HELLO
Mom to Iris. Wife to Todd. Our little family lives at the foothills of the Ozark Mountains in Fayetteville, Arkansas. We love it here and I love sharing little bits of our life.

© 2014 sarahfortune.

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Posts Tagged: nursery

Baby Blog: The Nursery

With about six more weeks to go, the nursery is done! Well, about as done as it’s going to be. I’m sure there are little things here and there that we’ll need, but it feels good to have the basics taken care of.

So here’s a little tour of our nursery, with my notes along the way…

● The room before. For a few years it was my Bittersweet Styles office (which I wisely painted light pink back in the day), but as you can see, its last purpose was to house all of our junk. It was bad. Really bad.

Baby Blog: The Nursery

● But with a lot of organizing, some construction on the ceiling, and a little paint, we started the transformation to a nursery…

Baby Blog: The Nursery

Tah-dah! Here she is…

● Vintage floral rocking arm-chair found on Craigslist.
● Vintage fabric pennants made by Kerri.
● I decided to forgo the traditional bedding. I actually have a matching set, but have it neatly packed away for when she’s older. I like the simplicity of it how it is now, plus infants aren’t supposed to sleep with anything but a flat sheet at first anyway.

Baby Blog: The Nursery

● The three big pieces of nursery furniture are from Todd’s dad & step mom. It’s a ‘lifetime set’, so the crib turns into a toddler bed and then a full size bed, while the changing station dresser turns into a desk and bedside table. So thankful to have something so nice that Iris can use as she grows.
● Our wedding invitation is framed and hung over the tall dresser.
● Stuffed vintage Razorback for good measure.
● Pink & white poms I made from tissue paper.
● A bassinet that we’ll actually keep in our bedroom at first.
● Pink vintage lamp that once belonged to Todd’s mom.

Baby Blog: The Nursery

Baby Blog: The Nursery

Baby Blog: The Nursery

● Gifts from friends & family in the dresser cubbies.
● The stack of blankets are all handmade. They’re so special that I’m working on a separate blog post just for them.

Baby Blog: The Nursery

Baby Blog: The Nursery

Baby Blog: The Nursery

Changing station…
● The vintage cats are actually a night light that also belonged to Todd’s mom.
● We’re using the vintage Iris/Tennessee bowl that Erin gave us to hold all the booty cleaning supplies.

Baby Blog: The Nursery

Baby Blog: The Nursery

Baby Blog: The Nursery

Baby Blog: The Nursery

The crib…
● Filled with cuddly friends for now.
Yes, that is a llama.
And a Blabla bunny.

Baby Blog: The Nursery

Baby Blog: The Nursery

Baby Blog: The Nursery

Baby Blog: The Nursery

● Framed baby shower art from Jill, who designed the invitations.
● Diaper bag from Mini Boden & a couple favorite dresses.

Baby Blog: The Nursery

Baby Blog: The Nursery

Shelf treasures…
● Framed Skateland photo from my mom. I used to roller skate there in Memphis growing up & it has since burned down.
● Paper flowers made by me.
● Vintage Fisher Price toy found in Mississippi by Kerri.
● Vintage doll case I’ve had forever.
● The tiniest (and cutest) Hog hat ever.
● Little lambs I found in Berryville, Arkansas. As I bought them, I was asked for the first time when I was due.
● House made by Tim. The story is here.

Baby Blog: The Nursery

Baby Blog: The Nursery

Baby Blog: The Nursery

Baby Blog: The Nursery

Now for some of Iris’ loot…

● The best books from the best friends.

Baby Blog: The Nursery

● Her heap of clothes (I should do a whole separate post on all of the adorable outfits she received at the shower). There’s one whole drawer dedicated to onesies. One dedicated to pajamas. One dedicated to outfits. And a closet just for dresses. My favorite part about these photos is that Todd is actually the one that did the baby laundry & arranged all of the drawers. Hee!

Baby Blog: The Nursery

Baby Blog: The Nursery

Baby Blog: The Nursery

Baby Blog: The Nursery

Baby Blog: The Nursery

● Burp cloths & blankets.

Baby Blog: The Nursery

● Bath drawer.

Baby Blog: The Nursery

● Bibs, socks, hats, & bows.

Baby Blog: The Nursery

● Storage bin/hamper.

Baby Blog: The Nursery

● More shower gifts (!!!)
Baby Blog: The Nursery

Baby Blog: The Nursery

Sweet Sadie Pup decided to try out the nursery and see how she likes it.
Thankfully, it’s pup approved.
Now all we need is a real baby!

Baby Blog: The Nursery

Pregnancy Craving: Mixing Vintage with New

Even though I love the thrill of collecting one-of-a-kind vintage baby treats, I’m constantly looking at new things too. At least once I week I go to Target to just stare at their baby clothes. And don’t even get me started on Etsy… The fact that we’re having a girl makes the situation quite dangerous. But despite last month’s Baby Wish List: Girl Pretties post, I’ve been REALLY good about not going overboard so that we can prepare with what we really need.

But that doesn’t mean a mama can’t look.
Here are a few of my online and local baby favorites…

Vintage Fabric Pennants (via Tina Magee Sews on Etsy)

pennant

Itty Bitty Newborn Felt Headband Set (via Lou and Lee on Etsy)

Cute Baby Tinies

Every Day art for the nursery (via Riff Raff in Fayetteville)

Cute Baby Tinies

Pretty Bird Plush (via Lori Marie Pretty Little Things)

Cute Baby Tinies

Mustache Baby Bibs (via The Mustache Goods & Wears in Fayetteville)

bib

Ladybug Striped Dress (via Gilt Groupe)

Cute Baby Tinies

Shi Shu Bamboo Baby Blanket (via Gilt Groupe)

Cute Baby Tinies

Aden & Anais Swaddle Cloths (via Terra Tots in Fayetteville)

Cute Baby Tinies

Vintage Yellow Dress (via 3 Ring Circus on Etsy)

Cute Baby Tinies

Hand Dyed Baby Burp Cloths (via Hepstyles on Etsy)

Cute Baby Tinies

I still love my thrift shop & flea market finds too.

I’ve been snatching up little vintage outfits whenever I can, and at a couple bucks a pop, it allows me to fulfill my shopping craving without breaking the piggy bank. I’ve added a few more pieces to my vintage baby clothes collection and here are my recent favorites…

Cute Baby Tinies

A vintage onesie I gave to Taylor for her sweet boy.

Cute Baby Tinies

Cute Baby Tinies

The picture doesn’t do it justice, but I love this all white, cotton dress from Amanda!

Cute Baby Tinies

Cute Baby Tinies

Cute Baby Tinies

Cute Baby Tinies

Cute Baby Tinies

Cute Baby Tinies

Cute Baby Tinies

My 25 week post is coming soon…
I’m excited about this week, so stay tuned!

Pregnancy Blog: 24 weeks

Pregnancy Blog: 24 weeks

Ah, 24 weeks.

This is about the time where I start to regret committing to a photo of me every week. While I’m excited that baby Iris is growing strong, I can’t say the same for my backside and, well, everywhere else.

At least this week of pregnancy has been a productive one. Thanks to Todd’s hard work, the nursery ceiling is completed and the walls are painted. We actually left the room the same color as before, conveniently pink, but it needed some major touch ups and the trim color had to go. While Todd did the hard labor, I started the dreaded daycare search. I’ve always known that I would go back to work full time after having a baby, so this has been something I’ve worried about for a while. Handing over Iris every weekday will be terribly hard, plus the cost of care is literally like paying another mortgage every month.

We’re hoping to hold off on daycare until January, but I’ve heard it’s best to start the search early due to waiting lists and such. After researching online and making a ton of phone calls, my mom and I toured a few of them this week. So far my favorite daycare is one that’s only .3 miles (about a 45 second drive) from my office. Yes, I timed it. If we decide to go with this one, I’m sure there will be some comfort in knowing that she’s so close.

So yes, this week has been busy, but I managed to squeeze in some pregnant lady fun too. For one, GL found out that she’s having a GIRL! She’s only a month behind me, so I’m excited to know that Iris will have an instant best friend. Also, our friend Taylor had her baby shower this weekend. She’s having a boy this August, so it looks like Iris will have a built in boyfriend too!

A few pictures from the shower…

Taylor's Baby Shower

Taylor's Baby Shower

Taylor's Baby Shower

Taylor's Baby Shower

Taylor's Baby Shower

Taylor's Baby Shower

Taylor's Baby Shower

GL, Taylor, & me
Taylor's Baby Shower

Xoxo

Home & Hearts

Last week something quite amazing happened.

I’ve always known what great friends Todd and I have, but this time we were left in awe over how incredible they truly are.

The back story: Exactly one year ago we began experiencing problems with the roof on our house. Apparently the people that installed it before we bought our home did a faulty job and, over time, leaks have popped up in several rooms. Unfortunately, home owners insurance doesn’t cover this because the work was done prior to our purchase. We’ve tried to stretch out little fixes here and there while we attempt to save for a new roof, but of course with a baby along the way we have additional expenses to save for too. It does get tricky though, because in order to start working on the nursery we need a new roof, so that we can put up new sheetrock from the water damage, so that we can paint, so that we can move in furniture, etc.

Out of the blue on Friday, a couple of dear friends came over to drop off an early baby gift from a small group of our friends. They told us that they were recently discussing what to get us for the baby and decided they wanted to give us something we really needed. We weren’t expecting a thing when they presented us with a card and enough money for a…

brand. new. ROOF.

Without our knowledge, they gathered estimates and all pitched in so that we can move forward immediately with getting our house in tip-top shape for the baby. I cried (heavy tears, ya’ll) and mumbled something to the likes of, “I feel like I’m on Oprah.” It was the most generous, thoughtful gift ever.

I cried because it was a huge relief, but also because our friends did not have to do this. They didn’t have to think twice about our roofing-woes and they most certainly didn’t have to do anything about it.

But they did.

And out of love they came together to help. It was the sweetest, most incredible thing. Saying that we will be grateful for a very, very long time is an understatement. Thank you, friends. This means more than you know.

Here’s the card we received, handmade by Tim out of roofing shingles,
which will be framed and hung in the nursery.

Home & Friends.