Rambling Renovators: May 2009

Neighbourly

Our 91-year old neighbour came by today with a little gift for Chloe. Our neighbour is pretty inspiring... she still lives on her own, does some gardening and goes for walks, and plays in a bowling league. She's got this schlumpy, flabby, baby-toting mama beat :o\

Chloe seemed to like the new outfit. It even got her to smile (one of her new feats!)...

at least until she got bored.

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I've entered Chloe's nursery in the Benjamin Moore Share Your Style contest and would appreciate your vote - click HERE. Maybe if we win, we can finally paint and decorate the master bedroom. There's a reason I've never posted pics of it on my blog :)

Awkward

As the 'family photographer', I'm often running around family functions snapping shots of the kiddos, the cousins, the food and decorations, but rarely appear in any photos myself. I haven't minded but now that I have my own little one, I want someone to take pictures of cute Chloe and her mommy, dang it, lol! Let's just hope those family photos turn out better than this one...judging by his hand gesture, this little boy obviously doesn't like his picture taken ;o) See more awkwardness at awkwardfamilyphotos.com

My oh my, DIY

These days, it seems everyone is recession proofing by doing more DIY instead of buy, buy, buy. We'll be doing a bit more of that around the HandyLuster household too, what with me being on maternity leave and HandyMan's company recently announcing a company-wide pay cut. I guess I can look on the bright side - at least HandyMan didn't lose his job, and being on maternity leave means I get to enjoy the next year with my daughter (yes, in Canada you can take up to a year for leave! We're lucky, I know).

With a baby constantly in my arms these days, I haven't been able to do many of my own DIY projects, but I've come across these by other bloggers. Have a look and maybe find some inspiration for your own home:

Painted thrift store desk by Centsational Girl

Photo Gallery by Bower Power

Painted Porch Rug by Making It Lovely

Upholstered Ottoman by Just Beachy

Chair makeover by daveandjoi

Seafan art by Freckles Chick

Goldilocks birthday party by cakies (okay, this isn't a real DIY home project but it was too cute not to share!)

Etsy Love

Loving this modern baby owl clock by decoylab... it would be great in the nursery so I can know exactly what insane time it is I'm doing those middle-of-the-night feedings :o\ Oh Chloe, are you sure you don't feel like sleeping through the night yet?? :)

Ikea, my way

You all know that HandyMan and I love Ikea, and we especially love to "hack" Ikea products and customize or personalize them to suit our home. Our hacks range from the big (like the Expedit bookshelves in the home office), the not so big (the Pax wardrobes in the nursery), and the small (the vanity in the master bedroom). Like I did with the vanity, one easy hack is to add a wallpaper, fabric, or stencil accent to your Ikea unit. Here's a product that makes that job just a little easier...

Grippiks Surface Accents are decorative films made to fit some of Ikea's most popular products, such as the Billy bookcase and Lack tables. I could have used just this thing when I was looking for wallpaper to accent the back of the wardrobes in the nursery - this yellow & grey pattern would have fit the room just perfectly too!

And this greeny floral pattern would work well in the office.

I guess with the global popularity of Ikea, it only makes $ense that someone comes up with the brilliant idea to make compatible products. Looking for a slipcover for your Ikea sofa? Yep, someone thought of that too.

Outdoor Eating

I LOVE this melamine dinnerware from West Elm! It coordinates perfectly with the materials and colours of our back deck. Now all we have to find is a table.

On The Run

I've been on the hunt for a carpet runner for our entry stairs for a while now. We found and ordered one back in January but the company went bankrupt (another victim of this global recession) before the rug was delivered so the hunt continues.

I came across these from Dash & Albert - how fun and lovely are they! I love the idea of a fresh, light runner against the dark stair treads. Such a welcoming look when you enter the door. Plus, I think Chloe's little bum will look so cute coming down those stairs when she learns how to manoeuvre them! Is it wrong to pick furnishings based on how well they accessorize your newborn? I get the feeling that things are going to get a bit more bright and colourful around the HandyLuster household? :)

Happy Mother's Day

Today is Mother’s Day... my first Mother’s Day :) I can’t tell you how happy I am to wake up today with Chloe in my arms and realize that she is mine and I am hers - forever entwined as Mother & Daughter.

Its true what they say though. You can’t truly appreciate your parents until you become one yourself. And today, that knowledge I’ve been given is casting tears on my keyboard as I type. I have always known my mother was an amazing woman... she raised four happy children, built a career, nurtured, supported, cheered, and comforted us, always providing the perfect solution to whatever ailed us. But in the last three weeks, I’ve seen another side of her... as Grandmother, “Lola” to my child, her first granddaughter.

Lola has stayed with HandyMan and I the past three weeks, easing our transition into parenthood. Lola has shown us how to bathe Chloe, how to hold her wobbly head properly, how to soothe her midnight cries. She has babied me too, cooking us hot meals, taking Chloe and giving me time to sleep, shower, and blog. She has reveled in her new granddaughter, buying Chloe pretty clothes and putting sweet bows on her head. And when my ‘new mom’ fears arise and I think “I can’t do this. I don’t know how”, Lola is right there to tell me “Yes, you can”.

Nothing compares to the sight of your mother holding your child, and singing to them the same soft lullabies you heard as a child.

Happy Mother’s Day Lola. I hope I can be as wonderful a mother as you someday.

Blinded

Soft and feminine. That’s the pattern of the roman blind we finally installed in the bathroom. We had a bit of a problem deciding what type of pattern to have on the blind. The room has a spa-like palette, all whites, soft greys, and watery blue-greens. We could have gone with a bold or modern pattern to punch things up but in the end chose this floral with a slight oriental feel.

The only question now is whether to keep the vinyl film we had installed temporarily on the window or remove it. What do you think? We have a big maple tree out front which is now full and leafy so we really don’t need the film for privacy.

7 Things...

Seven interesting facts about my little Chloe...

1. She has unusually long fingers and toes (she gets that from her daddy!). Her fingers are so long that baby mittens won't fit her because she likes to keep her fingers stretched out and not clenched into a fist like other babies. We've resorted to putting socks on her hands, lol.

2. If she was a boy, Chloe would have been named Grayson or Evan. We couldn't decide. But Chloe was the only girl name picked out. I think we knew she'd be a girl :)

3. She is a hiccupper. She hiccupped all the time in the womb, and now hiccups after every feed. They seem to troubleher mommy more than they trouble her... she'll cry to be fed even while she's hiccupping :o\ Good thing she doesn't have teeth yet or mealtime could be very painful, lol.

4. She has very strong neck muscles. When she came out of the birth canal and was placed on my chest, she promptly lifted her head and looked around. I'll admit that freaked me out a little bit and Chloe seemed a little 'alien' like in that moment :o/ You just don't expect a newborn to have that much neck control!

5. At her 3-day appointment, Chloe lost 8oz from her birth weight. At her next appointment one week later, she had gained 16oz! Normal weight gain is around 6 oz. The doctor nicely told us to stop force feeding her every 2.5hours and let Chloe start demand feed. You can say she's a good eater ;)

6. Chloe has a mullet. Her full head of hair is all business up front and party in the back!!

7. She has blue-grey eyes. Asian babies tend to have brown or black eyes at birth and Caucasian babies have dark blue eyes, so again she takes after her daddy who has blue eyes. I'm hoping they stay this colour.