Ellena's Nursery - Baby Girl Whimsical Nursery: Unicorn & Swans
Whew! It's been a whirlwind couple of months. We moved from Italy and I had my baby girl. We named her Ellena Grace and she is a lovely little creature I am completely in love with. I'll share more of all the craziness that my life has been in the coming weeks, however today I REALLY want to share her nursery.I moved back Stateside just before I hit the 35 week mark. Her nursery was put together in about two weeks. The only thing I had for was her custom name sign. Everything else was purchased or made here.I had a vision in my mind I cultivated over the several months of my pregnancy. I knew I wanted it to be simple, feminine, and have a whimsical feel. The pallet would consist of white as the predominant shade, coloring the walls, and furniture. Shades of pink (mostly blush and "baby" pink) would be the next most frequently used color followed by varying shades of gold as accents. All in all I'm quite pleased with how it all turned out.Please note, this post contains affiliate links. If you purchase an item through these links, I earn a small commission, which I use to help support this blog. 
The wall decor was found at various locations. The swan art was purchased from the Etsy shop called Cassie Loizeaux. The custom metal name sign is by Rusted Orange Craftwork Co. I purchased via jane.com, at a discounted price; they're often featured there, but if you can't wait, you can purchase directly from their website. I found the other pieces at Toys R Us, TJ Maxx and Marshalls. You can find similar pieces here, here, here, here, and here.
The garland isn't a permanent fixture as it's a major safety hazard. I only hung it for the photographs, because it looks so pretty, and I've not figured out where or if I'm going to hang it in her nursery.
Ellena was due around Easter so I included a few bunnies in the decor. The larger bunny is a Tiffany bank and the smaller bunny I found in a Goodwill. The clock is a vintage find I purchased at an antique market in Italy. The lampshade I covered in ribbon and decoupaged over it. The base was a Goodwill find too. You can find a similar piggy bank here. A "vintage" clock similar to the one I used here.
I found this dresser at at a Habitat For Humanity -ReStore, and painted it white using Valspar Chalky Finish paint purchased at Lowes. The entire dresser took about half a can. I initially intended to spray paint the hardware gold, but realized the brass if polished would look pretty cool, and so that's what I did.The unicorn night light was purchased at Target. You can find a similar baroque wall mirror here. I didn't intend to use a wipe warmer, and didn't buy one, but after the baby came, my husband went to Babies R Us on an errand, and he purchased it for her. I got a good laugh over it, because wipes warmers are generally one of those unnecessary baby items first time parents get, and we certainly did with Michael. It was so sweet, his not wanting her tush to get cold, and as baby wipes warmers go, it's a decent one. I have wire baskets I use to hold frequently used items like toiletries on her dresser and swaddle blankets by her crib. You can find similar ones here and here.
The unicorn was purchased at Target too. I love that sucker. The coat rack was something I had on hand. The lovely dress was a gift at my baby shower. I really like this similar version.
The curtains were purchased at World Market. They're so airy and light. You can find similar ones here. These ruffle curtains are a different style, but ohmygosh are they adorable! 
The chair is a from Ikea. The hamper was a gift, you can find similar ones, here and here and here. The garland was found in the clearance bin at Michaels. You could easily make one yourself, find one at Michaels or other places like Etsy.
Here she is! My baby girl! Ellena isn't sleeping in her crib, yet, so I keep pillows and dolls in her crib until she's ready to sleep in it. You can find similar pillows here, here, here, here, and here. The sleeping doll was another jane.com find. They can be found at the Little Love Boutique website. Swans are my favorite bird, and like the unicorn, they've got that whimsical magicalness about them. You can find the swan rattle here. I purchased the small version, they do come in other sizes. The stuffed rabbit was a gift at my baby shower. You can find a similar one here.
Finally the mobile. I made myself and it was the easiest thing... EVER. I'll tell you how I made this DIY mobile in my next post. I am in the process of painting an old shelf to replace the chair to hold books and other things. Once I get it completed, I'll update this post.
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Baby Is Two Months Old Already!
It's been just the kids and I for about three weeks. The first couple of weeks were kind of rough. The kid felt the absence of their father and I certainly missed my husband. I don't really know anyone here yet, so not having anyone to talk to has been hard. This next year is gonna drag, but we're getting into our routines and thanking the Lord for FaceTime. My son Michael took these photos of Ellena and I. Aren't they great? He's got a great eye. I felt so proud. 
Ellena is fully a part of our lives and our hearts as she has been since the day we found out a new baby would be coming into our lives. We all adore her so much and the boys fight to see who will get to hold her, or watch her when I've got to prepare meals or take a shower.
The dress I'm wearing if from Old Navy. You can find a similar one here, here, here. The stripped scalloped outfit Ellena is wearing is from the Victoria Beckham Collection from Target.
I'm totally smitten with this jumpsuit Ellena is wearing. I love how totally feminine and dainty it is. I purchased it at Macys. You can find it here.
My Baby Girl Is One Month Old
A lot of this last month feels like a blur. I can't believe my daughter is a month old already. It feels like she's always been a part of our family and we're all so happy she's here. She is such an incredible blessing. I still can't stop staring. 
Breastfeeding has been hard, but we made it through the first couple of weeks which was my first goal. My next goal is three months. I'm constantly worried I don't have enough milk.
Ellena has developed baby acne. I didn't experience this with my boys... I also didn't breast feed for this long a period either, so trade offs I guess.
I'm so in love with her little feet. I love to pick the lint that gathers between her little toes, which are always squished up.You can find my milestone blanket I used by Batzkids here.These milestone blankets are also cute and a little bit cheaper too! First Impressions, Hello Spud This on on Amazon or this one is pretty cute too!
Bringing Baby Home
We brought baby Ellena home from the hospital the day after she was born. It was a bright sunny April afternoon when we left the hospital and placed her into our rental car. We were still waiting on our car which was being shipped from Italy. It was a tiny car and her Graco 4Ever Convertible Car Seat basically took up the whole backseat. 
I can't tell you how happy I was to be home. I had great care and a pretty uneventful labor and delivery, but one really can't get any rest when in the hospital and I was exhausted by the time we pulled into the drive with our precious cargo.
We spent the first couple of days she was home going back to the hospital because she wasn't putting weight on quick enough, and she became jaundiced. So by the time we were given the all clear I was fairly tired of seeing that place.
It's still feels unreal to have her home. My heart is full and my family complete.
Welcome to the World My Sweet Baby Girl!
She's here! I'd like to introduce you to Ellena Grace. I am absolutely and completely in love.Here are a few pictures we took of our newborn baby in the hospital. 
She's perfect. Absolutely perfect. She's healthy and beautiful and I feel so completely blessed.I wasn't planning on introducing a pacifier to her in the hospital because I'm breastfeeding, but so far so good - we're having no issues with her rejecting me. The pacifier brand I'm using is Mam. You can find them here.
Her brothers and Daddy are totally smitten with her too.
Here they are meeting her for the first time. <3 love.
I can not stop staring at her.
Planning for Baby
The last time I was pregnant was eight years ago. I gave birth to my eldest in 2004. In the eight years since my last turn at planning for a baby, baby gear has come a long way and I am totally smitten with much of it.There are obvious tried and true products which have been updated for today's mom consumers and there are some new products that have me itching to try them and others totally confounded.Planning for a baby can be daunting. Add in a move across the Atlantic when you're 7.5 months pregnant and it's totally kicked up a notch. To quell some of my anxiety surrounding our up coming move, and the fact that I'll probably have to put this baby in a laundry basket when she's born. I've decided to write a series of posts concerning all the baby gear parents to be are faced with and whether or not you really need it. I plan on doing a "minimalist" list and the, "My House Exploded in Baby Gear Now What? list.Because it's been a while since I've done the whole baby thing, I've consulted my very large community of mom friends who have a bit more timely experience to share some of the newer products out there they swear by, I've not yet tried - but totally plan to.Today I'm going to share with you a few items I've purchased myself as I prepare for baby.Hair bows and ballet slippers. My priorities are in the right place. Who needs bottles when you can have hair bows? Am I right?Rumba Bloomers. So far I've purchased three pair. I think she's going to need some in every single color imaginable.The Tula Ergonomic Carrier - in Skyscape. I purchased this at the three month mark, because I couldn't help myself. This is one of the products I didn't use with my last two, which came highly recommended to me by about 50 mothers, and I figured they all can't be wrong. I purchase the print pictured along with the infant insert, because clouds are whimsical, and even though I didn't yet know I'd be having a girl, I wanted a carrier that was gender neutral.The stroller. I bought this bad boy when I was about two months pregnant. I didn't know what I was having yet, but I got a really good deal, so it's not the cute pink model pictured above but the black melange version of the Stokke Scoot Stroller. I've yet to purchase the Stokke Scoot Stroller Softbag but it's on my "to buy" list so I decided to include it.
Winter Skin Care & Sugar Lip Scrub DIY
It goes without saying with pregnancy come lots of changes. One of those being my skin. The cold winter weather isn't helping much as my normally sensitive skin is now also dry. I thought I'd share some of my winter skin care routine - the pregnant version.
For my dry skin (it's mostly on my forehead, temples, and jaw line) I start my day with a warm to cool water rinse. I never use soap in the morning because my skin is clean (never go to bed with makeup on.) so I don't need to wash it. I follow that rinse up with a moisturizer. I LOVE facial oils. My two favorite face oils right now are L'Oreal Paris Extraordinary Facial Oil for a drugstore brand and L'Occitane Divine Youth Oil for a department store brand. I let the face oil absorb, usually I brush my teeth. Then I follow this up with a moisturizer containing sunscreen. I wear a moisturizer with sunscreen all year long. Right now I'm using Aveeno Positively Radiant Daily Moisturizer with Broad Spectrum SPF 30.
Once that's all soaked in I apply my makeup. Usually this involves a CC cream a light smudge of eye-shadow, mascara, concealer and blush. (Scroll down to the bottom of this post for a slide show of the products I'm using right now.)
My biggest issue right now is dry chapped lips. Due in part to it being winter and dry and the other is a common symptom of pregnancy - a stuffy nose. My nose is perpetually stuffy these days and so when I'm sleeping at night, I fall into breathing with via my mouth. This of course only aggravates the dryness on my lips.
What I've found helps my lips immensely is to keep them moisturized with my favorite lip balm. I use Burt's Bees peppermint balm. The other is using a lip scrub to slough off the dry dead skin. I make my own, and I absolutely love it, because it has the added benefit of also moisturizing my lips.
To make this DIY Sugar Lip Scrub I use these products:
Brown sugar, coconut oil, and an essential oil that is safe for consumption.
The essential oil is optional, but I find it adds a something extra to it that can't be beat. The only essential oil brand I use is Young Living. In this instance, because it's going on my lips I use the vitality oil because these can be consumed. I am a representative authorized to distribute Young Living essential oils, if you'd like more information, please do not hesitate to ask.
To make the sugar scrub I make it in small batches, so enough for a couple of ounces. I don't really measure...
First gather your supplies: 
Next mix the coconut oil and sugar using more sugar than coconut oil. Then add in a drop of essential oil.
Once it's mixed together, put it into an air tight container.
The consistency you are looking for is clumpy and damp but not overly wet from the coconut oil. Enjoy your new lip scrub, or give it as a gift. They make excellent (and inexpensive gifts).
Here are my go to beauty products these days..