A Room of His Own

FINALLY, it's finished! Now all we need is a sweet baby to put in it!

I enjoyed putting this room together more than I can tell you. It began with a complete clean out sometime in April and is now the perfect "Ole Miss nursery" for our little Rebel. Would you believe me if I told you the original goal was not to make this room 100% Ole Miss?? Probably not. But I am so glad it turned out the way it did. Vaught will love it! It is the perfect representation of me and his dad and our family; we love Ole Miss! In a few years, he may be really into John Deere tractors or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, so we may have to completely transform his little space, but for now, a Hotty Toddy nursery it is :)

Mr. Pace and I live in a single story, 3-bedroom 2-bath home in North Mississippi. We love our little town and our neighborhood; although we don't intend to carry out our lives here, it's a great place to be with a little one for now. We hope to purchase land (possibly behind my parents' home on some of my dad's property) and build a house within a few years--all in good time, of course.

Vaught's room is what I refer to as "the middle room" of our house and was formerly the "Phi Mu room" that housed much of my Ole Miss and sorority memorabilia that I refused to get rid of. Upon discovering we were pregnant though, I made myself throw out and give away some things in order to create a special place for our little one. I really love this room because it's the most spacious bedroom in the house, and I love the big window. This room could not have turned out any better; I'm so proud of it!

From Mom and Dad's Room...

I'm registered for a nice baby monitor, but if we end up without one, I'm not too worried, for Vaught's room is not far away. I've actually read a lot of articles about the things you do and do not need with a new baby, and a baby monitor is usually listed on the "do not need" list. When baby's crying, you'll hear him! And I know I'm going to be the mother who sneaks in to check up on him a few times a night when he does start sleeping in his room by himself.

Fifty Shades of Grey

After the big clean out came selecting a paint color.

Previously, it was a tannish/beige, which the previous owners also used in the other two bedrooms. I really like this color in the other rooms, especially in our master bedroom since we've done lots of blues, browns, and neutrals in there. But I knew I wanted something different for our little one. Before I even knew if Baby Pace was a girl or boy, I had decided that I wanted a grey nursery. Had Baby P been a girl, I was going to accent with pale pink and mint, and I knew that if baby was a boy, his room would be navy and grey with a little splash of red. I promise the original plan was not to have it completely Ole Miss! But what can I say?! I went to Lowe's sometime in early May and selected several different shades of grey paint samples. I found one that I just knew would be the one. Even after putting it on and seeing how dark it was, it still didn't hit me that it was very definitely too dark for a nursery! My husband saw the sample on the wall and said to me, "You've lost your mind." Turns out I had. I went back to Lowe's and had them mix one more paint sample (I was so tired of being disappointed by the colors being too light or too dark). And I lucked up with Urban Sunrise by Valspar! It was perfect, and my mom loved it so much she has put it in a few of the bedrooms at their house. When it first rolls on, it almost looks like a light, dusty blue, but once it dries it is the perfect shade of grey. No need to discuss the other 49 it seems like I tried. But we can discuss the "oops" I made that's pretty obvious: this room is pretty big, so it took a gallon and a quart to do one coat. The gallon I originally got was a semi-gloss, and I didn't realize that when I went back to get the quart to finish the areas close to the ceiling and touch-ups. So you can totally tell in certain places that I used two different sheens. I can't be too worried about it, though. I'm sure Vaught won't even notice :)

Changing Table

This is one of many things in this room that my mom is responsible for. She is a thrifter and deal-finder and can find anything you could ever want in a junk store for an eighth of the price! She found a Jenny Lind changing table for $20; its only flaws were that it was missing the shelves. I cut the middle support rod off and put a storage chest underneath it that I found for $10--yes, at a junk store. I decided not to cut the bottom one, for it would make the table a little shaky. It looks a little awkward, but I intend to store packs of diapers and wipes at the bottom, so the "hole" is filled :) I got the changing pad cover from the same website his bedding was ordered from, Carousel Designs.

In the first drawer of the plastic chest are diapers, wipes, and old plastic grocery bags. Although I registered for a Diaper Genie (or something like it), I have not received it yet, and I won't be too disappointed if I don't. No one that I've talked to actually used theirs; most of them actually say it was a waste of space on the registry! Instead, my older sister advised me to just keep plastic grocery bags nearby to wrap "dirty diapers" in then just throw them away in the trash bin outside. Sounds like a plan to me!

In the second drawer are newborn and 0-3 onesies. I wanted them here at easy reach for the many times I'll change his diaper and will also need a to change his ensemble!

Glider

The glider, another gift from my mom, was a $40 find at another junk store and looks brand new. You can't even tell it's ever been used (if it even has). I even love the color of the cloth. I thought about refinishing the white, making it dark brown to match other pieces in his nursery... But it grew on me; it's a nice bright pop in a room full of navy. Vaught and I are going to be spending a lot of time in this thing for sure!

Bed

This has actually been mine since I was 12 or 13, along with the other two large pieces you'll see below. I considered disassembling it and storing it or selling it or putting it in my husband's man-cave (meaning he would have had to have gotten rid of his trusty futon), but then I thought of all the nights the baby will be fussy or sick. My husband gets up at 4am most mornings to go to work, so going to bed at midnight, which is hardly what I consider late, to him is like going to bed at 2 or 3 for others. When Vaught's being super fussy at night, I can just come in here and put him in his crib (if he'll even sleep) and I can sleep on my lovely full-size... or stay up all night in the glider with him! When this was the Phi Mu room, the bedding was a bright and colorful, super girly Ralph Lauren quilt with matching shams and throw pillows. I put those away after finding this lovely duvet and shams set at Target for just $11! I bought matching white sheets at Ross to complete the bed. At first, I thought it looked a little nautical, but with an added Ole Miss throw, I think it's perfect! I got the navy throw pillow at Goodwill for $1 :)

Chest and Wardrobe

These were my oldest sister's and were passed down to me somewhere around age 12, so they've been with me for quite a while. Like the bed, I thought about selling them or putting them in storage, but I'm so glad I didn't! These hold a lot and are such pretty pieces; I definitely want to hang on to them a while longer. The wardrobe will eventually host a TV again, but for now I plan to use it for his toys and boxes of diapers. The drawers of the chest are great for clothes, burp cloths, swaddle blankets, and extra bedding. The white things you see are labels that I made so I could remember where I put everything!

Crib

This is by far my favorite purchase so far. I had originally picked out a Graco crib that I thought I would have to order online and have shipped to my house. One day I was in Walmart in Holly Springs when I saw this one. Not only did I immediately like it more, it was a little less expensive. I kept having to go back and look at it, and when my mom wanted to go with me to see and she shared the same enthusiasm, I knew it was the one I wanted in his room. Putting it together is a different story, but I really do love it. His bedding is from Carousel Designs. You won't believe how difficult it was to find plain navy bedding, but that's all I wanted! His sheets are grey chevron from Target (and I also have some plain white and plain grey for when things get dirty). The bedding is a gift from my grandmother, mother, and her two sisters. It was originally pretty pricey (but like I said, the only navy I could find), but they bought it during a Memorial Day sale and got an incredible deal. I was a little skeptical of the crib skirt at first, but I like it now, as it conceals the storage box I put under the crib for extra diapers, wipes, etc :) The two blankets are gifts from my first baby shower; I love all of the blankets he's gotten! They're an item I feel you can't have enough of!

Closet

Self-explanatory, right? Basically, I just have some of his nicer clothes in here, including the nice Polo collection he's obtained, a few toys, his playard, and a hanging organizer for caps, pants, shoes, etc. I've also kept the things he won't be able to wear for a while hung. On the far right you'll see my 50's costume that I got last year and intend to wear for Halloween every year from there forward. I love the 50's!!

Bassinet

The Pottery Barn bassinet, a find by mother of course, is actually in our room. Once he gets here, I'll wheel it over to the side of my bed so he can sleep next to me. I used a blanket given to him from one of my friends on top of his mattress pad. I love the storage at the bottom; great place to keep diapers and wipes for those late night changes!

Panoramas!

My Helper...

I have to give "my helper" a little credit. Lola Katherine is our three-year-old pitbull that we adopted in 2011. If you follow me on Instagram, you've probably figured out that we actually have four dogs, including Lola: three pitbulls and a weiner dog. Of all four, our relationship with Lola is probably the most unique. We rescued her from a tough situation with her original family in Kosciusko; she was just a couple months old when they could no longer care for her mother or her litter. Lola was one of the last puppies left. She was so timid and scared at first, but within a few weeks she came to life and became a part of our hearts. She has been right there with us through everything. Although she can be super hyper, she is the "best" of all four as far as behavior. She was so easy to train and is so ridiculously smart! We taught her to walk right to Vaught's door when we say "Where's the baby's room?" As I've put his room together, she has been right there with me. She lazed around watching as I painted and once I got all the furniture where I wanted it, she always came in to lay on the bed and watch as I moved things around and organized. I love all our dogs the same, I promise, but there will always be something extra special about Lola K. Some people spend years in search of a friend like her-- Eric and I are very fortunate to have been rescued by her.

THANK YOU!

I also have to extend an extra special thank you to everyone who made this room possible. Obviously, my mother is at the top of this list, but I also have décor, blankets, frames, outfits, and other little items given as gifts from my sweet friends and family members. I love each and every one of you and am so grateful for all that you've done for us and for Vaught. Thank you to my husband for the many "little touches" you did, including hanging Vaught's name above his crib. I apologize that my nesting instinct had me working on this room at all sorts of odd hours of the night so you couldn't always be an enormous part of it :) But you should know that you totally are. If not for you, we wouldn't be welcoming this sweet little boy!

Up Next

I feel like it's been forever since I did a nice Sunday night post. I got so busy working in his room yesterday and last night that I wanted to go ahead and post his nursery blog; so many of my friends and family members have been asking to see it for weeks! I hope you all like it as much as I do, even my sweet Mississippi State, Tennessee, and Alabama fans :)

I was so inspired about the game predictions blog I mentioned in my week 34 update, I began writing it that night and actually finished! I let my husband read it, and he loved it! I'm just waiting for the perfect time to publish... Possibly some night this week. Maybe Thursday, when I'll be 35 weeks! I am so excited for Ole Miss football!!!

And speaking of 35 weeks, I may start posting weekly "bumpdates" this week, seeing as how there's no guarantee that I'll make it to 36, 38, or 40. Well, I do think I'll make it to 36 just fine, but after that it's fair game! Everyone seems to think he's coming early... watch him come on October 5th. That would be the cherry on top of a really large sundae! So watch the Instagram (katepace12) or keep checking back.

Thanks for reading!!!!