My Favorite Things

A la Oprah Winfrey...

It's myyyyyyyyyyyyy favvvoorrite thiiiiinnngggss!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

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Okay, so I'm not giving away trips, or VW Beetles, or jewelry on my blog today.

But I did want to do a post on 5 of my favorite things.

 

Let's get to it. In no particular order...

 

1. Maybelline Full and Soft Mascara - This has been my go to mascara since high school. I love how full and conditioned it makes my lashes without making them crunchy. I hate crunchy lashes. Plus, it's affordable and readily available at any drug store. Love.

 

 
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2. Hobo Lauren Wallet - This wallet is another one of my favorite things I've known about since high school. I recently got a new one in this awesome "leaf" color and I'm smitten all over again.

It was designed by women and its shows. It keeps me organized and can be carried as a clutch since my iphone and keys will fit in it.

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3. Le Creuset Dutch Oven in Caribbean - I didn't know what I was missing until I owned one of these cast iron dutch ovens. It was a gift from my mom and dad for Christmas. So practical. So beautiful. A perfect gift. I use it all. the. time.

 

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4. Philosophy Hope in a Jar - Really I could include the whole line of philosophy skincare products - it's all I use. But this stuff is like buttah. So creamy. So moisturizing. And lightweight at the same time. I can't live without it. Ironically, I think this was on one of Oprah's Favorite Things Episodes back in the day.

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5. Mrs. Meyers Cleaning Products in Basil - I'm addicted. It smells so good it makes me clean more often. And they're earth friendly, cruelty free, and safe to use around children, pets, and expectant women. I've tried just about the entire line of products and I love them all.

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So that wraps it up!

Have you tried any of these products?

If so, what did you think?

-Bethany

More Pillows!

Hello friends!

I hope everyone had a great Fourth of July. I sure did!

My parents were in town and we had a great time visiting and grilling out.

Today, I'm posting about a few pillows I made a while ago that I've been meaning to blog about!

(bad blogger)

In our family room we've got some couches that are leather and dark and overstuffed.

Can you guess who made that purchase before we were married? :)

For which, I am very grateful. :)

They are in great condition, just not what I would have picked out had I'd had a say.

Also, notice the raggedy pillows that have seen better days.

Mostly due to a white terrier, who shall remain nameless, that likes to waller on them.

So I made new pillows to replace the worn out ones.

I made sure to use fabrics that would help lighten up the sofas.

Here's how they turned out:

The larger ones were made from a designer remnent, my mom bought me.

(Hi Mom! Thanks Mom!)

I found the dandilion fabric 40% off at Hancocks. 

The larger ones are envelope pillows...meaning two pieces of fabric overlap

 on the back with no fasteners required.

 

The small dandilion pillows I added a zipper under a fold!
This may not seem exciting to you...but in the world of a beginning sewer,

this is HUGE!

Here's one more look!

Make sure you check back later this week for the biggest sewing project yet!

I'll give you a hint...24 yards of fabric were involved!

Have a great day!

-Bethany

Proposal Story: Like Something off Reality TV

Hey y'all. 

This post kinda came out of left field this morning as I was cleaning out my DVR,

 but its something that definitely holds a special place in my heart.

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No, not The Bachelorette (Although I do like some reality TV);  Prague!

This week Emily and her remaining 6 suitors were in Prague,

 a city that is very close to my heart because that is where Jason proposed.

Watching the show brought back some wonderful memories.

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We had our engagement pictures taken by an awesome ex-pat photographer, Kurt Vinion.

But that was after the most romantic proposal ever!

Jason rented out a chateau tower and had dinner catered up in the turret!

When we arrived, I knew he had something special planned...

the spiral staircase up the tower was covered in rose petals with candles lighting the way.

 

Once we got to the top, he popped the question.

And I of course said yes!

I'm so grateful that I've already found my perfect match and BFF.

Are y'all watching The Bachelorette this season?

After this past episode, I think Jef will be the winner.

Who are y'all rooting for?

-Bethany

Estate Sale Find: Turquoise Nesting Bowls

On Fridays, when my friend Toni and I are off  work, we go to local estate sales

to gawk at the trash treasure. We always have so much fun even if we leave empty handed.

This past Friday, I found these turquoise ceramic nesting bowls.

I love the textural rim and the beautiful color...turquoise is my favorite.

They have a nautical touch that's so summery too.

Have you found any second hand treasure lately?

DIY Disaster: Lampshade Saga

Warning: This is a long and wordy post. If you just want to see how my lampshade turned out, scroll to the bottom of the page,. If you want the nitty gritty details of how it all went wrong, start reading.

So as we are settling in to our new home, we are excited to be welcoming some of our family to visit this summer. I currently have 2 guest rooms, one downstairs and one upstairs.

Upstairs, I think I have everything a guest would need to be comfortable. 

Downstairs, I decided I needed to add a bedside table lamp to make our guests feel right at home.

And honestly I'm sorry I did because what ensued was one of my worst DIY disasters to date. 

Here's the story:

I decided I needed something cute yet inexpensive.

 And, if you've ever shopped for a lamp you know they can get expensive quick-quick.

So I went to Target. But I wanted something that didn't look like it was from Target.

There were definitely some cute lamps, but then I saw this.

And I thought, "Geez, it's only $16.99 and I could DIY on that shade for a custom look!"

And so it found it's way into my cart.

So I headed off the nearest Jo-Ann.

 At first I thought I would wrap a fabric on the shade to coordinate with the blue and yellow bedding, but nothing jumped out at me.

So then I was wandering the store for inspiration.

(This is dangerous for me. Usually I come to the store prepared with a plan of action. If I don't, I start to overachieve and it can get pricey. For an example...keep reading.)

Then I stumbled across these Martha Stewart stencils.

And I thought, " I can paint the lampshade with these stencils! It will be easy and so pretty!"

I even came home and took pictures to show y'all how easy and pretty was going to be.

And then I messed up. :(

I smudged some paint and the stencils were hard to line up to make a continuous pattern around the shade.

And then I smudged some more paint.

And then I thought, "I can't put this crap out in my house. Maybe I can just paint it solid to try to salvage what's left of a bad situation."

And so I painted it blue. 

But it showed brush strokes and really needed a second coat but I ran out of blue paint.

And I put it on the lamp and it looked REALLY bad when I turned the lamp on.

 And then I thought, "Now I really can't put this crap out in my house." 

And proceeded to throw the damn thing away.

So then I started shopping for lamp shades.

I found this shade at Wal-Mart  but when I got it home it wouldn't fit on the lamp.

 So I returned it.

I couldn't find the size drum shade I needed for less than $20.00 

and that was more than the lamp originally cost so I couldn't do that.

 Then I read this article on Apartment Therapy.

They made a lamp shade using poster board and embroidery hoops. 

But then I thought, " I can use the metal hoops from the failed lampshade". 

And I dug it out of the garbage and ripped the hoops from the shade.

Then I got some poster board and some clothes pins and started going to town with the hot glue gun.

At this point I'm thinking, " This could actually work! I'm going back to my old idea of using fabric."

Then, I went back to Joann's.

I found some pretty yellow fabric that mimicked the design on the guest bedroom quilt and some white pom-poms (because I saw this shade at PB Teen and LOVED it but sure wasn't gonna pay $50.00).

So after I ironed it out really well,

I used spray adhesive to attach the fabric and hot glue to hold it down inside.

And hot glued on the pom-poms, using clothes pins to help hold it on until it dried.

At this point I'm thinking, "This is so stinking cute! I am a genuis!".

Until I installed that bad boy.

I glued the pom-poms on the top instead of the bottom.

I tried to rip off the pom-poms but the glue was already dry and

 I couldn't get them off without ripping up the whole shade.

So I gave the lampshade a haircut. I trimmed the pom-poms off and just left the ribbon trim on top.

By some act of Providence, I had just enough pom-poms left to go around the REAL bottom of the shade.

And this is how it turned out. Finally!

Do y'all have any DIY Disasters?

-Bethany

Master Bedroom Updates

So over the past couple of weeks I've made a couple of updates to our Master Bedroom.

This is what our bedroom looked like before...

The blue bedside table was mine from my childhood room that we painted with Aubusson Blue Annie Sloan Chalk Paint. It turned out to be too deep for the room, so we dry brushed Old Ochre Chalk paint over it.


The other bedside table, finally got a skirt and a glass top!
I may never make another round table skirt because of the blood, sweat, tears, and curse words that went into it, but I am happy with how it turned out.


We also got a new headboard! We originally wanted the Raleigh headboard from Pottery Barn, but ended up getting the Carlton headboard from JCPenny because it was similar and several hundred dollars cheaper.  


I also decided that the bird duvet and shams were too busy even though I loved the print, so I broke up all the print by layering in the Fieldcrest Matelasse Coverlet from Target.

So here it is now...

Here is a close up of the Chalk Paint bedside table.

Before

After

And here is a close up of the finished table skirt.

So I feel like we're close to having this room finished. 
I have some leftover table skirt fabric to make a toss pillow or two for the bed to tie it together.
Also we need something over the bed and over the dresser at the other end of the room.

 
 I feel like I will know when I find the right thing. 
Until then I feel like we've made some great progress!


-Bethany

A Room With a View

While we were at the beach, I was surfing the internet and saw this post 

by Emily Clark.

The patio furniture she bought was exactly what Jason and I had talked about wanting for our deck.

AND it was on  super sale at Utopia Target with free shipping. (Still is!)

So after approval from corporate (AKA the go ahead from Jason), I ordered it. 

I must tell you that after my wedding day and maybe one or two other spiritually significant moments,

 that was my peak.

Literally laying on the beach ordering furniture over the internet.

It just doesn't get any better than that. :)

So this is what our deck looked like before.

It was a large and nice but hardly an outdoor room.

Here it is now.

 

The furniture is even better than I was expecting, which is always great when ordering stuff from the internet.

Assembly was required but Jason knocked it out over his lunch break so it wasn't very involved.

(Contrary to some reviews on Target.com in case you're interested.)

The banana (swing arm) umbrella was a Southeastern Salvage score.

(Love that place.)

Jason found it for $89.00. Similar styles at Pottery Barn are $899.00.

Yeah its not as nice of quality, but for 10% of the cost who cares?

The  outdoor pillows were made by Yours Truly.

Just call me the Pillow Princess because there is plenty more where that came from.

We are really enjoying our new outdoor room!

Its a great place to drink coffee in the morning or relax in the evenings.

As always, thanks for reading!

-Bethany