Nursery works rocking chair

As you know, I’ve been waiting forever for my Nursery works rocking chair to come.. ok It was only a month, but still. I’m not very patient when it comes to waiting for furniture to arrive. I was surprised when it shipped early since the original ship date was March 4th. FOUR days before my due date. Ekks! I was pretty happy to know that I wouldn’t be rocker-less with a newborn!

IMG_0239The rocker is really comfy, besides the fact that it makes you sit very upright. Using the pouf to push off while rocking helps. Maybe I’m just not used to rockers?
It’s really comfortable + it has really nice back support & the suede fabric is more like velvet. Very lush. The husband likes it too because it comfortably fits him as well.

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IMG_0240I purchased the rocker here, but only paid $800 & got free shipping. Not sure why the price is raised?..

IMG_0245The room is pretty much finished! I just have to finish the gallery wall above her changing table. We got the maternity photos back & will be sharing shortly!

Here is a one of my absolute favorites from the shoot:

i-nkxHgrh-X2Jason + Anna Photography

Xo, Melissa

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Accessory addicted

There’s nothing I love more than accessories for the home. I’m slightly addicted. In fact we actually have a bank account specifically for this habit of mine.

I was recently at TJ MAXX Homegoods looking for a few things for the nursery. I was searching for a table side lamp (Which I ended up getting at Target), picture frames for her gallery wall & a hamper.

While I didn’t end up finding much for the nursery, I did score a really well made hamper for $50, some Vera Wang sheets & a $22 sunburst mirror!

The mirror had been marked down from $60 to $35 to $25 all because it had a slight crack in the bottom right corner. At the register I asked for 10% off making it $22

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Such a steal! I decided to hang it over our couch and accent it with some candles. I was over those photos that were up there, so I added them to the gallery love wall. So much better!

IMG_0134Those gold candle holders are just small mason jars I had around the house. I used glitter glue & some gold glitter for some added sparkle.IMG_0140

For Christmas I got these gold Moroccan poufs for the living room & white lacquered tray from West Elm

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The poufs are from Overstock. At first I was a little concerned that they were too gold, but I’ve gotten a ton of compliments on them. It took a couple weeks to get used to them. These are amazing if you’re short on space, because they can provide extra seating if you have guests over. My favorite part is that they fit perfectly under the waterfall table.

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What do you think? IMG_0110We are expecting our maternity photos anytime now.. so anxious to see them! Look for those in next week’s posts. Also I’ll be sharing a no-sew crib skirt. It was so easy!! I’m so glad we made our own.

Xo, Melissa

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Happy Sunday

Hope you all are having a fantastic weekend!

I turned 35 weeks on Friday. Only 5 more to go!!

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I’m finally starting to feel like I’m getting a handle on everything that needs to be done before our girl arrives. This week we DIYed her crib skirt, bought an BMW X5 (yayyyy!! I’m obsessed) & saw our doctor. The dr says she is head down & very very active! Baby girl’s heart sounded strong and fast. She kicked the dr a couple times.

Now all that’s left to do is finish planning the shower & finish my baby reading! We are having a kind of “welcome to the world” shower for baby girl in May so all of our friends and family can meet our munch.

Hopefully this week, I’ll share some of our maternity shoot photos!

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday – GO NINERS!!!

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DIY black & white stripe wall

I think this is my favorite DIY project yet. It’s up there with the diy tufted headboard & antique buffet transformation .

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When first starting to plan the nursery, i was looking at colors and nothing was really catching my eye. I knew I wanted an all white room with an accent wall or accent ceiling & I definitely knew I wanted glamour, modern & sophisticated. I decided to browse through my Pinterest Nursery board (Gotta love Pinterest!)

and low and behold.. this photo

97671885639016665_beFZZQ0T_cI don’t typically like vertical stripes, so I was on the hunt for horizontal striped pattern. Also I didn’t want the standard stripe wall, with all the stripes being the same size. I googled irregular striped wall and fell in love with this look

155655730840472777_orCYiwH0_cAmazing right? Once again, Clayton thought I was absolutely out of my mind & could not wrap his head around why I would want a black and white room with no pink on the walls! Even though I profusely explained to him that there would be pink accents everywhere, he just wasn’t understanding my whole concept. Typical.

So now for the DIY portion of this post..

What you will need:

  • ruler
  • pencil
  • pure white flat paint
  • pure black flat paint
  • LOTS of frog tape
  • plastic spackle tool

First you need to paint the wall white. Decide how many stripes you want on your wall. Also how many inches each stripe will be. (I drew out a little diagram of this part, so I could conceptually understand how it would look on the wall) Measure them out with your ruler and make a few marks with your pencil. Draw a straight line across the wall, connecting the pencil marks. In order to keep the pencil line straight, we used the top cover piece of the window blinds. Very resourceful!

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Should look like this when you’re done. I put a “B” on each stripe we were planning to paint black, so we wouldn’t get confused. I highly recommend doing this, otherwise you could accidentally paint black where it’s supposed to be white.

**Side note** You are probably thinking.. why didn’t they just use a level? Well yes, you would think that would be the easiest option. However, most older houses are built where the walls are not level. So that’s why using the measuring method is best, unless you want your stripes to be slanted. For newly constructed houses, you could get away with using the level.

Now for the most tedious part of the process – tapping.

I really took my time on this, making sure the tape was straight with the pencil lines. I also made sure to tape outside of the pencil lines, so that the black paint would completely conceal and pencil. Don’t worry if it’s not perfect, you can always go back after it’s dry with white paint to cover any pencil marks.

photo 3(Sorry for the crappy iphone pics)

Once all the tapping is done, take your plastic spackle spatula & run it across the frog tape edges, ensuring no paint seepage. Then take your white paint and do a coat inside the “B” marked stripes. This will guarantee that no black will seep through & ruin your stripes.

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After about 2 hours, paint on your black stripes. I took me about 3-4 coats. After an hour & 1/2 we pealed off the frog tape, to reveal perfect stripes. I was amazed. I couldn’t believe how good it looked. You don’t want to wait more than two hours to remove the tape.

I especially love the skinny stripes on the wall.

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IMG_0153Honestly, I’m no professional painter or DIYer by any means.. so if we can do it, you can too.

I’m so happy with how it turned out. For the next few days after it was complete, we both couldn’t stop going in the room just to stare at the wall! lol. Makes me happy! Can’t wait for our girl to arrive, so I can spend more time in here. IMG_0148Maybe the husband will start having more faith in my crazy unique ideas now. He loves the room & so do I.

I’ll share more nursery photos once it’s complete!

IMG_0154Xo, Melissa

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34 weeks

To say the last few weeks have been crazy, would be a huge understatement. Between the childbirth & baby care classes,  maternity shoot, car shopping, baby shower planning & finishing up the nursery it’s been jam packed.

I can’t believe I’ll be having this babe in just 6 weeks! Here is the latest bump pic:

32 weeks + 4 days

Current cravings: peanut butter & avocados (not together lol)

Current annoyances: Not being able to get comfortable while sleeping. I get these weird buzzing/tingling feelings in my lower left back & also under my right rib. Keeps me up sometimes. Have any of you mommas experienced buzzing or tingling while preggers? So bizarre! I now have to sleep with 5 pillows just to be semi comfy!

Things I miss: Sleeping on my stomach! Pre-preggo I had a huge addiction to sleeping on my stomach.. only 6 more weeks. Can’t wait.

Things I’m loving: Her kicks. She is a super active baby. I love laying on my side and seeing her kicks and jabs through my stomach. LOVE it.

Current weight gain: 34 pounds

Last weekend we had our all day childbirth class at Santa Clara Kaiser. It was actually really informative. The instructor went over everything. We learned breathing techniques, positions to ease labor pain, terms we will need to know, watched labor movies &  played games. It was actually pretty fun! 8 hours was a little much, but overall it was definitely worth it. Clayton took a ton of notes & we asked lots of questions. Afterward we both were saying how we feel so much more comfortable with what is going to happen now.

Sunday we had our maternity shoot with our friends Jason & Anna, who also shot our wedding & engagement shoot. It was a lot of fun. To be honest I was kind of dreading getting my picture taken.. it’s little different when you’re pregnant & feel like a huge whale. But of course J & A made it super fun. We love them.

Can’t wait to share the photos with you guys.

I leave you with a little peak at baby girl’s nursery

IMG_0095I am still patiently waiting for my Nurseryworks Empire rocker… It’s backordered until March 4th! I hope it arrives before our little one does.

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The side table lamp is from Target. The $7  lampshade was plain white, so I added a little grosgrain ribbon to the top & bottom. I like that it ties in with the black & white striped wall. The lamp base is acrylic, not glass. Much safer for baby.

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Just waiting for the maternity & newborn photos to complete the gallery wall above her changing table

sneak3This is the fabric I ordered for her crib skirt.. I love the anchors, but I’m still undecided. I was planning to DIY her crib skirt this weekend. What do you think about the fabric?

IMG_0090Have a fabulous weekend!!

Xo, Melissa

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Happy holidays from us

This is the time of year I really enjoy sharing all the accomplishments and events we’ve experienced throughout the year, both personal and in business.

The most exciting thing I want to share with you – as I’m sure you already know, is that Melissa is going to be a mommy in March of 2013!!  Yes, I will be a “Grammy” once again. Can’t wait to meet my new baby grand daughter!

We have had a very good business year and the Real Estate market is absolutely on fire.

One of our recent listings had 20 offers and sold for $72,000 over the asking price!! The crazy market is back.

I am so proud of the teamwork we have established in our business which contributes to our success in a big way.

We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year in 2013.

We hope Santa brings you all you want this holiday season.

As always, we thank you for your continued support and choosing us to help you with all of your Real Estate needs. Thank you for all your generous referrals!

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This is where you’ll find us this holiday season!

 Warmest Wishes,

Melissa & Virginia

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Nursery + baby update

After searching Craigslist for a couple of months, I finally found the perfect dresser for the nursery. This will also double as her changing table.

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I have such a thing for well made antique & vintage furniture. The only thing I’m not completely loving about this piece is that the top is laminate. So I’ll probably prime it with some Linsser primer & then paint over. While I’m at it, I was thinking about doing a stencil on the top part too. Kind of like the quatrefoil stencil I did on our antique buffet. Honestly though, I might just keep it the way it is.

gold antique hardwareI’m so in love with the original antique gold hardware

drwers openSurprisingly the drawers don’t stick or get jammed. They slide out like butter! This piece was made by Morris of California. They are known for their smooth sliding drawers. So if you love vintage furniture, but hate the sticking drawers, search for one of these.

Above her changing table, I plan to make a gallery wall out of gold frames & other accents. Can’t wait to see how it all turns out!

***Baby Update***

I’m officially in the 3rd & final trimester!! We have 90 days to go. I can’t wait to meet this daughter of ours!

27 weeks

We had a doctor’s appointment last week & everything is right on track

Current cravings: candy canes & lemon water

Current weight gain: 24 pounds

Current annoyances: not being able to take my shoes on & off without it feeling like a workout, occasional lower backaches

Things I miss: caffeine, wine, sleeping on my stomach, sleeping through the night & not having to pee 8 times a night (NOT an exaggeration)

Things I’m loving: All the kicking from my baby – except when she is stomping on my bladder in the middle of the night. ouch! Having dinner made for me & house cleaning done by my sweet loving husband! He has been so helpful & incredibly sweet throughout the pregnancy. Love him!!!

Xo, Melissa

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