Sunday, November 13, 2011
Monday, November 7, 2011
Feels Like Home
Finally finished renovating and decorating our place! After a few months of renovating and a couple weeks of unpacking, rearranging and shopping -- this simple small place finally feels like a home. Eyebrows and I decided on a clean French look for our second place. Monique was our architect and she captured our vision quite well.
All the furniture was custom made to fit into the small space and to go with the theme. Beth, our furniture maker, did a great job! Most of the furniture is painted to mimic an old french country look (snagged the look from Ethan Allen, its funny though how most older people think the furniture painting is undone!). Beth used 7 layers of paint and sandpaper to get the look right. I chose simple textured fabric for most upholstery with a few printed damask accent pieces. We really wanted some semblance of greenery and were really happy to find these clean-cut grass in silver pots to go with our theme.
Our home has a very soft feel to it. It is clean and fresh looking just like I imagined. In a way its sad that its all done. Its just so fun to design our place, I want to do more of it! Next step is to finish the Nursery and Christmas decorations.
The overall color scheme was white and beige with a few hints of green and brown to add color. I shopped for a few simple and elegant accent furniture that added life to the place. I love the glass vases I found at Rustans. They are the perfect size (and I must it is not easy to find elegant furniture for a small space)! I coupled it with potpourri in shades of green and beige to go with our color scheme.
All the furniture was custom made to fit into the small space and to go with the theme. Beth, our furniture maker, did a great job! Most of the furniture is painted to mimic an old french country look (snagged the look from Ethan Allen, its funny though how most older people think the furniture painting is undone!). Beth used 7 layers of paint and sandpaper to get the look right. I chose simple textured fabric for most upholstery with a few printed damask accent pieces. We really wanted some semblance of greenery and were really happy to find these clean-cut grass in silver pots to go with our theme.
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Online Shopping for Cloth Nappies
We're planning to mix cloth with disposable diapers for our newborn, mostly to prevent diaper rash. "According to the Journal of Pediatrics, 54 % of one-month old babies using disposable diapers had rashes, 16 % having severe rashes. A study done by a disposable diapers manufacturing company... shows that the incidence of diaper rash increased from 7.1% to 61% with the increased use of throwaway disposable diapers." (a)
So I went off on another online research and shopping spree in search of the perfect nappies. Its amazing where Google can take you, found 3 local websites that sell cloth diapers:
So I went off on another online research and shopping spree in search of the perfect nappies. Its amazing where Google can take you, found 3 local websites that sell cloth diapers:
Took a look at a number of brands before finally choosing the GroVia All In Twos. It's basically composed of an outer waterproof shell and an inner absorbent and removable soaker pad. What made me go for this brand was the fact that the diaper system is adjustable and can be used from newborn all the way to the toddler stage. Most of the other brands came in multiple sizes depending on the child's age. Plus, almost all the online reviews were positive. Below is an online review of how this thing works.
One set of this diaper system comes with a shell and a soaker pad. Additional soaker pads can be sold separately. My next question was, how many of these will I need? After some researching, they say I'll probably need 3-4 shells and about 10 soaker pads for partial cloth diapering for a newborn. Considering one shell is over PhP 1k, and a 2 pc soaker pad set about the same price... hmmmm, am I really sure to use this?
Off to some other alternatives, another option is to use prefold diapers instead of soaker pads, at least until our newborn starts to need less changes. Although the GroVia was not made for this, I did read that it worked quite well for other mommies. Prefold diapers are much much more reasonable.
So those are my options for now... I almost went ahead and purchased them online, then figured I can probably hold off on it until I am 100% sure to go "mixed-nappy-ing".
Sources:
(a) http://www.thenewparentsguide.com/diapers.htm
Sources:
(a) http://www.thenewparentsguide.com/diapers.htm
This Stroller or That
The next baby necessity for us to buy after the crib was the stroller. Choosing the crib was tough (since we had to make sure it fit the theme and size of our nursery), but choosing the stroller has been much more taxing. There's just so many choices and considerations!
For me, the priority considerations were that it had to be safe, comfortably padded for the baby and able to attach a newborn car seat. It also had to be durable enough to last us years. For Eyebrows, it had to be easy to fold and compact enough to travel with and fit in the trunk. We've trimmed down our choices to 3:
The Bugaboo Bee Plus is just too adorable to ignore. I love the look - so modern. It's compact and easy to fold. It doesnt seem padded enough for a newborn though, but you can buy a separate infant car seat that sits snuggly on top. The big catch - in Amazon, it costs $649!!! In Hobbes and Landes, its even more! And that does not come with the car seat, any accessories or shipping! Hmmmmm... definitely not the practical buy. But... but....
For me, the priority considerations were that it had to be safe, comfortably padded for the baby and able to attach a newborn car seat. It also had to be durable enough to last us years. For Eyebrows, it had to be easy to fold and compact enough to travel with and fit in the trunk. We've trimmed down our choices to 3:
The Peg Perego Pliko P3 Compact stroller with the Viaggio car seat was another top contender. It folds really easily (umbrella-type style). It seems stable and durable and the reviews are 99% positive. It can come with an infant car seat that clips easily to the stroller. In Rustans, the stroller costs approximately PhP 21k and the car seat PhP 17k. Still on the high side. When we checked in Amazon though, the entire travel system costs much less. Running price is at $580 for the set. Even with shipping, it still comes out cheaper.
Our third option (c/o Eyebrows' ingenious internet shopping skills) is the Britax B-Agile stroller and B-Safe car seat travel system. I've never seen or tested this stroller so I feel a bit iffy about it. But the online reviews are almost all positive! It's sturdy, has full leg support for the baby, comfortable padding, a large canopy and it folds easy and compact. Cons include it having a relatively small basket and it folds with the seat exposed and handle to the floor. And it only comes in red and black. All in all however, its good value for money. Amazon sells the entire travel system for $350. We'll probably have to add a little more for shipping, but not significantly.
So those are our top 3 stroller choices for now... The more I Google, the more confused I get! Ultimately, I think any reasonable, safe, sturdy and compact stroller + car seat should do the job.
Getting Started on the Nursery
After being hospitalized for a week for premature labor, Im finally home although confined to strict bed rest. Thank God I've just finished decorating most areas of our home. Now it's down to the nursery. We have the crib, mattress, changing table, shelves and Mommy's lazy boy in place, but thats about it. On a side note, Mommy's lazy boy was the one "luho" item we got for the nursery. Its a bit on the pricey side but extremely comfortable! It's very well cushioned with soft leather, fully reclines, has full leg support, and best of all -- offers great lumbar support! I vouch it to be more comfortable than any other furniture in the house! My rationale: for those long and exhausting days and nights of breastfeeding.
Anyway, back to the room... there are no accents or decorations whatsoever. It's quite disappointing I wont be able to step out of our home to shop for baby stuff (at least not anytime soon) and there's still so much to buy. I made a list of all the necessities and if worse comes to worst, then Ill probably delegate the shopping to Eyebrows and my Mom. But for now, Im learning all about internet shopping! My first buy.... removable wall stickers!
Found these in Amazon on sale for only $3.23 each. With door to door shipping, it sums up to approx $30 for 2 sets. I closed my eyes and clicked the purchase button. I think it'll go perfectly with our nursery theme. Im going for light hues of white, cream, mocha and baby pink. Plus, its a really practical buy. It wont ruin our newly painted walls in case we decide to take it down. Cant wait for it to arrive!
Next nursery room buys: Stand Lamp, Beddings (sheets and crib guards), and a nice large picture to hang on the wall (probably will end up hanging a family pic instead).
Saturday, November 5, 2011
BLOG REVIVED!
After over a year... I've decided to revive my blog!!! Looking back at all my posts, I cant believe how time flies by so fast. So much has changed since then, new home, new job, new life, new priorities, new outlook. One things for sure, everything changes. For me, its been better every day.
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