This was me, a couple of weeks ago. Yeah, I know, from the size of my belly, I'm not going to have some monstrous baby. :)
And this is what our front entry has looked like for the past week - yes, my bags are packed.
All of these things can only mean one thing; Baby Dreher is almost here. The countdown has begun and we are now less than two weeks from welcoming him/her home. The anticipation is killing me. Each morning Roger asks me if today is the day and each morning I reply nope, not yet. Haven't felt one little contraction so I've just been trying to keep myself busy. And thanks to the full time job and my pinwheels, I've definitely not had time to slow down yet!
I've been promising photos of our nursery for months so finally, here they are! I'll note/provide links to where we made our purchases - just in case anyone is curious. As you can see below, we supported lots of Etsy artisans along the way! I'd recommend any of them to any of you....
This is what you see when you enter our little one's room. I love how bright and cheery it is!
Some might have though that two shades of green mixed with cherry red and black and white were an odd combination for a nursery, but I love it even more than what I had initially visualized.
And I even love the mix-match of patterns - I originally only wanted to stick with damask and hounds tooth patterns in this nursery, but fell in love with so many others along the way -I've used them all.
My original intent was to use black and white silhouettes in frames on the wall, but when I ran across these vinyl animals I just knew that they would be perfect in the nursery. 
Due to space issues (lack thereof) we purchased a crib with lots of drawers and a changing table attached. 
One of our first purchases, this festively fun butterfly mobile. And the pennants, oh how I love the pennants.
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And although I have lots of favorites in this room, the above has to be my most favorite. When the nightlight is off only one giraffe is noticeable, turn on the nightlight and a second silhouetted giraffe appears. How awesome and unexpected is that?! 
Some more mini pennants used as a curtain tie-back.
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A dresser already topped with goodies. The damask lamp was a TJ Maxx buy - one of the first decorative items purchased for the room.
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More vinyl wall art (just love this stuff - so easy to put up). And I betcha can't guess our names?! Only time will tell whether we have a little Elsie or a little Gabe snoozing away in this room. 
We opted not to spend too much money on a crib set (of course I know that pillows are a no, no and I've also read that bumpers aren't the best either), instead I merely purchased a blanket I fell in love with ... it's toddler sized and will be used when Baby Dreher gets older.
And some houndstooth crib sheets that I also just had to have. The moses basket was a gift from my parents - the first gift we received. I'm sure that this basket will get lots of use when Baby Dreher is young as he/she will probably be spending many an hour sleeping away in my office while I work away on pinwheels. 
I fell in love with this carpet (a Target buy) as I thought it matched the stripes on our walls. And the hounds tooth ottoman (another TJ Maxx steal for only $24.99) - well, of course I knew I had to have it as soon as caught a glimpse of it early last fall.
Love this graphic teether elephant.
And these custom made blocks - hmmm - will we have a son?
The 'wish' letters were another Etsy purchase - it's hard to tell from the photo, but they are also houndstooth. And in case you haven't noticed - none of our frames have photos in them. For now we filled them with black and white and red and white scrapbook papers until we have family photos with Baby Dreher to fill the frames.
Will we have a daughter?
Another fun Etsy find, this black and white wooden boat is just the cutest, and will actually float. We found lots of brightly colored books at Goodwill (of all places). I initially began looking at bookstores and Target and soon found out that $14.00 for a hardcover was well above what I had budgeted, so we made a trip to our local Goodwill - all children's books were .69 which made my day. :)
The above is the armoire where Baby Dreher's hanging clothes will be stored (since I use the closet in the room - our cozy home seriously lacks in closet and storage space). I found this armoire at one of my favorite local antique/shabby chic shops.
Some might have though that two shades of green mixed with cherry red and black and white were an odd combination for a nursery, but I love it even more than what I had initially visualized.
And I even love the mix-match of patterns - I originally only wanted to stick with damask and hounds tooth patterns in this nursery, but fell in love with so many others along the way -I've used them all....
Black and White Glider - Wal-Mart of all places
Black and White Hamper - TJ Maxx
Green Throw - TJ Maxx
My original intent was to use black and white silhouettes in frames on the wall, but when I ran across these vinyl animals I just knew that they would be perfect in the nursery. ...
Due to space issues (lack thereof) we purchased a crib with lots of drawers and a changing table attached. ...
One of our first purchases, this festively fun butterfly mobile. And the pennants, oh how I love the pennants....
And although I have lots of favorites in this room, the above has to be my most favorite. When the nightlight is off only one giraffe is noticeable, turn on the nightlight and a second silhouetted giraffe appears. How awesome and unexpected is that?! ...
Some more mini pennants used as a curtain tie-back....
A dresser already topped with goodies. The damask lamp was a TJ Maxx buy - one of the first decorative items purchased for the room....
Damask Lamp - TJ Maxx Home Goods
Red and White Frames - TJ Maxx
Elephant 'Piggy' Bank - Baby Boutique near Atlanta (not sure of the name)
More vinyl wall art (just love this stuff - so easy to put up). And I betcha can't guess our names?! Only time will tell whether we have a little Elsie or a little Gabe snoozing away in this room. ...
Chalkboard Frames (originally white - painted red) - Hobby Lobby
Tissue Holder - TJ Maxx Home Goods
We opted not to spend too much money on a crib set (of course I know that pillows are a no, no and I've also read that bumpers aren't the best either), instead I merely purchased a blanket I fell in love with ... it's toddler sized and will be used when Baby Dreher gets older....
And some houndstooth crib sheets that I also just had to have. The moses basket was a gift from my parents - the first gift we received. I'm sure that this basket will get lots of use when Baby Dreher is young as he/she will probably be spending many an hour sleeping away in my office while I work away on pinwheels. ...
Moses Basket - TJ Maxx
I fell in love with this carpet (a Target buy) as I thought it matched the stripes on our walls. And the hounds tooth ottoman (another TJ Maxx steal for only $24.99) - well, of course I knew I had to have it as soon as caught a glimpse of it early last fall.
Love this graphic teether elephant.
And these custom made blocks - hmmm - will we have a son?
The 'wish' letters were another Etsy purchase - it's hard to tell from the photo, but they are also houndstooth. And in case you haven't noticed - none of our frames have photos in them. For now we filled them with black and white and red and white scrapbook papers until we have family photos with Baby Dreher to fill the frames.
Will we have a daughter?
Another fun Etsy find, this black and white wooden boat is just the cutest, and will actually float. We found lots of brightly colored books at Goodwill (of all places). I initially began looking at bookstores and Target and soon found out that $14.00 for a hardcover was well above what I had budgeted, so we made a trip to our local Goodwill - all children's books were .69 which made my day. :)
The above is the armoire where Baby Dreher's hanging clothes will be stored (since I use the closet in the room - our cozy home seriously lacks in closet and storage space). I found this armoire at one of my favorite local antique/shabby chic shops. ...
Funny thing, this entire armoire is almost completely empty as he/she only has one outfit as of now. Because we don't know what we are having and I don't want the poor thing to only wear yellow and green for the first year of it's life we have seriously kept away from purchasing clothes. (Although every time I see a really cute girl's outfit I have to practically pull myself away from it! It's taken some will power.)
I love this bouncer - so bright and cheery - a gift from my family. :)
And one last item to share - our All-in-One Cloth Diapers (they are also one size fits all). Yep, we are going the cloth diaper route. I just cannot see throwing away so much in diaper money monthly. Plus, cloth diapers have come a long way since I wore them in the 70's - no more dipping them and soaking them in the toilet. For weekend trips and vacations I'm sure we'll still go the disposable route, but will be giving these babies a whirl every other time.
I love this bouncer - so bright and cheery - a gift from my family. :)
And one last item to share - our All-in-One Cloth Diapers (they are also one size fits all). Yep, we are going the cloth diaper route. I just cannot see throwing away so much in diaper money monthly. Plus, cloth diapers have come a long way since I wore them in the 70's - no more dipping them and soaking them in the toilet. For weekend trips and vacations I'm sure we'll still go the disposable route, but will be giving these babies a whirl every other time. ...
Now we are just waiting on the arrival. Somehow I think this little guy/girl is happy just where it is for now! Already having fun keeping his/her mommy up into the wee hours of the morning kicking and punching, etc. Will keep everyone posted as I will more than likely be closing up shop (somewhat) for a couple of weeks after he/she enters our world. :)
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Until then ...
