Friday Fab Five

What a week! This marks my 12th day in a row of working...{darnit to working weekends!} So needless to say, I am R-E-A-D-Y for this 3-day weekend.

But, even with all of this working, I have found the time to lust over some wonderful things...here's my Friday Five:

{1} ZGallerie's Drake mirror that just recently hit stores...oooh so pretty, but sorta steep for my shallow pockets at $399.00. Boo. Buy it for me? I still love you, ZGallerie, and despite the price, I'm sure this beauty will fly off the shelves.

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{2} This new printable I made for my bar area...{currently making a few options that can be personalized and adding them to my Etsy shop soon}:

{3} This cobalt-like nail color from Essie:

{4} This painting at Cocoa & Hearts:

{five} This iPhone Armband

...and just ordered this armband from eBay at $3.97 and free shipping! Should get it by next week - this will make my gym sessions and half marathon training runs {as well as the half marathon} much more enjoyable!

So at least I was able to get one thing off my list {with the exception of item #2 that I made myself!}

Happy Friday! xoxo

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Oh My Gourd!

Do you even know what a gourd is?

I think for the longest time, I didn't know what these lovely little things were called:

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There you go. If you didn't already know, now you do.

You will be seeing these a-plenty at your local grocery store pretty soon, if not already. And they are usually pretty cheap...I tend to get them on sale at three for a dollar. I get a little excited when I start seeing these babies because, to me, it means it's time for FALL DECORATING! {Woot!}

Yeah, I get a little excited about fall decorating. It's pretty much my favorite season to decorate for...especially because I also get to keep this particular decor up longer than other seasonal decor {Mid-September thru end of November}. It makes me want to spend extra time on it...once Halloween rolls around, I keep the fall decor, but add some Halloween-y (is that even a word?} things in the mix.

And well, gourds are one of my favorite things to implement in my decor when this season arrives. They are so versatile...the possibilities are endless as to what you can do with them. I love to try and brainstorm new crafts...and I also like to get the boys some of their own little pumpkin gourds to paint as they please.

Here are some gourd-geous {sorry, couldn't resist} ideas for using these guys in your decor:

Trays are all the rage, so fill one up. I also love how the pumpkin gourds were cut in half and gutted to make candle holders...

Use them outdoors to create a "Welcome" display or just throughout your garden or your front porch to give guests the fall feel before even walking inside your home...

If you're crafty, fashion a wreath or a garland. Great items to use along with the gourds are pine cones, leaves and twine...

Create a unified design by spray-painting the gourds all one color...this gold was a great choice for fall...

Replace the candles on your pillars...

I've always loved the idea of using gourds as a place setting...great for Thanksgiving...

Fill a hurricane...or ten...{I love hurricanes, OK?}

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OK...and last but not least, these owls are just TOO cute...

Happy Fall Decorating...can't wait to show you mine soon! xoxo

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*All images courtesy of www.bhg.com, with the exception of the photo from Shanty2Chic blog, which was noted in its caption.

Coffee Table Books

I am slowly becoming obsessed with beautiful, big, chunky books as decor...for shelves, coffee tables, etc...{blame all the fab blogs I read daily!}

The problem with this obsession is that it can become an expensive habit, especially if you are really only buying the book for looks as opposed to reading through it. Many great books cost upwards of $20 or more at Barnes & Noble. This is why I highly recommend checking out your local thrift stores.

Check out these books I found at Goodwill the other day {I swear someone dropped off a ton of their old cookbooks because they had way more than usual}:



I LOVE LOVE LOVE that I happened upon a vintage Better Homes & Gardens recipe book that was published in the 1970s...and it's in great condition. Not bad for $1.00. I may even try some of the recipes as opposed to just using it as decor.

I thought this Charleston one was especially charming and perfect for my space {because I live here, duh!) I see it being a great conversation piece...it has so many great pictures of historic attractions in Charleston {and some BOMB recipes!}

When looking for books at thrift stores, I recommend taking a peek under the sleeve...sometimes it has more aesthetic appeal without the cover. See my books now:

So what are you waiting for, head to your local thrift store and see what you can find!

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A Drink For The Lady?

I am so eager to get started on this garage-sale-stand-turned-bar-cart project I mentioned in a post last week. I have so much inspiration that I simply haven't been able to 100% decide which direction I want to go in - color, etc. Do I want to go bright and vivid, vintage glam, or play it safe? {I think I can take Option 3 out of there, I never like to play it safe with fun DIY projects!}

Let's look at what I'm working with again:

I know she's not pretty right now...and I think I'm pretty sure I don't want to keep her black {though it does match my current dining table, however, I plan on changing up that table and chairs soon anyway...but that's another story for another day.}

I've already resolved that I'll need a piece of glass to fit the top...another option I've thought of is a mirrored top, but not sure I want to cover the geometric design of the top, it sort of gives it a little character. I want the glass or mirror to stick out a couple inches from each side. I would also love to find a way to get casters on the legs so it will actually be a cart rather than just a bar.

Here are the gorgeous bar carts that I've been eyeing for inspiration:

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The more I think about it, I'm leaning toward gold. It would play off the new yellow tones I've added to my home as well as be a bit glam...but we'll see.

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But a bright color looks fun too...



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Can't wait to get started on it and show you the final project!

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Weekend

Even though I worked both days this weekend, I tried to make the most of the moments I wasn't sitting behind a computer.

So first thing on the list of things to do after work on Saturday was hit the beach with my family:

Breckin's imitation of what standing on a surfboard looks like

 

It was so great to get out there and the boys had a great time - they just love the beach {who doesn't, right?} And luckily we weren't interrupted by an afternoon thunderstorm...those have been happening pretty regularly lately, but, as you can see, we were blessed with clear, sunny skies.

The rest of the weekend wasn't super-interesting...just did an Insanity workout and a 3-mile run around the neighborhood...and did the normal Sunday night hustle and bustle of getting everything ready for Monday - school bag, lunch bag, outfits laid out, etc. Fun, fun!

Hope you had a great weekend! xoxo.

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Tanner's 1st Day

With all the hectic craziness of last week and it being the first week of the new school year, I hadn't had a chance to post a picture of Tanner on his 1st day of 1st grade. Our county started on a Wednesday {weird, right?} and since I work early and am not the one that gets to take him to school each day, I greatly depended on my husband to get some good shots for me. {Unfortunately, he didn't complete my full request of getting some actually at/outside the school.} Since I'm working this weekend, I am just now finding time to upload them - figured I would use a weekend day post since it's more personal than on topic, hope you don't mind. xoxo

Tanner's Shirt / Tanner's Shoes / Tanner's Shorts {already owned} / Breckin's Shirt / Breckin's Shorts / Breckin's Shoes / Tanner's Lunch Bag {Big Brother gift from Uncle & Aunt when Breckin was born}

Sorry, I skimp on clothing brands for my boys due to their likeliness of ruining them quickly - outside play, food, mud, art supplies, etc...and Tanner's school clothes are of basic nature anyway since he has to follow uniform guidelines. He is only allowed a solid white, green or blue shirt {polo or tee} with no larger than a one-inch logo and his pants can be jean, khaki, or any solid blue or green. We unfortunately don't have a lot to work with, so I don't get to be very fashion-forward with his style. :-( But my handsome little man rocks it anyway {I know I'm bias}. 

Hope y'all are having a great weekend!

{Oh and God, please excuse the mess that is my kitchen! Blame it on the fact that I was working and Jake was in charge of breakfast! Ha!}

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Sunday Inspirational Thoughts

As much as we love fashion and having nice things...it is important we remember this:

May you continue to realize and be thankful for the many blessings in your life. Happy Sunday and God bless. xoxo.

{P.S. I made this!}

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Happy Weekend {For You, Not Me}

Hope you have a good one. xoxo.

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My weekend plans include working at 5am both days {so I'm at work probably as you're reading this...think about that, and know how lucky you are if you're not.} I get off at 1:30 each day though, so I'll try to make the best of it and see you back here on Monday.  xoxo!

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Friday Fab Five

I've seen this type of post done on Fridays around the blogosphere and thought I would join in on the fun. Here are 5 things I'm totally smitten over at the moment...

{one} This necklace:

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{a'la the Carrie necklace in SITC}:

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{two} Bar Carts like these at Society Social:

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{Psst...check out their fabulous and inspirational Magalog here.}


{three} Speaking of reading, I'm pretty far into the first of this trilogy on my Kindle and I LOVE it:

{four} This new piece of art I've started and am currently working to finish...thought I was finished, but the more I look at it, the more I want to make it even better and more detailed:

{five} Making lunches for my 1st grader this year that are inspired by this mom:

Tanner's 1st Day of 1st Grade Lunch

TGIF! Happy Friday! xoxo

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