Nesting

This last week of finishing up the house may be the hardest. It looks like a finished home, and yet we still have to trek back to the apartment at night. It's getting harder and harder to drag ourselves away each night. Yesterday, we visited the house after church so we were in the apartment all afternoon and evening. After we put D down for bed last night, he came out and said, "Daddy, it's time to go to the new house." I think we all feel that way.

I'm getting into serious nesting mode. I can't wait to get in there and unpack and finally put into place all the things I've been thinking and dreaming about for the last five years. Here are a few things I've done so far:

Command Center:

The last time we were in Holland, I saw a display at Ikea that spurred an idea.

I love the idea of the multiple clocks because our global family spans four different time zones. When I saw how the command center was coming together, I knew I wanted to put four clocks on the top of the shelf.

I'd been looking around for inexpensive clocks for a few weeks now, but not finding the contemporary look I wanted...until I saw these new ones that just came in at Target. (They're so new, I couldn't find them online yet). They come in green, blue, white and black. I originally bought a green one, but it didn't match very well. I was really hoping for purple! So, I ended up with three white ones and one black.

I picked up some sticker letters and got to work:

And ta da!

I can't wait to hang them up!

D's Book Nook Lamp:

We have a few of these Target stick lamps already, so when I was thinking about D's little reading nook, I thought it would be fun to get one for him. I had hoped for yellow, but had to settle for red.

 

I picked up some foam letters and transportation stickers to personalize it.

Couple of curtains, curtain rod, a table, lots of books...He is going to love his little nook!

Mudroom:

When we were planning our mudroom, I knew that in addition to the three cubbies, we wanted a closet, as well. It has shelves for now, but eventually we'll upgrade to pull out drawers. We don't wear shoes in the house, so all our shoes will live in the mudroom. We'll keep our regular shoes in baskets under the cubbies, and off-season shoes in the closet. The other reason I wanted a closet was to be able to put a mirror up for last minute checks before we go out the door.

I picked up a cheap mirror at Target and used command strips to hang it up.

I've been having quite a challenge finding baskets for the mudroom. You always see them in pictures, but I just couldn't seem to find what I wanted. We like the look of canvas, but then they can't be cleaned, and you just know that baskets for shoes are going to get dirty. So, I was looking at plastic containers and baskets with removable fabric. I really wanted something that came in three colors (yellow, purple and blue) to distinguish which bin belongs to which person.

Target to the rescue again! Apparently milk crates are a new thing. They had several options, but I liked the vintage wire milk crate.

The canvas liner snaps undone for easy cleaning.

I stopped at Joann's and picked up three spools of ribbon to take care of the color coding conundrum.

And DONE!

Step Stool:
One last great find over the weekend did not come from Target. While I was in Hobby Lobby looking for baskets, I saw this cute little step seat.

The bottom flips out to make it a step ladder.

It's the perfect height for cute little boys who want to help their mommy in the kitchen.

And nestled perfectly under the baking center. 

Now to get motivated to pack up and clean the apartment!