the walkers, lately

Lots of big things have been going on in the Walker household of late.  Here is a little snippet of the past couple of weeks here at the end of 2013.



We found out our baby is a little GIRL!  Here is the "money shot" from the anatomy scan we had back in mid November.  She's getting big!  And is wonderfully healthy and perfect.  We are very blessed.

As some of my friends know, I'm kind of crafty.  So, telling our family was a big deal to me and I wanted to make it special.  So, we set up a night for all of us to meet at dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, Matt's El Rancho.  I figured it was loud and a big place and 14 people wouldn't be a hassle, etc.  Plus, I needed my queso fix for the week.

Our way of telling our friends was through "cascarones".  (confetti eggs)  I thought it was appropriate with the restaurant theme, and I gave David 2 options and he chose this one. 

So, I carefully cracked open and cleaned 12 eggs ahead of time, got the packaging purchased and everything ready until the night we found out... and filled them with the appropriate color confetti before the next evening's dinner festivities.

Our family's surprise announcement!

That is the dinkiest piece of confetti.  It says "Its a girl". 

The next day at work, the interior design studio girls decorated my desk. 

And then we  David has been hard at work last weekend on replacing our side fence.  The previous fence was chain link, yuck.  And now it matches the other side/gate and is tremendously updated.  More yard projects are under way.  Even today, in 30 degree weather, David and his dad are hauling off old firewood piles and railroad ties that were left in our backyard from before we bought the house.  "Clean slate" David says.  Maybe in the spring we can work on building a deck in the backyard.  We love being outside, and our backyard is beautiful, but there just isn't any good functional living space.

David and I took our Christmas picture last weekend.  Baby bump and all. 

[Side note:  I spilled water on my laptop and it is in the shop for another week or so.  It is very sad to me because I cannot do any editing of photos or graphics stuff like I always do.  Its like I lost my phone or my hairdryer.  Its apart of my every day. End, sob story.]

And the baby bump.  This was at end of week 22.  Again, I must not have any stomach muscles to hold anything in, because the bump is bigger than most I know around my same time frame.

At work, there are "Stork Parking" spaces.  I finally pulled the trigger and asked if I could start parking there.  My hips are kind of killing me and without an elevator, our garage can get very cumbersome to walk in and out of 2-3 times a day. 

Our next fun project we have been working on is to have a kitchen built-in desk/office made.  Since we had to dedicate one of our guest bedrooms to the baby's room, the other serves as an actual bedroom (which I use a lot due to the snoring factor of the significant other) and there is no room for a desk/office component. 

This is where our "office" currently sits, and where we will have the actual cabinets installed.  They will match our kitchen cabinets, but be painted.  Big surprise, the color gray.  The desktop won't be too deep, only 20" and we have included some mail slots up top with the upper cabinets. 

Inspirational images include the following: 

via

via

I'm super excited to clean up the area.  Enjoy the clutter you see in the before picture.  I AM human, and my life is not perfect.  No one's should be.

Okay everyone, enjoy this weekend's cold snap.  I sure am, inside with the heat going, plotting away at my next project.  Undoubtedly one that will cost money and make David have to work ;)

Oh!  And, "follow" the blog, because soon I'm not going to use Facebook as my "blast".  Follow and get an update via email of new posts!

custom bathroom stencil - so fresh

I have been wanting to get an electronic cutter/blade printer for a long time now.  Its so nerdy of me, but as a crafty person, who likes graphics... what can I say? 

I did some research on both the Cricut system and the Silhouette system.  Both have their positives and negatives.  But for me, having the Adobe programs that I use that help me create fun graphics and fonts was the reason I chose the one I did.  With the Cricut, you cannot print your own creations.  You have to buy packages of cut-outs, packages, not just one.  And you cannot import your own graphics.  With the Silhouette, you can.  So I chose that one.  (And you can buy 1 design at a time for about $1, not $10 for a package of 10 when you only need the 1 design.)  With the Silhouette, you have to pay $60 more for the "extended" version of the software that lets you import your own content.  But its worth it.  It takes a little bit of knowledge about "vector" files and how to work around that type of software, but I'm used to it, so the software came easy to me.   I know there are so many things that I can't even comprehend to create or know how to work, but its going to be fun.

Silhouette Cameo

On to the fun project.  I've always wanted to put something above our towel hooks in our hallway bathroom.  Something fun, graphic, a quote, etc.  This will be our kids bathroom, so the more fun... yet classic, the better.  So I created a stencil of a fun lyrics verse.  You'll know it when you see it.

I was able to create the text in Adobe Illustrator, then save it as a .svg file and import it into the Silhouette software.  Then I loaded the vinyl adhesive backed paper into the machine and pressed "cut".  (There is more to that, but Silhouette American has a great blog with lots of tutorials, so if you're interested, go there!  http://blog.silhouetteamerica.com/)

And here is the process to make it all happen.

The printer/cutter cuts the vinyl so that it doesn't go through the backing layer.  This image shows the vinyl after I peeled the "positive" off.  Because I was making a stencil, the part that created the negative was what I wanted. 

 

vinyl stencil

 

Then you have to apply the "transfer paper" to the front of the vinyl, which makes it easier to apply to the wall.  If you don't do this, there is the high potential for intricate designs like this to get distorted by your human hands when applying to the wall.  So place the sticky side of the transfer paper to the front of the vinyl.

 

Then, peel the backing off of the vinyl sheet.  Exposing the adhesive that will stick the stencil to the wall.  Then place the pieces as you need.  Its all a process of layers and essentially getting only the vinyl "sticker" onto the wall that becomes your stencil.

 

 

I found that I should have cut around the letters more, because the transfer paper is super sticky and peeling it off of the front of the vinyl was a little cumbersome.  You'll see that I peeled it off in smaller sections to help.

 

Vinyl stencil only, transfer paper removed, ready to paint.  I will say that its advisable to go back and rub all the edges of the graphic with a tongue depressor or your finger with a white hand towel.  The more the edges are pressed down to the wall, especially with a high texture wall, the better.

 

Paint.  I used a sponge stamper pouncer thing.  (I'm crafty, but I'm not going to spend the time to know the names of all the crap/tools.)

 

I forgot the first rule of stenciling!  Paint the original wall color first.  In this case, I should have gone and gotten a little bit of our existing wall color, and painted that over the whole design.  This seals the edges, and bleeds into any crevices so that the accent/colored paint won't.  But I was in too much of a hurry and I'm not the most patient person in the world.

 

Final product.  I may do something more to it.  Possibly add a painted frame around it or have David create a wooden pallet wood frame, but for now its fun.

boy or girl? the wives tales

So there are a lot of old wives tales and fun tricks you can do to "predict" what gender your baby will be.  Some are crazy, all are non-scientific.  And I created a list of some from what I've experienced, etc.  A few not listed that require activity, we may do tomorrow night before we find out... like the Draino mixed with your pee, and the boiled cabbage water mixed with your pee, mixed color says it all.  We don't have Draino or a cabbage and I'm too tired to go to the grocery store, so it may not happen.

With all honesty, after healthy and happy baby are determined... if we could chose we would chose,

I just can't say. 

So, instead, look at our fun chart below!  And make a prediction yourself!

20 weeks, half way there.

20 weeks.  Half way there.  Belly is bigger than most people 6 weeks ahead of me... Go figure.

I'm feeling great, which I'm sure other pregnant people hate to hear.  But there is always the next 20 weeks.

Thursday afternoon (11/21/13) we get to find out if baby Walker is a boy or a girl.  We are beyond excited and have plans to share the news with our family the next night at dinner.  So, all you friends out there can't know until after then.  Sorry.   And how we tell them will be a big surprise too.  I'll obviously post a picture of our family reveal next weekend.

Here is my belly bump at 20 weeks (I had to show some leg ;) and its like 80 degrees in Austin in November so I had to document that as well), and my stats chart. 

I'd also like to say there are a crazy number of friends pregnant right now.  There must be something in the water.  Love you all.

 

 

 

 

nursery progress (continued)

Like I have said before.  Planning is my most favorite thing. Especially when its for our little bambino.  So, here is the girl version of our nursery.

Enjoy!

 

Sources:

1.  Spoonflower fabric Butterflies by cristinapires
     Generic navy and white ticking
     Generic navy solid
2.  Franklin & Ben Liberty Crib
3.  West Elm Stephen Antonson Nautilus Floor Lamp
4.  "Paris is Always a Good Idea" Print - Etsy fieldtrip
5.  3D Butterfly Art - Etsy hipandclavicle
6.  WestElm Metal Honeycomb Pendant
7.  Land Of Nod - Jenny Lind Nightstand
8.  Custom piece by PickedandPainted Blog
9.  Pottery Barn Wingback Convertible Rocker
10.  Dash & Albert Trimaran Stripe Rug by RugStudio
11.  West Elm Sunburst Mirror

nursery progress

I've gotten very creative with my potential selections and photoshop skills.  You might have seen these great inspiration boards by Lay Baby Lay and Project Bambino.  And below is a bit of a take on that. 

I haven't received my Spoonflower samples yet, they should come tomorrow.  But after visiting my sweet friend Kathryn who owns Picket Fences here in Austin, and just talking it out, I've come to 2 major options.  One is for a boy, and one is for a girl.  We won't find out until mid November, so until then... its all about the waiting game.

Kathryn asked me a good question, which helped me to organize the thoughts in my head, regarding the furniture style.  "Does one style sit better in your mind with one gender over the other?".  And the answer is YES!  I like the midcentury modern look for a boy, and a more vintage look for a girl.  So, that's how I started to categorize all my ideas in my head.  And its starting to take shape.

With both options I wanted the colors to be bold and lively, without being over the top.  But also something that we can grow into for big boy or big girl rooms.  No pastels for the most part.  No baby baby stuff.  Very sophisticated.  With furniture that you would potentially put into your home.  So you'll see that a lot of the furniture that I have found and like, is from West Elm/Pottery Barn or is full sized. 

Here is the boy option.  The girl option is next and almost complete.

Sources:
1.  Spoonflower Fabrics
2.  Pottery Barn Kids Hayden Crib
3.  Land Of Nod Magnificent Metal Letters
4.  West Elm Tripod Lamp
5.  Pottery Barn Basic Pendant Glossy Metal Bell
6.  West Elm Rustic Storage Side Table
7.  Land of Nod Mod Rocker Glider
8.  Etsy Fiber and Water - Hello Austin wall art
9.  Danish Modern LA Dresser
10.  Handpainted Birth Print - by yours truly, email me if you're interested
11.  Land of Nod - Elephant Personalized Print
12.  Crate & Barrel Alston Ivory & Grey Curtains (we own)
13.  (not numbered) West Elm Braided Round Jute Rug (we own)

Enjoy!

baby bump - week 16



I'm now 16 weeks pregnant.  I don't feel pregnant anymore, i.e. sick as a dog in the first trimester.  Sometimes I forget I have a belly, until I go into the closet for clothes or look down.  Because its kind of big... I'm still not convinced we aren't having twins... We've only had 2 ultrasounds and they were at 7 and 8 weeks.  So there is a lot up in the air.  Next ultrasound is at 20 weeks which is mid November.  Waiting game.

Here is my 16 week bump picture and a little bit of fun information. 

 

 

 

 

 

How far along: 16 weeks

Sleep:
Eh, I'm restless.  I get up to pee about 5 times in the night. And then Bowie, our dog, is interested in why I'm up.  "Is it time to play?", "are you getting me food?".  I imagine these questions going through his mind at 1am and 3am in the morning. 

Best moment of the week:
Feeling baby move :)  It has happened before, but I didn't know if it was really the baby.  But on Friday, I was trying to take a nap at my parents house and I was super still and quiet and all of a sudden there it was.  That same feeling.  It was wonderful.  It doesn't happen often, yet.

Miss anything:
Beer during football games. 

 

And, honestly... working out super hard, if I so chose to do so... once every couple of months. When youre pregnant, you are suggested to not let your heart rate go above 140.  And that's like a brisk walk for me, so the fitness has to come from resistance stuff which I am doing again, going back to a trainer.  I finally feel well again to go and not want to vom all over her.

Movement:
Little flutters once a week or so.

Food Cravings:
Random and never healthy.

Gender prediction:
Many people I talk to say they think its a girl.  I really have no feeling towards either at the moment.  Maybe a girl.

Labor signs:

Symptoms:
I have heart palpitations because apparently I have 20% more blood volume in my body at this point.  Im still trying to gain weight.  But I'll have to say, a big part of losing the weight I did and not gaining faster was that I'm not drinking wine during the week now. 

Belly button in or out:
In. But flatter.

Temperment:
Pretty good lately.

Looking forward to:
The fall weather and family time with my baby bump.  And getting more into the nursery and what we'll be needing to do in our house for baby Walker.


and so the planning begins ~

I'm already getting ancy about decorating our baby's room.  But if there is one thing I love more than anything, its planning.  So, here we go.

Some of you may have heard of Spoonflower.com

www.spoonflower.com

I found out about it 3 years ago when I was planning my wedding.  At that time, there weren't as many great fabric designers as there are now, so I didn't partake.  I actually did try to create my own fabric... but that didn't work out well with the "vision" in the end. 

But recently, I've seen a lot of Spoonflower pinterest pins, and decided to take a look for nursery stuff.  Even though we don't know what we are having yet... this is a perfect time to get 8" x 8" swatches for $5 a piece. Its kinda pricey... but it is custom made to whatever type of fabric you want, so I can imagine the leg work in that.

Here is my shopping cart of sample swatches that I just purchased. 

 

There are also some commercial fabrics that are super fun that I've seen at work.  These inparticular from Maharam are my favorite.

 

Alpine Stripe - Chamois

Alpine Stripe - Thistle

Quatrefoil - Silver

 

It seems as if I have more girl fabrics in there... so make your own conclusions on where my mind is heading on what gender I would prefer.

 

And then here are some pictures of furniture that I'm interested in. 

 

This crib is sold at my favorite baby clothing and furniture store, Picket Fences.  It comes from Franklin & Ben.  It reminds me of the Jenny Lind... which I like, but this seems a little more substantial.  Its called the Liberty. 

 

Liberty Crib - Franklin & Ben

 

This one is from Pottery Barn Kids, and I really like the shape of it, but its still simple. 

 

Hayden Crib - Pottery Barn Kids

 

 

But this one is divine as well.

 

Nifty Timber Crib - Ubadub

 

 

And then, my friend at work, has a friend who re-finishes furniture, specifically dressers here in Austin.  And here is her facebook site... Indie Home  I'm hoping she might have something right up our alley.  For instance, these pieces are very nice.

 

 

 

But then, we could go a little more modern/contemporary and go with something like this.  Again, from Franklin & Ben.

 

Mason Dresser - Franklin & Ben



 

And these are nice too.

 

Louis Dresser/Changer

 

Mid Century 3 Drawer Dresser - West Elm

 

I have a problem deciding upon the simple/contemporary/mid century modern look, and then the vintage/scroll/spindle look.  And I'm going to have to make up my mind soon, and piece it all together.  Maybe a good balance between the two could work.

 

And one more amazing furniture item that we might need to purchase...

 

 

Bowery Bassinet - Baby Letto

 

 

Yay for baby time!

baby bump

I have a bump.  I thought it was too early... but apparently everybody is different.  And I wear it like a badge of honor.  I've earned this thing!  Every Sunday, my week turns over.  As of this Sunday I am 14 weeks. 

 

{Side Note:  At 12 weeks my belly popped.  I then Googled (as I do a lot, but shouldn't) "12 week baby bump".  This is where I found a multitude of different size baby bumps.  But none was more shocking than this blogger who is apparently super fit, and didn't "pop" until she was about 24 weeks.  It kind of made me think... Wow, I'm a chunker.  But then I realized she just has a completely different body type than mine, and I like food more than her I guess.  You'll find her if you search pinterest for the same thing.  Her last name is "Hatch".}

[I took the following questionnaire from www.christinasadventures.com when I was scanning the "Kids" section of Pinterest, my new found obsession.]

How far along:
14 weeks

Maternity Clothes:
Yep.  First pair of jeans was about 3 weeks ago from old navy... and this Saturday, my mom and I went all over town in search of some fall/winter prego clothes.  It was a successful trip.  I love maternity pants.

Sleep:
I'm a worrier.  And I am a very light sleeper.  So, always having to think/worry of not sleeping on your back, and turning over because the left side is sore is just annoying.

Best moment of the week:
Having someone ask me for the first time if I was having a baby.  A property manager I work with a lot, who just noticed, the belly.

Miss anything:
Sadly, I miss drinking.  I don't know how people don't miss it.

Movement:
Nothing yet.

Food Cravings:
So random, and so bad.  Fast food... mainly because when I want to eat, I need to eat right then or I'll pass out.

Queesy or sick because of:
The nausea has pretty much stopped, but it was worst when I was tired at the end of the day.  Taking my prenatal vitamins always makes me want to puke.

Gender prediction:
David thinks its a boy.  I thought at first it was a girl... but now I am not sure.  I'll be writing up a list of fun wives tales and our determinations.

Labor signs:

Symptoms:
Appetite is up.  I lost about 4 lbs in the first 8 weeks.  And now finally am gaining that back.  And the frequent peeing thing is really convenient.

Belly button in or out:
In, but wow.  In two weeks from 12-14 weeks... it has changed a lot.  I can actually see the back of my belly button now. 

Temperment:
Ohhhh goodness.  I feel like I am a pleasant person.  But when something negative happens, I flip out, use profanity, and say some pretty blunt things to people.  This is mostly in my car whilst driving.  

Looking forward to:
Finding out what we are having, and gaining weight so that I know I'm doing everything I can for this little human.

Thanks for coming!

renovations at the rents



My parents just finished remodeling a large portion of their house.  The major part of the renovations took place in the addition that used to be my grandmother's apartment.  It used to be a self sufficient little house over there with a bedroom, living room, kitchen and bathroom.  Kyle lived there for a period of time and David and I lived there while we were re-modeling our current home.

 

All in all, it looks very different now.  I helped them space plan and arrange the suite so that they had optimal garden/pool views, as well as a circular flow through the bedroom and into and out of the bathroom/closets.  It is also very close to being a truly ADA (wheelchair accessible) plan.  My parents really wanted to be able to plan for the future.  So, after much pushing and pulling of walls and doors and mapping out specific furniture pieces my mom already new she would be buying, the plan was done and they started construction. 

 

We had an amazing contractor.  A family friend and mentor of David's, Jamie Grigar.  My parents loved him.  And my dad is typically a hard one to please :)  And my mom was always striving to be the perfect client :)

 

So without further adieu, here is the new space.  Unfortunately we do not have before pictures.  Also, please excuse my photography skills. 

 

 

{ Master Bedroom }

 

 

 

 

{ Master Bathroom }

 

Then they did some renovations to the upstairs, mainly just replacing carpet and re-texturing walls.

 

{ Side note:  When I was a teenager, my mom let me do ANYTHING I wanted, to my room.  So I thought it would be an excellent idea to try out plaster on my walls.  As an interior designer in training and a bull headed person in general, I just went to Home Depot and got the closest thing I could find to what I thought was the right product.  It ended up being a bunch of spackling basically.  Yes, laugh now.  And then a couple of years later, my mom tried to fix it by doing the real at home wall texture process, but that was a disaster too.  So that room needed a lot of help.  But now it looks great.  }

 

 

{ Old Master Bedroom }

 

{ Old Master Bathroom }

this was completely renovated, tile instead of carpet, new cabinets and countertops

 

{ Kyle's old bedroom }

looks so like him :)

 

{ My old bedroom }

Now mom's workroom and office

 

{ Hall bath}

This was completely renovated.  It only had a shower, and since mom and dad built a closet over the bathtub in their old master bathroom... they demolished the shower in here and added a tub, moved the toilet to a completely different spot, got rid of a sink (there were two) and I just love this little room.

 

 

In addition to these rooms, they also blew out an exterior stone wall, that was actually inside because they had previously enclosed a porch.  That wall being gone now lets so much light into their living room, and its just awesome. 

 

And of course we cannot forget all the landscaping changes that were made outside mom and dad's new master suite.  My dad has an intense green thumb.  When he finally retires he'll probably go work at a local nursery or The Wildflower Center.  So this was a huge part of the project.  I don't have any pictures now of it, but it basically enclosed a large portion of their side yard to be an oasis to wake up to every morning.

 

Have a great week!