Give a Little Love

Remember elementary school? The decorated shoe boxes. Corny little cards with sayings like "you're purrfect." Hoping that your crush will give you the biggest card in the pack, or maybe a chocolate rose. Such fond memories!

It's no surprise that I'm nostalgic, so this year I decorated boxes for all the girls at Loft. I cannot wait to see what's in my box and put treats in everyone else's! I usually don't get so excited about Valentine's Day, but last year I was in bed with a terrible infection, so I consider this my first real V-day as a wife! Plus, I'll jump at the chance to craft! Any excuse is good enough for me!

We won't be doing anything elaborate... One of my favorite things to do with Hunter is walk down the aisles of the grocery store and come up with new recipes together. We'll grab something fun at Market Street maybe lobster (we will see how that turns out) and our new favorite wine, Earthquake Cabernet Sauvignon. Seriously, you have to try this wine!

I'm just excited to spend a little time with my hubby and show my friends a little love!

Hugs and kisses!

Gift Wrap Art

Over the holidays I received a beautifully wrapped gift from my dear friend Stephanie. The little box was wrapped in teal paper with a red bird pattern topped off with a red gross grain ribbon. I wanted to be really careful when I opened it because I wanted to keep the paper... And no I am not a hoarder! Of course I loved the gift, who wouldn't love decadent soaps from Lush? But I wanted to do something special with the paper... This is what I came up with.

Thanks Stephanie, you gave me two gifts without even knowing it!

Happy recycling everyone!

An Organized Pantry

I have one of the smallest pantries known to the apartment world (except you lucky few that live in NYC in which case your pantry probably doubles as your closet).

Three boxes of crackers were becoming stale in one corner. Four, and I do mean FOUR bags of powdered sugar were taking up most of an entire shelf! Now, I'm not proud of this. I actually pride myself in being organized and clutter free, but somehow I allowed my pantry to get the better of me and I sort of gave up. I gawked over pictures of supremely organized pantries on pinterest, and kept thinking, "when I have a house my pantry will look like that."

Enough is enough! Haven't I learned anything from Nate Berkus? Even the smallest space can be organized and beautiful! Thanks to The Container Store and Ikea, my pantry is now a worthy part of my apartment. A few clear containers in various sizes hold all my bulk buys from my favorite grocery store, Sprouts. This handy cart fit perfectly under the bottom shelf and stores all the random things that make shelves look cluttered.

I'll sleep better at night knowing my baking supplies are all in order... And hopefully I won't buy another bag of powdered sugar in a long, long time.

Second Hand Adventures

Last Wednesday, Hunter and I enjoyed a treasure hunting experience at the Frisco resale. Amid the piles of junk, we found two particular pieces that were real gems. Sometimes it takes a little imagination to see the true potential in something. I find it's an exercise of the mind, as if the piece of furniture is challenging me. And I love a challenge!

These little guys were hiding behind a hideous sofa and they are going to go great beside my new (or old) reading chair.

The tables were old and chipped, but with a little paint and help from some Martha Stewart stencils, they now look like a shabby chic dream! I hit up the reject paint bin at Lowe's and found this creamy off white paint for $2!! Grand total for my little nesting tables 20 dollars!

The problem now is that I want to stencil everything... oh and I'm running out of room for my projects.

Recycled Centerpiece

The holiday season is finally over!!! Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Christmas. But if you've never worked a retail holiday season, you wouldn't know the relief January 2nd brings. Since then I have been DIY-ing my heart out! Mainly because I have days off again... And seriously I couldn't be any happier!

So to kick off having a life again, I made this centerpiece out of wine bottles and chalkboard paint.

Just in time for Valentine's Day!

My Reediculous Hiatus is Over!

After eight months of leaving my little blog in the dust, I decided to come back and breathe a little life into it. The retail life leaves you with little consistency and often little time. It is unpredictable and ever changing. I often felt I didn't have enough time to eat and sleep much less spend hours on the phone, crafting, or blogging. But lately, I have picked up my paintbrushes and mod-podge and in doing so I have restored some of the joy and sanity to my life.

In the past months we have moved to a new apartment, which also inspired me to decorate. And the Holidays are always a great excuse to spend hours in Michael's. But perhaps, the biggest push to my inner crafter was the discovery of Pinterest!

So let me show you my favorite project so far... my $40 bedroom makeover!

This is an old lamp my mom gave me, it's old and did not fit with my decor

We painted an accent wall a deep teal called Swizzle Stick. I might have picked the color just because I love the name so much! Even if we were to only stay in the apartment for a year, I am so glad we painted! It gives our space a personalized and updated feel that I LOVE.

I always wanted a canopy bed, this is my version of it! And look at my little lamps they are so chic now!

I'll reveal the other half of the bedroom later... stay tuned for the dresser makeover!

It has been a while...

My poor little blog has been abandoned! My new job has kept me so busy I barely find time to be a wife, much less blog about it. But today, on my glorious day off, I want to let everyone (all ten of you) know what it's like to be work 42 hours a week as a sales lead.

I wake up early, on the days when I am feeling especially productive I make dinner in the morning so we can heat it up when we come home. I get ready for work, which takes me an hour longer than it takes Hunter so he gets to sleep or read or watch TV. Then we carpool to work because our jobs are pretty close to each other and it saves us precious gas money that I can put towards pretty clothes... or a vacation.

At first, I thought carpooling was going to suck. However, I LOVE IT. We get to spend time with each other and talk without the distractions of technology that often attack quality time in the apartment. Many days we end up having to wait an hour or so for the other one to get off work but because of that I have done so much reading!

This past week, I experienced my very first "after-work-I'm-so-tired-happy-hour" with my husband and all the other professionals who love Blue Mesa margaritas! Needless to say, I felt so grown up.

I am loving my new position and the new responsibilities even if that means I'm more tired and the apartment doesn't get cleaned as much as it used to. Before LOFT, dusting was the most exciting part of my day. So glad those days are over.