"What does your doctor say?"

"Oh, well I am with Midwives, but they say .... "

*blank stare*

"So are you like delivering in your house!?"

Nora's Nursery

Well folks, Im due tomorrow and still no baby in sight... well besides my giant "are you having twins?' belly. But it did give me ample time to finish her room. The only thing lacking is the quilt but its coming!

Sugar Withdrawal: A "cartoon"

I went to the midwife a little over 2 weeks ago and my belly measured 3 inches bigger than it did the week before. Uh oh. I went to get an ultrasound and it showed I have WAY too much amniotic fluid. This can be caused by a lot of things, but usually its gestational diabetes. I tested negative for that but it doesn't mean I don't have it.

So then began my cold turkey cut of sugar and bread. It was a nasty little journey that I thought I would draw pictures about because I wake up at 3-4 am every morning and have nothing else to do. If you want to quit sugar... Here's what to expect:

Never before had I cared about chocolate commercials or understood why they show melty chocolate flowing everywhere. 

When you stop eating sugar things with even tiny amounts of sweet, taste sweeter than they used to!  Your palette adjusts and you crave sugar less. Its an amazing thing. 

Went back to check on the fluid and it has gone down! Praise the lord! 

All the stages are definitely worth going through for me and the babe. 

Bad pictures of My Last Minute Projects

Y'all... I don't know how people have consistently cute blogs. I love them and appreciate them but I am not one of the cool "blog kids." You know those girls in junior high & high school who made the cute signs for pep rallies or their friends with their names all bubbled out with colors?! Mine just looked like I had a sweet 3rd grade brother who got bored of his legos and wrote a note. 

Now that we're on the same page about my blog quality: Here are some last min projects for Nora's room. Last post I mentioned this find from World Market (I bought it for $27). I originally got the idea from Nicole on pinterest. It was kinda ugly and I wanted it to have more of the gold/brass finish I have in the rest of the room so BOOM I spray painted it (all babies need to smell some DIY before they're born.) 

 BEFORE: 

AFTER:

Jesus Wipes • Baby Book 

Next I painted a chair that I had. I have a lot of chairs because I have a chair problem.  At least one of my chair projects made it on design sponge, ratifying the rest. 

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Lamp • Nate Berkus Frame

Hopefully next post will have the whole nursery! 

Its my goal for today to get the last minute pictures hung and everything in its place. 

Its also my goal to get this baby out of my body... 

Nora's Nursery Inspirations

If you know me or have observed 90% of my clothing, you know that my favorite color is white. And maybe gray too. Basically a bunch of non-color. Although super neutral nurseries are really pretty, they aren't the most stimulating to little brains. Color is good for babies! I knew I had to branch out. Laurel introduced me to the blog 100layercakelet where I found my starting point!

via

I also loved the idea of Hexagons or a honeycomb pattern after seeing this:

via

Then I started finding goodies that were unattainable for $$ reasons mostly. But OH SO LOVELY. 

Like this dwell studio crib sheet. But $40 for a sheet that will get spit up on and worse??

And this mural is SOOO pretty and colorful and fits my color scheme and then some but $548. 

Da what?!

So I decided on these fabrics after TONs of searching. Spoonflower should have been my first stop for sure. Also used Fabric.com And what for? A crib skirt and a hexagon baby quilt that my mom made/will make. 

Solid Peach • Solid Coral • Mint Polka Dots • Peach Triangles (my fav!)

Seafoam Herringbone • Solid Dark Teal • Dark Teal Stipes

Here's a hexa quilt. NOTE: I am linking for picture credit alone. DO NOT BUY this pattern. Its absolute crap.

via/ do not buy this pattern!

If you are interested in making this quilt, there are some quality you tube videos that are much better. Like this one and this one.

And here are just some other ideas/finds/good things:

* Love all these quilts!
* Great idea for diaper/ diapering items storage with easy access.

One like it at World Market for $34.99

via

* Mobile. Bought the DIY kit to save $50. I made it but it might be worth it to pay $50 to have someone make it for you. Seriously.

via

* Picture wall!

via

So far I have this print up and framed. Love so many prints from this etsy shop: kariherer

Will be adding these plates, (that spell "nora") a baby gift from Kendall

This print and others!

Hope to have it all done soon so I can show you the finished room! 

Before and After Mid-Century Dresser

About 2.5 years ago Rob and I were sailing the aisles of Katy Christian Ministries (A goodwill like resale shop) and came across this piece for $125. I loved it immediately! We decided to use it as a TV stand at first with "in the future" thoughts of changing it into a dresser/ changing table for a baby.

Fast forward---> Im pregnant (37 weeks currently) and baby room needed a dresser! 

* Those handles have to go, they look like a face, kinda like Falcor for any nerds who remember him. 

* Paint it white, except for maybe the bottom bar and legs, like this from West Elm. 

dumont buffet

* New Knobs! I hear anthropologie calling! At first I picked ceramic coral knobs because I was trying to really get in touch with my GIRLY side, but sometimes theres just not enough girly to tap into, so I took them back and got these:

Prism Knob

They are brighter in real life.

* Hire someone to spray paint it, not crappy spray paint, like air compressor spray paint. Took 3 rounds and WA-LA! 

* Sand and stain the bottom. I did this... not a great choice when you shouldn't breathe in fumes and have a belly to drag around. But it looks good!

Now to accessorize! At least I know half will be taken up with a changing pad! The mirror is from target, and the doilies on the sides are what we found in the attic created by my great grandmother, Cora.  Frames from Ikea.

Thanks for stopping by the blog! As always, Id love to see your before and afters too! 

House Before and Afters!

Remember last August when I said "stay tuned for before and afters" ... Well, you had to REALLY stay tuned. I like to move at the speed of slow about blogging apparently. Sometimes it just takes some encouragement, and being put to shame by friends who are busy and still have awesome blogs (like my friend Christie from high school. Go now: kikimac.me And Lauren who helps me think deep thoughts and wear good clothes. Go now: thebrodabode.blogspot.com)

*NOTE: if you have tried to follow by email, where you get an email when I post something new, it hasn't been working and is now fixed!!

So the entire house was painted the same khaki-ish color and all the trim had yellowed big time. Do notice all the brass light fixtures ... and their magical replacements!

THE OFFICE: before

THE OFFICE: After: Color: ANVIL by Behr (PS this is the "after of the desk mentioned here."

 THE ENTRY/ STAIRCASE/ HANDRAILS: Before:

THE ENTRY/ STAIRCASE/ HANDRAILS: After: Color: Galveston Gray Benjamin Moore

THE GAMEROOM: Before:

THE GAMEROOM: After:

DOORBELL: (I know, who really cares but look at this little ugly guy) (apparently this house was pink at one point)

AFTER:

My next task is accessorizing. Lots of blank walls going on. Its so hard for me to commit to accessories, I think everything should have been collected from across the world or have some special meaning. Maybe they're special because I got them so cheap at home goods? Working on that mind set! 

Stay tuned (week or less I swear) for this dresser redo!

And here's a sneak peak of the nursery! 

-Danielle