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.