Flooring Project(s) Part 1

It's here, it's here!

Tomorrow morning our floor installers arrive to strip out our Fun-kay carpet, and replace with the awesome flooring we purchased last November.  :)

This project has been on my list of House To-Do's since I started this blog, if you can believe it.  So, that's why I'm beside myself to see it get going.

To recap, we're having around 600 sq ft of Armstrong Rustics Premium, Homestead Plank flooring in Prairie Brown installed in the common areas of the house.  Here's a color sample:

It's dark brown, with grey undertones.  We're also having the baseboards replaced too, so the crisp white boards constrasting the dark wood is going to be awesome!

Just so that I remember how BAD the carpet was, I went through the house after the first round of furniture was moved the other day and took these horrific photos:

Front room had a rug down, but with the dogs, you can see how dir-tay it got.  Gross!

Another front room shot, with our nursery glider to be re-covered (that I mentioned in this post the other day)

The small bit of laminate flooring at the entry way is also being ripped out.  We'll have our dark flooring flow right from the door to the back of the house, and everywhere in between!

Hallway will also have the new flooring, and WHITE baseboards!

This shot is looking away from the dining room back to the hall.

Another benefit of this project is getting to reorganize, and re-decorate the place once we see what the new flooring looks like!  So, we'll get to put the house back together (ok, Z will get to put the furniture back since I can't lift it when I'm pregnant) and refresh the place!  Then, we'll get to do the nursery.  This is so exciting!

Prepping for the Nursery: Ideas!

So, we found out last Friday that our baby is a boy!  We were shocked, and are super excited!

I've been directing my attention to the potential nursery ideas that fit the bill for a cheery and stimulating space.

I can't fully commit to starting the planning because we're in the process of replacing basically the entire house worth of flooring, which includes the soon to be nursery!  The bedrooms will be carpeted, and the main living spaces will be a thick Armstrong laminate in a dark brown color.

So, as those projects start, and hopefully end quickly, I'll be able to draw back on my idea boards, and photo collections.

Here are some of the images that are really striking to me, that I hope to incorporate in our little one's space:

Bedding,
From Pottery Barn Kids, the "Madras Plaid" nursery line:

I love, love, love all the great colors in this bedding.  So many decor options!

No turtle sheets here, just a nice solid color...

Love the crisp white crib skirt with the plaid detail at the bottom!

"Baby Boats" from Pottery Barn Kids:

Look at the detail in this set!

The colors are the same as the plaid, and this one has a pattern that I L-O-V-E too!

Art, Accessories

I want to hang a mirror with a red frame on the walls.  I'm thinking about re-doing the one I painted white, from this post...

I love this alphabet wall!  I'd do one in a smaller scale, maybe over the changing table, but the colors, patterns, and textures are so great.  Plus, it's the alphabet- how much better could it get?

Pinwheel mobiles!  I purchased the supplies today to make one of these (or maybe two?)  Maybe above the crib, but maybe as a nice item above the changing table!

Another pinwheel mobile idea

Furniture:

This is the Kendall Crib from Pottery Barn Kids, and I'm hoping to get a crib like this one

This Hemnes dresser from IKEA is a great sturdy piece, and will grow with baby.  We'll make this the changing table, and have room on the sides for a lamp, organization, and a fan...

I picked a glider & ottoman like this one up last weekend for $80... I'm going to recover the cushions in a red and white polka dot fabric!

Glider & ottoman fabric!

I purchased a small side table like this one above for $10 (a Bombay Co. table!) and plan to paint it, but I haven't decided what color yet!  Any suggestions, based on the color scheme you've seen so far?

Wall Paint Designs:

At a minimum, I'd like to put chair rail up in the room, but would love to do beadboard/wainscotting like the above photo.  The wall color is even a contendor!

More beadboard...

Wall Colors:

Both colors are from  Bejamin Moore, by PBK kids.  The blue is called Blue Marguerite, and the green is called Stem Green.

Closet organization:

I love baskets in the closet.  While ours won't look quite like that above, I love the organization!

I've got two of these PBK Sabrina Baskets with those blue liners so far, and would like a few more to add to the closet organization!  I love how sturdy they are, and how good lookin they are!

So that's what I'm working with!  I'll show you some of the fabrics I picked up yesterday for the glider, and the curtains!  So fun!

What do you think?  What was the most favorite part of your little one's nursery?  Was there something you wished you'd done differently?

What will it be: Team Pink or Team Blue?

Friday is a really exciting day for us- not just because it's the start of the long holiday weekend for Memorial Day, but because that's our 20 week anatomy scan on our baby.  It's been 2 months since our last ultrasound!  I can't believe our appointment is finally almost here.  :)

So our intent is to have the doctor tell us if we're team pink or team blue (which maybe should be Team Yellow, or Team Green) if baby cooperates.  At the 12 week scan, we didn't have a terribly cooperative baby!

Because we're due in the middle of October, and the weather in CA can be so unpredictable (ie, it's RAINING and COLD at the end of MAY!) I wanted to start looking for some potential going home outfits- plus I just like to shop as it is!

Here are a few darling (in my opinion!) options I'd consider purchasing for the big day (all from Baby Gap)...

Girl:

 Boy:

So, could you tell I like orange?!  I love the little giraffe print for the little girl, and the boy onesie is cute too!  Hopefully a denim jacket isn't too scratchy for a newborn.  I'm sure these options are a bit trendy for a coming home outfit, but they're so fun to look at! :)

Until Friday! Ta-ta!

Wedding Details: Reception

So far in my wedding series posts, I've shown you the colors we're using, some info about the dresses and tuxes, and about the location of the outdoor space...

This post is all about the reception.  :)

Because we're getting married in downtown Walnut Creek, CA, there's really an abundant amount of good food choices for the reception.  However, since our list grew from 50 to around 70 people, we needed to find a fun banquet space that could accommodate.  I've had my heart set on a buffet style (so much easier when you're the guest, I feel...) so we found Pyramid Alehouse to be a great fit!

We've rented one of the large dining rooms for the night, and will set it up buffet style with not only food (which the menu can be found here) but also a drink buffet!  We're talking all you can drink- beers, wines, sodas even.  They replenish the pitchers all through the night.  Ironic though, to have our wedding reception somewhere where I can't FULLY enjoy the surroundings!  I'm totally ok with it- I love being pregnant, and our wedding day is going to be filled with so many great people, it'll just be a blast.

Here are some ideas of the place:

One of the next things I had to work on was our decor in the room.  I had this crazy idea to use manzanita branches in tall glass vases, probably filled with clear stones, and the branches potentially adorned with small floral.  I'm about 30% there... I have the branches, which I ordered from a local farmer off of eBay (here's a sample posting of theirs) and they look great.  I've purchased one sample vase so far, $10 from IKEA, but need to go back for more.  That was the best price I could find for a 15" glass vase!  I think I'll need around 10 of them, so 9 more to go...

Here are some manzanita centerpieces I just love.  Ours are going to be simple- after all, it's a summer wedding, with a reception in a brewery...  How formal does it need to be?!

Next, ah, the piece de resistance- our cake!  While I don't have an ACTUAL shot of OUR cake yet, here are some ideas, that may help you visualize.  First off, we're using master pastry chef, Katrina Rozelle (website here) out of Alamo, CA (also in Oakland) for our cake.  As much as I'm having a diversion to sweets right now, cake tasting at Katrina Rozelle was fun, and yummy!  I settled on the "Erica Torte" which is a chocolate cake with a caramel ribbon through the middle of the layers.  We're doing a three tier cake.  Katrina even came out herself and helped me design it with the images I had brought.

We're talking:
3 tiers
Rounded (always thought I'd have a square...)
Fondant
Quilted
Green color bands on each tier
Pearls and star accents in the quilting

Very simple, clean lines, the way I like it!  This cake is going to be decadent.  I can not wait to try it!  Our only issue is size... since our list grew, I may need to order a larger size!  Yikes!  Or maybe cupcakes to supplement?  I always thought I'd do that option anyway from the start...

So basically, that's our reception in a nutshell.  Of course, I'm looking forward to finally using the services of a recently graduated, sister of a friend to be my coordinator.  I just kind of started freaking out wondering who was going to actually get everything where, and on time, and so on.  I'm giving up control, and going to ask for help.  :)  Thanks in advance, Lynn!

So, is this too cliche and trendy?  I'm hoping the colors work, and that the small details don't really matter.  We've got so many things to look forward to this year that I'm just not taking the whole thing completely seriously in terms of getting worked up.  For godsakes, one of my friends got married 4 days after September 11th, 2001 and they pulled it together.  I think we can make it happen too.

:)