Nursery plans! Out of the blue, my buddy Lisa asked me several months ago if I had ever thought about what I would want a future nursery to look like (we take lots of long car rides together and have time to talk about everything). I was a bit taken aback, as, unbeknownst to her, I was already pregnant! The answer I gave her was “not really,” and I wasn’t just trying to avoid the topic – it was true! Though I had collected some inspiration over the years, a nursery wasn’t something I ever had a set vision for.

Things stayed that way into the first several months of my pregnancy — I saw things I liked, and even designed the following board which used some of my favorite colors, but nothing ever felt quite right.

Then I stumbled across this nursery, and instantly fell in love. We didn’t know yet whether we were having a girl or boy, but I knew I could make it work either way.

Jessie gets the lion’s share of credit for my inspiration above — we will be using the same buffalo check fabric, the same light fixture, and similar crib bedding as she did. However, since our room is for a little lady, we’ll be adding a few horse accents — I was completely horse crazy when I was younger, and my Dad grew up on what is now a horse farm. (Actually the oldest continuously working farm in Connecticut! I love having that heritage as a part of her space.) I also think the toile and floral patterns make the overall look a bit more feminine in our rendition.

I seriously considered wallpapering one wall once I stumbled across the adorable Collette pattern from Sandberg Wallpaper, but alas they have discontinued the blue colorway:

from this blog

They still carry a lovely black colorway, but it’s not right for this room:

After total inaction for the first six months of pregnancy, the last week or so has been a whirl of progress! My Dad painted the walls (Benjamin Moore Simply White), we’ve assembled the crib (the same Jenny Lind beauty my sisters and I used as babies, unearthed from my parents’ attic!), and we’ve purchased a light fixture, a blue toile crib skirt, and a lamp. Next on the list? Switching out the light fixture, choosing a glider, deciding on window treatments (should we do drapes or a pelmet box like this?), ordering bedding for the twin bed that will also be in the room, and deciding on artwork. I am hoping to scrounge up some vintage photos of my family’s farm and horses; I also love the print from Minted in my inspiration above.

I’d also like to settle on a room layout. Here are the three options we’re considering:

Option 1: Not sure if having the crib and bed that close together is ideal, even though no one will be sleeping in the twin most of the time.

Option 2: Same issue with the bed and crib, though there might be a little more wiggle room.

Option 3: This layout allows more room between the beds, but I don’t know if having the crib so close to the door is a good idea?

Just as a note, the door on the right-hand side is a little mini door to our attic storage. And as a reminder, here is the room “before:”

I think that’s about all I have to report for now! I’d love your thoughts and feedback, including on my current decisions, if you’d like:

— Drapes or a pelmet box in blue buffalo check for the window?
— Room layout 1, 2, or 3?

Thanks, friends!!

Welcome back, y’all! You’ve had a peek at our first floor, so let’s head up the stairs to the second. It’s still less-finished than our first, but it’s definitely coming along!

Things look pretty much the same in our loft. I do have big DIY plans for art for the wall over my desk — hoping I can get it done before the new year!!

Speaking of art, I’d also love to add a piece of some sort over the guest bed. I’m not sure yet what would fit best with the still life photos we already have, but I’m thinking maybe a landscape painting.

Alright, here we are at our last two photos of this year’s tour! They might be the least interesting, but to me they represent the greatest amount of potential. In fact, they’ve already changed quite a bit since these photos were taken! For one, the beds have been swapped, so that the queen bed is now in the blue striped room and the twin bed is in the “cactus room” (which will be baby girl’s room). As of this weekend, baby girl’s room has also been painted, her crib assembled, and Mr. Cactus has been moved to a new home :)

I think my next blog post will be about our plans for the nursery, so you’ll get a better idea of where these rooms are headed! In the meantime, thank you all for your kind comments, and don’t hesitate to ask if you have any more questions about sources!

Once again, all photos except the first one are by the lovely Anna Routh, first shared in our home tour on Southern Weddings.

September was a great month for goals! I was pretty ambitious, setting myself eight, but I still managed to check off six. Apparently I just don’t care enough about the tray – something lingering on my goal list for several months in a row is usually an indicator of that – but the more significant one was not running the 5k. Not running in the race was less about being pregnant and more about just not being quite on track with our training. We realized that our usual runs are around 2.8 miles, and though I might have been able to stretch my distance for the 5k (or walked some of it), we decided not to add extra pressure right now. So, running in a Chick-fil-a 5k remains on my 60 Before 30 list, and I WILL check it off before 2017! By the way, I’m at 27 goals completed — almost halfway there!

This is from about two weeks ago, at 22 weeks — 25 weeks on Friday!

Revisiting my goals for September:
Post an updated house tour (checking this off since part one was posted and part two is ready to go!)
Start a registry for baby girl
Make nursery plans so that we are ready to paint when my parents come in October
Celebrate our third anniversary!
Volunteer and shop at my church’s awesome kids consignment sale
Finish organizing our upstairs closets
Visit my younger sister in Nashville! Figure out how we are going to eat twenty meals in 2.5 days!
Paint my tray
Run my first ever 5k

October goals:
— Paint baby girl’s room
— Switch out baby girl’s light fixture
— Assemble crib
— Order crib bedding
— Make first draft of labor and delivery preferences
— Organize linen/party closet
— Successfully lead discussion in our family group for the next three weeks
— Create my own version of this glitter star garland

Plus a few things from my Fall To Do List I plan to check off this month…
— Introduce John’s parents and aunts to Asheville on our annual trip
— Host the third annual pumpkin carving and soup night
— Catch the goat showmanship competition at the NC State Fair
— Make biscuits at our church’s Fair booth

My goals are definitely baby heavy this month, since we’ll have extra hands on deck! How about you? If you’ve posted your goals somewhere, I’d love to see – or just drop them in the comments!