Lame

My rocking chair will not be getting my beautiful aqua/turquoise vintage fabric. Unfortunately, the upholsterer thinks it's too thin and will not wear well on the chair over time. On the one hand, I'm glad that he let me know so I the chair doesn't end up worn out in a couple of years. On the other hand, I really loved that fabric!! On the upside, I *think* I have enough of the fabric to use it for curtains. I think it would be great for that. I already bought some sheers from Target that have a Moroccan-ish diamond pattern on them, and I think the two textures would look pretty together.

Since I'm in the midst of a storm of end of semester papers and don't have time to drive the 45 minutes to the fabric store my upholsterer recommends, my mom is going to go for me tomorrow. I trust her, and the beauty of a camera phone is that she can send me some of the contenders. My mom and I send each other thrift store (or other) finds via picture text all the time. These days, she's able to do more shopping than me, so it's a little one-sided, but I really really appreciate it. She's found so many great pieces for the baby's new room. Some day I'll have time to do more thrifting, but in the mean time, she's been a champ. Most recently, she found a Dwell crib skirt for a few dollars. It's from a different line than the brown and white, but it will work fine.

So, if you want to weigh in and read this before tomorrow, feel free to chime in with some fabric suggestions! I'm wondering about doing a brown velvet or brown boucle, but I don't want the chair to end up looking "old lady." The fabric store is called Fabrics and Fringe, and the online selection is a little sparse, but there are a few samples I like. Oh, and we are buying from here because they offer a discount via our upholsterer, and because he can pick it up from them easily. If I bought online, I'd have to get it shipped to me, then shipped to him. No thanks. Also, this way my mom can see the samples (and feel the samples!) in person. Definitely an advantage. I know a lot of online shops allow you to get cheap samples, but then that's just even more time to factor in. Double no thanks. Here are some pattern samples I'm digging from the website.

The new baby's room

OK, I'm trying to get caught up on everything. Or at least sort of... My mom and I have been busy plotting out the baby's room, and she's been doing some fabulous thrifting. Don't worry, my husband has plenty of input, too, and we aren't railroading over him on anything. He does like having a say in decorating things. He has strong opinions about style. Seriously. Fortunately, ours are usually in tune.
Aside from the wonderful rocker that I'm still waiting on (the upholsterer has it, but I have no ETA for when I'll get it back. Does anyone have any suggestions about how long it usually takes to get a piece of furniture back?) these blankets are the base inspiration for the baby's room. They are from Target (duh) and I'm in love with the graphic patterns and the warm colors. And of course, gender neutral.
Don't they look pretty together? The blanket on the bottom is a knit blanket. I'm thinking maybe it will be used on the rocking chair as a throw blanket, or maybe as a "stroller blanket." But I'd probably be too worried it would get dirty. Sigh.
These receiving blankets are so neat. I love that pattern on the far right. I wish they were sheets or something more useful. Receiving blankets are great to have, but more from a utilitarian standpoint. They don't give tons of impact. The set is under $20, and it's very tempting to go get another set to have on hand "just in case..." Same with the knit blanket. That one is a little more, but I want to say it's maybe $16. Much much cheaper than the DwellStudio line that isn't associated with Target.
Speaking of DwellStudio, this is the "dream set." It's around $350 on Amazon, which is just never ever going to be in our budget, but isn't it lovely? The similar line that is DwellStudio for Target is not nearly as cute. The stripes are different, and the dots are just regular dots, so it looks more girly and babyish. It's also about $300 cheaper... After finding the blanket sets at Target (the ones I bought and love) I found this set on Amazon and sent it to my mom in one of those "can you believe how cute this is?" e-mails. So brace yourself. Not too long after that, my mom found the comforter FROM THIS SET at Goodwill for $3. Yes. $3. Granted, it's only the comforter, not the bumper or crib skirt or sheet, but it's definitely from this fancy set. My dream set. It's the dotted comforter depicted above folded over the side. One side is the dots and the other side is the stripes. Isn't that the weirdest/awesomest/happiest coincidence? I think so.
Here's a depressing and weirdly dark photo of the baby's room. Sorry. I don't know why it came out like this. I think my camera might be on its last leg. As you can see, the room is teensy. And full of junk. We are still in the process of clearing Roxanne's toys out of here and finding new homes for them. It's not an easy process... The wall on the left features the amazing chest my mom found at Goodwill. It came with the amazing dresser on the right! Better pictures below, I promise. I just wanted to show what the room sort of looks like now. The chest will be put in the closet (which is also on that left wall, but out of this shot). I measured the room, and that spot is the only place where the crib will fit. The dresser will stay where it is, and we plan to put the changing pad on it. It's looooong. And lovely.
Here's the chest. If you can see it behind all of Roxanne's toys. See those legs? The laminate on both pieces needs a little TLC, so I'll need to brush up on my DIY tutorials and get them cleaned up at some point. But neither is that bad, and they are sturdy and solid pieces.
Here's the dresser. The mirror is pulled over the left because we need to have room on the right side for the changing pad. And for the lamp collection... We're not going to keep all of them. We're just trying to decide which ones we should keep. Isn't this gorgeous though? From what I remember, the two pieces together cost around $115. Cheaper than the one IKEA dresser we were considering, and a zillion times more sturdy. My mom has a great eye.
This is what the center knobs look like on the dresser.
The handles on both the dresser and chest feature this carving detail. Amazing, right? We were trying to figure out the era that this set probably dates from. No firm conclusions yet...
The set is by Bassett, as evidenced by the stamp inside the drawer of the dresser. The back of the set is marked "Pageant," so I was hoping I could find some information about this line somewhere on the interwebs, but nope. Either way, Bassett is a great company, and this furniture is fantastic.
I'm hoping this stool will work with the rocker. I spotted it at Goodwill but talked myself out of buying it. My mom ended up going to my Goodwill the same day I found it to do me a favor and look at a daybed I was having second thoughts about not buying. I didn't end up getting it, but she helped me realize that this stool and the cute nursery lamp that I had her look at while she was there were worth buying. This stool was $8 and the lamp was around $5 I think. I originally planned to have this stool recovered in the extra fabric from the rocking chair, but then I realized we were using a lot of brown, and I decided to keep this fabric on the stool for now. It has a pretty deco charm.
The one on the far right is one I just recently found at Goodwill. It was $8, and is a fakey kind of wood. I like it, but I think it's too much wood/wood-look in there. The one in the middle is my favorite. My mom found it at her Goodwill, and I think it was around $11. It's a lovely shiny lamp. And I like that it's a lighter brown. The nursery lamp on the far left is super super cute. But it's also kind of tiny on this dresser. And I'm not sure if the colors will be OK.
Here's a close-up. Cute, right? It's a little broken, but I still think it's adorable as is. Sorry the image is blurred again. My camera and I are not big buddies at the moment.

OK, that's all for now! We still have lots to figure out, like if we are going to paint (Justin wants to, but I still kind of love this wall color) and what will go on the walls. I'm really hoping the rocking chair gets done soon. I can't wait to see it all done!

Mid-Century Motel

This past weekend, I took Roxanne for a mommy-and-me trip to St. Simons Island, Georgia. It's not too bad of a drive, and there are some inexpensive options for lodging (under $70 a night!). My family has been going to St. Simons for a very very long time, and so I always feel comfortable navigating the beach and the restaurants, etc. It's low-key, too, even though things have been changing there for a long time. Just the usual progress from sleepy beach town to vacation spot replete with lots and lots of fancy condos and villas. But, there are still plenty of charming mid-century and older beach houses and buildings that fit in so nicely with my memories of St. Simons (disclaimer, I was born in 1983, so I'm merely pointing out that the fancy architecture didn't really pick up speed until I was a teenager, so all of my little kid/toddler memories are of the low profile buildings). There's something about cinder block and Spanish Moss adorned live oak trees that just works. Trust me. So anyways, our family used to always stay at Queen's Court, which is right next to "the village" and had the most lovely layout ever. It's three buildings shaped in a "U," with a pool right in the middle. As you can see from the photos, there are beautiful established trees and other landscaping placed all around to make the grounds seem lush and fancy, even though the rooms themselves are comfortable but definitely not luxurious. Not that I'm complaining. The sad part is that the motel has been used as staff quarters for one of the nearby luxury resorts for the last few years, so it's not available to stay in anymore. It kind of boggles my mind that they could take such a perfectly located property and turn it into "staff quarters" in an area that again is not quite as ritzy as Hilton Head, but is certainly a nice beach community. Location-wise, you can walk to all of the best restaurants, as well as to certain public access beaches. Prime real estate! That being said, at least the building is still there. I always worry that someday I'll come back for a visit and find those lovely white concrete boxes and their cheerful green trim all torn down, replaced by something that looks gaudy and Italian or French (yes, that does exist in St. Simons, and personally, it gives me the creeps). But this trip, I tried to snap a few photos. Just in case... These buildings date from around 1948. They've still got it.
Look at the greenery! Gorgeous! And don't you love the stairwells? Although you might need to click the image to enlarge to really appreciate/see at all. And the windows... If I remember correctly, I think the stoops have always had astroturf on them. Perfect for getting the sand off your feet...
Just to point out; I'm not against growth and development. I think there are some really lovely new construction projects in St. Simons (and a few that really don't fit, in my opinion). I just hate that the general public (i.e. my family) can no longer enjoy Queen's Court. I fondly remember knitting lessons in my grandparents' room across the courtyard from ours. And sneaking Little Debbie's cakes out of the kitchenette where my bedroom was when we were lucky enough to be in one of the "suites."

On another note, my fabric came in, and it's lovely! The upholsterer said he'd pick up the chair on Friday. Let's hope so! He first told me Monday or Tuesday of this week. Sigh.