In Which I Humiliate Myself, AKA Video of My Nursery Tour on House Proud

You know how sometimes you see pictures of yourself, or hear recordings of your voice, or -- you know -- see yourself on tv, and wonder how the pod people managed to take over while you were sleeping? You know?

ABSOLUTELY!

I suspect my parents will be confused when they discover I have transitioned from born and raised in east Texas to Jessica from Sweet Valley High (don't judge). Or maybe I always sound like that?! Either way, I need some elocution lessons.

Thankfully Luke is adorable and precious and pretty much steals the show. Plus Amy Hadley is utterly charming! If you live in Austin the segment will be airing on YNN today.

Enjoy the video and try not to hurl tomatoes at your screen.

Finished Project Sneak Peeks!

Hi guys -- no baby yet, but my mama sense (and my doctor) say evacuation is imminent. I really wanted to bust out mega shoots of the rooms I've finished up, but I'm just too tired and uncoordinated. Like, I am physically unable to bend my body into the positions necessary to photograph small spaces.

So instead of trying to make some House Beautiful spreads happen (I wish), I told myself I could shoot just one sneak peek shot of each room. And I did. And now I feel all crampy and I'm racing just to type this before a baby shoots out of my bajingo...

In other words, this is going to be my last post until I show up with a bunch of sappy photos of a newborn baby. Let's jam.

The front room/playroom is finally finished... mostly. Is anything really ever finished? Anyway, here's my source list:

Paint color is Benjamin Moore Dark Harbor.

Couch is vintage Danish rosewood and wool boucle. You do remember Alexis, right?

Painting was thrifted long ago in California.

Rug came from Overstock, but the price has gone up since I bought it.

Chinoiserie etageres were purchased from Room Service and custom painted to match the walls by Matt. These were by far my biggest splurge -- about $550 for the pair.

Sconces were $2.99 each at a thrift store, but I had to buy harps and scored some ultra fancy shades at TJ Maxx for $15 each.

Bengal Bazaar pillows came from Etsy.

Everything else is vintage thrift.

I was kinda convinced I would have the baby before I could even move a crib into the nursery, but we actually got a lot further on this room than I thought we would. It's still missing some art and bedding, but it's 90% there. Source list:

Paint color is Benjamin Moore Frappe.

Chair is vintage Milo Baughman that I had recovered in Togo fabric. This was the big splurge for this room -- about $450 total.

Curtains are super cheap Ikea Ritva onto which my sweet MIL spent two nights sewing ribbon trim... LOVE THEM! Four panels cost $65 plus time. Can't beat that.

Mongolian fur pillow came from the West Elm outlet for $5.

Light fixture came from Ebay.

Vintage Raoul Dufy screenprint came from Room Service for $28. I cut a new mat for it.

Bookshelf is Ikea Expedit.

Sheepskin rug is old news.

Everything else is thrifted.

And last but not least is Ike's room. I think that I complain every time about how hard it is to shoot rooms in this house, but this room really is tough. I can't wait to shoot it with proper lights, but not now. Mama is tired. Source list:

Paint color is Benjamin Moore Deep Secret.

The big boy bed was the major splurge here. I got it off craigslist plus I paid Matt to paint it, so about $450 total.

Light fixture and rocker are both vintage and appeared in Ike's old room.

Rug is vintage and used to live in our old dining room.

Curtains are Ikea Aina.

Bedding is a super cute Ikea seersucker stripe that didn't photograph well.

Blue velvet pillows are Ikea.

Sheepskin is Ikea.

Leopard pillow is TJ Maxx.

And that's what I've been working on.

I'm not really sure when the baby will come out -- I'm not actually due for another week. But I think I need a few days to myself before the main event, so I'm signing off for now.

Please add DC to your google/RSS feed so you'll know when I'm back with baby pictures and more room reveals. Or you could just come and visit the archives. I used to write some pretty sweet posts before I got knocked up and my brain turned into jello.

It won't be too long before my triumphant return... pinky swear.

Until then, I'll miss you guys.

Be awesome.

Mockup Madness: Ike's New Room

Thanks again for indulging all my hemming and hawing about the office. I think I've fully vetted the possibilities and have a pretty good idea of what to do for Plan A and Plan B. I've also come to the scary realization that we need to get some doors on that room or it's not going to matter how pretty it looks -- it won't be functional for an office. So decor for "the office" is tabled for the time being until we solve that problem, and I'm moving on to one of the many other rooms that need attention before baby gets here: Ike's room.

If you don't recall, here's what his room in the old house looked like:

Now for this room I really wanted to give him something different, but I also want to reuse as many things as humanly possible. I have so much stuff to buy for this house that I need to make SOMETHING easy on myself (ha! as if). So, without further ado:

Hmmmm, yeah. Maybe not that different. Let's discuss the room itself. It's long and narrow and has zero architectural interest -- not even the pair of large windows the other room had. The one small window faces west, so it's dark during the day and then gets a burst of sun in the evening. There's no way a light color would work in here, so Sanders helped me pick Deep Secret, a kind of gray/navy that I think will look nice with the sisal carpet and also have some kid appeal (I foresee some hubble telescope posters in here someday soon... Ike is obsessed with space).

I don't love the white furniture, but I tried very hard to use what I already had, and Ike still sleeps in his crib... IT'S A MIRACLE. Like, he climbs in himself, but we have convinced him that climbing out is dangerous. It's kind of hilarious. Anyway, when we he outgrows it I'll get a cute antique twin bed and paint the white table set, or more likely just pass it on to #2.

So the only things here that need purchasing are the curtains, light fixture (hot air balloon fixture is going in baby's room), a colorful basket, and that leopard stool -- which is only $1400. Just kidding, suckers! I'm going to paint the old ottoman and add a cute cushion. Donezo.

I think the basics are here, but it's missing the wow factor. Does it need wackier pillows and bedding? Or maybe I have a big piece of art I forgot about... Or perhaps I should spend $400 on a roll of this wallpaper and frame a few panels:

But $400/roll?!... I'm thinking no.

Ok, enough of what I think. What do you think?