Ladies and gentlemen, we have a nursery

At long last, the nursery is finished!  Now, please play along and don't skip to the end.  I'm almost nine months pregnant and if you don't appreciate my journey with me, I may cry.  And then throw something. At your head.  And then cry again that I was mean to you. 


Just don't scroll down, okay?


OKAY!  Let's begin with the way back, when it was just a humble guest bedroom.

Here's how I redid the room and finished it

Then we bought a crib, which meant we had to move things around.

Slowly but surely, we started buying stuff.  It started with the rug.

You guys know the rest of the story from here.  I bought some chairs, both were awesome but one had to get switched as it didn't go with the ottoman, but I found the greatest fabric ever courtesy of my friend Carolyn!  Then I found amazing sheets courtesy of my friend Heather!  But then there was the paint.  Oh Jesus, the paint.  That alone took so much out of me, I almost couldn't find the strength to go on.  But I did and now I'm all done!  Okay, NOW you can look!

Remember these guys?

They got a makeover!

This corner looks a little different

Let's go in a little closer...

Do you see that pillow?  No, I mean do you SEE that PILLOW?  Because I SEWED that pillow.  By myself.  On my sewing machine.  I SEWED. That. Pillow.  I don't sew and I sewed that pillow.  That could mean nothing to you but it means everything to me.  Everything.  Oh yeah, and the crib skirt.

I had to do the crib skirt in pieces because I wanted the stripes to be vertical which meant I had to cut the fabric the short way.  Imagine a vertical rectangle - I had to cut strips and piece it together and much cursing was involved.  But I SEWED!  Oh yeah and the hamper liner - I sewed that too.

I'm probably going to tack the edges to the basket so it's more form-fitting since

it's a faux liner. I just wanted some color in that part of the room.

The frame collage came out wonderfully, thanks to my hubby and his addiction to precision!  See how I didn't say he's OCD about lines and angles?  I mean....

Eventually some of the maternity pictures will be replaced with pictures

of family, but I wanted something in there in the meantime.

The only problem with taking pictures in the daytime is the glare.

These pictures spell out her name.

We bought this on our babymoon in Key West.

I love these canvases!

Oh, I almost forgot the rug!

When the flower rug didn't work, we picked up this gray shag at IKEA and it's so awesome!  It's so plush and feels great under my toes!  

I ordered a canvas with my poem for the big-ass wall and that will go to the right of the shelves above the crib.  I plan to get some ornate empty frames that'll go to the right of the canvas to balance the wall but that will come.  That's just accesorizing and I may think of something else once the canvas arrives.  Additionally, I'm thinking of a mirror to hang above the bed.

That space needs a little something.

 I have Kesha to thank for that idea, as well as the idea to paint the bookshelves.  Originally, I painted them white but when they were in the room, they seemed too stark.  She suggested I paint them and I love them so much this way!  It brings just the right amount of happy to the room.  We're going to get a changing pad for the dresser and a lamp to go on the white tray next to the bed.  I just have to find the right one.

Now Desiree, you may say, this is all very well and good, but it's rather gender neutral.  I mean, it IS a little girl, after all.  Can't there be at least a little pink?  Then I would say,  oh ho ho my friend!  But have you seen her CLOSET??

All the pink you could ever want is right there!

It's over here too, with her thousands of teeny tiny pink socks

and teeny headbands.

Behold!  More pink!

All six drawers of the dresser are stuffed.

I have a couple of inches of hanging space in the closet, that's it.

The child is GOOD on CLOTHES.

I may come back and do some editing - I didn't get a very good shot of the shelves.  I have a blanket on the top shelf that my grandmother made that is so very precious to me and I don't have a good shot of it.  But for the rest of it, I couldn't be happier!  So, if you care about that sort of thing, here's where I got it all.  I didn't decorate on a budget - I decorated on my gut and it took forever.  But I couldn't love this room more and I'm so happy with how it turned out!  I hope you like it too!

Crib - Wal-Mart

Cribsheets - Serena and Lily

Chairs - World Market - It doesn't look like they have the green one anymore and the brown one is gone!  Boo!

Curtains - IKEA - Beware - they're linen and will wrinkle if you just look at them.  I was hating life as I ironed every last panel, only to have them wrinkle anyway.

Rug - IKEA - The site says beige but it's not.  It's gray.  Trust me.

Fan - Target - This is the best fan ever.  Fans are good for lowering SIDS risk but I knew I didn't want a regular plastic one.  I found this one and fell in love.  

Ottoman - CB2

Duvet cover - CB2

Bed sheets - West Elm

Happy striped fabric - Hawthorne Threads

Shelves - West Elm

Canvases - Avalisa

I hope I'm not forgetting something. We already had everything else and the flowers and vases came from my baby shower in Kansas.  All the rest is just finishing touches and I can breathe a sigh of relief that it's done.  And for the record, I did *not* take the day off from work today so I could do this because the anxiety was causing me to twitch and shake.  I took the day off from work because I was up all night coughing and sneezing from a terrible allergy attack.  

Just so we're all on the same page here.

Okay, little baby, your sanctuary awaits!