We bought our crib!

      Last night Billy and I went to a local baby store that is going out of business (yay for rain and Billy and I being able to go out and run an errand together!). They had all of their furniture on sale for 25% off, and all other merchandise was being sold for 50% off. Most of the furniture had been picked through and was sold, with the exception of the tall dressers, which we would love, but our first priority of course was the crib and dresser/changing table. The set we found was one of the last complete sets they still had available, in an espresso color, which we knew we wanted. Another man had just been thinking about buying the set, but had left, so it was our time to mull it over. I didn't go into the store expecting to buy a crib - I just wanted to see what they had, and boy, did this cause me to become pretty confused pretty quickly. Thank God for smart phones and the research you can do on the spot. 

     The crib I had decided to get previously at another retailer was nice, but I just wasn't completely satisfied with the look/feel/quality of the furniture. In fact, as of yesterday afternoon, I was still researching other options in our price range and with the quality we were seeking to no avail. After doing some calculations, we realized that we would be spending about $200 more for this (in my opinion) nicer set, including the hutch to go on top of the dresser. (We couldn't get them to leave the hutch off, because it would be unsellable without the matching piece). After MUCH hemming and hawing, (an hour and a half to be exact) we decided to bite the bullet and do it. After doing more research at home, I found we are saving at least $600 (+ shipping) off  the retail price of the furniture. Not to mention, it is already assembled, comes with the converter kit for the full bed option (we will have to purchase the toddler rail for about $65), and we are going to save on delivery charges as well, because we will rent a truck from Lowe's for $25 and move it in ourselves (and by "ourselves", I mean - not me!) 

I felt better about spending more because this is a nicely constructed piece that will last for years to come, as opposed to the other sets we had been looking at before.

     Now! We just have to get the room painted! I think I have come to terms with the fact that we will not be able to put in new flooring before the baby arrives, which makes me very upset, but I would rather be saving to spend time with her when she comes than put in the new floors  - they will just have to wait.

      

Here is another view of our crib and dresser/hutch 

     

   ABC Wall:

      Perhaps one of the things I was MOST excited about was the fact that at this store, they had alphabet letters for...$1 each! Just yesterday morning I had almost bought a set of unpainted letters on Etsy for $75 plus shipping. I am so glad I waited! I got all the letters of the alphabet (except the "A"), for $20. I am planning on painting them and decorating them with craft paper anyways, so the colors didn't really matter - although some of them I will just leave as they are. I am so happy to have gotten a steal on these! They are not as big as I was originally envisioning for my alphabet wall, but considering all the other things I have plans to do as far as decorating, I think it will be better to have the letters smaller.

It is going to be super-cute!

     Good thing we typed up our "to-do" list yesterday - it gave me such satisfaction to strike through "order nursery furniture", "assemble nursery furniture", and "order alphabet letters". Yay for getting things done, one step at a time!