DiY Outdoor Curtains

Recently we completed our outdoor living space. I came up with a design to extend the patio, add a pergola and fire pit with seating. It all looked really great, but needed that last finishing touch- curtains. I searched high and low for reasonable priced curtains and still could not bring myself to pay $75 for two panels at Target. I came up with my own solution. 

Canvas drop cloth- like the kind the painters use. I bought two cloths at Lowes for $13.98 a piece, a $28 solution. I had purchased a 100"+ curtain rod at Ross for $14.99 and mounted it on the back of the pergola. The drop clothes were a bit too long, so I made a giant 12" hem on my awesome Brother sewing machine in order to hang them.

Next I hung them up, used some rope from Lowes to tie them back to the posts. And voila! Our patio instantly morphed into a fancy little cabana :)

PiNK Gold

My child is taking a NAP!!!!!!!!!!!! Evidently this only happens once a month since my last blog was a month ago... so sad :(

Onto Pink Gold... Well, it's actually called "Rose Gold," but pink sounds waaaay better ;)

I got myself the most amazing Mother's Day gift EVER- a "PiNK" Gold plated custom necklace with my baby's name on it. It cost me a total of $37 which I thought was an AMAZING deal! If you like it, check it out on Etsy. One day I can give it to Luciana so she can wear it :)

I also found some PiNK gold shoes! They're gold with PiNK flowers ;)

Chinese Laundry wedges from Ross for $16.99. I LOVE these wedges, they've turned into my favorite summer shoe. They're light, comfortable and obviously super cute! 

Next up- Pink gold-ish sunnies:

I never thought I could rock Aviators until I found these. They were a bit expensive... $12.99 at Ross :) By Betsy Johnson, she may have lost her popularity, but not her cute style. I LOVE these glasses, they have very nice lenses.

Until the next nap...

Adios Muchachos.

DiY Mother's Day Gift

It's not too late! You can still make your Mama a cost efficient gift that won't take a whole lot of time. I was inspired by a project that I saw on Pinterest, or like my cousin likes to call it, "My best friend Pinny." Project "Blooming Monogram." It's so pretty and different, I wanted to give it a shot.

Inspiration Site: Blooming Monogram

So the baby and I set out on a journey to Hobby Lobby where we retrieved the cardboard letters ($2.47 each) and some black cardboard ($2.99). Then we went to Michaels to get a laser cut frame ($4.99). And lastly, we went to Dollar Tree and got a whole bunch of flowers for $1 a piece and flower foam as well. Truth be told we made 2 trips to Dollar Tree because I got this big and beautiful flowers, when I learned that I really needed small ones. I'm actually quite impressed with the quality of flowers from Dollar Tree, they were every bit as nice as the $7 bunches at Hobby Lobby and Michaels. Oh- and I made a second trip back to Hobby Lobby to get this special E600 miracle glue... ($2.43 with coupon)

The blog says to use an exacto knife and cut off the front of the letters. I actually just used it enough to get my fingers under it and then was able to pull it straight up for a clean break, better than with the knife. 

I also took the ends off the "I" to make it skinnier

Then I used a hot glue gun to glue the flower foam in. Next I started sticking the flowers into it. The trick is not to get the flowers too big. Also, it's better if there's wire in the plastic to make it extra sturdy. I spray painted the laser cut frame outside moments before it rained- lucky me! And then glued the black cardboard to the back of the frame after the paint dried. Next I glued the letters on to the front using the special E600 magic glue.

In retrospect, I wish that they made the frame larger, or the letter blocks smaller. But unfortunately I don't rule the world (yet) and have to make due with what these crafter peeps make. The letters go onto the frame, but it gives it a popping effect I guess...

Here's the final presentation to the best Lil' Mommie in the whole wide world!!!

Do I Look Like a 1950's Artsy Mom?

I feel like this is a 1950 Artsy Mom kind of look, not sure why... I really love this look though! I need to find a better way to photograph myself. The crooked bathroom mirror with my fancy iphone cover pic isn't very classy. Hmmmm... I might have to put the tripod to use.

I'm totally into the "scarf in my hair" look. It's cute, but in all reality, it's convenient. I can make my dirty, child proof boppy look like I meant for it to look like that ;) 

Featured Top:

$8.60 at Image

This sleeveless coral top came from a store called "Image" and cost $8.60! WooHoo! I love the gold buttons, and the price was a selling point too :) I love how it's not too short in the front and not too long in the back. And obviously it pairs well with my $3 shoes too! I got my scarf a while back at Sam Moon, and my bracelet was $1 at the Dollar Jewelry Store. Oh!!!!! And my bi's and tri's that are looking all swoll in my pic (haha!) are from my FAVORITE Workout at GX Fitness.

Save the world and take a friend to go workout!

$3 Shoes + Sunless Tanning Gone BAD! Like VERY BAD!

What would an Oompa Loompa crossed with Michael Jackson look like???

Yeah... So a long time ago, I put a note on BFlo's Palm Beach Tanning account stating that he was not allowed to use the bronzing/orange spray tan because he always came out looking like our favorite characters in Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory. Well, now I look like one...

I've never used sunless tanning lotion in my life, and obviously have no business ever using it again! Apparently you can't just slather it on like after shower lotion. IF I do ever try it again, I will have to work with pea size amounts and concentrate on really smoothing it in.

At least this stuff doesn't have any chemicals in it.

Back to the most important business on the table... SHOES! You probably couldn't look past my diseased looking ankles in that last pic to see my really cute new boat shoes. 

I found this at Old Navy last weekend when looking for a new dress for the baby. I thought they were a good deal at $7.49. But when I got up to the register, the cashier said my total and I was like "What???" I said it to myself, of course, because what if he made a mistake in my benefit? Women's clearance shoes were an additional 50% off!!! Woot Woot! $3.74 for these babies! Now I love them even more! I'm naming these girls "Carmen," because everything needs a name, why not?