baby – Page 11 – emerald city diaries

project baby {seattle baby shower}

as I had mentioned in this week’s bump post, amanda threw me a beautiful & lovely baby shower this past weekend. it was likely a bit of a challenge since it was gender neutral, but it was so, so perfect! every detail was thought of & executed to perfection. thank you amanda – such a fantastic way to celebrate baby lower with a fabulous group of women!

the spread was perfect – snacks & dessert {french macarons & cupcakes – my fav!} & I adored those hanging balloons. & the very sweetest thing was the guest book: everyone’s thumbprints on the cutest print from where the wild things are. this is the first art piece for the nursery!

{hanging balloons // the spread // the sweets}

{the guest book // shower prizes // oh baby banner in the bathroom // the most delicious drinks}

{quote on the guest book // shower game // favors // the spread}

{the drinks // my balloon chair // law school gals}

{playing shower games // admiring the youngest shower guest // the oldest of friends}

{mom, me, & the bump // the guest book // the lovely hostess & me // balloons!}

perfect, right?

my weekend in pictures.

{the current state of our backyard: lumber, our old water heater, & the rhodie.}

{from my viewpoint my bump is huge!}

{fro-yo date night.}

{& so it starts. so excited for nursery decorating!}

{sushi date night. so delish even though I can only eat a quarter of the menu.}

{we had a double date night to see divergent. pretty good, but really different than the book. isn’t that always the case?}

{needed to pick up & scope out some stuff for the house, & decided it was finally time to join Ikea Family!}

we had a great weekend that was a good mix of getting things marked off of the to-do list & spending time together – the best kind of weekend, right? saturday it was pouring, pouring rain while I was trying to run errands which was miserable, but today’s Easter weather was sunny & pretty warm. very excited for this burst of spring weather! how was your weekend?

project baby {nursery moodboard}

I promised a moodboard for baby lower’s nursery & I have finally been able to pull some big ideas together. we aren’t going to find out the gender {did I mention that before?} so it is neutral all the way. a lot of people are surprised because I am such a planner, but I really don’t plan on changing the nursery much even after the baby is born. I want this to be a nice space for all of us {aaron, sadie, the babe, & me} since I know we will be logging a lot of time in this room. I am going for mostly neutrals – white, warm woods – with pops of color in accessories along with a loose “theme” of baby safari animals.

{1} glider – this one is the land of nod milo glider. I loved the idea of having a sophisticated-looking chair {& originally wanted a wing back rocker} & aaron voted on this one since it was SO comfy & we both fell in love.

{2} animal bookends – these are the wool animal bookends from restoration hardware. knowing my love for giraffes & elephants, my mom knew these would be perfect for baby lower & these were the first items we had for the nursery.

{3} whimsical lamp – this one is the jonathan adler utopia elephant table lamp. I want a fun lamp for the nursery & this one is on my “in-my-dreams” wishlist. I am still on the hunt for a lamp to put on an end table {I like this jenny lind one}.

{4} colorful pouf – I would like to find a colorful pouf or footrest & am still on the hunt.

{5} hot air balloon mobile – I am hoping to make a balloon mobile & am thinking it could be fun to use paper mache. there are also a lot of cute ones on etsy.

{6} crib – this one is the babyletto hudson. I love the simpleness of this crib & my favorite part is those little angled legs. this crib also converts into a toddler bed when we get that point.

{7} curtains – I really want white curtains with red pom-pom trim. I know its not practical to have white curtains that are sheer enough for light, & am planning on either putting in some kind of roman shade or wood blind.

{8} marquee letter – I love this lighted letter & want to either buy or make one once we know the first initial of our babe’s first name.

{9} wall of bookshelves – this was one idea that I have had in my mind for a nursery long before I was pregnant. I love the idea of using books as art & using them as decoration. I am thinking of using something like this ikea picture ledge.

{10} striped ceiling – another idea that was around before my pregnancy. if you know me, you know I love stripes & I think its fun to have them somewhere unexpected like the ceiling. for now the plan is light grey stripes on the ceiling and white walls.

{11} baby animal prints – these are the baby animal prints from the animal shop. so adorable! not sure there is enough in my budget to do a six picture gallery, but I am hoping to get at least one of these sweet prints in the space!

{12} dresser – I would like to find a mid-century dresser that we can also use as a changing table. I like the warmness of the natural wood & think it will help with all of the white that I have planned for the space. fingers crossed we can find something good on craigslist or locally!

you may have noticed that I don’t have a rug shown above. this is the trickiest part for me & I am still unsure of what I want. I’d like something a little colorful, but not too juvenile. tricky I tell you. I think my issue is narrowing down… here are some options:

lulu & georgia parfum rug

lulu & georgia dot rug

lulu & georgia abstract rug

layla grayce jaipur rug

layla grayce denim rag

layla grayce fair isle rug

west elm tile rug

west elm souk rug

any good ideas for rugs? I’d love to hear!

also, anything else I am missing?

friday I’m in love.

welcome back friday! be sure to pop over to kendra’s blog too to see what she’s up to {& amanda periodically joins us as well}. we would love for you to join us! leave a comment and we’ll come check out what you’re loving each week!

{one} blueberry greek yogurt banana bread.

I was craving banana bread earlier in the week {which is weird because I have had an aversion to bananas since my pregnancy started…} & I knew emily over on the daily garnish would have at least a few recipe ideas. I decided to make the blueberry greek yogurt one {also weird since I don’t really love blueberries} & have been loving it for quick breakfasts this week. next on my list: churro swirl banana bread.

{two} goodwill donation centers.

as we have been preparing for a big move {more on that next week I promise!} I have been feeling very grateful for the fine folks over at the goodwill who have very kindly taken many, many things off of our hands. our basement was packed fully {okay, not completely} of stuff that we don’t need/use/want but haven’t had any motivation to do anything with because it was out-of-sight-out-of-mind. until now. aaron & I were both on a mission to minimize how much stuff we have & made sure that we really weren’t keeping anything that we didn’t need/want.use. thanks goodwill for taking all of our old stuff off of our hands – you are a lifesaver!

{three} paige denim maternity skinny jeans.

I am not sure why, but I have always {even long before I was pregnant} been anti-maternity clothes. I think in my mind I see them as being frumpy… plus, I am barely big enough to fit into maternity clothes {pants at least} so they haven’t been on my radar for very long. when my mom was in town a few weeks ago she spoiled me with a few maternity items {I tried things on with the big fake belly & it was hilarious!}. one of my newest closet additions are these paige jeans. I am a huge fan of page denim anyways {& still am trying to rock them with a belly band – the skyline are my fav} but these are amazing! at first I wasn’t sure about the side panels {rather than the fully belly panel}, but since I can fit into them now & as I continue to grow it is a bonus! I just took them to nordy’s for hemming but know that I will be living in them for the next few months. I can’t wait!

what are you loving this week?

friday I’m in love: {a valentine’s day announcement}

my previous friday I’m in love posts I have mostly been round-ups of things I am loving for that week {see here, here, here, & here}. this week though, I thought it would be fun to share this year’s family valentine.

for those of you not yet in the know {which is likely a lot since we’ve kept mum recently} we would like to share the LOVE & are absolutely thrilled to announce that our family is growing this year!

if that doesn’t make your valentine’s day happy, I don’t know what will!

{I would love to give a huge shout-out to jihan & geronimo balloons for making & sending over this gorgeous, fun, & festive balloon!}

be sure to check out what kendra is sharing! what are you loving this week?

diy baby shower gift: t-shirt hats.

when i found out my good friend kaleigh was pregnant – yay baby boone! – i knew i would make at least part of the baby shower gift like i did for amanda {swaddler} & kendra {appliqued onesies}. as much fun as the swaddler & onesies were, i also wanted to try something different.

i found a tutorial for these sweet baby hats on none other than pinterest & i knew i had found the perfect diy gift!

{original pinterest link: a trio of baby hats}

supplies:

fabric – i used three toddler tank tops from the Gap that i found on sale
thread
pattern
sewing machine

i don’t have step-by-step pictures, but it is really unnecessary because this is a simple project.

1. print out pattern and double-check the one-inch box is really one-inch. cut out patterns.

2. trace pattern onto fabric & cut.

3. pin pattern together.

4. sew.*

5. flip right-side out & tie a knot, if needed.

{adorable! they are so tiny though, it is hard to believe our heads were ever that small!}

*i had the worst time with my new sewing machine with this fabric – it wasn’t jersey, but t-shirt with a hint of stretch. i was trying to use my “serger” foot that would wrap the seam around the edge of the fabric, but i ended up using a simple, standard seam with my mom’s sewing machine.

i decided not to make the ear hat because i just adored the knotted hat so much that i needed to make two! we celebrated baby boone this weekend – aaron at the “dadachelor party” & me at the baby shower – in coeur d’ alene & had a wonderful time. congrats to kaleigh & nick!

do you make baby shower gifts or just buy off the registry?

my weekend in pictures.

{on thursday we celebrated our third anniversary!}

{friday night i got to dine on indian food with aaron & his brother, ben. naan & mango wala – so delish!}

{a roadtrip isn’t a roadtrip unless you have a latte & donut for the road!}

{welcome to idaho! we spent the weekend in coeur d’alene & i have to admit that it was my first time in northern idaho.}

{we were in town to celebrate our friends & their soon-to-be-born daughter neva rose!}

{we had a good time in coeur d’alene – crazy that we were so close to montana.}

{the gorge is so beautiful this time of year.}

we spent just a short time in coeur d’alene but had such a great time catching up with friends & celebrating a new little one (on the way)! in an effort to “un-plug” i didn’t get very many pictures of the weekend. good for me but bad for this blog post… i didn’t even get a picture of me & the mom-to-be! #badblogger

the weather was so nice in idaho & it was great to be out on the water & in the sun {with sunscreen, of course!}. we got to catch up with old friends & meet lots of new ones; always a treat until i have to remember everyone’s name. aaron is great at remembering names, but i am terrible at it! how was your weekend?

my weekend in pictures.

{aaron matches our chipotle to-go.}

{this is the result of one afternoon with sadie given a nearly indestructible toy with an everlasting treat. #thatisanexpensivehabit}

{perrier & clams. i am a happy girl!}

{nothing tastes better than farm fresh eggs.}

{painting in preparation for a sunday afternoon crafternoon with amanda.}

{seattle was sunny on sunday & everyone enjoyed it, especially sadie.}

{i got to hang out with this cutie, madeleine, while her mom & dad went out on a date.}

we had a busy weekend & definitely enjoyed the spring weather – both sun & rain! not a lot to report, but prepping the to-do list for my parents who will be visiting from idaho next weekend. how was your weekend?

pinspiration project: nursery art.

even before i had planned to surprise meg at her shower a few weeks ago, i knew i was going to make (at least part of) my present to baby garner-ballard. since i have been helping meg with ideas for the nursery for months now, i thought it would be fitting that i made something for the nursery.

meg & i have been going back & forth on the art for her mostly gender-neutral nursery, but since she has loved all things map from the beginning, i knew she would adore this piece!

{original pinterest link: be curious.}

if you follow the original link, it takes you to a huge website compilation of prints & pictures. obviously there was no tutorial, so i had to create it.

one of the things i loved about this piece was the old school map that it was printed on. i searched high & low (from the comfort of my couch – thanks interwebs!) until i found the perfect map on etsy. this map was meant to be a “travel map” where you put pins every place you have travelled, but the size & colors were perfect.

i knew ahead of time that i would more than likely have to letter directly onto the map because i didn’t want to figure out how to try to print it onto the paper, but i didn’t know how until the map was in my hand. at first i attempted to draw out my own letters copying the pinspiration, but that ended up being frustrating & would have taken so long (me being a perfectionist & everything). so, i decided to blow up a copy of the pinspiration (i did a print screen, copied it into a Word document, & blew it up) to the size that i wanted the letters to be & then i printed the image in black & white.

{the print-out}

i cut out an 8 by 10 inch piece from the map choosing a similar layout of the pinspiration – the middle being the atlantic ocean & showing north & south america, europe & africa. once i had the cut out of my map & the print out of the letters, i figured tracing the letters would work the best. fortunately for me i have a glass-top desk, so i turned on my iPhone flashlight & traced the letters onto my map with a pencil.

after i had everything traced, i “colored in” the letters & flourishes. i happened to have a thick chisel tip whiteboard marker in black & a red sharpie – not ideal but they didn’t bleed & got the job done!

i picked up a white ribba frame from ikea which worked perfectly.

i hope that baby garner-ballard & his mom & dad love this little print as much as i do. i love the way this print turned out & i can’t wait to see it in the nursery!

what are your thoughts on making your own prints?

a shower for baby garner-ballard.

one of the reasons we picked the weekend before last to take a trip to the midwest was so that i could attend meg’s baby shower. {sidenote: meg is a cousin of one of aaron’s cousins, but that is just semantics & i consider meg family!}

one of the really fun parts about the shower is that kendra & i kept our trip on the DL, & showed up as surprise guests for meg. so fun!

aaron’s aunt & cousins – sharon, abbi, & maggi – threw the shower & they did such a wonderful job. the décor was so adorable & i was loving the color scheme. meg knows that she is having a boy, but i love that the shower didn’t scream “BOY!”