Not too boy, but oh so baby…

(this is post #3 in the Chase Baby Blueprint Nursery Makeover Challenge)

The time is almost here for the big reveal! It seems as soon as I get one thing done, I have 10 more that need to be completed. You would think the awesomeness of having a nursery challenge would really make me just love to shop, but in reality its like when you are on a shopping spree and you cant bear to spend any money.

Sometimes I walk into stores and just walk and walk and stare and go home empty handed.

Now a few things I knew I wanted were personal touches. While I don’t have anything more than an ultrasound picture of this little one, I did want to make sure he is surrounded by family when he wakes up, so it was important for me to develop some photos of the family to display around the room. I searched through 100’s of our photos (Ok, make that 1000’s) to find some shots that were taken on the beach and had them done into 11 x 14 black and whites. Then a friend and I searched high and low for while frames and found a nearly perfect design at the craft store. No surprise there, right?

But I really love we found the paneled white wood around the frames; take a look!

I also spent a good 4 hours and 10 stores trying to find shadow box frames to sit nick nacks in. Of course Charlotte came along and added her own items for now, but I can assure you the painted shells wont be staying….

I did, however, let her add her own addition she picked up this weekend over in Florida while visiting her grandparents… Although, I’m not 100% positive why they painted a “Surfs Up” on something that says Mobile on it…we don’t have surf here!

And last, but not least, I really wanted to show off this adorable Shark robe that I have added to the wall….practical, useful, and total decor right now.

Now through it all I have been able to keep my balances straight and my budget in line with my Slate with Blueprint card, but I bet you are wondering from the last post did I do the mural? Did I add a stripe or some chair rail to the room?

I can tell you I spent every penny of the $2000 Chase gave me to budget for the nursery..and then maybe a few more. But the truth is, I completely love it. The entire idea that I had in my head, fell together, piece by piece, until it was exactly how I had envisioned it. And if you have ever been a pregnant mama, you can imagine how stressful making something come to life is.

One thing I never had to worry about failing me was logging into Blueprint and keeping track of my purchases. Because I was on a budget, every dollar counted, because it was one more dollar I could add to the decor or an upgrade of something that was just perfect.

Baby Phoenyx deserves the best, right?

I found that my Slate card was so easy to use and with Blueprint there to keep me steady and let me know exactly what I was spending, where, in what category, and budgeting the payment to my needs, I feel like from beginning to end the nursery went off without a hitch!

See you on the next post with all the pictures and touches that I did and I sincerely hope you love my “not too boy, but oh so baby” nursery choices.

~Trisha

*disclosure: This post is a part of the Chase Blueprint Baby Challenge where I am in competition against 3 other bloggers showcased on Parents.com for a nursery makeover.  This is a compensated and sponsored post. To learn more about Chase, please go here. To read more about the other bloggers, go here. To read my first post in this challenge, visit Chase Blueprint Baby Challenge: Homage to my Gulf Coast Roots.  To read my second post, please go to Nursery Makeover.