The Nursery: Take Five

We made major headway in the nursery this weekend - so much so that I think the next blog post about the nursery will actually be the final reveal!

So you have seen where we started, the paint job, the furniture, and the accessories. Now it's time to share the decor. While our Home Improvement Super Hero, Doug Kidd, was here helping us out with some kitchen projects, we got him to help us hang some shelves on the wall of the nursery.

I had ordered some shelves from West Elm...

...and when they came in Ed declared that in no way was he hanging them. Wall shelves are always tricky and we wanted to make sure they were very secure since they were in the baby's room. So we hired a professional. And thank God we did because they were tricky to hang and secure to the wall.

And we didn't stop there. We really needed some shelves for the baby's books. We don't have much floor space in the room for a book shelf so we needed some high quality bins to put the books in. I loved these from Pottery Barn Kids...

... but they were too big for the space we wanted to hang them up. In came Doug. I sent him the above photo and he made them for us and hung them for a fraction of the price. May I present, our newly outfitted nursery walls:

We do plan to paint the new shelves white, but you get the idea. We are soooo close to being done and I am LOVING the way it looks. I had a vision before we started and I have to tell you, it's great to see it come to fruition.

Only a few more things are needed and then we will be done. It's been a long journey...but totally worth it. Coming soon...THE FINAL REVEAL!!!!

Pantry Makeover

When we moved into this house, we knew we were missing one important element in the kitchen - the all important pantry. Many of the houses we looked at had lovely pantries behind doors with ample shelf space. In this house ~ not so much. But we made do. One of the cabinets naturally lended itself to being a pantry, but it was somewhat of a pain in the you know what.

The problem: really deep shelves.

One wouldn't think that would be a problem, but think about if you need that one thing that is all the way in the back. In order to get to it, you have to take everything out, grab it and then re-organize the shelf. Not fun.

So we called Doug Kidd a.k.a our Home Improvement Super Hero. He transformed our mediocre pantry...

... into a stellar pantry by installing drawers. Check it out:

I am SOOOOOOOOO excited about this change - you have no idea. Now I have an easy way to reach the stuff in the back. It really is the little things in life that make you happy. :)

Happy 2012!!

Happy New Year everyone! We hope you all had a great night and that the first few days of 2012 have been treating you well. We had an awesome NYE night and we really needed it after spending all of our recent days indoors taking care of Lucy.

Our awesome neighbors, Kim and Chris Newland, hosted a pot luck dinner for us and 3 other couples from the neighborhood. It has been a tradition for this group and we are lucky enough to now be included. The beautiful table was set with their wedding china and the kids had their own little table complete with battery operated pillar candles.

Before dinner, I had the pleasure of playing with Nate's new Nerf gun and Connor's new choo choo train. Nate told me that when the baby is born, he is going to teach him how to shoot the Nerf gun ~ such a giver. :) I also had the pleasure of making silly camera faces with Fairy Princess Ariana (I was corrected when I called her just a regular Princess).

We all pitched in on the dinner and brought all sorts of yummy stuff. Our part included an app (a Pizza Dip), a side (sautéed green beans), the salad and non-alcoholic beverages (for me and the kids). I still salivate when I think of the leg of lamb that Shawn and Laura Miller brought and the mashed potatoes that Chris put together. And don't let me leave out dessert. Michelle and Ed brought a delicious tiramisu along with their homemade brownie bites (YUM!). All in all, it was an amazing feast, but it was the company that made the night special.

Around 11:30 pm we decided it was time to head to the party room, turn on some Dick Clark and get the bubbly ready (sparkling cider for moi). It was such a nice feeling to bring in the new year surrounded by good friends.

We look forward to more evenings like this and all that 2012 has in store for us. I have a feeling, it is going to be a good one! :)

A Mangiaracina Christmas continued...

So I know it is now 2012 (Happy New Year!), but we are still going to dwell a bit on the end of 2011 ~ specifically the holiday weekend.

Christmas Eve was in New Jersey with the Basile/Petrelis family (aka Mom Q's family). We always look forward to this day not only because we get to see Grandma and all the Aunts, Uncles and Cousins, but because of the food. For as long as I can remember, we have had the traditional Christmas Eve fish dinner and I'm not talking just any old fish. I'm talking lobster, shrimp, scallops and calamari. In addition, there are stuffed shells, chicken parmesan, stuffed mushrooms, veggies and the most delicious Italian bread you can have (slim pickin's down here in VA for real Italian bread).

We cook all day and eat all night and enjoy each other's company in the mean time. And this year, everyone was treated to the Jets/Giants game. Unfortunately things did not go in our favor (major Jets family), but we still had a good time. At the end of the night, we celebrated Grandma's birthday with ice cream cake, home made 3-layer cookies (thank you Aunt Ruth!) and nut cups (thank you Aunt Linda!). Lucy enjoyed herself - especially when Aunt Suzy put the reindeer antlers on!

We spent the night in New Jersey and headed to Long Island first thing Christmas morning. We were spending the day with Mama Mangiaracina, Ed's siblings and my brother-in-law John's family at the Mangiaracina household in Wantagh. In typical style, we got a very warm welcome from Marty, Joe's black lab and spent the day prepping the food and eating the food (seems to be a holiday theme!). I'm happy to say that I cooked my very first turkey and it actually came out really good!! At the end of the night we exchanged gifts (some great loot btw!) and headed over to the Basile house in Levittown to spend the night.

On Monday morning, we once again woke up early to hit the road and headed back to Virginia. Lucy had gone home with Grandma and Grandpa Q. after Christmas Eve and we were anxious to see her...especially since her surgery was looming. We flew home, took quick showers and headed over to the Quartuccio house for dinner and gifts. Grandma B. was in town for a few days so we got to spend more time with her which is always a great thing.

Now, if you know my Mother, you know that she loves to shop so the gift bounty was plentiful. Ed was treated to some great stuff including some new shirts, Apple's Time Capsule, and another Smallville season...among other things. I totally cleaned up with some new maternity gear, Marc Jacobs Daisy perfume and comfy slippers...among other things.

Overall, everyone did great and was happy with all the great gifts. Even James was treated to a huge bounty of books and an adorable outfit from Aunt Suzy. But more importantly, we had a great dinner and got to spend some quality time together before Grandma B. and Sue Q. headed back home.

So there you have it. A Mangiaracina Christmas in a nutshell. It flew by in a snap, but we enjoyed every minute of it. So...now onto 2012 and all that the future holds. Happy New Year everyone!!