Monday, December 17, 2018

Hula Hoop Wreath

I saw this idea on Instagram a few weeks ago and saved the post to come back to if I had time to do this before Christmas and lo and behold, we finally were at home most of the weekend and I could do a little DIY.  I loved how simple and elegant the ring wreath looked and who would have thought it's actually a hula hoop?  Saturday afternoon, Beckett and I were cleaning out old toys when I came across his old hula hoop and thought if MAYBE I could scrounge up enough remnants throughout the house, I could make one.  
I never realized that underneath the hoola hoops that are covered in holographic stickers is just a plastic black base.  It took a good bit of peeling, but finally I was left with a black hoop to use for the base.  I had Chad poke a hole on the backside to drain the water out of the hoop so that it wouldn't put strain on bottom end once it was hung.  

After rummaging through the attic, I came across a box of cheap wired garland I used outside a few years ago. I think I originally got it from Target  and it's $2.80 for 9'.  I tightly wound the garland around the hoop on one end, fluffing out the sprigs to look as full as possible.  Now I'm left with a base that I can easily slip other garland remnants into.
I remembered my front door wreath had green berries, so I snipped a few long strands off of it on the backside of the wreath without leaving a gap.

My tree in the bonus room is a faux tree that has tiny pinecones, so from the backside of the tree, I snipped a few branches off in an inconspicuous place.

It still needed something else, so I snipped a few faux magnolia leaves from the garland on my dining table. 

It needed a simple swag of ribbon.  I large wired bow would ruin the simplicity of it.  I was lucky enough to have found 2 pieces of leftover ribbon, I ironed out with my flat iron, and tucked it right in the middle to finish it off!

This whole project took 20 minutes tops.  I hung it with a command hook in my window and tada! 

No hot glue, not wiring!  And best of all, I didn't purchase one single item to do this!

Happy Monday!

Wednesday, December 12, 2018

Chalk Paint Revamp

Over the summer, I decided to revamp a few dark wood pieces in our home.  I painted a dresser, a chest of drawers, and this hallway table in about 2 weeks time.  Painting has never been my favorite thing, but I was surprised at how easy and quick I turned these around.
I should have gotten better pictures of how dark it looked in this hallway downstairs right before I painted it. I stole this shot from the house tour tab that I desperately need to update.  

Here's where my project began.  (The dresser in the background also got a revamp, but I'm still working on styling the bonus room and making some changes and mounting the tv, so more to come on that).  I didn't take pictures of step by step progress, but there are plenty of tutorials on Pinterest and a quick google search will help you if you're new to the chalk paint process.

I started off by removing the handle hardware and giving it a good sanding and wiping off all the dust from sanding before I started my first coat.
The color that I used was "Garden Trowel" by Magnolia Home from Target   I used a chalk paint brush from Amazon to apply the paint.  If you've never used chalk paint before, the first thing you'll notice is that it dries super fast.  I applied long, consistent brush strokes to obtain a more matte, clean finish.  (There are plenty of blogs and info online about this, so you may want to let the experts explain better than I can).  I let that coat dry overnight and repeated the process the next day with a second coat.  
*Note: With all three of these projects I had a few spots where the paint looked like it hadn't dried and was darker.  I just resanded the area and touched up the paint and you couldn't tell.  
After the second coat dried overnight, I applied a thin layer of Rustoleum Matte Clear Topcoat.  This evens out the color and protects the finish, and I read a few different reviews that stated this was easier to apply than the traditional wax finish for chalk paint.  


I finished it off with the same modern brushed gold pulls I used for the downstairs dresser (especially since I had 4 leftover from the dresser project and it meant not having to look for new pulls since these fit.

I like this table so much better upstairs and the lighter shade is a better contrast with the dark hardwoods.

My next project is painting my granny's corner cabinet in my dining room, but I'm having a hard time deciding on a color.  Once the holidays are over, my plan is to work on whipping the dining room into shape since I'm happier with it now that the furniture has been rearranged! 

Happy Wednesday!

Wednesday, December 5, 2018

Why it's all worth it....

Lately I've been highlighting in my Instagram stories, other accounts that I follow and enjoy their aesthetic or style.  I was going to share a particular one this week, but I couldn't just add it to my story feed.  It deserved more, because this girl is one of my biggest, loudest cheerleaders, my eternal friend, and in all honesty, I've been meaning to tell you all about her for a while....because I met her through blogging.  I know I don't have a huge following, and I'll never let that bother me because, through this outlet, I got to meet one of the best human beings I've ever known.
In 2012, another interior design blog featured my home for their series "Feature Fridays" and Angie started following my blog. At some point in time, we started emailing, she had some questions about a sunburst mirror I posted about that she and her sister ended up purchasing as well.  The emails got longer and longer, and turned more from just home decor and my low carb lifestyle, to more personal things like family and where we each grew up.  Eventually we started texting, and after a few weeks of texting back and forth, we ended up on the phone.  And boy, do I remember that conversation like it was yesterday.  We sat up and talked until the early hours of the morning and that night I knew, I had a friend for life!
Eventually, after months and months of texting and talking on the phone, her insanely trusting and loving husband, agreed to put their family of 4 in the car and make the trek from Selma, Alabama to come stay with us in our 13 Acres outside of Columbia, South Carolina.  I remember Chad being so nervous by all of this.  Were we crazy enough to let 4 complete strangers stay at our house?  We must be out of our minds right?  What if they are serial killers or part of some cult or scam?  What if they rob us blind?  But by the time they packed up to go home and Angie and I said our tearful goodbyes, Chad understood why I felt so at ease having these strangers come to our home.  Meeting her for the first time was surreal.  It's like we hadn't missed a beat and we'd known eachother our entire lives.
 First trip to SC, back in 2014 
We still talk and text almost daily.  Her family is one of the kindest, most loving group of people you'll ever meet.  For the longest time, Chad would refer to her as my 'internet friend.'  But now, before we get off the phone, he's normally in the background yelling "ask her when they're coming back to see us!"

I'm so blessed to call her my friend.  I'm so glad she's nosy and outspoken and asks a million questions because if not, I never would have found her.  And I'm SO proud of her!!  
Angie and her friend Lauren have started a new business called Fuel Good Co and I just can't tell you how over the moon excited I am for them!  
When Angie visited me on one of her trips here a few years ago, I could tell she'd gained a good amount of weight.  She'd struggled with Diabetes, Hypothyroidism and Hashimoto's disease.  Shortly after that trip, she changed her eating habits, cut out certain items from her diet, and managed to lose 40 pounds!  She and Lauren have developed a plan that now has consistent testimonials and success.  This is a completely different way of looking at food, nutrition and some incorporated intermittent fasting (which I SWEAR by for a jumpstart) and a lifestyle change that I believe changes the way you think about food for good!   

If you're interested in seeing what the plan is all about, visit their website here.  

Angie is firecracker!  She's loud, fun, energetic and makes everyone feel special. There are days after I've gotten off the phone with her I feel terrible that I didn't have time to ask her about her day or what's going on with one of the kids, etc, because she'd been drilling me with 25 questions from start to finish.  I know that as a coach in this new adventure, she's amazing!  I love her motivation and spunk!!  

This post was more like a 2 for 1.  You got some information on a new business that I feel deserves a huge shout out and the story of how we invited strangers from another state to come stay in our house having never laid eyes on them.

Sometimes I wonder if all this is worth it, sharing our home, my stories and my obsession with changing things in our house, but then I remember it's all WELL worth it.  I made lifelong friends who I admire and love so much!  My only regret is that we are physically so far apart, but I know she's always a phone call away when I need her.

Love you Angie, Robin, Wiley and Alice!!!  
Go Cocks and Roll Tide! (sorry Rob) 

Monday, December 3, 2018

Federal Mirror

A few years ago, my mom and I were shopping in her favorite thrift shop in Hilton Head.  I came across this wooden federal mirror with a gorgeous convex glass.  These had gained HUGE popularity (again) at the time. I had spotted them all over Pinterest, blogs and magazines.  This one was a good size, a nice wood frame and absolutely stunning!  I urged my mom to buy it and for only $40, even she couldn't pass it up.

Fast forward a few weeks.  She decides it needs a coat of gold paint (like the pictures of ones I'd shown her), she rimmed the inner band in black and hung it above her mantle.  It really was beautiful!


Now.....fast forward a few years.  We buy a new king size bed.  Check.  We buy new blue and white bedding.  Check-check.  Now we have a new problemo.  The large painting my mom had painted that once hung above our bed is too large with the new tall headboard, so for the time being I moved the starburst convex mirror that lived at the landing at the top of the stairs to above our bed.

Former master bedroom


Convex mirror, convex mirror.  Blue and white, blue and white.  Now I'm starting to obsess over the fact that my mom possesses this stunning federal mirror that would look KILLER above my new bed.  I couldn't just steal hers away so I ordered one on etsy that I THOUGHT looked the same.  I also fudged the measurements, so when it came in, it was not only a fourth of the size of hers...but not wood...something like a heavy resin or plastic!  How I missed this in the listing is beyond me.  Now I was out $75 and stuck with a wannabe version of the more beautiful reproduction mirror that I REALLY wanted.

With a little bribing, I convinced her to trade mirrors.  She did it because she loves me so much....that and I begged and whined about how my blue and white bedroom was calling it's name.

Every time she walks through my bedroom she says how really beautiful is DOES look in my space, and I smile and think about how you really will give your kids anything they want if you have the means to.  Even if they take the wall decor right off your wall and replace it with crappier, chintzier version.
Thanks, mom!
Happy Monday!