Sometimes you need a little inspiration

So we're making way in the nursery these days, but there is still so much to do. We have the bones of the room in place - crib, dresser etc. so I thought before I include before and after pictures I'd let you in on a few items which have inspired me thus far. I very much hope to complete this project soon but I probably have a few more weeks of chipping away at it here and there; it's too bad this whole pregnancy thing makes you exhausted!

I'd love to hear your feedback and be sure check back for DIY instructions as well as where I found stuff which will be coming soon.  But for now, a little inspiration...

This ain't your old lady brooch fetish

I've been busy over Christmas working on a new project involving many, many brooches.  Brooch bouquets are a unique alternative to the traditional bridal bouquet and they are becoming increasingly popular especially in your downtown/urban settings as many brides are looking for ways to be unconventional, hip and trendy - the whole old/new is all the rage here. 

I got the request for a custom order of a brooch bouquet back in November which didn't leave me much time especially for a project I have never tackled before.  It did require a lot of searching for good brooches and many hours of wiring and arranging - for sure a time consuming project - but in the end I am quite pleased with the result and am excited to see photos of what it looks like with the bridal gown.

For anyone thinking this would make a great DIY project let me give you a few pointers which I wish I could have found in all my internet research.

1. This is not an easy throw it together project - if you lack patience or are on a time crunch stay away!
2. All of the websites I looked at said to individually wrap each brooch in floral tape - this was a sticky mess which I aborted early on.  I couldn't get the clusters to stay together the way I wanted to and the end result was very heavy.  My suggestion - cut a small Styrofoam ball in half and attach a handle to the base.  Cluster through the ball allowing the circle to form your structure.  You can build on the original structure this way for a layered effect if you like however I really love the tightly woven look so I went with this option.
3. If you are going the purchase route remember brooches are expensive and since this is such a time consuming project the cost of making something like this is quite high.  Purchase in advance to allow adequate time for the creation for the bouquet and have a swatch of your dress ready to give out as well, this is very helpful in terms of brooch selection.

I always find the end result rewarding when it comes to custom orders but I am especially excited this time around as this will most likely be my last order before baby Potter arrives - I'll have to figure out how to manage the whole beading, small bits, wires and other not so baby friendly objects once I get used to being a mum.  In the meantime I am pumped to get back to nesting in our nursery - before and after pictures coming soon!

Christmas Salutation

Merry Christmas from the Potter clan!

As we reflect upon another year, we are as always amazed at how quickly time flies but very grateful for the wonderful year it has been.  As you probably know, we are also especially excited for the advent of a new year this time around as come March we will also be welcoming our first little Potter to the family!

We recently returned from a wonderful trip to the California coast which was a real treat for us as we drove up the coast from L.A. to San Francisco where Brett attended a conference and presented a paper.   Our trip began in Los Angeles with a tour of the Warner Brothers Studio, and a great visit with our hospitable expatriate friends the Anizor family.  We then headed north and spent a fantastic few days in the small beachside town of Cambria, exploring Hearst Castle, checking out the beautiful and massive elephant seals and combing the stretch of beach along the Pacific Coast highway.  Finally we wrapped up our trip and spent four days in San Francisco exploring this unique (and very hilly, especially for a pregnant woman!) city from top to bottom.

As of December 8^th Brett completed his course work of his PhD program at the University of Toronto and in January will be moving into his comprehensive exams which is about 8 months of studying and test taking.  We are quite excited about this transition as it means Brett’s schedule will be very flexible and he will have the unique opportunity of being home with Andrea and the baby over the course of the year.  This also means he is very close to entering his thesis stage which he is very excited about!

This year Andrea has been busy in the world of external relations at Tyndale planning many events and is now preparing for her maternity leave in February.  Her little family at Tyndale has been a wonderful support through the many days of morning sickness and doctor visits.  Baby Potter has become the center of Andrea’s attention for the past seven months but she has still be busy with her many custom orders of jewelry and other accessories, and she is excited about where the world of motherhood may take her over the next year.

And of course we can’t forget our Boston Terrier pups Lily and Sprout who are as energetic and hilarious as always. We are eager to see how they transition when the baby arrives and are looking forward to many more beach walks with a stroller in tow.

This Christmas we are so grateful for the little life growing inside Andrea and look forward to the new adventures which are to come in 2012!

Peace to you this Christmas season and all the best in the year to come!

Love,

Brett, Andrea & Baby Potter

(Lily & Sprout)

Halfway there

So we are basically a month into full on nesting minus a two week hiatus to California and throw in decorating for Christmas.  Here is where we stand.

1.  Create office area - Check
2.  Redo Dining Room to become a dining room - Check
3.  Organize Closets - Pretty much
4.  Create space in bedroom - Not so much
5.  Nursery - Totally not there yet

Slow and steady wins the race right?

They do it in New York right?

Well, I have been out of commission for quite a while now but finally, and I say this with such trepidation, I am starting to feel like myself again and can manage a day of keeping food down – success!

Now that I am feeling better I am in full nesting mode – like serious nesting mode.  I eat, sleep and breath reorganizing our small apartment which I am refusing to give up in this baby arriving transition.  You see Brett and I were all ready to move, find something bigger, maybe with a yard for the dogs but I just can’t give up our location.  Our tiny two bedroom in the beaches is so perfectly situated a few blocks away from the beach and boardwalk, across the street basically from a fabulous park and small wetland area as well as a venue for outdoor festivals and concerts.  We have amazing neighbours, are on a first name basis with the owner of our favourite flower shop, know all the dogs on our block and on weekends we park our car and walk everywhere.  I love, love our location so the sacrifice is worth it to me at this point.  Once my husband is finished his bazillion years of schooling (he’s doing his PhD) we’ll settle down as they say but for now I am determined to make our space work, they do it in New York don’t they, so why can’t I.

So let me give you my reorganizing/redecorating breakdown.  Here are my objectives –

• Create more storage space primarily for all the items currently occupying the babies soon to be nursery.
• Create an office area outside of soon to be Baby Potters nursery.
• Organize our kitchen/dining room/entrance way (yes it’s a complicated room) creating more usable space.
• Organize our bedroom so we have more storage for books (which can no longer occupy the office) as well as a bassinet for baby for the first few months.

Piece of cake right?  Not so much – well I guess it is a process, one of which didn’t start off well.  A few weekends back Brett and I dedicated our Saturday to reorganization however we missed the important step of purchasing storage items first– whoops!  We first sold our bookcase in the living room as we will create a small office area here however this caused the dilemma of where to put all the books (and there are a lot of books when you live with a PhD student). They ended up on the floor for weeks– mistake #1.  While Brett emptied the bookshelf for selling purposes I dug into our closets (we have 3 hall closets).  To make this story shorter our apartment was covered with books, linens, coats, toiletries, food items and random crap which has been stuffed away for who knows what reason.  It will get organized, it has to…..

This is the beginning of our nesting journey for documentation sake.  I hope to include our savvy solutions of how to make room in small spaces and just wait until we get to baby products – do any small-space baby products exist – come on people total money making opportunity!

To be continued….