vacation pantry project

We came back from vacation with about 5 days before I had to go back to work. I cannot sit idly, I had to be doing something, so I organized my pantry. I've been inspired by all the great pics on pinterest, so while mine is only a mini makeover, it's functional for me. It was a dark cluttered mess, so I took everything out, painted the walls and shelves. I put the shelves back in on a moveable shelf track system so everything is adjustable. I trimmed a shoe organizer to fit the back of the door and hold small odds n ends. Then my ocd took over and I labeled everything obsessively, I'm so proud of it!

The best part- it only cost me about $5!

I had the paint laying around from an old project
I had the shelf track system laying around from my previous shoe shelves
The over the door shoe organizer came from my old closet too
The bins are dollar store bins that I had previously purchased
I spent $2 on labels, and $3 on some wall anchors to be sure the system would hold

I did the project over 2 days, because the paint on the shelves took some time to dry. All in all I spent somewhere around 3 hours total on the project. (not counting the shopping)

Vacation haul...

So i've taken a bit of a break. Went on vacation recently, and picked up lots of great dog and other goodies. Without further ado, here they are:

I've been going totally crazy with nail polish lately, here are some that i picked up on vacation, the cynthia rowley polishes came in a three pack from tj maxx, the formula is nice, i'm unsure about the orange color on my skintone though. The wet n wild and catrice polishes are from a swap i received in the mail when i got home. The catrice polish is named ms. piggy reloaded, it's an amazing color. The nyc polish is supposed to be a dupe for nars orgasm, i don't have the nars to compare so i'm only going on what other bloggers are saying. The loreal is rainy picadilly, it's one of the new london ones. The essie is stroke of brilliance, it looks fab as an accent on top of the loreal rainy picadilly.

The dog toys I picked up on my trip: the nina ottoson dog toy is from home goods. I was really excited to find the dog tornado, my dogs have a couple of the other nina ottoson  dog toys that they love. The two tiny blue toys are yard sale finds. The others are described below.

Found this set on ebay. Another super cute set by target, I'm seriously obsessed with their dog toy sets. I picked up one for my babies, and another two as christmas gifts for our doggie friends, bosco and scout.

 A couple of martha stewart toys. The gator is squeaky and crinkly, jordan's favorite type. The crinkly sounds like something he shouldn't be chewing so he gets very excited! The round piggie was in a clearance bin by the register. I picked up the pig for my guys, and a chick and dog for bosco and scout.

 Also visited a couple of home goods stores on my vacay. I bought this for jordan's birthday on sept. 3

 DH picked these up for macy and jordan:

 A yard sale find at $4!

 Another home goods find. They nailed the chihuahua expression. (all you chi owners know what I mean!)

 A couple of random purchases. A vintage snoopy lamp at a yard sale, a dog head at home goods, and the new judi mccoy dog mystery. If you've never read her books, I highly recommend it!

 Petsmart clearance t shirts. These started out around $17, but they were marked down to $4 and change. I picked up these two for myself, and two others for my mom and grandma.

cheap thrills.....

not what you're thinking, lol. Last night I stopped by the dollar store for a quick pick me up. Here's what I brought home:

 What I thought: 

• I'm in love with the e.l.f. gloss. I picked up supermodel which is a coral/peach color. I have fair skin, and this is the perfect amount of tint. It reminds me of my mac lipglass stain, in peach complement. This gets mixed reviews because it is thick, but I love a thick gloss, it hydrates and lasts a long time! 

• The sally hansen lip glaze had a couple of problems to start off. Once you screw the lid off, it has a tiny rubber applicator, it was super annoying. I removed that and applied it with my finger. This goes on clear, and I used it before bed. It had a nice taste and I woke up with soft lips, so overall I'm pleased with it. 

• The last product is the almay mascara. This is one of those that you twist the lid to customize the amount of volume you get. I like the formula, but the bottle is a major p.i.t.a. ! The volume twist is so close to the lid that you end up twisting the volume while you try and remove the cap. This is probably why a bunch of these ended up in the dollar store. The bottle needs to be revamped.

 Just for fun when I got home last night, I gave myself the kate spade mani I've been loving:

closet update

I got some more work done on the closet this weekend. I had been storing my scarves and belts in one of those over the door type organizers. Very few of them got worn, because they were all bunched up inside the pockets, so I decided to do something about it! 

Here's the scarves; I used tension curtain rods that you can pick up at walmart for a couple of bucks. I've seen other people and stores do it this way, and I really like the way it looks. I was so tempted to donate all the scarves except for my murfee scarves, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. Maybe I'll do it one at a time (gives me a reason to buy more murfee scarves!)

 This is a pic from the other side:

 I still needed a way to store my belts, and I had this guy sitting around so voila! I wrapped them around my mannequin. I'm not much of a belt person, but sometimes I see one that is so cute I can't resist. I start thinking of ways I can become a belt person, but sadly it never happens. I want to spray paint the base of this pink, to jazz it up a little.

 And finally I added a blind, to prevent my clothes from being faded by the sun. It's simple, but I want the clothes and accessories to be the standout.

picture wall

Lately I've been obsessed with pinterest (really who isn't these days). I noticed a trend, I have a huge collection of picture wall pins. A picture wall is just what it sounds like, a wall or section of wall covered in pictures, art, or other personal items. This past weekend, I got to work. I painted all my frames, I wanted to go for the all white look. Here are some pics of my picture wall:

 I put up pics of our dogs, some vintage photos (I've been really into collecting vintage dog photos lately, and I have a bunch more on the way!) A mirror, pawprints, a framed tin sign, and my favorite painting of all, andrew wyeth's master bedroom.

Below is a pic from a little farther back. You can see the white ceramic dog on the floor. I picked him up last week at home goods, I'm still trying to come up with a name for him, lol. I also threw a cheapie dresser in the corner for now, it holds all our sheets, pillowcases, and extra dog blankets, until I find something better at auction or a yard sale.

the start of my closet..

My closet is always an ongoing process, I set one thing up and change my mind, or I decide the color is wrong, or the pictures I hung need to be moved. This past weekend I finally got started though. I've been super hesitant, because my walls are angled and I just couldn't visualize anything working. So I finally tried those brackets I ordered online. They are specifically to hold a closet rod on an angled wall. They worked amazing.


Here's the before pic, paneling and angled ceiling:

After pics:

left side

right side:

 

Some white paint really helped to open things up, then I hung two 6ft. closet rods. I left atbout a 2 foot space between the two, so I can access the back if i need to. Underneath the clothes, I lined up most of my shoes, I plan on putting in some shoe shelves, right under the clothes, so I can see everything together.

Target... I Love You!

Target's pet area can be seriously hit or miss. Since the departure of isaac mizrachi and the shabby chic line, I can go months before I come across a gem. But when they get it right, boy is it right! I just happened to see these sitting on an endcap when I was out friday night. Anyone remember the popularity of the holiday dinner dog toy , which of course,I rushed out to buy right away?  Here's this year's healthy version:

Each set has 5 toys served on a "dinner plate frisbee". The best part they were on clearance! The tag said clearance for $7, but they rang up at around $3.50 a piece. I bought one of  each for my babies, and their dog friend.

progress pics

Finally got my camera up and working!
 We've been in the house for about a month now, so things are starting to get in order. First up are some shots of the living room. This is a long shot of it, and the area around the tree is messy, but it gives you an idea of color/layout. I've been really into grey walls lately, and I love this color!

We had some family over on new years eve, so we kept it simple, I used my bookshelves as a finger food buffet area, fancy!

 This is the other end of the living room. It needed curtains really badly! I have since bought some ikea cheapies till I can decide what I want long-term.

This is the view into the dining room. We went with grey in there too. The table and chairs are from ikea, the chairs are called ivar and came in unfinished pine. I painted them white and added some cushions. The table is melltorp and was super simple to put together, and the perfect size for two!

Our kitchen making some progress. Ignore the box of stuff on the counter waiting to be organized/purged. The color is named spring  bluebell. I really think the cabinets should be white, even though I'm not so sure my husband agrees. I want it to feel more beachy, and the oak just isn't doing it for me. Also we're in desperate need to get the kickplate under the sink installed, it's going to make a huge difference.

We don't have alot of counter space, so for now we are using a bright table for a tea/ coffee center. Those dog prints are actually adhesive wall art, I picked up on sale at hobby lobby (world's best home accessory store imo)!

This shelving unit is also from ikea. It's the lack shelving unit. Our dogs have a ton of treat dispensing, puzzle toys, and I like to keep them all in the kitchen so they are easily accessible. It's like this shelf was made to hold the nina ottoson dog puzzles, they fit perfectly. The top shelf is where I keep my dog cookbooks. (fun fact: I do not own a single human cookbook, but I have at least five dog cookbooks!)

p.s. the pet door is disabled, i'm much to overprotective and worrysome to let the dogs out alone

My pedigree corner...

My bookcases were looking kinda plain so I added a little collection in the corner. Let me start by saying that the bookcases are only about waist high, so I think they're perfect to add a little interest to the room. I stacked a couple of my favorite collectibles, my kennel club book from 1913 (I'll post more about this later), pewter dog show trophy (more info here ), above it all I hung up my plaster dog heads, these freak my husband out, but I love them! I added my dog's pedigrees to the mix and called it a day. (before anyone hates, my little boy was a rescue, and I got his papers cuz I like to see his ancestry. My little girl came firom a breeder, who I visited multiple times, and was very good at what she did. She gave me lots of info and tips, and I'm glad I had her as kind of a mentor to start me off right.)

More pics coming soon...

I've been working on a few projects around the house, but unfortunately I lost my camera cord and can't post pics yet. It's been about a month since we moved into our new house, and I've finally given up searching for the cord. I caved and bought a new one this morning, so there will be lots of good pics coming soon!

More Lilly!!!

 With the abundance of lilly pulitzer sales lately, lots of people have been cleaning out their closets and I was lucky enough to snag two more great deals! At the beginning of every season, I make a dream wish list of all the pieces I love and want. Both of these were on my list!


This is the talulah dress, I passed up on this dress the first time around, because it was the middle of july and I went for a dress I could wear right then instead of save for fall. This is a super comfy dress, it's stretch and has pockets. It will need a little altering though, I need to take the hips in a tiny bit ( they flare out kinda strange, I had to do the same thing to my lulu dress). I also plan to close off the pockets. I do this to all my fancy shorts and dresses, I don't get the whole pockets in dresses thing, but maybe that's just me? Anyway, it retailed for $148 and I picked it up for around $45. Good things come to those who wait! (cheesy, I know :)

 

I also picked up this polo in white. When this came out I loved it, but couldn't justify paying full price for what is essentially a fancy t shirt. I wish I had cuz this shirt is super cute. This shirt= easy spring/ summer dressing. I like that it's not plain, you don't really need to add belts or funky jewelry, just let the gators stand out!

dog collection

Here is another part of my collection. I put this shelf up in the kitchen to hold my vintage dog food cans.  These were vintage labels I purchased online, and put onto clean empty cans. (so there's no 60 year old dog food in them, yuck!) The other two bottles are vintage flea powder tins. The orange one I picked up at an antique store, and the other I won at an auction. It's amazing how much things have changed over the years!

A bit of a departure...

This has been a crazy sale week for my favorite brand of all time... Lilly Pulitzer! Even though we just bought our house, the prices were too good to pass up, so I indulged a little :) I picked up three dresses, two of them are definite keepers, the other one I'm trying to trade sizes (i like everything to fit loose, it drives my husband nuts, but It's what I like)


Here were my picks:
The katy dress in island coral build me up. I already have this dress in the ribbit print (and i'm almost ashamed to say I paid full price for it), and it is one of the most comfortable, flattering dresses I own. It's a thin light jersey material, so it's perfect for hot summer days. Marked down to $38 this was a major score!

evie dress in macrame me. This is the dress I'm thinking about swapping sizes in. I had my eye on this dress when it first came out, and with the recent sales I grabbed it for $49, can't beat it!

The third dress I picked up was the sadie in thrill of the chaise. I decided to take a chance on this dress, and I'm glad I did. It's a thin jersey like material, but it is super flattering on me. It's got some smocking around the waist to give it shape, it would also be super easy to throw on a belt with it. This dress was marked down to $39, so I got a great deal.