Painted Table

I recently bought what I call a Key Dropping Table…a table where I throw my keys when I walk in the door.  It was more than I wanted to spend but it works very nicely so I kept it.  The only thing I didn’t like about it was that it was all white.  I know some people (ahem…Caitlin, I’m looking at you) love all white furniture, but I find it too plain.  I love furniture with bright colors and patterns that may not even go together.  So I decided to paint the table.  I had a collection of drawer knobs already so I replaced those as soon as I got it home.  A yellow one on the drawer and a multicolor flower one on the door.  Green is my favorite color, especially a citron/chartreuse green, and it can be found throughout my home.

Once I picked stripes I decided to make them get a little further apart as they went down the table.  I started with 1 1/4 inch at the top, 2 1/4 inches in the middle, and 3 1/4 inches at the bottom.  Then I decided I wanted the top to be blue just for fun.

I measured and taped the stripes off and covered the door and wood parts.  I started by painting with a brush but discovered I would been exactly 1 trillion coats so I ended up buying spray paint to finish the job.

The top now has my paper succulent garden and a ceramic beer bottle dish that holds my mail keys.

The door needs a little something and I haven’t quite decided what it will be.  I was thinking of painting opposite blue stripes or polka dots in blue.  I could mix things up and do a pattern in yellow or orange.  What do you think?

Young House Love Show House

Over the weekend, my husband and I made a day trip to Richmond, VA to see the Young House Love Homearama Show House.

Of course there were several other houses to see in the Homearama show, but we were mostly just there to see the Young House Love Show House. And let me tell you, it did not disappoint!!! You could tell from the beginning that the YHL house was different than all the others. The navy blue exterior made it stand out from the rest. (I apologize for the crummy pictures in advance. It was so hard to get good pictures with SO many other people in the house)

I had seen pictures of the house on the YHL blog in the past few months, but nothing compared to seeing it in person. Everything was so much more impressive! The kitchen was so beautiful and grand. I especially loved the leather marble countertops, navy kitchen island and the gold Shades of Light chandeliers.

Since seeing this chandelier on the YHL love, I have been enamored by it. It was more breath taking in person. They had this light made custom in gold for the show house, but I hope Shades of Light starts to carry it in gold!

The breakfast nook next off the kitchen was adorable. It looked so cozy and great for a large family. The table was HUGE!

Next, we went upstairs to the children’s rooms. The were so cute. I loved that they didn’t use the typically match-y children’s bedding, but instead mixed and matched a lot of bright colors.

The little boy’s room add a great little hiding place that I am sure any boy would love. I can see a lot of Lego play time happening up there.

I loved the pattern details in the flooring from the Jack and Jill bathroom into the little boys room.

My favorite room of the whole house was the master bedroom. It was so light, airy, colorful and just looked all around relaxing. I just wanted to get right in the bed and take a nap.

Even the laundry room was fun!!!

I wanted to take so many pictures but the longer we were in the house, the more crowded it got, until is was shoulder to shoulder and just a struggle to get into a room to look at it. Luckily you can check out lots of pictures and even more details and rooms at the Young House Love blog.

The best part is that they gave a sheet of paper out listing all the paint colors used in the house along with a detailed list of where items from each item room where from. I greatly appreciated this because I LOVED the soft grey in the master bedroom.

If you live in the area (or in my case, three hours away) I highly suggest touring the house. The amount of details in person is outstanding. If they ever stop blogging, they could definitely open and interior design business!

DIY Quote Prints

I love the TV show Parks and Recreation and found these awesome prints on Etsy with quotes from the show.  There are so many great quotes and I had been thinking about getting 4 5×7 prints to put up in my apartment but when I thought about it, 5×7 just wasn’t the right size.  I wanted full sheet quotes.  Well, those suckers are $26 a pop and getting 4 was way beyond even my imaginary budget.  It then hit me that I could make them myself.  I went to Google Drive and wandered through their fonts picking out any that I thought might suit the project.  Then I typed the quotes up and played with the size of the lettering and the fonts to see what looked best and took it all to Staples and had it printed on white card stock.  Guess what my grand total at Staples was?

$1.06!!!!

That’s right! It was $1.06 for 4 prints: 3 8.5×11 and 1 11×17.  I could have paid $113 to get the prints I wanted but I made them myself and I think they are spectacular!

When I brought them home I decided they needed a little something so last night I painted one with gold embellishments.  I really like it so I’m going to do some on the other prints as well.  I taped the print onto the Staples bag so it would stay still and then used two scrap pieces of paper to help keep my lines somewhat straight.  None of it is really all the straight so it all matches.

Five On Friday

ONE

Dana: Kitchen Rosettes

Last weekend I moved the rosettes I had hanging in my dining room into my kitchen.  I felt they matched my clock.  I love them in the kitchen!  We have to be a little careful about opening cabinets but so far so good.  Now my dining room wall is blank and a little sad but I plan on jazzing it up using this as a template: http://www.athomeinlove.com/diy-state-pride-artwork/

Not pastels and with some fun graphic font prints.

Caitlin: Pastel Gingham

I’ve realized that I have become obsessed with pastel gingham. My collection has now reached four pastel gingham button ups.

My favorites are these from GAP.

TWO

Dana: Factory Classic Button-Down Shirt in Printed Chambray

I had a light chambray shirt with tiny little polka dots that I LOVED.  Sadly, I ruined it in the wash.  I haven’t been able to part with it and it lives in the corner of my closet.  I ordered this one from J. Crew factory as a replacement.  Nothing will ever replace my original polka dot shirt, but this one sure does make me feel happy!

 

Caitlin: The Honest Company

Have you heard of Jessica Alba’s The Honest Company? I knew of it, but thought it was just items for babies. Boy was I wrong. They have so many items from laundry detergent to body lotion. After reading Emily Ley’s post about their products, I decided to order the free trail (you do have to pay $5.95 for shipping). I have only tried the healing balm and the face and body lotion but I LOVE them both. They work well AND they are safe and eco-friendly. I can’t wait to try everything else!

THREE

Dana: Parks and Rec

This is one of my all time favorite shows.  My boyfriend and I recently rewatched EVERY episode and it made me fall in love with every character all over again.  Each person adds such an amazing facet to the show and, most importantly, it makes me laugh so hard!

Caitlin: Current Favorite Candle

This is currently my FAVORITE candle. It smells so good and the packaging is on point! Win win 🙂

FOUR

Dana: White Low Top Converse Chuck Taylors

This is my spring and summer shoe.  I know you may be thinking that it is an odd choice but I can’t give them up.  The pair I have now has lasted 9 years.  They need replacing but I keep putting it off.  All I can think about is how white they’ll be when they are new.

Caitlin: Corn Hole Boards

My husband works for Bai Beverages (If you haven’t tried them yet, you should. They are amazing!) and asked me to paint corn hole boards for and event they had coming up. I finished them last week, but while I was working on them, Sophie decided to reenact the whack-a-mole game. Don’t worry. We didn’t bop her on the head.

FIVE

Dana: On My Bookshelf

My Beloved World by Sonia Sotomayor

http://www.amazon.com/dp/034580483X

Remember D.E.A.R. in school?  Well, do it now!  Drop everything and read My Beloved World!  This book is beautifully written and I love getting to know one of our Supreme Court Justices in a way we often don’t get to.  I knew very little of Sotomayor’s life before this book and after finishing it last night I now want to be her best friend…or maybe one of her godchildren.

Caitlin: Young House Love Show House

image via young house love

My husband and I are driving down to Richmond, VA tomorrow to visit the Young House Love Homerama Show House. I am SOOOOO excited. I have been making my husband read their book all week so he knows how amazing it is that we get to see a house they designed in person. And I may or may not be carrying my copy of Young House Love in my purse JUST IN CASE the are there so they can sign it. You never know 🙂

 

Happy Birthday Olive!

It’s my puppy’s first birthday!  We got Olive last November when she was 6 months.  She has been quite the handful, but we love her.  For her birthday she got a beef tendon, a new toy she will hopefully not be able to destroy, and a doggie birthday cookie cake.  I couldn’t resist so she got the beef tendon a day early.

To celebrate my puppy, I will now post an absurd amount of photos of her

Iceland!

Iceland is AMAZING!!!!

If you ever have the opportunity to go, take it.  We were there for 4 days and loved every minute of it.  We stayed in Reykjavik but went on The Golden Circle tour which got us out of the city and right before going to  the airport we went to the Blue Lagoon.  What a wonderful place the Blue Lagoon is.  Now here are some pictures!

 

And the food was some of the best ever!  I’ll post pictures of our meals on Thursday and some scandalous pics from the Icelandic Phallological Museum…it’s exactly what you’re thinking.

Pinterest Inspired

I was looking through my Pinterest style board this weekend, trying to find some outfit inspiration and came across my all time favorite outfit I have pinned.

I was staring at it and realized that I had just recently bought half the items I would need for the outfit and had the other half in my closet! Here is what I used to pull this look together:

I ordered the navy blazer after seeing The Northeast Girl’s post here. Gap was having a 40% off sale, so I snagged it for $52.80!

The pink pants are from Lands’ End. They are currently having a 30% off regular priced items sale so the pants came out to be $41.30. I have about 4 pairs of this style in regular denim and they are my absolute favorite jeans I own, so I can’t wait to try them in a fun, bright color!

This striped shirt is from J. Crew. Luckily I already have a navy striped shirt from American Eagle that I bought several years ago. I also already have a pair of gold Sam Edelman Gigi sandals, which are my go-to summer sandal.

I can’t wait to pull all these pieces together later this week. A perfect outfit for my casual office!

What is your favorite Pinterest outfit pin?

 

First Year Easter Basket

This is my nephew’s first Easter and I will take any excuse to buy him presents. I couldn’t wait to build him an Easter basket! He is only 9 months old, so I couldn’t go with the traditional candy and treats. My first purchase was a pair of Freshly Picked moccasins I have been dying to get him.

Once I had those, I built the basket around them. I didn’t want to get a cheap little basket that my sister would just have to store or throw away, so I bought a storage basket from Target and painted some fun, bright stripes on it. When Easter is all over, my sister can use the basket in his nursery for storage!

Since I couldn’t fill the plastic eggs with jelly beans, I bought a pack of cute socks and put a pair in each egg.

To finish it off, I bought the Runaway Bunny board book and some bath toys.

I am mailing it off today and I can’t wait for the little man to get it!

What are you putting in Easter baskets this year?

Household Items I Can’t Live Without

Happy Monday everyone! After spending Saturday straighten up and cleaning our apartment, I’ve decided to share six household items that I can’t live without. Not that exciting, I know, but I always love reading others reviews of items so I thought maybe you would like to hear a few of mine!

1. Woolite Oxy Power Shot

Unfortunately, Sophie has little accidents every so often, so I like to have some kind of pet stain remover on hand. I used to be a die hard Natures Miracle user until I discovered this. It is by far the best pet stain remover I have ever used, even on really old stains that I had already tried to remove with Natures Miracle.

2. 409 All Purpose Cleaner

My friend Ashley introduced me to 409 and now I don’t know I have ever cleaned without it. Her kitchen always looked so shiny and clean and when I asked her what she used, she said “409. ON EVERYTHING.” It is great for appliances, sinks, counters, bathrooms and everything in between. I have learned though not to use a lot in the bathroom with the door closed. The fumes can get to you after a while!

3. J.Crew Cashmere Wash

I have mentioned this product on the blog before, but I just can’t say enough good things about it. In the winter, I live in my cashmere sweaters but hate dragging them to the dry cleaners all the time. This wash saves the day and smells sooooo good. I wish I could wash all my clothes in it.

4. Boss Block Board Cream

My husband gifted me a beautiful wooden cutting board for Christmas and I really want to make sure it lasts. I tired this and one other cutting board cream from Williams Sonoma, and this is hands down the winner. It goes on like a lotion and brings the wood back to life instantly. I highly recommend it!

5. A Good Candle

Man, do I love a good candle. My husband calls me a candle hoarder, but I don’t buy it. What girl doesn’t have a basket full of half burned candles in every scent possible?! This Pomelo Lime candle from Target is currently my favorite. I am always a sucker for pretty packaging 🙂

6. Oxi Clean

With a white couch and white bedding, a good laundry detergent in crucial. I have learned through trial and error to use Oxi Clean powder as a supplement to our regular laundry detergent. I used to use bleach but realized that it was yellowing my whites overtime. This Oxi Clean is really great and can be used on other items besides laundry, such as your carpets and in your shower!

Do you have any household items that you couldn’t live without?

Painting Baskets

I was sitting on my couch last night watching The Mindy Project and I couldn’t stop staring at the baskets I have under my benches.

They stick out like a sore thumb to me. They are way to dark for all the bright colors I have in my living room. My immediate thought…find new storage containers! But then I remembered…I am trying to be better about spending money on unnecessary items. Plus these baskets aren’t even 2 years old. Then, these baskets from Target that I have been coveting came to mind:

My baskets aren’t as light as the inspiration basket, or the same shape, but I thought adding white to the top would still be a vast improvement. So I broke out my Martha Stewart craft paint in ‘Wedding Cake’ and began painting!

For the first coat, I used a bigger brush to cover more area.

 

For the second coat and for the bottom of my stripe, I used a smaller angled brush to get in between all the woven wicker.

And then I was done!

 

I only had time to finish one basket last night, but will finish the other tonight. After I am done, I am going to spray a light coat of acrylic sealer over the painted part to make sure the paint doesn’t chip off over time.

I’m wondering though, if I should make the stripe bigger? What do you think?

Also…this had given me a great idea for my nephew’s Easter basket! Stay tuned 🙂