a little more nursery...

We've actually gotten quite a bit done in the nursery but I'm trying to save a lot of the progress for one big nursery reveal post when everything is finished so I'll show some "sneak peek" stuff for now...

Here's our giant to-do list (with the stuff we've already completed crossed off):

- paint walls/ stripes
- install new blinds
- put together crib and dresser
- arrange furniture in final layout
- paint/wallpaper/cover the backs of the white shelves we already own
- make & hang DIY-ed cornice board
- make crib skirt/attach to crib (there may be one more step to this that hasn't been done yet...)
- DIY some cool toy storage bins for the shelves
- find two table lamps for the dresser and "breastfeeding corner"
- find floor lamp for extra lighting
- install baby monitor
- clean out closet/ create a new organization system in there (we've made some decisions on organization and purchased some stuff already...this may be a project that gets delayed for a while since we'd like to wait and invest in a system we really like instead of doing it halfway now)
- repaint trim in crisp white/ touch-up baseboards
- search for a new feeding chair? (there's a story behind this...)
- decide on and hang art (this is in progress- some art is already made and ready to hang, other pieces are still twinkles in my eye)
- make cool name art out of wooden letters
- DIY a changing pad cover
- DIY cloth wipes (this one's in progress, too. i've been fighting with my sewing machine.)

I'm sure there's other stuff but that's the big list...now here are some photos of stuff that's been done.

note: please excuse the poorly-lit iPhone photos, when we do the final reveal I'll use the real camera :)

painting the stripes

finished stripe wall!

one piece of some art I DIYed with watercolors

putting together furniture

at least he has a place to sleep :)

Brinkley's favorite new hiding spot

Maverick helping with the drawers 

dresser! 

beginning of cloth wipes...

cloth wipes in progress...

 Mod Podge name letters

ribbon edge on cornice board

DIYed cornice board 

a shot of the corner of the room...still very messy!

Again, bad photos but you get an idea of some of the stuff we have in the pipeline! I'm excited to get a lot of finishing touches done in the next week so that we can start feeling like the room is ready to be used :) 

We have Centering tonight and we're going on a tour of the labor & delivery and mother & baby units so maybe we'll do a post on that. Also, I have tutorial posts for the name letters, cornice board and other crafty things that I'll try to post in the next week for anyone who's thinking about trying some of those Pinterest projects you've been pinning ;)

much love, L&N

showered with love

 ...While our lives are thankfully moving along at a normal pace, there are 27 families whose lives were  ripped apart last Friday morning. I have no appropriate or sufficiently graceful things to say that will make such a horrible thing make sense or feel any less grotesque. All I can do, and all I am comfortable speaking about on the blog, is try my hardest to keep those who were affected in my thoughts and to help spread the word about how we can help. 

Here is a link to a blog post written by Roo (who lives only a few towns away from Newtown) at NiceGirlNotes with ways to send your support...

A couple of Sundays ago our wonderful friends threw us a baby shower! I know that Nick and I were overwhelmed with the outpouring of support and love that they showed to us and had a GREAT time celebrating with everyone who was there! 

I wanted to share some photos and say thank you to all of those who helped to make the afternoon so enjoyable :) 

the spread :) complete with elephant cupcake toppers, striped straws and elephants on the cups!

amazing handmade (from Etsy) banner that Kari graciously let us take home!

sweet tissue paper pom-poms that will now live in the nursery

ADORABLE little touches

the sweet blanket elephant that Katie made :)

the lovely hostesses :)

grad school brought us together :)

the men, who were very nice and put up with me forcing them to pose for a picture ;)

reading sweet cards...

and opening sweet gifts

friends :)

very grateful parents-to-be :) 

 Again, to everyone involved, we had such a great time and can't wait for all of you to meet Alden when he arrives! THANK YOU!

much love, L&N

32 weeks & a big announcement!

We're in the home stretch now! Only 8 more weeks to go and still so much to get ready...we're feeling really good about how much "stuff" we have for the little guy (things like clothes, blankets, bathing necessities, etc.) but his nursery still isn't completely put together, we need to buy some more diapers, and I have a few projects that need finishing (like cloth wipes and making some more art for the walls). All of this while we finish up gift shopping/packing/shipping, get ready for family to visit for Christmas and, craziest of all, while I get prepared to....drum roll....START A NEW JOB! :)

Yep, you heard me- I got a job! Cue the fireworks because I'm gonna get a paycheck again, and that is a wonderful thing ;) I started job hunting in August after graduation and it was a long, long time before I started getting any bites. I interviewed for a position with a former professor in October and didn't get selected (bummer, but I wasn't honestly that excited about the position anyway so it worked out) and I had feelers out to all of my grad school connections to keep an eye out for anything that looked good. Finally, this past week I got calls for three separate interviews (well, technically four, but one is for a volunteer position that I'm coveting) and ended up getting an offer from the first interview I went on, which also happened to be the position I was most excited about. Talk about things working out :)

I will be the Grants Coordinator for the newly created Health Impact and Evaluation Research Center at the University of Georgia and I am very excited to be joining the team back at my Alma Mater (in the same department, no less!). The director of the Center is a former professor of mine and her graduate research assistants are former classmates. I'll have an office in the same hallway that I spent about a year and a half of my life walking down every day :) It makes me very happy to be able to go back to the Health Policy and Management department and know that I will be working with the wonderful people who inspired me so much during my time in graduate school. It also helps that I already know where all the office supplies and coffee is kept ;) I start on January 2nd and am all of a sudden in much more of a rush to GET THINGS DONE!

The rest of this weekend will be a whirlwind of craft projects, Christmas shopping, closet cleaning and baby gear organizing so that I can feel as relaxed as possible during my first few weeks of my new position. Cheers to the new year and all of the wonderful things it will bring!

Onto the stats...

STATS:

Foods I'm craving:  CANDY. and peanut butter. 

Foods I can't stand:  seafood still tastes a little off but mostly I can handle it

Symptoms:  insomnia, Braxton Hicks (so much more frequent now) and I've had some headaches. mostly it's just the usual 8-months-pregnant aches and discomfort.  

Maternity clothes: yep! 

Weddings rings (on/off): on

Favorite thing this week: Getting a job offer at a place I am excited to work and the prenatal massage I got this morning (thanks to Mom & Dad for the gift card!). Both are wonderful things! 

much love, L&N 

December begins!

December is always a busy month but we normally have a few extra busy days since Nick's birthday is at the beginning of the month and there are usually final exams and end of the semester stuff also...so I thought I would do a quick recap of our lives the past couple of weeks!

Let's start with Nick's 29th birthday! We had a low-key celebration this year since his birthday fell on a Tuesday but it was wonderful anyway :) I made him dinner, Braised Short Ribs in a Cabernet Sauvignon sauce with mashed potatoes and roasted brussel sprouts, and dessert, Paula Deen's Not-Yo-Mama's Banana Pudding (his favorite!) and he opened presents before talking to family members that had called to wish him a happy birthday. Even though it wasn't a huge celebration, I think it was a great night :)

presents :) 

Booney hat for yard work

stainless steel Bento lunchbox 

stud finder and new insulated gloves!

braising away...

final product!

#gottaloveInstagram

Just a couple days later we went to the Athens Christmas parade downtown and met up with a few friends to watch the festivities! I LOVE downtown Athens during the holidays, all the lights are up in the trees and everything feels so festive and hometown-y :)

pretty downtown trees :)

If you didn't figure it out already, the theme was Charlie Brown's Christmas so all the floats had Charlie and his friends as the main characters. It's a relatively short, homemade-ish parade but it's always fun and definitely puts us in the mood for the holidays!

The weekend after the parade our friends threw us a great baby shower (which will get it's own post later today) and a few days ago, we went and picked out our Christmas tree (named Doug IV- Douglas Fir, fourth Christmas tree together)! We decorated it last night while we watched White Christmas (a tradition we started the first year we were married) and I'm finishing up the final holiday touches in the living room and dining room today :) It just doesn't feel like the holidays until there are some decorations in the house!

picking out Doug IV

decorating with White Christmas :)

finished product!

and some of our favorite meaningful ornaments...

our  2011 ornament from Nick's mom, our 1st married Christmas ornament from my mom & our hand carved wooden heart from our honeymoon in St. Augustine :)

gotta represent the schools! Go GATORS! Go DAWGS!

I hope everyone is having as peaceful and enjoyable beginning of the holiday season as we are :) Keep an eye out for our 31 week update and baby shower post later!

much love, L&N