Calvin's Playroom Reveal

This project has been a dream come true.  Our house has a loft space upstairs that we had previously used as a catch-all for everything we didn't have space for in our downstairs living room.  After Calvin was born, we starting spending time up there in the mornings (it's right outside his room), and he just loved it.  At the beginning of the pandemic, I started taking screenshots of spaces I loved and collecting art/items for what I deemed my "functional gallery wall."

I've always loved keeping Calvin's toys organized (here's my post from his first year of toys and organization), but this is was needed quickly as he got bigger and his toys got bigger.  Below are a whole bunch of photos and at the bottom of this post, I've linked everything I can think of from each little space.  If I missed something and you want a link (nothing is affiliate or sponsored - just want to share what I love) - just email or leave a comment!

Here's the BEFORE:

And the AFTER:

One of my favorite spaces is this little book nook area.  I love switching out the bookshelves in Calvin's room every month, and now I have another space to share seasonal favorites.  Plus, a festive felt ball garland is now my monthly go-to.

Looking back to the other side of the room, you can see the "functional gallery wall" on the left and my absolutely NOT Montessori-style toy storage.  While it's not perfect, everything has a space (so I can clean up in 5 minutes or less), it allows Calvin to make his own choices about what to play with, and it's off in the corner, so he grabs what he wants and comes back to the middle of the room to play.  You'll also see the door to our upstairs porch next to the organization, and Calvin loves playing out there with his toys (and looking at the garbage trucks and buses in the mornings).

And lastly, a close-up look of that gallery wall.  I'm still looking to add more to it, but for now, it's perfect.  I'm so happy with how much Calvin loves his dollhouse, and even though I haven't found any dolls for him yet (IKEA only sells the furniture for it haha), he LOVES putting his lovey sloth to bed in the little bed and play with him in there.  It has given him so many ideas for pretend, open-ended play.

Here are all the product links (mostly from Amazon, Target, and IKEA):

Gallery wall:

Dinosaur letterboard ||| Clothespin photo frame ||| Dollhouse ||| Dollhouse furniture ||| Rainbow yarn & wood sign ||| Custom woven wall hanging ||| Clock ||| Basketball hoop ||| Calvin map made by a neighbor

Nugget in Atlantis

Fire truck pillow

Pom pom pillow from Target dollar section

Train table hand-me-down from a neighbor (similar)

Calvin bench

Book nook:

Bookshelves (are spice racks!) ||| Floating circle shelves ||| Rainbow inauguration print ||| Set of 3 mini photo frames ||| Pom pom garland ||| Stuffed animal storage bean bag - yes, that striped thing is filled with stuffies!

Toy organization: 

Large circle shelving ||| Toy organizer

Sonogram Heartbeat Art Canvas

A year later (yes, my baby will be ONE this month), I still love Calvin's nursery.  Now that he's a little older, we spend so much time in there playing, reading, and that's the main place where I nurse him.  I didn't do a lot of DIY projects for it (hello, exhausted all the time during pregnancy haha), but I did this one piece of artwork a little while before he was born.  It hangs in his bathroom and perfectly ties all the colors of the bathroom and bedroom together.  That's the best thing about this sonogram fetal heart rate art: you can use as many colors you want (and whatever colors you want!). 

It was pretty easy to make, and it's so meaningful.  All you need is a canvas, paint, paintbrushes, and a sonogram photo (with fetal heart rate) from an ultrasound. 

I love the way different heartbeats look, so it was difficult to choose my favorite!  I thought this one had the most opportunity for color variance and was from Calvin's 24-week ultrasound. 

All I did was start by sketching the outline of the heartbeat.  Then, I filled in the same colors for each segment of the heart rate to keep it symmetrical and blended them all together. 

Now, it hangs in the jack and jill bathroom just off Calvin's bedroom.  I smile every time I see it!

Calvin's Nursery

Next week, Calvin will be 6 months old, and this weekend, we are starting to transition him into his nursery!  For the first two months of his life, he slept in a bassinest next to our bed, then, for the last four months into a Pack 'n Play in the full-size bassinet.  I will absolutely miss waking up next to him every morning, but I'm excited for this little bit of independence as he gets older.  Before his room becomes lived-in, I made sure to snap a whole bunch of photos to remember what everything looked like at the start.  If you're interested in any of the product details, I've linked to everything at the bottom of this post!

Our inspiration: Obviously, I'm a big fan of Target, and their Cloud Island collections for nurseries are so cute!  I was between a night sky theme, an animal theme, and this theme with shapes.  I went with this, and primarily gray, navy blue, turquoise, and mint green for colors.

The "Before:" The upstairs of our home has 3 bedrooms, and this space shares a jack-and-jill bathroom with Mike's office.  Before it was Calvin's nursery, it was our second guest room and golf/running catch-all. 

The Progress: Mike was a boss at putting everything together, and the cats loved "helping."  

The "After:" We just love the way it turned out.  We wanted a cozy space that Calvin could grow with, and my favorite part is that even with only one window in the room, it still feels so bright!

crib ||| crib mattress ||| ottoman ||| side table ||| glider ||| bookcase ||| dresser ||| nightstand |||

circular mirror ||| curtains ||| changing pad ||| changing cover ||| wipe warmer |||

ceiling fan ||| Amazon echo ||| Hatch Rest+ ||| Owlet monitor and smart sock |||

"Calvin Michael" wooden sign ||| mobile ||| thumb print sea turtle ||| thumb print alligator ||| personalized name blanket

Unfortunately, it looks like the Target PillowFort lamp and exact crib sheets are no longer available, but here is the link to the throw blanket over the chair and here is a similar set of swaddle blankets.  All Simmons furniture is 'rustic white.'

Predicting Baby's Gender: 10 Old Wives Tales

I found out I was pregnant at about 4 weeks, and we had it confirmed when I was 9 weeks alond.  We decided to find out early what we are having because I am definitely not a patient person.  The way they can collect my blood and do a range of genetic testing on baby (including finding out the gender) at only 13 weeks is seriously so cool.  Well, before we found out the results, I scoured the internet for all of those silly old wives tales that can supposedly predict the gender - I figured, why not, right?!  Here's what they predicted during my first trimester:

• Chinese gender predictor chart: Boy
• Mayan gender predictor: Boy
• Heart rate: Over 140 bpm (Girl)
• Experiencing breakouts?: Yes (Girl)
• Having morning sickness?: No (Boy)
• Craving salty or sweet?: Salty (Boy)
• Cranky or in a good mood?: Good mood (Boy)
• Where is your weight gain?: All in belly (Boy)
• Feet hot or cold?: Cold (Boy)
• Having headaches?: Yes (Boy)

So, it was 8 for boy and 2 for girl.  A few of these (hello, craving everything sweet and thank goodness the breakouts seem to be behind me) have changed since then, but they all said to measure between 10 and 12 weeks.  For some reason Mike and I both had this instinct that we were having a girl, but it turned out that these old wives tales were better at predicting than any parental instincts that hadn't kicked in yet - haha!

It's true, Baby BOY Taylor will be here in May!  We have finally chosen which room will be the nursery, and coincidentally, it's already painted blue.  We can't wait to start getting the nursery together soon!

Dreaming of Flamingos

Does anyone else clean like crazy before they leave for vacation?  Seriously, all I want to do when I walk in the door after a trip is sit down and relax (followed by about 5 loads of laundry).  There is nothing better than coming back to a clean house, except maybe a fun package!  Put those two things together, and you have my perfect day.  

When we got back from our trip to the Northeast last week, there was a pretty little package waiting for me from Sant & Abel!  My awesome friend, Erika, tagged me in a giveaway of theirs earlier this summer, and I have since loved following along with their social media.  Seriously, how cute are these flamingos and palms?!

Now, after a twelve-day trip that took us 1,200 miles and through seven states, I need a vacation from my vacation.  I wish it was a tropical getaway like my pajamas, but give me my comfy bed, a book, and some coffee, and I'm a happy lady! 

Pajama shirt and shorts c/o ||| mug from the Masters ||| bedding ||| sheets ||| pillow (similar) ||| settee