PBteen Comes to Durham!

What a whirlwind of a week! Back and forth to Arizona from North Carolina twice, two days at market, and at the end of it all I was honored to be invited for a sneak peek at the new Pottery Barn Teen store opening this Saturday October 20th at 10am at The Streets of Southpoint in Durham, NC! This store will feature a fabulous Design Lab allowing the tech-savvy generation to have complete creative control over their own spaces! PBteen will complete the triad of Pottery Barn brands (including Kids) at Southpoint and accessing the "in between" generation with fabulous pieces that provide versatility customization, space saving ideas, and quality to carry on to the first apartment! I have two nephews, 12 and almost 17, so the idea of a PB Teen hits close to home!
Just in time for holiday shopping, PBteen will offer the new holiday line and some fabulous gift and stocking stuffer ideas for the teens you are never quite sure what to buy for! In a age where everything parents say seems to be "so not cool!", PBteen hits home with teams, sports, colors, and personal details teens will love (with bundle discount incentives parents will love too!)

The fabulous animal print (in MANY different prints) collection featuring boots, hats, throws, beanbags and more! Headphones for your tech savvy teen with fun patterns. The perfect desk accessory - a mini fridge for late night studying...or talking on the phone! All of the fabulous colorful prints in travel bags, makeup cases, and more!

My favorite gift idea - given that I'm always writing something somewhere - was the journals!

The highlights for the boys include a fabulous new collaboration with Burton. With extreme sports in full swing, partnering with a snowboard company and including details like patterns that mimic the snowboarding jackets, and even a snowboard chandelier (yes please!), teens can enjoy this line in a way that allows them something a bit more than posters in $20 frames!

Bedding made from Burton T-Shirt Designs!

Of course, if you want to speak to teen boys you have to have something for baseball, hockey, and football! When I saw the featured multi-team line separated by American/National, Eastern/Western, and AFC/NFC divide my inner Boston Sports Fan flared just a bit! Would I want my someday son to have to sport the Yankees on his sheets just to have the Red Sox?! Don't worry! They have individual team patches for pillow cases and duvet covers to showcase your favorite team! Want to make it even more personal? Add a monogram!

I had an instant flashback when I stepped past the Burton, NFL, and MLB budding testosterone space into a world of patterns, bold colors, and none other than sleepovers! The Sleepover Shop from PBteen must have had a teenage girl (at least one at heart) spearheading the design. I saw interpretation of the pattern play and color selection I saw all over High Point Market this week, but with the feel of gabbing girls doing pedicures and talking about what accessories they would wear on their dream date. Don't worry, PBteen had that covered! Of course in the spirit of equal opportunity there is a Sleepover Shop for the dudes too!

When I was pregnant I was overwhelmed by the amount of "stuff" I was going to have along with my newborn. It seems that teens have just as much "stuff", and if you want to have a shot in the dark at getting them to keep it clean and organized you will have to have plenty of STORAGE!!

Outside of their bedrooms, teens spend the majority of their time just hanging out! If you are able to have a separate teen hideaway, or even a room for a "hangout section" you will love the Cushy Lounge Collection

Pick the number you want and their orientation! Have a love seat, or a full sectional.

Need even more storage? Check out this awesome base!

What I loved about how they show the Cushy in-store is the "coffee table" trunk they show with it! Have you noticed the trunk trend?! I am a big fan of trunks, and this one come in 13 colors...yes 13!!!!!! This piece comes from the PBdorm collection, yet another fabulous addition to a brand! Check out the OlioHop Dorm Decor post for more ideas!

Southpoint is turning into a prime place to shop for home and decor with the recent additions of Crate & Barrel and West Elm (preview post here) to the existing Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids, Restoration Hardware, Urban Outfitters, Anthropoligie, and now Pottery Barn Teen! If you have a chance to swing by tomorrow there's an extra incentive! PBteen will be giving away bags to the first 250 guests, along with 5 golden tickets worth a $250 gift card! Go ahead and drag your teenagers out of bed, tame the pre-teens, and put them in charge of their own spaces! They'll thank you for it!

**In case you missed the "clicky" links in the post go ahead and click on through here to PBteen online to get some of your holiday shopping out of the way!**

The beauty of a nap

I feel like I should be jumping up and down singing and dancing because of the amazing revelation that has been made in our house over the past couple days. Abby has learned the beauty of a nap!!! Most people, parents and non-parents alike, expect their kids to sleep during the day. When we first interviewed our fantastic nanny Courtney, Abby was almost 3 months old and Courtney said, "she still sleeps most of the day, right?" Nope....not our child.
Since Abby was two months old she has been sleeping through the night. I know, shoot me now. Even our pediatrician tells us not to say that out loud when we are in his office because I'll have mothers putting out a hit on me. She started six hour chunks at 6 weeks old, and by 2 months she would go down around 9:30-10pm and sleep until 7:30/8, wake up to nurse, and then sleep again until 10ish. After that, she was awake. We might get a cat nap for 20-30 minutes, but nothing you could really "do anything" with. Did I complain? NO WAY! We were told that she would figure out her nap schedule eventually, and given that we needed to function efficiently during the day, I did not mind the sleep at night!
About 2/2.5 months ago she started going to sleep by 8pm (except for the special nights we go and watch Kyle play softball and she gets to "stay up late"), and she will wake up between 7 and 730, entertain herself in her crib for about 30 minutes, and then demand attention. Then it happened....we made friends with the morning nap about 6 weeks ago. All of a sudden one day she had her second bottle around 10am and went to sleep....and slept for an hour and a half. That nap has stuck ever since (with a few rogue mornings). It is absolutely amazing how much you can get done in an hour or two. I LOVE my daughter and I love hanging out with her, but the clothes need to be washed, dishes done, emails returned, business built, and sometimes this mama needs to sit down for ten minutes without being drooled on.
Two days ago Abby made another friend called "Afternoon nap". It was a discovery by accident, and again paired with a bottle. Around 2:30pm she had her afternoon bottle and looked very sleepy. Given that she had only slept for about 45 minutes that morning I thought, "hmmm, maybe I'll try laying her down". Sure enough, 20 minutes later she was out cold and slept for almost 2 hours! Not only is that impressive, but every time you lay her down now for a nap or for the night she does not cry. She plays with bun-b (her bunny "blanket" from Pottery barn) and goes to sleep. You can get your own bun-b here from Pottery Barn Kids (it's the Thumbie...Abby's is an older model and has knots on the edges, but this is pretty close!)

I think it's absolutely perfect that as soon as my life stops being so "scheduled" my daughter decides to adapt to a nap schedule that allows me to have some "me time". The only thing we need to work on now is how to avoid the predictable mid-morning-nap stinky diaper. I'm convinced that she's sleep longer if she wasn't sleeping in stunk...I mean, wouldn't you?  Every day I spend with her I admire stay at home moms so much more. There is nothing "easy" about that job. It takes a lot of work, dedication, patience, and flexibility. With me still working and playing more of an "at home mom" role, I rely heavily on my support system of Kyle, Courtney, Mimi, Grandy, Fairy Godmommy Lindsey, and all of those who send me encouragement via text, Facebook, and email. Of course, I still aspire to someday take a nap of my own during the day, and to "think happy nap thoughts" here are a few of my favorite nap products!

Eucalyptus Spearmint Pillow Mist from Bath and Body Works for anti-stress or my other favorite pillow mist:

Lavender Chamomile Pillow Mist and right now Bath and Body Works is having a buy two get one free mix and match sale!
Also, check out Dream Essence for a full line of masks, body pillows, and aroma therapy sachets as well!

Until next time, happy napping!!

Dabble

Making home workable

Anyone who has ever worked from home knows that you have to have a space that is both inspirational and workable. Sometimes a desk is not enough. Paint adds dimension and character, and organization is key. However, if you asked anyone who has ever worked with me they would tell you it might take a search and rescue team to find something in my office. Let's just say that I have always had my own type of office organization, yet I love how I feel when I get my space "publicly organized".
Given that I will be working from home exclusively for a while in the not so distant future with our corporate shift, I decided to dedicate a blog to office inspiration and organization. I immediately went to pottery barn (virtually of course) to look at desks....and it kind of spiraled from there. Here are some of my favorites:

This appropriately named Printer's Suite (above) offers up SO much in the realm of organization with all of the drawers. I'm not sure I would know what to make out of all of this possibility but the desk itself makes me inspired to try and find out!

This Bedford "build your own" desk allows you to be creative even in the process. Personally I LOVE the industrial handles, but even more so the inspirational boards on the walls. I always have bulletin boards with photos, cards, paint swatches, and anything else that I am drawn to. Sometimes when you see something it draws you without a direct significance, and then *BAM* you find the perfect use for that piece of inspiration.

This above fabric from Serena and Lily is one of my favorites. It is shown in a mocha, but also comes in a sky blue and a grass green. I have been eyeing it for Abby's nursery, but think it would be a great accent for a home office as well...Chair, curtain, pillow....

Just so we can better look at ourselves being creative, Serena and Lily gave us the Bungalow Mirror. I am personally obsessed with turquoise this year, and I always love natural-esq items. Of course I might need to get a little more work done before I can add this piece to my office collection, but that's what inspiration is for...Right??

I must take my inspiration to cleaning out my home office now and getting it ready to be the home to so many fun and exciting projects!

Until Next Time
Dabble

Let's talk baby

I don't mean, "Baby, let's talk", but seriously "let's talk about babies". Before someone in my family (or Kyle) sees this and thinks "Holy $#*% she's pregnant", I assure you I'm not. However, I am utterly IN LOVE with my little diva! Recently I have been satisfying my inner design demons by virtually flipping through inspirational books of home decor photos. Everything I think about doing to our house right now orbits around Abby.
 She's going to be 6 months old next week (minor mommy freak out moment), and we have ordered a dozen cupcakes from Georgetown Cupcakes (featured on TLCs DC Cupcakes), AND I just found out that they are going to open a store in Boston!!!!!! Unfortunately, I no longer live there, but my mom does, and I can assure you it will be added to my list of "must visit" places as soon as I get off a plane. Of course, Abby won't be able to actually eat the cupcakes, (her pediatrician would probably verbally abuse me), but she can play with the frosting!
Anyway, I recently did a post about her playroom, or the idea of her playroom. What I have recently come to decide is that our second floor NEEDS HARDWOOD floors!!!! Carpet is great, but with 3 dogs, 4 cats, and a soon to be crawling still drooling child....they have got to go.
Personally I'm loving how this new (potential) home improvement also means I get to pick out area rugs...but I'm getting ahead of myself. The BIG change next week will be Abby moving to her big girl room. It's funny that I still call it a nursery at the same time, but she has been sleeping in our room since she was born. Before I get chastised by the people against room-sharing, she goes to bed by herself, sleeps through the night, and does just fine thank you very much. It has been SO much easier because our master is on the first floor. Also, I'll add that it's been MUCH CHEAPER because we only have to worry about climate control on one floor!
Since my darling diva will be upgrading very soon, I feel it's time I finish decorating her modern safari themed room. Here are a few pictures of what we have so far (thanks to Britten Berry Photography from my maternity shoot)

Tree hand painted by yours truly...Giraffe from Melissa & Doug

Crib is from the Catalina collection of Pottery Barn Kids (big thanks to Kyle's mom aka "Mimi")

Changing table is literally the Ultimate Changing Table also from pottery barn (big thanks go to my mom on this one, aka "Grandy")
We also have hot pink framed black and white photos I took on a safari in Africa, but I am dying for a little more "omph". I know, it's a room for an infant, but I want her to be able to explore and discover things in it. I have some ideas up my sleeve, and a strong desire to pull something off this weekend.
I'll post my dreams (and some fun before/after shots of Abby's closet renovation *BIG thanks to Kyle*) later tonight or tomorrow.

Until Next Time....

Dabble