Nursery shopping...

Saturday was designated as our "hunt for nursery items" day. I was really excited about finally getting the chance to look for nursery furniture & accessories, so we filled the day with a trip to Langley and then to Bellingham, WA.

After a lot of shopping around in Langley, and then starting the hunt in Bellingham, I started to feel a bit discouraged at our lack of purchasing. Most stores were either "out of stock" of the things we were interested in buying, or they were priced too highly.

Target seemed to be the most successful stop. We were surprised to find that, although the exchange rate is terrible for the Canadian dollar right now, most items were still cheaper in the States, even after factoring the exchange. But again, most of the big ticket items we wanted, were out of stock. They had the stroller we wanted, but not in the right colours; the playpen w/ bassinet we liked was out of stock; and then the crib w/ change table that we fell in love with, was also out of stock. We got the service desk to call around to see if anyone else had the crib, but unfortunately, not a single Target store in the entire state of Washington, had anything in stock. They also told us that Target's head shipping office never gives a set order of inventory-- they just ship whatever they choose to ship, and then the store puts out what they receive-- so there is no way of even telling us whether they would get anymore in at any point. Not exactly what I wanted to hear. Our only option was to order the crib online and then have it shipped to the border, where we could pick it up for a small fee.

So other than a few small items such as blankets, bath items, and other baby toiletries, we came away from our "hunt" empty-handed. Definitely discouraging after spending an entire day searching.

But... I'm happy to report that we were able to get the crib we wanted, online at Target, and it should arrive sometime next week. The nursery is already painted (we're keeping it the same colour as when we painted after we moved into our house), so once the crib arrives, we can finally start to get the room assembled. I'll be sure to post pictures of it once its done, but for now, here are a few things to show you.

This is the "online sample" of our paint colour. Its actually quite a bit more 'green' in real life. The colour is Benjamin Moore's "Eucalyptus Leaf."

And here is the crib we ordered. It can be turned into a daybed once our child gets a little older, and then changed again, to a twin-size, once they're really big :)I haven't purchased crib bedding yet, seeing as we just ordered the crib. But I found this bedding at Target.com and hope to be able to find it in store, the next time we take a trip to the States. Its even shown with the crib we ordered so you can get a pretty good idea of what it would look like as a set. 

(*Update (6:00pm)-- I just got off the phone with the Burlington, WA Target and they have this bedding in stock. My mother-in-law is going to go down to pick it up tomorrow!! Things are really starting to come together.)

(actually, the nursery paint colour is really close to the green in this bedding)

The other big item I managed to find in the last few days, is a rocking chair/recliner. I didn't want a glider or a wooden rocking chair, as I don't find them all that comfortable. Plus, my sister-in-law advised me of the fact that sometimes, you may end up sleeping in your chair if you have a fussy baby at night, and recommended that I choose as comfortable a seat as possible. So I've been looking around at thrift shops, for used "lazy-boy" type chairs. I found one at MCC in Abbotsford yesterday and although its not the nicest colour, it is extremely comfortable and is in really great condition. So I'll just look for a slipcover or nice blanket to cover up the not-so-nice red/burgundy coloured fabric :)

I didn't expect things to start coming together so quickly, especially after the unsuccessful day we had on Saturday. But when I look at my list of things to get done in the nursery, I'm realizing how much of it can be ticked off already. Finally... some progress :)