Saturday, October 16, 2010

Nursery pains

It's been a while since a personal post, so here it comes, and it's a messy one:

I'm trying really hard to figure out what the nursery is going to look like - and failing.

I managed to find a white glider secondhand (for $25! Sweet deal!), but it came with hideous and worn fabric, so I need to make a slipcover for it. The fabric for that is still a mystery to me - I guess I just need to hit Fabricland and commit to something.
aside: I *so* miss the Lens Mills stores where I used to live. Fabulous selection and cheap! Fabricland does not come close. I am not good at choosing fabric online; I really need to see and feel it, so it's got to be an in-store buy. And I keep asking myself, is it worth the hour and a half drive (and gas money) each way to go to Lens Mills? I know it's not, but, oh. I love that store. I had no idea what a blessing it was to live so close before.
The glider fabric will be a start on what the whole room will be like. I'm kind of leaning towards a bright, cheerful and eclectic mix of colours - no theme (I honestly can't stand Disney or other pre-packaged nursery themes. I know they are popular. Just not my taste). Mostly white, with hits of bright colours. Picture... a box of crayons and a few origami made with colourful Japanese paper scattered on a white twin bedsheet. (Does that make any sense?)

But where to begin when you're going for random? The furniture is all white (except a vintage maple dresser, which I can't bear to paint since I refinished it myself the summer I finished high school - I have vivid memories of the 9 layers of paint I scraped off). The walls are a neutral, pale yellowy-green. The wire alphabet I made will probably end up shiny bright red (and maybe framed, thanks to my brilliant readers). There is a turquoise branch and birds wall decal - hey, you can see the maple dresser in that post, too, and get an idea of the wall colour.

I picked up this boat mobile - another really random thing. I don't want to do a nautical motif or anything, but my husband sails and we both love the look of the vintage-style boats. So all the colour will be in the fabric for the glider, the crib bedding, things on the bookshelves, maybe a fabric pennant bunting... I'd like to do a quilt, too, if I have time and if I can figure out some semblance of a plan. I was looking at my fabric stash for a quilt and I just can't figure out what to do.

I'd also like to do some sort of wall thing above the crib where I can put up pictures and change them often, to give her something else to look at. Maybe one of those wire and clip things (or ribbon and clothes pins?). I was initially picturing vintage flash cards (I don't actually have any) - but I am certainly capable of creating images to put up, or using photos of family. I was lucky and won some Wee Gallery art cards over at Wishing Penny, so that will be a good starter set. Then the trouble is how to affix such a thing to the wall... whether to take a big frame and attach the ribbons to that, or stretch fabric over a canvas stretcher with clips sewn on, or I could even attach a set of pretty dresser knobs to the wall, say three rows the width of the crib apart, and tie ribbons to those, using clothes pins to hold up the pictures. Hm. I just don't want it to look cheesy.

I adore this nursery's colours (Project Nursery is my eye candy site lately):...but I'm not repainting the walls (I do love the colour we have). Our floor is the same natural maple as in this nursery. Maybe I should try for a pale yellow fabric for the glider, with a hit of colour in a throw pillow? I definitely want red in there as an accent colour as well, and by accent I mean a little, like you see here (okay, maybe just a little more). I like this room but for our room, it's too turquoise and has not enough small hits of colour.

I also like this little colour arrangement that I found on Design Dazzle:
- not necessarily for the specific objects, but for the visual impact of the mixed colours and white.

I feel like there are too many ideas in my head and it's not going to be cohesive (and this is exactly why people pick themes, I know). The room is very small. If I can figure out the glider cover, and get the mobile and alphabet finished and hung, the bookshelf (which we still don't have) filled with toys and books, maybe some wall shelves above the dresser and under the decal... Then I will be able to pull it all together with the quilt. Right? Right? Please tell me yes.

This is totally nesting instinct combined with decorator's block. Are you curious to see how it all works out? I sure am. I have 14-16 weeks to figure it out.

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Dream Belly Stretch Mark Cream - Review and Giveaway!

You may recall my recent review of Fairhaven Health's Natural Deodorant and last year's review of FertilAid for Women. I've got another great product from Fairhaven Health to share with you today!

***This giveaway is closed***
Winner: Karla

I'm about 24 weeks pregnant and it really shows! I love the belly. It is starting to get a little tight and uncomfortable, though! The tight and itchy skin is one thing, but the pregnancy feature I'm not looking forward to is stretch marks. So far, so good - none have appeared - but I do have another three-and-a-half-ish months to go!

I know it's genetic, and considering that I got some when I gained the "Freshman 15" back in the day (boo!), I'm kind of expecting to gain a few battle scars from the pregnancy. I've read that between 75-90% of women get stretch marks during pregnancy. It's probably just a matter of time for me. Meanwhile, there's no harm in doing what I can to try to prevent them! Moisturizing is key to help with the itch from the tightness and hopefully it will help prevent some of those pesky striae gravidarum (the technical term).

I've been using a couple of belly creams (more on that later), but my go-to cream for morning use is Fairhaven Health's Dream Belly Stretch Mark Cream. I'm not kidding - I use this every day. The reason I love it for my morning cream is that it is water-based, so it absorbs very quickly and doesn't leave any oily marks on my clothes. It doesn't leave my hands feeling greasy, either (I really don't like that feeling and usually feel I have to wash my hands immediately after applying lotions. Not with this!). It has a very light citrus scent from natural orange extract - nothing too perfumey or strong, which is nice.

This cream, like the other products from Fairhaven Health that I have tried, is formulated with natural ingredients. I love that each ingredient has a purpose (not just fillers or chemicals to improve feel or whatever) and that I can research them and learn why they have been included. I usually do a breakdown of the ingredients in products like this, but Fairhaven Health has done a great job of this on the product page - just click the 'Ingredients' tab to read straightforward information about what's in it, and why.

The verdict isn't in whether I will get stretch marks or not, but for the time being, I find that I have very minor itching from the tight skin on my belly, and if I do start to notice it later in the day, a light application of the Dream Belly cream soothes that right away.

The little massage in applying the cream is pretty nice, too. It sometimes starts off a little dance party in my belly! And for the record, stretch marks can occur on bellies, bums, boobs and thighs - anywhere we grow during pregnancy - so my tactic is to use the cream as a general moisturizer wherever I may need it!

Dream Belly Stretch Mark Cream sells for $19.95 and remember, Fairhaven Health offers free shipping to the US and Canada! (And with the Canadian dollar hitting parity, now's a great time for your cross-border online shopping!)

Fairhaven Health has offered a giveaway for one of my readers!

The giveaway: a full-size Dream Belly Stretch Mark Cream!

How to enter: Visit Fairhaven Health, and tell me something that piques your interest, OR something you learned from the website. Please be sure to include your email if it’s not public in your blogger profile! This is the mandatory entry - do this first!

Extra entries: Bonus time! Leave a comment for each extra entry.

  • Become a fan of/"like" FertilAid on Facebook (mention your first name and last initial in your comment). Already do? That counts!
  • Follow @FertilAidAmy on Twitter (leave your Twitter name!). Already do? That counts!
  • Follow me on Twitter (leave your Twitter name!). Already do? That counts!
  • Tweet about this giveaway (once - this is not a daily!) and leave me the permalink. You can use this for your tweet, if you like:
    "#Win Dream Belly Stretch Mark Cream at Emily's Latest. @emilyisland's go-to belly cream! @FertilAidAmy http://bit.ly/aVPUM6 US/CAN ends 11/1"
  • Follow my blog (publicly) – 2 entries, leave 2 comments. Already do? That counts!
  • Add my blog button to your blog - leave the URL. Already have it? That counts!
  • Blog about this giveaway, linking back to this post and to Fairhaven Health – 2 entries, leave 2 comments and please include a link to your post
  • Let me know if you've tried a belly cream meant for stretch mark prevention - and did it work for you? If you haven't tried one yet, do you plan to?
Please be sure to include your email if it’s not public in your blogger profile! Anonymous comments without a way to contact you will be rejected. Canadian or US mailing addresses only, please. Giveaway ends November 1st at 11:59 pm EST. A winner will be drawn within a day or two of the giveaway's end, announced here, in a separate post and emailed!