{the blog}

you might have missed the memo...

... this blog has moved!!  I hope you updated your feed!?  If you didn't... you are missing new posts! 

The new site is: http://blog.urbangrace.com/

On the Move!

Goodbye Old blog.

Goodbye Old Life.

Hello New Blog.

Hello New Life. 

Follow me to a brand new chapter in Erika's blogging and personal life: http://blog.urbangrace.com/

WOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOOOOO. Baby on the way! 

(Marla)

so much to love in one single photo

  

photo from March/April 2009 Southern Accents; photographer: Tria Giovan; designers: Jenny Peters and Rachel Mbiango

Did I mention she has a name?

You may have to click to enlarge the picture...

Sloane Chancy is her name and we absolutely cannot wait to meet her. 

My very talented friend Marla has done 3 maternity sessions for me this summer.  Summer is her busiest season and I am so grateful she squeezed me in.  I have only seen a few of the pictures she has taken and yesterday I found this photo in my in box... she took this last week. 

And then a few minutes later she sent this:

For the first part of the photo session I had on cute dresses then Marla said, "Go put on your uniform, it's only right to document you in those Gap pants and a Target tank top!"

I am looking forward to these next few days before my daughter arrives.  I need some down time and plan (hope) to take it easy.  This morning before work I got in the bath tub and didn't want to get out... I think that's a sign that I need a little more rest? 

The nursery isn't 100% complete yet... that is okay.  My clients and my work have been on the front burner these last few weeks.  I'll have time to finish the nursery up once the little girl arrives.  I promise I will post pictures when it is complete! 

Happy LABOR Day weekend!  You know the moon is full tonight.... hmmmm....

that nursery!

   

Last week I posted pictures of a darling nursery.  I went back to give proper credit to the homeowner/designer and in the process lost the post.  Well, now I'm back with even more info and photos!  Special thanks to the girls at The Estate of Things for putting me in touch with the baby's momma.

Laurie Rhoney is the momma and designer.  She and her husband (Andy) together have Rhoney Design in Hickory, North Carolina.  Here's a little Q&A I did with her I think you will enjoy...   

Tell us a little about you and your husband and your professional lives?

Both Andy and i grew up and still live in hickory, NC.  sound familiar? It is also known as the "furniture capital of the world".  The Hickory Chair plant is a few miles up the road, Century, Mitchell Gold / Bob Williams, Henredon, and Bernhardt are all just a stones throw away. I hold degrees in Historic Preservation and Interior Design.  My husband has worked as an art director and a freelance branding consultant.  I started my career in the furniture industry, designing and installing retail spaces and showrooms.  Now my focus is mainly residential design, though I must admit, this project has sparked a new love of design for younger clients!

Did you know you were having a girl or was this designed as a unisex nursery?

No, we didn't know...we always wanted it to be a surprise.  My family and friends thought I was crazy, especially considering my borderline OCD tendencies for planning and preparation.  But, there are just so few surprises like that in life.  And I'm so glad we waited.  However, I won't lie, when we started planning the nursery it was mighty hard not to bite the bullet and find out.  I saved a few of the decisions until after our daughter arrived--like the chandelier and some of the accessories/art pieces.

 

What was your inspiration for the nursery?  The wallpaper on the ceiling?  What is it and who installed it?  Was it the starting point for the design?

After spotting the Julia Rothman wallpaper at Hygge and West, I couldn't get it out of my head.  I had the blue colorway (with peach birds) on my bulletin board for months.  When I found out we were pregnant back in November, I knew I wanted to incorporate it in the nursery design.  The way the birds were oriented, it just seemed natural to put it on the ceiling.  The blue was a little too bold, I felt, but the yellow version was perfect for the nursery After this selection, the color scheme for the room evolved from the wallpaper. Having never hung wallpaper myself, I treated myself (and my back) and hired my wallpaper installer who owed me favor.  He was happy to tackle the job...I gave him a big tip and some Advil!

 

Did you set a budget for the room?

The wallpaper and custom bedding/window treatments were my biggest splurges.  Everything else we had to get a little creative.  A lot of the pieces and accessories are from our local antique/junk mall (changing chest) and etsy.   An Ikea bookcase and rug were other bargains. Even Walmart of all places was where I finally located just the right crib!  A friend of ours sold us the mid-century rocker for a steal, which we recovered. With the room being so small and narrow, a larger glider was out of the question--the scale of that rocker is perfect for the room. 

An often overlooked area in nursery design is art.  I think even little eyes need to be exposed to great art.  We pulled some of our own pieces from other rooms in our house to adorn the walls in our Mallory's room and we even created a few original pieces just for her.

Did you make the roman shades and crib skirt yourself?

Heavens no! I'm embarrassed to say I can't even sew  on a button, but I did design them and promptly gave my sketches to my seamstress to execute.

What is that fabulous fabric and trim you used?

The yellow stripe is called "Tamaron" in Raffia by Pindler and Pindler.  Finding just the right blueish-gray trim for the bedskirt was more of a challenge.  I scored just enough of a discontinued trim at a local fabric showroom, Mary Jo's.  I think it was Kravet.  That trim was just a little too busy on the edge of the roman shades, but I needed to find a flat tape that matched the pom-pom trim of the skirt.  I never could find just the right shade so I actually used fabric to band the bottom.  It's also a Pindler & Pindler fabric called "Westley" in Spa.  This was also used on the bumper along with a few leftover remnants I had from another job (a natural cream chenille and yellow polka dot embroidered linen).

 

How long did it take for you to pull this design together?

Several months.  I wish I could have focused on this project solely, but like yourself, I'm afraid my little girl's room was squeezed in between completion of other projects and free time on the weekends.  I wanted to clear my schedule entirely so I could spend as much time with her when she arrived.  My husband, Andy, was very involved too.  We loved hitting up yard sales or the Metrolina Antique Show (in nearby Charlotte, NC) on our free weekends.  I related so much to your own nursery diary post about painting.  We painted our entire baby's room twice!  Originally we went with the blue-gray color, but it competed too much with the ceiling. I lived with it for a week or so but it just wasn't right.  Pregnancy hormones and paint drama do not go together!   So my sweet husband repainted the room a warm Antique white, keeping the blue-gray color only on the changing table wall so that the Jonathan Adler sconces would pop. 

More info and resources on the nursery can be found at their website: Rhoney Design!

 

breaking news

No, my water didn't break.

Sharpie now makes their Sharpie Pen RETRACTABLE!

 

 

This was the only pitfall to their pen... people like me forget to put the lid back on. 

Problem solved!

I haven't scored one yet, but next time I head to town this is on my list! 

still very pregnant

Hi friends.  Thanks for the emails and phone calls... I am trucking right along and still very pregnant.  I am working like a crazy woman, which leaves very little time for anything else... sorry! 

Do I really need to pack a hospital bag?  People keep asking me if my bags are packed... they aren't.  I did buy some magazines and snacks for Chance and family (I know I can't eat in the hospital until after the baby is born).  I'm afraid if I pack a bag I'll get impatient.  I know what needs to go in the bag... I just don't want the bag to haunt me every time I pass by it.  Am I crazy?

does working really hard induce labor?

 

On Monday I wore this* and that day I had a construction jobsite meeting... you know the type where you hurdle concrete blocks and 2x4s, climb on dangerous stairs, and rub elbows with some of the work force's finest.  A worker saw me and said, "Oh my gosh!  You look like you are about to explode!  Is it twins!?" 

To which I replied, "No, actually its quadruplets, don't I look great!?"

Grrrrr... don't mess with the pregnant woman. 

Speaking of which.

For the past few months I have set the thermostat to 76 degrees before bed.  This is nice and comfortable to me.  Chance thought the power bill was too high last month so unbeknownst to me when he comes to bed (later than me) he has been tapping it up to 77 degrees.  He thought I wouldn't notice.  At 3:00 this morning we had a very serious conversation about him not touching the thermostat anymore... or else.  I had been suspecting foul play for the last few nights and finally solved the mystery early this morning.

My creativity is being sucked up by the design work I'm working fervently to wrap up in the next week or so, and as a result the blog might take a hit, I apologize in advance, please bear with me.  I'm hoping that working my booty off equates to going into labor naturally (and sooner, rather than later).

Peace.

*- the shirt is Gap maternity, the skirt is Old Navy

new yard = new kitchen desire

Earlier this year we embarked upon a major backyard renovation... sod, new additions in the garden, irrigation, fence, the whole shebang.  Our furry and non-furry friends alike have enjoyed it. 

 

 

 

 

My biggest regret: I cannot see the new yard from my kitchen window.  I now want to rip out my kitchen cabinets and line one side of my kitchen with windows.   

As I was catching up on blog reading last week I came across this post by Things That Inspire regarding "Vanishing Tresholds"... in essence a lack of separation between inside and outside.  Thankfully our home has lots of windows (just not exactly where I would have placed them)... but when I saw this image (below) I'll be honest, I cringed with jealousy.

The cliche term "bringing the outside in" is nails-on-a-chalkboard to me, and I'm not quite sure why... perhaps because it's tossed around on poor design shows on TV?  But there is something to be said for these windows.  I think Vanishing Treshold is a genius term... and I'd like to rip the treshold out of my own kitchen now, so I can see my green grass and garden blooms.  Things That Inspire didn't coin this terminology, she found it here at Tara Dillard's blog titled Landcsape Design Decorating Styling : Vanishing Treshold Home Garden Life

 

 

Can you see your back yard from your kitchen?  I'm tempted to order new windows today, and start the gutting process this weekend... but this might be taking 'nesting' to a whole new level... which could result in a divorce.  I better hold off. 

Last 2 images above from Things That Inspire.

Nesting News

Nicole over at Kirei Nest did a little interview with moi... on a very relevant topic these days: NESTING.  Nicole, thanks for having me, it sure was fun to think about my favorite and most useful household items!