Gushing over Gingham

Hope everyone is having a great weekend. Sorry my post is a little late, I have been procrastinating lately. Which is unlike me, usually I am one to get something out of the way, so I don't have to worry about it. I think it is this class that I am taking. It is a creativity class, that I was actually pumped about taking. The class though doesn't have you produce anything creative, just talk about theories (boring). I have been working on everything, but this class. I have been painting and fixing, but it is time to buckle down. Now down to this outfit, it is totally thrifted. Yes, the Lacoste shirt, J Crew clutch, Forever 21 skirt and Blowfish flats thrifted! I love gingham, it is great no matter what the season. Gingham is great to mix with other prints. I did not own a flowy gingham skirt, so when I saw it I had to have it. This outifit is preppy. But that's why I love fashion,  one day I can be preppy and the next funky. Some people tend to dress the same style, I tend to be different all the time.

Lacoste Shirt - Similar, Blowfish Flat - Similar, Forever 21 Gingham Skirt - Similar,

 

Do you tend to dress in one style or different ones? Do you procrastinate or get things done and out of the way?

Happy Weekend!

DIY: Decorating With Numbers

I love to decorate with numbers. I recently have completed a few projects that involve numbers. I always love getting some inspiration from Pinterest.

Via Pinterest

One of the projects I completed using numbers involved using plastic numbers that I purchased at the thrift store. I bought a whole bag for $1.91. Also, I purchased an assorted bag of scrapbook paper. I cut the scrapbook paper to the size I desired. Then, I hot glued the number to the paper. Finally, I glued the paper to my baskets that I keep odds and ends(junk) in. This is what the final outcome looks like:

Another project, I completed with numbers involved using a stool that I purchased at a garage sale for $5.00. I painted the top of the stool a different color. I knew I wanted to stencil the top of the stool with a number, so the best place I knew to go that was free was the Internet.  I love how this stool turned out and use it in my bathroom to do my makeup and in my closet to reach things.

I printed this number off the Internet. Make sure to adjust the size to fit your desired space.

Tape the number to the top of the stool. I used recycled painters tape to hold it down. Most people will use masking tape- I couldn't find any.

Paint in the stencil with you desired color. I used a smaller brush to smooth out the outlining areas.

Finished project. Let dry and use!

Have you ever decorated with numbers? What is your favorite thing to look at on Pinterest?

Seeing Spots

Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a great weekend. These summertime weekends fly by so fast. Over the weekend, I went to a birthday dinner. I wore this cheetah romper from H&M. I notice that I have worn rompers more than ever this season. They are a great alternative from that classic summer dress. This romper was basic, so I added a few accessories like a black skinny belt, clutch, earrings, arm candy and some wedges for flare. There are some great rompers for all sizes, that would be great to go out to dinner or on vacation. These definitely do not take up much room in your suitcase. Which is great for me, because I tend to over pack when I go out of town. I am that girl sitting on top of her suitcase to get it to close.

Cheetah Romper H&M - Similar,

Steve Madden Wedges - Similar

Black Skinny belt - Similar

Do you pack sensibly or over pack when you go on vacation? Are you planning on any vacations this summer?


Linking Up at Visible Monday , and Monday Mingle.

A Mixture of Bold Colors

Happy Friday! I went to breakfast with a few of my friends yesterday and I wore this outfit. It is very casual, but I  incorporated bold colors and a clutch to make it a little edgier. I love mixing bold colors ,but I not sure if I would have thought that in previous years. I think before I would have thought does this match or to crazy looking. I think this trend of mixing color will be around for a while. At least I hope it is, because it would be hard to go back!

Neon Shorts -Gap, Cobalt blue sleeveless blouse- similar, Pewter Silver T- Strap sandals - Old Navy, Clutch - thirfted

 What are your thoughts on bold colors? What two colors have you put together that you thought you never would?

 Have a great weekend!

DIY- Painting Furniture Tips

 So, as I have been doing 20 million things(a little exaggeration), I squeezed in painting this cabinet.  I enjoy buying furniture off Craigslist, even when I don't need anything new. This piece I bought for $40.00 and when I bought it I knew exactly where I would put it. That is important when I buy furniture and don't really know what I want to do with it, it's not a piece I usually keep. The piece I replaced I never really thought was "special" and I sold it on craigslist. I can't stand clutter, so I have the same rule with my closet as I do furniture, when I get something new get rid of something old. I am lucky that I am one of those people that is able to visualize something in my head. When I closed my eyes I knew what I wanted this piece to look like. I knew I wanted some stripes. Of course I forgot to take a picture of before, but I did find one similar in color to give you an idea.

My cabinet was similar in color of the wood.

Looks a lot more modern and up- to-date, it is actually one of my favorite pieces.

 So, when you have an old piece of furniture, or something you purchased from the thrift store and you think you want to paint it, there are a few things you should consider.(or at least this is what I do)

1. Should you paint the piece because it might be worth more money if left natural wood.
2. I always paint everything, so usually number one doesn't apply to me. My mom gets on me often about this because I painted an antique or two. When I was painting this the other day in my yard, my neighbor asked me if I just like painting things over and over. I told her it was new.  My thought is if I won't use it in the natural color why not paint it, because I feel my house has a more modern feel.
3. Before painting always use a primer- I use spray paint primer. They have some great ones that are fast and easy.
4. Paint for free!Yes, one of my secrets is some hardware stores have what is called "oops" paint. This is paint that someone else didn't like, maybe wasn't the right color. Nothing is wrong with it, but they sell a gallon from 5 to 7 dollars. Also, now hardware stores offer samples of paint and maybe someone changed their mind, and it is to small of an amount to sell. So, the store offers it for free(as seen in my photo)This amount could be enough to paint a small piece of furniture.

 5. You may also have extra paint from a room you painted. For this project, I used the paint I had left over from painting my bathroom last year.
6. For this piece, I painted it all over with 2 to 3 coats. Let it dry for at least 2 days.
7. I thought about my stripes for a while and decided to do them over the door. The best is to measure the space between them to make sure they even.
8. Use painting tape for your stripes, not masking tape. Masking tape allows paint to seep under.
9. For my stripes I used stain. I apply one coat, then I sanded it down and repeat until you get the desired effect.

10. The only other expense was my fabulous knob from Hobby Lobby for 50% off, so I got this little number for $2.50.

11. Adding accessories to a piece of furniture is just as important as it is to an outfit.

Everything I used was located somewhere in my house. I am a big fan of using what you have instead of buying more.

Have you been working on any projects this summer? Or do you have a project you would like to get done?

Add a Little Sparkle

Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a fabulous Father's Day weekend. We definitely did! I have been busy putting my house back in order, we got new hardwood floors, which I love! But besides working on that, I have been working on painting a few pieces of furniture. One, I will be showing on Wednesday, and give you a few tips I use when painting furniture. I should be diligently working on a college class that is due by the end of this month, but I'll get it done. The other day, when I was working on my class with my friend (yeah right), we were discussing  whether we would consider ourselves introverts or extroverts. We both agreed that we are extroverts- I love being around friends, laughing, having a good time, maybe playing a practical joke or two. I definitely think there are levels of extroverts though because sometimes I need my alone time, time to do "my" thing. Well, for Father's Day we went out to eat and this is what I wore. I paired these green striped Madewell shorts with this chambray shirt. To add a little of sparkle, I wore my Bp 'Madison' sequin shoes. I had actually bought a pair of the Tom's sequin slip-on shoes last fall, and never had worn them. I would try them on and put them back. That's why I love Nordstrom, they took them back and I exchanged them with these and I feel these are more practical for me.

Bunglaow Striped Panorama Shorts- Madewell,  BP 'Mansion" Sequin Flat,  Metaliic Skinny belt- Forever 21- Similar,Chambray Shirt- H&M- Similar,

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Would you consider yourself more of an introvert or extrovert? Or do you consider yourself a little of both like me.

Linking up at Monday Mingle , Watch out for the Woestmans, and Visible Monday . 

Gray and Navy Maxi Dress

I had to run some errands and in the summer my go to outfit is a maxi dress. I love to accessorize it with a great necklace, sandals, and go. I got this little number at TJ Max. They have some fabulous maxi's right now at crazy prices. I tried many on, but what I loved about this on by Epilogue was the length. I prefer a maxi that glides along with my feet, not too long or short. I thought this navy and gray was a great classic look. This weekend is Father's Day and we have some plans for some dinner and family fun on Sunday. I thought about giving some suggestions for some Father's Day gifts, then the normal ones I see given as suggestions, my husband wouldn't want. I actually bought him a Fernando Torres Jersey he had been eying. Yes, we are European soccer fans, we are actually going to see Chelsea play at Yankee Stadium while we are in New York over the summer.

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Maxi Dress -Similar,  Express Silver Ball Necklace- Similar, Women's T- Strap Sandals- Old Navy, Clutch Thrifted- Similar



What are you planning on doing for Father's Day? What is your go to outfit on a summer day?
Have a great weekend!

DIY- Making Clip on Earrings into Pierced

This is a very easy DIY and I am not sure why I didn't think about doing this before I started this blog. I have a bunch of great vintage earrings that are clip-on, but I didn't even think about making them into post earrings that I actually would wear everyday. The wedding I went to this past weekend, the bride bought earrings from Macy's and loved them. When, she got home she realized they were clip-on, so I fixed them for her and they looked fabulous with her wedding gown. So this can be done to new or vintage earrings. There is no reason not to buy those clip-on earrings, you can fix them easily.

Materials needed are clip-on earrings of your choice, E-6000 craft glue, post backings ,pliers, and a paper plate. I used 10mm post on these, but you might need smaller ones depending on the size of the backing.

This is what the backing of my earrings looked like.

Step 1: Take pliers and remove the backing. Make sure to hold the earring firmly when pulling.

Step 2: Glue the post on the back with E-6000 glue. Voila how easy is that!

I actually took a picture of the earrings from my friends wedding, but somehow it disappeared. Hmm?

Do you have any clip on earrings? Have you ever made them into pierced earrings.

Ode to Summer Wedding Attire

Well, I hope everyone had a fabulous weekend. The weather couldn't be anymore perfect, we haven't seen rain in a long time. My grass is a little crunchy, but I'd rather have the sun. This weekend I went to a wedding. Interesting enough, these two people worked in my building and met at work. It's pretty rare to have two individuals at the work place get married. I could be happier for them! You guys that read my blog know I am a big thrift store, consignment shop girl. I have also posted before that I am a big fan at Plato's closet, now most people say that is for teenagers( I say no!). Well, actually they have clothes ranging from size 0- 14. Usually, when I go in there, I will find maybe one or two items. This dress in this post is from Plato's. I actually tried it on Monday and I decided not to buy it because some of the beading needed fixed and I wasn't sure I would have time to work on the dress. That dressed weighed on my mind until Saturday, I thought I would swing by to see if it was still there and it was! So, they gave me 20% off and I took this French Connection dress for $9.00. (Holla!)  Crazy me, I waited until the day of the wedding to buy the dress and fix it. I work better under pressure anyway. With this dress I opted to wear my Diba wrap around silver sandals, I usually wear heels, but I thought of comfort and knew I would be breaking it down on the dance floor. I accessorized with lots of silver arm candy and simple hoops, because I felt like the beading was busy enough. It seems like there are quite a few people getting married this summer. Do you have any weddings to go to this summer?

 

I found a few great dresses for different body types. This in case your in need of a new dress for a upcoming wedding.

Dress with Frill at the Hip- Zara

Red Beaded Dress- Dorothy Perkins

Dress Trance Cream- Welikefashion

V-back Dress- Zara

 When you are invited to a wedding do you by something new or look in your closet?

DIY: Neon Gold Chain Purse

Happy Friday, this is probably the easiest DIY I have completed. The only materials needed for this project are a chain linked purse, ribbon, and scissors. My weekend is not to busy, I have a wedding to attend and a few household things I need to complete. Mostly, I plan on enjoying the great weather and enjoying the pool.

This DIY can easily be changed when neon goes away, then you could use another color of ribbon instead of neon.

Step 1: Start with a purse that has a chain as a handle.

Step 2: Untie the black leather and undo from the chain.

Step 3: Use neon ribbon to thread each chain

Step 4: Tie the ribbon in a knot at the end of the chain.

Step 5: My purse has a leather compartment that the chain slides through, so I put the part of the chain where the ribbon is tied in there.

This could work with many types of chain linked purses!

I would love to hear what you think?

A Little More Leopard

Well, DIY Wednesday will be moved this week to Friday. I will be featuring this neon chained purse as my DIY. Well, my summer break as started out great, today I had lunch with 2 of my besties and tomorrow plans for the pool. I have been working on a refinishing a few pieces of furniture, one I am trying to stripe. If all works out as planned, I will share it with you as a DIY. I notice I have been wearing more animal print than usual, who am I kidding I always love to incorporate some leopard or cheetah whether it is shoes, belt ,scarf- I love it all. This dress if actually from a past season at Target, but I embarrassed to say it had not been worn and I just pulled off the tags. I loved it so much, but it is a tad see through, so I finally bought a slip for underneath. I also love wearing dresses like this one as a tunic with jeans. My favorite characteristic of this dress is the fabulous black strip of fabric in the back.  I  know everyone is surprised to see my gold accessories (a tad bit of sarcasm). Every since my husband got me my gold Michael Kors watch I have been wearing gold a lot more.  I have always been a silver gal, and my husband said the other day, "that if he had bought me a gold watch when we first got together, I would have taken it back". He's right, and I not sure why the change, but I do love wearing a mixture of gold and silver jewelry or each individually.

Gold Chain Black Purse -Similar, Gap Ballet flats with gold chain -Similar, Michael Kors Gold 'Blair' Watch, Leopard Dress- Similar,

This gold chain black purse is my DIY this week, so if you are interested check it out on Friday.

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Linking up at Whatever, Whenever, Wednesday and What I Wore Wednesday at the Pleated Poppy.

Which do you wear more gold or silver jewelry?