Finishing Off Friday - 29th March 2013

We have had another big week around here!  The topic of 'Finishing Off' certainly rings true with two of my room make-overs finally being moved to the 'finished' pile!

The Study

- Mick finished putting the workbench together on Sunday night, so on Monday morning I was up at the crack of dawn putting all of my goodies into it!  (In this photo, it is pushed right up against the Expedit, ready for the electrician to install the fan - normally it is right in the centre of the room.)

I especially love this shelf underneath, which I can store my guillotine, slicers, cutting boards, etc on.  It is so handy and I love that they are all out of sight!  It is also wide enough to fit our wedding album.  I love our wedding album so much, but it is so massive that it is really hard to find a shelf in the house that will hold it.  Here is the perfect spot - and it makes sense to keep it in this room anyway, as all of our other photos are in here too.

I will do a post just about this workbench really soon, as I have had lots of questions about it!

- We also hung some hooks and I was able to hang up my beautiful birthday calendar (which you can read about here.)

And my Martha Stewart pocket (still not sure what I will use it for, just wanted it up!)

I still have a big blank wall in the room, above the filing cabinets, which I think I want a pin board to hang up, so I will be keeping my eye out for something to fill that space that is both colourful and inspiring!

- The brand new door handles were all put on the freshly painted doors.

- And the new ceiling fan was installed by an electrician.  I just love it!!

- And I also made a little seat cover for a spare bar stool that we had in our garage, which I will trial as my seat in this room.  I really have been trying to find a bench-height office chair, but I have had no luck as yet.  So, I decided that I would see how I go with a bar-stool for now.

I used a spare bar stool from the kitchen, and fabric that I already had left over from this dress I made a few years ago, so the entire project cost me nothing except some time sewing!

I made a removable cover, rather than staple the fabric underneath, so that it can be easily washed or swapped in the future.  I just sewed a simple hem all of the way around and then threaded elastic through it.

I had fun trying it on for size - I asked Mick if he liked my new shower cap and he had a good laugh ;)

So, for now, the study is pretty much done!  Of course, I have my wish list of additional things to add to the room (like a peg board inside the cupboard door for added hanging storage, a printer trolley for the space beside the Expedit, and new white filing cabinets to match the rest of the new furniture), but these things can wait.  There is no rush at all - I would rather just relax and enjoy my last few weeks of pregnancy project-free!  I have to say I am so happy with my new 'creative workspace', and look forward to sharing all of the bits and pieces in there with you through some blog posts soon.

The Nursery / Preparing for Baby

- We picked up the Summer Kit for the pram!  I just love the umbrella!  I took it out into the sun and gave it a good test, and am very impressed with the shade coverage that we get from this alone, and that isn't even with the actual sun-shade cover fitted.

- I have done a meal plan and a week's worth of food, for when we get home from hospital.  We are not huge fans of frozen meals for weeks on end, so I haven't gone crazy with pre-cooking meals.  Instead, for the meal plan, I chose really easy meals like Chicken Burritos, Spaghetti Bolognaise, Slow Cooker Beef and Red Wine Casserole, etc.  The meat is all cut up and frozen in the correct portion size, and any packets/jars that we need to make the dish are safely stowed in the pantry.  We will just need to stock up on fresh produce and dairy, as they are needed.  And even though we will still need to cook our dinners most nights, I am hoping that by having a list of options ready to go, along with all of the ingredients in the house, it will make keeping up with relatively healthy dinners achievable in those first few weeks at home with the baby.

- I re-covered this laundry hamper for the nursery.  You can read all about how I did it here.  I couldn't really find a hamper that I loved (other than this white wooden one at Howard's, which I wasn't prepared to pay for), so when Mum said she was throwing out this old hamper, I thought that perhaps I could re-cover it and see how we go.  I think it turned out ok!  

I am not 100% sure where to keep it yet.  For now, it is in the nursery.  The other option is the laundry (where we will be bathing the baby), so I guess I will just wait and see where most of the dirty clothes come from. This fabric is super cute and just the ideal colour for both of these rooms, and also the main bathroom, which is where the hamper may just end up down the track.  

- Mum also made some sheets for the cradle.  We used the leftover fabric from the cot sheets, along with some fabric that I picked up on sale a few weeks ago at Spotlight.

So, I think that is pretty much everything in the Nursery done, too!  I can honestly say that I am happy to cross that project off my list!  What a great feeling!  And I can't believe that in just 3 weeks time, we will have a little bundle of joy that will call this room its home :)  

Photos

- I put the March photos that I printed last week into my Project Life album.  I also completed the journalling for February and March.

- I went through the Baby Album and made a list of all of the photos that I need to get printed.

Other Projects

- I added a little Easter decorating to the house...

- And yesterday I made some thank you cards for some lovely ladies who have been spoiling me lately...  And put them together with a fun little gift for them.

- And while the electrician was here we had a smoke alarm installed in the hallway, that is hard-wired to the power supply.  This makes us feel better about having a reliable alarm near our bedrooms, no matter what happens with the battery or the power.

And that's it!!

It feels so great to know that three of my big room make-overs (laundry, nursery, study) that have been on my goals list for so long now are all done!  The weekly jobs that I set myself, in order to work towards the bigger goal of completing the overall room have certainly led me to the successful completion of these rooms!  What an accomplishment - and a relief ;)

So, 'what next?' You are probably asking??

- Well, since this is the 'Year of Finishing Off', I sure have lots of other little projects in other parts of the house that I have been wanting to get to for some time, which I will start gradually adding to my lists.

- I also look forward to continuing with catching up on my photos, as there is still lots I would like to go back and fix.  Now that I have my new creative workspace, doing photos is going to be even more of a pleasure!

- I will admit with all of this 'organising' project work for the past three months, I have neglected to do much 'detailed' cleaning of my house, so I look forward to getting back into the swing of my 'Zone Work', and having both a 'clean' and organised home :)

- I also have some plans for sharing my 'Room Reveals' with you all...  I am hoping to share these in a really fun, new way with you ;)

- And, most importantly, I look forward to just enjoying my baby when it arrives!  That is the biggest benefit of having everything ready and organised now... When we get home with our little bundle of joy it will simply be a matter of keeping up with the organising systems and routines that we now have set up, and just enjoy the ride!