Hello everyone and happy Friday! I am so excited to tell you that our new apartment renovations are underway! The wood flooring is going in (in the back part of the house, the front has original wood floors - see the below photo) and then, we'll have a team of painters work on all of the walls and ceilings for 10 days. We may be finished sooner than we imagined, which is very exciting! This pregnant girl will be able to move in, unpack and DECORATE before the baby arrives end of January. Monday begins week 30 of my pregnancy, so only 10 weeks left, and boom! The baby arrives!

Above is a glimpse of our living room. The apartment is actually the same floor plan as our current one (it's in the same building after all, just two flights up), but more of the original details are in tact like the windows and doors shown in the living room above. Our current living room is the same but the doors are brand new glass and metal. Boring and generic. The doors and glass above are wooden and just gorgeous. So I'm really happy about this! Next week, the painting crew will begin on Tuesday. We also have to install a few new toilets, a vanity, 16 pendant lights, some wall lights and a new kitchen in addition to lots of other "little" but BIG things - like have custom window treatments made because none of the windows are standard size. Yes, really. I don't want to even think about the expense so we're going to tackle the most important rooms first (front room, baby room, our bedroom) and then move on to the other rooms over time. We hope to have all renovations complete by December 15th so we can start to slowly move upstairs. I am feeling total girl power and a massive adrenaline rush at the moment - let's hope this sticks because my pregnancy has been so up and down. I'm throwing up one minute and out with my girlfriends the next like nothing happened.

This weekend we're going to finalize paint colors, look for a new bed for our bedroom and try to find a dresser for the nursery. I've already ordered a baby stroller, chair, crib, throw rug, bookcase and a few other things for the nursery, including this wonderful ceramic owl lamp that arrived today - I'm in love!

This move will be a run for the finish line!

Luckily we're not on our own and so we're hiring out for the big jobs -- we'll survive it. Plus we have good friends and a lot of motivation with our baby on his way very soon. I like the idea of keeping busy until the end of my pregnancy because normally when January 1st rolls around each year, I feel depressed. Maybe you get this too? I feel like all of the holiday and new year fun is over and I suddenly miss the hustle bustle. The gray weather sets in, the cheer of Christmas markets are over, and you just sort of sit there trying to sort your year out. This year, that's not going to happen. I'll be moving, unpacking, decorating and then giving birth to our first child which will then mean my life will become a non-stop circus/roller coaster ride. This excites me. I don't like a lot of stillness or "quiet" in my life. As much as I love Kinfolk magazine, I get 10 pages in and need to take a break from the silence for a little imperfection, excitement and noise. I suck at yoga because I always want to flip the switch and start a disco party amidst all of the ommmmmm's. I usually lay there and think about blogging or decorating or cupcakes. I scan the room and try to figure out what everyone does for a living. I lose my balance because I nearly break into mini fights of laughter. It's just not for me. Neither are January's. Too quiet, nothing happening, bleh. But now, with a baby to be born in the same month, I will finally feel a shift and go from despising January to actually liking it. We will have a new year to honor with our little boy. How nice. Suddenly cold, dark January feels warm and bright. I like that.

I wish you a wonderful weekend filled with love and happiness. And hot cocoa.

(photo: holly becker)