Showing posts with label Shopping. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Shopping. Show all posts

June 14, 2013

➷Top 28: Outdoor Rugs Round Up ➹


Ever feel like you're sitting on an increasingly large mountain of gun powder? 

Every time I shop online, I feel dark clouds raining down explosive pellets and the result is an ever-increasing pile of a highly combustible material that's just going to take one itsy bitsy spark to ignite! Of course, my six foot, always chipper, husband is like a really long piece of flint and his inability to understand my online shopping ordeal is like... is like... pieces of steal grinding on his flinty body. It just lights a fire under me. Do you know what I'm talking about? 


So here's the situation, For several months, well for almost a year, I've seen these beautiful pastel pants on people running around town. Everywhere I turn, like a pack of rainbow Necco candies, pretty pastel clad people running to and fro. At first I wasn't so sure about the trend, it made me think about the 80's. But like most things, the more you see it- the more you want it and, man, do I want it! What do they call that, lust or something? 
➳ {1} {2} {3} {4} {5} {6} {7} {8} ➳

Anyhow, I scoured high and low for the perfect pair of mint, denim, skinny pants. Right about here, my husband creates the first spark by quoting,"Nacho Libre," he'll say, "Stretchy pants?" And click, the sparks would fly. It's like he just doesn't understand the importance of mint denim! I stare at him blankly, with one twitching eye. Of course, nothing happens because it's my husband and he wouldn't understand my how a girl needs the perfect pair of pastel pants. So instead, I turn to the Internet  and cross your fingers, the right price. I find a sale. Not just any sale, I find $80 minty pants on sale for 56 bucks, with an additional 40% off means that my beloved $80 "stretchy pants" are now a screamin deal at $20! 
➳ {1} {2} {3} {4} {5} {6} {7} {8} ➳

In my mind, I see myself wearing the minty jeans, high-fiving dignitaries, strolling down the red carpet, doing the YMCA at the Super bowl with all the football players in the middle of a play, you know, I see myself doing a lot of things, that's all I can say, I mean,...doing...things

What actually happens: The box comes, I eagerly rip the box open like a lion tearing into a helpless gazelle, I swear my heart is racing, and then, I see them. My mint. Denim. Skinny. Pants. Shreds of plastic and pieces of packing peanuts trail my path, as I scamper off with my kill, down the hallway and into the bathroom where I slip my leg in and..... *squish*, my leg gets stuck. At this point, I feel like I'm in the Twilight Zone, only it's not Alfred Hitchcock narrating, it's Big Bird, with Twilight Zone music. And I hear that giant yellow bird say, "Today's lesson is brought to you by the color mint and the wrong size number 2." I rip the pants off my calf, cause that's as high as they'll go, and throw them against the wall cursing the company (which shall remain nameless.) 


Then, of all things, my husband knocks on the door and says, "I wanna see you in your stretchy pants..." at this point, too many things for far too long have massed into the Mt. Everest mother load of black powder and it's blow time baby! BOOOOOMMMM! The bomb goes off and I don't scream, I don't call some poor  customer service rep and chew him a new one, nope, instead, I stare in the bathroom mirror until I can collect myself.
 I don't know what's going to happen from here, folks, but I've been launched, like a space shuttle, into orbit. For now, I'm just going to say, major changes are coming my way!!!

PS. Did I mention we are shopping for outdoor rugs? Aren't these the best outdoor rugs you've seen? So, so gorg.
 I hope you enjoy this week's round up and good luck shopping on line, I know I'll need it!
 photo 2fc9bcc8-3007-4b83-a06b-544496708353.jpg

August 16, 2012

✥ Succulents {Even Walmart Can Make Something Beautiful}✥

I could only think of one title for this post- I kept thinking about how even Walmart could sell something that would turn out beautiful!

I've been wanting to jump on the succulent train for awhile now- and just never seemed to have the time. Then Zack and I were grabbing some last minute camping stuffs and I saw these babies. I had this free vase/bowl thingy I got from my bro-in-law and thought it was perfect for these guys. 
I had some potting soil on hand because I planted herbs this year- which were, by the way, super fantastic! If any of you are condo/apartment dwellers and are on the fence about a pot garden- jump off that fence and come on over to the bright side! It was so easy and I loooved having them on hand. That is, they were on hand until Zack and I went on a spur-of-the-moment four week vacation!! I am certain everything was fried by the UT son ages ago.

OK- long detour, now back to the succulents.
I potted my cute little plants and thought they looked kinda lonely in there. So I threw in some polished stones {I think they were from a fish tank we had a zillion years ago??} 
and then called it a day!

 This is just part of my master plan to beautiful my honey oak horror kitchen by giving my eye some beautiful vignettes to look at instead. 
As a total PS- I think my landlord's wife reads my blog, so to her I say: thanks for reading and please don't be offended about my dislike for the kitchen cabinets!! {And wouldn't they look so totally rad and awesome painted white!?! ;-)
Hope the rest of you chicas are doing well!!

August 9, 2012

Vintage Index Card Recipe Box w/Printable Recipe Cards

Hey there, cute lady friends! I am reposting a little project I whipped up the other day for Cassie, when I guest posted at her place. If this is a repeat, then this is where you sign off, and I'll catch you on the flipside.
To the rest of ya, here's my latest dish, I found this vintage, metal index card box the other day while garage sal-ing. It cost me three beans and I had actually been on the lookout for this very item! So I snatched up my sweet score without even an attempt at bartering for this sweet treasure. I thanked my lucky stars it was so cheap. I've seen them on Etsy and Ebay, but for nothing less than $15.


I've wanted one to put my recipes in for ages and, now that I have one, I can walk towards the light with a sense of accomplishment. Like I came, I saw, I conquered- my work here is done, you know? 

Not too fast. What. About. The. Recipes? 
Instead of using old magazine tear-outs or scratch paper, {yeah, so maybe I had some of that going on before} I made my own recipe cards. For these, I used some vintage-y styled freeware graphics so the new cards would have a retro feel to go along with the retro filing drawer.

You can grab your own, if you want to. Just DRAG the recipe card onto your desktop and you can print your own. {Google Docs and I are currently not on speaking terms, as it keeps distorting my images- even the pdfs. So whatever!} Oh yeah, and printing them on cardstock is a good idea for stability and durability.
I know that was a super easy project, but you know what's not super easy? 
Copying all my old recipes onto my new cards! Dope! 


I don't do a ton of kitchen projects, {because my rental kitchen is where inspiration goes to die} but coincidentally, last week I made my own vanilla extract. Of course I made my own printable for that, too. If you missed that post, you are welcome to grab that one here
And that, folks, is all she wrote. 

July 27, 2012

✥ Ammo Box Storage {+ other finds + my real life} ✥

This is a post about making do. About being happy with what you have, when you have it and about trying to make the most of, well, everything. 
You may have noticed, I hardly ever post pics from our kitchen. For those of you new to my lil blog, I am currently renting a condo. I know- rent the 4 letter word of decorating. It limits our design options and choices. It stiffles our vision for our space.
It's basically like throwing a DIYer in the corner for a time out and telling them they can't play!
And although I have wondered on countless occasions if my landlords would even notice if the cabinets were mysteriously painted white {because, would they??!}...Instead I decided to be grateful for what I have.
To be brave, and share a few images from my space. To share how I've given myself a few vignettes that allow my eyes to rest on something beautiful, instead of something honey, oak!!
There are a few other reasons for this post. 
I wanted to share the reason why why rent in the first place. We moved to Utah with the intention of going back to school. Both Zack and I wanted to go get our MBAs. So this last year we applied to school and we are A GO to start a fantastic, highly ranked, full time program next month!
I guess selling our home and down-sizing was worth it- because the plan worked! I am so stoked to be starting school with my best friend beside me! {Because, let's be honest, I probably would be freaking out if I had to go it alone!!!}

And although I said I've decided to be grateful for what I had, you know, rather than the alternative of being an ungrateful brat blogger, I can say I have a project up my sleeve that could do a little something awesome to this little room. It would not change the color of the cabinets and actually does NOT involve paint- but I've purchased the necessary materials and I'm feeling optimistic. :-)
So let's just call these pics- the "before" shots. Cross your fingers for me that my crazy, ridiculous idea turns out awesome. Cause I hate to have to come back and share a project FAIL!
Maybe you've noticed my "new" storage boxes above the cupboards? I used to have some Ikea crap boxes up there. It's where I store extra ziplock bags and foil and spices, since we have no pantry. They are military ammo crates and they come with authentic dirt, I mean patina! ;-) The wood is all gray and they are crazy sturdy. One of them is stenciled explosives, while the other says mortars.  Did I ever mention that Z was in the Marine's for 6 years?  So this is a little nod to his past and I love them. 

I grabbed this cute owl butter dish from West Elm the other day. {clearance}

Remember the vanilla I made 2 weeks ago?
And below- a new soap dish, also from West Elm.


Although this kitchen will never look like Karianne's or Kelly's. I guess, for now, it is mine.
And anyway, instead of looking at Pinterest all day, I'll be looking at text-books instead. I think I'll decide to be grateful for that! Wish me luck on the upcoming school adventure and with the zany project I am starting next!!


I'm also linked up here.

January 2, 2012

✥ "Expensive" Bedding on the Cheap ✥


Hello friends! I don't have a project for you today, but instead I thought I'd share my new bedding. Exciting? I'm not sure, but hopefully it's not too boring! ;)
We were in dire need of a change. Here are some of my inspiration pics.

The first is from  from West Elm. You can buy this Herringbone quilt or the Lexington quilt for $159. I do love the herringbone- but obviously not the price! That's not even considering the duvet- this is just a quilt we are talking about here.To recreate the look of these awesome beds I turned to Ikea. I bought the Alina coverlet in gray.

The second inspiration pic is from... dah, dan, dah...Restoration Hardware! Surprised...yeah, I thought not. I love the mix of pattern, texture and color! But obviously not the price, regularly the bedding sells for $279- don't worry though. It's on sale for the bargain low price of $219. {Yeah right!} 
I looked high and low for a duvet to match the beauty of the Restoration Hardware bedding. In the end, I struck out. Disappointed, but determined to find something- I took a look at the bedding I started with. Remember this pic?

This duvet comes form Target in their Fieldcrest line- but from many moons ago. I still love the simple pattern, but want to move the bedroom into the new color scheme for the rest of my home. I finally decided to use the duvet cover- empty as a sort of sheet for the bed.
Just as a partially temporary solution until the right sheets come along to introduce the same sort of subtle pattern and beauty.
I love how the gray coverlet brings out the gray tones in the taupe, rather than the brown ones. Yay!


Lastly, the new duvet cover hails from Ikea as well. It is simple white  fabric with a very subtle, tonal pattern {Alvine Medaljong}. So subtle that I had a very hard time getting it to show up in pics.

Here's Ikeas pic of the bedding- I think they had some trouble getting the pattern to show up, too!! That makes me feel better about my lacking photography skills! Ha!

 I pretty much got a whole new look for the same cost as the quilt from West Elm! And for far less than the duvet from RH! So what do you guys think?
I'm also linked up here.

October 13, 2011

✥ Get What You Want {Thrifting} ✥


A good, well constructed hardwood chair can cost a pretty penny.
Since we've gotten a new couch I really wanted a chair that looked aged. Something with a vintage feel and a softer shape to contrast with the modern lines of the couch.
Here are some of the inspiration pics from my chair file. I kept these in mind while "shopping" the classifieds.
(I am so sorry, but these were not originally intended to be in a post, so I don't have links for them, sorry! Please let me know if you know where they're from so I can add the links. )
I love the curved back, outlined by the dark wood frame.
This is selling for 649$. Love how it was upholstered with two different fabrics and also love the sloped arms. 
Look at the curves on this baby! That high back is total drama.
This chair with the crazy fabric is selling for around $3200!? Sheesh!
Here's a great "after," I like how this chair's a little softer with the curves and its legs are gorg. I think I'm headed in a similar final destination with mine.
This is the one I've found. It took me a few months to find it because all the chairs that resembled my inspiration photos were priced starting at $150. Not a great starting price when you add in the cost of fabric, paint, nailheads, and the lifetime it will take me to finish this project. 
Can you see my "new" 1950's fan on the table behind the chair? Love it!
After several months I saw this guy in a classified and I knew he was "the one." It had only been listed a hour when I saw the ad, but when I called it was already spoken for.
I hemmed, I hawed about how much I wanted it. Then I remembered a post called Criaglist Ettiquette is for Suckers from Mandi at Vintage Revivals. {Do you read her, if no- then you should. She's completely awesome.} She mentioned how she was trying to buy though the classifieds and the item, a chair I think, was already sold, but not picked up. She offered the seller more money and they said, "Yes." Bold move, right? Maybe a little sneaky, but you snooze, you lose.
So I did it. I offered more money. The chair was already priced so ridiculously low that offering more was still a steal of a deal!
Here it is the the space. There's a lot of wood furniture happening in this photo, I know. But don't worry, it's just the before pic. Most every piece of furniture we had has been sold, will be sold, or has an appointment with a can of spray paint.


I think the hardest part of DIY isn't the labor or necessary skill, it's having the patience to search ads for months for just the right shaped chair, then to deal with the before phase -like orange/red paisley fabric- while you get the project done. 
Speaking of a completed project, don't hold your breathe for the results on this one. It's my first real upholstery job, you know, not a ottoman or headboard, so wish me luck! Now get out there and buy what you want!


October 7, 2011

✥ "My" New Sectional? ✥


Here's what it looks like now, but here's a little story from the beginning.
Once upon a time a girl decided on a living room makeover.
She worked out a plan to sell all her old furniture and decor & then decided to spend the HUGE majority of the funds on the grey sectional she longed after wanted!
After many, many months a couch was finally decided upon and purchased from Bassett Furniture.
It had a foot print like this-
Four weeks later "a" gray couch arrived. 
Unfortunately, it wasn't our couch. I wasn't the couch we ordered. Here's a pic-
All the specs were right-size, color, fabric, cushions- BUT the footprint was wrong. It has a 90 degree angle at the corner, rather than the curved back it was supposed to have.
Bassett ordered the wrong sofa. {*Uggh} and {*Grrr}.
After two more weeks {of haggling} and {possibly some legal threats} the wrong couch was taken away. This blog actually helped me win our claim against the store!

They were claiming the delivered couch was correct and that we just forgot what we ordered. You know, sometimes people just drop a large wad of money on a sofa but have no idea what it looks like! {huh?}

Luckily for me, I was able to send them my posts regarding our purchase. Showing I did know the difference between a couch with a curve and one with a 90 degree angle. That proof {along with some legal threats} finally got them to remove the wrong sofa and promise that the new, correct sofa would be delivered in an additional 4 weeks.
For those of you who weren't counting, that's 10 weeks start to finish!
Unfortunately, my old couches were sold before the first sectional arrived.
So the living room looked like this for an entire month! {plus two days, but who's counting?}

This house may or may not have felt like a college pad for a month.

Very inspirational, huh? Doesn't this photo just make you want to take design tips from me?!

Maybe you guys want to pin this? lol  

Here's the long awaited for sectional, in all her glory.
It feels great to be grown ups again and the couch came just in time for my family to come to town- thank heavens!

Not sure that I could recommend Bassett to any of you.
In fact, they were supposed to have nail head trim applied to the bottom of the couch before we came to pick it up. Instead each Bassett employee had a different reason why it would now take longer than we were promised. So we should just come to get the couch and have the trim applied in home later.
Awesome. So glad they promised something else they didn't deliver on. {not said bitterly}
I do believe we have a sofa that is great quality and will last a long time.

{Update} I've been getting some questions about the sofa itself.
I kinda feel like a brat. I didn't even think to mention the couch's good characteristics or all the  customizable options.

Here's the rundown-
-We were able to choose from a bunch of different layout options. However,  our space allowed for only one or two footprints. I mentioned in irritating depth that we picked a "Curved Corner Sectional."
-We could choose from tons of different fabrics. Way, way more than all the other furniture stores and believe me; I went to every single one in my area. We picked a chenille fabric called "Smoke."
-We were able to pick the size of the couch, like the actual frame size. It's a "large" or "Manor", as they call it.
-There were 7 options for arm shape, we picked a track arm.
-There were 6 back of the couch pillow shape choices. We choose a box edge to keep things streamlined.
-Best thing about the cushions, ever, is the LIFETIME Warranty! How great is that!
-The feet-you can pick a skirted bottom for a relaxed, slipcover look- but we picked a regular old square foot.

The couch is a great combo of soft and firm. Soft fabric, very cushion-y, but also great support.
Everyone who has come over has commented on it, even peeps who didn't know it was new!

So you've seen the "in progress" photos.
I am totally dying to start the next projects, I have a great idea for my over the couch art and can't wait to make some curtains and recover my old ottoman and finish my side table project and reupholster a new chair {along with 1,320,884 other projects}!

Gotta get crackin a lackin!


I'm also linked up here.