Inexpensive Wall "Art"

Now if you are anything like me and can't stand blank wall after blank wall in a home but don't have the moola to purchase art you live by the theory of "if it can go in a frame... it's art" . Which is how we roll in this casa.

There are several low cost things you can do to add a little something something to your walls instead of just leaving them as big blank spaces.

I myself have framed coffee bean bags  and they are proudly displayed on a wall in my living room, seen in a previous post.  I have also framed maps I got from a $3 book of state maps  from TJ Maxx.  I chose three states that have had significance in our lives and framed those bad boys up.

My Aunt was kind enough to take this photo outside of a home on Caterina street in Italy when she was there and had it framed for me.  Obviously, her photography skills are waaayyyy more superior than mine. 

I just love the colors of the laundry and the shutters, such a simple thing but full of life and color.

Can I interest you in a drink?

So there is a trend I have been noticing in decor magazine and across the world wide web and me likey what I see.  I don't know if it is because of the down economy, the popularity of Mad Men or if this country is just filled with a lot of drunks (probably a combo of all three) but bar carts and other such related items are huge right now. 

Instead of having an entire space dedicated to a bar (i.e. a basement bar with cheesy dogs playing poker "art" hanging on the walls)  these are little vignettes  carved out of a spot in a room dedicated to the "drink".  They are makeshift in sorts and take up very little space but offer up a lot of opportunity to demonstrate your personal style and entertain your guests.

Here's a little look see on what I have been eyeing:

When space is limited who says your bar area can't serve as a side table?

I love the creative use of materials in this little corner.

I love the mix of the old gold cart with the wall color and little bouqet of flowers.

Again a multi-purpose space serving as bar area and magazine shelf with stacks of the iconic yellow national geographics at the bottom.

The baskets and foliage add an organic element to the bar area.

I love the old furniture with the modern ghost chairs doing double duty of storage and extra seating as well.

The battered industrial style cart with modern geographical art is a great use of space and design.

And if you are completely awesome you get to have this in your house... I mean shut the front door.

There's Been Some Baking Going On

There has been some serious baking taking place in mi casa as of late.  As the weather turns and the cooler it gets, the less I enjoy being outside...hence there has been some baking going on.  Over the last couple of weeks I have been baking up these little goodies, all of which I found on the oh so fab pinterest.  I will say I am by no means a pastry chef, my approach to baking is twofold simple and delicious.


Two Ingredient Pumpkin Cake

This one turned out ok, super easy and was good for just using two ingredients.

                                                          Cream Cheese Sopapilla

This one was amazing!!!  So good and very easy to make.

                                                              Honey Beer Bread

The bread was hands down my favorite, I made it with a lager beer and it was soooo yummy in this tummy. 

FALL!!!!!!!!!!

Fall weather has officially arrived here in North Carolina....and I'm loving it.  I have big plans this weekend to do nothing but relax, wear some comfy warm clothes, maybe drink some hot tea or a few glasses of vino to stay warm.  Who knows, I may get a little crazy and bake something up.

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Fabric Score

So I recently acquired a few yards of some pretty awesome fabric at an even more awesome price, $4.99 per yard.  I know, I know pretty insane right?  They were purchased at a really random store that just so happened to have some fabric scraps for sale.  With that said, I couldn't pick and choose how much fabric I could get because it was a "what you see is what you get" situation but I was stoked none the less.  Here are the pics of of what I scored.

 I got the blue/green ikat for $4.99 per yard for roughly 4 yards.  I plan on making a table cloth for my bed side table and a "runner" to lay at the end of the bed to tie the two places together and give the bed a pop of  the unexpected.  By the way this still retails at Ballard Designs for roughly $40 per yard.  Total score and the ikat is oh so trendy right now.

This one is actually prettier in person than it shows in this picture.  I was able to get just about 2 yards of this and plan to make a couple of pillows for the living room to add a pop of red in the mostly turquoise and greige room.  This is a Waverly print and is on sale right now at Joann's for about $30 per yard originally $50. 

I am so excited about my bargain basement finds and will be sure to update you on the completed products.

September 13

In less than one week the oh so fabulous Target is going to have their newest designer collaboration available and I am what you would call super excited.  Missoni will not only be offering up some killer clothing options for all ages but home decor items and a bike!  Here is a little sneak peek at what I've got my eye on.

Did I mention I am super excited!

I like pallets!

So what do two pallets, four casters, left over deck stain and a handful of nuts and bolts get you?  A new coffee table that's what.  We were in need of a coffee table and as always our complete lack of monetary support didn't warrant a purchase from a furniture store.  So my awesome husband quickly got to work tracking down two pallets that were in good shape, similar in size, shape and style....not the easiest thing to do we found out pretty quickly and after weeks of being completely pallet obsessed we found two that met the criteria.

Once we had our pallets we high tailed it to our home away from home, Lowe's Home Improvement, and picked up four casters and some proper screws, nuts and bolts and got to work.  Paul pre drilled holes that were going to connect the two pallets as well as the locations of where the casters were and that was about it.  After everything was attached and viewing the finished product I decided I wasn't a big fan of the "natural" wood look but didn't want to completely cover it in paint... so next best thing was the free left over wood stain we used for our deck.

All in all, it was a very easy and cheap project, the hardest part was just tracking down the pallets.  I am pretty satisfied with the outcome and it serves it purpose well.

So here's a little looky loo at the finished product...not bad for roughly $13. 

P.S. Please don't judge our completely "sad" little couch, we are in serious need of a new one but haven't found one just yet that works with the space and our budget.