{The Nursery}

I feel like we pulled this nursery together in record time. I had known for a long time certain elements I wanted for the nursery (like the Sharon Montrose animal prints), and we actually bought our crib really early on (like back in September), but getting past that was difficult. I waffled back and forth on the crib, we took forever to purchase the dresser, I could not for the life of me figure out what to do about a rocker/glider. We were just stumped. So we didn't do much of anything with the nursery until I got really sick with the norovirus at 32 weeks. 

So what does the norovirus have to do with our nursery? Well, this virus was nasty. I ended up in the hospital severely dehydrated and with a high fever. These things kicked my body into preterm labor. Luckily, once they got my hydration and fever under control my body stopped trying to have this baby and all was well (as well as can be when in recover mode, right?!). But the whole preterm labor scare really kicked us into high gear. After I was healthy again I just started ordering things, making decisions and getting stuff done. The whole thing went from a room full of all our wonderful baby shower gifts to a real-life nursery in the matter of a week or so. 

A little bit about the room... I knew I wanted the room to incorporate elements of travel (we hope to share our love and passion for travel with her from the very start) and animals (I am a HUGE animal lover and I hope I can teach her to love and care for animals, too!). I didn't want the room to feel overly girly/frilly/pink, but definitely wanted it to be bright and feminine. Of course, I wanted the room to be practical and we needed to do it all on a budget (we've pretty much had to furnish our entire house from the ground up since buying it in August!). And here's where we landed (sources for most everything listed after the photos):

{Photos © Liz Denfeld Photography}

 Crib: Babyletto Hudson Crib

Dresser: IKEA Hemnes 8-Drawer Dresser

Rocker: IKEA Strandmon Chair hacked and made into a rocker (Thanks, hubby!). We used this post to guide the way.

Changing Pad: Keekaroo Peanut Changer 

Animal Prints: Sharon Montrose

Frames for Animal Prints: Pottery Barn

Sunburst Mirror: Martha Stewart via Home Depot

Shelves: IKEA Ekby Jarpen Shelves in White & Ekby Valter brackets in Birch, spray painted gold

Gold Animal Statues: Dwell Studio via Horchow

Amsterdam Print: Claudia Schoen via Society 6

Wooden Toy Camera: Twig (this color combo sold out now)

And Then There Were Three Zebra Print: SS Print Shop

Diagonal Stripe Frame: Nate Berkus for Target (now sold out)

Gold Glitter Shoes: Juicy Couture via HomeGoods

Teal Vase: Target (can't find online)

Wooden Giraffe and Plush Owl: Gifts

Diapers: Honest Company

White/Wicker basket: Nate Berkus for Target (now sold out)

Pink Pattern Basket: Gift

Watercolor Map Print & Frame: Clover via Society6

Elephant Crib Bedding: Pottery Barn Baby

Lamp: Threshold Target

Ottoman/Pouf: West Elm Round Swirl Pouf in Guava

Ceramic Side Table: Tibetan Cloud Ceramic Drum Stool via World Market

Peach Blanket: Favorite Throw from West Elm in Bright Coral

Faux Sheepskin Rug: IKEA

Homemade Mulled Wine

Corey has been busy studying for finals for the last week, and I knew he was feeling super stressed, so after he finished his first final on Monday night I wanted to surprise him with a little something. I thought it would be nice to make some mulled wine for him to enjoy after hours of essay writing. When he walked in the door the house smelled amazing, candles were lit and it was the perfect way for him to unwind after his long day of work and final-taking. I used this simple and delicious recipe from fellow Amsterdam expat blogger, Jenn, and I highly recommend it!

Ingredients:

Organic Merlot (or any other red wine you like)

One organic orange

Cinnamon sticks

1/2 cup Organic local honey

1 Vanilla Bean

Instructions (straight from Jenn):

Pour the wine into a large pot (yes, the whoooole thing). 

Peel the orange, and juice it into the pot. Then, cut up the orange peel into slices, and add almost all of the slices to the pot, saving a couple to garnish the drink with at the end. 

Add a few cinnamon sticks, the vanilla bean, and then the honey. 

Turn the stove on to low heat, and cook for 25 minutes.

Then, pour the mulled wine into big mugs. Garnish with an orange peel and a cinnamon stick, and enjoy!

{Photos © Liz Denfeld Photography}

We Found An Apartment!

We are so excited this amazing apartment is official ours! We move in September 1st (which won't come soon enough)! It comes fully furnished, which is so great, although we have a bit of work to do in the bedrooms to make them our own. A few cosmetic things - new curtains, bedding, some pictures, etc should do the trick! 


This is basically our dream Amsterdam apartment as it's big, bright, has a great kitchen and the best part... It looks down on the sweetest little canal! We live on the most adorable street, and the second we walked into this place it felt like home. I can't wait to show you all more photos once we move in and get settled! For now, here are a few to give you a little taste.

Our Street!

The Amazing Living Room:

Look at those built ins and that ladder! And how about that cute little fireplace?! Love!!!

And Our Canal View :)

This is from our bedroom. Same view, but a floor higher from those big windows in the living room!

Isn't it lovely?! What do you think? I am in love and can't wait to move in!

{Print Love}

I'm a sucker for cute prints. Buy any (or all!) of these here.

Scrabble Letter Pillows

I'm pretty much in love with these cute Scrabble-inspired letter pillows! I would love some for our apartment!

{Shop Dirtsa via Erin Ever After}

Bathtub Beauty

The most beautiful and perfect bath caddy ever. 

{I lost where I found this. I left a comment on the post. Please let me know if you're out there so I can credit you!}

Office Space

I really want to spruce up my desk at work. It's just sort of blah and corporate and uninspiring. I spend the majority of every day in the office, so I figure investing in a little decor would be in my best interest. I'm loving these spaces and planning on picking up a few design ideas from them.

{1, 2, 3, 4}

Red + Blue Christmas

I'm so quick to judge the red and blue color combination as patriotic. It's normally hard for me to look past it. But these photos have so inspired me, and now I'm really in love with the idea of a red and blue Christmas. What do you think? Would you do it?

{1, 2, 3, 4, 5}