It's the End of the World as We Know It

And I feel fine!

Hospital bound, friends. More soon...

Hall Bath Reno Update, Take 2

My husband is amazing. But you already knew that! Let me give you some supporting evidence anyway. This was the tiling progress as of yesterday--last pieces set in place and the tile saw returned to the rental company by noon. 

I had to share this shot of Raf cleaning up out front, putting away some of the leftover tile. It totally made me think of diapering practice! Can't you just envision him whipping out some duct tape?! Ha! 

And as of today, ladies and gentlemen, we've got grout! WOO HOO!

Crappy lighting, but you get the idea. 

Just paint and installing the fixtures to go before we've got 2 usable bathrooms!! (Thank you, Baby B, for giving Daddy another weekend to work!)

The 365 Project: Day 262

My final pre-baby Etsy order is finished and shipped...thank goodness! The idea of going into labor with this wedding order half done was really starting to stress me out. So when I woke up at 4:50 this morning and couldn't go back to sleep, I got up and finished it instead. I think this is my version of nesting. That and vacuuming. I {heart} my new vacuum.

The 365 Project: Day 261

Wow. My color choices are looking a little INTENSE lately! Good times.

The 365 Project: Day 260

I *may* have gone a little crazy at a fabric sale today. But here's the thing (get ready, a great excuse is coming!) It was for charity (ovarian cancer research). And it was really cheap to begin with ($2/yard). And after I had made it through half of the church GYM the sale filled (mind you, I even went late to avoid going overboard), they declared that everything was half off! Ok seriously, you know I can't resist used things ON SALE! (Remember the thrift store book shopping incident last week?!)

So I made a $36 donation today. I primarily ended up with random chunks of fabric--some stripes (baby stuff), some Christmas (?), and a whole lot of vintage-vibed little flowers (mis-matched napkin sets and baby skirts, perhaps?). And a few super old patterns and books that were just too much fun to resist.

9 Things

I was skimming my reader today for the first time in ages and thought I'd share some things I'm enjoying from blogland.

1. Fabric covered map puzzle--found on the cover of the latest edition of the Mix Tape Zine. Via: The Long Thread.
2. Irish Creme Recipe via Skip to My Lou. Partially because I already have Christmas on the brain. And partially because a little flavored liqueur is sounding mighty nice after 39 (ok, probably more like 36) weeks of sobriety.
3. A Toast free printable card, via Oh My! Handmade Goodness. You know how toast makes me happy.
4. Breakfast biscuit... 
5. and potato recipes, via Your Home Based Mom.
6. Stencil wall art, via I am Momma Hear Me Roar. Super cute! Just wish the stencils weren't $40!
7. Considering purchasing the Big Butt Baby Pant pattern from Made By Rae (photo via Noodlehead). Now that I've made a baby skirt, I'm feeling like I need to make some pants so the baby boys in my life don't feel left out!
8. I want a set of these Weck juice jars, found via Stephmodo.
9. Love banner, via A Room Somewhere.

Cleaning the Floors

In other shopping news, it appears that my nesting phase may have jump started with a drive to have clean floors--and a need to buy the perfect vacuum to get the job done... IMMEDIATELY! We own a vacuum, but I hate it. I literally don't have the strength to pull it backwards, and I'm afraid to use it on our hardwoods.

So, I started researching hardwood floor cleaning routines, because ours are always gross from the construction dust and the "we never water our yard so it's really dusty out there, thus in here" dust. And the idea of babies and nasty dirty floors just doesn't work for me. So yeah, I'm researching hardwood floor cleaning routines. 

The best info I found (don't ask me where), basically broke it down like this: 

1. Use a cordless stick vac to pick up chunky debris at least every other day. The vac will pick up the bigger stuff, which could scratch and dull your floor if left alone. And getting rid of the big stuff preps you for step 2. A cordless stick vac was recommended because it's lightweight and easy to pull out of the cupboard for quick, regular cleanup. 
2. Use a DRY microfiber mop to tackle the dust.
3. Put a fresh microfiber cloth on your mop. This time it should be very lightly damp. You can use water alone, or in combination with an approved cleaner. You'll want to wet mop less often, as water and wood aren't really  friends. Allow to dry before trekking across it, and use a dry cloth if it's overly wet anywhere. 

I then researched cordless stick vacs. The best I found was the Hoover Linx. It had 4-5 stars on Walmart, Target and Amazon websites. So, of course, I had to have one. Immediately. As in, last night I made Raf drive me to Wal-Mart when we only had 15 minutes to spare before meeting some friends for dinner.

Then, today was like Christmas morning--I woke up and all I could think about was trying out my new vacuum! (Yes, this is my life.) My thoughts? LOVE IT!

Pros

• It picks up like a champ, even doing a pretty good job (at least as good as our normal vac) on carpeting. Would be ideal for families with pets. 
• It's super lightweight and fits in small spaces.
• It's pretty fancy looking. :) 
• The fact that it's cordless makes it so much easier to use--no moving plugs twice in every room. 
• It makes cleaning reasonably painless. I've always hated vacuuming. I didn't mind sweeping. But sweeping in our house is so annoying because I feel like I'm just mixing the dust back into the air, without cleaning up nearly enough. And it takes forever because we have so much floor space (and so much dust). After using this baby, I can now say that I hate sweeping and love vacuuming!

Cons

• Battery life. The battery only lasts about 15-20 minutes and takes 2-3 hours to charge. Pretty lame. But not lame enough to outweigh the Pro list. Plus, I figure if you're actually using it every 1-2 days, it probably wouldn't really take very long to do a quick sweep of most of your house. And I lose energy and interest after more than 15 minutes, so at least I have a good excuse when it dies!
• No attachments. This is actually nice in some ways, but it'd be pretty awesome of the stick handle popped off as a hose tool so that you could also tackle cobwebs, vents, tiny spaces, etc.

All in all, I love it and am super happy I made Raf drive me to the store so I could have my immediate gratification! I re-charged and used it 3 times today and covered the whole house. It felt so nice to have somewhere clean to lay a blanket down to play with a baby. And it even made cleaning up after home haircuts a breeze!

Woo hoo for my progression as a Happy Homemaker! 

The 365 Project: Day 259

It was a good day in the B household. For starters, we both got much-needed haircuts...at home! I met Lisa through my (also pregnant) friend, Jamie. Lisa lives here in town, and has been a stylist for years, but is now a stay at home mom. At Jamie's shower, I asked her if she could recommend an inexpensive haircut in town, and mentioned my jealousy of the friend who gets her hair cut for super cheap in her stylist's garage. After telling me about a couple options, she said..."Or I could just do it at your house--I'd love to make a little cash. As long as you wouldn't mind if I bring Jacob?" Um, yes please! 

I'm super happy to have a pre-baby haircut (though I probably should have left it a little longer to accommodate the chunky face), and even more excited that Raf got his first GOOD (non-military fade) haircut ever!

The best part of Raf's haircut? I got to hang out with Jacob! He has to be one of the most mellow babies ever. In the photo below, Jacob and I are breaking in a baby gift from Raf's friend, Eric. Well, actually it's from Eric's mom. Whom I've never met. How sweet is that?! Evidently she's a master quilt maker who loves babies...and actually made 3 options for Eric to choose from!! I'm glad he picked this one. It's adorable and the colors work great in our baby room. 

When I was getting my haircut, Jacob was entertaining himself in a BabyBjorn BabySitter Balance. These things are genius! Lisa swears by it, and considering you can start using it when a baby is 8lbs, I'm sold! He was having a ball kicking and keeping himself bouncing for ages. Unfortunately, I can't find a used one, so I may have to splurge on a new one, but if it works on our baby the way it worked on Jacob, it's worth it!

Bump Update

Kinda shocking, huh?! I'll be a full 39 weeks tomorrow. One week to go! Unbelievable. 

I'm not sure the little one is going to hold out the full week, though. We hope it does so that we can make as much progress on the bathroom and other projects as possible, but I'm not counting on it. I started feeling funky a couple nights ago. Hard to explain, just off. And felt the same again last night. Things just feel different. 

And when I saw the midwife this week, she let me know that the baby had dropped, was in perfect position, and that I was 1.5cm dilated and 100% effaced. I don't know about you, but 100% sounds like a lot to me! Eek! 

Side note: the midwife is hoping for a girl so I can pass on the good birthing genes. Thanks Mom. I hope those work out for me soon...!

The 365 Project: Day 258

The freshly converted changing table has ledges! Now it needs to not be green. And I need to go buy a changing pad!

Collage Art by Danny

I'm clearly a little late in getting this posted (as we're now on day 8 in the countdown to the due date), but I obviously had to share the fabulous collage art Danny put together for us. Hahaha! I think he's excited.

Thanks Uncle P!

Baby Aubrey

Remember how my cousin, Lindsay, was also pregnant? Well, she's not anymore. Not since July!

She's so stinkin cute! Can't wait to meet her!

Pegboard

Feeling inspired by this workspace, and considering going crazy for pegboard. I'm also loving their super simple work table, and the fact that the Ikea drawers that I've always wanted fit under them.

These mini shelves of goodness are lovely, and the idea of hanging all my ribbon spools from a dowel on the wall sounds fab. 

Painted pegboard=even better!

Tons of other pegboard inspiration from around the web:

The 365 Project: Day 257

Making progress on the stack of quilted baby blankets, bit by bit. I sewed all my seams by machine today; now I need to close them all up by hand. Sounds like a good activity to distract me while laboring at home, no? :)

Getting Ready for Winter

I love a casserole. LOVE! Not so much during the summertime, but most days it feels like fall is already here, and winter will be just around the corner. So I was pretty excited to find this collection of casseroles on Better Homes & Gardens. I'm pretty sure I bookmarked half of them on Plummelo.

Has anyone else tried Plummelo or another online recipe collection tool? I signed up the other night and it's a super cool tool; however, it would be much cooler if I could easily save recipes from anywhere (namely, other blogs). At this point it just saves recipes from certain sites, but it does include most food websites.

The 365 Project: Day 256

Introducing black as a new option for the Monogrammed CD Holders! I just needed to find the right ink, giving me a crisp black, rather than the purple hue I was previously getting (on the left).

Now to get this order finished and shipped before the baby arrives!

Baby Skirt Reveal & Play Date Fun!

I joined Lindsey and Karaliese for a play date yesterday afternoon, and passed along my most recent handmade goodness then, so now I can show you what I was working on last week...it's a Baby Skirt! Made from one fat quarter! How great is that?! I absolutely love this project. You can find the instructions via Wink Designs here. 

The fact that it's made from a single fat quarter is awesome because it makes it inexpensive ($.99 when on sale at Joann's!), and there's minimal cutting (YAY!) 

I wanted to make something for Maddy because I never made her a quilted baby blanket. By the time I decided to get started on it, she was almost 7 months old! So I decided a skirt might be more fun, and age appropriate. 

Trying it on! The good news is that it fits right in with her current wardrobe...she loves some polka dots! And it fits!

And, while we have the camera out, I of course need to share some play date fun! Cash LOVES whole fruit. So cute. 

And one more of Maddy modeling the skirt after she got home. Love it!