Nursery Stuff

We spent the past two days at the pool and in between making sure my husband was adequately covered in SPF 30 and fighting with the leasing office about my pool passes (that tale to come), I managed to get some great color and get through a huge chunk of Baby Bargains.

Our goal is to get the majority of the nursery done by mid-August because once school is back in session (3rd weekend in August) we have stuff every single weekend up through October 10. And then I'm due the first weekend in November (holy crap).

So far we know we're going with white furniture and bright colors/patterns for the bedding. I really want something fun and cheerful - no animals, characters, or anything else with a face - in colors that are distinctly boy or girl, but aren't necessarily "baby". I found two patterns I love at Land of Nod... I'll share once we find out which one we're going with! For furniture, we decided on these:
The Graco Lauren crib (how many times can I mention it in one week?) and the Hemnes 8 drawer dresser from Ikea. And based on the Baby Bargins mattress information and recommendations, we're going with the Simmons Kids Beautyrest Beginnings Nighttime Whimsy Luxury Firm Baby Crib and Toddler Mattress.

Here's the budget breakdown:

crib - $110 at Target with free shipping (listed at $130 but I got a $20 gift card for starting a baby registry the other day!)

dresser - $249 (listed at $299 but I have a $50 off $250 coupon from Ikea.... it's a super expensive piece but we need the storage and it's the biggest we could find for that price anywhere)

mattress - $102.95 at Amazon with free shipping (listed at $122.95 but I have $20 in SwagBucks I'm going to trade in for Amazon gift cards)

So the total on furniture will be $461.95, which isn't bad! And we're saving $90 thanks to coupons and random gift cards. We haven't purchased anything yet, but will do so in the next few weeks. My favorite piece, though, isn't going to cost a cent. When we told my mom I was pregnant, she promised us the rocking chair that she was given at her baby shower when she was pregnant with me:
It's been in my mom's bedroom for as long as I can remember and I am so, so excited to rock my baby to sleep in it this fall.

And finally, here's the one DIY project that I want to do:
Book slings! See the books peeking out from behind the fabric? Genius. We're going to paint the nursery , but this is an awesome way to get more pops of color into the room. I'm hoping to find a fabric that matches the dust ruffle because the two I have picked out are so fun. I'll probably do something similar to the photo above, with two slings and a Lack shelf on top.

I can't wait to start! But first things first - I have a futon that needs to go ($100 for anyone who wants it!) and my wedding gown still needs to be drycleaned (coming up on a year and a half post-wedding now....). Yikes. Only 22.5 more weeks to go!