Chase Blueprint Baby Challenge: Nursery Makeover Almost Finished!

I have been taking you along on my journey to transform what was once Aiden’s room and then the playroom into the baby’s special nursery. If you missed my first couple of posts let me fill you in on the challenge. I was chosen to participate in The Blueprint Baby Challenge and I have been busy making over the nursery into a special space for my baby due this August. I have been given $2,000 to do a nursery makeover for our newest arrival! There are three expecting moms (including myself) participating in the challenge and at the end of it all you will be able to vote for your favorite makeover! Each of us will have a chance at one of three prizes based on your votes and will win at least $500!!

Until now I haven’t let you have a peek at much of my design but today I am going to let you in on some of the progress. The nursery isn’t quite finished yet but we’ve got all the big stuff completed. The furniture is assembled and the room is arranged. I just need to add all the special finishing touches to complete the room! Here is the crib which I absolutely love. It is sturdy and beautiful. The dresser will be used as a dresser/changing table. I love the dual purpose of it and I also love that we won’t have to get rid of it once the baby is out of diapers. It will grow with him and be used as a dresser once he is past the stage of needing a changing table. Buying a changing table seems like such a waste of money to me. I did buy one with my other two kids and once they are out of diapers it is of no use to you anymore. I have finally gotten wiser and invested in a dresser which functions as a changing table as well. Lesson learned!

One of my main goals in designing the nursery was to design a space that would be organized and that would grow with my baby. I wanted something that after two years would still be a functional space for him and not be just a “baby” space. My main focus was storage. Being that I already have two children I see how much stuff they need and how quickly things get cluttered up. I went with these large storage cupboards to keep the baby’s room neat and tidy. Everything will have a space and won’t be out in the open and cluttered. I’ll show you how neat the inside of the cabinets are in my final reveal post to come! The center bench is a large pull out toy box which I love. It rolls out on wheels and can come completely out. Once the baby is older he can put his toys away himself! Until then it works great to store all sorts of things, especially those bulky nursing pillows. It keeps them out of site but they are still close at hand for middle of the night feedings.

My favorite piece of furniture in the nursery and an absolute essential is my glider/rocker/recliner with ottoman. It glides, it rocks AND it reclines! I love it. I’ve already spent a lot of time relaxing in it and imagining my baby in his new nursery. It will be perfect for middle of the night feedings and once he has outgrown those feedings it will find a new home in my living room! It’s sooooo comfy! Every new mama needs a great glider!

Here is a sneak peak at my transportation themed bedding. I loved the bright colors! These colors and the transportation theme go perfectly with my goal of creating a space that will grow with my baby. They are appropriate for a baby and as he gets older he will appreciate the wheels and vroom vrooms as my Aiden calls them 🙂 As I took on this challenge and looked at my budget and where I wanted my money to go I really wanted it to be invested in things that would last a long time and grow as he grows. I am so pleased with how it is coming together and the functionality that all of the pieces will have for many years to come.

So how have I managed to stay on budget, plan and execute a nursery and still be a mom, blogger, wife and be in my third trimester of my pregnancy?? I’ve been using the Chase Slate card with Blueprint and it has been so helpful in keeping me on track and making it easy to track my spending. Blueprint allows me to easily see exactly where my money is going each month. I’ve been using the Split feature to create a plan to pay off each of my large purchases. I set the monthly amount that I want to pay or the number of payments and Blueprint calculates it all for me and sets up the payment plan. It’s so easy and I don’t have to crunch the numbers myself. It shows up on my statement and I can easily pay that amount and stay on track to pay it off by my goal date. I love that it shows my payment progress too so I can login and see that I am 33% complete! It also tells me how many payments I have left to complete my goal.

I also have been using the Finish It tool which allows me to create a plan to pay off my balance and save on interest by paying it down versus just paying the minimum payment each month. With Blueprint, which is free, I can easily stay on track and manage my spending despite my hectic life right now. With everything I have on my plate already the last thing I have time to do is sit and calculate all of my spending. Blueprint makes it easy and crunches the numbers for you!

Make sure to stay tuned for the big reveal and come back and vote for my nursery on July 15th!! I can’t wait to add my special finishing touches and let you in on the secrets!

*I was provided with $2,000 to use for my nursery makeover by Chase. At the end of this contest I will have a chance to win $500, $1500 or $3000 based on the number of votes I receive. My opinions are my own.