Ramblings from the nesting lady

Oooh my.  Life is flying by.  I'm 12 (ish) weeks away from becoming a mother of two!  I have SO much that still needs done.  And we have the holidays which makes time fly even more!  Last week I decided we needed to stay home instead of traveling to DE for Thanksgiving this year.  I had a really hard time making the decision but once it was made I felt really good about it.  It just felt like too much.  So we are staying home and celebrating in our OWN home for the first time!  We have ordered Crackle Barrel to go so we can still eat here, BUT I don't have to cook.  Does it get any better than that?

My nesting this time has come and gone in different and odd spurts.  One week in September I obsessed over decorating for fall.  Another week I obsessed over making a list of things that needed done and a calendar to show when they would get done.  Two weeks ago I purchased the fabric for Julianne's nursery and had her quilt made within 3 days of buying the fabric.  Last week I obsessed over decorating for Christmas!  Two nights ago I was worried about what kind of curtains she'd have in her bedroom.  I had planned on making them from either a shower curtain or a table cloth but hadn't found anything I loved.  I got on amazon and was pleasantly surprised to find ivory ruffle curtain panels that would add a soft, girly, chic element to her room!

My running to do list for the nursery includes-

• make pillow for glider with leftover fabric from quilt
• finish her flag banner (I found lace at JoAnns I want to use instead of ribbon)
• revamp Oliver's crib skirt with lace for some antique frill
• buy curtain rod to hang new ruffle curtains!
• possibly make a custom breathable bumper
• make a minky blanket that "goes" with her quilt to drape on glider?
• buy baskets for changing table
• other wall hanging
• pom poms?
• Love sign w/ scrap fabric


• Wall flower - (no idea why my font just changed!?)
• I'd like to display her name or maybe just initials somehow- not sure how yet?
• scrap fabrics and papers in white frames?

As you can see I still have quite a list to do in the nursery.  I'd really like to get a few of those checked off this week while we have some down time for the holiday! :)  It is very important to me this time to have her nursery prepared for her.  Since Oliver came one week after moving I never got to prepare for him with a nursery that was ready and waiting just for him.  I need that this time.

In other news.  I saw Dr. Brabson today.  I lurve him.  We had a nice chat and I got a nice shot of Rhogam in my butt.  I really appreciate how he's laid back and just chats with me.  I even asked him opinion on a nettles tea I've heard good things about.  He wasn't familiar with it but took the time to ask me what my research told me as far as benefits go.  He even agreed to deliver me in the water if I want and Oliver is welcome at the birth if we decide we want him there!  Dr. B is a gem!  Julianne's heart rate was 146 and my belly measured right on for 28 weeks.  I also only gained 1 pound this month which was great but I still feel fat.  Jeans are just not comfortable.  The constant pulling up is driving me crazy.  I'm leaning towards wearing dresses and yoga pants.  Don't worry, I won't wear them together!

I think that's enough random thoughts for one night.  I'm ready for bed.  Oh yea, I'm sleeping in our king bed alone!  Kurt is helping Oliver make the adjustment to his own room by sleeping with him.  Don't worry, Oliver has a queen bed.  But mama is enjoying the room to sprawl!  :)

Night!!

Happy Fall

A couple weeks ago I went into psyco mom mode and went crazy on my fall decor.  I think it was a form of nesting and I needed t o get my new shelves decorated.  Kurt worked hard and made my wish of open shelving in my dining room come true.  We picked out our supplies at Lowe's and Kurt stained, poly, and assembled our new shelves.  Once they were hung I wasn't quite in love yet.  I loved the shelves but it was hard to tell how much without decorating them.  SO, the next week I set out on pinterest to decorate them for fall affordably.

Here's what I came up with.  I'm happy with them!  And really they cost almost nothing!  Most of the supplies came from Dollar Tree!

The Boob Man helping daddy

They are hung!

Decorated!

I'm sure you've all seen the hurricane vases from Dollar Tree.  This is the third year I've used them but I decorated them differently this year, thanks to pinterest.  I filled one with popcorn kernels and the other with moss left over from the moss wreath I made.  The moss and the wreath came from DT.  The pumpkins pictured are from DT as well. The framed pictures were printed from pinterest.  The last picture shows the wreath I made with another printable and our pumpkin rug I scored at Ollie's last fall.

I'm dying to decorate our front porch but I'm not sure we have the money right now.  I'd love some mums and pumpkins!

Have you decorated yet?

My Burlap Wreath

HELLO SEPTEMBER! :)

I have really enjoyed making different wreaths over the past year.  I found my most current one a while ago on pinterest.  The pin linked to an Etsy page where this very cute burlap wreath that would cost you $58 + shipping!  I would never pay that for a wreath but I knew I could replicate it so I put it on my fall to do list.  Here was my inspiration wreath.

My wreath cost:

1 yard burlap- $3.99/yard-- You wouldn't need a yard to make it but I wanted the extra burlap for another fall craft I'm planning.  I also used a 40% off coupon at JoAnns.

1 18 inch grapevine wreath- $4.99--I was shocked at how cheap these are.  I used a coupon on this as well.

Buttons- I already had these.  Start cutting the buttons off old clothes your donating, etc.  Buttons are expensive to buy.

Hot glue gun and glue

Needle and thread

Other fabric scraps- I used Muslin fabric, I like to keep this around to back different sewing projects so I had that as well.

So really my wreath cost almost nothing.  I have made lots fabric flowers since my addiction to those started at Hadelyn's baby shower where we all made headbands.  Really it is easier to make flowers with cottons and knits so I was able to kinda use the same idea to fudge these burlap flowers.  So if you are going to try it and haven't made flowers before look up a tutorial.  I didn't take pictures throughout the process so really this isnt a tutorial.  Just a how to.

My method is twisting the fabric or burlap however tightly you like, then using hot glue glue as you wrap the burlap to make it into the flower shape.  They will not look perfect which is part of the look with burlap anyway.  You can cover glue dots with buttons.  Just make as many or as few as you'd like.  Add buttons, leaves, other flowers, whatever you like.  I decided to add the wooden letter to personalize it.  It would also be very cute with your house number on it, but I couldn't find numbers that were small enough.

So once you make your flowers just set them up where you like them and begin gluing them to your wreath.  I added my wooden letter, then decided I'd like buttons on my letter as well.  I cut a thick piece of burlap to use at the top of my wreath,  you could also use ribbon, twine, or other fabric scraps.

I hope that helps if you were curious how I did it!  Here are some better pictures of my finished product.

Prego Update

So I'm planning to post weekly belly pictures with updates to the blog.  This will keep me blogging and will allow family and friends to see my belly grow, from afar.  We had a doctor's appointment today and we got to hear our babies heart beat with the doppler.  It was right around 160 beats/minute.  I also made it through the past four weeks without gaining weight which doesn't happen often for me in pregnancy! You'll see my list of cravings in just a second.  :)  We enjoyed some Chipotle for dinner after our appointment.

Without further ado, here I am poking out at 12 weeks.

Cha Cha Cha Changes!!

Well there are a lot of changes going on in the Lane household.  I'm sure you all know we're headed to becoming a family of four.  We also have another exciting announcement.  We're buying our first home!  We are scheduled to close at the end of August and are so excited about getting settled in our new home well before our new little blessing joins us!

We have actually been looking for a house for several months and have even been under contract and walked after a horrible home inspection.  This house has been a blessing and came at just the right time.  Kurt knew from the pictures this was our house but I wasn't quite as on board.  I knew I liked a lot about it but I wasn't as sure as he was.  As soon as we walked through the door we felt at home.  There is an inviting front porch, a foyer that is welcoming, and everything we really needed inside.  The carpet in the living room is green but we'll replace that later.  The kitchen is full of cabinets with two pantries and two lazy suzans.  Off the dining room there is a screened in porch that walks out to a wrap around deck.  The yard was made for children to play in.  There are trees and smalls hills.  We are so excited about moving and making it into our own.

We plan to paint the shutters black and paint the front door red.  And in the years to come I'd LOVE a red metal roof to top it off! Here are a few pics!

a little announcement...

THE BEST Iced Coffee EVER, I Promise!

My iced coffee has made me somewhat famous among my little group of friends.  I'm not sure I can take all the credit, as I have merged a couple recipes to make it my own.  I'll go ahead and share it here so you can enjoy it as well!

I got the idea from pioneer woman's iced coffee recipe but hers looked like too much work for me so I simplified it.

You will need:
Coffee
1 can sweetened condensed milk (local friends- cheaper at our walmart than our Kroger)
Half and Half

Brew some dark roast coffee- I suggest dark roast because I want it to be a strong coffee.  I like to use French Roast.  Depending on what I have on hand I use my Cuisinart Grind and Brew and either brew ground coffee or whole bean.  If making a pitcher of iced coffee I make a whole pot (12 cups) and fill the grinder or filter to the top with coffee.  Once brewed I add 1 can of sweetened condensed milk and a couple cups of half and half.  Refrigerate.  Serve over ice with a straw and I promise you'll go back for more!  To avoid watered down coffee as your ice melts- freeze some of your left over coffee in your ice cube trays.  (thanks pinterest)

Per Pioneer Woman's advice I do love to slurp it up from a mason jar with a straw!  It's just so summery, you can't go wrong.  Unless of course you drink it all day every day, because then you may gain a few.  :)