Decking your halls on a budget

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I wanted to keep it simple and pretty neutral this year so I opted for a lot of whites, rustic wood textures, and natural pine garland (plus fallen evergreen branches I found in my yard :) . Some of my favorite places to shop are Joann Fabric, Amazon, Tjmaxx, and the dollar bins at Target. I have included some current deals going on right now below!

JOANN Fabric 20% off your entire purchase with code leaves20

Michaels is up to 60% ALL Christmas decor

Crate&Barrel is having 30% off holiday decor

Target is having 25% off select home items

Anthropologie take an additional 40% off ALL sale items

Our New Place

This place is finally starting to feel like home, even though I am still a tad in denial that we live in such a nice area! A part of me can't believe Oregon is real, the people, the food, the landscape - it's like I have been unknowingly dreaming about living here for ages and I've finally come home.

We did have to downsize and lost a bed and bathroom but it was enlivening in a way, purging our self from all that "stuff" (plus some extra money never hurt anyone).

I have always been a collector. I would scan antique shops and yard sales in search of once beloved intriguing nic nacs. Many of the things in our place are re-purposed: spray painted frames I found in my family's garage, pieces of wood from my grandmother's craft box, old flea market cameras. I like balancing the new with the old in a space, I think these pieces provide a story that modern items fail to do.

Here are some of the places I frequent:

-Amazon is great for pillow covers and other odds and ends
-World Market is great for dachshund shaped things
-Target... I will ALWAYS love Target
-Of course Etsy is a go-to for interesting prints and photographs
-Ikea for planters and organizers
-H&M has an online home section that's pretty much a Magnolia Market for the financially savvy.
-Craigslist, great for old (but good quality) furniture you can easily fix up
-It never hurts to check your local area for garage sales and even scan neighborhoods for items by the trash, you never know what some people throw away!

What are some of your favorite items around your house?

Let's get Festive!

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Hello! With this week wrapping up we're finally approaching our much needed vacation. Since we'll be coming back towards the end of November, I am already in Christmas decorating mode! Growing up we always started decorating the first week of December, partially out of respect of Thanksgiving, mostly out of laziness. These are just a few of my favorite Thanksgiving/Christmas decorations from my frequented shopping spots - I always go for that "rustic" decor usually involving burlap and a woodland animal of some sort.

Waco Road Trip: Magnolia Market

So lately I have been OBSESSED with the show Fixer Upper - you might recognize the HGTV show featuring the ever so talented Joanna Gaines who is the master of rustic-chic. It might come as a surprise to some viewers that her store, Magnolia Market is located in the small town of Waco, TX. Waco is pretty much smack dab in the middle of Austin and Dallas and from the looks of it, isn't home to anything of particular interest but when I found out that we were gonna be in that area I HAD to make a pit stop.

I am not ashamed to admit I was having a bit of a fan girl moment and was reallllly hoping to catch a peak of the Gaines - unfortunately I wasn't so lucky in that regard but it was still pretty cool to see all the items that had been used in the show and were available to purchase. Although the majority of the items were way beyond my price range, I ended up scoring some much needed items. The store is small but offers up a variety of goodies - everything from furniture to kitchen items and decor all with that rustic flair that looks like you spent hours scouring antique markets.

I ended up getting a wreath to fill the basket on our dining room table and a cute little cupcake stand! Tune in tomorrow to check out another hidden gem in Waco (ps it includes the best falafel I have EVER had).

It's Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas (Being Festive on a Budget)

A couple of you have been inquiring about Christmas decor so I snapped a few pics around the house today. It was my first Christmas living at my own place, so this was the first year I could decorate the whole space which was both exciting and a little daunting since we didn't want to spend a lot of money.

Here are some good deals we scored, we ended up spending less than $150 on decorations including the tree.
Get 50% Christmas decor at Hobby Lobby (stockings, tree skirt, entrance decor, table centerpiece)
Holiday Merry Christmas garland at Target
Pack of red bows at Walmart ($1.97)
Pre lit 7" tree for $99 at Michaels Craft store

Woodland Gingerbread Cookies

I'm not gonna lie, I freaked out a little bit when my mom surprised me with these woodland cookie cutters she picked up at Ikea! If you follow me on Instagram, you know that our Christmas tree is woodland themed, so I pretty much had no choice but to make cookies today.

A lot of times, gingerbread cookies can be hit or miss for me. They either look really pretty but taste like bland cardboard or look hideous and taste alright. I decided to keep decorating to a minimum (because let's be honest, gum drops don't belong on cookies) and utilized some chocolate flavored icing from a previous post, which I must admit was a better idea in theory because this icing doesn't harden all to well (only caused a minor breakdown whilst decorating).

These cookies not only look super cute but perhaps even more importantly they taste ammmazzinngg since you can't really re-roll dough I used the uncut dough, rolled it in sugar and baked it along with the others. The key to making gingerbread cookies that will roll out easily and won't spread during the baking process is to make sure the dough is chilled! Believe me, it will save you a lot of heartache.

Gingerbread Cookies

makes about 24 regular sized cookies
Recipe from last years post

1/2 cup shortening
1 cup light brown sugar
1 egg, beaten
4 TBS molasses
2 and 1/4 cup sifted AP flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 white sugar (to coat cookies)

Directions:

1.Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

2.Cream shortening and add sugar gradually and cream together until light and fluffy. Blend in beaten egg and molasses.

3.Sift flour together with slat, baking soda, and spices and stir into reamed mixture. Set in the fridge to chill (1 hour or more) then roll using the tiniest bit of flour (so the rolling pin won't stick) and cut into desired shapes. Place carefully on cookie sheet and bake for 15-12 min.

4.Remove cookie sheet from oven and allow the cookies to stand until the cookies are firm enough to move to a wire rack. After cookies are cool you may decorate them any way you like (I used left over icing from these cupcakes).

Cabinet Transformation DIY

When we moved into our apartment I found this cabinet just chilling out in our storage area. We contemplated tossing it since it was taking up valuable bike storage but I suddenly became inspired to give it a makeover (plus I needed a space to store all my food props). It seemed like it was originally some sort of mounted cabinet but I thought the little shelf would serve to store glasses, thus, it transformed into our new bar! Normally I am a fan of natural wood, but since we already had our wooden dining room table (which I redid HERE) I choose to go with a neutral pallet.

What you'll need:
-sandpaper
-paint
-stencils (optional)
-screwdriver

Some tips:
-It goes without saying but ALWAYS do a light sanding, even if the paint you're using says you don't have to, DO IT. It's a good way to prep the surface and remove any dirt that may be left behind.

-Whenever you're painting/staining a piece, always try to break down the product as much as possible. Whatever hardware you can remove, be it hinges, knobs, etc. do it! It will make it much easier to paint and you won't have to worry about getting it on anything.

-Don't hesitate to move the piece around (if you can) think about what position would be the easiest to paint (ie I put this on the ground to paint the inside stencils) sounds like a no brainer but keep it in mind.

I wanted the backdrop to be less intense than the details on the doors so I painted a this layer of white paint over it, waited for it to dry, then lightly sand for that worn faded look.

It made a great addition to our semi empty looking dining room. I am in the middle of making a marquee sign to hang up top so keep reading!