Lamps to fit the teeniest budget

I decided last week that I really wanted a new pair of lamps in my studio. Since Rob is a teacher and we're on saved income for the summer, it means that my budget is pretty small. I made up my mind to just keep my eyes open and not get into too much of a hurry to find something. Mom and I went to the Habitat reStore that morning just to see what they had and when we walked up, I saw these in the window:

They're almost 2 feet tall and they feel like solid brass. Sometimes when you go to the Habitat reStore on Mondays they haven't gotten all the things that have come in over the weekend priced yet, and these lamps didn't have a price tag on them. I couldn't believe my ears when I asked the guy behind the counter how much they were and he said $4.99! Even my tiny budget can handle $10.00 for lamps! I may eventually spray paint them, but for right now I'm kinda enjoying their brassiness. Now, if only I could find the right lampshades!

Projects in the hopper...

Well, it's time for me to stop writing getting started posts and start showing you what I'm working on. I'd love to show you the nursery as it stands now, but I really want to show you the complete finished product. This is what the nursery looked like before we started working on it:

This space is the smallest bedroom in our home and for a few years it was my studio, but I knew it would eventually be our nursery. The studio moved to what was the formal living room a year ago, and we moved the twin bed in to accommodate instructors for band camp. Of course, as we started getting things for the baby it turned into a storage place. Also, the Christmas tree likes to live here instead of in the attic like it belongs. The Christmas tree still hasn't made it to the attic, just to another bedroom. This room looks so different now and I can't wait to show it to you!

Here's what's holding up progress on the nursery reveal:

I bought this (awesome!) rocker at the Habitat Restore for $15.00. I'm pretty sure it came out of some granny's attic. Thankfully the granny didn't smoke and there aren't any other weird smells. Mom and I are going to make it our first reupholstering project, but we just haven't found the time to get started on it yet. I'm going to paint the wood bits in Annie Sloan Old White and I found this incredible turquoise zebra print  fabric. Turquoise and zebra are both pretty far out of my comfort zone, but they are going to look incredible in the nursery and I can't wait to get this finished.

This is the last project that I'm working on, slowly. We have two full walls of built-ins (I know, be jealous) but the books are sloppy and haphazard. Basically, as I have the energy I'm pulling them off, deep cleaning, and rearranging them. I'm just doing it one shelf at a time until I get it done so I don't get overwhelmed. I can't believe I'm putting up these awful pictures of our house, but this blog is about the journey we're on as we make the space ours. Folded laundry on the coffee table and all.

So much for resolutions...

Maybe being pregnant makes you a little delusional. I ended up mostly getting our nursery completed by March, but I certainly didn't have the energy I thought I was going to have to post about it or really get this blog going the way I thought I would. To be honest with you, I'm not sure I have the energy now that our baby Charlotte has arrived either, but I really want to make a go of this so I'm going to try! I'm teaching music privately in our home, but I left my other job to come home and be with her, so we've been going through a little bit of upheaval and trying to find our new "normal." I still have a couple of projects to complete before the nursery is finished, but I'm going to start showing you what has been completed and hopefully really soon I'll be showing you the finished project. Here's to starting, again!

Getting Started...

I've been painting furniture for the past 7 months and this blog has been in existence for at least 4 months, but this is the first time I've managed to write anything. Why? Well, to be honest I'm not really sure. I'm pregnant with our first child and I have been swamped with work for the past few months. Excuses aside, it is way past time for me to get started with this blog project. I want to document the work that I'm doing to create the home environment that we want without going into debt to do it.  I think I'm going to start with the new (girly!) nursery that I'm just about to start work in. I can't wait to show you all the things I have planned!