Nursery Inspiration

As the arrival of our little boy gets ever closer, my mind is pretty consumed with all things baby! The nursery is a slow process... remember the picture from this post? Yes, well, it's almost all cleared out. We've really come a long way with that considering our spare time on weekends is few and far between. Need I mention that the holidays are just around the corner? And after the holidays will be the birth of our son? Goodness! Time is going to fly like never before! My goal is to have the nursery ready for little Matthew by the end of November... ready as in it needs to be livable in case he should arrive early. I can always add finishing touches after that time, of course. I thought I would post a few photos I've found that serve as inspiration for our nursery in hopes to keep us on the right track!

The crib and dresser/changing table by Europa Baby - Palisades Collection that we already have (love it even more in person on our hardwood floors!)

The bedding found at Pottery Barn Kids - Madras Collection. I plan to mix it up with a train crib sheet and plane crib sheet found there also to throw in transportation. I love that it's not too babyish and can grow with our little boy, not to mention it'll add just enough color to the room without going overboard! 

We're thinking about some sort of shelving similar to these ClosetMaid cubes to go along one of the walls in the nursery. Whether it's this particular one or something a little different, we plan to buy some cloth bins to put on the shelves for toys, etc. and of course books! I don't know yet if I want green bins like the ones pictured, but there's many colors to choose from that'll match the bedding. I'm going to wait until we have the bedding and then decide. It's perfect for a little table lamp and decoration too. 

We will definitely need a rocker of some sort in the room and I know I want it to have a white base like the one pictured from Amazon. I don't know what color yet for the cushion or where we'll purchase one from (I've been watching Craigslist!), but I'd like for Matt to find it comfy too! 

In our nursery we've decided on the layout of where we'd like things to be and can't wait to see it all come together! We have a wooden nightstand that was in Matt's childhood bedroom that we plan to set near the rocker with some sort of table lamp, and I would love to make a photo frame collage on one of the walls. I have scanned pictures of Matt as a baby to reprint and have ideas for filling the other frames too. And thanks to my mom, we have 2 cute wall hanging hooks from Hobby Lobby - one that is a car and the other is a tractor. I'll have to post pictures some other time. We plan to accent with transportation themed items without going overboard and may paint the walls some shade of blue. I still need to think about a rug and curtains. I think I can better visualize when we have the bedding in the room and make decisions from there. We want to keep things simple, in looks and price, and with personal touches. And let's not forget that although my desires to have this and that ready for the nursery may be on a long mental list, it all comes down to finding time to make it happen! That's why prioritizing is so important so I don't get weighed down with the unnecessary :) 

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens... (if you didn't just read that with the voice of Fraulein Maria, I encourage you to read it again and I promise you the happy song will be stuck in your head for a while!)

We all have numerous favorite things and lately I've been creating a mental list of my favorite things concerning our new home. I can't help it when I'm outside or inside and something about our house catches my eye and I think, "oh, I just love that!" Matt and I are truly in love with our little homestead and we are so thankful for it! A 1937 built home is not for everyone, but we are loving the potential it holds. We enjoy discussing creative ways we would add to our house's charm to make it work for us and add it to a future to-do list. For this post, I want to share our top 20 favorite things (in no particular order) about our home in hopes that it inspires you to find your favorite things about your house that just make you smile. We all have them!

1) hardwood floors (supposedly the original and they're beautiful!)

2) old glass door knobs

3) the way the light shines through the old keyhole on our mudroom door and into our kitchen

4) the floor plan - it's fairly open for a house of the '30s and the hallway is quite a decent size

5) my two large windows in the kitchen - they make my small kitchen feel bigger!

6) slightly uneven floors due to age (yes, not ideal, but it does add character and makes us laugh when
                                                        we move furniture around)

7) the brick chimney wall on the front porch - people told the seller to paint it, but he said he knows someone will like it's rustic look and it was one of the first things we LOVED about the outside of the house!

8) the way I can look out my family room window or back office window and see/hear the neighbors'
cows

9) having a carport area and shed/small garage

10) the walk out to the coop to gather the eggs every day

11) the quiet, open countryside that makes you forget you're just 3 minutes from the highway

12) walking around our property together dreaming about what to plant here or there, and how our future children will have plenty of room to play

13) all the wild birds - just the other morning I counted 17 robins while looking out my kitchen window, and that's just one species!

14) a gravel driveway that circles around the house

15) rockers on the front porch

16) large shade trees in most areas of the yard

17) a mudroom entryway

18) full size attic that we can make useable for storage space in our house and more storage in the loft above the shed

19) new windows (this makes a HUGE difference when comparing the rental house from the late '30s to this one!)

20) having pear trees and pecan trees

Wish I had a picture for each of these, but that would make for a long post. I'll post photos of our favorite things over time :)

There's quite a few exciting things happening!!

Yes, I’ve been away from blogging for quite a while, but I really have a great excuse! Remember how we were in the process of purchasing our first home? Well, here it is!

We closed on this charming, 1937 country home on Thursday, May 5^th. We were beside ourselves with joy and this overwhelming feeling of being blessed. The house is 30 minutes from the rental home, yet closer to everything important! Moving is quite a process… especially when you had things stored at your parents’ home on top of all that needed to be moved from our rental house (oh, and let’s not forget packing up my classroom!). The house and moving process would not have been possible without our family! God is so good!

So we closed on the house May 5^th and guess what blessing we received on May 6^th? The gift of expecting a baby! Yay! Again, joy flooded our hearts as we were able to share this news with family in our new home. How perfect… more to come on how we shared the news later! Here is a photo of our sweet baby at 13 weeks and one of me at 17 weeks. We are now almost 19 weeks along and can’t wait to meet our little boy (yes, a boy!) in January!

While in the midst of organizing things in our new home and feeling giddy over the fact that there’s a baby growing in me, we have been busy with Taflan Pictures as well. Meeting clients, shooting weddings, maternity sessions, and senior sessions have kept us (especially Matt) constantly at the computer editing after a day of work. We have also tackled a couple projects around the house and are in the middle of a couple more! We finished the chicken coop and all it needs is a coat of paint, the washer and dryer have been set up and operating in the laundry room in the shed, and we are in the middle of building custom desks for our little office. We also have a new front door sitting in the dining room waiting to be put on, and should I even mention what the future nursery looks like? It’s shocking…yikes!

Those are just a few of the things keeping us Taflans busy. It’s crazy to look back to May and see all that has taken place since then in just a few short months. We are so thankful and continue walking in faith that God will continue to provide and care for us as He has done so faithfully in the past.