By Land or By Sea

The nursery is 99% finished! I say 99% because the bookcases we ordered are on back order until July. A number of people have tried to make me feel better about this, namely by stating that 1) I won't be reading to the baby until July anyway, and 2) that the baby won't notice whether the bookcases are there or not. But this does not make me feel better because 1) naive or not, I do believe I will read to the baby before July, I do, I do! and 2) I will notice that the bookcases aren't there (and let's be honest, decorating the nursery is more about the mom and dad than the baby anyway, right?).

But on to the good news, and all the things I love about the nursery. First of all, this blabla mobile just arrived today, and was the perfect finishing touch. I don't think that we could have had a nursery without birds somewhere, given how much Zach loves them. And this mobile is so beautifully made- all hand-knit, and the yarn they use is so soft.
http://www.blablakids.com/
The theme for the nursery is By Land or By Sea. This is the "by land" side. We got much inspiration from the Serena and Lily bedding we ordered, as well as their catalogue. Per their design suggestion, Zach drew the tree with chalk. You can also see the gorgeous zebra wood fronts to the drawers on the crib and changing table.

Zach hung shelves for toys and knick-knacks. Decorative items include a wooden airplane from good friend Kristen, pictures of Mom and Dad (of course!), a rocking horse from Grandma, plants, pots, bath stuff, books and more little fun items (can you tell Zach is a sucker for hedgehogs?). At some point, I think we will add blocks.

The changing table matches the crib, and the changing table top will pop off to turn it into a little boy dresser when the time comes.

And inside the drawers- our cloth diapers, all washed and folded (and adorably named "bummis"), and all sorts of tiny clothes.

And when you look at the wall across from the crib, you see the "by sea" side of the nursery. From his crib, the baby will be able to gaze across at his pirate ship, attached to the wall by a shelf that Zach designed, built, painted, and secured.

Now imagine two of these bookshelves on either side of the pirate ship (in place of the "stroller as art" installation we currently have happening, and behind the little orange reading chair).

www.potterybarnkids.com

The second baby shower we had thrown for us a few weeks ago was a gorgeous "bring-a-book" shower, which was so. lovely. And it felt so me. It was old-fashioned in its design, with cut crystal nut bowls and candy bowls, and cupcakes, and bookplates as favors for all the guests. One of my favorite parts was the quote on the invitation. It was so perfect: "it is a great thing to start life with a small number of really good books which are your very own" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Isn't that a perfect sentiment? Needless to say, the shower stocked our library, so once the bookcases arrive, we can display all our beautiful books and the nursery will be totally complete. But I love how it is coming along. I feel that the design adage of "buy what you love and it will all come together" has really been the case with the little man's room.