THE Bathroom

One of the most exciting projects we have finished in the past week is THE bathroom. This bathroom is located downstairs in the entry area of our house. It is a full bathroom and thankfully one that we haven't needed for everyday living. This bathroom has been a constant source of work, frustration, and time loss over the past year.

It all started last December when I wanted to quickly update the downstairs bathroom. We knew it needed a complete makeover, eventually, but the quick fix was to remove the gold and glass shower doors to replace them with a modern shower curtain and paint the walls. When Eddie starting removing the doors, he noticed some mold behind the stripping. By the time he was finished, the entire shower surround was ripped out and there was mold in a good portion of the wall/joists behind the shower walls. What started as a simple project, turned into a complete bathroom remodel.

It has taken 13 months to finish, but we think it is finally done. The last touches were completed this week. It isn't perfect, but it is mold-free and will be a nice guest bathroom. We have learned a lot on this project and hope to apply this to our other 2 bathrooms that will need the same TLC in the coming years. One room down, lots more to go....

More Sewing Projects

I can't find the time to sew fast enough for the ideas that are floating around in my head. Sewing makes the perfect combination between saving money and making the items with my style and fabrics.

I started with something simple; a thin blanket for the baby made of flannel on one side and cotton on the other to match the colors in her room. This should be a good weight in case she needs a little extra cover without being too bulky to be unsafe.

I am also hoping to breastfeed little girl and will need something to ensure my privacy. I made a 'hooter hider' which is simply fabric with a neck strap that covers the baby while she is nursing. It is special because there is boning sewn into the top of the fabric so that I can look down and see Baby Girl, but we still stay covered. I can't take credit for the idea as Bebe au Lait was the original source. I love the fabrics that I used, the top is an earthy lime green with brown paisley/flowers. The back fabric is a dark brown with tiny flowers. I love this color combination!

The idea of carrying Baby Girl in a sling instead of toting her in a very heavy car seat carrier while I shop, do things around the house, or any other everyday task is very appealing. I have been searching for which sling to buy and there are so many choices and most of them start at $50 and just go up from there. I decided that I could make one for much cheaper and in a fabric that I actually like. So, I tried the Maya Wrap design. They even have instructions for sewing your own on their website too! I purchased the sling rings online and then picked out a two-sided fabric. Our bear Arthur (a Valentine's gift from Eddie to me a few years ago from the Build-A-Bear Workshop) was the guinea pig. I look forward to using this one day soon to snuggle with Baby Girl.

Getting The Room Ready

Eddie and I have been working on different projects to get things ready for Baby Girl's arrival. We started by getting rid of Eddie's queen bed in our extra guest room. Then, we added a white crib purchased with love for Baby Girl by her Grandma Susie. Next was an all day shopping trip to find just the right dresser that would serve as a changing table and a nice bookshelf to match from IKEA (thanks to Grandma Susie for her patience with me on that shopping trip)!

I finally had an excuse to start sewing again and am excited to have been able to make a few things for the room. I started with the curtains which add some color and length to the room. Next, I made the little bird pictures that hang above the dresser. The mirror is a hand-me-down with a new ribbon to add a splash of pink!

It seems that the 'bird' theme continues with the peel-on tree mural beside the crib. The bird mobile was a joint effort with me sewing the little birds from fabric and Eddie constructing the mobile and hanging it just above the crib for Baby Girl to look at while she tries to fall asleep. I must say that the bird theme was quite accidental as things just came together, but it is cute and hopefully not too overdone.

The twin bed will be left in the room for guests to use and for us to use on nights where sleep is hard to come by. The light above it is a lantern from our wedding decorations. The quilt is a work in progress. I still have to quilt the top to sew the layers together and make the squares pop. And, of course when that is done the binding will be added to finish it off. Hopefully, Baby Girl will get a lot of use out of the quilt in the coming years.

We think the room is finished, besides all of the little things that we will use daily. My Aunt Amy is throwing a baby shower next Saturday, so after that I can start stocking up on diapers, wipes, and all of the other tiny clothes that Baby Girl will need very soon. 6 weeks to go and we can't be more excited to see this little girl in person!

Then came the baby...

"Peanut" Brown at 9 weeks.

 

At 18 weeks, we found out Baby Brown is a girl!! 

 

She was moving so much that they had to perform another ultrasound at 22 weeks so they could see all of her heart chambers. We think she will be very active!

  

Today marks 33 weeks and growing. We are getting very excited to meet Baby Girl Brown in person. We have been getting to know her quite a lot over the past months. She and her daddy like to play and talk at night. Daddy pokes her and she kicks back. Momma and Daddy also read her a few of her new story books. Momma is getting more uncomfortable by the day, but that just means Baby Girl is getting bigger and more ready to meet everyone! 7 more weeks to go....

Where it all began

It all started when we fell in love and decided to get married....

We needed a place to live with a little elbow room, so we moved to Brownlandia in Hillsborough, NC.