Before & After makeover!

Check this out, I'm kind of blown away....

Here are a few of the BEFORE shots. This person was brave, or maybe just very creative to see the potential in this house.

And the AFTER:

The green! The bright colors! So pretty...

 Love that light fixture

This has got to be the cutest patio I've ever seen!

This awesomeness brought to you by Nate Berkus' House Proud, featuring Gretchen from South Carolina =) This girl clearly has some awesome style.

Placemat tutorial

So I have a super cute tutorial for the day- Summer is here in full swing- supposed to be 97 degrees today with heat advisories! 

I love this DIY project: summery placemats!!

Here's the how-to from sweet something design blog

Sailcloth Placemats

I have had the beach on the brain for some time now, probably when the heat arrived in the Midwest and made me homesick for my coastal hometown...if I can't get to the beach, I'll bring it to me! Well, I can pretend anyway...

I decided to create some place mats using canvas. Of course in this modern day, canvas is rarely used for sails anymore, but it is seriously some of the most durable, versatile material. It's flax color, nubby texture, love it! I usually keep some in my stash to stretch for paintings, but I never buy the 'Artist Canvas', I buy canvas at the hardware store! Yep, it's big, and it's cheap....that's what I'm using today.

Now typically, I would use gesso on the canvas, but I wanted the raw canvas to show in addition to the paint. I think it looks neat! For a pattern, I used a square place mat that I already have and just cut the canvas the same size, with a seam allowance. I used heat n bond to hem it, I was just too lazy to break out the sewing machine...I'm still recovering from the last sewing project I took on. Heat n bond it is!

Now Jen from Tatertots and Jello provides this free printable quatrefoil pattern (Thanks Jen!). I have been wanting to try it on something! I printed it out, cut it out (step 1), used a sharpie to draw the pattern on the canvas (step 2), carefully painted in, using craft paint (step 3). Step 4 isn't really a step, I just named it that, it 's really just the end part of step 3, you get the point. Click here to get yours!

So far, I have done three different place mats, and I want to do a fourth one in a Chevron pattern.
Of course the quatrefoil is the most intricate, and took the most time to paint, the stripe went super fast, I used painter's tape to achieve the stripes. I love the hand painted look of them!

This is my second favorite one! Love some stripes!

I love this one the most! Love it in orange!

Cute project right?!! I wanted to attempt this myself, and I still may..

Anywho, here's a side note, but yet another reason I love TJ maxx:

Notecards!

Are these not the cutest notecards you've ever seen? Yep they both came home with me... Now I just need someone to write to =)

natural + green

My obsession with green is no secret. When I came across this space, I was kinda blown away. There's lots of patterns, but it's all neutral plus pops of green. I've been a huge fan lately of grasscloth walls, and the wingback chairs are pretty much to die for. 

via purestylehome

Torn

Alright so I peeked through some magazines at the airport(s) this past week, and came across this one:

It bothered me.  

I couldn't figure out why. I'm all about fitness, and I agree that teenagers should be fit for sure! I had no idea Seventeen had a fitness magazine, or maybe this is just a one-time special (anyone know for sure? I dunno, I don't read teen mags!)

So looking at the cover, then flipping through it, all I saw was a bunch of skinny celebs, some teen, some adults. In my opinion, I just don't like the idea of encouraging teenagers to strive for that perfect bikini body, with a cute butt. There was nothing "teen" about the content- it was the same stuff you see in People or Shape magazine. I just feel like they need to be healthy in their own ways- get into sports, be active, have good knowledge of healthy foods, normal teen stuff, but don't put even MORE pressure than they already have to be as skinny as their favorite celebrity. Get fit and be active because you feel good and its preventative, but obsessing about getting fit to strut around in your bikini to attract the boys? I don't like that message.
There's a fine line between encouraging fitness and fueling low self-esteem & eating disorders.

Any one agree?

I'm baaaaack

Well that was a great ten days of laying about, pigging out, and neglecting everything except for my toddler. And who knew I would actually miss the weather out here in St Louis?! 

We're down to the last 2 months of the summer, and I'm one who counts... I'm anxious to go back to Utah. Anyhow, here's a pic to get me (and you) motivated! I LOVE everything about this image.

The lacquered red/orange with gold pulls, the framed boards that actually look expensive and not DIY, and the lamps and accessories are just great. Lots of colors going on and it totally works. 

MIA

Hey guys, sorry once again I've been MIA. It's been a fun and busy 4th of July weekend, and I'm still out of town! I left good ol St Louis to see my family out in the great pacific Northwest: Portland, then Yakima, WA and Ellensburg, then back to Portland again where I am now- Hillsboro actually. Blogging just isn't the same without my mac and my stash of photos! Actually I just don't even know how to do it, I've been trying to no avail, to upload some eye candy til I get back. Craptastic

Francesca's

I can't recall if I've mentioned this shop before, but here goes anyway:

I'd never heard of Francesca's Collections before. Me and Paityn just saw it one day at the mall out here in St Louis and decided to take a gander. As far as I know, they don't exist in Utah, and I'd never seen it elsewhere either, maybe it's a midwest thing. Anyways this store is CUTE.  Really fun stuff that reminds us of Urban Outfitters a little bit. And the prices are decent. Luckily I discovered they have a website (which often has free or low shipping)! I also found out today they have a maternity line, so if that applies to YOU, check it out! =)

 the pattern on this dress is actually really cute in person. It just came in the mail =)

 Yeah they have voluspa candles too!

 all flats are 40% off right now!