A Free Mirror And An Updated Footstool

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Okay, this is mostly about updating a thrifted footstool. But who can resist a good story about a freebie?

This happened months ago, but I just got around to doing something with the mirror.

Me and the Mister were in Lowe’s, browsing a clearance endcap. I saw a mirror marked down from $60 to $30. I picked it up to examine.

Behind us, a voice said, “Name your price. I need to move this stuff as soon as possible.” It was a manager. He was redoing the endcaps. He told us to name a price for whatever was there.

I mean, we didn’t need random bits of tile or bronze light switch plates, but a mirror? Yes please. (But not before Ryan asked what we possibly needed another mirror for. JUST BECAUSE, DEAR.)

Anyway, I offered $20, and the manager agreed. “Tell the cashier Mike So-And-So told you you could have it for that much.” Deal.

We went to check out and told the cashier, “Mike So-And-So said we could have it for $20.” The cashier smiled, rang it up, and punched his keyboard to change the price. “I’ll do you one better,” he said. “How about you just take it for free.”

Umm. OKAY!

Moral of the story: hang out around the clearance endcaps on a restocking day and maybe Mike so-and-so and his trusty cashier sidekick will let you have a bargain mirror.

But then the mirror sat in the corner of our guest room for ages. I was going to hang it in there, but thought, eh, why not the nursery? It was originally gray, but I spray painted it a glossy aqua.

In addition to the mirror, we have a footstool. I found it at a thrift shop for $18 back in March. It works perfectly with the Graham glider. But I wasn’t in love with the gray-blue fabric, and the washed out black paint wasn’t doing anything for me.

So naturally, spray paint and new fabric!

Like with the table, I used black chalkboard spray paint on the base. The fabric is burlap, and was a freebie from Online Fabric Store last year at the Haven Conference (by the way: super sad to be missing that this year, but Charlie will only be five weeks old, and I’m so not ready to travel).

Rogue big toe photobomb. Ooops.

First I pried out the existing staples. Wasn’t hard; whoever upholstered it used a terrible staple gun, so half of them were wiggled loose.

That revealed a somewhat grody piece of fabric from your grandma’s house in 1982. Bleh. I didn’t bother taking it off. I was tired of messing with staples.

From there, I just stretched the burlap over the stool. It’s just like stretching a canvas, but easier.

Done! Two simple projects for less than $25. Yay for freebies! I’d like to get a fun, colorful pillow for the glider too, but that lumbar pillow is so great for nursing. So just imagine a fun, colorful pillow.

And the nursery is one step closer to being complete. The last major project is making a skirt for the crib. I have the fabric, but I also have a newborn, so…it’ll be done by the time we have our next child.

PS: Dad went back to work today. Me and baby are so very sad. Wish us luck on our own!

Easy Adjustable Shelving Project

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Once upon a time, I bought two Ikea LACK shelves and mounted them in our living room. They were nice, but they weren’t quite right for the space. Now, they live in the nursery (which works really well) (and no, I’m still not “done” with the nursery, haha).

I was inspired by House Tweaking‘s shelves. It seemed like an easy, affordable way to fill in our wall while maintaining some flexibility in the shelf positioning.

I ran into a problem though: there were several name brand closet shelving systems available at Home Depot and Lowe’s, but none seemed like they’d work. Alas, I was thinking too hard. The store brand (Style Selections at Lowe’s in this case) was the answer. I used three 72″ wall mount tracks ($20), 15 brackets ($52) and five 1″ x 12″ x 6′ whitewood boards ($60). I also used 2″ screws for mounting and some stain (leftover from this).

The second problem: removing the price stickers from the brackets! Holy cow. I tried several home remedies and even sent my husband out for Goo Gone. What ended up working? A bit of heat from my clothes steamer. Peeled it right off! May have burned a couple of fingers in the process too. Ow.

Anywho, I stained the boards and let them cure and de-fume outside for a full day.

Hanging the tracks was fairly simple. Each went directly into a stud. I used a level to make sure they were straight vertically, and a long piece of scrap wood and the level to ensure horizontal alignment. I played with a bunch of bracket positions and eventually landed on this, where the shelves would be about 14″ apart.

Then the shelves went up! Whitewood boards are kind of the worst and cheapest, but I was NOT about to spend $30 a pop on poplar, and the store didn’t have a pine option (which still would have been pricey). And really, what does it matter? Function in the main concern. In spite of the cheapness of the material, the stain really classed it up.

Then I filled it in with stuff. Books, magazines, frames, prints, trinkets and more. I’d like to get a couple of small baskets for the bottom shelf. The top shelf needs some work/balancing too.

The living room was a total disaster when I took this photo. Why?

Couch seat cushion cover washing day! Yes, those are cloth diapers hanging on the drying rack. As soon as the little man is big enough, we’ll transition him into those.

A few items on the living room to-do list:

  1. Finish filling in the new shelves
  2. Do something with that vintage bird cage
  3. Get some new photos in the collage behind the couch
  4. Paint that purple side table between the chairs (which I’ve actually done, but the finish needs some work)
  5. Do something with that canvas over the fireplace!
  6. Replace the cheap ceiling fan (I’m thinking something with a remote control)
  7. Set up a home office so I can work from home

Charlie’s Birth Story

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On June 2, I hit 40 weeks. I was lazy and didn’t take a belly picture that evening. Oops! Baby Charlie was born less than 24 hours later. Today, the little dude is a day shy of two weeks old. To celebrate the milestone, I’m sharing his birth story.

If you’re not interested in this sort of thing, sorry! I’m sharing a shelving project later this week. Come back then?

First, I’ll briefly explain my prenatal care. Instead of the traditional ob/gyn hospital-based practice, we opted for a more crunchy approach with care from a birth center. The Women’s Birth and Wellness Center, based in Chapel Hill, was our nearest option. The Birth Center only does natural births attended by midwives. We absolutely loved it.

I had my 40 week checkup on Monday. The midwife said I was dilated 3 cm and 75% effaced. Quite a shock! I hadn’t experienced any real contractions, only mild cramping over the weekend.

At work that afternoon, I had a serious nesting urge. I need to take home my plants. I need to dust my office. I have to turn in my May timesheets. I should bring my computer home just in case I don’t feel well tomorrow.

That night, Ryan and I had planned to go to Que, a new barbecue place in Durham. I felt bloated and tired, so we stayed in. Little did I know we would miss our last pre-baby date night!

I woke up around 2 a.m. to pee (typical). I laid in bed for a few minutes and felt cramps. Nothing serious, but nothing I wanted to go to work with, so I emailed my boss that I wouldn’t be in.

I listened to a relaxing track from our Hypnobabies class, and when I didn’t fall asleep through it, I realized the pressure wasn’t fading. I downloaded a contraction timer on my phone. One minute long, every nine minutes. At 5 a.m., it was every seven minutes. I woke Ryan (he’d exiled himself to the guest room since my tossing and turning kept him awake): Hey, just wanted to let you know, I’m in labor. “MMmm,” he sleepily replied.

The Birth Center has a policy that surprises people: The midwives want most of the laboring done at home. The idea is that a woman is most relaxed on her own turf, and they don’t want her to come in and fizzle out. They ask patients to wait for contractions to be one minute long and four minutes apart for an hour before calling. So, serious business.

By 7 a.m., contractions were coming every 4-5 minutes. Ryan wanted to call the Birth Center, but I waved him off. My water hasn’t even broken yet! I gave in and we called half an hour later.

Worst. Car Ride. Ever. It was rush hour, but luckily, traffic was smooth. But my goodness. It’s hard to describe. I didn’t blackout, but I think a whiteout would be accurate. I was in my own la la land.

At the Birth Center a bit after 8 a.m., the midwife on call checked me. I was dilated 8 cm. No wonder I could barely focus on what was happening around me – that was FAST.

The contractions were tough. Intense.

Settling in at the Birth Center, the nurse ran a bath for me and I labored in the tub. The midwife and the nurse were calm and reassuring. They left us to do our thing, checking in every 30-45 minutes (I think? Time means nothing when you’re in labor) to monitor Charlie’s heartbeat.

My poor husband. He was such a champ. He was by my side the whole time, letting me squeeze his hand when I needed to. But otherwise, there was just nothing he could do. Later, I asked him if he felt helpless, but he didn’t. I could tell you were in the zone and had it under control. And it’s true. Animal instincts completely took over my body.

At 11 a.m., my water broke. I felt a pop inside me and vernix started floating in the tub. I felt natural urges to push, and went with it. Pushing is SO MUCH BETTER than contractions. It hurt like hell, but I was in control. I could catch my breath and work at my pace.

However, I suppose my pace wasn’t as swift as the midwife and nurse wanted, because they suggested I get out of the tub and move around. Hells to the no. There was no way they were getting me out of that tub. I buckled down and really started to push. I hadn’t expected to have a water birth, but it felt right, so that’s where I stayed.

At 12:17 p.m., Charlie was born. Ryan, with some guidance from the midwife, helped deliver his head. Two pushes later, he was totally out. And just like pushing was easier than contractions, delivering the body was a piece of cake compared to head. Our little man was 21 inches long and weighed 8 pounds, 12 ounces.

Charlie went straight to my chest while the umbilical cord stopped pulsing and I delivered the placenta (again, it all gets easier after contractions). After they cleaned me up, I headed to the bed (a queen mattress so we could rest as a family!) and got a few stitches (nothing serious, but a tiny tear wouldn’t stop bleeding). We started breastfeeding right away with some good coaching from the nurse.

Just a couple of hours after he was born, all plump and soft.

At 5 p.m., we were ready to go! We were held up another hour because blood labs were running behind at UNC Health Care, but managed to get home by 7 p.m. In and out in fewer than 12 hours. Can’t complain about that!

Now – photo overload time!

He’s breastfeeding like a champ. He eats a lot, but I don’t mind. As long as he’s eating and gaining weight, I’m happy!

As for sleeping, 80% of the time, it’s easy. We’re cosleeping, which terrified us the first couple of nights, but we’re totally used to it now. I sleep on my side with him nuzzled against me. Waking up to him fidgeting around is so much more pleasant than waking to crying. He sleeps in three to four hour stretches, which is awesome for us!

It’s probably (definitely) the happy hormones talking, but I can’t wait for baby #2!

PS: if anyone wants to talk about a birth center experience, having a natural, unmedicated birth, water birth, cosleeping or exclusively breastfeeding, feel free to reach out! I’m happy to give more details on what it was and is like for us.