You Know We'll Laugh About This Someday

Remember the every so hot combination of mauve, hunter green and brass in the 80's? Oh...and floral wallpaper...lots of floral wallpaper.

Oh, and we can't forget the essential coordinating wallpaper border.

And remember the florescent lighting, bad linoleum and oak cabinets in the 90's?

Well, I've been looking around at this here decade and wondering what we'll look back at and laugh about someday. Here are my predictions:

(PLEASE Keep in mind, I LIKE ALL OF THESE THINGS. Don't be offended if you have them in your home right now...I do too! I'm just looking to the distant future.):

1) The Tuscan Craze

2) Oil Rubbed Bronze: We'll think it's hilarious that we were all in a mad dash to spray paint everything in sight ORB.

3) Birds: I love birds...I really do, but I can just imagine them being the equivalent of harvest colored sunflower patterns in the 1970's.

Photo: Art.com

4) Burlap, Sisal, Jute, etc.: Again, these are a decorating staple for me...but in 10 years we might wonder why on earth we thought it was a good idea to decorate with a potato sack.

5) Beadboard: I HATE to even include this one because of my undying love of the stuff, but I have a fear it will be the dark brown paneling of the future.



What do you think? Do you agree with my list? What do you think we'll look back and laugh about? Let's chat :-).

Thanksgiving Table Decor

A few weeks ago I had grand dreams of writing a post where I showed you my own dining table with several different Thanksgiving table decor ideas. Oh yeah, it was going to be great. "Look at the fancy metallic gourds." "Oh, and see how easily you can made a centerpiece with nothing but twigs, berries and duct tape?".

Uh huh...that didn't happen. Honestly though, what was I thinking? I'm not even hosting Thanksgiving at my house?!

Anyway...my lazyness has now resulted in the ultimate lazy move...I'm now showing you some great Martha Stewart ideas....hee hee. At least I'm honest, right?

Enjoy!

Cheap & Easy Christmas Wreath (Sorry Pottery Barn)

I know...it's too early for Christmas wreath show and tell...but I just can't help it. Imagine your 5 year old jumping up and down and saying "Can we show them our wreath mommy?! Can we...can we?!!" Yep...that's me. I'm just so excited!!!

I admired this wreath at Pottery Barn, but not the $79.00 price tag (I'm pretty sure PB is going to start sending me hate mail...I'm sooo sorry PB...I really do love you.).

I knew I could replicate (does that sound better than "blatantly copy"?) this wreath inexpensively.

Enter my faux pine wreath (bought on final clearance at Hobby Lobby last year...it was probably $2).


A whole bunch of ornaments (some I already owned, and some I purchased...for a total of $5).


A few wire ornament hooks to secure the ornaments to the wreath (I wound them around the pine branches).


And voila! My own, lovely, easy, cheap, festive, sparkly...did I mention cheap?...Christmas wreath.

Um...please ignore the leaves on my doormat :).

This post is partying over at Kimba's DIY day. Feel free to head over for more great DIY ideas. We're also partying down at Cindy's party at Cottage Instincts.

Have a great Tuesday!

Giveaway Winner

I'm sorry for the delay in posting the winner of the $20 gift card to Little Ones. That Nyquil I took last night sent me into a coma before I could publish this post.

So, without further adieu, the winner is East Coast Suburbanite (the 40th entry). Congrats!

True Random Number Generator

Min: 1

Max: 61

Result: 40

Powered by RANDOM.ORG

To those of you who didn't win (and I'm so sorry about that), you can still buy that adorable hat or bow or bib for your little one at Little Ones.

I hope everyone has a great weekend! I'm off to chug some mint tea...dang cold...

The Look For Less: Pottery Barn Toile Bedroom

I haven't done one of these in a while, so I thought this could be a fun exercise for today. I love the look of this Pottery Barn room.

I love the contrast of the crisp white against the dark chocolate walls, I love the toile bedding, I love the airy curtains framing the bed, and I love the cute little mirror above the bed.

Honestly though, it would be impossible for me to go out and buy everything in this room from Pottery Barn. I'm not picking on PB here, I love them, but I just don't have that kind of dough. So let's look at other ways to create this same look, shall we?

Bedding:

The Pottery Barn Matine Toile Duvet cover is $149.00 for a Queen, and standard shams are $29 each. That's not terrible, but let's look at other options.

The photo below is from Overstock.com. I know this pattern isn't "toile", but it does give the same feel. The best part? It's $39.99 for a queen sized duvet AND 2 shams. Are you liking it better now?

This appears to be the same pattern to me. I found this on Ebay (here's the link). The 3 piece set is listed for $79.99.
Here's another option for you, sew. I know, it's a scary option, but I promise the sewing machine won't bite. And here's some incentive for you; this option gives you the freedom to create exactly what you want for CHEAP!

For example, here are two brown toile fabrics I found on Fabric.com.

P. Kauffman Central Park Toile in Chocolate: On Sale for $10.19/yard

Premier Prints Jamestown Toile Brown/Natural: $6.98/Yard

To make a queen sized duvet cover you'd need about 5 yards of fabric, and a flat sheet (which you may already have). At the fabric prices listed above, you could have your own toile duvet for $35-$50.

Tired of me beating you over the head? It's okay...You don't have to sew if you don't want to. Really, I won't make you...I'm not going to come to your house to check up on you. Just giving you options here :-).

Sheer, Flowy Curtains/Something to Hang them On:

The lovely Pottery Barn curtains surrounding the bed are $25-$30 each.

These curtains at Ikea are $4.99...a PAIR! These curtains are $9.99 each at JC Penney (they come in white).

But what do you hang the curtains on if you don't have a canopy bed? How 'bout a ceiling mounted curtain rod? Like this one from JC Penney's?

Or, you could get super creative like this gal and build a wood frame on the ceiling and staple the curtains on the inside.

I would also scour Craigslist and fleamarkets for canopy beds that you could pick up for cheap.

Finally, Paint:

The paint color used in the Pottery Barn room is Benjamin Moore Kona (AF-165). It is really dark, though, so only go this dark if your room gets a ton of natural light. Also, I wouldn't recommend picking a paint color until you actually have your bedding since you want to make sure the browns match. I know...I'm being ultra helpful here :-).

So Let's Price Things Out:

The Pottery Barn Room: Bedding $207; Sheers (4) $100; Bed $1,299

Our Super Creative Option: Bedding $39-79; Sheers $10-40; Ceiling Mounts for Sheers $20-60

And...that's how I shop. That's how super-tight-income-little-'ol-me can afford to beautify my home. I hope this exercise gives you some hope that you can too.