I have mentioned previously, I am planning a hack on an ikea chest of drawers.

I will document the process with you.

Here is inspirational images of what I am hoping to achieve.

Nail head trim

The ultimate.

I obviously want to reserve my sanity, so I won’t be aiming this high

More like this!

Textured covering

So for the covering on the furniture. I would like to use a wallpaper.

Either a seagrass/grasscloth/sisal

With a metallic sheen to it as well!

Why not, life’s short.

It just won’t be on the walls, rather, adhered to the chest of drawers

But what colour?

All together now

Something, kinda, sorta, like this!

Purchased at the German Christmas markets, this time last year.

Love glass baubles.

Glass mushrooms too

Santa Claus is always welcome

I don’t subscribe to the ‘no winter theme items, we live in Australia and it is Summer’ notion.

Not sure if I wish I had used a different coloured fabric for the star tree topper

Love my cross screen filter, but only fits on my macro lens, boo.

Don’t be afraid to introduce an Aldi candy cane into your wrapping aesthetic.

In my family, chocolate is currency!

Have no shame in ‘trying again’. I had to with this gift wrapping. Worth it

The best full length shot I could achieve.

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Next up is making a long garland to frame the tree in the bay window.

Warning! Warning!

You have been warned.

Super sickly romantic, “I’m in love” post below.

.   .   .   .   .

So the husband gave me one task. To buy fruit and milk on the way home from work.

He wasn’t going to have time because he needs to run home, eat and buzz off to soccer.

(He is a soccer fanatic, soccer in the peak season, indoor soccer in the off season and 5 a side outdoor soccer in the shoulder season)

That is what makes him so sexy! (see. . . puke!)

Well. . . . . . I didn’t go to Woolies did I?

Sighting excuses like: “it was raining, I’m wearing open toed shoes, you try carrying milk when you’re pregnant”

And the pathetic-ness carried on and on and my husband became angrier and angrier.

I love him so much and hate to see him angry. I needed to fix this and stat.

I obviously went to Woolworths, bought milk and fruit.

(and oddly some huggies newborn nappies? what? too soon?)

Filled a brown paper bag with cherries, made a sick little note for him and hid it in the fridge!

Arghhh I could go on with how much a love him, but I would be embarrassing him, so I better stop!

November the 24th, 2012

21 weeks pregnant! I can still see my feet!

These are my wedding sparkly flats! They will be my life raft in situations like these.

Congratulations E & D!!!

Well, with a baby on the way as well as Christmas, who can blame me.

But I really think I have done well. I haven’t spent that much considering.

I have very nearly finished my Christmas list.

I went to Peters of Kensington yesterday. Man, that place is so good. That is where I get nearly every persons wedding present from.

I am attending a wedding this Saturday. I have the weekend off work!!!

I also went to ikea.

I picked up this chest for the nursery.

This is the last piece of furniture I needed for the nursery.

Hurrah!

This is how the nursery floor plan is coming together.

Everything has been drawn to scale.

Things I am happy about:

• I have all the furniture in there
• None of it is dominating the space

Things I am NOT sure about:

• arrghhh the rug is far too small! (Don’t have the budget to buy another one and not sure where in my house I would put this one)
• Don’t know what to do with the space in the top right hand corner. In between the cot and the window wall.

Things left to complete:

• Well this is probably a never ending list!!
• Ikea-hack-up my hemnes chest of drawers to the nth degree! I am not just leaving it white
• Re-paint my cot
• Sew curtains
• Sew cushions for the chair
• Sew bedding (thinking of doing a bed skirt with pleats!!)
• And DECORATE!!!!!!!!

Things to purchase:

• Again, probably never ending.
• A light fitting
• A lamp
• Possibly a side table for the chair
• changing mat
• cot mattress

On top of the Ikea chest I will put a changing mat

But I think we can do better then $60!!! I do not pay RRP.

I chose this one because it is the right dimension for the top of the ikea chest. (Narrowness)

On a slightly related topic.

This is the change table chest to end all change table chests!

Upholstered in FABRIC! I love the gold/brass changing pad holder.

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I only have 1 or 2 Christmas presents left to purchase. Many have been bought online using my paypal money from my etsy sales!

No dipping into the mortgage!!

How many do you have left to go? Also, would love any feedback on the nursery so far.

Will be doing a post soon with the big announcement and the nursery aesthetic.

Are we going pink? Or are we going blue?

Hello everyone. These days are just flying by. ARGHHHH

I have hit the halfway mark and I am 20 weeks pregnant.

Too exciting.

I had my morphology scan on Tuesday.

Yes, I found out the sex of the of the baby, that was our wish all along! I just don’t know how to announce it.

Gee, people are funny about the sex of the baby. Judgement either way. Whether you want a surprise or find out. People can just be plain RUDE!!!!!!

Another note on the scan, everything appears well and baby is growing. I am starting to feel movement and it is toooooo exciting.

I had a VERY productive week last week!

Monday, I was at work. Tuesday I had to the scan and then lunched with my mum, sister and aunty!

Wednesday I received 2 quotes for a wrought iron screen door. Then went out to Spotlight.

Thursday I drove all the way to North Seaforth to purchased curtain fabric after getting overwhelmed and underwhelmed at the same time in Spotlight

Then drove all the way down to Caringbah to pay the deposit for the screen door we have chosen. (Joint Christmas present for myself and hubby. We are true romantics)

Then I visited the homemaker centre looking for an armchair for the nursery. I visited all the big names, like Harvey Norman, Domayne, Freedom etc.

I left pissed off, like every time I visit.

Although knowing full well I had a lucky charm in my back pocket! An invite to the Coco Republic warehouse sale!!!!!!!!

It started on Friday. I pulled up to Auburn and the car park was chockers with luxury European 4WD’s of the black/navy/silver variety.

Toto, we’re not in Kansas anymore!

It was utter mayhem! So many people putting “HOLD” stickers on items. No, not “SOLD” but hold. ERRRRR get lost.

Plenty was already sold and when I left at 11am, there wasn’t really much left.

I managed to nab an item I have been coveting.

For the nursery, I wanted a wing back chair. That was mentioned in this post

And that is what I did indeed receive!!!!

I spotted the chair from afar, ran to it, sat in it, examined it and I DID NOT MOVE FROM THE CHAIR until I could usher over a sales assistant.

(honestly, someone would have stolen it from under me)

This is the chair from the website

The plushest, luxurious-est, yummiest, cushion of a cloud chair!

The angels came out and sung “hallelujah”

My one has different wood stain and upholstery. Was $2400, I got mine for $800!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is my chair, in the nursery.

Can’t wait to whip up not 1 but 2 cushions for this chair, to add the required splash of colour the nursery needs, because it is a BEIGE HAZE!

I also purchased this shell frame. I love natural items!

Was $443 down to $150! Honestly, that is $150 worth of framing.

I don’t think I will put this in the nursery, working towards a gallery wall in the hallway to go with these frames (still not hung)

The husband has been super busy this weekend painting our new front door!

Then after the Coco Republic sale on Friday, I went to spotlight AGAIN. (I think I live there)

I picked the brain of a person working there about curtains, she sold me what I needed and then I went home to take a stab at sewing curtains.

I got myself on a roll and I FINISHED making the curtain!

Just need the husband to install the curtain rod and then I can hang the curtains to hem them.

Too happy!

Next up is my garden!

Merlot Calla Lilies

Pink Calla Lilies

TOMATOES!!!!

The white is vegetable dust

Until next time, too da loo!

This year I am DETERMINED to be organised!

How are we all going with Christmas shopping?

MrsB has done a whole bunch of lovely gift guides if you need some inspiration.

So far, I have gifts for my mum, my sister, my aunty, my god family and the husband!

I have ideas for everyone else. They include, my dad and my brother.

I am going to start wrapping some of them I think!

The past couple of days, I declared no computer days and to instead be CRAFT DAYS!!!

I finally finished this star tree topper.

I started it last year. When I decorated our new home for Christmas, only to pull it all down before Christmas because we were no longer moving in.

I hand beaded the WHOLE THING.

There is red and gold star sequins, red glass bugle beads, swarvoski crystals, gold beads, gold glass seed beads, red glass beads!!!

Beading is thirsty work, make sure you have a cup nearby.

On the back is 2 red grosgrain ribbon ties. To tie it to the top of the tree.

Now that I conquered this, I think I might make this next

For the front door.

I’ll use my mum’s embroidery machine to do the words “Merry Christmas” or perhaps another phrase.

In the pic above, you can see a bauble in a frame. That was done on my mum’s embroidery machine on fabric.

Look at all my bad ass mother fucker reindeerzzzzzzzzz!

They are owning that subwoofer box.

(p.s I wanna know what the hell they are looking at)

The bottom 2 are from Target. The big 1 is from Spotlight.

It looked a little naked in comparison to the other two. So I made it a crazy mad red bow!

The bow took 2 attempts. The first attempt, I had put interfacing on the bow part. I wanted it to be quite stiff and really hold it’s shape, but when it came time to turn the whole thing from inside out to the right way out, I couldn’t get the thick part (the bow with all its stiff interfacing) through the thin parts (the part around its neck and the tie part)

ARRRGHHHHHH. Tres upset.

Husband gently reminded me, it was just a prototype and to try again.

So with a new template, the thick parts not so thick and the thin parts a little thicker and nixing the interfacing.

I made it!!!!

My mum recommended that I could give the bow part some spray on starch, but as you can see from the pic, I think it is working out quite well.

You can’t quite tell from the pic. But the bow is like a bow tie.

Here is a pic of the beginning planning phase.

I am suppose to make a tree skirt, but I was searching for ideas. I made 2 trips to spotlight, but nothing was sticking. I went on etsy to get ideas and then I saw a really nice one that will work and I thought bugger it and just purchased it.

Hopefully it will arrive soon! I am mad keen on putting this tree up.

Thinking I might embroider it “The (lastname) Family”

Maybe, maybe, maybe.

We moved the settee that is in the bay window to the other side of our living room. We are going to set up the tree in the bay window! It is going to be a knock out!

Last night I asked the husband to pull down from the top of our wardrobe our Christmas box!!! (He won’t let me up the step ladder lol) I am going to go through all my goodies soon!

I am certain there are treasures in there I forgot I owned! For Christmas comes but once a year!

Well, we finally got some doors hung in our house.

This is NO LONGER!!!

No longer will there be a beach towel weakly guarding the threshold of our sanctuary.

A while back, I purchased a 2nd hand door for our bedroom, as you can see the door was missing.

I had to hunt through all of this to find the best I could size wise

When we purchased the house, the door was there, but it was a sliding door. We also have a sliding door in our apartment.

FFS, who wants a sliding door for their bedroom?? NO ONE. That’s who. If you are in a relationship and live together, you need to be able to SLAM THE DAMN DOOR when you are mid fight!

So, the sliding door was promptly removed and beach towel hung.

Then a door jam was added. When purchasing the door, I didn’t take into consideration that the door jam as well. The door then got trimmed down a bit.

We are going to add some moulding around the new door jam. As you can see the frame of the door is now of centre, we will add some strips of wood to re-centre it before we paint it.

My, my, that is one filthy door.

BUT At least I now have a bedroom door! Boy have I been sleeping like a baby since it was hung.

This is from the inside of our bedroom.

Need to paint the door jam white and paint the door.

I want to do black doors with brass handles. Husband is a little sceptical. He thinks we should do black on the outside (i.e if you were walking down the hallway and the all the doors were closed you would see black doors and when you are inside the room and the door is close it would be white)

And if that is the case, should I paint the back of the front door black as well?

I would love you feedback.

This is the nursery door! (Bedroom 2)

I just love the brass handles I chose.

Here is Bedroom 2 and Bathroom 1 from the hallway. Old handles, new handles.

This too, is no longer!

Hmmm what to paint it, what to paint it. That aqua colour is primer. Needs to go with the red bricks. Can’t wait to get the bricks re-tuck pointed.

The reverse

Close up of the stained glass/lead light.

So, we need to choose a colour that compliments the cool tones of the glass and the very warm tones of the red bricks.

Tricky one

But I thinking of going with the bottom left. Dulux Tuft.

And the overall exterior colour scheme, White, Tuft and one of those 4 Dulux blues.

There is so much little painting jobs here and there for my husband to do!!!