Sunday, July 29, 2012

Backyard Updates!




Over the long and very HOT summer down here in Texas, I have been doing everything I can to make our back yard nice and comfy:) Pretty much all of the furniture in our back yard is new, so it's taken a while to accumulate it all. So far, we've added a wicker settee, 2 Adirondack chairs, 2 wicker poolside layout chairs, and a hammock. Wehew! That is a lot! ...Oh, and of course more pillows too:) I tried my hardest to really make it an extension of our back patio, and I really think it all ties together nicely. I recently posted about our back porch reveal, so if you missed it, make sure to check it out {HERE}.

Hope you enjoy some of the pictures of our backyard reveal. Scroll down to see where I found my items!









Where I found my items:

Wicker Settee: Big Lots
Wicker Layout Chairs: Big Lots
Small Adirondack Side Table: Home Depot
Hammock: Garden Ridge 
Adirondack Chairs: Lowes
Navy Pillows: Target
Red Patterned Pillows: Lowes
Red Pillows: Garden Ridge
Red Cushions: Garden Ridge




Thursday, July 26, 2012

Evercare Fabric Shaver - For My Couch!??

Do you have trouble with your fabric couch balling up??
I DO TOO!

 
Hey Guys! So today I will be posting about the BEST product I have used in YEARS!! I seriously think it has changed my life... ok well maybe I shouldn't be so dramatic, but it has changed the life of my couch;)

I want to start with saying I'm not in any way being paid to endorse this product. It's all me my friends! I'm just so giddy with my new toy that I just HAD to share it with y'all:) Ok lets begin!

So you might have noticed that I sometimes post about how much I want a new couch for our living room, and if you look at my Pinterest boards, they are FULL of new couch options. The reasoning behind this is not because I dislike my current couch. I actually love my couch! But there is one little problem that bothers the heck out of me. It balls up like nobody's business! And it's not like it does it over a long period of time. I will sit there for 30 minutes picking every little ball off of the fabric (or at least as many as I can get), and 3 days later... they are balled up again. SO very annoying!

After many many months of frustration, I started looking for solutions to my problem. One of those solutions was buying a new couch, and that just was not an option! I had heard that Velcro would help pick up the balls off the fabric, but this wasn't the best solution and I wouldn't recommend it. I only tried it a few times because I was nervous that over a long period of time it would ruin the fabric. After almost 3 years of owning the sofa, I eventually just gave up on my losing battle. Fine couch... you win.

Then last weekend when I was in Houston, I was running errands with my mom and stopped into Bed, Bath and Beyond. I knew while I was there I wanted to check out to see if they had one of those fabric shavers that you sometimes see in random stores or in the "As seen on TV" isle. Years ago I had one of these fabric shavers for my sweaters, but only had one memory of it. I somehow shaved a hole in my sweater and haven't used a fabric shaver ever since. It was probably a "user error," but I still really didn't want to take that risk on a $1000 couch! I mean, a $20 sweater I can handle... but kinda scared to use it on my one and only couch. So for years I kept the idea in the back of my mind wondering if it would ever work.


Fast forward to last weekend. After browsing around the store I eventually found (and bought) the Evercare fabric shaver for right around $12.00. I haven't tested out any other brands, so I can't really compare, but I have been very happy with my purchase thus far. (Just make sure to buy AA batteries because they don't actually come with the shaver)

After about 4.5 hours in the car on the way back from Houston, we didn't get to Fort Worth until around 8:30 p.m. I was SO exhausted from the long weekend and long drive, but guess what was the first thing I pulled out of the car to try?? Yupp - my new fabric shaver. I first tested it on a section of my cushion where no one would ever see (just in case I somehow tore the fabric). After the product worked perfectly on the test area, you couldn't get that thing out of my hand! I practically cleared up the entire couch that night! Even the hubs wanted to get in on the action and helped me out with a few cushions. After just few minutes of using the shaver, it was like we had a whole new couch. Yesss!!  

** This product was not made for upholstery so I was also nervous about that, but like I said - it worked perfect and I have no complaints!  




Isn't the {before & after} just crazy?? The fabric hasn't looked this good since we bought the couch back in 2009. Very pleased with our purchase and would totally recommend it. 


I couldn't find the link on the Bed Bath and Beyond website, but you can just google "Evercare Fabric Shaver" and there will be tons of options for ya.  Who knows, you will probably even find a better deal online!


Enjoy!!










Tuesday, July 24, 2012

True Life: I'm a Pillow Hoarder

Yes... It's true. I am a self diagnosed pillow addict. Hoarder... addict... it's all the same when it comes to my love for pillows. Lets just say I think I own more pillows than anything else in our house. It's really not my fault though. They just make a house so homey!



I've always tried to hide my little addiction, but well.. I think it officially got out of control this past week. Or at least thats what my hubby's facial expression told me when he saw me bring my bags in from the car...

The other day, I made myself a little visit to Pottery Barn to get a bridal shower gift... because yes, that is the only time I ever walk into PB. Well, normally I don't have a problem going into that store, because they make it so painfully OBVIOUS that I cannot afford any of it. So my shopping addiction? No problem! Can't afford it = won't buy it. Easy as that. Well... I still gave the store a nice walk around {because who can actually leave that store without drooling a little bit??} and in my walk, I discovered the pillows that I had been dying over for the past 6 months. They are 16 inch wide striped navy and white pillows. EXACTLY what I had been wanting for SO long! 


I had even shopped around for fabric at our local fabric stores with a plan to sew them myself! Well I obviously hadn't had any luck finding them, so I eventually gave up. Well they always say that you seem to find things when your not searching for them, and yupp it's true. They had 2 left in the store on clearance for only $16!! I didn't even know Pottery Barn sold anything for that cheap! Well, they do my friends, so I snatched them both up. Online they sell for $29 - I totally got a deal:)

The next day we were off to Houston for my BFF's bridal shower. My mom and I ended up making the default Marshalls trip, and guess what?? There. Were. More. Pillows. Not the exact same as the Pottery Barn version, but maybe even better! They were also $16.00, so duh - how could I pass them up?? They were a little more "worn" looking (not as much of a crisp white), and just perfect for our couch since it's more of a beige color. They are Ralph Lauren which are my FAVE for pillows. Always very well made, and so comfy. Most of my pillows are from Marshalls, and most of them are Ralph Lauren - just about the only brand I will buy. 

Here are a few shots of my new fabulous pillows:):) The large red pillows are also Pottery Barn but I bought them a while back. And shamefully enough... I did not buy them on sale. Bad Amy! But they are perfect for the room, so I'm still happy. The coral pillow cover below is also Pottery Barn but was on clearance when I bought it about a year ago. I think like $16 maybe?







Don't you just LOVE the buttons and blue and white ticking that shows through?? Love it!







Finally! My casual beachy{ish} inspired living room is all coming together! Now... I understand I might not actually live at the beach, but I sure do love the happy colors and textures that come from the beach. So why not add a hint of that into our home? I also have many of the same design aspects on our back porch as well. It all really feels like it fits together now. Yippee! 

So what do y'all think?? Which pillows do you like better? The more "roughed up" Ralph Lauren version, or the Pottery Barn clearance finds? One thing I love about the Ralph Lauren pillow is the fun little applique on the front. I have them flipped over in some of the pictures, but when I get bored of the plain stripes, I'll just flip them over to show the applique! Perfect:)





Who I'm linking up with this week:




My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

Sumo's Sweet Stuff



Thursday, July 19, 2012

Design Ideas for the Rents

Hey guys! Over the past few months my parents have been looking to move closer to my sister and I up in north Texas. I am SO excited! They are currently living in Houston {where I grew up} and the 5 hour drive really isn't too much fun for anyone invlolved. They have not yet found a home, but when they do, they will be going through a very large transition. Not only will they be buying a new home, but they are also basically starting fresh with most of their furniture. Over the years, my parents have been focused on {us} their kids, and not as much on buying new furniture and such. It's probably been about 10 years since my mom bought any significant piece of furniture. I guess that's not too long for some people, but needless to say, they are ready for some new digs!

Once they do find a home they are happy with, things will be moving pretty fast. They will imediately hire people to paint the walls and do whatever else is needed to update the house BEFORE they move in. Which also means they will need to have an idea of what color schemes they are looking to use. Since I'm kind of obsessed with design, {and can't ever stop thinking about new ideas!} I thought I would begin creating some mood boards for my parents. They will literally be starting from scratch on most of their furnishings, so I cannot wait to go shopping with them when the time comes! Below are some of my most recent inspirations and mood boards for their potential new home. Enjoy!


{ Living Room }

:: Some Photo Inspirations ::







:: My Polyvore Moodboard ::




{ Entryway }

:: Some Photo Inspirations ::






:: My Polyvore Moodboard ::





{ Piano Room }

:: Some Photo Inspirations ::









:: My Polyvore Moodboard ::





{ Formal Dining Room }

:: Some Photo Inspirations ::









:: My Polyvore Moodboard ::


These are just a few of the spaces I have thought about so far, but I'm sure there will be more to come once they settle on an actual house. I'm actually headed to Houston this weekend for my BEST FRIENDS bridal shower and while I'm down there, I will be taking some photography of my parents house so they can put it on the market next week. So so crazy! Hard to believe the house I grew up in will be up for sale in less than a week! Very bitter sweet, but so excited for my parents to be closer to us.

Hope everyone is having a great week!



Sunday, July 15, 2012

Porch Makeover Round 2!



Hey guys! Well, for a while now I have been working on perfecting our back porch. A few months ago I posted my initial makeover {HERE}, but have made quite a few changes since. I originally started with a red and brown color scheme, but always knew I needed one more accent color to make it all work. It all started when I found my navy blue seat cushions at Ross. They were $9.99 for the chair cushions and $19.00 for the couch cushion. ( I later found the exact same set online at Target for like $70! - crazy!) I knew I couldn't pass up a deal like that, so I just went with it! From then on, everything just fell into place:) I began painting things navy left and right! I brought my old coffee table outside, revamped an old side table {seen here}, and bought a few navy/nautical accents at Marshalls and Ross.  I also added a DIY light fixture over my table {seen here}, switched out the rug to a more neutral option, and added another light fixture between our rocking chairs that I will be posting about soon. With just a few affordable DIY updates, the space was completely transformed and also much more cohesive in my opinion. Scroll down to see a list of where I found my items.


{ Before }
Here are a few pictures of my back porch's journey! 






{ After }
And here it is today!
























Where I found my items:

Large area rug - Lowes
Jute area rug - Ross
Red Hanging Lantern - Lowes
Red Curtains - Wal-Mart
Navy Blue Pillows - Target
Red Stripped Pillows - Garden Ridge
Seat Cushions - Ross
Stripped Accent Stools - TJ Maxx
Plate Chargers - Marshalls
Navy Blue Plates - Marshalls
Hurricane Glass - TJ Maxx



So what do y'all think of the navy?? I'm kind of obsessed with Navy right now, so it sure makes me smile! I have also extended this design concept to the rest of our back yard as well. That post will be on its way soon! 

Hope everyone had a fabulous weekend:) Happy Sunday!





Who I'm linking up with this week:



Sumo's Sweet Stuff












My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia



Funky Junk's Saturday Nite Special



UndertheTableandDreaming