Nursery Time!

So much to post, not enough nap time!

Jillian took some amazing pics of London's little nursery that I've been dying to share.

I (we, my mom, Shane and I) had the best time hunting and piecing it together London's nursery.
I'd have ideas, share them with Shane, he'd approve and my mom and I would search to find the perfect items at great prices. Teamwork people!
Home Goods, West Elm, Pottery Barn, Overstock.com, Walmart, Target are just a few of the places we bought items from.

Pic on the left: 

• The stripes were painted by my neighbor and friend Dan and myself. Click here for more on striped fun!
• The canvases above the crib were an inspiration from a baby decor blog (ontobaby, laybabylay...), can't remember which one.  My husbands graphic artist took the prints and made them into jpegs and I had them printed on canvas at Costco. The canvases are light weight and I velcroed them to the wall, so the peanut will be safe in her crib once she's sleeping in there.
• The crib is from Walmart and looks like many of the modern cribs I liked, but for less than half the price.

Pic on the right:

•  A cute curio shelf thingy I bought at an antique store in Hermosa Beach when I lived down there.  It was originally green has been used in many rooms of various apartments I've lived in.  We painted it white to soften it's look for the baby's room and it's a perfect nik nak holder.

Must say something about the beautiful blankie hanging on the crib.  That's a Bon Bon original.  My mom put a lot of work into it and it paid off.  We love it and it keeps lil Lo warm each and every night. 

Pic on the left:

• The glider is a must have in every nursery.  I can't tell you how much I've enjoyed rocking and nursing my sweet baby girl.  Won't get into the fact that it's still a loaner because the dumb company we bought it from has not delivered ours.  NIGHTMARE, but I'll keep this post positive.
• The awesome Baby Love Pillow was a gift for my shower from our friend Megan.  Click here to see the Etsy boutique it was bought from.

Pic on the right:

• The dresser was my first furniture purchase in college from an antique store in SLO.  We had it refinished to match the espresso and white mixed furniture we went with in the nursery.
• Shelves are from Pottery Barn and while they look great, I don't recommend them. They are more than a pain to hang. 
• Shelf items: Cute silver owl- West Elm, Rocking Chair on shelf- Pottery Barn, Frames-TJ Maxx, Piggy Bank was a gift from Nordies, Glass canister being used for baby's headbands-West Elm

These darling crowns were a little find at Bed Bath and Beyond.  Handmade knit hearts, a chalkboard from Michaels and the most darling Cynthia Vincent dress (my daughter has cuter clothes than me) hang from these hooks!

The day bed has been a huge hit.  Ever end up in a friend's nursery while she's nursing, changing the baby, or the babes are playing and wonder where you can sit and sip on a much needed glass of wine?  Well I have.  Thus the inspiration to have seating in our nursery.  Luckily, it's a spacious room and this fit perfectly.  It's also a great nap spot.  You can buy here.  The pillows are a sale combo.  The white ones were a steal from Pottery Barn, someone must have returned them and I snagged them way on sale, love when that happens!  The beige pillows are from Restoration Hardware and were also on sale, woohoo.  The Pottery Barn baskets underneath the bed will be filled with shoes, toys and other London stuff as she gets older! 

Lastly, this is our changing station/dresser.  Love the functionality of having a dresser under the changing station that we won't need forever.  The dresser is another buy from West Elm, click here.

Lamp is from Home Goods.  The London banner was decor for my shower and made by a college friend Rachel Golden, check out her facebook page for all kinds of hand sewn children items.  I love, LOVE, LoVe the chevron pattern right now and got the changing pad cover and bed skirt to match from this website. 



 

Happy Friday! 

XO,

S

This and that...

This:

vs.

As most of you know, I'm pretty much an OCD clean freak, so cleaning supplies and things that smell good are almost as exciting as flowers and new shoes to me.  With a baby on the way, I've been trying to be more conscious about the environment and chemicals in these things...  Pre-pregnancy it was- what can make my floors gleam and who cares what's in it.  Recently, I was on a hunt for dryer sheets that would be okay for baby.  I found these Method Baby Dryer Sheets, but the smell was a little intense for me, however some might like and they definitely fluff and make your clothes soft (at least I think so).  While at a new baby store in Newport, Bel Bambini I picked up a box of these BabyGanics Dryer Sheets and I think I'm hooked.    Side note: Bel Bambini is a super cute store with lots of furniture and a great variety of baby/young kiddie stuff.  I believe there is one on  Robertson too. 

That:

On another note, I was in a cheapy mood while buying stuff at CVS over the weekend and picked up the TP on sale.  BAD/BIG mistake!!  Scott toilet paper is "worse than what they probably have in prisons," says my husband Shane.  Oops.  Note to self.  Spring for the plush stuff when buying TP.

This:

So Shane decided that while I'm 35 weeks pregnant, it would be a good time to do a pretty crazy cleanse and drop a few lbs.  Seriously?!  Shake and fruit for breaky, shake and protein bar for lunch, some almonds as a snack, shake and veggies for dinner.  All while wifey is not supposed to diet and has been pretty limited on exercise due to a pelvic bone that feels like it's breaking in two!  I'm proud of him for sticking to it and making it through 5 days of cleansing though.  Here's to hoping it wasn't that bad and he'll do this kind of thing with me when I'm not carrying our child anymore.  At the end of his cleanse he got sicky.  Poor guy was man down with a cold, similar to the ones I've mentioned in some earlier blog posts.  He had to miss our first birth class on Saturday.  Didn't want daggers thrown our way for bringing a sniffling fool to class.  Luckily, mom doesn't live that far and was able to pinch hit for him right at the last minute.  Click here for info on Birth and Beyond where we took our class.  It was rather informative and made me realize a few things I'd like to shoot for in the arrival of our little one.  For one, staying home as long as I can or until I'm in active labor before going to the hospital seems pretty ideal to me now. Part 2 is next weekend and I'm excited  to have Shane by my side.  One things is for sure in all this having a baby stuff... it's a wild unpredictable ride and I'm trying to prepare myself for the unexpected, while hoping for the best case scenario. 

That:

This weekend was GORGEOUS, like now I know why I endure traffic and other annoying LA crap to live here, gorgeous!  Yesterday we took maternity photos with my dear friend Jillian Rose.  It could not have been a more perfect day weather wise.  She found this amazing succulent nursery in Malibu, Cosentino's.  I wish I took a pic to share now, but you'll just have to patiently wait like me to see our photos, as the ones I've found online don't do this place justice. 

This:

Our nursery is 90% complete.  We are waiting on our glider, some canvases for over the Boo's crib and for hubby or neighbor Dan to hang a shelf (had to throw that in there since they both hate me for bugging them to get it up) and it will be finished.  I love spending time in there already and know that it will be truly complete when she arrives and we can share moments with her in there.  Can't wait to share when it's finally finished.  It's been fun and interesting collecting things from all over to achieve our vision while not breaking the bank!

Happy Monday!
XO,

S

$1 Oatmeal at Jamba on Wednesdays!

Not sure how long this goes for, but I can't wait for Hump Day this week!
My fav is with blueberry and blackberries.
For what it's worth, I also think it's better than Starbucks and Coffee Bean's.  

XO,

S

The PERFECT Gift...

...for a newborn.

It's always nice to take a little something the first time you meet a dear friend's baby

or to send a welcome something in the mail.

I'm big on thoughtful gifts that don't break the bank!

This is one of my absolute favorites.

A wooden block with all the baby's info on each side:

baby's full name

baby's initial

date/time

where they were born

height, length, weight

proud parents of...

a special gift from...

Here's baby Jade (just 13 days old) modeling with her block.

Click Here to buy your personalized block!

Something sweet that she can keep forever. 

XO,

S

TTTT-arget hit a bulls-eye again!

Miss Trish for Target

Yes, please.

Only $24.99, one for you and one for mom!

Go here to get yours.

To Gel or Not to Gel...

Being a girl and all, I'm a huge fan of the occasional mani/pedi.  In Brentwood we have these super inexpensive (my mom taught me to use this word instead of cheap) nail salons.  They are like the McDonald's drive through of nails salons.  I mean walk in, "you pick cola", you're in a chair, and you have two super fast woman at your service.  If you're from a different planet and have never experienced this, please watch this video! She does an excellent job imitating the experience at most inexpensive nail salons.


With all that said, today I went to my not usual place because I had a Groupon (oh yes, I love deals) and got a mani/pedi.  The Nail Garden normally charges $30 for regular m/p and I got one for $20 and it even included some salt scrub, fancy!  Since I saved a bundle, I decided to give these OPI Axxium Gel Nails a try.  I'm always watching my money, so I can never bring myself to spend the extra cash.  But let's face it, we basically get manicures because the clean up our cuticles, not because the polish lasts.  Mine lasts maybe a day or two without chipping and then it's chip city and once it chips, well they're history. 

These new Gel Nails are supposedly better for weak nails (check) and are said to last two weeks plus.   We shall see about that.  If anyone puts their hands to the test it's me - constant washing, cleaning and dish washing can really put a ladies hands to the ringer.

I will let you know how I end up liking them, but for now, here's a pic of mine. After trying to take about a zillion pics, I realize that I wont be a hand model any time soon.  Please excuse my ugly hands.  I tried to at least take a pic of my pretty ring to offset the hand uglies. 

Now off to get ready for Daddy D's Birthday dinner at Upper West! 

XO,
S

Garage sales and at home hair "colour"...

The accumulation of junk over the years of me moving from place to place, finally getting married, etc. and my mom's collection had grown out of control.  My parent's garage was only fitting one tiny Mercedes that is so small it hides amongst large SVUs in most parking lots.  JUNK was taking over our lives!  OKAY, I'm being dramatic, it wasn't even bad, but it was time to Spring clean, sell stuff and donate the rest.  So that we did. 
My mom, being her cute self, researched how to put on a successful garage sale and we gave it our best shot.  We advertised in local papers, put up signs, started out with high prices and worked our way down. Shane gave us a few chuckles with his Spanglish and salesman skills. We got rid of a lot, but still have quite a bit to donate and most of all we're all just glad IT'S OVER! Operation get the second car in the garage is almost complete!

On another note, the domestic diva in me decided to do a little at home hair color!  I did a consumer testing focus group last week for John Frieda's Precision Hair Colour (note: Colour, not color, fancy schmancy huh?).  It got me thinking that my hair could really use some brightening, it had become faded and brassy and just needed a good all over color.  If you know me, you know I don't like going to the salon and getting my hair done.  For me it feels like some form of torture, although I'm glad when it's done and my hair looks great! Plus I really love my hair dresser, but she's in Thousand Oaks and I really need one on the Westside (suggestions welcome). 
It's been years since I bought a box of at home hair color, but after my focus group, I was ready to brave it and try out this new and improved foam colour that was supposed to be easy to use.  I chose a medium brown and it was SO easy, no mess and I'm really happy with the color.  In about 30 minutes,  I was done and came out pretty fantastic (if I don't say myself).

Happy Do It Yourself Monday!

XO, 

S

HOT DEALS Ya'll!

I'm always on a mish for good deals!

Check out these two buys. 

Knock off Ray-Ban's from mall kiosk, $10 (with cloth bag, doubles as lens cleaner)

Compare to Ray-Ban Wayfarer at $139

Super fun for poolside or the beach when you might ruin them (or should I say, I might ruin them)

Do you always need a little something for your I.D., business cards and cash to use when you carry a small handbag?  

Check out this little gem I found at H&M

Only $3.95 - can't beat that!

 Retail therapy at it's finest!  

Finds that made my day and still left money in my bank account.

XO, 

S

Santa Monica's BEST!

Pico Barber Shop and Rae's Diner

Located just west of Bundy on Pico Blvd.  you can find this quaint barber shop. 

$15 will buy you a hair cut.

Rae's, right next door, has changed little if at all over the years. 

Inside this diner you'll find original worn orange pleather booths, wait staff and cooks that have been there most of their lives if not careers, families, hung over patrons lining the bar and all walks of life. 

The food is simple, tasty and the orange juice is fresh squeezed!  

For $20 you can buy two people breakfast, coffee, OJ and tip. 
(an unheard of occurrence in LA)

These are two of our favorite places in SM. 

XO, 

The Balls