We really tried to resist...

If you aren't a fan of the Fifty Shades of Grey series (or are offended by its content) then I would stop reading now.  If you are smiling at your screen thinking about Christian Grey then by all means, stay with me.  Rachel and I have an ongoing debate about who should play Fifty in the movie version.  No living actor lives up to the vision in my head.  Ryan Gosling keeps popping up on various gossip  news sites as being a front runner for the role.  Just to tease Rachel and to show off my Microsoft Publisher skills, I created this today....

And that's why I'm totally not feeling Ryan Gosling!

Xoxo,
Marlene

Summer Jewelry Love

Mr. T is over taking suggestions from my BFF when it comes to gifts...for Mother's Day I secretly wanted this...

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but instead, I received this...

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...and to be honest, while I didn't exactly want a clamp set for Mother's Day...I could use one and will probably be thankful for them soon. Not to mention the price difference between the two...

But back to the subject...recently I've noticed a ton of really great bracelets on Etsy. They are all so cute, it proves you don't have to spend a lot of money on jewelry. Here are a few of my favorites:

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Some of these would be easy to DIY, others...not so much. I am trying to get Marlene to open an Etsy store, but the conversation went like this:

I really didn't get very far convincing her of a store before she had moved on to diamonds...her specialty. I'm batting zero these days when it comes to the art of persuasion. Maybe I need to sharpen my skills...

Rachel :)

The Dutch Door

I've been noticing a lot of these recently...and they are making my heart beat a little faster...

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I'm trying to convince Mr. T how great a dutch door would be leading out the kitchen...so far my attempts have been less than stellar. Our handy dandy contractor was over this afternoon for a different project (more on that later) and when I tried to convince him how much I needed a dutch door. His response was..."well, you have a saw..."

Rachel :)

Recreating a $500 Wooden Sculpture

Pinterest. Ugh. Not only does it make my mind race with a million ideas, it was the source where Marlene found a wooden sculpture she fell in love with. A $500 wooden sculpture. Seriously.

Pink Door Decor

So for her birthday a few weeks ago...I (as in not really me, but Marlene) decided that I could recreate this and make it for her for much less. I can't complain...it's wonderful to have friends that believe in you more than you believe in yourself.

Mr. T bought a jigsaw for me for Christmas that was still in the box, so this was the perfect opportunity to break it in. After putting the blade in backwards, I did more than break it in, I almost broke it and cut my finger off when I made my first cut. It didn't take long and after a few cuts I was ready to go. I made a 12" pattern to use for each "petal" and used a cabinet grade 3/4 inch plywood.

After cutting and sanding with an 80 grit followed by a 220 grit, I used MinWax Weathered Oak to stain the petals.

I cut the base from a two inch thick piece of old wood, sanded it down, and stained it with Special Walnut followed with a second coat of Ebony.

The petals were put together with wood glue and held in place overnight with clamps...no nails or screws, which makes this two sided...yay! I cut a wooden dowel rod to hold it in place and used my wonderful Porter Cable Forstner Drill Bit Set to drill all the holes for the dowels. If you don't have this set, get it...it rocks my socks! After everything was dried and drilled it was ready to put together...

And again the $500 original...

And my $11 creation...

Happy Birthday Marlene!!!



Rachel :)

DIY Cake Pop Stand

It's been a few months...but what can I say...spring means baseball, ballet, school plays, and lots and lots of fun stuff to do! I'm still working on a few DIY projects, and today I have a quick, fun project to bring you. A few months ago, a friend asked me to help her with a birthday party she was giving. A grownup, "non-cheesy" birthday party. She wanted a dessert table set up with a stand large enough to hold a variety of cake pops (yummmmm) and miniature cones filled with mousse...

I took two unfinished, different sized bar stool seats...a large one for the bottom, a smaller one for the top and measured where I wanted the holes. The drilled size of the holes for the cake pops turned out to be perfect...easy to get them in and out, yet small enough to hold them up straight. Make sure to not drill these holes all the way through. That way you can pick up the stand without them falling though. I marked an extra pop stick with a line on how deep I wanted them to sit and used it as a guide when drilling the holes. This ensured they would all sit at the same height.

The miniature cones on top needed large holes that went through the wood. I used a drill bit from a Porter Cable Forstner Bit Set (best purchase ever) to drill these holes. When I was done drilling, everything was sanded, primed, and put together using a large candle pillar from Hobby Lobby (it was bright green in its former life). The finished product was sprayed in Antique White (one of my favorite colors) and distressed using Special Walnut stain.

When the cake pops arrived from the bakery (carrot cake in white chocolate and red velvet in chocolate), I trimmed an inched off the sticks of the white ones to create two tiers on the bottom stand. The miniature cones were filled with a variety of mousses (after I snapped this picture) and the dessert table was complete!

Yummy!!!

Rachel :)

sorry for the complete lack of pictures...i seem to be on the fly recently, only snapping pictures with my cell phone. email me with any questions!

DIY Jeans...Keeping the Original Hem

Last week I did something I almost never do...went shopping. For clothes. For me. Not my favorite thing to do (who needs to buy clothes when your best friend keeps you stocked), but Shannon managed to drag me to the mall for an hour of fun at The Gap. It also helps that her sister works there...which equaled a nice discount.

One hour, a few dollars, and some major dressing room meltdowns later, I walked out with a bag full. Two needed purchases: new jeans. I'm not really sure who they make jeans to fit, but it definitely isn't me. And it really stinks to spend money on clothes to turn around and have to have them altered. But, at the end of the day, the jeans were really long. As in way toooooooo long. So I decided to pull out the sewing machine and try to hem them myself. And to keep the original hem. There's nothing worse than a pair of badly hemmed jeans...well, there are a lot of things worse, but you get the idea...

Step 1: Determine the length you want your new inseam to be. Subtract it from the old inseam. Divide the difference by 2. For me this was 32-29=3. 3 divided by 2 = 1.5

Step 2: Make a cuff the size of your number and iron it down.

Step 3: Turn the pants leg inside out and stitch along the orinigal hem.

Step 4: Stitch up the side to prevent the cuff from falling down.

Step 6: Turn jeans right side out and press.

Some people might cut the excess fabric off. Because I didn't have that much, I decided to stitch the sides up and keep it. New clothes are awesome. New clothes that fit are even better. Especially when alterations were $0!

Rachel :)

Living Room Feature

After a much needed hiatus, I'm back with a few new ideas and projects going on! Today we are being featured on Remodelaholic...so head on over there and check it out!!

Happy Monday to you!!

Rachel :)

Happy Feet

I couldn't NOT share this find!  I will let the pictures/captions speak for themselves:

Stuart Weitzman Alex Wedge 

$365 at Piperlime

Mossimo Pam Wedge

$24.99 at Target

I got so excited that my 6 year old had to remind me we were actually at Target to buy a birthday present for his friend!

XOXO,

Marlene

Fashion Friday...Spring's Hottest Shoes

Allow myself to introduce...myself (what, you're not an Austin Powers fan?).  I'm Marlene.  Better known as the "Accessorize" portion of this blog.  Yes, I've been delinquent in my posts, but quite frankly, Rachel just does an outstanding job and I lost interest.  She begged me to do a Fashion Friday, so here I am.

I've been on a Spring shoe kick for the last week.  Here are my purchases:

Toms Ballet Flats

The only thing that bugs me is the gigantic TOMS label on the back.  I tried to remove it but it's impossible to do without wrecking the shoe. You can read more about my love for labels here. I'm actually wearing them today and they are VERY comfortable.  A word of advice...I normally wear a 6.5 so that's what I ordered, but I probably could wear a 6. 

Zigi Ruler sandal

I haven't received these yet but I just love the color and little studs. I also like the fact that it has a tiny heel so they aren't completely flat.  When If I decide to blog again, I'll let you know how they fit.

Sam Edelman Gigi sandal

If you don't own this sandal in at least one color then you are missing out. I bought the gold two years ago and have worn them to death.  And they still look GREAT! I did return this pair, though.  The ankle strap was too ivory for me and the thong strap was too glittery.  They come in a million colors and hold up really well.  

Yellow Box Auntie sandal

Are you seeing a theme?  Apparently, regular flip flops can aggravate bunions (sorry).  Having a strap holding the shoe on relieves some of the pressure on your toes.  I got these on sale and was totally pumped. I was even more pumped when I tried them on.  Then I noticed the medallions were sewed on with fishing line and one of the "lines" broke.  I'm trying to decide if I should ship them back or simply take them to a shoe shop.  I'm leaning toward repairing them because they were so cheap.  

And in my dream world....

Miu Miu Roccia Rope Wedge

If anyone would like to make a contribution so I can own these, I am more than willing to accept them!  

XOXO,

M

A Boys Room...Moving Up In the World

My little man isn't exactly little any more. He's growing up...way too fast for me, but it's still happening. He was 6 years old and had just finished kindergarten when we moved into our old house. Flash forward a few years and he is now 10 and well into his 4th grade year.

He has changed and it was time for his room to reflect that...here is what it looked like before...

And here are the after pictures...



The beds went from single to bunked. A new area rug and window panels were added as well as sconces for both bunks. The antique corner desk (Pennsylvania House...and yes, I got it from the side of the road) was paired with a hand-me-down chair that I painted black. I was able to get some old wood (for free) from the local wrecking yard that I cut into two shelves and mounted with metal brackets from Home Depot. After a quick trip to my favorite thrift store, I left with an old stop sign, a vintage architecture light, the "lucky" mason jar, an antique table fan, and a curio shelf that was hung and turned into storage for his Lego men. Paper storage was hung on the wall beside the desk for those afternoons when he has "SO" much homework. The closet door is a fun little place for chalkboard drawings, and he still has the perfect spot for his backpack. Mr. T moved the $1 book shelves from the other side of the room and I hung part of his pennant collection from the different cities we have traveled to. The bedding is the same...I just perked it up with a bottle of Rit Dye in Denim.

What's better than a fresh, new, organized space? Spending some great quality time with my little man!!!

Rachel :)