Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Small Change = Big Impact

After a long time away from blogging, I'm back! Today is a pretty simple update. A few weeks ago I was browsing TJ Maxx, my favorite place for budget home decor, and I came across these two pillows:

I immediately thought of my Ikea rug that's in the living room:
Ikea
I made an impulse buy and grabbed the pillows! And now they rest here:


I think they tie the living room together much better than the old ones. 

Before:

After:



Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Trips and Weddings and Bears, Oh My!

Actually, there are no bears, but there are a bunch of trips and family weddings in my future!

This means I've hit a peak travel season and will be out of town for a big chunk of the next two weeks. If I get an occasional blog post in there consider yourself lucky! I'm not making any promises.

When I'm gone and you don't have this little blog to read, get outside. Spring is here!



Saturday, April 5, 2014

Best of the Blogosphere: 4/5/2014 Edition

Every Saturday I feature a blog post in the following categories: Simple Living, Financial, DIY, Before & After, and Random. Here are this week's picks:

Best Simple Living: Can we all just agree not to waste each others' time? It will be really great, I promise. Via The Everyday Minimalist.

Best Financial: 10 habits of financially successful people. Via Get Rich Slowly.

Best DIY: This homemade jewelry wall hanging sure beats my two nails in the all holding my necklaces! Via Design Sponge.


Best Before & After: The "before" is so horrid that the "after" could only be an improvement. Via Apartment Therapy.

Best Random: Hindsight is always 20/20, as they say. I wish I would have known about these colleges that offer jobs that go straight towards paying off tuition. Via The Huffington Post.

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Camera Problem & Closet Idea

I made a little change in my living room over the weekend, but when I went to photograph it, my camera didn't work! I identified the problem, which is actually in the lens. I'll likely have to send it in to get fixed, so I won't be able to take pictures for a while. We'll see what posts I can come up with sans camera! This is a try at that - an idea for a quick fix in my closet.

Take a look at this picture. Is there something that stands out?

To me there are a few things, but one in particular. That would be the plastic set of drawers that my boots are standing on. I bought this one a few years ago from Target, and as you can see, I've never quite succeeded in getting the labels off! I need to bite the bullet and sit down with some soapy water and get that stuff scraped off!

But then what? It is still white and awkward amid the navy/green color scheme I have going on. Same goes for the shoe rack, but I'm not ready to tackle that project just yet (nor do I have a solution!). But for the little two-drawered storage bin, I think I have a remedy. Removable wallpaper!

I've been eyeing removable wallpaper for about a year now, but have never taken the plunge in getting any. The great thing about removable wallpaper is that you don't have to use it just for your walls. You can put it on your refrigerator, a tray, radiator, or even frame it!

These are two of my favorite patterns that I'm thinking of sticking on the drawers.
Chasing Paper

Chasing Paper

There is also the option of ordering adhesive stripes and designing it all myself!
Walls Need Love

What do you think would look best in the closet? DIY-ing my own design out of the adhesive stripes or ordering one of the patterned designs?