nursery tour

After two months of Oliver's room being done, I'm finally getting around to posting a nursery tour! This is my favorite space in our house and we definitely spend quite a bit of time in there. 

This bookshelf wall is my favorite part of the room.  We found picture frame shelves at Ikea and attached them to the wall.  I got the idea from dozens and dozens of pins on Pinterest doing the same thing.  I really like the shelves because they're deep enough that thick board books can easily fit on the shelves.  We'll wait and see how they hold up once Oliver begins to climb on things... 

book shelves

The wooden sign was the last project I finished for the nursery.  The large, blank space above the shelves made the corner look unfinished.  When browsing through nursery ideas, I came across this saying and I fell in love with it.  I wanted to create an art piece with the quote that would look a little bit rustic.  Trevor cut the wood and assembled the sign and I made a stencil and painted everything.  It turned out so much better than I thought it would and is something I know we'll keep for a long time.

Oliver's closet is becoming more and more empty as he's quickly outgrowing his clothes.

Here's that herringbone wall!  Trevor still has sworn off painting for a while due to this project.  

herringbone wall tutorial

It certainly seems like we spend a lot of time at the changing table.  On the left, we have a basket where we keep all of Ollie's clean cloth diapers (which we love! We thought it would be so much harder than it is, but it's working out so well!).  We keep lavender baby lotion nearby so it's handy when we're getting ready for bed at night.  

When I was registering for a baby registry, I heard to skip the wipe warmer- but I still put it down regardless.  I am so so happy we got one.  Oliver doesn't cry or fuss through diaper changes at all and I really think warm wipes have helped with that.  Anything to make those middle of the night diapers easier!  In the fox basket, there's a stash of disposable diapers, diaper rash cream, and odds and ends.

When I was first nursing, I felt like I was glued to this rocking chair.  A few days after Oliver was born, we stocked the drawers of the little cabinet with tubes of lanolin and granola bars (I am so much hungrier nursing than I was when I was pregnant!).  I went out and bought a clock for the room once I realized how hard it was to track feedings without knowing the time. 

When the nursery was first set up, the green chair wasn't in there.  Trevor came to hang out so often when I was nursing that we wanted someplace for him to be able to sit. 

Oliver's been sleeping in his crib since he was about a week old.  We had initially put him in a rocker in our room, but he grunts and makes so much noise in his sleep that we were awake all night.  He didn't have a problem adjusting to his crib and sleeps like a champ right now.  (Ps- don't worry, the crib bumpers are the mesh kind, so Oliver's not going to suffocate against them...)

We loved decorating and getting the nursery ready before Oliver came along and it's such a cozy space to spend time in now!

crockpot chicken pot pie stew

I can't believe it's already February.  Oliver's smiling all the time, is just about too big for his 0-3 month size clothes and looks adorable with his bulky cloth diaper bum.  My maternity leave ended a few weeks ago and it's bittersweet to return to work.  I love being back in my office, but I keep looking at pictures of Oliver on my phone... 

Today I'm sharing one of our favorite recipes in our house, crockpot chicken pot pie stew.  Growing up, my mom would always have homemade chicken pot pie in her dinner rotation.  I loved the flaky crust and the way the whole house would smell while it was cooking.  When I moved out on my own, I was so excited to make the chicken pot pie myself.  The first time I made it, it took me hours to prep and cut all the vegetables, make the pie crust and assemble everything.  Even though the pot pie tasted great, I wanted to figure out an easier way to make it.  I decided to change my mom's pot pie recipe into a crockpot stew, and haven't looked back.  The vegetables are still tender, and dumplings take the place of the pie crust.

Chicken pot pie stew-

4 chicken breast

16 oz of chicken broth

1 can of cream of chicken soup

3 carrots, sliced

2 potatoes, sliced into 1/2 inch cubes

1 cup of frozen peas

half an onion, diced

1 teaspoon rosemary

1 teaspoon thyme

salt and pepper, to taste

1 can of biscuits

Put chicken breast, broth, soup and vegetables in a crockpot. Sprinkle rosemary, thyme and salt and pepper over top. Cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4 hours. An hour before cooking is finished, open the can of biscuits. Cut each biscuit into four pieces and put all the pieces into the crockpot. Stir into stew and try to make sure they don't just float on the top. Recover and continue cooking for 60 minutes. Shred chicken. Serve and enjoy. 

 I wrote here about freezer meals have been an essential in our house for the past two months.  This is an easy meal to prepare ahead of time, put everything in a freezer bag, and then just dump it in the crockpot in the morning.  This is one of Trevor's favorite meals and it's so wonderful and comforting on chilly winter days.