Nursery Colors

The past few weeks have been a mad dash to finish our nursery renovation.  As of right now, the baby is due in six weeks and we have had no break.  OK, so what I really want to say is I have had no break.  I'm so hoping that in the next week or two we wrap everything up and can just relax until the arrival of our little bundle.

Just as we did the first time, we're not finding out the sex of the baby until the birth.... which leaves us to do what with the nursery.  With Grady's nursery, we went neutral and had fun with murals on the walls.  But this time I really wanted to make the nursery whatever the baby was... but we're making that difficult, aren't we?  We are torn as to leaving the nursery just primed until the baby is born.... and then paint later.... or find a color that can go either way for the walls.... and paint the ceiling a gender color.

So, I have been looking online and have seen some photos of colors I really like....

I love this gray.  And it looks so crisp with the white!

Source: potterybarnkids.com via Celia on Pinterest

I also really like the gray and yellow together.  Possibly for a boy?  Gray walls with a yellow ceiling?  And I even found a polka dot stencil online.... to do an accent wall maybe?

Source: potterybarnkids.com via Celia on Pinterest

And here is another example of gray and yellow... although with a newborn I'm pretty sure I will not have the energy to paint stripes!!  We'll stick with a solid ceiling color... but isn't this awesome anyway?

Source: projectnursery.com via Celia on Pinterest

 
For a girl?  Gray and pink.  This is such a perfect combo to me... it looks so soft and classic! 

Source: google.com via Celia on Pinterest

And on a side note... look at this painted ceiling.  Isn't it great?  I've been hesitant to get creative with our ceilings... afraid that I will make the room look smaller or make it feel like the ceiling is closing down on us.  But this is so pretty...

Source: brynalexandra.blogspot.com via Celia on Pinterest

This is such a great boy's nursery!!  I wish I was this creative!!

Source: littlegreennotebook.blogspot.com via Celia on Pinterest

So there you have it.  Some of our nursery ideas.  To paint.  Or not to paint.  And what colors?  I mean.... I look and start seeing so many things... I even start thinking... should we just go gender neutral and even choose a pretty green or something??  No idea..... I go back and forth!!

Either way, I hope the room with be finished soon and we can kick back and relax for a few weeks.  During that time, maybe we'll decide!  :)

Ten on Ten: February 2012

It's not fun when someone has already filed taxes under your SSN!!! 

Gearing up for Baby.  Starting to buy diapers, etc with coupons and sales. 

 Back pain is no fun during pregnancy...

We were playing outside, but where on earth did the rain come from?

My little boy's cars all lined up for the Lego car wash...

Hey!  Look what I found today!  My toes!  

I cannot begin to explain what great lengths it took to paint those bad boys.....

Time to read during Nap Time.  :)

Grocery list.... 

Should I be this tired this early?

Time for a Tylenol if I'm going to sleep tonight...

Hard Boiled Eggs

Hard boiled eggs... really? 

Yes, really. 

A few weeks ago I had a craving for deviled eggs and every time I went to boil my eggs I kept boiling them either too long or not long enough and was so frustrated. 

Since when could I not boil a bloomin' egg?  I've boiled eggs plenty of times before.

But I noticed I wasn't boiling eggs the way other people perfectly boiled their eggs.  So, onto the internet I went to learn how to boil the perfect "hard" boiled egg.

Apparently I'm not the only one who has had this problem.  There are tons of instructions out there for soft, medium, and hard cooked eggs.  

And here is the perfect way to boil an hard boiled egg.

1.  Bring your eggs to room temperature before cooking.

2.  Gently place the eggs in a single layer in a pan with enough cold water to cover eggs completely.  Approximately one inch of water over eggs.

3.  Over high heat, bring water JUST to a rapid boil.  As soon as the water reaches a rapid boil, remove pan from heat and cover egg pan tightly with a lid. 

4.  Set timer for 17 minutes for large eggs or 20 minutes for jumbo eggs.

5.  After 17 or 20 minutes, remove lid and drain water from the eggs.

6.  Transfer the eggs to a bowl of ice cubes and cold water after the cooking time is over.

7.  Let eggs cool at least 10 minutes in cold water, then drain. 

And then you have perfect, simple, hard boiled eggs. 

Front Door / Entry Way

So last week I posted photos on stripping the front door and limestone around the entry way.  It was a messy job.... and that "somebody" that had to do it, was me.

I didn't post photos of the front door at that time, because it still wasn't finished.

The front door has been a huge thorn in my side.  Originally when I stripped it, I let it dry out for months and then primed it and started painting it with Benjamin Moore's Heritage Red.  It was a great color, but I was a little dissapointed in the finish.  It wasn't as glossy as I wanted.  I thought I would just "deal with it"... until some strange hazy areas started showing up on our door.

I went to our Benjamin Moore store and talked to the owner about what might be going on.  He came out to the house a few days later and said everything looked fine... just use a fine steel wool, sand it lightly and re-coat it a couple of times.  Well...  FYI... that didn't work! 

When one opinion might not work... get a second.

So, I went to another Benjamin Moore store, talked to the owner and another guy there and they came up with.... HARK!!...  the door must be seeping sap.  It's an old door, it is pine, and when I stripped the paint.... it might have started releasing sap again... which I did not know... is normal they said. 

So they suggested I finely sand it down and use this...

They said to paint it on as my primer and it should lock out the sap or whatever might be trying to seep through.

At this point I wanted to go a little above and beyond to be safe, so I coated the door twice... thick.

And, since I wasn't happy with the finish my original paint gave me, they guys at Benjamin Moore mixed up a glossy latex... and they worked on the color to get it as close to the Heritage Red as possible.  It wound up being a tad bit brighter, but good since our door is recessed a little and doesn't get much sun directly on it.

Here is the finished result... as of right now.... with the limestone and front door...

As you can see, we haven't chosen new hardware for the door yet.

Here is the original hardware on the door before we re-finished it...

Hank refinished the long hinges, handle and door knocker.... but we're not totally sure what we're going to do.  We'll definitely reuse the long hinges, but might replace the door handle with something larger and nicer.  We're looking around, but things are really pricey... or maybe we just have expensive taste.  Go figure...

As you can see in the photo, the porch is a disaster, so we have to paint that too.  That will give the front a major facelift.   We also need new sconces on either side of the door.  We also need a sidewalk from the driveway to the front door.

Need.  Need.  Need.

Give it time right?  Everything takes time and money!!  But thank goodness.  We have color to our front door and things are starting to look more presentable on the front of the house!  :)

Ten on Ten : January 2012

 Fresh flowers in the house are so cheerful!

Had to get outside and play before the rain.  Expelling energy is very important around here...

I haven't had any taste for coffee.  Well, that isn't totally true.... I mean, if it's a Pumpkin Spice Latte or a Quad Venti Extra Hot Peppermint Latte from Starbucks.... I might be tempted.... but at home, it's just a hot cuppa tea....

 I literally dug around our attic for 30 minutes today searching for this book... only to come downstairs and find it in my son's dresser drawer.  You can never start getting prepared too early... I don't care what you say.  This book was a lifesaver with our son as an infant!

I'm only 29 weeks, but look as though I'm about to POP !!!

Going to make egg salad.  I guess it can be a healthy snack, right?

Had another recipe/photo accepted on Foodgawker.  It was a challenge to get photos accepted on this site!

Such a good doggie....

Make me stop eating!!!

So I got the decorations off... but the trees are still in the house...