Chapter 3: Creating a Nursery

As I mentioned in Chapter 1, I selected the Hayley bedding collection at Pottery Barn Kids for nugget’s crib. My wonderfully sweet friends Kristy, Laura and Lynette purchased the bedding for me as a shower gift. And this was no easy task since the bedding is still on backorder…and has been for months now. But when my friends set their minds to something they typically get what they want. And that’s how I ended up with the complete set before my due date. What else can I say except they are amazing friends and I love them dearly! xoxo

I wanted to incorporate more of the nature theme found in the bedding into other elements of the room. While searching one of my favorite websites etsy.com, I found a few stores selling tree decals that stick to the wall. I was instantly hooked and ordered my tree in white with pink birdies.

When my tree arrived, everyone told me there was only one person who could help me with sticking it to the wall – Keith’s grandpa Milo. He is the sweetest and most patient man around – two qualities that were definitely needed during the installation process.

The tree measures 48.5" x 80". Yeah, that’s kinda big so it’s a good thing that Milo is tall.

The hardest part was sticking the tree trunk and all the branches to the wall. First, we used tape to temporarily fix the pattern on the wall since there were numerous pieces. Then we had to peel off the backing sheet and use a credit card to rub over the transfer tape to make sure it sticks well onto the wall.

Once the pattern was secure, we carefully removed the clear application tape by pulling it in a downward motion.

There were a few instances when we got air bubbles in the decal, but smoothing it out with a credit card really helped.

It took more than 1.5 hours to install the tree and branches. After that point, I released Milo from his duties and worked on the leaves and birdies on my own. That took another 1.5 hours.

But all that time was well worth it in the end. It’s so flippin’ cute!!!!! (Note: I realize the white tree is slighly hard to see in the photos, but I promise it looks fab in person!)

And the red armchair in the photo was my grandma Toot's favorite chair. It’s super comfy and I love the idea of snuggling with nugget in Toot's old chair because it will be like she is there with us. I bought a slipcover to go over it since red isn’t really part of the nursery theme. I’ve never used a slipcover before so I’ll post an update on how that goes…I’m guessing it will be a humorous. Stay tuned!

Chapter 18: Kitchen Renovation

Let the happy dance begin! This past weekend we had some helpers come into town to work on the house. The fabulous crew consisted of Keith’s grandpa, dad and brother. Let’s just say we got A LOT done...more than we even hoped to accomplish. Keith and I can’t thank them enough!!! xoxo


Project numero uno on our agenda was replacing the floor trim in the kitchen.

The old trim was plastic and got thrown away during the demolition phase. So Keith and I went to Home Depot and grabbed some new wood to match the trim in the rest of the house.

Keith’s brother Andy and grandpa Milo are experts at cutting precise lines with wood so we pretty much just left them alone to do what they do best.

Along with replacing the trim, we needed to also paint it with Glidden’s Dove White along with the chair rail, window frames, door frames and pocket doors.

One of the things I think is so cool about this happy house are the pocket doors. We have three total. Unfortunately, the previous homeowners did not use the pocket doors because the kitchen tile they installed blocked the doors shut. But now that the doors slide beautifully because of the hardwood, they needed a bit of TLC from us...with Walter supervising of course!

I swear the doors probably were white at one point, but 40+ years have passed and they kinda turned yellow. But nothing a little Dove White paint can’t fix. I envision myself using the pocket doors more frequently when I’m cooking dinner and the nugget is crawling around on the floor. I can simply shut the doors to keep her from roaming around the house without my watchful eye. Brilliant!

Like always, the Dove White paint really makes the wall color pop. We just need to spackle the nail holes in the floor trim followed by a little paint touch-up and we’ll be as good as gold. And we only painted one of the pocket doors – still have to two left to paint along with the door to the patio. Sigh! Painting is our lives.

Stay tuned… I need Keith to help me hang some items on the wall. Decorating is one of the best parts!

Chapter 17: Kitchen Renovation

After a long and arduous search, we finally found the perfect bar stools for our kitchen (insert sigh of relief)! I think we were both surprised by how expensive a bar stool costs. To us, something under $75 sounded reasonable. Ha! We quickly realized that might get us one bar stool at Ikea, but anywhere else we’d need to open our wallet and take out another Benjamin Franklin. So that was reality check #1.


Reality check #2 was the fact that I couldn’t find “inexpensive” white bar stools. I know, some of you might be thinking it’s weird that I would want white bar stools to go in my dark maple cabinet kitchen. But trust me, it can work! Pottery Barn and West Elm had some lovely selections, but the $200+ price tag for one bar stool was slightly ridiculous, in our opinion. We searched Target, Walmart, Garden Ridge, Billiard-type stores and even did some internet searching, but I just couldn’t find what I was looking for – at a good price.


So with two reality checks, I needed to rethink my vision. During a trip to Columbus, I dragged Keith into his first World Market store. Unfortunately, we don’t have any World Market stores in Pittsburgh and I had almost forgotten how much I love this place! And the best part of this trip was the fact that Keith really liked the store too…and that rarely happens! The second best part was the fact that we found bar stools – the Elana bar stool to be specific. I fell in love with the banana leaf fibers and how they were sorted from light to dark and then woven together to achieve an appealing herringbone pattern. It wasn’t white, but it was light and natural.


Only problem is that they didn’t carry the counter-depth height bar stools in the store – it was only available online. And while the price tag was right, we feared the bulk shipping prices would kill us. So we waited awhile to make a decision. As luck would have it, we got a special Friends and Family e-mail promotion a couple weeks later. The discount on the promotion would off-set the cost of the bulk shipping so we jumped on the opportunity and submitted our order.


And kudos to World Market for fast and efficient shipping. We placed the order on Friday before 5 p.m. and the bar stools arrived from California on Wednesday. Holy cow!

Besides looking fabulous in our kitchen, I adore these bar stools for being comfortable. We have a nice wide seat and high back for extra support. As an added bonus, I even think Nugget’s Fisher Price Space Saver High Chair will fit nicely on one of these stools.

The kitchen is getting very, very close to be done! We've been super busy the past couple weeks and I promise to share details soon!

Chapter 2: Creating A Nursery

With the realization that we had very few free weekends open before the nugget arrives, we decided to stay home two weekends ago (yes, I realize I'm behind with my posts). It turned into one of those nothing-special but because of that, so-very special weekends. I just loved the fact that it was just the two of us, running errands and putting items together for our daughter’s nursery.


Friday after work we headed to Ikea. My silly hubby thought we were only going to pick-up the Hemnes dresser and Billy bookcase. Then he remembered who he married and realized I had a few other items I wanted to purchase while we were there. Duh! :o) Extra items included storage containers, napkins, scissors, a trivet, a lamp, a few picture frames and a plant. I know – kinda random. But it was all either for the nursery or the kitchen.


After Ikea we headed to Babies R Us to purchase a shower gift for our friends Nick and Amanda. And right next to Babies R Us is a Half Priced Books and a Michaels. Our stop in Half Priced Books was rather short because they didn’t have a copy of “The Road To Wellville” by T.C. Boyle (the Newcomer’s Club October book selection that I’m not super trilled about reading). Then we had to run into Michaels so I could get scrapbook pages for the baby album I made for Nugget’s first year.


When Saturday morning arrived, I got us started off on the right foot by making some delicious pancakes topped with fresh strawberries and northeast Ohio maple syrup (the best there is)! I’m not sure if it was my yummy pancakes or the Buckeye music I had playing in the background that got us motivated to start putting together the Hemnes dresser.

While furniture assembly is normally a job that Keith completes solo, I decided to help. It was nice to tag team this project and spend time together in the nursery. It made me love the Havana Cream paint color I picked even more!

You can see how we utilized the crib to store the pieces and parts as we worked. This dresser truly is a perfect match to our crib so I'm pumped.

If you ever purchase this dresser, make note that four hands are probably better than two hands. We had to rotate and turn the dresser on several occasions, which I think would be a difficult task for just one person.

As you can see, the dresser is just the right size for a changing table on top. Exactly what we need! And that cute striped liner inside the drawers is yellow - how perfect is that?

And I know I’m going to appreciate the four mini drawers on top – I can have one for hair accessories, one of socks, one for first-aid items and one for diapers stuff...or something like that.

Ta-dah! Here's the finished product! And the cute lamp on top is one of the extra purchases at Ikea.

It took us about 2.5 hours to put the dresser together…just in time to break for lunch and watch the Buckeye’s beat Indiana!

Still a lot more to do with the nursery and I'm 31 weeks pregnant. Yikes! More updates to come so stay tuned!

Chapter 16: Kitchen Renovation

Back with a kitchen renovation update! It’s been a little over a month since our installation was completed and I have to say we’ve thoroughly enjoyed every moment in our new kitchen. If we had a TV in here I really don’t think we’d ever leave the room. Ha ha!

Although, there are a few more things that still need to be done – like replacing trim, painting window frames and pocket doors, finding décor, etc. The plan is to complete this list of "to-do's" by the end of this month. But, I’ve also had to deal with this...

Yes, that’s a sad little light bulb hanging above our beautiful island. Cue the “wa wa wa” sound effect.

For the past month this pathetic light was a daily reminder that the fabulous pedant light I purchased online at Shades of Light was on backorder. Sigh! Being the planner that I am, I ordered the light on August 19 because I figured it would arrive at just about the same time the kitchen installation was wrapping-up. I was disappointed to get an e-mail reply that the light was on backorder until September 10. Slight bummer, but no big deal. However, September 10 came and went and I still had not received my light or even a shipment update. Double sigh! On September 16 I called customer service to check on the status and I was told that my light was still in production, but it was scheduled to be completed the following week. That got a triple sigh out of me because I realized the light would most likely be shipped the week we were at the Outer Banks. So imagine my annoyance when we got back from vacation and I still didn’t have my flippin’ light! This required another call to customer service on October 5. Luckily for me (and the customer service rep who didn’t have to experience the wrath of an emotional pregnant lady), my light had shipped out that very same day. FINALLY!

If the pedant light wasn’t so fabulous I might have cancelled the order altogether, but I hung in there. And it was worth it! The light arrived last Thursday and, of course, it was the first chore I made Keith complete on Thursday evening.

I have to say my hubby is one handy-dandy guy to have around. The installation instructions were not the best, but he figured it out.

I think I'll keep him around for awhile. :o)

Ta-da! I told you it was fabulous!

I just love the design of the pedant. It’s perfect for our kitchen. The soft gray lines pick-up the stainless steel appliances.

Shades of Light named this the “Trellis Linen Drum Shade Pendant,” but I think they should consider renaming it the “Becky Light” because it’s just my kind of style.

Stay tuned because we finally decided on barstools and they are expected to arrive later this week! Double yay!

Chapter 2: Make New Friends

In case you haven’t read my sob story of having no friends in the Pitts, you can read it here. I made my second attempt at finding a friend at the Newcomer’s Club September Book Club meeting. I was again, super nervous upon arrival – especially since I was one of the first to arrive. But I was greeted by one of the gals I met at the Kick-Off Meeting so we quickly started chatting.

The hostess had selected the book “The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo.” I read this book in June and couldn’t put it down. I actually ended up reading the second installment “The Girl Who Played with Fire” last week at the beach and thought it was even better than the first. Now I’m trying to figure out how I can find the time to read the final book “The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest” and start our October book of the month “The Road to Wellville.” And let’s not forget I’m going through my whole “nesting” phase right now and I need to get the house in order before the nugget arrives.

Anyhoo, I had a good time at my first book club meeting and I even learned a few things…

1. Book Club never starts on time so don’t worry about getting to the hostess house right at 7 p.m.
2. Don’t eat dinner before Book Club because the hostess has plenty of yummy munchies!
3. I don’t think I really have to even read the book of the month because we didn’t spend that much time discussing…although I can’t figure out if that was just because this was the first Book Club meeting of the year and there were a lot of new members and introductions of how the club worked.

I was brave and even signed-up to host our July meeting. I figured that would at least give me six months to try and get the hang of this “being a mom” thing. Plus, by then I’ll hopefully have a living room.

I can’t really host an event with a living room like this. Yikes! That means getting a sofa, chairs, rug and wall hangings before July! Keith thought it was very sly of me to volunteer to host. It definitely puts a deadline on a project that’s probably at the top of my list, yet more at the middle or bottom of his list. Ha ha! (I love you babe!)

So like the Kick-Off Meeting, I didn’t necessarily walk away with a new BFF, but I’m making connections with other women in the community and getting out of my hubby’s hair for a few hours in the evening. I’d say that’s a success!

We’re staying in the Pitts this weekend to work on the nursery, the kitchen and few other home improvement “to-do” things. I’ll have updates next week. Stay tuned!

Outer Banks

So I’ve been bad and haven’t written a new blog post in the last couple of weeks. Oops! Two weeks ago, the MIA was just a result of my laziness. Last week I had a good excuse. Keith and I took a week off work and headed to the Outer Banks with our friends Nick and Amanda.


It was somewhat fitting to be on vacation with Nick and Amanda since she is due November 20th and I’m due December 20th. I think the new buzz word for a situation like this is called “babymoon.” It’s that last little getaway where parents-to-be can relax and not have to worry about any munchkins. So a week at the Outer Banks seemed like the perfect fit. We definitely got time to relax…only problem was that it wasn’t in the sun.

The east coast draught decided to come to an end the moment we crossed the bridge.

But not even a stormy weather mixture of wind and rain from Sunday until Friday could damper our enjoyment.

Yes, Amanda and I managed to waddled our way over the sandy dunes even with the nasty wind gusts.

And yes, that is a football in Keith's hand. Not sure this was the indeal setting to play a game of toss, but the boys seemed to enjoy the challenge.

We were finally greeted by the sun on Saturday…our last day. Amanda and I even enjoyed a nice cold brew too (the non-alcoholic version, of course). Aren't we cute? :o)

But don’t be fooled to think that I left home decorating ideas off my mind during this vacation. I decided I needed to take my beloved Outer Banks beaches home with me. I want to be able to share a place that I’ve cherished since I’ve been a little girl with my nugget. Of course, she’ll eventually vacation there too, but until then she’ll find a piece of it in our happy house.

So the few moments in the day when it wasn’t windy and rainy and we could take walks on the beach, I made my hubby help me collect sea shells. I didn’t have any requirements for what sea shells we picked other than the fact that I didn’t want any broken ones. I realize I could have gone with a color scheme and only picked black and white shells. Instead, we just picked the most unique ones we could find. The more different – the better! And I have to say we ended up with a nice variety.

My vision is to put the shells in a glass jar on our mantle in the living room as that’s definitely on the list of projects I want to complete before middle of next year. Stay tuned to find out why the living room is definitely on the list!

Chapter 1: Make New Friends

Since this week marks the first full year I’ve been living and working in Pittsburgh, it seemed like fate that the Newcomer’s Club in my city would host its annual Fall Kick-off Meeting on Wednesday night at a local coffee house. I was bound and determined to participant and find myself a buddy or two.

The sad truth is that I’ve been here a whole year now and haven’t really made any new friends. Yes, I realize I’m pathetic. And while I have a few co-workers I like and some of Keith’s co-workers are fun to hang out with too, it’s not the same as having a true girlfriend – someone I can just call up and see if she wants to grab a bit to eat, go shopping, see a movie or get a pedicure.

Sometimes I think I’m being too greedy because I really don’t have enough fingers and toes to count all the wonderful high school, college and after-college group of ladies that I’m so lucky to have as close friends. I know they are all there for me no matter what…except when I have the urge to see a chick flick on a weeknight and they are all at least 3 hours away. That’s a problem. So finding someone here in Pittsburgh to add to my list of close girlfriends is a necessity.

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I went to the meeting. I felt like a freshman on OSU campus again – completely shy and afraid that people might see a big “L” (for loser) stamped across my forehead. What I found was a room full (and I mean full) of chatting woman. For some reason I thought it would be a small turnout, but apparently this Newcomer’s Club averages between 70 – 100 ladies. Wow! And it truly is a diverse group of woman – younger and older, working and non-working, single and married, etc.

After I signed-in and got my name badge, I slightly panicked because it was starting to get crowded and all the women were standing in groups chatting. Do I just pick a group to party crash? Will someone see me and welcome me into their conversation? Crap! I didn’t know what to do except bolt for a corner table that had fliers about upcoming events. I think one of the current members took pity on the awkward pregnant lady who clearly “didn’t have a group” and came up to introduce herself. Whew! Ice was broken. I felt a little more at ease and more women slowly started to join our conversation so I got to meet more “newbies” in the community.

Later, the President had all the Department Chairs go around and discuss the various activities of the Club – wine and chat, monthly dinners, book club, theatre club, international club, family events, play dates, couples events, etc. There truly is something for everybody.

I eventually sat at a table with a nice group of women, two of which were new to the area as well. And it felt so good to just talk to them. Granted, I didn’t leave the event with a new BFF (that takes time), but I felt happy and proud of myself for taking that scary first step. It’s not easy being the new kid, but at least I found a group of women who are in the same situation…and maybe open to adding me to their list of buddies too. Only time will tell.

I think I’m going to go to the September book club meeting next Thursday because they selected The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and I luckily read that book this past June. Yay! I’ll keep you posted on how my search for a new friend goes...I’m beginning to think it’s as much work as renovating a house!

Evening Ritual

One thing we’ve had to learn while living in Pittsburgh is how to dodge traffic while walking our baby Walter. If I had to guess, I would say about 75 percent of the neighborhoods in Pittsburgh do not have sidewalks. It’s bizarre to me, but maybe that’s just because I’m just a sidewalk kind of gal.

And I realize that the ‘no sidewalk thing’ wouldn’t be such a big deal if Walter acted like a normal dog on a walk. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. He is a big, crazy, loveable, snuffleupagus on a leash.

Yes, Keith and I look utterly ridiculous when we are out walking him because it mostly turns into Walter dragging us back and forth across the street (And yes, we realize every day that paying the tuition for doggie obedience school would have been money well spent). But we suck up our pride and try to walk him every evening because it’s Walter’s favorite thing to do and we love the guy. (Notice how he is practically in the middle of the road as a car passes by. I swear, he hears a car coming and walks toward it!)

So despite this hassle, I do love our evening walks. Pittsburgh has so many big, overgrown trees that aren't commonly seen in Columbus. And I think our street is especially lovely - the best in the entire neighborhood.

Plus, I like how our walks in Pittsburgh give us a little more of a workout than if we were walking in Columbus. Whatever route we decide to take, we always encounter at least two decent-sized hills that we must crawl up. It’s pretty clear how this area of Pittsburgh got the name “South Hills.”

And once we get back to the house after our walk, Walter is the first one at our front door - waiting for us to let him in so he can slobber water all over my floor, eat his milk bone and happily pass out. Keith and I collapse on the couch and enjoy some TV time...and maybe an ice cream treat. Yup, when we are not busy with our renovation chores, this is our ritual – and I love it. :o)

Going Home

So I realize that all I ever talk about on this blog is the renovation of our house. I have yet to talk about the relocation aspect of our move that has also changed our lives. This week marks the first full year I’ve been living and working in Pittsburgh – Keith was here for about 3 months before me.

One thing I can say about our relocation is how it has made me cherish our trips back to Columbus, Ohio. These trips almost feel like holidays to me. I’m literally giddy the entire week before as I busily try to pack as many dates with friends and family into one weekend as humanly possible.

This past weekend was a big event in Columbus and we definitely didn’t want to miss it – the first Saturday afternoon OSU football game of the season! And this particular Saturday was probably one of the biggest games of the year. OSU was playing Miami! The last time these two teams met was the 2003 National Title Game. Miraculously we managed to score 4 tickets to the game through the OSU alumni lottery. And of course we asked two of our favorite people to join us – Nick and Amanda.

And we were especially relieved to learn their guest room was vacant for the weekend and, like always, they welcomed us to crash at their house like it’s no big deal. And while it might not be a big deal to them, it’s a big deal to us. As much as I cherish our trips back to Columbus, it’s often stressful having to find a place to stay for the weekend. We don’t want to be (or feel like) a burden on others. But our relocation has made Keith and I feel even more grateful to have such loving and caring friends and family who happily open their homes to us and make us feel so welcomed and comfortable without a blink of the eye. We truly appreciate it and can’t thank them enough for their generous hospitality! xoxo

So Saturday morning we were back at the best place on earth…outside the OSU football stadium with our Buckeye tailgate van, hanging out and soaking up some sunshine and good times with friends.

Amanda and Nick are expecting a baby boy exactly one month before we are so Amanda and I already have grand ideas of our children marrying each other so we can plan a wedding…she promised that they were starting to save money so “Hector” could buy “Nugget” a huge engagement ring! Don’t we look cute with our bellies and our Buckeye necklaces?

And Lynette, another BFF, was in town from Chicago so that was an added bonus to being in Columbus this weekend. She was taking Kristy (my oldest BFF and practically a sister) to the game with her so they stopped by the tailgate too. I love how we got Morrill Tower in the background because that is where we lived Freshman year. (We missed Laura not being in town, but I loved hearing her voice that morning when she called to tell me to have a good weekend! That one is nothing, but sweetness!)

Our seats for the game were literally the last row of the stadium, but on the 50 yard line. And while it was a haul for Amanda and I to get our bellies up all those stairs, the view was well worth it.

And just look at this photo of us! I think this may need to be on our Christmas card this year – right?

It was an AWESOME game that even a few showers during the 2nd quarter couldn't change. The Buckeye’s won it 36-24. Go Bucks!

Then Sunday morning Keith and I got to visit with Kristy and Lynette again over breakfast, but this time we also got the pleasure of Reese’s company. Reese is Kristy’s 4-month-old baby girl and the most squeezable little darling ever!

I love how Reese and my nugget will be close in age and can one day share a love of Barbie Dolls like her mother and I once did.

After breakfast I attended the baby shower Keith’s family was throwing for me and it was nice to spend a beautiful afternoon outdoors with his aunts and cousins since we probably won’t be able to see them over the holidays this year (Nugget’s arrival will put a halt on any of my travel at the end of this year).

They prepared a delicious lunch and showered me with some much needed baby gear and books for our little nugget.

And then all of a sudden, it was time to drive back to the Pitts (my pet name for my new city). Every time we leave it makes me long for the time when we have the opportunity to move back to Columbus. But I’m also enjoying this exciting adventure Keith and I are doing together…because trust me, living in Pittsburgh is an adventure!

If I’ve learned one thing about our relocation I would have to sum it up with the last words to The Ohio State University’s alma mater Carmen Ohio:

"Time and change will surely show, how firm thy friendship. OHIO”

Chapter 15: Kitchen Renovation

So this was probably the last major hurdle with the kitchen renovation. Painting. In my head I thought that the color we picked out for our bedroom – Glidden’s Barely Jade – would look great in the kitchen. However, after the granite got installed I realized that was totally not going to be the case. Our granite is so pretty that I really didn’t want a paint color to overshadow it. And even though Barely Jade is a soft shade of green/blue/gray, there are not colors like that in the granite to make it work as a good accent.

So it looks like we would have to go with a neutral color again. I’m starting to get concerned that I have a slight addiction to the color beige because I’ve pretty much covered most of the house in Glidden’s Water Chestnut, Antique Beige and Smooth Stone. Is there therapy for this? But as my mom and Keith pointed out, you can never go wrong with beige and it will allow me the creativity to change the room with décor whenever the mood strikes without the hassle of having to change the wall color. (Those two are so smart!)

So we tested Smooth Stone and Antique Beige on the walls before making a decision. Keith was rooting for Antique Beige because somehow we managed to have 1.5 gallons of this paint left over after we painted the hallways this shade. I was rooting for Smooth Stone because our dining room is this color and I thought it would be nice if the two rooms had some consistency. Plus, I was kind of envisioning the Antique Beige in our sunroom. But, I was not the winner in this situation. The Smooth Stone didn’t work with the granite either, but Antique Beige did.

I thought painting this room was going to be a huge pain because of having to tape all the cabinets and countertop, but it actually went really smoothly.

I will admit that Antique Beige looks better in person - these photos don't do it justice. Plus we still need to paint the trim with Glidden’s Dove White to make it pop. That will come soon though.

I really liked how it turned out. Light and refreshing like the rest of the house…or my vision for the rest of the house because we aren’t quite there yet. Lol

So while the walls are now painted, I don’t think you’ll get the full effect until after we install and paint the chair rail and floor trim, purchase the bar stools and assemble the décor on the walls and counters. Oh – and I’m still waiting on my pendant light to arrive for above the island. It’s on back order, but should arrive next week and I can’t wait!!!! And I did purchase some fun glass jars at Garden Ridge to store my flour and sugars. I love them too! There are a few other ideas I have for the counters and open shelf, but I just haven’t found what I’m looking for yet.

I’ll post new photos as we continue to make updates. Stay tuned!