Seriously, my daughter is a toddler (where does the time go?!?! Jellybean, please stop growing up so fast) and I have yet to share her adorable shabby chic nursery!  While a few things have changed since she was born, like lowering the height of the mattress and the addition of toys, her shabby chic nursery is finally making its debut.

Brainstorming ideas for Jellybean’s nursery began before I even knew if we were having a boy or a girl.  I settled on a nautical theme for a boy and shabby chic theme for a girl.  You can check out the Pinterest board here.  Despite my favorite color being purple I was drawn to pale pink accents for the nursery.  The hubby was pretty much on board with whatever made me happy.  His one request once we found out Jellybean was a girl was to keep the pink to a minimum … fair enough, fair enough my love.

Picking out the wall color was a huge undertaking.  I’m fairly obsessed with gray walls and finding the perfect gray is, well, challenging.  It couldn’t be too blue or purple or tan … I had to have (what I consider) a true gray.  My sister and (soon to be) brother-in-law came into town for a weekend and spent at least an hour at Benjamin Moore with me looking at samples, pontificating and eventually settling on the Harbor Gray sample. If they weren’t there to assist it is possible the nursery would still have sampled gray colors all over the walls hehehe.  I was worried the Harbor Gray would be too dark for the room so the sales associate suggested I get it at 75% or 50%.  I am fairly certain we went with the 75% …. and it was total perfection.

I love how the room came out.  It’s absolutely what I envisioned!!  I ran out of time and energy before JB was born and didn’t fill the frames.  I’m ashamed Jellybean is almost 20 months old and I am yet to fill the picture frames, but at the same time I kind of like them empty.

Light Pink, Gray and White Shabby Chic Nursery | Life's Tidbits

Light Pink, Gray and White Shabby Chic Nursery - Wicker Elephant Hamper | Life's Tidbits

Light Pink, Gray and White Shabby Chic Nursery | Life's Tidbits

Light Pink, Gray and White Shabby Chic Nursery - Vanity Tray | Life's Tidbits

Light Pink, Gray and White Shabby Chic Nursery | Life's Tidbits

Light Pink, Gray and White Shabby Chic Nursery | Life's Tidbits

Light Pink, Gray and White Shabby Chic Nursery | Life's Tidbits

Light Pink, Gray and White Shabby Chic Nursery - Ikea Bookshelves | Life's Tidbits

Light Pink, Gray and White Shabby Chic Nursery | Life's Tidbits

Light Pink, Gray and White Shabby Chic Nursery | Life's Tidbits

Light Pink, Gray and White Shabby Chic Nursery - Wooden ABC's | Life's Tidbits

Light Pink, Gray and White Shabby Chic Nursery - Vintage | Life's Tidbits

  • Bookshelves – Ikea
  • Frames – Hobby Lobby {painted the same white color as the trim}
  • Crib – Bratt Decor
  • Dresser & Nightstand – Consignment Store
  • Rug – Pottery Barn Kids {no longer in stock – similar}
  • ABC’s – Etsy {painted pink}
  • Elephant Hamper – Home Decorators
  • Sheet/Bed Skirt – RH Baby&Child
  • Curtains – Pottery Barn Kids
  • Light Switch Plates – eBay {painted the same white color as the trim}
  • Shade – The Shade Store
  • Vanity Tray – Hobby Lobby
  • Glider – Storytime Series
  • Barrette Frame – DIY {gift from a friend}

 

signiture_nicole

 

 

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The Twinkle Diaries
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I love themed parties.  LOVE THEM! So when it came to planning Jellybean’s first birthday party I immediately took to Pinterest to brainstorm ideas for themes.  It didn’t take long before I settled on a Winter ONEderland theme.  I pinned FAR TOO MANY details in hopes of being able to pulling them all off for the party.  Then planning came to a complete stop.  Work, life, motherhood and {some much needed} evening relaxation trumped party planning.

I had my heart set on sending out paper invites instead of doing an Evite for Jellybean’s first birthday.  I managed to motivate, design and print (using Vistaprint) the invitation just in time to get them out a few weeks before the party.  When the husband and I sat down to discuss decorations, food and other details he had one rule for me.  I had to LIMIT how much I took on for the party.  This meant doing things such as buying vegetables precut and not embarking on tons of DIY projects.  The hubby knows me well and putting a few restrictions in place helped me not go overboard.

Despite the party planning procrastination I am incredibly pleased with how the Jellybean’s first birthday party turned out.  Not to mention … how special and love we felt to have so many friends and family there to celebrate our little snow baby’s 1st birthday!

Jellybean in her Winter Onederland Birthday Girl Outfit … and yes I love playing ‘stylist’ for my sweet daughter.  She’s already got that stoic model face down :)

1st Birthday Winter Onederland Snow Baby Outfit - Pink/Sparkle tutu and flower headband | Life's Tidbits

Snowflake Onsie and Pants (Carter’s)  |  Tutu and Headband (Etsy)

And now for all the party details!!!

Pink stripped snowflake straws / Baby it's cold outside | Life's Tidbits

Winter Onederland Food Table and Snowflakes | Life's Tidbits

Winter Onederland Food Table | Life's Tidbits

Let it Snow Winter Onederland Party Decoration | Life's Tidbits

DIY Strawberry Tower | Life's Tidbits
The strawberry tower was so easy to make though a bit time consuming.  All you need are a bunch of strawberries, toothpicks and a styrofoam cone.  It was easiest to put the toothpick into the cone at an angle and then put the strawberry on … go slowly I definitely pricked myself a couple of times with the toothpicks.

DIY Chalkboard 1st Birthday Sign | Life's Tidbits

Winter ONEderland pink snowflake cupcakes | Life's Tidbits

Thank You Snow Much DIY Sign, Snowflake Stamps and DIY Sugar Cookies | Life's Tidbits

Snowflake Sugar Cookies | Life's Tidbits

Details:
Water Bar:  Snowflake Paper Straws  |  Baby It’s Cold Outside FREE Printable  |  Picture Frame  |  Glass Drink Dispenser
Decorations: Let it Snow Doorway Curtain | Plastic Clear Snowflakes Table Cover | Snowflake Cutouts
Cupcakes: Editable Snowflakes
Chalkboard Poster:  DIY using PhotoShop and printed at Staples … DIY instructions can be found here
Thank You Table:  Snowflake Treat Bags |  Thank You Snow Much Sign (DIY)  |  Snowflake Stampers | Snowflake Cookie Cutters

What was the theme of the most recent party you threw?

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Today, let’s chat rocking chairs slash gliders for the nursery.  For someone who get motion sick ALL the time (cars, planes, boats), it’s a little weird, but I love chairs that rock/move.  The husband and I discussed purchasing a chair for the nursery pretty early on.  I spent a lot of time looking at chairs online and trying to determine which would be best.  While online shopping is great and I’m a huge fan of not having to leave the house to make a purchase, there are somethings – like chairs – where it is just SO much easier to shop for in person.

My in-laws were in town visiting a couple weekends ago and offered to go crib shopping with us.  For someone who prides themselves on being a planner and getting things done ahead of time I’ve been a complete slacker/procrastinator on the nursery purchasing front!  I hang my head in shame as I admit … there is a VERY good chance the crib won’t be here by Jellybean’s due date.  At least I know she will be in the bassinet for a few weeks, which makes me feel a little less guilty.  Anyways, while we were out looking at cribs the husband and I took the opportunity to check out chairs for the nursery as well.

It was great to sit in the chairs and figure out what we were really looking for.  There are just SO many options: glider, recliner/glider, rocker, etc. it was honestly a bit overwhelming.  The husband and I knew we wanted a chair for the nursery that would look good if moved to another room, like the living room or tv room, in a few years.

Here is my nursery chair inspiration board:

Nursery Glider / Rocking Chair Inspiration | Life's Tidbits
Glider Story Time / Rocker & Glider Story Time / Swivle Glider Land of Nod

Recliner Story Time / Rocking Chair Amazon.com / Wingback Glider Pottery Barn Kids

Regardless of which chair we purchased an ottoman was a must have.  I love elevating my feet, plus I’ve heard when you are feeding late at night being able to put your feet up is ideal.  I was kind of partial to the glider/recliner/ottoman combo options, however in the end the hubby and I decided upon a simple glider with matching ottoman.  While at the store I went through the fabric book a couple of times making note of potential options.  My MIL and husband gave their input and we slowly started narrowing it down.  The store owner was hilarious when it came to choosing a fabric.  He told me “Don’t be shy.  Order as many swatches as you want … I do a lot of business with this company.”  With that we ordered a couple gray, white and cream sample fabrics.  Last week the fabrics arrived and we finally made a decision to go with one of the medium-dark gray fabrics!!

The chair is our second big purchase for the nursery!  It feels like we are finally making progress on the baby’s room and we are just 9 weeks away from her bid debut (hopefully).  Just like with the dresser, I think I will wait until the “big” Jellybean nursery reveal post to show you exactly which chair/color we chose. =)

Did you purchase a chair for your nursery?  If so was it nice to have and what type of chair did you get?

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Long before we found out Jellybean’s gender I started pinning ideas for the baby’s nursery.  It started off being both boy and girl room ideas.  If Jelly had been a boy we probably would have gone with a nautical themed nursery.  One of the very first things I fell in love with was a mint green french/vintage dresser (below).  It didn’t take long before I had pinned a variety of dressers all with the same feel, but in a number of different colors and details.  The more dressers I found, the more I feel in love.  Who needs to find the perfect crib … when swooning over the perfect dresser!  LOL.

Here is my mood board and inspiration for a vintage / french dresser:

Vintage/French Nursery Dresser Inspiration / Shabby Chic | Life's Tidbits

All found via Pinterest – On to BabySourceSouth County A to Z / Mama Say WhatBlogs Baby Center

From Pinterest I clicked through to a number of different blogs and read about their nursery decorating decision AND, most importantly for me at the time, where they found the vintage dresser enter … Craigslist.  Ugh, while I love Craigslist it is sometimes like trying to find a needle in a haystack.  Luckily we have/had time on our side.  Once or twice a week I would search vintage dresser, french dresser and shabby chic dresser on Craigslist.  There were always at least a few good options available.  It was hard to find the perfect combination of affordable price, not too far a drive from DC and the condition of the dresser.

After my 24 week doctor’s appointment my sister and I started doing some serious online browsing for the nursery.  We were discussing color, overall vision and style of the room.  While we chatted I browsed Craigslist for a dresser … and BAM the perfect dresser appeared.  It was exactly like the mint green dresser (above) I originally fell in love with, but in white … PLUS a  BONUS … a nightstand with the same vintage/french look was also for sale.

The next day we drove out to take a look at both pieces.  Though originally we hadn’t planned on purchasing a nightstand, the husband and I couldn’t pass it up.  We scooped up both pieces of furniture and two days later they were delivered to our place.  Yay for a delivery option.  Made life SO much easier.

It is so exciting to have furniture purchased for our little girl’s room.  It makes this whole “we are having a baby” thing that much more real!!  Dresser, nightstand … check and check.  Back to tackling the crib I suppose.  :)

What was the first piece of furniture you purchased for your baby’s nursery?  Where did you get your dresser from?

Happy Decorating!

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I’ve been trying to get started on the decor for the baby’s room and despite pinning a lot of cute nursery’s on Pinterest I really haven’t made much progress.  In the past when decorating I have picked the big pieces and then the small details/accents seem to fall into place and the room comes together nicely.  The problem with the nursery is the hubby and I just can’t seem to decide on any single piece of furniture so far.

About the only decisions we’ve made is to paint the walls gray (shocker I know!) and for the crib to be white.  You can probably see why we haven’t pulled the trigger on anything yet. :)   It wasn’t long after I started researching cribs that “sticker shock” set in.  While it would be nice to pretend there is no budget when it comes to our little one … I know there is.  To get us started I compiled a short list of cribs that fell on the splurge list and then found similar crib designs that would save us some moolah.

Nursery Crib Inspiration - Splurging vs Saving | Lifes's Tidbits

{1} Isabelle Iron Crib from Pottery Barn |  {2} DaVinci Jenny Lind from Amazon
{3} Emelia Sleigh Crib from RH Baby  |  {4} Stork Craft Vittoria from Amazon
{5} ducduc Oslo Crib from Land of Nod  |  {6}Babyletto Madison from Target
{7} Juliette Crib from Pottery Barn Kids  |  {8} Million Dollar Baby Ashbury from Overstock
While we still have plenty of time to decorate the nursery I am getting nervous we will never make a decision … or maybe it’s more I’m worried we will start going in one direction and then realize we should have gone another.

I can’t decide if we should splurge for the “perfect” crib or save on one we like.  I mean the baby is only in this thing for a couple years, right?  It’s not like a tween bedroom set that might last them through high school if chosen correctly.  Help please!!  Did you save or splurge on the crib?  Any recommendations on where to find the perfect crib?

Happy Decorating!

 

Linking up at Savvy Southern StyleThe Style Sisters and Chef-in-training

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