Starfish Envy

Nursery In Progress

This picture does it no justice.  

The color is absolutely perfect-- much lighter and more luscious than it looks here.

And the rug won't be jammed up against the wall like that-- it's just there until I can get the bottom of the door shaved off a bit.

Soon there will be roman shades on the windows in an off-white and purple stripe that matches the paint.

My glider and ottoman are on the way.

And I just ordered the crib!

Haven't totally settled on a changing table yet, but it's all coming together.

Little Girl is going to be sleeping in style. 

In Which I Make You Feel Like A Sloth

Why?  

Because, I'd bet just about anything that you didn't accomplished nearly as much as was accomplished around my house this weekend.

Did you clear out a whole room and get it painted the most perfect shade of pale purple?

Did you roll out the most adorable pink rug on the planet in the room that's the perfect shade of pale purple?

Did you unpack at least ten boxes of books and clothes and house stuff?

Did you organize your china cabinet?

Did you hang a brand new mailbox?

Did you mount a hose caddy on your patio wall?

Did you move furniture from one room to the next?

Did you (for the second time in as many weeks) totally reorganize your garage?

Did you take yet another load of stuff to Goodwill?

Did you clean and reorganize your front patio?

Did you unload five boxes of books into your downstairs bookshelves?

Did you take a load of old paint and electronics and batteries and lightbulbs to the household waste recycling place?

No?

See?  Don't you feel like a sloth?

Well... me too.

Because of all the things listed above, I only did about two.

My parents did the rest.

Which makes them about the coolest, most wonderful, most helpful parents in the entire universe.

Rosemary And Not Enough Time

The rosemary hedge is in!

As is a 15 gallon bay laurel that should soon grow high and wide enough to provide some privacy for my front window.

Isn't it beautiful!  

Best of all, it has a watering system on a timer, so it pretty much takes care of itself.

So.  On the list of things I want to get done before the baby arrives... one thing down, five hundred and fifty-three to go!

It's In The Details...

There's a magical place in Los Angeles called Liz's Antique Hardware.  

Until today, I'd never been there.

And that's a good thing.

Because HOLY SMOKE, it's amazing!  I could spend days exploring the store and then readily drop a thousand dollars without even being aware of what happened or where exactly it went.  

Every kind of fabulous fixture that you could ever want in your home is there, but today, I was specifically looking for knobs and handles for my new built-ins (which I swear I will post a picture of once they're all pretty).

This is what I found:

Hundred-year old glass knobs and antique brass handles and mounts.  They're absolutely perfect for Ryan's built-ins, which genuinely look like they were built in the '20s with the house.

Were they cheap?

They were not.

But like everything else at Liz's Antique Hardware, they were worth every penny.

And The Symptoms Continue

Oh, ya'll.  

I am so pregnant.

Heartburn.  Belching.  Exhaustion.  Nausea.

It's AWESOME.

For real, it's awesome, and also facetiously.  Both at the same time.  Who knew that was possible?

I got my "You're 7 Weeks" email from Baby Center today, and apparently the kiddo is about the size of a blueberry, and my uterus is FIVE TIMES as big as it was two months ago.  

Can that be true?  Five times?  

I better get my house in order before my abdomen explodes.  

And we're getting there!  

Ryan finished my built-ins today (I've decided not to post pictures until they've been painted.  You're gonna be jealous, though.  They're awesome for real, nothing facetious about it.)  He also built a lovely custom shelf behind my couch, fixed my kitchen table, and installed a door between my bedroom area and the rest of the house.

Tomorrow, the painter will start on the built-ins and the shelf, and then he'll move on to my bedroom, and finally to a wicker chair and two ottomans that have needed painting since I got them a hundred years ago.

Once these things are done, the list of things to do will remain never ending, but at least I can start to cross off Old Business.

And move on to the New Business of making way for baby...

Getting Closer Every Day...

Such beautiful detail work is why Ryan is worth the wait.

Oh, how I'm going to love these when they're done!

Getting Closer...

I know it might not look like a ton of progress has been made... but looks are deceptive.

The cabinets are taking shape, Ryan found some amazing trim that almost matches my mantle, several new electrical outlets have been installed, and the tv/components wiring is all done. 

The only problem now is going to be finding the energy to fill all those fabulous shelves once they're done...

Getting My Books In A Row

There's a lot to do in the next thirty-four weeks.

Finally and officially finishing my house (the inside, anyway) is first on the list.

And first on the list of things to do in order to finally finish the inside of my house is having built-ins constructed in the living room.  

Well, guess what happened today?

They're barely even a sketch of what they will eventually be, and already I LOVE THEM!!!!

They make the entire room.  I can't wait to see them all finished...

And then I can't wait to fill 'em up!

Bang Bang Bang Went The Hammer

My house is a construction zone once again... only this time, just on the outside.

Specifically, around the patio.  The wall was designed to have a box hedge on top, but my insanely wonderful carpenter has been too busy to come build the box part.  Until now!

It's still in progress, but here's a sneak peak:

It's gonna be gorgeous!

Come Together, Right Now... Entry Way.

Finally.

I have shutters!

And they're beautiful.

Remember when this room looked like this?

Still have to get a new front door, and get a cushion for that bench... but it's comin' together.  

One wonderful little piece at a time.