Catching Elephant is a theme by Andy Taylor
Nursey whosit
I’m in the midst of making decisions for baby/toddler interior decorating.
With the new baby coming I’ve been wondering how I want to set up the layout for the two of them. We have Helena’s room, toys and all, in a room. Next to her room is another room thats a smidge smaller.
The first few months of Baby#2’s life will be spent in our room anyway. But I’ve been considering putting both kids in the same bedroom and creating the second room as a playroom. My inspiration for this is to foster a relationship for the two by sharing a space and so that the toys aren’t possessed by a single child. The downfall to this plan is the possibility of them keeping each other up, either by crying or playing.
Then there is the other part. I’ve been obsessively checking craigslist for furniture. See, we are a few furniture pieces behind in our own household anyway. I basically need a bookcase for dvds. And perhaps then we will be settled. I’m trying to rid ourselves of an old rolltop desk but its proving to be difficult. Perhaps I’ll have to freecycle it. But now that we are expecting a new baby we’ll need some “new” furniture. I’m thinking dresser and bed for Helena. But do I get a fullsized bed or a toddler bed. A toddler bed, on the immediate end, would be more affordable. But long term, why spend money on a toddler bed if I’ll buy a twin later on?
I’m looking at a few options. There are some cheap toddler beds at ikea and target. There is an adorable wrought iron looking bed (http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/S19827958/)at ikea that is adorable but pricier. But its expandable so it’d last later into her life.
I’ve also been considering what to put in this new nursery. I want Helena to get a chair her size. I might ask for this from one of sets of grandparents. But I’m stuck on choices. I have, obviously, been trolling ikea today because I found this adorable, and affordable, wicker chair:
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/90045457/
or there are the stuffed armchairs from Land of nod or Pottery Barn (much more expensive):
http://www.landofnod.com/the-nod-chair/toys-gifts/1
http://www.potterybarnkids.com/shop/kids/playroom/playroom-anywhere-chairs/?cm_type=lnav
And this is just the beginning of the swirlings in my head. So, any opinion on my choices? IT should be said that the current colors in Helena’s room are mostly yellow and brown. And some of that stuff, if a playroom is created, will be shifted.
Shopping
Where do we shop?
“On the economy” or italian shops: The exchange rate tends to be pretty crappy. And when it comes to goods like clothing or any material Italian shoppers go towards the expensive end. We occasionally go down to shops and buy items with our Euros. Emissfero (that is not spelled correctly) is like a Meijer sized grocery store and offers a lot of fun different options. Thursdays are market days in downtown Vicenza. Its the tale end of their two sale seasons so we’ve picked up some baby clothing from shops around downtown.
On post: Those acquainted with the military life know of the “PX/BX” and Commissary. But those who are not would might need an explanation. The commissary is your run of the mill grocery store. When a friend from the states visited (while she’s been working abroad as an au pair) we took her to the commissary to pick up all sorts of American foods she and her “family” missed. The PX/BX is the “walmart” selling clothing, bikes, gardening supplies, jewelry, electronics and so on. The PX’s clothing options are slim. And their variety isn’t the best. Both shops require a military id and take only American dollars.
Online: Teri wears a size 11 shoe and this size does not exist in the beautiful italian shoe possibilities. In order to purchase things like shoes, pants in “long” sizes, or basically anything stateside, we become geniuses at online shopping. Our addresses are an APO address which means we pay for American shipping. Amazon is a favorite, particularly of Eric’s. You see many people picking up packages from their favorite shops from home in the post office.
I wrote this post at least week ago and tumblr ate it. I am positive it was probably 10times more brilliant the first time. :)
