Curtain Envy

First, I'm currently loving the show Up All Night (Wednesday's, 8pm, NBC). Anyone else a fan? Christina Applegate & Will Arnett as hip, new parents by surprise. Maya Rudolph playing a cross between Oprah & Tina Turner. I can't get enough of it.

Second, does anyone else ever pay attention to the background of TV shows & movies, specifically, the interior design elements of the set? I can't help but notice them all the time. Sometimes to the point where it distracts me from the actual show (thank goodness for DVR).

I was re-watching the last episode during my lunch break (on Hulu, not HuluPlus, 'cause I'm too cheap for that) and I couldn't get enough of the curtains! Is that weird? In any case, I took some crappy screenshot pics with my iPhone because I loved them sooo much.

You can't really tell, but these are dark brown (seen in Ava's office). I lurrrve that geometric pattern. I've been scouring all the home goods websites I can think of (Pottery Barn, Crate & Barrel, Ikea, Anthro, Urban Outfitters) but still can't find them. I found some Waverly fabric that was close, but do I have time to make 84" curtain panels? Nope.

These are Ikea curtains that I have loved for a while now. Neutral colors make a bold print totally do-able. I'd love them in my living room, but $60/pair is a little steep for my budget. We'd need 6 panels total for our giant windows. Sigh. I guess I'm stuck with my Overstock.com curtains for now.

I salute you Up All Night design team.

Crib Drama

I'm pretty particular when it comes to making *major* purchases. It has to be exactly what I want, at the price I want, or fugghetaboutit. I'm not going to spend my hard-earned cash on something I don't absolutely love. And that's final. I'm also thrifty, so a $1,000 crib was completely out of the question (yeah, Oeuf cribs, I'm talking about you).

Naturally, I knew I'd have a hard time picking out a crib because of these factors, so I started researching and scoping them out early. Like... pretty much as soon as I found out I was pregnant (which was back in February).

It's now almost October and I was finally able to commit. But not without drama and endless mind-changes. Because that's just how I am. (Side note: I'm actually starting to wonder if I make things more difficult for myself on purpose so my life isn't boring. Wouldn't that be terrible? Knock it off, Meg!)

Up until a few weeks ago, I was dead set on a particular crib from Ikea. It was a rockin' lime-green color, only $99 and I was telling everyone about it. So fun. So unique. It was mine. I was sure of it. Then the worst thing ever happened. The dreaded "Ikea Crib Recall of 2011." My lime-green dream was shattered. I obsessively checked Ikea's website for months to see if they were back in stock yet. No such luck.

Devastated, I knew I had to move on if I didn't want my infant sleeping in a dresser drawer.

I looked at cribs from Target, Wal-Mart and even Overstock.com. However, I didn't like white, natural wood, dark wood, or oak. Yeah, I'm THAT picky.

The Baby Mod collection at Wal-Mart had my favorite styles, but I wasn't thrilled with the color selection. That is, until I discovered this little number. For some reason, it never popped up during the first few searches I did on their website, but I kept digging and it magically appeared. (In reality, I probably thought it was black at first and skipped over it).



The Baby Mod Modena 3-in-1 Fixed Side Crib in Navy

Cue "Isn't She Lovely" by Stevie Wonder. 'Cause that's how I felt when I discovered her.

Modern lines, four mattress positions, converts into a toddler bed, non-toxic finish, and most importantly... made of "sustainable pine wood from New Zealand." SOLD! Haha. Just kidding. At $199, I figured we better just go for it. I was tired of waiting for Ikea to get their butts in gear.

Because I'm a cheapskate, I opted for the free "site-to-store" shipping which takes a little longer, so it's set to arrive next week. I can't wait for the nursery to actually look like a nursery! Stay tuned, because I'm eventually going to post a complete breakdown of everything in Baby A's room: price, source, inspiration, etc. We were on a tight budget, but it's coming together beautifully and I can't wait to share photos of the finished product.

3 months later...

Oh yeah, I have a blog... totally forgot about that! Just kidding. I didn't forget. Blogger's format got all screwy and I couldn't figure out how to do anything and I've been super duper busy. It's still weird, and I don't even know how this post is going to look, but I just wanted to let you know I'm baaaaack. Let's see. Still married. Still pregnant. Still have a dog (who is HUGE, btw). Due in less than 2 months. INSANITY!

I'm so excited to blog about being a mamacita and all the parenting decisions we're making (at least the semi-non-personal ones). We're working on the baby's room, taking childbirth classes and I've even started packing my bags for when we head off to the birth center! Well, hopefully to the birth center, if Baby Annan cooperates. I can't wait to spill the beans on his name as well! So many fun things lie ahead. But first, I need to grab a snack because it's 11am and that's the official universal pregnant-lady snack time.

My grapes & pretzels await!

At a wedding in September with my cutie pie husband

On the beach in August @ 28 weeks



Indy, 5 months old