this post is for Tim

honey, I just know you have something wonderful planned for my first mother’s day, but in case you need any help, here are a few gifts that i would not secretly return when you aren’t looking…

baby birthstone necklace – its extravagant, but i’m sure you think i’m worth it.
adorable little dish – customized with my little man’s moniker of course
new momma tea
gift card for a massage or mani/pedi

oh and here are some more ideas in case you plan to get your own mom a gift for a change. don’t worry I’ll get a backup gift just in case you still forget.

ps. mothers day is sunday, may 10th

fall baby

I LOVE fall and I’m so excited to have a fall baby! Look at all the cutie pie clothes I can dress him in. I can’t wait to snuggle him up in the warm and comfy colors.

it’s back!

For all of you who have been wondering if our baby would be sleeping in a drawer come November, worry no more. The crib we really really wanted and have been watching online is finally available for purchase! I nearly spit out my drink when my daily perusal of the website came up with an “in stock, add to cart” button instead of “out of stock online.” So, now that I have my receipt in hand verifying my purchase, I thought I’d share the news with all of you. It will be delivered early to mid-September, which is plenty of time to have the nursery ready to go for the little man.

I’m sure there are a bunch of moms and dads-to-be out there who have been waiting like us, so I doubt it will stay in stock very long.

be on the lookout…

…for this crib.

It’s part of the Baby Mod line at **gasp** Walmart. I know – I can’t believe it either! I’ve made it a point to steer clear of that place since being forced to shop there all through college – it was all we had in Kirksville. Its not that I don’t love a good deal, but most of the stuff they carry is so generic, mass-produced and unattractive, unlike my FAVORITE discount store – Target – they love design.

But I digress.

After an exhaustive search high and low for the perfect crib, we determined that this crib is it. The best combination of modern design, quality and price. Similar style modern cribs are only available in specialty boutiques and run upwards of $1000!

Here lies the problem. Its sold out online and we can’t find it in any of the local stores we’ve checked. So would you all be so kind as to keep an eye out for this beauty? If you see it at ANY Walmart store please let me know.  I will call and buy it and pay to have it shipped. It is called Baby Mod- Olivia 3-in-1 Crib, Amber and White. I just have to get my hands on one before the baby is here!

*UPDATE* Tim was able to get in touch with the manufacturer and find out when the cribs will become available online once again. Evidently, the crib is only available at Walmart.com and not in stores as their website suggests.

baby’s bottom

One thing I’ve been thinking about lately is how we will diaper our baby. While it seems the norm these days to use disposables and there’s no arguing that they are easy, I’ve been very interested in exploring the cloth alternative. First of all, my mother used cloth diapers on all three of her children, even when disposables were quite common, so the concept is pretty familiar. I can’t actually recall if she let me wield a diaper pin to change my little brother when I was all of 6 years old, but I got the idea. The most obvious benefits of course, are environmental friendliness and cost, however I’ve also read quite a bit about the health benefits for the baby. Cloth diapers don’t have the chemicals that disposable ones do, they’re softer on skin and less likely to cause diaper rash. Really, the only downside I can see is the business of washing all these stinky suckers.

I’m still planning to do a little more research and found a great resource here in St. Louis. One retailer of cloth diapers called Cotton Babies, has a retail store in South County. They offer classes about cloth diapering and give information about all the options available.

I also found another great website and blog called Nature’s Child, that has a variety of useful topics about parenting and offers wholesome, natural products on their website. The best part?! They have a contest going on right now through July 31st where you can win a starter kit of diapers. So if you’re a mom who uses cloth diapers, or if you’re one of my family members or friends who want to win me a spectacular gift, be sure to enter the sweepstakes!

Win a Bum Genius 3.0 Starter Kit from Nature’s Child – Wholesome Goods for Mothers and Babies

my kind of sling

Spotted this sling today on Cool Mom Picks (love that site) – recognize the fabric? I think the flowers might be too girly for my little man, but it looks like there are a bunch more on the website.

more amy butler

I almost forgot to mention the most important thing! Amy’s brand new baby book is finally available, called little stitches for little ones. This will be a purchase that can’t wait for a baby shower. It has the perfect changing table pad that I plan to use to convert one of our dressers to a changing table amongst a bunch of other sweet little things.

room shuffle & midwest modern

This weekend kicked off the gauhaus room shuffle. We’re moving furniture and redecorating three rooms of the house in order to have the perfect space for the nursery. First up is the basement which will be the new location of our office, plus as an added bonus I’ll finally have the art and craft room I’ve always wanted – granted it shares its space with the washer and dryer, but I’m excited nonetheless. Especially because I now have a place to do some sewing and I have a brand new collection of Amy Butler’s Midwest Modern fabric!

I saw the above tissue holder on Etsy and instantly fell in love with the fabric, so I had to seek it out. The colors are perfect in our bathroom and our new bedroom after we redecorate, so I bought a bunch to make pillows and blankets. If he’s a good puppy, Odie might even get a new bed out of it too.

It looks like a bunch of people are also inspired by Amy’s new line. Over on decor8 they had a contest of mood boards sponsored by Amy Butler Design.

petunia nursery

A couple weeks ago I posted about some really attractive diaper bags from Petunia Pickle Bottom. Well today on Design*Sponge there is a sneak peak of designer, Denai Jones nursery for her son. I’m very impressed how she used a neutral color palate and decidedly adult decor to create a sophisticated and beautiful nursery. The bag above is shown hanging on the door and looks like part of the inspiration for the colors. You should go check it out.

birdies, ellies and squirrels, oh my!

As if I needed more fun and distracting things to keep me stuck to my computer at lunch, I’ve finally delved into polyvore. I had seen a links here and here, but only just took the time to play around a bit.

While I’m no stranger to Photoshop and can whip out flavor boards with the best of them, I’ve found this site will be much more helpful in creating inspiration boards for my nursery. For starters, it keeps links to the location of all your images so you can reference them later (like if you actually decide to purchase them). It also automatically clips out white backgrounds and then lets you embed your image into blogs and message boards.

Here’s my first stab at a little grouping of nursery decor, full of red and turquoise and animals galore. I have a feeling this will be the first of many.