My Twin Girls' Nursery - Pink & Grey

After spending months trying to figure out how to decorate the nursery for my twins girls, I finally decided on a pink, grey, and white theme. I LOVE grey in general so it was a perfect choice. When coming up with how I wanted to design their nursery, I knew I wanted it to have a classic look...very girly....no characters but also not too mature.  So this is what I came up with and I love the way it came out! Thank God I finished their room before my last trimester because I would not have had the energy to do it had I waited. This is how the room looked BEFORE we made it the nursery:

AFTER:

 

So here are the details of everything:

Wooden Monogram: Etsy (I painted it white & added white glitter to it)
Rug: Pottery Barn Kids
Mirror: Home Goods
Wall scripture decal: Etsy
Wall stencil: Cutting Edge Stencils
Lamp: Ross (with some DIY tweaking)
Throw pillow: I made it
Window treatment: I made it
Mini mannequin form: Home Goods (I added the tulle skirt & bow)
Book case: Ikea
Ruffle crib skirts: Target (had to tweak it to make it longer in front)
Crib bows: I made them
Furniture: Baby Supermart

 Closet system: Closet Works

Do you need help decorating your nursery? Contact me at nneka@nnekasaran.com for rates

MY TWIN PREGNANCY - 3rd Trimester

For my third trimester, I was really tired. I finally started getting bigger but people still were very

Me 5 days before I delivered @ 38 weeks

surprised that I was carrying twins.  I guess I never really got as big as most people expect a woman to be when carrying twins. When it was all said and done I believe I gained about 40 lbs.
Since I'm writing this post way after my 3rd trimester, I'm drawing a blank on a lot of things lol. But I do remember that devil known as indigestion hitting me hard as well as heartburn in my last trimester. That made eating anything good really tough. It seemed like everything I ate normally triggered indigestion and heartburn. I also had a few rare occasions of throwing up.  The last month or so I also became super uncomfortable trying to sleep. No position ever was comfortable so that was a bummer.
Since I was carrying twins, I saw my regular OB as well as a Perinatologist which is basically a high risk doctor. Carrying multiples makes you 'high risk'.  So my appointments increased towards the end. I also had to do non-stress testing once a week to make sure the babies were doing okay. With the non-stress test they basically just hook you up to a monitor and you sit for about 30 min or so. Then they let you know how the babies are doing.

I had a lot of pressure in my stomach as well towards the end. Baby A was head down and Baby B was breech. But Baby A was really really low in my pelvis so I wore a support belt alot to help. 
I also remember my feet starting to swell the last few weeks before I delivered. They were huge and it really hurt to walk for long periods of time. Also had a lot of back pain towards the end.  I guess that's why they tell you to rest towards the end while you are pregnant.


Highlights of 3rd Trimester

• Indigestion came back along with heartburn
• Uncomfortable sleeping
• Feet swelling around 36 weeks
• Hard to walk 
• Non stress testing 
• Back pain at very end
• Tired
• Pelvis pressure & pain
• Biggest highlight was looking forward to delivery

My Twin Pregnancy - TRIMESTER 2

For my 2nd trimester, I was still dealing with all day sickness but I learned to manage it a little better. Our anniversary is in October and we had a nice trip to DR planned but due to my constant sickness, we had to cancel it....so that was no fun :(

But once 19/20 weeks hit, the sickness started fading away...THANK GOD!! And I was able to finally experience all the great feelings and energy everyone constantly talks about having during 2nd trimester.  Also around the same time, I felt the twins first flutter in my stomach! Amazing feeling! AND we also found out our babies were 2 girls!! We honestly thought it would be a boy and a girl but we were happy either way!

My goal was to finalize nursery design and get that done before my energy ran out as well as figure out my plans for our baby shower. Yes, I took on the responsibility of decorating my own baby shower.  I know I know Im crazy lol

Highlights of Trimester 2:
* Morning sickness/all day sickness finally went away around Week 20
* Felt first flutter 
* Found out we were having twin GIRLS
* Energy
* Cravings: None really... except slushies and cold stuff
* Weight loss
* Started working on nursery
* Started planning baby shower

My Twin Pregnancy Journey - TRIMESTER 1

Hey guys!
So I know its been quite awhile since I last blogged. In my mind, I just knew once I got pregnant I would blog up a storm but things didn't quite go that way.  So I figured since Im about 2 weeks from my due date, I would chronicle a little of my pregnancy now.

TRIMESTER 1:  The first 6 weeks were great. I didn't have much of an appetite though.  After week 6......everything for me went downhill in terms of feeling good.  I was "lucky" enough to go thru all day nausea and sickness.  It was the worst. I figured I would get morning sickness a little ....after all...isn't that what you always hear about being pregnant ...but nothing really prepared me for how bad I felt.  I kept waiting for it to end...and it just kept coming at me.

I tried Zofran (a RX prescribed by my doctor) which helped but gave me bad migraines so I stopped using it. I also tried Diclegis but that didnt really work either so I just stopped altogether.  My all day sickness finally let up around 20 weeks so that was 14 LONGGGGG weeks of feeling awful and not really being able to keep much food down. Some days/nights I threw up 4-5 times.  Honestly, sometimes I would look forward to throwing up because that meant I would at least get a little break from the non stop nauseous feeling.  I ended up losing about 15 lbs during that time too. 

I also had to deal with awful non stop indigestion that kept me up at night. Tums (which normally work for me) didn't do anything to help it. I tried ginger tea and products but nothing really helped... some nights it would literally last for hours until I finally dosed off to sleep.

I felt so bad for my hubby because he wanted to help me so bad but there was nothing he could physically do. However, his emotional support was so great and I am so thankful for him. Every time I would get up in the middle of the night to throw up, he would get right up with me and pat my back. So sweet :)

During the first trimester we also found out we were pregnant with fraternal twins!

Here is a pic of me 12 weeks pregnant at the Black Girls Rock taping .....you can see I had a tiny little pooch which wasn't noticeable by most people but I could tell :)

So the highlights of Trimester 1 were:

* Finding out we were having fraternal twins
* Morning/All Day sickness
* Awful indigestion
* Frequent urination

We're Expecting! TWINS! :)

Hey guys! I know I haven't updated in awhile but I've kinda had alot going on. Namely, my husband and I are expecting twins! We are over the moon happy and excited. And we feel so blessed. It wasn't an easy or quick journey getting to this place but thank God we kept the faith and trusted God would bring our hearts desire to pass. I am currently 19 weeks preggers now and looking forward to crossing the finish line in April!

I wanted to do a creative announcement so after doing an internet search to get some inspiration, we came up with this announcement. All of our family and friends really liked it :)

Stay tuned... you know I will definitely have plenty of new baby projects to post soon!

DIY Frosted Glass Window Film

So as you know, I recently moved and I have tons of DIY projects I am working on and plan to post about. I may even venture to do some videos...we'll see about that though....but I'll def try to do tutorials on everything.

So today's feature is on frosted glass window film I used on glass cabinets in our kitchen.  I wanted to do a frosted look on these so people can't see straight through along with giving them a slightly more modern look.

I researched online and came across a few options to get a frosted glass window look. One thing you can use is Rust-Oleum Specialty Frosted Glass Spray but I was a little nervous if the coverage would be even. Then I found out about a few films that can be applied. I read a few reviews on Gila Window Film... a few people said it wasn't good then others didn't seem to have any issues. I figured since my windows were pretty small, I should be okay so I decided to get the Gila Window Film and Application kit (which I highly recommend).  The film cost about $22 or so and application kit costs around $7 from Lowes.

Its not hard to apply this stuff at all but depending on the size of the window you are covering it may not be a bad idea to have a helper. The basic process is spraying the window film a lot and using the squeegee that comes in kit. The website has a YouTube video I posted at the bottom of this post.

So here is how the first window came out:

Here is how the second window came out as well. Not bad at all...its exactly what I wanted.....you can see small shadows of whats inside but cant see all the way through. Also the lights in the cabinet still shine through.  Now I just have to do the other side.

So if you have a window you want a little privacy, I definitely recommend giving Gila window film a try!

My DIY Kitchen Banquette

Every since I can remember I have always loved kitchen banquettes.  I really love them near windows. I love natural light so the more windows in a home the better!

I only have one window in our kitchen in the house we just moved into but I do have a L-shaped corner that will work perfectly for a banquette.  So you guys already saw the kitchen wall stencil I did here,  My banquette will go in that corner.  So I got our contractor to make a frame for the banquette. Originally, I was going to try to be ambitious and do it myself but I figured I would leave that part to a professional :)  I probably should have told him to make the bench seat a little deeper so it would allow more seat coverage but it should work out fine. I just cant make the back too thick. I ordered a round glass table for the area so hopefully it works out when it actually comes in.

So here is the frame he did. I painted it white.

I have also decided I want to do a tufted look for the banquette and I found tons of inspiration pics on my new fave site... www.houzz.com !! Here are a few of my inspiration pics:

Stay tuned on how my version turns out! :)

Check me out on Essence.com!

So I did an event in Philly at the Greek & Life Boutique and my picture ended up on Essence.com...although Im not in love with my pic..lol...I thought I'd share it! :)

Timing is Everything!

Post Valentine's Day

I was out of town on Valentine's Day so me and the hubby didn't get to celebrate until this past weekend! We had a great time. I wore a dress I purchased while in Dubai last month that I simply loved!! It was about $79 and I will have to post the name of the store I got it from when I get a chance. I wore it with a black Nneka Saran clutch (not pictured)..but here is a pic of me!

RIP Whitney Houston!

I am completely devastated right now about the passing of Whitney Houston.  May she rest in peace and may God cover her family and friends during this time.  She will be greatly missed.

Great Treat for the Holidays!

One of my besties, Karee,  is an aspiring caterer and loves to cook! Whenever I have a food related question, she is one of the first people I call.  Last year she gave me a great and SIMPLE (my fav kind of recipes...lol) recipe for Chocolate Covered Peanut Clusters. Who knew these great treats were so simple to make! :) They are also great to give as little gifts for Christmas. I made a bunch last year and put them in Christmas tins and gave them away. And everyone LOVES them! My husbands barber even told him I should start selling them! LOL
But of course, I have no intentions of doing that.  My dad and father in law also love these babies!

This years I am also going to make Pecan Millionaires. Not sure how those will turn out so I'll wait until I try them before I share!

So for those of you interested, here is the scoop on the best chocolate covered peanut clusters you've ever tasted! :)

INGREDIENTS
1- 12z bag of Semi-Sweet chocolate chips
1- 12z bag of Milk Chocolate chips
2- 12z bags of White Chocolate chips
2- 16z jar of Planters Lightly Salted roasted peanuts
Wax or Parchment paper

DIRECTIONS
1.  Get all your ingredients together:

 

 2.  Get a large pot and pour the Semi Sweet Chocolate and Milk Chocolate in.  Turn the stove on low to medium heat. You don't want it too hot because it'll burn the chocolate.  

 

3.  Slowly stir it as the chips melt down. After they have melted down a little, add in your 2 bags of white chocolate and do the same ... slowly stirring as they melt down. 

4.  Continue stirring until you get a smooth consistency like this: 

5.  Now its time to add your peanuts in. Pour the jars of peanuts in the chocolate. You don't have to use 2 jars if you don't want to.

 

 6.  After you pour peanuts in, stir them all together. Then take 2 spoons and take out clusters of the mix and place on parchment paper or wax paper.  Do this until the mix is gone and let sit in a cool area for about 4 hours to harden, then refrigerate in an airtight container and they are done! Easy peezy, right?!  Enjoy! :)

Upcoming Baby Shower

This weekend we are throwing one of my besties a baby shower! We decided to go with Fall theme.  Stay tuned for the pics next week... I cant post what I've done so far because she may look at this blog post LOL!

My Birthday!

Yesterday was my 32nd birthday and it still feels crazy to even think that I'm in my 30's now! Time really flies!
We ended up going to DC to hang out with friends and had a great time! I ended up making another dress for my birthday! Check out a few pics!

2 Years Already!?

Happy 2nd Anniversary to the best man God could have blessed me with for a husband! I can not believe its been two years already! Time really flies when you are having fun! I thank God everyday for my best friend, my backbone, my #1 fan, my everything.  Here's to decades more of wedded bliss babe! :)

My hubby's CHIGAGO Book Signing TODAY!

80s Themed Party - PICS

So as yall know, I planned a small 30th birthday shin dig for my hubby with a hip hop 80s theme. I only had 2 weeks and a thousand other things on my plate but I managed to come up with some cute touches for the 80s themed party. I feel like there was more I could have done but time just didn't allow but overall I was happy with the outcome! We had about 25 guests.  The menu included chicken wings, mac & cheese, yellow rice, mini egg rolls, meatballs, pulled pork, collard greens, vegetable stir fry, pasta salad, Rotel dip, & chips.  Desserts included cake, brownies, sugar cookies, and candy! Check out some of the pics from it!
 

 Banner I ordered from http://www.windycitynovelties.com/

 This is the desert table. I wrapped boxes with black wrapping paper along with black glitter ribbon  and created signs for everything using a graffiti font to tie in with the 80s theme!

 

Close up

I got my friend Kendra of Keshajo Bakes  to do the cake toppers. I wanted her to do the whole cake but she lives in VA and I live in PA and I didnt have time to go down just to get the cake...so I ordered a plain cake from Sam's Club (who's cakes I LOVE) and she made the edible toppers and mailed them to me. I just placed them on top...and it worked out perfectly!! :) 

So as an alternate to an entire candy buffet, I chose to do a candy plate! Its much cheaper and still showcases some of the candy that was popular in the 80s.  People still didn't even take it all.

For the food labels, I printed out pics of 80s groups/tv shows and made tents out of them.

Remember those old records I got from thrift store? Well this is what I did with them. 

This is the centerpiece I created for the table. I was looking for a real boombox but couldn't find one so I printed a boombox  I found on the internet and glued it to a small box to give it a mini boombox effect sitting on top.  Then I glued the cassette tapes I got from the thrift store on top!

 

Birthday Boy

Not pictured....I rented two tall cocktail tables and also had balloons hanging all around the ceiling.  I also had an 80s trivia game I created and a prize for the winner. We played 80s music of course and had School Daze playing on the tv.  If time permitted, I would have loved to get a lifesize version of Salt n Pepa or Run DMC. I also looked into renting an old school video game like Pac Man...like what you see in an arcade but they are quite pricey!  In addition, I tried to find an Atari to hook up...but no luck on that one either.  Surprisingly there aren't many blogs or sites that give good pics and examples to draw inspiration from for a 80s hip hop themed party.