Five Things Friday

{awesomely informational wallpaper lining the bathrrom @ DBGB}

Well...another week and it's Friday once again! I'm over 39 weeks pregnant and the weirdest part about that is that the countdown on my app says '5 days'...5 days?! I don't think it's going to happen anytime soon though. In the meantime, I'm staying indoors, only sitting on towels and catching up on lots of reading and even doing some crafts. We've got nothing but waiting on the menu this weekend, and I'm totally ok with it. I hope you all have a great weekend...stay warm out there!

{butter LONDON's The Black Knight} So fun and festive...but taking suggestions on how to eventually remove this notoriously impossible sparkly shelac.

{Valentine's Day window clings} bringing a little brightness to our place, especially against a sunset reflection

{giant mugs of tea} keeping me warm on the go...er, at least on the go down the hall to my apt building's business center so I can rid myself of cabin fever

{pancake lunch} a little treat for solo lunchtime at home 

What five things are you loving this week?

DIY Closet for Baby

A few weeks ago, we finished overhauling a closet for the nursery.

I really wish that I had taken before photos to show you what a disaster it used to be. I knew at the time that we should photograph the mayhem, but I think I blacked it out or something because I hated it so much. The closet in the nursery is a huge half reach-in half walk-in closet. Half of it is used for general storage (like linens, Christmas decorations, Shaun's golf clubs and more) and our wrapping paper station. That left us with half of a closet to use for baby girl.

When we started this project, I felt incredibly daunted by how to maximize the space and to also give our baby girl a truly awesome closet, filled with plenty of storage and function. It took a few missteps, some wasted funds and admittedly a few tears from this crazy pregnant lady, but I'm so so happy with how it all turned out. I think it's actually my favorite space in the whole apartment.

True story.

We started by cleaning out the entire space and measuring exactly the space that we wanted to use. For against the wall, we used the Closetmaid system from Home Depot. It was as simple as hanging two long tracks on beams and then cutting the shelves to size (which the lovely people at Home Depot will do for you if you give them the measurements). We bought the appropriate brackets, clothing bars and endcaps for the jagged, cut edges. Before we knew it, we had a gorgeous closet set up.

This apartment blessed us with 14ft ceilings, and so the closet shelving actually extends all the way to the ceiling - a place that only Shaun can get to on a 6ft ladder. We used this higher shelves for things we won't need right away or seldom used items.

One of the most important things to me for this closet was to have plenty of hanging space. Since the closet is so tall, we were able to install 2 rows of hanging bars for all of her little clothes, with lots of space to spare. I picked up baby slimline hangers from Target, which also maximized the space.

We chose to hang the shelves with plenty of space in between so that I could still use this shelf for storage, in addition to hanging clothes above it. We received the gorgeous hat box from my Aunt Laurie at our baby shower and I just had to display it (not to mention it's perfect for wrangling lots of little odds and ends). On the right, I wanted to display her gorgeous baby blankets, including an incredible quilt made by my good friend Kristen, gorgeously soft stroller blankets from my Aunt Vicky and my mom, and a beautiful handmade afgan from my cousin Gabe.

And below that lies more hanging space. On the floor, I placed 2 large fabric storage bins from Target and filled them with about 3,500 baby wipes, which will hopefully last us through the first week ;) And just so you know, this only shows a small sampling of her clothes...seriously this little girl already has a better wardrobe than me...I have 2 dressers filled with onesies, pants, sweaters and more.

On the door side, I couldn't resist the amazing Container Store elfa system that I had already installed for our DIY gift wrap station. We ended up using a track from Home Depot (the one I ordered from Container Store actually arrived damaged) and just adding the baskets from CS. They fit perfectly, adding a ton more storage and function to otherwise unused space.

I filled the door side with lots more odds and ends. On top, I placed all of the extra creams, wipes and washes. I have a stash of these in her changing table and have back-ups on hand here. Underneath those, I added all of her extra crib sheets and mattress pads. I've been told by many a Mom that we'll need a bunch and thanks to my own Mom for supplying all of these amazing pieces. Since she won't be in her crib for a little while, I'm holding off on washing them just yet.

I used an entire deep basket for her little bibs. Seriously, so so cute.

And below that, a space for her little hats and burp cloths (I have more of these in her changing table dresser too!). I filled in the bottom baskets with extra diapers (which are also stashed all over the room) and some white frames that I plan to hang up on the walls this weekend.

So there you have it. A pretty awesome baby closet for my little sweet pea, no? I wish I had a cost breakdown for you, but we ended up spending some extra $$ on shelving that didn't quite work and we ended up throwing away. In the end, the Closetmaid system was very affordable, while the Container Store pieces are a bit more...but it's all worth every penny for good storage and organization!

We've got the closet and all her goodies ready...we just need her to get here already!

So what do you think?

Have you ever DIY'ed your own closet?

How do you maximize storage in limited spaces?

Lemon Orange Loaf Cakes

It's mighty chilly on the East coast today. I'm happy to be working from home and refusing to go outside unless you pay me. Though I've been trying to get in at least a short walk around outside each afternoon to avoid severe cabin fever and muscle atrophy, I am just not sure it's in the cards this week. It's so chilly and windy that not even a hot chocolate from Dunkin' Donuts can get me motivated (but perhaps today by 3pm I might be singing a different tune). I generally don't mind the cold so much, but lately it's been getting to me.

In addition to doing laundry every single day and cleaning my house top to bottom, lately I've been a baking machine.

I whipped up oatmeal cherry cookies and pumpkin scones (from a delicious Trader Joe's mix). And then I had a serious hankering for citrus (perhaps to remind me of warmer times?) and baked up some lemon orange loaf cakes.

I used the recipe from my blood orange loaf cakes, but used regular old oranges. I sliced the cakes in half, wrapped them up in plastic wrap and foil and tucked them away in the freezer for future eating (after devouring half a loaf this past weekend!)

I love how the glaze oozes and drips down the sides and then hardens into a sweet orangey shell.

I did a whole lotta zesting and juicing for these cakes, burning my picked over cuticles, but it was totally worth a little pain and elbow grease...they turned out deliciously orangey! I did add a couple of drops of red and yellow food coloring to the glaze get a nice orange color.

I know we will be happy to have these citrusy, bright cakes on hand in the coming weeks!

Do you like or hate the cold weather?

Are you a fan of citrus?

What are you baking up these days?