Fashion Friday: Cynthia Vincent for Target

I am in love......

I have had my Cynthia Vincent for Target shoes for a week now and I love everything about them!

Before and After: Deck Chairs

Do you remember these chairs I found on the curb?

Well after a few coats of spray paint (the kind made for plastic), here is what they look like now....

Stay tuned for the rest of the deck makeover!

P.S. The table was $7 at Target...it got a few coats of spray paint too!

Easy Updates: Jewelry

I picked up this dessert stand for only $2.50 when I was at Goodwill on Saturday with my Mom. However, I don't plan to use it for desserts. Here is what I did with it.....

I need a place to put the bracelets and necklaces that I wear often. I think it looks pretty and will work great.

Did you guys find any new treasures or good deals this weekend?

Earth Day

Happy Earth Day!!

It was one of my New Year's resolutions to continue on the "green" path and try to make our home even more eco friendly. Last year we made some easy swaps such as buying eco friendly dishwasher soap, buying recycled aluminum foil, shopping for all our produce at the farmer's market during the warmer months and using reusable shopping bags. Here is what we have added to our list so far this year...
1. Planting a "mini garden" using plants that came in plantable containers - look for an upcoming post on this!
2. Switching to a microfiber cloth for dusting - love it!
3. Making my own cleaners - I recently made my first cleaner and hope to try some others - again, look for an upcoming post on this!

Here are 3 things I plan to start doing soon...
1. Recycling - growing up my family has always recycled. This has been something that has been hard to do since I went to college and moved to an apartment in the city. The city I live in has curbside recycling but since we live in an apartment it doesn't apply to us. We also don't have much room to store recyclables in our apartment. However, on a recent trip to Target I noticed they now offer recycling. I figure we usually go to Target pretty often so when we do we can grab our stuff to recycle and go.
2. I need to figure out a new eco friendly solution to dryer sheets. Any suggestions that work for you?
3. I would like to switch over to soy candles. I have heard such good things about them.

Do you guys have any Earth Day inspired goals? Do you have any dryer sheet suggestions for me to try? What are your favorite Green products?

Spring Table

I wanted to share my Spring table with you today......

It started with a light blue tablecloth/bed sheet (use what you have!). I found these woven chargers on clearance at Wal-Mart a couple months ago. They were only $1.50 each! The blue plates and cups were another clearance find at Target. The white plates are our everyday dishware. I wanted to keep things simple with the woven chargers.

I found this lantern on clearance at TJ Maxx for $10. It is a pretty big lantern and very Pottery Barn looking so I was pretty excited. I used that as the centerpiece and added some candles and a starfish that I already had. Nothing says Spring like fresh flowers so I added those too.

What do you think? Have any of you done a Spring table or have you used any unusual things (like a bed sheet) when setting the table?

Spring Blooms

This past week we had our first blooms of the spring. We bought 2 tulip plants at Lowes for $0.98 each. It has been nice to have some flowers out on the deck. Lee and I have been really enjoying our nightly walks because everything is starting to bloom and it looks so pretty outside right now. Here are a few pictures of our pretty tulips.

Spring Dollar Spot

I wanted to show you a few cute garden themed items that Target has on their Dollar Spot. I have a few of the items and used them in my Spring decorating.

These small pails and watering can are perfect to hold plants or flowers.

I think these small candle holders are super cute. I may need to go pick up a few more. This lantern would be a perfect way to add a little Spring/Summer touch to your home.

If I would let him, my hubby would have our deck full of potted veggie plants. We may have to try a few of these grow-in-a-bag plants.

Have any of you picked up any of these items and used them to decorate? What are the ways you add a little Spring to your home?

Spring Flowers

I love having fresh flowers in the house! They really brighten things up and make me happy. While we were grocery shopping, I decided to splurge a little on the buy one Alstroemeria bouquet for $10 get one free special. I split the flowers up into three smaller bouquets. They are so pretty!

Fashion Friday: Spring Coat

My new Spring coat is from Kohls!

Trash

I had my first trash picking experience on Sunday night. I am not sure if you can really consider it trash picking but here is what happened. Lee and I decided to go for a walk early Sunday night (maybe work off some of that yummy Easter food we ate all weekend!). We live in a nice part of town and like to walk and look at the houses. We often talk about what we like about the different houses and what we want in our future house. As we were walking, we noticed a lot of stuff by the curb and a lot of people bringing stuff to their curb. I guess the next day was like a "junk day" in this neighborhood. It was kind of like a big free garage sale. We noticed some things that we could use and decided when we finished our walk we would come back with the SUV and see if they were still there. Here is what we ended up with....

I have been thinking of getting these same chairs (different color of course!) for a deck project I am planning. These free chairs fit right in the budget...I just need some spray paint!

I also picked up this ottoman. It needs some love but I think I can recover it. I already have a few ideas for it. Hopefully it turns out looking great!

Three planters came home with us. There are 2 wooden ones and one metal one. I am not sure if we will be able to use them all but I know my Mom will probably take whatever we don't use.

Lee picked up 5 of these big pots. We had a tomato plant last year on our deck. He would love to fill the deck full of pots with veggie plants. The guy needs a yard with a garden...someday!

We ended up with some good stuff and the best part is that it was all FREE! Have any of you ever done some trash picking? Stay tuned to see how all of our trash hopefully turns to treasure!

Spring Decor

I hope you all had a great Easter! We had a weekend full of family and yummy food...it was a lot of fun! Since Spring has officially sprung here in Iowa, I wanted to share a little of our Spring decor.

I will start with our kitchen table. I bought a couple bags of river rock at the Dollar Tree to fill my Pier 1 candle vase. The plant is one I have had from Ikea. I bought the plate from Marshalls a few months ago. I love it! I am using it to hold our fresh veggies. I can't wait for the farmer's market to start! The little outdoor candle holder and watering can are from the dollar spot at Target. I bought the fake white flowers at the Dollar Tree to fill the watering can. The table runner was a wedding gift from Target. It has been so versatile. I have been able to use it for all seasons.

The corner of our kitchen counter was the first thing I decorated for Spring. The only new things I bought for this were the blue and white plates and the woven cups. The plates were on sale at Target for like $0.80 each. John and Sherry on Young House Love have some of these woven cups that I have admired. I found some of my own at Marshalls recently. I think they are so cute!

I also made a few changes to the bookcase. I framed some of our professional wedding pictures and put them on one shelf. The second shelf has a stack of my favorite decor magazines with a candle and glass dish with shells we found in Mexico on it. I bought the frames from Goodwill a year ago and painted them white. I printed a map of Canada, the United States, and Mexico and put it in one of the frames without the glass. I am going to buy some pins to stick on the map of the places Lee and I have been together. Lee and I love to travel so it will be a good way to keep track and show all the places we have been. I think the starfish frame is my favorite. It is so simple but I love it. I bought a piece of scrapbook paper and the starfish from Michales and put them in the frame again without the glass. The plant is another one I have had from Ikea.

What do you think of everything? Have any of you been doing any Spring decorating?

6 Months!

I told you the other day that last Friday Lee and I were in St. Louis for the UNI Sweet Sixteen game...but we also celebrated 6 months of marriage! So I thought I would share a few wedding pictures today. Happy Easter!