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