Photography: Diana Elizabeth Photography
Makeup and hair: Allison Pynn 
Florals: Designs by E 

Are you ready? All those anticipation-filled months of awe and wonder at hearing her heartbeat and watching my belly grow and move have led to this — your baby sister is about to join the planet.

We have had you all to ourselves for five whole years. Those years have been packed with more joy and love than I ever could have dreamed. It is hard for your dad and I to imagine having the capacity to love another human being with the same fierce kind of love we feel for you. You are my boy. My guy. The one who asks me to marry him at least once a day and is always ready for a race or a good joke. You are tender and brave. You are honest and trusting. You are so much fun.

Those mamas who have gone before me promise that love is not a matter of scarcity and that as you add baby number two to your family, the love just expands. I believe it’s true because I’ve seen it in action in the lives of my closest friends. But it is still hard for me to imagine two beating hearts of my own heart running around this world.

What I know is this: your baby sister is the luckiest little girl in the wide world because she has you for her big brother. Already you are incredibly thoughtful and protective of her. You make sure to check on her every morning when you wake up by running in and kissing my belly. You sing her your little songs before every bedtime. You include her in your stories and tell me often about how excited you are for her to be a part of our family. You named her, for goodness sake.

You are my guy. That will always be true, my love. Together the three of us are welcoming little miss into our lives and believing that she brings with her a whole new kind of love to for us all to learn. Your dad and I can’t wait to share this next adventure with you buddy.

Love,
mama

Chad & I found out that Baby Custock is a sweet little girl & ever since then our minds have been just exploding with lovely lady things like lace, tea parties, tutus, first dance recitals….ok, maybe this is just me & not Chad. But regardless, we are SO over the moon we are having a girl & that Isabelle is now going to have a little sister. Gosh, there is nothing better than having Isabelle crawl into bed with me, lifting up my shirt so her cheek can rest against my growing belly & hearing her whisper sweet little nothings to little unborn sister. Her startled giggle when baby sister responds with a gentle kick in the face brings me the greatest joy & I am so excited to see how their love for each other will grow over the years.

I wanted to share some of my nursery thoughts & ideas with you today. Something that has been consuming my thoughts since we first found out we were pregnant is the excitement of creating a space for our little love to grow in. In my thoughts, the nursery is creative, playful but also not the cliche nursery look if that makes any sense. Once we found out we were having a baby girl, we instantly decided that our girls would share a room. This has created a new challenge for me because the space now had to share a few purposes. Isabelle is 4 1/2 so she embraces all things “big girl.” She is growing in independence & the last thing I want is to create a space that makes her feel like a baby. She is the furthest thing from a tomboy. She is a new princess every day & her imagination consists of adventures with fellow princesses, their horses & castles. This can be…challenging…when decorating her room in the past & dressing her (how many times a week should she be allowed to wear her Halloween costume out in public???) However, instead of pushing against these sparkly pink & purple ideas, I want it to feel like her room & that she got a say in how it looks. I have learned to give her a few pre-approved options & let her make the choice. This way she ultimately feels like she is putting together her own room, when really I am ok with any combination of the decisions she makes. This has also made it so fun because we feel like we are doing it together. Isabelle has also surprised me by saying things like, “The Baby will probably like this more.” or “I want the Baby to have this because it will make her happy.” She is learning already about little sacrifices for the betterment of her baby sister. Or maybe she is just certain that Baby Girl will like whatever she likes :]

Etsy has been a go-to for lots of fabric inspiration. I have decided to make the bedding myself for both girls just so I can mix & match fabrics, textures & patterns I love. Here are a few of my favorite shops: Iviebaby, Cottage Belles, Nekomata Textiles, Stash Modern Fabric, Fresh Modern Fabric & Moona Fabric. Don’t limit yourself to a craft store because as long as you know measurements, you just order the yardage you need. Here are a few options of fabric & color combos that I am LOVING together:

I definitely want to mix modern, geometric patterns with softer, feminine ones. The room is a light grey with white crown molding & dark hardwood floors. We want to bring in some color without creating a space we are all sick of in 6 months. I think once Isabelle & I make a decision on what her bedding is going to look like, I will be able to move forward with Baby Girl’s. We have decided on white & gold accents to use in our furniture & picture framing decisions. That way, as the girls grow, the palette stays neutral – white & grey – & we can change artwork, rugs, & textiles to match their phases.

What are some challenges you have faced when decorating a nursery? Have any of you decided to share rooms with an older sibling & baby right off the bat? I so welcome any advice you may have for me :] & thanks for letting me share my thoughts on Greys!

Xo,

Jenny

“We live in a 740 sq ft apartment and found out we were pregnant the month after we moved in! We had signed a 15 month lease so we knew we were just going to have to make this place work. We have ONE closet and a king sized bed, so it was a challenge. We converted our dresser into a changing table and utilized pegboard and baskets above it for storage of diapers and other essentials. We purchased a mini crib that eventually converts into a toddler bed and it fit perfectly into our small space. We used small shelves from IKEA next to the rocking chair to hold bed time books.”

“We wanted the over all theme of the room to be “Adventure” in hopes that our little Theodore (Teddy) would look beyond his everyday life into the world around him and seek adventure!
-The capitan bust and embroidered flower are vintage from a shop in Santa Paula run by a man named Robert who used to be an ad designer for Nordstrom in the 60′s. The shop is called “Treasure Island” and it’s located across the street from the California Oil Museum 1001 E Main St Santa Paula, CA 93060.
-The bear drawing is done by our friend Kyle Naylor, who has had some of his stuff for sale over a Urban Outfitters, but also has a personal shop
-The giraffe bust over the changing table is from Anthropologie.
-The chevron lamp shades are from Target.
-The AMAZING ship clock is Alex’s Abuelito’s. It is also a nightlight and still works!
-The mobile is handmade (by me) with a vintage embroidery hoop and painted gold stars.
-The “Adventure is Out There” plaque was made by me as well as the door hanger.
-Since we only have one closet — we decided to utilize the living room space for some storage. We purchased a wardrobe from IKEA and a LACK bookshelf from IKEA which we turned sideways and made into a storage bench for under the window. It houses some of Teddy’s toys, books, blankets, etc.”

XO-In my room had so many amazing items I couldn’t just pick one.
House & Hold Doll House

Such Great Heights: Clothes Rack
Liven Up Design: Build your own rocking chair

The Hill at Hopewell: Kids table
Don’t forget to check out our shop for tons of our favorite shops and handmade stores.

Photography: Emma Wyatt
Crib:  DaVinci “Jenny Lind” – Davinci Baby
Curtains & Crib Skirt: Pottery Barn Kids – Pottery barn Kids
Dresser & Night-stand: Purchased from an antiques dealer, re-finished & painted – a true labor of love!
Glider & Ottoman:  Dutailier
Rug: HomeGoods – HomeGoods
Paintings:  DIY
Mobile: DIY
White piggy stuffed animal: Monokuro Boo – Shopkawaii
Cat and the elephant suffed animals: BlaBla Dolls – blablakids
Letters above crib: DIY
The mother and nursery designer extraordinaire Vivian has a blog where she discusses some of her DIY projects: Diamonds And Tulle.

Photography: Sara D Harper

Photography: Courtney Dellafiora