24 Weeks: A Milestone Away From Home

Saturday, I'll hit the 24 Week mark and I'll be doing so in Austin, Texas! Blessed with the open arms of Sarah Jordan, we have four fun-filled days planned from arrival to departure. With her apartment resting conveniently in downtown Austin, we have access to all sorts of fun and she's got our weekend planned. Here's hoping I'm up to it. Hiking in the Alamo, shopping, a AAA baseball game, concerts, food, Barton Springs, swimming, shopping, and 4th of July celebrations will make this a trip to remember I'm sure. I just might remember most the swollen feet, sunburn, or extreme tummy upset from our Tex-Mex cuisine but let's hope some memories trump those over the long weekend!

"Why on Earth would you go to Texas 6 months pregnant?" "Are you supposed to be flying in your condition?" These are questions I've been asked recently and the answers are easy! Answers to the first question:  BABYMOON! Haven't heard of it? From the ever insightful and spot-on Wikipedia: A babymoon is a period of time that parents spend bonding with a recently-born baby. More recently the term has come to be used to describe a vacation taken by a couple that is expecting a baby in order to allow the couple to enjoy a final trip together before the many sleepless nights that usually accompany a newborn baby. Babymoons usually take place at a resort that offers appropriate services like prenatal massage. The bolded portion is especially for your notes, Sarah in case there is room in that itinerary for this addition! :) We have talked about going to visit Mike's adventurous high school girlfriends who moved to Texas after college. . . since college. 4 years later, it's about time! PLUS, it's our five-year dating anniversary. Who celebrates that when you've been married for over 3 years? The mommy-to-be who was looking for reasons to justify a trip when we usually are too tight to do much of anything!

The answer to the second came from a quick Google search. There are some restrictions as to just who should and should not travel the skies when they are pregnant. Generally, women who are having a healthy, normal pregnancy are free to come and go as they please. However, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) recommends women don’t fly after their 36th week of pregnancy. Thus, flying should be good. I'll let you know how it goes!

After the trip, finish the nursery, finish the master bedroom (PLEASE, MIKE!), have a baby shower or two, and then wait for October 22nd for Baby G to arrive! First hint! :)

Nursery Jones Part 2

In May, I posted about my hankerin' to start decorating the already painted and nearly furnished nursery in my Nursery Jones post. I've since started to rehab a dresser (and have stalled at sanding so there's not much to share) and made a light fixture for the celing fan that I featured last month. At the time of my initial post, I was still very much waiting until I knew whether we are going to have a son or daughter calling the nursery home in October. On my birthday, we found out we'll have a little guy to join the family and I'll be outnumbered 3:2.

When I first got the news about having a baby boy, I was thrilled. I also felt a little less directed in carrying on with decorating the nursery (and dressing this kid to still be adorable and preppy with no frills and frolicking likely). I knew I'd stick to a sort of vintage nursery feel and try to DIY plenty of its decor while avoiding a true theme. I was having a hard time deciding what would stick to that while making the room cohesive and baby-boy-friendly. I had thought of puppies, pinwheels, fire trucks and transportation themes to all tie in to the room but it all became clearly directed with a trip to Hampton, Iowa for antique and country shopping plus a surprise flea market!

I'm working on my DIY: Cute-as-a-button mobile that I hope to feature soon. To see some of the items I bought and will also be including in the room, check out these snapshots of my vintage nursery treasures!

The black hanger will be used to hang a baby blanket or quilt on the closet door . I plan to attach it with a drawer pull so I can fit the loop on or off to change it out if the need arises (I hear baby blankets are one of the most popular gifts given).

The white pieces each have four hooks and will hang inside the closet door. After all, one of the clothing items I'm most excited for with a baby boy is hats. He already has two newsboy style hats just waiting for his adorable little head!

So, not only are these crates super old and cool looking, they came with a greenish bottom on one and red in the other fitting right into the color scheme. AND, they're old carnation milk crates which is pretty cool for a baby's room! (You know the phrase, "Must be the milkman's kid"?) My husband's response. "Wait, you want these hung on the wall?" He really hates holes in the wall for heavy items in which he almost always insists on an anchor screw. It's a wonder we don't fight constantly through our many projects.

You can also see the wheels I bought. Ooh! ooh! ooh! I had to have them. There were four, but I only got three because of this final find. . .

My (well his) vintage trike! And it's of far higher quality than the ones we can buy today. It's just for decoration (though the dogs would try to use it otherwise if I let them) and will be an awesome vintage feature in the room!

Needless to say, I can't wait to finish off the room. There are only about half a dozen projects to do but I'm trying to balance that with what's becoming a nearly finished master bedroom that still needs touch-ups, final finishes and fresh holes in the drywall before we can move back in. (Sorry, Mike!)



Yes I Can! 22 Weeks of Pushing the Envelope

At 22 weeks pregnant, I've yet to slow down (except for those 5 o'clock naps occasionally first trimester). I've gotten some flack over all I continue to do but I've yet to hear that I've been in any danger. Home is still full of projects: painting, crafting, climbing, mowing, weeding, washing, carrying, and so on. Work still requires traveling, tours on my feet, and full days of effort that can't always stop at 4 o'clock. So far, so good! So, I guess I decided to push the envelope this past week.

I had a day of travel for work, a  6-hour round trip drive for a day of play including a 2 1/2-hour ball game, a half-day of junking, rode an amusement park ride (last time on that one til next year), and went down the water slide a handful of times. All of this with some of my favorite fam and new friends. This week, I'm limiting myself to small projects so I'm ready to be on my feet all weekend with garage sales and Sturgis Falls with more friends and family. I'm going to enjoy this pregnancy and life to it's fullest. Our little Turkey isn't even here and he has already had so many firsts! :)

Master Update: Let There Be Light!

The master bedroom renovation project is still underway and getting oh so close. We have lights! Both were rehabed (one's completely new actually). The first: a spray-painted update to an old boring white ceiling fan. The second= much more creative!

The ceiling fan was disassembled, taped off and spray painted for a fresh brushed nickel updating:

The end result:

Much more fitting when the rest of the space will seem fresh and new!

The second light fixture took out a ceiling fan. I wanted to do a rendition of the fan light cover I did in the nursery recently featured (below), but as a pendant light.



So, I went searching for an affordable pendant and found one on clearance at Lowe's for $7 with the wiring and everything! It was the wrong color, but, of course, I still had the silver spray paint so. . .

My $7 fixture came with this cheap little cover even! It came in handly as you'll see!

I taped off the cord and all wires and gave it two quick coats!

Ready for a new shade!

I contructed another shade similar to the nursery one but with hemp instead for a more natural look. I was going to use a much bigger ball but it didn't work right with the space. Since it hangs lower to be seen from the entry to the bedroom, I went with the same standard size $1 ball from Walmart. Then, I trimmed it up to make the openings as even and level as possible with a near perfect circular opening at its base and top. At the top, I attached the wire frame from the decontructed tiny cheap shade that came with the kit I snagged on clearance!

I simply cut off all of the plastic and fabric on that shade and used the metal base which screws on to the hanging pendant to affix the shade with some bendable wire which was $2. Overall, I spent maybe $12 to get add this semi-feminine flare to the second part of our master! (I don't need too much light in there since each closet has its own, I'll have a lighted vanity in one corner and a reading lamp in the other next to a big comfy chair I'm still hunting down!)

20 Weeks: Plains, Trains & Automobiles versus Tutus & Tiaras

At 20 weeks, there's really just one question on everyone's mind: What is it? Well, he's a boy! The day we found out was a rollercoatsr. I naively thought I'd be having my very own OBGYN doc do the ultrasound to tell me. I mean, he did the 8-week ultrasound, so why not? I found out just hours before the appointment that I was wrong from a co-worker with what I considered to be a horror story. She said the first tech told her they weren't allowed to disclose their opinion on the sex of the baby. The second tech said they could. They both told her boy-QUESTION MARK! Huh? Then, she had to wait 3 weeks for her next appointment to show them to her doc (also my doc) and he said they'd mistaken the umbilical chord for the "boy" indication but he was 95% sure it was a boy as well. 95%!?!?!? Oy vey! I went from excited to nervous and couldn't wait to get to the appointment.


The first thing I asked the tech (yes, not my doc) was if they can disclose the sex. Thankfully, she said yes but there are some places that won't say either way and some won't print "those" pictures in case they're posted as they can be considered child pornography. Wow! Just in case anyone's offended, I won't post "the" pic so as not to get arrested. Besides, I don't want anyone to be jealous! :) We left with no question mark!

So, it's a boy. . . Most people pictured me with a girl to fru fru up and pamper. I had that image playing out in my mind as well. I'm not diasappointed. I knew I'd be happy either way. We are the last ones to be able to carry on the Decker name and we now know we'll accomplish that! I will say I feel less prepared than I did thinking of raising a baby girl. I didn't grow up with boys and I'm not a boy. I was a tomboy but that phase ended long ago. I'll figure it out, I know, and I've got an awesome hubby to help along the way!


The nursery will likely present more of a challenge than I originally thought but I guaruntee it will be on my mind frequently until I have a the entire picture in mind. It's actually been quite easy to come up with a basis from which to move forward. What do we want our son to value? Faith. Family. Play. Education. Now, just combine those elements into what may be his last tastefully decorated space (before bright colors, dinosaurs, and dirty clothes become his preferred decor) and I'm on my way!


One reason I'm ECSTATIC it's a boy: I LOVE my husband! As if it weren't exciting enough that we've created a life together, there is a very good chance I'll get a mini-Mike and a replica of all the things I love unconditionally about him. Besides, you should see his baby pictures. I pray our son gets Mike's curls and big blue eyes and easily-tanned skin tone. I'm so lucky to have the chances increase that I'll have another Mike in my life. God is good and He has big plans for us. . . even if they include more dirt and sweat than I originally envisioned!

Another Finished Project: Acid-Aged Mirrors

I'm beside myself that I actually have some finished projects lately instead of just showing you befores and inspiration pieces. This project was originally inspired by an Anthropologie product that has since been replicated by other Bloggers and DIYers. The tutorial I followed is at Vintage Revivals. I spent less than $20 on the project.

First, I had to buy a mirror to be destroyed: $5
(Side note: the god-awful ugly frame it came in will be re-purposed as well)
Then, I paid to have it cut into three pieces that would fit into existing frames: $7
Then, I spray painted the frames I had to take them from creme to a whiter white: free (leftover spray paint)

Next, I found  fabric I liked and got a small piece for my 4.5" square openings x 3: $4

Finally, I had to pay for muriatic acid to age my mirrors: $4 at Blaines (and hardly used any of the full gallon that got me; $11 at Home Depot I believe)

Other than that, I used masking tape I had on hand to attach the fabric to the backs of my frames.

The frames were featured in my inspiration entry in May as I didn't like their old look and knew I could find a way to use them in the soon-to-be-done (okay that's wishful thinking, but still) master bedroom.

The end result is pictured below. It's hard to get the full effect but they'll be hung in the master so you'll see final shots of how they work in the completed room in due time.