Bert's Room

This was the baby room as I left it:

This is what I came home to:

It was really great to come back from a weekend at my parents' and have the room all painted. Keith was a busy man, devoting most of his weekend to painting Bert's room. (Bert is what we have been referring to the baby as. If you know us, the reference makes sense. My parents started it and it is sticking.) As you can see, the tape is still up and there may be some touch-ups to do, but much progress has been made! Unfortunately, the color doesn't read well in the photos, but it looks great on the wall. Everything looks so fresh and clean compared to the dingy room it was. And, Bert's got the best view in the house, though it's a little hard to tell from this photo below.

Next steps: carpeting and light fixture. Bare wires and babies don't mix.

My weekend was semi-productive, as Mom and I spent some time cutting old flannel sheets and scraps of fabric to begin making reusable baby wipes. (More on this as I start sewing.) We also practiced diapering my old doll, Lisa, with cloth diapers. (Now that's what I should have a photo of!) I think we can handle it, though the doll doesn't squirm.

I also had a great time getting to see some family on Saturday night when we got together for my Grammy's 83rd birthday. A few of my aunts, uncles, cousins, and cousins' kids were there and it's always nice to be together.

Last note: two weeks from tomorrow we find out if Bert is a boy or girl! And we promise, the kid's name won't be Bert for real, but I can't make any guarantees that the nickname won't stick.

Progress Report

As promised, a couple photos.

Here is as far as we got in the baby room:

Basically, spackling and getting one coat of paint on the trim. We probably have at least 2 more coats to go.

And this is our "helper", Mocha, who has managed not to get any paint on herself and a nice nap in the closet when Keith opened it to paint the door.

And the makeover candidate, our fabulous bathroom...

(Yes, that is a swatch of "Honolulu Blue" above the towel bar.)

Really, whose idea was this wallpaper? Someone needs to be held accountable.

Change of Plans

I was planning on heading up to my parents' this weekend but since my dad called and said he has a nasty cold, I decided to stay put. No sense in getting sick and run down if I can help it.

What then to do with an unexpected weekend at home? Paint a baby room! Or, at least, prep a baby room to paint. We went to our local hardware store and picked up paint this morning. We had tested a few colors throughout the week (the cashier practically knows us by name) and settled on Benjamin Moore "Pale Avocado" for the walls and "Lemonade" for the trim. Yummy. Sounds like a bowl of guacamole. We went with BM's Natura No VOC line so that the fumes won't bother me or baby, now or later. Plus, with the temperatures on the East Coast hovering between single digits and the teens, we won't be opening any windows to air things out. Paint, brushes, and rollers are on hand and I have just finished washing down the walls. You would not believe how dirty the walls are in a room that we've kept closed most of the time. Keith is helping a friend lay a tile floor today so maybe tomorrow we'll start painting. Or maybe in the evenings after work. Or maybe next weekend. The baby won't be here until July so we've got time, right? I'll post some photos once we get going.

Keith also has the ambitious plan to paint the bathroom, so we picked up some kitchen & bath paint this morning too in "Cork". We tried going bright, but the "Honolulu Blue" sample scared us off and we went to the other end of the spectrum. Now, what the bathroom really needs is a total overall. I'll have to post a photo so you can get the full effect, but picture pink and blue institutional-style tile, the bottom half of the walls papered with a vertical stripe/dash blue/green/teal phenomenon, and the top half in Japanese trees of the same color. An off-white vanity glammed up gold swirls and the tackiest little shelf and over-the-toilet cabinet you can imagine. Oh, and we shrunk our shower curtain in the wash a couple weeks ago so it just looks ridiculous. Can a coat of paint help this? Time will tell. We're tossing around the idea of painting the floor but need to do some research on that end. For now, this is our $30 renovation.

Now, the pregnant lady needs her nap.

Just Getting Started...

So what is a quarter-acre adventure? It's when a city boy (who thinks a quarter-acre is pretty big) and a farm girl (who thinks a quarter-acre is pretty small) get married, buy an old house in a small town, and make it their own. It's seeing how much food we can grow on a quarter-acre and learning how to fix up 1200 square feet of house and make it home. We are about a year and a half into our adventure, and the stakes have been raised as we are expecting our first baby, so follow us as we take our adventure day by day!