What to do with Cubes

As I was perusing Zgallerie online, I noticed a piece of art that seemed vaguely familiar to something I had created in the past...

Silver Cubes:

Gifts for the important people and pets in my life

As a small Easter gift, I decided to make containers that my mom and sister could store cat and dog treats/food in. Why not give gifts that benefit both human and pet?! I purchased two glass containers with lids that seal, for around $2 each at Home Goods.

Then I went to Home Depot and bought a can of window frosting spray paint. I made a template for dog and cat silhouettes using printer paper, although I would recommend a sturdier material. After spraying the containers, I patiently waiting for them to dry. Then I filled them with various treats for my favorite pets.

They turned out really cute, and all the recipients were very happy. This is a great alternate idea to having a jar engraved because its cheap, fun and doesn't require a lot of time.

Wine a little

As a lover of wine, I thought it would be fun to incorporate bottles into my home decor. At first, I soaked empty bottles in water to easily remove the labels. Then for a long time I just displayed the bottles on the table. But I knew I wanted something more out of them. I found this awesome project on another blog. The project incorporated paint (which is my very favorite thing!).

1. Paint/spray paint bottles white. I actually decided to use beer bottles as well so that my boyfriend wouldn't feel left out when I displayed or favorite beverage containers.

2. Create a square template and spray exposed area with chalkboard paint. The template I created was cut from part of a box. I purchased the chalkboard spray paint from Home Depot for around $4. Remember to cover the entire area of the bottle that will not be sprayed with chalkboard paint...definitely remember this step, otherwise you will have to start all over...not that this happened to me or anything :).

3. Take off template and examine your work.

4. Touch up with white paint if you are trying to get something that resembles a square. The objects hanging out between the bottles were so the bottles didn't roll over...that would have been bad.

5. Use chalk to write a fun or loving message on the bottles, and display! FYI: chalk is very hard to find these days. Try Michaels.

These white bottles would really pop on a non-white wall. Good thing I am moving next week into a place that has been painted something non-white. Stay tuned to see pictures of my new place!

Easter Fun

Easter weekend was a busy one, flowing with creative juices. On Friday, my mom and I embarked on a half-day event of making Easter cupcakes. She purchased just about every cupcake decorating thing you can think of. We had a lot of fun. We did everything from frosting them to adding coconut that was dyed to look like grass. At the end of the day, both of us sat back and admired our creations---afraid to eat our masterpieces. However, we most of them disappeared by the end of the weekend.

On Saturday night, we decorated Easter eggs. We discovered that using the white crayon was overrated, and decided a sharpie would work much better, which it did. Again, we created some masterpieces.

My sister with her pumpkin-Easter egg

This one was for my dad...love you (and Walnut)

I hope you had a wonderful Easter weekend, just like I did!

LOVE-ly Flowers

My best friend is getting married! I am especially excited because I love them both so much and think they are the cutest couple I know. I received a beautiful bouquet of flowers from the Bride-to-be asking me to be a bridesmaid. Of course a said yes! I am now enjoying my flowers and the thought of being a part of their special day!!! Love you guys!

Meant to Be

A while back I saw the most gorgeous and creative porch project I had ever seen, and I wanted to copy it immediately. Please go to this site and you will see what I mean. I didn't have to do any searching to find a pretty close version of the wicker bench that they used. It was actually just meant to be...
A while back when I came down to Southern California to visit my boyfriend, before I moved, I went over to a garage sale on his street. As I was walking up, two women were carrying away this beautiful bench. I was bummed that I hadn't gotten there sooner, because it would have been perfect. The story picks up a few months later when I moved to that neighborhood. I was walking over to another garage sale (I like garage sales) and noticed what I thought to be that very bench for sale again. I asked the woman if she had bought it at a garage sale in the area a few months back, and she had. It's like it was meant to be taken home by me. I was so happy, and purchased it for only $30! Not it sits in the front room because it is so damp at night. I need to find a weather proofing method for wicker so that it can actually live on the back patio. Any suggestions?

Also, just to prove what a great deal I got, I found this one at Target and it was priced at over $100. Oh how I love a great garage sale find!

I'mmmmmm baacckkkk...

Yes, I have been MIA from my blog for a while; 4 months to be exact. I guess a lot has happened in the last few months. I moved to a whole new part of the state, I was unemployed, I was employed very part-time, I was employed full-time by another company, shortly after I was promoted. As all of this was happening, I managed to put my blog on the back burner for a while...but the projects did not stop. Hopefully I can begin to catch up on sharing projects that I have completed since I have been in this condo...before I move again (which is next month!).

So here is a project that was very simple in nature...although it took me FOREVER to find the right shade.


So this is the standing lamp in my room. I originally purchased it from Walmart a little over a year ago. It came with a hideous lamp shade, not pictured above-that is the second lampshade living on top. In an effort to make my lamp feel more modern, without spending the big bucks, I bought a can of chrome spray paint from Home Depot for around $4. I spray painted the base, super easy! The hardest part of the entire project was finding a lamp shade that I liked. I finally found one at Target for $24.99. Total cost of a brand new lamp, about $30. I have priced similar style lamps at various stores and have not found anything less than $100 lately, so I would say that's a pretty good deal.

My pictures are horrible...I was just so excited to start blogging again that I couldn't wait until daylight to snap some pics.

Thankful For...A Good Deal

A recent, and much needed trip to Pottery Barn left me inspired. What caught my eye in the store were all of the beautiful centerpieces. With Thanksgiving and Christmas just around the corner, I thought it was a perfect time to add a festive centerpiece to my table. My inspiration were these two in particular. Although the ideas were more Christmas related, I thought something similar would look just as cool for Thanksgiving.

So I headed to a few places...

I found an assortment of pumpkins and squash at the grocery store for about $10.

I found inexpensive white candles in varying sizes at Michaels. I also purchased some vase fillers (coffee and other beans) for a total of $20.

Finally, I found an assortment of glass vases from Ross. I also added a few more from my own collection. The total for three vases was $20.

Ok, so the total was $50 and that may seem like a lot. But I think of it as an investment. The vases, filler and candles will be reused for my Christmas centerpiece (so stay tuned). So if you think about it, I really only spent $10 for the pumpkins and squash that will last until I can start decorating for Christmas, which I am pretty excited about!

The only thing I can think of adding is a runner in a neutral color. But for now I am happy with it.

Unemployed and Expanding My "Want" List

I want this lamp...just maybe in a different color. I love both colors, the greenish blue and the orange, but neither will match anything in my house. I found them at Home Goods-love the store-for only $39.99!!! Maybe I can find a way to make the greenish blue work, but it is such a hard color to match.

Billy Mays Here!!!

It's a belated Halloween post, but I had to share my boyfriend's costume because it's home related. Previous endorser of some awesome home related products is Billy Mays! Some great products I recommend are Mighty Putty, OXICLEAN, Orange Glo and my favorite, the Hercules Hook. So here is a picture of Billy Mays and then a picture of my boyfriend on Halloween. He was so excited to dress up and use some of Billy's favorite products!

DIY Therapy

Nothing can put me in a better mood quite like doing a DIY project. I was a little bored and sad one day and I just needed to paint! I had a small can of sample paint I got from Home Depot a few months ago in an effort to get the ball rolling on painting the condo. However, my boyfriend and I agreed that we wouldn't paint until I got a job. I felt bad not putting the paint to good use, especially since it matched my duvet cover perfectly. So I roamed my room, looking for something easy to paint. And this is what I found...

A greenish leaf lamp. The lamp was serving its purpose by providing light, but definitely not providing any eye appeal. What a perfect thing to paint!

I used a cheapo paint brush, that I also had lying around, to cover the lamp with three coats of paint. And less than 24 hours later, the lamp returned to my room looking 100% better!

It's a little hard to see the true color, which is a light blue grey. The color is Rhino by Behr.

Is DIY used as therapy for anyone else??? I felt so much better-and more accomplished after this little project.

My First Visitor

I spent half the day last Friday preparing for my sister to see my new place for the first time. I definitely did not want to disappoint since I had spent weeks talking it up. I mopped, I dusted, I disinfected...And finally, I put the finishing touches on her room. I made the pull out couch into a comfy bed with a down comforter and plenty of pillows (even one with a picture of us on it-how cute). In a basket on the bedside table, I put a beach towel, bath towel, wash clothes and some toiletries as if she were staying in a hotel. She loved the extra touches that made her feel like a special guest, because she was-my first overnight visitor! Thanks for visiting sister!

And everything was taken from my stock at home. The basket was lying around. I took the towels from my abundant towel collection. I have a case of hotel toiletries that I collect from hotel stays that are perfect for traveling or giving to overnight guests. Depending on where you live, you can add things like a beach towel, sunscreen or Solarcaine-like I did since we live near the beach. I even gave her the red bath towel because I know she loves the color. The ideas are inexpensive, but thoughtful and really go a long way in making your guests feel special and prepared for the weekend activities.

So, in case this post hasn't made it clear, I like to pamper my guests-so please come visit!!!

So Cheap, I Practically Stole Them

I generally don't like to tease myself by going places when I don't have money, but it's hard to pass up a garage sale when it's on your street! I walked down the street last Saturday with our dog, and stumbled upon a garage sale-ok, I knew there was one on our street so I went looking for it! I had no money on me, but just thought I would look. The guy who was having the sale was moving and getting rid of a few plants. I asked how much the larger plants in pots where and he said...$1. I thought it was too good to be true, considering the plant was probably between $5-$20 (my wide range is due to my lack of buying plants) and the pots were probably worth $20. He was also throwing in plant stands. Obviously this was a steal. So I said I would be back and rushed home to break open my piggy bank, literally, it broke :( I walked back, looking like a kid in a candy store, with a plastic bag full of quarters-no joke! But who cares because I scored 5 plants, 5 pots and 3 plant stands for....a whopping $3.50. Totally worth it. Now let's hope I can keep them alive!

A Cheap Date

I have been sticking to my plan of spending as little money as possible, and I have to say I am really proud-and surprised. It has been rough not being able to go to the gym (or leave the house for fear of spending money!), but my bf and I have managed to keep up with some exercise. The other night we went on a 10 mile bike ride along the beach. Yes, it was to have a drink, but it was happy hour-so that was cheap. On the way back we spent about an hour searching the beach for seashells and found a tide pool that was full of cute little crabs and other sea life. So we brought a few seashells home. I was contemplating how to display them as they soaked in a solution of 50%, 50% water (I did some research).

When they were clean, I decided to plop them into our fish, Moses' tank. Because we live so close to the beach now, I thought he should be able to enjoy the sights too! So far he is loving his beach themed tank. I wonder if I could add sand?

I thought I would share this beach find. This piece of seaweed is huge-and exactly why I do NOT like swimming in the ocean. Imagine one of these things wrapping around your leg!!!

Climbing the last hill to our house on our bikes, we stopped to look at the beautiful sunset. It was a fun little date night-and oh so cheap. I think we will do it more often!

From Fun to Fun-ctional

I still absolutely love my huge coffee table from Z Gallerie. Everyone who comes over comments on just how cool it is. There is just one problem. I am so protective of it that I don't like things to rest on it. But isn't that what a coffee table is for?!? So I went on a search for a solution to this problem. At first a thought adding a glass top would allow the table to be fully functional. However, after calling a few glass companies, I discovered that it would cost around $150 to cut a piece of glass this big. So I went for a more affordable solution. And the table went from something that looked fun...

to an actual functional table. I purchased this huge round serving tray from Pier 1. Now it provides so much function for the table. I can put candles, keys, phones, remotes, drinks and appetizers on the tray without feeling nervous about ruining the table! And unlike the glass top, I don't have to worry about cleaning fingerprints all the time. I am so happy. The round tray mimics the pattern in the textured table. And the color of the wood matches perfectly with the reddish brown leather couches. Problem solved!!!

Oh Spray Paint, How I Love Thee

What do you do when you have an abundance of black frames, but wish they were white?

-Go to Home Depot
-Buy two cans of Rustoleum White Semi Gloss spray paint
-Clean all frames, take out glass and pictures and set aside
-Put cardboard on floor outside to protect the ground and place frames on cardboard
-Spray paint evenly over all frames until they are white
-Let dry for a few hours in a ventilated area
-Lay out frames on floor inside to find a pattern to place on the wall
-Hang 'em up
-Sit back and admire your wall of frames

Instead of spending $$$ on all new white frames, for just under $8 I was able to get 11 new white frames and have a little fun with a DIY project. Cheap and easy and pretty. Thank you spray paint!

Trick or Cheap

Being jobless=being moneyless. So this year's Halloween decorating budget=$0. Thankfully I had a few things lying around-as in a few bags of cobwebs and plastic spiders and one skull candle. It's not much, but it still looks like Halloween at my place. Anymore cheap decorating ideas-send 'em my way!

Room With A View

After a ton of unpacking and organizing and cleaning and doing it all over again, I can finally get back to blogging. Although there hasn't been a lot of down time, I make sure to take some time to check out my view everyday. So I just wanted to share. This should make some people jealous and want to come see this view for themselves (hint, hint).