Woodland Creatures Obsession

I do not know why, but I have a severe addiction to woodland creatures. Owls, deer, foxes, friggin anything with any of those, and I'm sold. Hands down.
I am a frequent window shopper of modcloth because their clothes are just fantastic. I can't afford the clothes, but I use the site as inspiration and usually find similar things elsewhere (mainly thrift stores) but their set of woodland creature clothes has got me wanting to save my money like you would not believe! I am horrible with money, so me wanting to save for anything really says something!
Whats really cool is all of the clothes are fall colors or actual fall clothes!! Like these cute little Sweaters!

 
and these cute dresses and skirt!

And last but most certainly not least (cause its my absolute favorite!!) is this amazing top!!!!


The colors are all so beautiful, and so very fall, and I want every single piece for my wardrobe!
All of these adorable pieces are available on modcloth, so if you love them as much as I do, why not give them a look!

DIY Refurbished Table

I love furniture. And I love refurbishing furniture. No matter how difficult the task, I will take it on.
When I was living at home, my mom and I did alot of DIY projects for the house. Building patios, fixing floors, tiling floors, repainting cabinets, etc.
So now when I find old furniture, I dont see it for what it currently it is, but what it can be. Ive re-done a side table (formerly an old tv stand) an old bland bookshelf, and a lamp for my apartment in the last few months, then I hit a dry spell. I couldnt find any furniture i really liked and really wanted to personalize. Then, last week, I found the most beautiful table.....but, it was painted the most horrific combination of colors imaginable!!!

How ugly right? Yellow, navy blue and green?? Who in their right mind would paint a table like this?? Plus, this little beauty had a leg fall off which is why it was in the donation pile in my apartment complex during the moving season. so I of course picked it right up and dragged it inside.
I let it stay inside while i decided what to do with it. Then last night it hit me. PINK. not just any pink either. Baby pink. Or as the krylon bottle said, "ballet slipper."
So I coated the table in paint stripper and let it sit as i ran to Walmart and grabbed the paint, wood glue, sand paper and clamps that I need. when i returned home, the stripper had worked its magic and i scraped off all the ugly blue and yellow paint, then sanded everything down till all that was left on the top was the wood. The part painted green is suuuper detailed so i just sanded off the glossy top so the paint would stick. Next, i added heavy duty wood glue to the leg of the table, stuck it one securely, and let it sit over night to dry and seal. Then I took some cheap white spray paint to prime the entire table.

After 3 cans of white paint and an hour of drying time, it was time to paint it pink. which took another 3 cans of spray paint.....but, it looks AMAZING.

All the supplies totaled about $16 and took around 24 hours to complete, but it was simple, and quite fun!! and now I have a gorgeous pink coffee table to go i my apartment with my cream colored couch, pink wing back chairs, and lace side table!!
Next up: My dining table!!!

My Apartment Hunting Story

So, as most other college students do eventually, I went apartment hunting. And. it. was. horrible. I live in a cute little college town, in a cute little apartment, where I would stay, but my wonderful roommate is moving home to the big city nearby. And since I go to school in that city, I thought hey, why not move there, It might be cheaper?
NOOOOOOPE. I was sooo very wrong. Most places expected first, last and a security deposit up front, some totaling up to $1,200!! Which, I so totally don't have saved up since I just recently got released in to the world as an independent person (which is so difficult). The fact that I was independent was a huge turn off for absolutely everyone I talked to (8 places in 3 days) and everyone turned me away, even places with low rent and no deposit. Apparently a single girl with a job and attending school all on her own is a bad thing in the renting world?
Anyways, I went to so many places, with so many different types of people and it was insane. The first place was this cute house in a very nice little neighborhood (this is the one that was 1,200 for a single room and shared bath, plus i couldn't keep any of the furniture I currently have. Psh, yeah right). I mean, it was nice, it was just way out of my price range.
The second one, oh lordy. That was a disaster! I pulled up and saw a run down house with a dead lawn, chain link fence, pitbulls, and some girl sitting there smoking, and not cigarettes, with purple hair...... I couldn't help but think, "Maybe its 52 st and not ave?" so I called, and the guy answered and said "hey, we saw you pull up, come on in!" and all I could think was "What am I getting myself into....oh lord." So I walk in and see my tour guide is a big ole guy with a bleached dreadlock mohawk. Yeah, have fun picturing that one. So, I get shown the house, which has absolutely no furniture in it, the whole place smells of smoke, and its set up like a hotel......with numbered doors on the inside. And a teeeeny little shared bathroom. I was like, well, maybe I am this desperate, lets see the room. Which was small, smelled like a litter box, and my view was of a fence covered in graffiti. Finally, I am shown the back yard which is just as brown and dead as the front.....and filled with broken torn up furniture and shopping carts full of garbage. So, understandably, I declined. I was desperate, but not that desperate. Plus my poor asthmatic lungs would not be able to handle all the smoke.
The last of all the places I looked at seemed quite promising. Close to campus, not a bad neighborhood, only 275 a month, but I knew there was a catch. Which was the room was horribly small, (big enough for a twin bed and a side table and that's it) there was no furniture, no natural or artificial lighting, and there would be 3 people sharing a bathroom. Meaning this place got a big ole no, since I have way too much stuff to cram into a room half the size of what I have now.
Finally, I decided to bid adieu to the big city and stick with where I am, same complex, different apartment number, and different roommate, but everything can just be transferred over and September is paid for, meaning I have all month to save and get a second job to cover rent and school expenses. I guess it was just meant to be. All my meetings, stress and turmoil over where to live was just to show me that I'm right where I need to be. In a cute little apartment, in a cute little town. Because I sure as hell am not a city girl.
Just know that if you ever decide to move out on your own, don't let the decision be rushed. Save up, do your research, and get a roommate, because having someone to split all the bills with is an absolute financial blessing.

6 Thrifting Tips for Impatient People

So, Thrift stores are apparently the new fad. The whole retro vintage look is making a comeback and thrift stores are the best place to get that look. Personally, I love thrift stores, but that is because I am the average thrift store size, and because I am a broke college student who loves vintage.
A majority of what you will find in thrift stores is clothes in the "larger" sizes, the 10-16 bottoms and L-XL tops or the itty bitty stuff, like those 90's midriff tops you wore when you were in Jr. High. I have pretty good luck with thrift stores with pretty much everything. Furniture, Purses, Clothes, and especially Shoes. Boy do I luck out with shoes. However, my roommate (who is new to thrift store shopping) doesn't always find what she is looking for, so she gets a little pissy and gives up, but she is learning, thanks to these tips I have been using to teach her.

1. You need to go out with an open mind. You aren't always going to find what you want. That cute pair of shoes might be too small or that top may be way too big. Don't set out to find one specific thing, because chances are, if you're looking for it, you wont find it.
2. Be patient. Thrift stores are usually a huge jumble of everything. Sometimes they're sorted by size, some by brand, and some by color and clothing type. You really do have to look through the racks. If its a small store, that wont be too much of an issue, but if it's a large store, you need to really look, because you can find some real gems hidden in that mess.
3. Picture your current wardrobe. Most of my wardrobe is thrifted or altered in some way, and I really stick to blues, browns and blacks, so finding pieces to match is easy for me. My roommate however, has a huge jumble of patterns and clothing styles. She will buy something then find out she has absolutely nothing to wear with it. If you like it, and it can easily be incorporated into your wardrobe, then go for it. But if its just a random item you want cause it looks pretty, and you know you'll never wear it, don't go for it.
4. Be cost conscious. Its easy to think that all these cheap items don't add up, but they do, quickly. You may think you're only going to buy this item for this much, and that item for that much, but if you're not paying attention, it can get pretty bad. Those $10 boots might be cute and look awesome, but how much of a discount is it really from the original price? Is it worth it? Or should you put them back and walk away?
5. Don't be afraid to alter items after buying them. I have changed up quite a few of my purchases after hitting up some thrift stores. Altered a pair of white flared jeans, which I bought for a dollar, into skinny jeans and they look as if they were made that way. Maybe that shirt that is a little too big can be taken in? That dress or skirt can be shortened? You have to see the potential in things, maybe something you alter can become a staple in your wardrobe, or even the inspiration for a wardrobe make-over.
6. Visit the stores often. Most cities have more than one thrift store, so why not make a day out of it. And if you don't find anything just return another day. People are constantly donating items to thrift stores and their stock is constantly changing. So if you return every week or so, you'll see that there is an entire new selection to choose from.

Everyone has different thrifting stories, some good, some bad. But I guarantee you, if you take the time to look through the racks and don't write off a thrift store after one visit, you'll be able to find some magnificent things. Happy thrifting!!

Scarf Display

So, I am obsessed with scarves. long ones, thick ones, skinny ones, small square ones, large square ones. All of them!! And I wanted to be able to show them off while storing them in a way that they won't get wrinkly.
I had a piece of PVC pipe and some paint hanging around, so i decided a hanging pipe will be perfect to Wrap the scarves around.
You'll need a short length of PVC pipe, paint, embroidery thread, two nails and a hammer.
First off, I chose 3 colors of embroidery thread and braided them so that the thread you run through the pipe is strong and can hold the weight of the scarves.

Next, I painted the pvc and let it dry (which took foreverrrrr) After it dried I ran the braided thread through the pipe and ran a nail between some of the threads and hung the pipe up. 

Lastly, I tied all of my scarves around it (i used a small rubber band to hold the smaller scarves). It is an excellent addition to the rest of my wall storage ( i love my wall space) and there it is, a cute little scarf display. 

Polka Dotted White Board

If you're like me, then you like white board for the sheer fact that you can do nifty little designs with permanent markers that can easily be erased, (so cool right!!??)
I've gone through so many different designs this past year: daily calendar, weekly to do list, class schedule, assignment list and so many more!! Yet my favorite and current design is cute little polka dots.
Its so very simple to do actually. All you'll need is a white board, sticky dots (or round object of the size you want.) and permanent markers in whatever colors you want.
First, make sure your white board is nice and clean by wiping it down with a cotton ball with a teensy bit of rubbing alcohol. 

Next, apply the stickers in the pattern you want, tightly clustered or scattered, whichever you prefer. (pardon my legs in the pic.......)

Then, trace the edge of the stickers with the markers you chose in whatever pattern you want.

Next, remove the stickers then fill in the circles.

And tada! new polka dotted board!! I used this one to hold my post-its and marker and hung it above my larger white board (which is pretty much the same pattern and being used to hold all my to do post-its which are of course color coded).

And there you have it. Cute and organized polka dotted white boards, and you can do whatever you want with them. Plus! If you change your mind, (like I frequently do) a bit of rubbing alcohol and some paper towels will give you a clean slate.

DIY Ombre Storage drawers

So, I had this neat little sterilite drawer set, the kind you get at target. Just the simple little clear one like the one below. 

But for some reason, i really just hated it. (I think it was because I could visibly see my clutter through it, and I like hiding clutter behind pretty things.) For me, when i hate something, I either toss it or refurbish it some how. I pulled a bit of inspiration from my cute blue ombre square shelves on the wall, and decided to paint the drawers pink. 

My roommate and I set out on a mission to find the perfect shades of pink (or peach) and found these nifty little 50 cent bottles of acrylic paint. 

Next was the hard part......painting plastic. It took about a bottle per layer, but it came pretty good. We used simple little sponge brushes from Walmart and painted a layer at a time, allowing ample time to dry before painting on the next layer, because it tends to get stringy if its not totally dried yet. 

*Tip: setting it in front of a fan really helps (....but makes the apartment smell like paint for hours.)

It's not peeling like we expected, but it is scratching of pretty easily so i need to be careful. But, I think it came out quite nice. Only cost around $1.50 to paint each drawer and it was a pretty fun project overall. 

 Tossed on some labels and bam! New, cute, easy and thankfully not clear anymore.