I do all my own stunts

The busiest room in the house

The nursery:  

I seriously don't know how those mommy bloggers do it.  My twins are 11 months old and I'm just now getting around to sharing these nursery photos.  Although they are not yet literally walking, they have been running circles around me daily (and nightly) since they were born.

Before:

And after:

Nearly all the elements of this nursery were handmade.  The curtains I had planned on sewing myself, but ended up in the hospital on bed rest for the better part of 8 weeks, so my mom graciously did the honors.  She also sewed the liners for the organizer boxes to match the dust ruffle on the cribs.

See:

All the bedding was sewn by my mom.  Amazing!  I am still in awe.  

I made that pillow case with the silly owl fabric one day while the girls were napping.

Look familiar?  I wrote about my Beatrix Potter decoupage dresser project here.  

All the artwork is from vintage story books that my mom found in the basement of an old bookstore that was going out of business.  That is Beatrix Potter's Squirrel Nutkin in the middle.  I love the creepy pose he is striking.  There's something so wonderfully disturbing about animal portraiture.  I can't get enough of it.

More of my mom's handiwork:  

The bird mobile was one of my projects.  This gem of a DIY idea came from one of my faves:  design*sponge.  

As you can see, we've got sort of a cacophony of colors, textures and fabrics.  Despite this, it is a very calming and welcoming space.  I think the handmade, vintage feel of the room is charming.  And we managed to give it a very feminine quality while still heeding my husband's request that there be very little pink involved.  As our household's only male, he was feeling a little outnumbered when we found out we were having two girls.  

Functional and beautiful - the best of both worlds.  We spend a lot of time in the nursery.  See:  

Storybook land

Beatrix Potter Decoupage Changing Table/Dresser

When I found out I was pregnant, my mom, who had been eagerly anticipating this event for a very, very long time, immediately jumped into action.  She, of course being very familiar with my tastes, knows that I have a fondness for vintage items and began hunting for unique, classic nursery decor.  She hit the jackpot at a local bookstore that was sadly going out of business.  They had a number of old prints and illustrations from children's books that had been gathering dust in the basement of the bookstore since the '50's.  She scooped up a bunch of these treasures at thrift store prices.  Among them were these fantastic Beatrix Potter illustration panels.  I remember being enthralled with the adventures and misadventures of all of these characters when I was young, Tom Kitten, Benjamin Bunny, The Tailor of Gloucester.  And the colors of the illustrations are so calming and lovely, perfect for a nursery.  At first I wasn't quite sure I could incorporate the panels into our decorating scheme; they were an odd shape for framing, but I had to put them to use somehow.  

So I decided to get crafty.  

Here's what I did:  

1.  I found a changing table on Craigslist.  The girls would need a changing table, of course.  It was actually in pretty good shape.  Just not my style, see:

2.  I removed the drawer pulls and roughed up all the surfaces with sand paper to give the paint something to adhere to.  

3.  I chose a new paint color.  I finally went with 'Gumdrop' from Benjamin Moore.  I used their High Gloss Impervo oil-based paint, because I read that it is the best for repainting furniture.  It is fantastic paint.  But, all you pregnant ladies out there, fumes from oil-based paint are very, very harmful to your baby.  I didn't know this at first, but it's true.  Thankfully, darling, patient Brian was lovely enough to do the painting for me.  This crafting thing is definitely not his gig, but I think he did a great job.  

4.  Brian painted the changing table and the outside edges of the drawers.  Then I measured and cut the illustration panels to fit the inner rectangle of the drawer fronts.  I was very deliberate with my measuring and precise with my cutting.  I think my patience paid off; the panels look as if they were designed specifically for this piece of furniture.  

5.  I then used a sponge brush and Mod Podge (which ROCKS, by the way) to adhere the panels to the drawers.  I've learned that the key to a great Mod Podge project is applying a very thin coat.  It dries pretty quickly - about 15 minutes.  Then I sealed it with 3 more very thin coats.  

6.  I then drilled new holes and put in some awesome glass drawer pulls.  I found these at Rejuvenation.

7.  Et voila.  Fancy decoupage changing table for the twins' little nursery storybook land.

Aaaahhh summer...

And wine too...

Sarah and Kathleen, two friends who know how to do it right, graciously invited us to partake in a super fancy vertical wine tasting last Saturday.  

The setting was the ultra lush and cozy courtyard of their West Seattle home.

The wine was a Chenin Blanc from Bordeaux (years 1993 to 2000).

The food was gorgeous and delicious, as usual.  Summer delicacies like chilled pea and mint soup, polenta squares with slow-roasted tomatoes and sweet corn and squash succotash.  Sarah and Kathleen always make a valiant attempt to provide as many vegan options as possible.  That's one of the many reasons I adore them.

The gorgeous glass floral plates were Sarah's aunt's.  I love the look of the silverware paired with that vintage tablecloth alongside the luxurious Yves Delorme napkins (....in the spirit of full disclosure I have to add that they were a gift from me).

Oscar surely enjoyed the feast.

Eight bottles of wine, 5 chicks and 1 dude...the makings of a sincerely good party.  

When Brian found out that one of the chicks was his wife and the other 4 were lesbians, this was his reaction:

(Thanks to the clever and merry Sarah for that joke).