Advice for New Moms: What We Eat

I'm excited today to announce the start of Odi et Amo's new fall guest blogger weekly series. This time around, I'm looking for some great advice for new moms (selfish of me, no?). Topics will range from product reviews and suggestions, setting up the nursery, and that sort of indispensable advice that you often only learn by experience. My first guest blogger is Christy, blogger of the food blog What We Eat and the private blog A 'Lil Welsh Rarebit. I've been following Christy's blogs for over a year now and always love her honesty, practicality and sense of humor. I had the distinct pleasure of having dinner with Christy this summer when I was in New Jersey on business and I can tell you that the Christy on her blogs is the Christy of Real Life. In addition to her sage advice, I've asked her to share photos of her darling children's bedrooms. I absolutely adore Fiona's sunny yellow, orange and pink bedroom.

{Fiona's "Big Girl Room" is a sunny yellow punctuated with hot pink and orange}

Dearest Averill (and Dave!),

Yahoo for your impending bundle of joy! Babies = bliss. You're going to LOVE being a mom. I just know it. I can't believe you were able to keep your pregnancy a secret back when we had dinner together earlier this summer! You're so sneaky!

{Big sister Fiona poses in Callum's nursery}

Babies bring incredible joy and love into your life, seriously....but they also cry. Sometimes a lot. You know what they want?! They want to feel warm and loved, and they want to sleep. A lot. Newborns sleep MOST of the time - even though it certainly doesn't seem like it, they actually do. And we've found that the very best way to keep them happy and sleeping is to swaddle them...and not just in any blanket, in the Miracle Blanket. Google them. Register for them. Launder them in Dreft, then be sure to bring one with you to the hospital! They seriously work wonders! Both of my kids were swaddled in the miracle blanket for the first few months of their lives, and both were good sleepers!

{Prints from The Black Apple and a mobile purchased on vacation

add personality and character to Fiona's room}

As for your and Dave's sleeping habits? One trick that worked really for us was taking turns sleeping in the guest room with a white noise machine. Hopefully Dave will be able to feed your little bundle of joy a bottle a few weeks after the birth. If you formula feed, he could clearly help out even earlier! Bonus!

{The two tones of blue in Callum's nursery are a great backdrop for art}

But if you're nursing, like I did, wait until your baby is a couple or a few weeks old, and then start pumping. Pump a few ounces, then in the evening say nighty night to Dave and baby and head to your guest room - your sanctuary. Turn on that noise machine and get a few hours of uninterrupted sleep. BLISS! Let Dave take the first or first couple of night time feedings, then come get you when the bottle is empty. Then he can then take a turn in the guest room/sanctuary! I know it might seem strange, but seriously - taking shifts in the guest room restored our sanity just a few weeks after both our kiddos were born! I think that sleep is just about the most important part of a new mom's life.

{Fiona's room includes the perfect spot to cozy up with Mom or Dad for reading and naps}

The other most important part? Staying strong, staying nourished. Having a new baby is exhausting, and you definitely don't want to go hungry. But the old adage about not having time to shower or cook? Unfortunately, true. So, in the month or so leading up to my due dates, Matt and I made a ton of freezer-ready meals and we froze individual portions. My enchiladas and lasagna are delicious and taste great re-heated. (Shameless self-promotion!) When a new baby is in the house, there is no such thing as a schedule, and we were SO GLAD we had meals ready to be heated up at all hours of the day and night.

{Left: Adorable art Christy picked up at a street fair in London;

Right: Callum reclines in his adorable recliner}

My friends and family also were incredibly kind and delivered meals to our doorstep in the weeks after the births. A meal prepared by anyone except you will be music to your ears, take my word for it. Whenever your friends and family ask you if there's anything you need, I highly recommend that you say, yes, dinner please! Don't worry if two people want to deliver you food on the same day - your freezer will become your best friend. Some of our friends cooked for us, some brought us restaurant fare, and others sent us batches of deliciousness from Omaha steaks (their cheesecakes are to die for!). These meals were a LIFESAVER!

So there you have it - my advice on sleeping and eating. I know your other guest posters will have tons of fabulous advice on stylish baby gear and nursery essentials, so I thought I'd stick with my favorite new-baby related advice topics - sleep and food!

Love,

Christy (and Fiona and Callum, my two little cherubs without whom I wouldn't know what the heck I'm talking about...sometimes I think I still don't! ha!)

Halloween Costume High/Low

I love Halloween costumes. And I'll even admit that I love Martha Stewart's fantastical, creative takes on Halloween costumes. The only issue I ever buy of Martha Stewart Living, just to relish in the fantasy that this year I'll craft away my October weekends and throw together one helluva DIY costume.

But let's get real. Most weekends it's all I can do to check off the "must do" errands and chores. And so, if I'm going to dress up for Halloween, I'm going to have to go store-bought or risk going yet again as a "punk rocker" or Janet Reno (better when I had short hair). But I refuse to do a fall-back again this year. Now that I live in a neighborhood with children aplenty, I vow to do better...even if it's just to scare them a wee bit when I open the door to hand out candy.

For those of us on a budget (or who are dressing up to stay home, as I plan to), I'm totally loving Costume Couture, the new Target capsule collection from Simon Doonan, author and window dresser extraordinaire. Simon's pithy (and punny) wit is all too evident in these costumes, from Candace Corn to the Chow Hound. Even better? It's all under $30. Oh Target, how I love thee...

If you're willing and able to shell out a little more dough (which may be worthwhile if you're attending a full-fledged adult Halloween soiree or have children who practically live in dress-up clothes, as my sister and I did), might I suggest Chasing Fireflies? The children's site has the best selection of costumes -- for children, adults and pets, might I add -- that I've ever seen. I particularly love the array of historical and mythological costumes. In fact, if that Medusa outfit came in an adult version, I'd be all over it.

P.S. - Have you ever noticed how dog costumes are so often modeled by bulldogs? Perhaps it's because a bulldog, let alone a bulldog in a tutu, is inherently funny.

Orange & Aqua Nursery Inspiration

Here are a few images inspiring me today. Clockwise from left: (1) Blueprint's modern baby shower; (2) Amy Atlas's orange & aqua dessert bar; (3) orange staircase from Canadian House & Home; (4) Binth Alphabet poster; (5) Leslie Klotz's serene coastal bedroom (and that awesome quilt); (6) fabrics: Serena & Lily's orange seersucker, Thomas Paul's zinnia in turquoise and Thomas Paul's Aviary in tangerine; (7) Miss James's darling baby girl (and that orange & white striped outfit and sheet!); (8) Massucco Warner Miller's cozy reading nook; and (10) Kristen Hutchins's nursery.

Orange + Aqua = Love

So in my last post I mentioned in passing that I was really loving orange lately. And I am. In fact, I've been itching to design the nursery in orange and...well, and something. I didn't want to do brown because it's too harvesty. I don't want to do just white because it's too monochromatic and modern for my taste. And then I saw the divine Ms. Tobi Fairley's feature in Traditional Home earlier this week as I paged through the magazine en route home from LA. And I fell in love. Aqua and orange -- that's it! It's fresh, young and fun but still sophisticated and interesting. And even more important: it's gender neutral. I've decided to eschew traditional gender decorating (for now) and go with a more neutral theme for a nursery.

But back to these rooms....Tobi Fairley designed the master bedroom and adjacent sunroom for a Showhouse in Arkansas using predominately green materials (and plenty of antiques and refurbished furniture). And this may be about the freshest, happiest approach to reduce, reuse and recycle that I've ever seen.

I'm particularly fond of how Tobi doesn't try and match tones too closely. The aqua Rubie Green fabric on the vintage sofa isn't precisely the same tone used on the legs of the orange chair or on the finish on the cabinet. And I like that. The overall effect is more layered and less stuffy -- but still conveys the pulled together look that a tighter color palette can give you. Also love how there are only two throw pillows on the sofa and none on the armchair. Much as I love a throw pillow (and you know I do), I get tired of seeing designers completely cover furniture in them. It's impractical and they'll only end up on the floor.

Mmm...pretty lamp, pretty flowers, pretty curtains. All around great styling generally and I appreciate that this nightstand isn't completely cluttered with stuff. All too often these vignettes just read as overstyled to me. Here, Tobi sticks to a classic group of 3 (I consider the orange book more of a stand than an object itself) with staggered heights. It's a simple formula, but it always works.

In the sunroom, Tobi painted mismatched vintage frames the same coral shade and displayed simple shells within, treating them as shadow boxes rather than traditional frames. This a trick that's been used to great effect by a number of designers -- and even on HGTV, but I still like the look. It's a great and inexpensive way to fill a big wall. And of course I love the hit of KWID Imperial Trellis in that great spice colorway.

So yes there are a lot of throw pillows on this daybed, but I make an exception for daybeds as they're deep enough both to accommodate a plethora of pillows and a person (or two), especially if they're backless as here. The embroidered teal pillows are particularly gorgeous -- would love to know the source if anyone knows it. But is it just me or does that art look an awful lot like a chalkboard?

Those lamps are actually old flea market finds that Tobi painted orange -- brilliant trickery for decorating on a budget. I also have to add that the Izze orange sodas displayed on the makeshift bar are personal favorites of mine. I've been drinking it regularly since I found out I was pregnant in an effort to stave off the boredom that comes with abstaining from alcohol and diet soda.

Natalie Umbert makes me happy.

Last week I was flipping through the latest issue of Town and Country and saw this picture included in their feature on up and coming LA designers -- and I stopped dead in my tracks. Now this is the type of room that just makes me happy: bright colors coupled with lots of crisp whites and a great mix of patterns and styles. So of course I had to google the designer behind such a great room and boy was I not disappointed.

Natalie Umbert's portfolio is, start to finish, just as jubilant, fresh and eclectic as I had hoped. In short, I have a new design crush -- and a serious and new found appreciation for the color orange.

I'm so in love with that window seat. And all the built-ins around the fireplace. Okay and those floors.

I love the colorful patterned backs of these charges -- such a great injection of color into an otherwise neutral space. I also love the juxtaposition of the very casual floor and rug with the formal coiffured ceiling. Gauzy linen drapes and a capiz shell chandelier bring in a beachy vibe.

I actually just got back from an all too brief trip to Pasadena, CA, late last night and I'm still definitely California dreamin'. The weather just could not have been better (or a more welcome respite from the humidity we've been suffering through all month). In any case, this room just screams California beach to me with its bleached floors, clapboard walls and brilliantly fresh combination of orange and aqua. So spot-on.

The orange Eames Eiffel base chairs are a classic choice, done up more playfully in orange. I do wish the rug underneath the Saarinen table were a bit bigger though, I prefer a rug large enough to cover the floor area underneath the table and the chairs.

More orange and aqua, but this time in a more saturated setting. I love how you can go with just a few hints of bright color set against a white backdrop for a calmer, more casual air or really go all out for some major drama. The palette stays the same, and yet the mood is so drastically different. The Chinese wishbone arm charms all done up in bold orange lacquer and fun stripes are my favorite elements in the space.

Another view of the same room. Note how Natalie goes with just one large piece of art on one wall and a large mirror over the fireplace. I'm a big fan of using just a few large-scale pieces on your wall and with this bold wall color and all the ample patterns on the soft furnishings, not only do you want to avoid cluttering up your walls, but smaller pieces would really just get lost here.

Natalie's portfolio has a separate section entirely devoted to children's rooms. I absolutely love how she picked up on the hot pink of the Serena & Lily bedding with just the narrowest of pink stripes on the walls. The wide spacing makes the small room appear larger and less busy than a more traditional stripe would have.

When I first saw this room I couldn't help but think: "Okay, that's a pretty sophisticated kid's room", especially with the fairly tight black, white and silver color palette. The playful rug does inject a more youthful note, but it's the feature wall of silver-foiled wallpaper that I really love.

Shop Like a Design Blogger: EverythingLEB

It may be hard to believe, but today marks the end of the extended "Shop Like a Design Blogger" guest post series here on Odi et Amo. Every week, I have been continuously amazed at how each and every guest blogger has managed to come up with an incredible (and unique) list of design resources -- and this week proves no exception. Bostonian Lindsay of EverythingLEB proves that while she may be last, she's certainly not least. And I totally share her obsession with office supplies and great organizational tools.

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Hi Everyone- Lindsay here from EverythingLEB. I'm so excited to be participating in this awesome series. A huge thank you to Averill for putting it together and including so many amazing bloggers.

I actually find myself coming back here over and over again to see everyone's choices for inspiration. It was so hard for me to pick just a few, especially since alot of my favorite places have already been mentioned. So these might be repeats for you, but maybe the reasons and some of the products are new to you :)

1. Home Depot- Oh Home Depot where would I be without you? I know they don't carry everything for home projects (like Ben Moore paint, uhhhemm) but they have a wide selection of paints, stains, glues, nails, wood, etc to get projects started. And most times you can find someone helpful to guide you in the right direction. Another reason I love Home Depot is there selection of inexpensive plants and orchids. A must for a decorator is something living in each room and this is the perfect place to pick something green up.

2. The Container Store: This might be the one store that I could spend thousands of dollars in and no dinner guest in my home would ever see what I spent all that money on. From closet organizers, drawer liners, gift wrap and more, they have everything for the complete organizational freak like me :)

My favorite things here are the beautiful fabric covered boxes that come in so many fun colors and the plastic shoe boxes that I use for just about everything in my house.

3. Trader Joe's: One word, flowers! Having fresh flowers in my house is such a luxury and at Trader Joe's you cant go wrong bringing home a $3.99 bunch of carnations or a $15.99 bunch of roses. They have a great seasonal selection and I just love the color and cheer they bring into my house.

4. Ikea- for obvious reasons every design blogger loves Ikea. They have a huge selection and you cant beat the prices. The above items are new and I'm so excited to go check them out in person. #1 reason I want to go right now, that acrylic chair- so pretty!

5. Freddy Farkels: I've got a local pick here. All you Bostonians out there, this ones for you. Freddy Farkels is in Watertown and its one of those hit or miss stores for the bargains. They carry a ton of regular priced fabric in their front section and in the back they have an amazing section of bargain basement priced fabric in the back. I've found some really fabulous fabrics for $2 a yard, you cant beat that!

So there you have it, my list of favorite shopping sources. But in all honestly I think all of the shopping sources the other bloggers listed are my favorite too! This is an amazing source to bookmark, and I'm so happy Averill decided to put this together!!

Thank you, thank you Averill!

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Thank you Lindsay -- and thank you to all the other design bloggers who've contributed such great content and ideas over the past few months! You've all made this series successful beyond my wildest imagination and I can promise you that I'll be referring to your posts regularly whenever I'm on the hunt for great design sources.

Cutest. Gliders. Ever.

Windward Wingback Glider (from $3250)

Until very recently (like maybe yesterday) I really hadn't given much thought as to how I'll decorate the nursery. Chalk it up to exhaustion, preoccupation with work or perhaps just procrastination, but the likely truth is that I really couldn't bear the idea of launching into yet another home improvement project right now. But fortunately that's all changed thanks to that second trimester high that I'd been promised for weeks but only just now seem to be hitting. And now I can't stop scouring the web for resources and inspiration.

My intentions are to stay on a pretty tight budget for this nursery because (a) the kid will outgrow it rather quickly and (b) the kid will inevitably make a mess of it. But there are a few areas I'm willing to splurge a bit on and one of those is a great glider. Not only will I appreciate a comfortable place to spend the next few months of my life, but it'll prove useful around the house long after I quit nursing. And tonight I (very randomly) stumbled upon these fabulous wingback gliders from Shetter Palevsky Interiors.

Unfortunately I'm going to have to file these into my "for inspirational purposes only" file as they qualify more as extravagant than a splurge (at least for my budget), but I couldn't resist showing you sharing them with you anyway -- besides, just because a great piece is out of your budget doesn't mean it can't serve as inspiration. And fortunately these looks are replicable on a budget as any old glider can be recovered in fun (and contrasting fabrics). Even better: many of these specific fabrics are available at retail from Mod Green Pod (e.g., the butterfly print) and Calico Corners (e.g., the Annie Selke blue and white print). So I may just have to start hunting around on Craigslist for a good DIY option...

But while we're still fantasizing here, there are two other great glider styles on offer through SPI Interiors:

Beckett Glider (from $2250)

What can I say? I love a tufted back. And curves on this chair are sweetly feminine without being cloying. Not a huge fan of either of these fabric options (they both read a bit granny to me), but rest assured there are plenty of other lovely prints and solids to choose from. And, of course, you can always C.O.M.

Kingston Glider (from $2500)

I love the tailored , clean lines of this piece. And the upholstery job is subtle, but still really special. The trim along the skirt is a wonderfully crisp finish and the contrasting stripes peaking from underneath has be weak in the knees. This would be the perfect piece to anchor a nautically-themed nursery (which is one option I'm mulling...think lots of crisp navy and white with pops of color from nautical flags).

And of course you'll need an ottoman to put your feet up on during those late night nursing sessions...

While the offspring ottoman is less expensive, it still clocks in at $370 (for a solid fabric!) and at $545 for the super cute Hable Construction print (bottom left). Again, these ottomans are simple and inexpensive DIY projects -- and, unlike the gliders, needn't require a professional upholstery job. Indeed, I'd opt instead for a close flitting slipcover option over any tired ottoman cube. Indeed, here's a $60 option from Walmart, though you could certainly find one used even cheaper on Craigslist or Ebay. Sure, with a slipcover you won't have the nifty self welt but the savings/ease of use is probably well worth forgoing that small detail. Extra bonus: a slipcover would be washable! Very key for a nursery.

But let's take one last look at my two favorite prints on that gorgeous wingback again:

To die for, no? Of course, the question that remains unanswered though is am I decorating for a baby girl or a baby boy? Alas, you (and I) will have to wait a few more weeks to find out!