Time For A Mini Hipster Shoe Sesh!

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I recently bought some Vans. It was a weird day in my life. I have always been a prepster who was strictly opposed to Vans. They were so hipster..so skater..so not me. But as I have been living in the mountains, I have become more intrigued by them. Everyone up here seems to wear them, so they must be comfy right? I vowed never to try them out…until one day I stumbled upon these bad boys: Vans Chevron Slip Ons. Obviously..I had to have them. I mean they were chevron print!! If there was ever going to be a time that I gave in to this hipster-skater trend, this was the time. So I bought them. And they are very comfy (for the 5 minutes I tried them on). I haven’t actually worn them yet, but once fall gets here, I am going to incorporate them into my wardrobe (but only when I’m feeling a hipster vibe).

Here are some other “Vans”-esque shoes I found…supposedly they are in right now. Designers like Givinchy have even made some! Who would have thought…

So browse the links below and see what you think! (Vans seems to be the only company that has done the chevron print, but leopard is ALL over the place!)

Givenchy Leopard Print Slip Ons         Steve Madden Leopard Print Slip Ons

Are you into this trend?? What is your favorite slip on shoe??

xoxo

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Pottery Barn Throw Blanket…For Less!

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I recently went shopping, and died over Pottery Barn’s new holiday decor. Between their fall decor and the upcoming Christmas decor(found in their catalog), I could definitely spend hundreds of dollars there very quick. I especially loved their faux fur throw pillows and throw blankets. They look so delicious and perfect. Very cozy for those cold winter days. Unfortunately, the throw blanket I really wanted cost $129. That was a little too pricey for my taste. So I left the store empty handed. I then strolled into Target (my home away from home). I went straight to the home section (obvi) and what did I find?! A faux fur white blanket on sale for $13.99!!!! What a steal!! This is what I love. Finding things that I love at the more high end stores, and then scouting around to find them on the cheap! So now, I get the look I want, my boyfriend doesn’t think I’m crazy for spending $129 on a blanket, AND I have $100 more dollars to spend on something else! (Like the Pottery Barn fur pillows to match!). Target is the BEST! If you ever want the look of Pottery Barn but can’t spend that much money, always look at stores like Target, Home Goods, or Ikea. They have great deals, and when you mix high priced and low priced items, no one knows the difference! I like to spend more money on certain things, and then save money on other accessories. For example, I discovered that the cheapest pillow inserts are found at Ikea. They are like $3.00! And then you can buy the Pottery Barn or West Elm pillow covers for $30-$40 and not feel bad about it. Instead of spending $12-$18 on a pillow insert PLUS $30-$40 on a pillow cover at Pottery Barn, you just saved that extra $12-$18 and no one will ever know the difference! That’s almost enough for another pillow cover! It’s all about the mix and match. My tip is never buy things on a whim. Figure out what you want and then shop around to find the best price you can on that item. I always scout out the stores, write down what I want, and then go home and online shop to see if I can find similar things for a better price.

So here it is — the blanket I based my purchase at Target off of:  Faux Fur Throw from Pottery Barn    How luxe is that?!

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I couldn’t find the Target throw blanket I bought online, but here is a picture of the info tag 🙂

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Doesn’t that look the same?! So flurry and furry!

So what do you think? Are you always searching for a sweet deal like I am?! Leave me a comment and let me know!

xoxo

Image courtesy of http://www.polyvore.com

 

 

Decorating Inspiration!

After my re-decorating binge yesterday, I found myself doing some inspiration searching online today. So in case you are needing some inspiration to get your home remodel started… check out these fab finds!

First off, This Bed! This is the sickest bed I have seen in a while. Brass is coming back, and I’m digging it. To me, this bed would only work if you have a dark room to make it stand out. Picture deep purples and blues, a gorgeous charcoal, or a royal emerald, with touches of gold and velvet that pop and make the room seem luxe. Love Love Love!

Next topic: TRAYS! Trays are fabulous because they make a plain, empty space seemed planned out and decorated. I personally have a white tray in my living room, and a mirrored tray in my bedroom. I’m also hoping to add a small gold tray to my new office desk! 🙂

As an example, here are what my trays look like these days.

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The best part of trays is that you can change them based on events, holidays, etc. I didn’t have some flowers at one point, and so I filled the tray with candles. For Christmas, I filled a glass bowl with sparkly pinecones.

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As you can see, there are a lot of things you can do with trays!

Here are some of my favorite trays: West Elm – Copper Tray  CB2 – White Tray  West Elm – Blue Mirrored Glass Tray

Just for fun, here are some other cute accessories I’m currently obsessed with(can you tell I’m into gold right now?!):  CB2 Vases  and CB2 Dahlia Candleholders

And last but not least, check out Target this week — they have up to 25% off their home goods/furniture right now!! Get shopping!!

So what do you think?! Are you inspired to get decorating?! Let me know!

xoxo

 

DIY: Guest Room/Home Office Remodel!

As I’ve mentioned before, I live in a tiny, not so great apartment. Slowly, I have tried to make each room look as good as I can with what I have to work with. Since my boyfriend and I rent, I cannot change the wall colors, or replace the disgusting old carpet with hard wood. But what I CAN do is re-decorate to take your eyes away from the lame floors, etc. This summer, I have been getting inspired by seeing a lot of bloggers home offices online. They all looked so cute! So then I decided…I want a home office! But where would I put it? I don’t have a mansion with extra rooms just waiting for ideas. But I did have a spare bedroom that we basically used for storage. It had turned into my closet/junk room. And so, my remodel of the spare room began.

Here is what our spare bedroom looked like before I started – the bed was covered in clothes, jewelry, and randomness. The floors had an overload of holiday pillows, shoes, and bags strewn around that I had no place to store. I had built a desk about two weeks ago(more info below), but that was as far as I got in the project. As you can see, the blue plastic was still on the white desk to keep it from getting scratched!

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First step in the remodel was simple: Organize! Before I could do the fun stuff (aka decorating), I had to organize my life. I re-worked my closet, and found places for all my jewelry and clothes. It really wasn’t hard, it just took some time.

Second step was hanging up the curtains. All you need for this project is a drill (screw gun), drill bits, and screws. I bought my curtain rod and attachments from Ikea for super cheap. If you are using the Ikea set up, I would suggest having a friend or Mom help you. It goes faster. Ikea curtain rods are not at all hard to set up, the directions are pretty straight forward. To check out Ikea curtains, Click Here And Here!

Here is the finished room!!

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How pretty is that?! It’s exactly how I imagined it. Disregard the chair, that will be another post. I need to make it super glam, but for now the chair will have to do. You can see black paint on it from other DIY projects I have done. It is what I refer to as my “Craft Chair” haha 🙂 To purchase the shiny white desk I bought, it can be found at Ikea here. The price is slightly high, but I purchased it when they were having a summer sale. A good rule of thumb for buying new decor pieces is figure out what you want, then wait a month to buy it. Within that month, there will usually be some sort of sale. I have found that if I troll the internet and my emails for discounts, I am usually able to find some sort of savings for what I want. One time that this is not a good idea, is when you know the product is going to sell out. If you are in love with the product, and think it won’t be there in a month, then buy it. You can always return it, and you will usually regret it if you don’t.

P.S. A small note on the Ikea desk – in true Ikea fashion, it took me about 3 and a half hours to build. Annoying at the time, but once it was built I felt a huge sense of accomplishment. So don’t let Ikea and it’s long building times scare you…you can do it!!

Here are the details of every part of the room:

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Pillows: West Elm – These particular silver pillows I purchased around last Christmas, so they are no longer in stock. But not to worry! They are always changing their inventory, and right now they have some GREAT pillows! I especially like this Velvet Pillow because it’s so in for fall right now. West Elm’s pillows normally run around $39 a pillow, which adds up quickly. But as you can see, they are SO worth it. I wanted a glam look, and these pillows delivered. West Elm has a lot of good sales too, so get on their mailing list and you will be happy you did! Everything I have bought at their store I have purchased while they had a promotion going. Keep your eyes open, and you will be rewarded!

Throw Blanket: West Elm – This is currently out of stock as well, but check out their West Elm Throw Blankets page, and I’m sure you will find something you love! You cannot tell in the picture, but in person it is metallic and very shimmery. It looks awesome!

 

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Curtains: West Elm – Can you tell I am OBSESSED with West Elm?! haha It’s a problem! These curtains were perfect because they are pretty sheer (you can’t tell in the picture because I took it at night time), so they let a lot of light in. I also love them because they have little specks of silver sparkles in them that glimmer in the light. Check out these curtains here: Metallic Dash Curtains And BONUS! They are on sale right now!!

Vases In Window: These cute white vases are from Ikea. I liked them because they are small and understated but are able to be a design piece on their own, or I could add a single flower to them and they could be vases. #MultiFunctional. Check these vases out HERE and HERE! I love getting home accessories at Ikea because they are so well priced. It is always a win!

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Picture Wall: All these white frames were purchased at Ikea. After many searches at different stores, I have found that Ikea has the best prices when it comes to picture frames. You can check out their frame selection here: Ikea Picture Frames

The prints in the pictures came from a variety of sources. Some were purchased through Etsy, and one of the prints my mom made for me. As you can see, the bottom two frames actually have not been replaced with real prints yet. I hung up the frames anyway so that I could get the overall look I wanted. The prints will be coming soon!!

So overall, this who remodel took me about a day. I had to re-organize, build a desk, and re-decorate the room. I think it was well worth it, I am loving the outcome!! I hope this post reminds you that you CAN live in a fabulous home, no matter how big or small. All you have to do is have a vision, and make it come to life!

Have you ever imagined a new room, and made it happen?! Let me know!!

xoxo

Relationship Update

This week has been an emotionally and mentally draining week. But I find in times like these, my boyfriend always surprises me. He sees that I’m sad, or knows that I’m upset, and adapts. It’s always slightly shocking to me that when my mood is struggling, he steps up to the plate to make me smile. It’s not anything big, but just dancing around or doing something silly to make me laugh really helps. So fine, maybe he doesn’t give me a billion hugs and say let’s snuggle and watch Gossip Girl…but he does his little things. And that’s what I need to appreciate. Because when you sit back and think about it, he’s trying his best in his own way. And it does make me smile. So this week, instead of a question, I pose an idea to you:

Appreciate the people around you and what they do to make you smile. ❤

What do you think? Have you had an epiphany like this??

xoxo

 

(Image courtesy of http://www.maryhugheswellness.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/heart.png)

Mani Monday: Essie Sand Tropez

 

 

 

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One of my favorite nude nail polishes is Essie: Sand Tropez. Everyone should have this in their nail polish collection. It’s a great color for any season. I especially love it for special occasions where you don’t want a crazy nail color, or for the upcoming fall season. Wear it with a black turtleneck sweater and crisp jeans and some serious gold jewelry. It’s understated yet always in fashion. When in doubt…go nude.

xoxo

Must Have: The Tangle Teaser

 

I have discovered a hair product that is a must have. It is called the Tangle Teaser, and it is a life saver.photo1-11

I have very tangly hair. When I get out of the shower, no matter how much conditioner or leave in conditioners/oils I put in my curly hair, it is so tangled. It takes me at least 10 minutes to brush through my hair. It’s obnoxious. I try to go slow so that I won’t pull all my hair out, but it is still a project. Enter….the Tangle Teaser. I had heard of this product, but like most things, if I have to buy it online, I usually don’t end up doing it. For some reason, I don’t enjoy online shopping that much. However, when I saw this product at Sephora, I knew I had to give it a try. It was FABULOUS!!! I used it in place of a brush once I got out of the shower. The Tangle Teaser made brushing through my tangles much easier. I think it took half the time to get through the tangles. I am obsessed! Anyone who has curly, tangled hair needs this in their life!!

To purchase, check out their website. Or find it at Sephora!

I love this product!!

xoxo

Relationship Update

So ..are most boyfriends totally lame? Like obviously I love having a boyfriend; I love the constant companionship and love…but sometimes my boyfriend is just lame. He never gets excited about anything. I get that he is great and deals with my craziness, but still! And yes, I know I get excited about dumb things like a NEW EPISODE OF THE KARDASHIANS!!! But I think some things deserve excitement. So my poll question for this week is the following:

Is your boyfriend lame?

Leave me a comment and let me know!!

xoxo

 

(Image courtesy of http://www.maryhugheswellness.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/heart.png)

#Obsessed

I am SO excited for fall. Totally over this summer weather. The other day it was 35 degrees up here in the mountains, so fall is definitely on it’s way! In honor of the upcoming season change….here is my current obsession:

Emerson Ankle Boots from Free People

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I mean honestly…how SICK are these!! They are so grunge/hipster cool. I WANT!

If you want to check them out… click here: Emerson Ankle Boot

Let me know what you think! Aren’t they just to die!?

xoxo