Blowin' in the Wind

Hello all....my has time passed since I last posted and how much has changed! I'll get to updating my blog with the happenings of the last 3 months, but for now I'll show you one of the most recent updates around here.

Before Christmas, my parents asked me what I would like for Christmas. With the impending arrival of Baby E, I thought of a clothesline. A fully installed clothesline. I received the supplies under the Christmas tree and this past Monday, my parents came over and my Dad slaved in the 30 degree (plus humidity) heat installing my clothesline that measures over 70 feet long! I've hung a few loads out on it already. There's nothing like the smell of laundry that's been dried on a line.

Thanks Dad!

Carseat and Cover

We picked up the carseat for our little one today! It's one of the last things on our to-do list before little Baby E arrives. My sister Heather delivered a beautiful gift to us last weekend in the form of a carseat cover blanket. With 2 loops to hold the cover on the handle, baby is covered without the blanket being on it's face, but still being able to check on the baby. The grey, yellow and white of the carseat cover match perfectly with the nursery and the black and silver carseat. I love the fabrics she chose, I can't resist a polka dot!

Nursery

The nursery is almost done. Here are a few pics to show the progress.

We decided to use as much furniture that we could that we already had. Without a closet, we needed some serious storage. A wardrobe and dresser that I already had worked in place of a closet and change table. The chair was our splurge for the room. We thankfully got it on sale on boxing day. It's a rocker/recliner and is very comfy. The crib was a bit of a journey to get. I had seen it on a number of blogs and really loved the spun spindles. I also knew I wanted a white crib as I didn't want to try and match with the existing furniture that we were using. I couldn't find it in Canada or from any of the larger American retailers, so we ordered it through Amazon...twice. Thankfully it worked out on the second try and I think it just works so well in the room. (Thanks Susan!)

The curtains I made after ordering some fabric online that I had also seen on a blog. The crib skirt, change pad cover, diaper pail liner, and boppy cushion cover I also made, while my mom made all the crib sheets (Thanks Mom). I loved to see where I could save and also liked that I could really get what I was looking for without having to shop for hours, break the bank, or scour websites. All that we need is the mobile I'm working on and some artwork for the walls...oh, and it's tiny new resident (in about 6 weeks)!

Ok, onto the pics:

Tantalizing Textiles for Tot

Derek and I went to Minneapolis this past weekend. We took out our perfectly good entertainment unit, because our new TV didn't fit. It seems as though we are gluttons for punishment in the renos department as our kitchen and laundry room are still not totally complete. As my mom would say "You did this to yourself"

The highlight of the trip for me (shopping-wise) was a visit to Treadle Yard Goods. They were having a 20-50% off sale, plus I had a 20% off coupon that could be added to any previous discount. I found the exact Joel Dewberry fabric that I had been hoping to make the nursery bedding out of on sale!!! I also picked up a bit of the new Amy Butler Soul Blossoms fabric that just came out last week at 20% off!!! So fabulous, no?




p.s. the above pics are a mix of the fabrics I'll be using for the nursery

Rocking

I'm not sure how to title this one. It started out with me listening to Derek playing worship music downstairs (I was upstairs). So I thought to myself, "Self, you should go take pics of your hottie husband playing his guitar". So I ventured downstairs with my camera, trying to be inconspicuous. He saw me, but ignored my poking around with my camera. he didn't even ask questions when I hauled in a lamp and plugged it in for more light ('cause the room is just poorly lit for photography) or when his awkward, pregnant wife was getting all sorts of angles (huffing and puffing all the way). So I took a bunch of pics and laughed at the fact that he moved just as I was focussing. Here are a few shots I got



Oh, and what's this last one, you may ask? No, it's not the worst picture ever. I got an email about our baby today. At 18 weeks, he/she can hear noises, including my heartbeat. Derek handed me the headphones, and I thought to myself, " Self, the baby could probably hear trough the headphones" so I put those headphones up to my belly so this is actually a pic of our baby's first experience hearing his/her daddy rocking the guitar.

Le chocolat

Derek went to montreal a few weeks ago for a business trip. I have always wanted to go to Montreal and Quebec City. When I was very young (like very young) I apparently went to Quebec. As a kid, when my Dad would go on business trips to Queec, I would beg to go. I begged Derek to take me. I didn't go.

I requested in lieu of a trip over to Quebec, that Derek would bring me a bit of Quebec back (ok, it was more like "If you're not going to take me, at least bring me back something good) Oh my, did he deliver! He brought me 3 items from Juliette et Chocolat, a fancy chocolat restaurant in Montreal.

The first was a beautiful box of chocolates, tied with a red ribbon.

On opening the box, there was a velum layer sealed with a brand sticker. Beneath that was a box with little windows and a perfect little chocolate in each one.

They were painted or layered or garnished. There was one with a mango bottom, one with raspberry, a chocolate truffle, a vanilla caramel chocolate with sea salt. They were delicious. Derek also brought me 2 containers of hot chocolate. One milk, one dark chocolate. They are decadent! He also brought me some maple syrup in a fun metal can.


Thanks hon!

Kitchen

Here is my (mostly) finished kitchen:



(thanks for being patient Maureen)