idea. The sleeves were 3/4 length which made it a little more challenging but it worked out okay. Here is the end result minus the little sash that tied around the waist.

So cute! It looked adorable when I tried it on Baby and I had grand visions of her being so darling when we went out for our family Valentine's dinner at Islands (my favorite). Unfortunately, being a toddler and having very strong opinions these days, Baby absolutely refused to wear the dress to dinner and threw an all-out fit in protest. It was either put her in another outfit or cancel dinner and obviously Islands always wins. Sadly the Valentine's dress didn't actually get worn on V-day, but it was free and pretty easy so no great loss. Maybe another time. Happy belated Valentines Day!

Thirty is Crazy

So far being 30 has been busy! I had a lot of fun celebrating and was completely spoiled by the Husband and my girlfriends. I ushered in this next decade of my life with some pampering, some great food and a lot of toasting.

The past week was spent mostly in the desert at the Pink Palace. Baby and I spent time with Grandma and Grandpa while the Husband had a well-earned weekend with the guys in LA. It was a fun weekend despite the unfortunate weather but it's good to be home, although not because of the mountain of dirty laundry that's staring me down.

I've been working on some great projects recently and I'll be ready to post about them soon. About a million years ago it seems I posted about wanting to work on Baby's room and after the wedding and the holidays, I'm finally getting around to it. Seriously it was a long time ago... embarrassingly long. But I've got some great stuff to spiff it up and if the staple gun weren't so freaking loud, I'd be working on it now. However, you couldn't pay me enough to bother my sensitive sleeper so it'll have to wait. In the meantime I hear some laundry calling my name :(