The New Apartment!

From the front door. The kitchen, living room and dining room are an open floor plan.

When Jeff and I found out we were pregnant, we knew we would have to leave our labor-of-love garage loft for a more practical apartment with doors so we wouldn’t constantly worry about the cats sleeping on top of the baby.

Our new view is spectacular!

While we realized newborns could be brought up pretty much anywhere, the building was extremely loud from the scrap metal business on either side and sometimes even crumbling a little from the rumbling!  It was time to move on and so we began the epic search for a New York City apartment.  Nothing would be 1,400 square feet with a 1,400 square foot rooftop, but something great would come up…right??  WELL…It took a lot longer than either of us could have ever predicted, but we finally settled on a condo that couldn’t possibly be more unlike the garage!

Our Magical Woodland Nursery

We finally finished our magical woodland nursery and I am absolutely in love!   Rather than forcing the typical gender stereotypes (I mean…I don’t even know this person yet!),  I wanted to create a mostly unisex nursery that encourages a healthy imagination since that’s what I remember most from my own childhood.   We would gather around as my mom told elaborate stories about gnomes and fairies that my brothers and I fully believed and lived.  They were so magical and real to us that I wanted to start my own child’s life out with that same sense of possibility and wonder.    I combined stuffed animal taxidermy with a large painted mural of a magic forest, neutral furniture and the most modern-looking nursery essentials as possible.  I already posted about some of the elements in the room, but the final result below really brings everything together beautifully.  I hope you feel inspired to keep things simple, magical and woodsy for your baby too!

My Very Own Brooklyn-Hip Baby Shower!

It made more sense to have our baby shower host write the post about planning this shindig…so without further ado, I give you my bestie’s thoughts on throwing me a rockin’ party…

By: Jeff Hinchee

As someone who reads Delia’s blog, you no doubt spend your free moments thinking about how lucky her friends are to regularly indulge in her epic and well conceived parties. We ARE very lucky.  Delia and (husband) Jeff are really amazing friends,  so I wanted to throw them the baby shower they deserve.  Actually, when Delia and I were in California last year throwing baby showers she pulled me aside, looked me in my eyes and said— totally deadpan— “Take notes. This is your job when I’m pregnant.”

The theme was loosely inspired by Delia’s nursery. Enchanted forest, real and imaginary animals, with a splash of “baby hunting lodge”. For the invitation I collaged together a bunch of images I liked to convey that unusual concept.

Throwing a party for such a seasoned party planner is a daunting task.  Even though I knew she would be happy with anything, you would never invite the Queen of England to stay in your railroad apartment and sleep on the Ikea mattress on the floor that you call a bed.  And so I enlisted the help of some other devoted friends, referenced Martha Stalwart frequently, and proved that you, reader, CAN throw these parties too!

With only 30 minutes to set up the space it was a scramble to get the food table arranged, the leafy pennants and balloons hung, and the furniture moved around.

Quick and Simple Dinner Party

Sometimes you just want to have an effortless but delicious dinner party!  Here’s what we served this last weekend for a perfect dinner for four:

(This is timed out so you have a hot appetizer and an hour or so of relaxed chit-chat time before dinner.   If you want to serve your dinner sooner, skip the cheesy bread and have a cold appetizer or salad first.)

MENU

• Cheesy Crack Bread

  

• Roast Chicken with Potatoes and Sautéed Kale

  

• Peach and Raspberry Shortcake

  

Frozen Food Month! (or two…)

All tucked away and ready for June!

Jeff and I decided to jump on the frozen meal train for our first month (or two) with the baby.  It’s incredibly easy to get any type of food delivered in New York City at all hours of the day, but the cost and calories are ridiculous when added up.  I decided instead of depending on the famously convenient city, I would plan a little over a month of food and snacks for us so we have minimal grocery shopping each week when the baby comes.   Unfortunately, our first month will be smack dab in the middle of farmer’s market season, so not only will we miss a bit of that deliciousness in exchange for quality time with the tiny,  but I also had to plan food that was summery without needing the seasonal veggies ahead of time.  It was quite the task!

This is the master list of everything we can choose from….who needs take out?!

I started by doing some research on Pinterest and creating a board with frozen food ideas.  The site Once A Month Mom also helped A LOT.  Since those recipes are broken down each year by month, I was able to narrow my choices down to May through July which ensured that I would be picking food appropriate for the season.  I wrote down all my ideas, separated them into breakfast, lunch or dinner and then narrowed them down by my favorites.

Yes…I TAPED everything in despite the fact that I am perfectly capable of using the computer!

When it came to typing up the recipes, I first established what portion of the meal could be made ahead and frozen and what portion would be better fresh.  I typed the prep recipes separately from the “on the day” recipes which also included the grocery list for the fresh stuff.

The prep recipe is on the left and the recipe for Jeff to follow while I’m sleeping…;-)…is on the right!

I imagine each week we’ll decide which meals and snacks we want to have, and Jeff can just jot down the grocery list from each recipe onto a master list and hit the store on Sunday!  I’m really excited to have all of our food planned for June so we can focus on being new parents.  Now I just need to precook and freeze everything before I go into labor…

The End of an Era

As Jeff and I settle into our new swanky baby-friendly apartment, I wanted to take a moment to remember everything that happened in our DIY garage loft that made me start this blog in the first place.    So…here’s a little trip down memory lane…How It All Started, The Next Step, The Step After That, Getting Closer, One Last Disaster, Or So We Thought…, and The Moment You’ve All Been Waiting For.

Proof for the baby that we were cool, edgy New Yorkers once!

Finally, Our Own Baby Quilt!

After making three community baby quilts this year, I was so happy to finally be able to make our own baby quilt.  I decided on a chevron strippy pattern because of how many adorable vintage and new prints I had leftover from all of the other quilts, and the chevron is simple and modern looking no matter how many different prints you use.   I backed the quilt with a navy and red woven ikat dot print and bound it with navy cotton chambray.  The backing and the binding are really what help to make it look modern and cool.    Here’s how I pieced the strips!