Free Garden Plans

This is the year we tackle the front yard.  We did a vegetable garden last year with mixed results (lots of growth, but not enough food to make me feel all the work was worthwhile), so I feel a little more confident about my gardening abilities.  I didn't want to try a front yard garden before I conquered my black thumb, because, after all, it will be on full display for everyone to judge and potentially mock.

Right now we're in the budgeting/planning phase.  A great site I found for information is BHG.com - they even have free garden plans which give you all the details from what flowers to buy, to how to properly plant and take care of them.

I like this one for the area near the sidewalk, which has a slight slope.  Plus, we could use a nice path from the sidewalk to the front door since we currently cut across our neighbor's yard, which is probably a big faux pas.

My top 3 goals are to find plants hardy enough (and low-maintenance enough) that they won't die from the extreme Texas heat or my general lack of gardening mojo, that are cheap (you know it), and are mostly perennials so I don't have to replant the entire garden every year.

Oly Bed Knock-Off

This is the Oly Studio Diego Bed.  It's gold, has spindles, is textured.  I'm sure it costs an arm and a leg (I found one quote of $5,450).



via Zinc Door and Pinterest

It's famous.

High Point Market via M.A.S.H. by Tiffany

My favorite thing about it is the combination of canopy and upholstered headboard.  Because I want both.  But since I dislike the notion of losing an arm or a leg (or both), I thought this cheap-o version could fit the bill.

Lauren King Metal Canopy Bed - Overstock

Gold leafed, of course.  It doesn't have the texture or spindles of the original, but I think the streamlined version would still be pretty.  Only $296.99 currently.

Nude Motorcycle Jacket

I made my Spring wish list of clothes to buy a couple of weeks ago.  A lot of the pictures I saved on my Pinterest inspiration board featured a nude or khaki coolored blazer. 



Polyvore - Untitled #69 by bbs25

via Pinterest

However, since I'm also looking to buy both a coral and a navy blazer, I decided to branch out and look for a proper jacket.  I liked this look "in-my-closet" put together on Polyvore, which inspired me to start searching for a nude motorcycle or bomber jacket.

Since it will be 150 degrees here in Austin by April, I thought the earlier I bought it, the better.  And, of course, I wasn't going to spend a lot on it.  I've been looking for a pair of nude heels and I realized my skin looks much better with a pinkish/light nude color that a darker one, so I thought I might apply the principal to my nude colored jacket as well.  I ended up finding two lighter choices.

 

Kohl's Hydraulic Moto Jacket

This one was at Kohls, on sale for $67.99, down from $98.  Plus, there was a 15% off coupon code at Retailmenot.com.  I liked the rose gold accents, but thought it might read too shiny/cheap in person.

 

Faux Leather Motorcycle Jacket

The second option (and the one I ended up going with) was at New York & Company.  On sale for $44.97, down from $89.95.  I added a $5 nail polish to get the total up and used a coupon code for $20 off of $50 - so end the end I paid $34.97 before taxes and shipping (total after $46.50).  I'm actually not swept off my feet by the picture (and New York & Company's website doesn't feature a lot of detail shots), but for the price I thought I had to give it a try.

 

via Pinterest

In case it doesn't work out, I have been researching options of a nude cropped or bomber style jacket.  I liked the picture of Lauren Conrad and her jacket from Kohls, but they don't sell it anymore.  However, New York & Company does have this one:

 

Faux Leather Cropped Jacket

It's more expensive - $89.95, although there are frequently coupons for $30-50 off $100 purchases.  We'll see, though.  Hopefully my original (cheaper) purchase will work out.

Garnier Moisture Rescue Rave Review

I've recently become an addict to watching beauty channels on Youtube.  As a girl who rarely wore make-up in my 20s, it's been a bit of a transition for me to wear it (almost) everyday of my 30s.  I simply didn't know anything but the basics, so I've been experimenting with lots of different products.  Meanwhile, my face has been getting drier with lots of splotchy red spots.  So, I did my Youtube research and stumbled across some rave review for Garnier's Moisture Rescue Refreshing Gel Cream.  It was around $8 at CVS, so I gave it a whirl.  I bought the Dry Skin version because my skin was really suffering.

Of course, everyone's experience will be different, but I have never been more pleased with a beauty product's performance, especially compared to their claims.  If I knew it was going to work so well, I would have taken before and after shots, really!  After washing my face one night, I put it on and instantly felt like my skin was smoother and deeply moisturized.  The next morning, all of my cracked and flaky patches were gone!  After a week of using it twice a day (in the morning before my make-up ritual, and at night after my cleansing routine), my skin has developed a lovely texture and even a bit of a glow.  It's a bit of a miracle cream, in my opinion.

Just so no one thinks they've stumbled on a sponsored, fake review - I also bought Garnier's BB Cream at the same time.  I knew from several Youtube reviews that this was not really comparable to the Asian BB creams everyone raves about, or even the more expensive BB creams from companies like Smashbox and Bobbi Brown.  But they also said it was the best of the drugstore BB creams, so I thought I would give it a shot.

Not nearly as impressed.  It provides very little coverage and doesn't really even out my skin tone like it claims.  It's basically a tinted moisturizer, but I have been satisfied with it as a primer (especially when I compare its $12 price tag to the $30 I paid for my Too Faced Poreless Primer).  It does have a bit of a glow to it and doesn't leave my skin greasy, while also feeling light.  It seems to help my make-up last most of the day (and my skin loves to absorb make-up).  I like that it has SPF, although 15 is kind of low.  So I'd give it a B for performance/cost, although a C- if I was expecting the "Miracle Skin Perfector" the box claims.

Anyone have any miracle/loved beauty products they can recommend?  I only recently realized I can return make-up to CVS if I don't like it - which was such a revelation.  No more paralysis over trying new shades.

Velvet Ikat

Found a seller on Etsy called Textile Gallery and I'm seriously happy.

Velvet Ikat Goodness

They sell ready made pillows as well, but I love the yard-long pieces you can make into whatever you desire.  I love the pattern above, but it's described as red and I need pink.  Maybe this one?

I would use it to make a big bolster for my bed.  Like Madeline Weinrib.

Of course, there's also this cheaper, non-velvet fabric that I like for pink polka dots.  I like the smaller dots a bit more than the big ones.

Waverly Seeing Spots - Fabric.com

P.S.  I'm having Blogger issues in Internet Explorer - it won't give me the button to open files when I need to upload a picture - I know, white girl problems.  I finally went through Google to write this post.  Thought I would mention it in case anyone else is having the same problem, or happens to know an easy solution.

Village Square

I decided to go ahead and paint my dining room and kitchen.  We're technically not supposed to paint, but one of our neighbors has a bright pink dining room - so either the landlords don't care too much or those neighbors have much bigger balls than I do.  Maybe a little of both.  It won't be bright pink - in fact, I'm going super neutral/safe/(boring?) with a gray/taupe color.

I started looking for inspiration and stumbled across this painted china cabinet from nesting place.

I like how it resembles that somewhat nondescript Restoration Hardware putty color.  Without me having to explain to the fellows at Home Depot that I'm looking for a "somewhat nondescript Restoration Hardware putty color."  It's Behr's Village Square.

The hard thing with taupe is that I definitely want it to be on the gray side, not the tan side.  So I decided to go and get a couple of test pots and have a serious crack at finding the perfect color.

Then my neighbor moved out and gave us a pile of stuff she didn't want anymore - included a brand new can of taupe/gray paint.  Not sure why I'm ridiculously lucky with paint but not with winning the lottery, but this is not a day for questioning things. 

So I slapped up a couple of test swatches on my lunch break yesterday.  Which was kind of stupid because I know I'm going to use it - but it's nice to run things by the boyfriend like I care about his opinion. 

BTW - his opinion is that he doesn't like it, because it's gray, to which I replied, "You think I care that you don't like it?"  Okay, I think I really said, "I know, I wanted gray.  Do you want to watch The Grey on Netflix?" See how I distracted him there - you learn to do that when working with 2 year olds, but it still works with men too.  Usually it involves boobs, but action movies and sports sometimes work too.

The goal is to whip the dining room into sorta shape in the next two weeks.  It will look presentable, but not be finished.  These are definitely getting purchased this weekend:

Although I'm almost definitely going to gold leaf them (sometime in the next year) and pile them up with crap (almost immediately).

Ruthie Sommers in Veranda

My mother-in-law had the December issue of Veranda in her car, so I was casually flipping through until I came to a sudden stop with this picture.

It's a townhome that Ruthie Sommers designed in Chicago and the entire place is just gorgeous.  She has a fantastic ability of balancing traditional elements while she takes great risks - the entire space is brilliant.  However, this bedroom is my favorite part.

Veranda

Love the layers of ivory - the canopy bed - check out that purple piping detail on the panels!  Everything is muted and soft, but undeniably chic.