I was hoping to put in some time this evening to get a head start on work tomorrow but I’m completely beat from spending a couple of hours grocery shopping this morning! I even took a nap already but still feeling groggy. At least I got my walking in. Apparently walking is the best exercise at this stage of the game!
Anyhow, I’m spending the time in my happy place instead — here! New tropical print, brought to you all the way from Jamaica :).
Alright, I’m ready to share another part of this magical room, yay! :) This is the other side of the nursery. I really don’t know which side of the room I like better – they both make me very giddy! It’s really my new zen place (perhaps until the chaos of a newborn comes).
So let’s chat quickly about the different pieces here.
DECOR TIPS:
1. Rocking Chair: What I love about this rocking chair is that it has the traditional arched legs vs the modern “gliders”. Not only that, the legs are made of wood, which added a nice touch and fit nicely in the room. We really wanted a traditional wooden rocking chair but the comfort is just lacking compared to modern rocking chairs, so it was awesome to find a middle ground between traditional legs and modern comfort. This piece is from Pottery Barn Kids and it’s called the Charleston Convertible Rocker.
2. Dresser: This super white dresser is the Jonesport Double Dresser from good ol’ Toys R Us. It looks fantastic and very reasonably priced. If you haven’t already noticed, I don’t love deliberately matching furniture pieces and tend to steer away from “sets”. In fact, I purposely make sure things don’t match but rather complement each other! That’s the real trick and changes the game!
3. Rustic Ladder: Boy is it ever tough to find a good looking ladder! After a few failed tries, we found one at a local store called Hearth Manor Fireplaces. This ladder was tucked away in a dusty corner and we happened to spot it. It wasn’t cheap but it had quite the beautiful rustic finish, so we took the plunge. We had to cut it down ourselves because it was a 12-foot ladder and we only have an 8-foot ceiling in this house! Other than that, I absolutely love it. Ladders are fantastic decor pieces and never fails to add character to a room :). Once the baby is able to walk/climb stuff, we’ll have to relocate this to another place in the house but ’til then, it can stay :).
4. Wall Shelves: Got these at VdeV downtown. They’re the 48 x 9″ pine shelves with small Demi Lune brackets. These shelves are super HEAVY DUTY. They weigh a ton and they are gorgeous with a finish that matched the ladder almost perfectly. The vision for the nursery was always whites and greys with rustic wood accents to add some boyishness to the overall baby softness, so these pieces delivered nicely on the “harder” accents!
5. Crochet Pouf Ottoman: Instead of spending a fortune on a matching ottoman for our rocking chair (and also because I really hate matching furniture pieces :P), we got a pouf instead. This one’s from an Etsy Shop, Looping Home. The artisan is based in Portugal and makes all sorts of beautiful custom poufs in various colours, shapes, and sizes! It’s not the cheapest (but still cheaper than a real ottoman) because nothing is cheap on Etsy but a) I love supporting artists and b) being able to customize items, so I continue to be a huge fan of this marketplace!
6. Teddy Bear Faux Taxidermy: Also bought this super cute faux taxidermy at an Etsy Shop, Heidi and Finn Studio. They’re local in Georgetown, which made me want to support them even more. They make all sorts of super cute faux taxidermies but given the colour scheme of the room, the brown bear was the right one to go with :). Real taxidermies can be a bit creepy but plush ones are simply cute as buttons. Notice his little crown as well! So adorable. Turnaround time was also impeccable with this shop; the bear came within 2 days of me ordering!
7. Changing Basket: This might honestly be one of the most impractical things I’ve purchased for the room but am still kind of proud of it! I say it’s impractical because it’s not overly big and I’m pretty sure my little guy will outgrow it in no time. Having said that, it is just the prettiest and most unique change pad. I find the traditional ones a bit of an eye sore and couldn’t get myself to buy them, so I went with this Reva Oval Changing Basket from Olli Ella. :) I also just love the finishing touch that wicker pieces bring to a room!
8. Blanket: The blanket thrown over the rocking chair is from Indigo called the Cabin Cozy Sherpa Blanket. It’s so soft and cuddly, I adore it! Rocking chairs and couches always need some sort of a throw for a finishing touch, otherwise they look bare and incomplete :).
9. Teddy: The little teddy bear on the rocking chair is actually just an old Build-A-Bear that I gave Chris as a present many years ago. Now it’s being passed down to the little guy. :)
10. Floor Lamp: Because our ceiling light fixture is dim in nature (we didn’t want an overly startling bright light), we decided to get a secondary floor lamp in case we needed the room to be brighter for any reason. This spot light is the RANARP floor/reading lamp from IKEA. Super cheap and looks awesome.
11. White linen drapes, rug, and ceiling light fixture were covered off in my first baby nursery post here.
Charleston Convertible Rocker, Linen Blend Grey – Pottery Barn Kids
Jonesport White Double Dresser – Toys R Us
Vintage Rustic Wooden Ladder – Hearth Manor Fireplaces
Pine Wall Shelves, 48 x 9″, Walnut – VdeV
Small Demi Lune Brackets (for wall shelves) – VdeV
Stuffed Crochet Pouf, Grey – Looping Home
Teddy Bear Faux Taxidermy – Heidi and Finn Studio
Cabin Cozy Sherpa Blanket, Buffalo Check, Grey – Indigo Baby
Reva Oval Changing Basket – Olli Ella
RANARP Floor Lamp, White – IKEA
Little Teddy – Build-A-Bear Workshop
I’d love to start by venting about how my body is feeling at 36 weeks and 2 days. Everything hurts :(. But it might have been completely all my fault. Just before I hit 36 weeks, I was feeling like a million bucks. Minor aches and pains but nothing debilitating or disruptive to my overall mobility. My energy levels were fantastic and I felt beautiful!
But then of course I injured myself by reaching for something on the top shelf of my kitchen cupboards and overstretched a little too much. I heard a crackle, crackle, and when I landed back on my feet, I was in huge pain. My groins were throbbing and it radiated to my pelvis, which now feels like it’s carrying a bowling ball that’s trying to break out of my body.
Since then, I have not been able to walk normally and have been in a full and extremely slow waddle and hobble the past 3 days. Not to mention changing positions while sleeping at night is a near impossibility. I’ve never had to be so thoughtful about how I changed sleeping positions; it has become quite the strategic task.
The doctor checked me out and everything is fine and not dangerous. I’m simply stuck with this until the end. Essentially, my body was already preparing itself for birth, releasing the hormone relaxin to start loosening up the ligaments around my pelvis and by over-stretching myself, I exaggerated the loosening of those ligaments, driving my pain and discomfort up from a dull 4/10 to a painful 10/10. Sigh. I wish I could turn back time and be more careful. I wonder if I would’ve eventually gotten here and I’ve just accelerated it or if I could’ve completely avoided it by not injuring myself. Guess we’ll never know!! We’re here now! It hasn’t been fun hobbling around at a turtle’s pace and because it’s so stressful to walk, I’ve been extra tired by the end of the work day.
Having said that, I’m still loving being pregnant and having my little buddy with me everywhere I go. So I’m happy to grin and bear this until he comes and am in no rush for him to come out. Stay in there, little guy!
Now onto the fun stuff. General Mills threw me the most lovely surprise baby shower last week. It was a flawlessly executed surprise. I was completely shocked and overwhelmed. The company takes surprises very, very seriously and the decoy plans to execute a stellar surprise are just so good, it requires some serious acting talent.
They put together quite a gorgeous setup that took my breath away. Impeccable and Pinterest-worthy. Some very kind and thoughtful words were said, which really warmed my heart. Cakes and treats were no stranger to the shower and they were both picture perfect and so delicious. We also played a good ol’ game where you match baby pictures to adult pictures and it’s always a hilarious time. The team presented me with a collection of beautiful nursery books that are going to fit perfectly in this little peanut’s bookcase and ever-growing library. They also got me a gift card to Pottery Barn Kids and although one more shopping trip to that store would make Chris absolutely delirious, it would make me very happy :). Last and certainly not least, they brought in Chris himself (who brought a bouquet of stunning flowers), my favourite person in the world, which was the cherry on top. I so loved that he got to meet all the wonderful and brilliant people I have the privilege of working with every day. I am so proud to call General Mills my workplace and second home. This place truly has a rare and outstanding gem of a culture that conquers and surpasses all obstacles we face as a team and I hope to never take it for granted. I will miss working while on maternity leave, but I know I’ll also be head over heels about motherhood :). I’m planning to work until 38 weeks, which takes me to January 31st. It’ll be a weird day!
I’ll end this long post with this one of a kind Cheerios onesie because every first time mom at General Mills earns one of these and they’re just too cute for words! xoxo
Enjoy the flight. Quick post tonight with a new aviation print from the Buffalo Air Show a couple of years ago. I love running through the archives for old pictures I can bring to life. :)
Bought myself a pair of grippy winter boots so I’m not slippin’ and slidin’ out there whilst pregnant. :) Ate at a DELICIOUS restaurant last night, Door FiftyFive at Port Credit, and had fried chicken and waffles for the first time. Oh my gosh are they to die for. A true guilty pleasure.
Also, we’ve just thrown a bunch of our newborn clothes in the wash and dryer and they’ve shrunken and become smaller than they already are… I hope they still fit the little bean. They’re teeny tiny!
I’m exactly 4 weeks away from my due date — ah, nervous and excited. Back again soon.
2018’s little bundle of joy here :). Photo credit to Chris! He’s getting really good with the camera; he just needs a tiny bit of help with framing and he’s off to the races ;). Framing is KEY.
The baby was sitting quite low last week and it was killing my pelvis and bladder but he floated back up this week and what a difference it makes!! It’s nice when you don’t have to waddle when you walk; I’m trying really hard not to :P but it really is just more comfortable to waddle around like a penguin most days.
A little bit sad that I’ve only got one more day left from the holiday break, that is tomorrow, and I’m choosing to use the day to catch up on work so I don’t go back to the office on Wednesday with a mushy brain. Oh well! Back to reality :). I’ve had an extremely fun yet restful holiday and truly, it’s time to get back to grinding for the next few weeks. January is going to be absolutely insane but I’m gearing up for it!
Wishing you all a great week back at work! xo
