IKEA Finds and the Nursery

Being that I really hate the gender/sex stereotypes of "pink is for girls" and "blue is for boys," James and I decided to go ahead and decorate the baby's room before we find out what we are having. 

With some help from my IKEA purchases from 2 weekends ago, we spent this past Sunday painting, putting things together, hanging, decorating, and generally sweating-- all in the name of a cute, gender-neutral nursery.  Here are some pictures of the  (almost) finished product:

*The wall paint is a very pale blue--it matches the bedding that we got from Target on-line.
*The rocker is from IKEA.
*The green/white dresser is from Roundabouts Consignment store in Columbia, SC.  (Originally Pottery Barn).  All drawers were originally white and James spray-painted 3 of them green.
*Crib is from Babies R Us.
*Tree and birds wall decal from Target.  
*White bookshelf was ours already-originally blue, but sanded down and re-painted by my very handy husband.  
*Striped rug is from IKEA.
*Shelf on the wall is from IKEA.
*Beautiful and soft animal-print fleece blanket hanging on the end of the crib was made by my very talented mother.

*I used printed papers from a local Columbia stationery store, Jot, to paper the back of the bookshelf--hard to see from this shot, but really pretty--and so cheap to do!
*The alligator blocks and the 2 boxes with animals on them are also from IKEA.
*Vintage Fisher-Price airplane is from Etsy.  Love it--looking to purchase some vintage F-P little people to go in the plane now.

Sweet Abby and Fat Albert (cat) helping us paint the bedroom :)

There are some things left to hang on the walls and a couple more small purchases to be made--like a CD player for the nursery, so the baby can listen to the cool CD's I recently bought for him or her: Lullabye Renditions of Bob Marley, The Beatles, and The Rolling Stones:

image via here

We are so ready to find out the baby's sex--ultrasound in 2 weeks!

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It's Be Kind to Animals Week

May 2-8 is American Humane's Be Kind to Animals Week.

Here's just a few things we all can do to be kind to animals:

Speak out for animals

Get informed about policies and legislation that can impact the animals in your community and throughout the country. Also, register to receive Action Alerts from American Humane -- you’ll be able to speak out for animals with just the click of a mouse. You know I'm a fan of being knowledgeable about policy--just do it.

Report animal abuse

Animal cruelty and abuse is not only tragic for animals, but also an indicator that other forms of abuse such as domestic violence could be happening. If you see something that looks suspicious -- a dog chained in your neighbor’s yard that looks underfed, a child putting a cat in a box and kicking it around the yard -- don’t hesitate. Let someone know. I have called City Animal Control several times and they are usually very willing to help investigate; advocate for a dog or cat that cannot speak for itself.

Adopt a pet from a shelter or rescue

Every year, an estimated 3.7 million animals must be euthanized at our nation’s shelters because they could not be adopted into loving homes. Help animals find a second chance at happiness by adopting your next pet from your local shelter or rescue group. American Humane has tips to find the animal companion that’s right for you and develop a bond that will last a lifetime.

My shelter babies- Abby, Peach, Fat Albert & cat Bernice (not pictured)

I LOVE my shelter babies--all adopted from our local shelter, The Animal Mission, and they are the greatest!

image via here

And, go buy the new Stamps to the Rescue postage stamps--available in your local post office or on-line. With these 10 stamp designs, the U.S. Postal Service hopes to raise awareness of the need to adopt shelter pets; all pets photographed had been homeless at one time. I just bought some stamps at the Greene Street PO--they are precious!

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Fat Albert on a Sofa

via here

Please check out my cat, Fat Albert, featured in Desire to Inspire's weekly blog post: "Monday's Pets on Furniture."

Fat Albert is a rescue kitty from the Animal Mission here in Columbia. His back-story is that he was owned by an older woman, and when she passed away her family gave him up to the pound. He was approximately 10 years old when we got him, so he is about 16 now.

He has used up numerous lives, besides being on "death row" before we plucked him from the pound, he also had a limp from his former life--a broken back leg that had never been set and healed wrong. It causes him no pain now, I am assured, but he still has a pretty mean limp that my husband and I affectionately call his "pimp walk." Three years ago he was diagnosed with cancer; ;luckily the tumor was all encapsulated in one kidney, so they simply removed the kidney and he's been fine ever since. He also escaped from our house a year or so ago; (Fatty is a strictly inside kitty, as his lack of front claws, the aforementioned limp, and his sizable girth would make it hard for him to escape predators of any kind). He was gone for over a month and I was heartbroken. He finally showed back up in our next door neighbor's back yard...he had evidently been living under their shed for most of that time. He was skinny and scared, but really no worse for the wear. And don't worry he has ballooned back to his "Fat Albert" weight, and then some.

Thanks to the Desire to Inspire folks for including Fat Albert's picture in their weekly post, and if you're thinking of adopting an animal, please consider getting one from your local pound or rescue organization.
Happy Friday everyone!

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