Real Simple Love

So Im sure of you feel the same way about Real Simple Magazine as I do - Its pretty much the most amazing magazine and I absolutely LOVE it! The best part is everything in it really is simple and completely doable right!? 

Well what would make my love for the magazine grow? Um how about the fact that they featured my photo I posted on my instagram on their instagram and Twitter! PRETTY AMAZING RIGHT!?

This is our sweet Cookie who enjoyed the stud muffin on the June Issue of Real Simple:

AND here it is on Real Simple's Twitter:

AND on their Instagram:

Miss Cookie is totally famous!

P.S.. You can follow me on here on Instagram!

Tea Cup Candles [Baby Shower Favors]

Hello!! <3 Before my sister even got pregnant she said that she wanted to have a tea party themed baby shower, so when she finally announced she was going to have a baby naturally I though of a Tea Party Theme for her shower! You can view pictures of the shower Here!

For the favors I made tea cup candles which are something I had seen on Pinterest multiple times and thought they would be perfect. They are actually quite simple - a little time consuming but VERY easy! :)

Before I got started I found a great webstore on Ebay for my wax, scents, and candle wicks.  I purchased the coloring from Michael's Craft Store. I really loved the wax because it was flakes rather than a hard block which melted down so much easier. 

First, I prepped all of my thrift store tea cups by washing them. I then put the wicks in the cups and used hot glue to adhere them. My wick holders are coffee sticks taped together to keep them wicks in place when pouring the wax. Trim the wick about an inch above the cup - you can trim it down one they are done!

I also placed the cups in a cardboard box trimmed down to make clean up easier incase I made a mess while pouring ;)

Then using a double broiler I started to melt the wax -

Once the wax was melted I turned off the heat and addd the coloring and stirred it until it melted too.

I let the wax rest for about ten minutes before adding the scent, then I poured! 

They dried for about 24 hours before I removed the wick holders and trimmed the wicks. 

These would be a great gift, favor, or even perfect for just because!

What do you think!?

Kate Spade & Keds Love

One of my favorite blogs is Atlantic Pacfific, you can link to it here, it is written by Blair Eadie. She is pretty amazing and has fabulous outfits. I not only follow her blog but also her instagram and pinterest! This blog is the first place that I go to when I am in need of an outfit that is fashionable, fun and classy. ANNNNND I must admit I do purchase many of the items she wears or showcases because they are THAT amazing. 

One of my most recent favorites and purchase is a pair of shoes from  Kate Spade & Keds collaboration. I saw these Rally Leather shoes and instantly fell in love.

Do YOU love them as much as I do??

From Free to Fab

By now I'm sure that most of you know how I obsess on things - home things, fashion things, all things. Well, one day I was driving to work and I saw a pair of chairs in a garbage pick up pile on someone's curb - obvious they didn't want them any more. I kept driving and stopped about a mile up the road and turned around, something about the detail on the chairs just caught my eye. 

They were a mess, dirty and covered in spider webs, and left out side for what seemed like forever.

SO I dusted off the webs and put them in the back on my car and contented on my way to work. 

As soon as I had the chance I hosed them off and let them dry in the sun. You can see from the closer up they were pretty beat up. Once they were full dry I used the vacuum to get out all the dust and degree from inside the cane on front and back of the chairs. That was a challenge and I may or may not have included picking some out with a skewer. I slightly sanded them down and filled in a few places with wood filler.

Oh, I should also mention that I kept them a secret from my husband for the duration of the project. He knew I was working on something but just not sure what. I had such a vision for them and I knew if he saw them in their "hot mess" state he would have that forever in his mind :) 

Once they were totally dry I went to the hard ware store and picked up some spray paint. LOTS of spray paint. 

I wanted to do a dark grey at first but I couldn't find a shade dark enough so decided that a high gloss black would work as well! [Sorry for the horrible glare - painting at sunset]

I patiently waited a whole day between each coat which I never do because I wanted them to look amazing! After about three or four coats they looked perfect. 

That's when I got a little crazy- to add a pop of color I taped off and painted the bottom six inches of the front two legs hot pink. Yep, hot pink. 

After two coats and another day of drying they were ready for their high gloss poly top coat! 

Don't you LOVE the difference!?

I moved them into our house, made a black velour seat cushion for each, and a faux sheepskin pillow to modern them up!

 I also wrapped a turquoise floss about an inch thick above the pink to tie them in with the turquoise rug that is in our family room. :)

I still love the detailing on each of the legs. What do you think - worth picking up off the side of the road!?

MIND BLOWN!

Okay so a while back I went on a Martinelli's Apple Cider kick [yes, like I am five] and I was literally drinking a bottle a day. Living it up! And I started gathering quite the collection of those little white plastic caps that come with you can save for later, which I obviously didn't need so I would just toss them in the drawer. Then came the A-HA moment! 

Those handy little white caps fit most champagne and wine bottles. NOT all but most. And its way better than the cork and way cheaper than the fancy little gadgets you can buy. :)

Try it!

Back In Action

Its been WAY too long since I have been in the wonderful world of blogging but nonetheless I am SO happy to be back. In short we have gone under some major life changes in the past six months [all for the better I promise]. Even though life has been hectic I have still managed to find time for fun projects, new recipes, and LOTS of fashion. 

I can't wait to catch you all up on what I have been up to BUT in the mean time what have you been up to!? I'd love to hear <3