the Natalie diaries - part 1: nursery + nesting

I am finally getting around to blogging about our adoption experience. Sorry it's taken me so long, but well, I've been busy. :) And still am, for that matter, but I'm forcing myself to document the experience before Natalie turns 13 and I can't remember what happened when she was born. Anyway, I'm putting this into a few different posts, since it would be way too long to put into one post & I would most likely lose all 4 of my readers. So to begin, I'll take you on a tour of the weeks approaching Natalie's birth, and how I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off.



We had started collecting items for the nursery months ago. {Well, technically, a couple of years ago, when I bought the awesome rocking chair that Ashley recommended to me - SO COMFORTABLE. I bought it with the last bonus check I received from my previous employer, before the economy went kaputs & bonus checks were no longer in existence.} We had the room painted "soft mint green" last year - a gender neutral color since we didn't know at that time whether we'd adopt a boy or a girl. I bought a crib at a consignment sale last fall. My awesome friends & family threw a "pre-adoption" baby shower for me last November, and I got a jump start on the "basics" that we would need in case we were to get one of those "we have a baby for you to adopt in 3 days" calls.



So we were on a good start to planning the nursery. Then, in January, we did get "the call". {Read about it here.} At this point, I'm eager to start the "real" nursery planning, and since my friend Ashley Mills over at pure + lovely {shameless plug} had offered to help me design the nursery, she was also eager to get started. I had initially thought I wanted to do owls in the nursery, because I was planning a gender neutral nursery & I started to become obsessed with retro-looking owls. But after "the call", we found out we were adopting a girl, and I just couldn't help but choose something more girly. Ashley has these awesome bird prints that I decided were totally the inspiration I needed for the room. I began searching for color/theme inspiration online, and found the perfect room that represented the exact feel I was going for:

{Norah's nursery by Caroline Armelle}

Piece by piece, the nursery started coming together. Ashley designed the fabric on spoonflower, my grandmother made the bedding from the fabric, Baron & I {ok, mostly Baron} painted a dresser & a bookshelf, and I shopped...and shopped...and spraypainted...and shopped. And finally, on Sunday, March 21st, the nursery was finished. FINISHED. The day before, I had gotten into my frantic nesting stage, cleaning the house like a mad woman, because there was a possibility of our birthmother being induced on March 22nd. I felt it coming. I don't know that nesting is necessarily a hormonal pregnancy thing, because I was totally into it that weekend. And for good cause, because...well...that's another story, for my next post. :) Here are pics of the finished nursery!

{crib from consignment sale; bedding fabric by Ashley via spoonflower & sewn by my grandmother; rug by ekra via etsy}

{beanbag ottoman from Kohl's; chandelier from ikea; round side table from ikea}

{bird fabric designed by Ashley & pillow made by my grandmother; quilt by "Mimi" (my mom); puff rocker via ebay (sorry, can't remember the seller)}

{handmade rug by ekra via etsy; bookshelf by Baron's granddad when Baron was little & painted with Valspar Laura Ashley in pale cowslip}

{shelf from local flea market & painted with Valspar Laura Ashley in pale cowslip; figurines from Hobby Lobby & my personal collection}

{fabric swatch project from The Purl Bee; wall lamp from ikea}

{part of closet turned changing station: dresser from Baron's grandmother - painted in Valspar Laura Ashley's pale cowslip; drawer knobs from Hobby Lobby; curtains from Target}

{Tweet Tweet prints & custom frames from Ashley at pure innovation}

{fabric designed by Ashley via spoonflower; bedding made by my grandmother}

{birdcage from Hobby Lobby; fabric box from Target; mirror from Baron's grandmother & painted with Krylon spraypaint in ballet slipper}

Thanks for looking! :)