The month of Audrey

The month of December was an Audrey-filled one – with 4 amazing showers, Christmas and 3 birth/baby classes – it was impossible to forget that Audrey will be making her debut in 5ish weeks.

My first shower was for family and family friends. (I haven't received photos from this shower yet though).

My good friends Kelley and Sara hosted my second shower.

During the shower we got crafty and made onsies. It was so much fun seeing what designs everyone came up with. They even made sure to have houndstooth fabric for me to use.

At my third shower, I had 6 amazing hostesses:

This shower was from my book club friends. The theme was penguin wonderland, which was beyond perfect. There were penguins everywhere (there were even penguin jello shots that others were enjoying), but I especially loved the cake:

So clearly with all these showers...and Christmas, Audrey got beyond spoiled. H
I'm still in a state of shock that realistically, Audrey could say hello anytime now.

Christmas cheer

I have a confession, while my house is decorated for the holidays – I'm just not feeling it. I have been distracted by a December full of baby showers, thank you cards, baby classes and nursery preparations. And I'm so ready for Audrey to get here that I'm having trouble focusing on anything else.

Originally, I thought I would go all out this year for Christmas, because it's Brent's and my last year as just the two of us. But, it's just not happening. While all the decor is out, third trimester exhaustion has set in, and some nights I don't even have the energy to turn on the penguin tree lights (I know! I must be tired to ignore something so fabulous). Well, mainly it's because bending down has gotten rather tricky. Thankfully, Brent is still bendy, so he's taken over the light duty.

Anyway...here's the part you care about – the decor.

The sweet tree

The family tree

I'll be especially excited about the family tree next Christmas when Audrey is here. I'm even toying with the idea of doing silhouettes of all the family instead of photos.

The penguin tree

My favorite new penguin ornament:

The formal tree

The classic tree

Other holiday photos from around the house...

Fabric is cool

Now that the crib is in and assembled (!!!), I decided it was time to quite dragging my feet about picking my fabrics for the crib skirt and curtain panels.

I ordered 10 different fabric samples, and Brent and I quickly narrowed it down to the 2 winners.

The crib skirt (Dwell Studio Dotscape Jet):

The curtain panels (Waverly Scribble Meadow):

Brent and I both fell in love with this fabric right away, and were extremely happy it was the correct shade of green once the sample arrived.

Me: It's just so great. It's modern yet playful at the same time. I just love it.

Brent: I wouldn't describe it that way, but I love it too.

Me: How would you describe it?

Brent: It's cool.

Right.

I ordered everything yesterday, so now I get to impatiently wait for them to be shipped, delivered and made.

I heart Black Friday

I know a lot of people don't get Black Friday, but I'm not one of those people.

I am obsessed with getting the best bargain possible, so naturally Black Friday and I have a very strong courtship. I've had my tentative Black Friday list since finding out I was pregnant, and I've been saving ever since, because I knew this year we'd be buying a lot of stuff.

Thanksgiving night, Brent and I went to Michaels, because they were offering 30% off your total purchase. I want to paint something above the dresser in the nursery – and I scored my $60 canvas for $20. I also bought all my paints and brushes. Then we bought all the supplies for 4 Christmas presents. (Brent's side has 4 elementary-aged girls who love to craft. So, I bought 4 bead organizer containers (all 75% off), and filled it with tons of crafting goodies – sequins, buttons, stickers, foam shapes, wood cutout outs, thread, etc.). We were in and out in 20 minutes, and saved about $125.

Later that night, my affair with Amazon and their amazing deals started.

My biggest deal/excitement was my camera. I finally acquired a Canon EOS Rebel T3. Amazon matched Sears' deal by packaging it with a telephoto lens for the same price. (But we shipped everything to one of Brent's friends in Missouri, so my deal was tax-free).


Brent's Christmas present this year is another Blu-ray player. He loves the one we got last Black Friday, so we just bought the newer version of this model. The new one will go in the man cave, and the older model will go in the family room.

For the past several years, I've bought the Christmas present that my grandparents give us. This year, we decided to go practical and upgrade our toaster to a 4-slicer. I actually bought this toaster as a wedding present for my cousin this fall and kind of feel in love with it.

I just couldn't say no to this – $70 for all 8 Harry Potter movies on Blu-ray? Ummm...yes, please. I'm excited to make Brent watch them with me. :)
I also acquired a few more DVDs as stocking stuffers and gifts for my brother.

Brent actually braved the crowds alone this year and went to Nebraska Furniture Mart. He's been wanting a new laptop for awhile, and his basically died this week...and the one he's been eying was $200 off.


Yep, it was definitely a successful day. Brent's been making me jealous playing with his new toy. I won't get my camera until Wednesday, so I am on countdown.

The "slide in" shelf

The one thing I hated about the nursery was the attic access (aka: cabinet door) on the wall.

I mean, how is this not noticeable:

So, I started debating my options, because, well, this was just not acceptable. I toyed with the idea of a large picture or other ways to hide it. Then one day I realized I was going about it the wrong way – don't hide it, embrace it. And that's where the concept of my "slide-in" shelf came from.

While we currently don't use our attic, we didn't want to block off access to it. So I came up with the concept of a built-in looking shelf that could slide out when necessary, and then put Brent to work.

The first order of business was to go through the cabinet, which was super exciting because I found my houndstooth stencil (so I can finally repair the hole).

Then we cleared it out:

Now it was time for measurements. We still managed to have scraps leftover from the man cave built-ins, so this was another free project. Brent didn't want to deal with the angle at the top – so we put a permit board there, and had the shelving unit below that.


Once it was built, the painting began:

The end result:

I am so happy with how it turned out!

I grew up in a 1920s cape code. There was detail everywhere and built-ins in every room. While this no nowhere close to that 1920s craftmanship, it does remind me of the house I grew up in and that makes me smile.

From eyesore to wow feature:

A weekend of purging

Spring cleaning is apparently happening a tad late in the Miller house this year. No closet is currently safe. I think the realization that we'll soon be acquiring a bunch of baby stuff is fueling this task.

While on this mission, I realized I have never gone through Macintosh and Chip's toys. Ummm...holy geez. Let's just say they are a tad spoiled.

Chip showing off part of his stash:
The donation pile for the local no-kill animal shelter:

The donation pile is about 40% of the toy collection. I don't think I realized how out of control it was. Before Chip was rescued, he never had toys – so I know the craziness started when we adopted him. Toys became a part of birthdays, holidays, when Brent and I traveled and also just because.

I think it's safe to say Macintosh and Chip will be getting treats in their stockings this year.

Closet preparations

I bought goodies for Audrey's closet...several weeks ago (yes, I know I currently suck at this thing called blogging).


The closet dividers are from Amazon. And the storage stuff is actually from JoAnns. I feel like I hit the jackpot with it. This collection was in the office section and was 50% off. So, I scored 3 large baskets, 1 small basket, 2 "photo" boxes, a stack of 3 circular containers, a white organizer, and a backdoor organizer for $80.