Every new mother is allowed one extravagant purchase.

What is it you ask? It’s a very yummy playmat that I fell in love with at a local Alameda baby store. What is there not to love with the delicious Amy Butler fabric and usability of a playmat that can go outside with the baby or in our case, line the co-sleeper, since the Peach is something of a wiggle worm and likes to scooch her little swaddled self all over the co-sleeper.

Here she is in her nattily appointed co-sleeper with one of her dearest friend, Bobo.

Oh my, this picture was taken in late May–and already the Peach looks so very different. I’ll have to post pictures soon enough.

And of course, a proper nursery update. I’ve been a busy little Mommy in there and just finished hanging the curtains. But there is still so much to do!

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In a recent past post, I wrote about my new favorite style inspiration–Seventies Prep and several friends asked me what the heck that was and how I was going to interpret it.

It started when I came across this yummy polyester vintage shirt with the most divine red print. I wore it under a t-shirt and jeans and felt so very much at home and rather spiffy.  Really, I just love a good print.  And the seventies had many good prints.  Not the wild disco ones that people think of with the seventies. But the more subdued look of the seventies through the subtle Prep lens.

It’s not about hit you over the head pink and green polos with headbands kind of prep.  Or the gold lame disco interpretation of the seventies. But the smoother subtle conservative prep with the funk of the seventies added for charm.

It’s a little Lilly:

A little Jackie O:

And definitely some DVF. Rock that wrap dress baby!

Some nice bamboo print. Sort of between the clean scandinavian lines with antiques sort of look for design and oh so very cozy and comforting to me.  But that layered on top of my already vintage look.

I think I might have to go shopping with one of my favorite fashion muses. the lovely Galaxy Girl at Strawberry Lemonade. Have you seen her blog? If not, I highly recommend a drop by.

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With our new little keep to let out far too many years of decor desire, I’ve been spending way too much time on the obscenely addictive Apartment Therapy site. My dream is to get the nursery on the site’s kiddie decor page, Ohdeeoh one day… If I ever finish it…

Although I will carry my love of all things thirties/forties to the grave, AT (as the Apartment Therapy is called by its fans)  has made me more and more of a fan of MCM/60s/70s style  that you see featured so very often on the site.  However,  I’ll never be as organized and pared back to essentials as the homes normally featured on the site. I must admit a large part of me loves a good cluttered shelf full of memories and telling books.  But get me on the set of Mad Men and I will try to steal every piece of furniture that isn’t nailed down.

Then I fell in love with this glorious interior I saw on AT.  It’s Kim Johnson’s most delicious house in Ottowa.  But what really caught my eye was the sofa crammed full of bargello pillows.  I always think of those wonderfully cozy pillows as kinda seventies Connecticut.

The Bargello pillow has become the touchstone for one of my new style loves which I call “Ice Storm Chic”.  I think now that I’m a mother and soon to be purveyor of someone else’s childhood, I keep wanting to bring in the familiar parts of my own childhood.  Another term for this style could be “Seventies Prep”. A little Sofia Coppola, a touch of Wes Anderson.  I’m sure I saw a bargello pillow tucked into a room in the Tannenbaums‘ pink mansion.  You get my drift, right?

Anyway, it makes me want to bust out a few of these bargello needlepoint pillows, which would be good for my arms and hands instead of the more RSI tough sports of knitting and crochet.

So, hopefully later this month, you’ll see the beginnings of a bargello pillow.

Oh and I will write more about my seventies prep passion and how it is about to influence my fashion too…

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Finally, here is the crib skirt I made for the Peach’s nursery out of a vintage table cloth.

It’s the same fabric style as the quilt I made before the baby was born for the nursery.

I like the look of it with the gingham edging–sweetly old fashion, but not too cloyingly girl nursery, I think.

I bought the crib bumpers from IKEA about nine months ago or so. However, I did have to take off all of the ties and add extras to have it properly fit my Jenny Lind crib.

And you can see touches of other items in the nursery. One of the drawbacks of this room is the complete lack of closet space. The original closet was turned into a stairwell to the knotty pine converted attic/craftroom/office.  Ever the Clever Clogs, I turned an old “office in a box” piece into a wardrobe and added more storage with a set of red vintage luggage.

And an old Raggedy of mine watches the Peach sleep.

More nursery updates throughout the month as I try to finish it before I head back to work.

Happy June, everyone!

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