Cacti Fun

Tad won't ever let me buy plants for the house. He claims that I always forget to water them and that he ends up having to throw them out. The only plant that has managed to survive (for 2 years now!) is a lucky bamboo stick that we keep in a vase on our bathroom window. It's only alive, Tad claims, because he is the only one that waters it. So not true.

Well, a month ago we were at OSH and I noticed these super cute little cacti. Tad told me that I shouldn't get them because I would end up killing them. I, like a little child trying to convice her parent that she can be responsible, told him that I would for sure take care of them and that I've learned my lesson. He gave in, probably thinking that no one could possible kill a cactus, and I picked out 3 little ones. They were the perfect size to fit into my cute vintage mugs. Well guess what? They are still alive (thanks to not needing a ton of water) and thriving (do I sound like a Kaiser ad?)

Outfit Details:

Top- made by me! (Sewaholic Patter 1001)

Skirt- made by me! (Kwik Sew pattern 3877)

Tights- Target

Shoes- Urban Outfitters

Purse- Target

Necklace- Forever 21

Do you have any houseplants...that you manage to keep alive? I know I don't have a green thumb but I'm trying!

My Very Own (Craft) Space

Happy Monday lovelies! I spent some of the weekend working on my new sewing/craft space in our spare bedroom. We just recently painted this room a bright yellow color- called pineapple crush by Behr- and I really love it.

It has just a hint of orange..very cheery, no?

I found this pretty blue table at Cost Plus and finally had a place to hang my blue shelf that I got from Etsy store Acountryway awhile back. I also found the "You are My Sunshine" prints from Etsy store TypePosters- I originally wanted to hang them in the kitchen but I think it fits much better in this sunny room!

Now if I can only get my hubby to hang them...

Do you have your own work space/craft space? I feel lucky to be able to have this crafting/sewing space of my own at home- it makes it so much more fun to be crafty!

Friday Favorites

Awesome, it's Friday- and not only is the weekend almost here, mine already started (I have a 3-day weekend)! It's my "birthday weekend" and I can't wait to celebrate with my best friends and family. Tonight Tad has a surprise planned out for me (I love surprises), then tomorrow I'm having dinner with my closest friends before we go out for drinks, and on Sunday I'm celebrating my nieces birthday! And on top of that, my birthday isn't even until Tuesday :)

Here are a few of my favorite things this week:

When I saw this duvet cover at Urban Outfitters last week I was in love! I was even more excited that it came in teal, which is part of the color scheme in our bedroom! It's also very soft and comfortable. The only thing is after I washed it, the ruffles don't like to lay completely flat- but I kinda like this "unruffled ruffled" look!

We finally painted our front door, which was just it's wood color before. Again, we chose my favorite color Teal! It goes well with our blue couch and adds the perfect pop of color to the room.

I posted about this chalkboard pantry door before but I really really love it! Right now, we're using it to write out our Summer Goals and our grocery list. I like making goals every season- it makes things seem much more attainable.

Tad gave me a sewing machine for my birthday and I love it! It's definitely my most favorite thing at the moment.

on sale here at Amazon!

I picked up this adorable fabric at Sew LA last week. I'm thinking of making matching skirts for my nieces!

Well, I hope you have a fantastic weekend! What are some of your favorite things this week?

Chalk Talk

A few months ago I was in charge of finding chalkboards for my brother's wedding. That's when I discovered chalkboard paint! I thought it was the coolest thing ever; and what's even cooler is that it comes in all sorts of colors. Since red was one of the main wedding color, I thought it would be cool to make some red chalkboards.

I just painted the chalkboard paint onto the glass of a frame

I started to imagine all the creative possibilities with chalkboard paint. I thought of painting one whole wall for kids to draw on (but wait, we don't have kids!), or painting the doors in our house like Elsie's (from A Beautiful Mess) bedroom door, but what I really wanted to paint most was our pantry doors. I thought it would be a cool way to write out our to-do list, grocery list, and to keep track of our busy schedule, not to mention a super cute way to write notes to each other!

It took some convincing for Tad to let me do it. But not without a compromise- instead of the whole pantry, he thought maybe I could just do part of it or little squares. I think he'll agree that it is pretty cool, yea?

It only needed two coats and I still have almost the whole can left! I think my next project will be to paint some of the many glass bottles I have lying around (I save anything glass- spaghetti sauce jars, pickle, jars, beer bottles, you name it) and use them as vases. I'll post pictures of those when I finish them!

Have you been inspired by chalkboard paint? I tend to get carried away with things so it's all I can do to contain myself from painting everything- I can imagine the look on Tad's face if he walked into the house with all the furniture turned into a chalkboard! Ha!

Friday Favorites

Hooray the weekend is almost here- happy Friday everyone!

Lately, my hubby and I have been doing some housework and home improvement- it's now been 2 years since we moved into our home and we've only just finished fully furnishing it. It's been tempting to just order from catalogs and I'll admit that I sometimes want to buy everything exactly as it is in a showcase room. But I really want to make our home unique and to find our very own style so over the past couple years, I've been collecting things here and there to decorate with. It's funny that it's taken me all these years to finally realize my personal style and how I would like our home to be.

Here are a few of my favorite things at home- looking at them just makes me smile!

My version of a milk glass tea station on a vintage-looking tray I found

I'd like to get this petite typewriter working so I can type cute notes to Tad on it

One thing Tad and both both really wanted was a kit-cat clock in our kitchen- I love how the tail moves back and forth

I love finding cute kitchen items- it makes cooking even more fun (one of my best friends gave me the teal pot)

One of my favorite kitchen finds from Anthropologie- giraffe measuring "spoons"

My ever growing collection of vintage cameras- they are so cute!

I still use these 2 all the time- I just grab them off the shelf on the way out 

Vintage polaroid vs. modern-day polaroid (those cat keychains of me and Tad were made in Japan..only in Japan can you find something like this in a vending machine haha)

I put my collection of tea tins (and Star Wars lunch pail) on our fridge- sometimes I fill them with fresh cut flowers

My elephant rag lady- she's from Thailand

My collection of my favorite jewelry- necklaces!

I love reading these prints- they still have to be hung on the wall but for now they are just hanging out

My favorite shelves with our wedding cake toppers

A new addition to the house but now one of my most favorite things!

Ok, I really just love this whole corner! Tad fights me for it though

I really love our couch and pillows- red and aqua is one of my favorite color combinations

I also love our rug; and most of all, I love my doggies! (pardon the dog hair on the floor- it's getting warmer so Buddy's been shedding quite a lot!)

We still have a few more things to do, like frame and hang up our black and white photographs from our film class, paint one room (maybe yellow), hang up a few more shelves, and paint our front door! So stay tuned for more photos to come later!

Have a super weekend! Here are a few fun links to leave you with :)
- I really love this rooster dress- it's so adorable!
- Such a cool iPhone case...hmmm, mine just happened to break so I may have to buy this!
- Check out this awesome fish tank!