Office Picture Wall

Finally finished the office picture wall and wanted to share some pictures of the progress. It took much longer than I thought it would! This wall is one of the first things you see when you enter the front door, so lots of planning went into what pictures we used and where they went. We knew we wanted to focus on Brian's Navy pictures, and I added some new Navy items to bring in some color. (Really, is it too much to ask our military to add a little color to their certificates or submarines? )

Here is what the wall originally looked like bare, with the collection of photographs, awards and other Navy memorabilia along the floor.

Close up of some of the new Navy artwork I gathered for the wall - including old vintage WWII propaganda posters about joining the submarine fleet, patches from Brian's old submarines and a quote from Skip Duffy that we hope to remember each day and try to live by this motto.

First step: Create a paper template the size of the office wall. We rolled it out on the dining room floor and taped it down to start positioning the frames where we wanted them. Of course, the cats helped too!

Second step: After much moving around and readjusting frames, we decided on the final pattern. Then we traced each frame with a pencil and wrote what frame went where, so we wouldn't forget.

Third step: After all the frames were traced, we hung the template on the office wall so we could start figuring out where each hook or nail needed to place. This was Brian's job, as he is MUCH better at figuring this out than I am.

Last step: Brian measured each frame to figure out where the nail needed to be placed. Then we hung the photos on top of the template to see what the photo wall would look like so we could make any last minute adjustments. When completed, we removed the pictures and carefully removed the template so the nails and picture hooks wouldn't pop out. 

Here's the final product! We love it! 

 Close up of the pictures on the right side....

And the left side!

Nursery Room - Progress Report

I can't believe how fast this pregnancy has gone by! The first trimester lasted forever (probably due to keeping it a secret and hoping for a healthy pregnancy!) but the rest of the pregnancy has flown by! And now I'm 35 weeks and due in 5 weeks! And after this morning's practice trip to triage for contractions its time to get things moving and organized for Teddy's arrival. Starting with deciding on a name soon!

Here is a quick progress report on the nursery. Furniture gets delivered this weekend, so more pictures to come after we have the furniture and artwork in place.

Here is what the nursery looked like after we moved in, when it was our 2nd guest bedroom. Just my old full size bed and white dresser. Mostly the cats used this room to hide under the bed. Took this picture right before we moved the furniture down to the basement, so you can see some of the paint swatches we were testing for the nursery. Big surprise- we are planning on a blue-ish gray!

And here is what the closet looked like (already filled with clothes for Teddy!). Its your basic builder closet, with the one wire shelf. Its not a large closet, so we knew we had to do something to make this space more usable.

And here is what the room looks like now. The paint is a light blue/gray and we made fun window valances with this great fabric I found at fabric row. Just need the furniture and the little man!

The crib will go along this wall. We put the curtains up on tension rods, so if Teddy decides to climb the curtains one day they will fall on his head instead of strangling him. Hopefully this doesn't happen but we'll see...

 Close up of the window valances we made. Brian made them out of wood and I covered them with cotton and fabric. A pretty easy and quick weekend project. Hoping once we add the rest of the furniture and artwork they look a little more fun- I did have my panic attack where I thought they looked too girly or too "Charles Wentworth IV" stuffy.

Here's a quick pic of the valances in progress- Covered w/ batting and ready for fabric to be stapled on. 

And a close up of the fabric. I love it- the green dots are fuzzy yarn dots that are 3D.

And here is what the closet now looks like. It pains me that the first closet to get organized is not mine and instead my son's, but it needed it badly! And it was good practice for us to see if we like this company (EasyClosets.com) and want to use them again when we organize our walk in closets. But I still dream of what my organized closet will look like in the meantime!

Before:                                                             In Progress: Painted mint green inside

           

Organized! Lots of shelving and 4 rods of hanging space for all of his clothes! Plus room for storing diapers and wipes above and on the floor. Love it! Still jealous his closet was done before mine!

Up next: crib, dresser and chair to be delivered. Put away clothes and set up crib and changing station. Buy a bookcase and hang up artwork. Then wait for the little man : )