Bowled Over

I have a weird thing for bowls. I love them.

Dessert bowls. Cereal bowls. Soup bowls. Serving bowls.

It's all good.

Here are some of my lovely bowls.

How many bowls does one girl need?

Top shelf: Pfaltzgraff Soup/Cereal Bowls in Summer Breeze, Ice Cream Bowls from JCPenney, Antique Watermelon Dessert Bowls

Bottom Shelf: Anthropologie Latte Bowls, Pfaltzgraff Summer Breeze Serving Bowl, Ice Cream Bowls from JCPenney

Vanity

I finally bought a vanity! I have been searching for one for a while now. It was a difficult find for several reasons...A) I needed something small and B) I'm difficult to please.

I got this little sweetie last weekend at one of my favorite local shops, The Painted Cottage in Collingswood.

It's perfect. The little drawer holds most of my cosmetics. I purchased the two black on white containers from Target for overflow. One holds makeup removers/cotton balls and such and the other holds lipsticks/glosses/lip pencils/eye pencils.

I love this little vanity! But I have plans to recover the chair in a black and white fabric that's leftover from my French bulletin boards. The fabric on there right now is really pretty, but my bedroom is a bit more funky than over-the-top shabby chic and the black and white will reflect that.

My face and eye makeup.



My lovely little vanity.



Vanity with chair.



Here's the chair that I plan on recovering.

Happy Valentine's Day

For some reason, no matter how I edit the size of these photos, the sizes are funky. I am so disappointed. I hope you enjoy this post anyway. I'll try to fix them tomorrow - too tired now.

I love coming up with unique decorating ideas, like the French bulletin boards I made recently.

I don't have a lot of Valentine-themed items. In fact, I only have one small little thing. So, I thought I there has to be some thing quick, easy and cost-efficient I could do that no one else has.

And a few weeks ago it hit me when I came across a Victorian-inspired Valentine that I've had since college -- Valentine garland.

I already had cute miniature "clothes line" clips that I picked up in Wal-Mart last month and I had about four or so feet of red ribbon I saved from a Christmas gift. I went to an antique store and picked up four more "I love you" postcards to complete the project.

The Valentine that inspired the garland.

Two of the loving antique postcards. These only cost $3-$4 each.

I love that this one was used. Postmarked in 1908, it was sent to "Dear little Alice" from her "Aunt Helen". How neat is that?

This entire project only cost me about $12, as I had the clips, ribbon and one of the cards already. I think it's totally cute and well worth the money.

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone. I hope you have someone to love.

One-of-kind French Bulletin Boards

I have wanted to get French bulletin boards for more than a decade, but never found a color/style/size that suited me. I can get picky like that.

So this past weekend, I found myself in an antique store and I fell in love with two shabby frames which I quickly grabbed. I purchased them and wondered what I would end up using them for. Then it hit me -- I would make my own French bulletin boards!

So I got my crafty on and went to AC Moore where I purchased: white foam board, fabric, ribbon, paper flowers and brads.

Here's what I did:

I cut the foam board to size. Covered the foam board with fabric and secured in the back. Wrapped ribbon around fabric-covered foam board and secured in the back. Punctured board with tip of scissors and placed a brad at each cross section. Added paper flowers for a pop of color.

It was simple and quick and I love the results!

This entire project cost less than $50 and now I have one-of-a-kind, antique-framed French bulletin boards!

Let me know what you think!

Bedroom Transformation: Complete

For the past few years I had wanted to change things up in my bedroom decor-wise, but I wasn't sure what direction I wanted to take until I wondered around a somewhat high-end antique store in Salem County, NJ and discovered this amazing red, vintage medicine cabinet. And there was my inspiration: red.

Please enjoy my very red and super-cozy new bedroom look.

The antique medicine cabinet that inspired my journey.

These linens are so happy I can't stand it! Both the decorative pillow and the duvet are from IKEA.

New lamp bases and shades from IKEA complement the linens. Red curtains from Target pull the look together.

These colorful prints from Target add to the whimsical nature of the room.

Don't you just want to crawl in and take a nap?

Finally, the light weight Ofelia throw from IKEA is perfect for a warm night.

Just One More Reason to Love Sunday Mornings...

Yummy, Easy and Healthy Breakfast!

Lowfat Aunt Jemina Waffles
Wegmans Frozen Strawberry, Blueberry and Raspberry Mix
Arrowhead Mills Organic Golden Flax Seeds
Wegmans Sugar-Free Syrup

Come have a seat...

I've had IKEA's Bollo outdoor table and chairs for years and they have served me well. And, they've taken a beating. Not only have the endured sun bleaching, but they have twice had paint spilled on them from the patio above mine. (For some reason it never dawns on people that what spills off the second floor balcony lands on the first floor patio.)

I had intended on staining the set again this summer in the dark brown they have always been until I happened to be in Home Depot and spotted this paint.

Look how sun damaged the poor little set is!

It's amazing what some paint can do, isn't it?

Add some cute cushions and we're all set!

It Isn't Just for Breakfast Anymore

Retro juice glasses
from Pier 1
make my morning OJ
way more cool

Wouldn't It Be Lovely?

It's no secret I enjoy surrounding myself with lovely things.

However, lovely can sometimes be very costly.

And I am by no means a lady of luxury. She's works hard for the money, so you better treat her right!

I have decided to begin buying fresh-cut flowers for my home because they are simply

Lovely

and a

promise of Spring

I began last week with Gerber Daisies and they are just

Lovely

Decorating 101 - free decor

I have been trying to decorate my apartment for fall, but as I said before, many of pieces are Halloween-related and cannot come out for a while. My mom had this cute square basket that's covered with a fall fabric which she gave me last week. I decided to fill it with pine cones that I collected from her front yard. It looked cute, but was lacking something. On one of my morning walks with Saff, I scooped up a bunch of acorns and placed them among the pine cones. But it was still lacking something. Then I asked my neighbor, Julie (who feeds nuts to the local squirrels) for a handful of shelled nuts. Better, but it's still lacking something. I think it needs a bit a color. Perhaps some dried cranberries.

Not bad though for a decoration that cost me absolutely nothing.

Welcoming home, fall

I couldn't help it! I took advantage of the rainy day and began decorating my apartment for fall! Sadly, many of my items are Halloween-related and will have to wait until October before they are put on display.

I did take out my fall tablecloth, stuffed gourd and apple-bobbing candles with decorative galvanized bucket. I would really like to get a dried cranberry garland to wrap around the bucket base, but I love it just the same. Yay for centerpieces!

Also on display is my pumpkin chalkboard. I keep the word FALL on it at all times, but change the saying by changing the other words on the board. It has read "Happy FALL", "Don't FALL on your heiney" and "FALLing asleep". Right now it reads "FALL in love".

Late Bloomers

I planted these from seed in spring and they just recently bloomed. As they are the only flowers I've ever planted from seed, I am particularly proud of them.

The packet for this one was just called...

wild flowers

Next to yellow roses, these are my favorite flower...

sunflowers

To everything, there is a season

I have a pair of sterling silver earrings in the shape of starfish. I happily wear them throughout the summer. As it was coming on Labor Day weekend, I made certain to put them in my ears last Friday. On Tuesday night I took them off and put them away until next summer.

Although it has been quite a mild summer, I am looking very forward to fall. I love the crisp weather, the falling leaves and decorating my apartment with pumpkins, gourds, mums and such. I love snuggling under a light blanket and watching TV while the skies outside get dimmer earlier and earlier.

Most of all I love cooking in the fall. There are certain things I don't make year-round. Like my scrumptious homemade chicken noodle soup. I save that for the chilly weather. I love the day-long process. I chop, I make broth, I cut up chicken into bite-size chunks, I add egg noodles, corn and carrots. The first bowl of the season always tastes the best. If you don't believe me, come over in a few weeks.

Out of the closet

I did it! I cleaned out the closet! I have three pretty large bags of stuff I have to lug over to Goodwill and have a ton of laundry to do, but it is CLEAN!

Along the way I found my college graduation cap...yippee, Rowan University Class of 1995!



There was a point where I just wanted to run away...




But, in the end, I have found my happy place. Look at the expert folding and hanging!





Now I have to find something else to obsess over!