carpe the hell out of this diem

One of my girlfriends, whom I've known since middle school, did something totally awesome yesterday. She booked an "out of the blue" cruise with one of her other friends.

Let me give you a little insight, she is a wife to a military man, mama to a toddler,with another on the way. The fact that she up and gave her self the reprieve of a few days kicking back in the sun is AWESOME.

What's even more awesome is that she told me I was finally starting to rub off on her, after all these years. Which just made laugh at first, but I realized if there's one thing I do fairly well in this life, it's seizing the day. If you know me at all, you know spontaneity is my middle name, judging by my own fair share of spur of the moment trips in my lifetime.

To celebrate living life while you've got life left to live I'm offering up a discount code on one of my favorite 8x10 prints in my Etsy store -

Simply enter the coupon code SEIZEIT and receive free shipping on this print*! It's available in 12 different colors, but hurry - because I am only offering this steal for the next week, until I hop on a jet plane to the other side of the world!

(*Code is only valid for this print only!)

Don't online shop without this!

If you plan on doing online shopping this season, which I have decided to do entirely, I urge you to look into ebates if you havent!

You simply sign up, and then get a little kickback when you shop. 1, 2, even up to 12% back sometimes. (You have to visit ebates first and then click through their link to the store of your choice - don't forget that step!)  

Check out the Cash Back specials they have right now. Seriously, pretty much any store under the sun is on here (even random places you wouldn't expect, like Lowes - but you can buy online and pick up in the store!). Target, Snapfish (20% back - hello holiday cards!), Walgreens, pretty much any hotel chain (3% back  on a whole vacation would be a nice little check!),  5% at Nordstrom.... sooo I can buy the $100 boots I've been drooling over, and get $5 back for no reason other than because I used ebates? Love. Love. Love.

It may not seem like much... but heck, it's free money - why not!? Then you can either have a check sent to you, or have it sent directly to your PayPal.

Sigh, I love a good deal!

(No, this is not a sponsored post or anything, I just get excited about good deals ha!) 

 

Love my boots?

So I'm stuck here at work on this lovely Black Friday...

BUT that means I've been scouting out all the best online deals!

Everytime I post an outfit with these boots you all tell me how much you love them, while browsing the Black Friday deals I came across my boots on the Steve Madden site for a ridiculously low price!

They have em in brown and gray!


After you use the code STUFFING for 30% off they end up being like $60! Enjoy! 
(I'm not associated with Steve Madden nor am I getting any compensation for this, I just love a good deal and thought I'd share!)

Clearance artwork revamp

A few weeks ago (ok, if we're being realistic it was probably a few months ago) I found a set of 3 seriously ugly prints on super-clearance at Joann's for like $3.97 each.

As if the prints weren't bad enough, the pewter frames made me gag. Alas, I looked deep - past their $3.97 price tags, baby blue leafs and shiny frames - to see their true potential.

So I took em apart and spray painted the frames all white one weekend.

(yes, I frequently utlize a thorn bush in my backyard as a spraypainting station)

Except I have no patience, and didn't FEEL like sanding them down beforehand, so they came out bumpy & bubbly and yucky and, thinking back, I probably had even whined to Scott about it, because he took pity upon me and started sanding them down so I could try the white paint thing again.(Sigh... sad face)

Thankfully I had been standing over him and was able to halt the sanding process when I realized how great they looked in their distressed stage.

The project pretty much ended there, as I couldn't find any maps either large enough (18"x6") or pretty enough for my tastes.

That is until a few weeks later when we were in Jamaica and I found these two Caribbean souvenir maps that screamed out my name. Good things come to those who wait, right?!

So I spent a few hours cutting up maps, spray adhesive'ing them to my hands to the preexisting foliage shot, replacing the glass, moving the hanging hardware to the opposite side, struggling to hold all 3 on the wall and eyeballing the location (what, I'm stubborn and didn't want help from anyone), hammering nails in, rehammering nails in when I realized how uneven they were, and then finally stepping back to admire my handiwork.

I now have three pretty pieces of artwork hanging on my dining room wall reminding me of my favorite place to escape to! The Caribbean!

Even though this project took me WAY longer than it should have to complete, I'm still really happy with it! It makes me smile everytime I walk through there. And for $12 worth of frames and $14 worth of maps, I can't really beat the price! A grand total of $20some for three framed pieces of art - yes please and thank you!

My proudest moment

I was at Target Friday afternoon, just perusing the aisles when I saw these table clothes on an Easter themed endcap. Teal with a bold geometric print. It had to be mine!

And then I added three more to my cart.

Did you just do the same thing that the Target checkout girl did... "FOUR TABLECLOTHES... ARE YOU HAVING A PARTY!?"

I told her yes, because, well I just didn't feel like explaining to be honest. I was on a mission, and I didn't want to stand around chatting - I had to get home!

Are you curious yet? Maybe just a little bit?? I'll give you a hint... I don't even HAVE four tables in my house.

Well, my friends.. I'll indulge you in my little secret. I hung table clothes as curtains!

(phew - turn a blind eye to that trainwreck of a dining room table please!)

I simply hung them using the little alligator clip curtain hooks! Easy peasy lemon squeezy!

I love them! They were just what I was looking for!! And I love even more that for $40 I got 4 'curtain panels'.

And the best part... if I ever need a table cloth in a pinch, I am SET! ;)

*Tip: if you want to do something similar, make sure the table clothes you purchase are 84"in length, this is a common table cloth size (and also standard curtain length). These were 60"x84" which is slightly wider than standard curtains, but no big deal!

rug burn: sneak peak

I came home to a big ol box sitting on my front porch stoop yesterday! I knew it was my Flokati rug from Joss & Main! I hurried inside, pulled it into the house and ripped into it.  I had been anticipating my big shag rug since before I even moved into my house!

Russell spent some time inspecting it, he wasn't quite sure what to think.

I'm not quite sure what to think either.

To be honest... it's not that soft, or thick. Does anyone else have a Flokati rug? Are they all like this? In pictures they look so billowy and full, mine feels more like a matted dog.
Is there a trick that I missed out on? Are you supposed to brush the rug or something!?

I'm kinda bummed! And considering returning it....

I win!

I couldn't help but laugh (and do a silent victory dance) when I logged onto Joss&Main one morning last week and saw this cute little piece of furniture for the outstanding price of $479.95.

Really? That's the best yah got?!? I've got an identical twin in my entryway that I swooped up for more than half of that price from Marshall's!

They always have some great stuff, I just am up in the air about how great their deals really are? Have you shopped with them? What do you think?

Regardless, I think my Flokati rug was a steal, and now that the address mishap is sorted out I'm eagerly awaiting it's arrival!!

Movie deal!

I know I already posted today... but Groupon is offering 5 movie rentals for $2 from any Blockbuster kiosk and I had to share!! It's good for anywhere across the US where there are Blockbuster Kiosks

I don't know about you, but with theater prices rising to nearly $10/person for a ticket, I would much rather pay a dollar (or less in this case) and watch the movie at home in my sweatpants!!

Here is the link if you wanna snag this deal!

Spilling my secret

I've got a secret to share! I've been bursting at the seams, but decided to keep it in til now.

And this is the part of the post where you have to promise not to judge.

Cmon, put your three fingers up (Girl Scout Honor) and repeat after me... 'Chelsea, I will read this post and not think any less of you for you and your famililes' actions'. Oh, and you have to promise not to tell the authorities.

A few weeks ago, I got this table....

Well actually my mom got me this table. And technically it was just the top of the table. And it was out of a dumpster. (hold your gasps in!)

It's big too... like standard dining table size (hah is there even a standard size?). And heavy! Real wood for sure. I am gonna check out Lowe's for a base! I tracked it down online and found out it retailed (no longer in stores) for $350!

Ready for me to explain? My mom's salon is in a strip mall about 4 doors down from a home goods store we will call Dock2 (because, honestly, I don't want them tracking me down!). They are bitter, nasty, snooty people who work there (honest) and when they (for whatever reason) throw perfectly good furniture and other home things out they purposely break/scratch/spray paint them. Probably so people like us don't walk out the back door of mom's salon and see all these wonderful things sticking out of the dumpster and take them. Oh, and if you get caught... they will start locking their dumpster and then you have to pout around for a year until they get a new manager who doesn't know people, like us, recover things from their trash pile!


Also pulled from the glorious waste bin of delectable home goods...

This three tiered shelf (it's a little messy right now!)

This bookshelf holding my Jamaican wood carvings and board games (two things I love!)

This lamp next to my reading chair (although my dad had to run a new wire through it -easy fix)

This big wooden patio table (that you can sorta see in this photo) on my parents deck. They had scratched it all up so my dad sanded & repainted it

And this white pedestal table that now lives at my brother & sis-in-law's kitchen. Seriously. This whole table... in a dumpster. It's got a few knicks in the side but besides that, it's fine!

Now, I'm not telling you to go jump in every dumpster you see behind any furniture or home furnishing store... I don't know if most do this? But ours does... and you better believe I'm taking advantage of it! I can live with a scratched up table knowing that it retails for $400some and I got it for free! (plus that just gives me more practice in refinishing furniture!). And if you do... don't get caught. They get mad ha!

Dining Room Plate Wall - in progress

Thanks to Molly, I became obsessed with the idea of having a plate wall somewhere in my home!

One afternoon I stopped by GW (actually the same day I got my craft room dresser!) and spent a good 35 minutes clanking around in the plate shelves.

9 plates (I still have one left to hang) and a package of Command Strips later, my plate wall is nearly complete!




For a grand total of $5.61 spent on plates and $3.99ish on Command Strips. Not too shabby if I may say so myself!




And my favorite part... Even though I used only white plates, they each have their own unique pattern!





Side note: It's funny to me how orange my dining room photographs with my super high tech camera (a la iPhone) it's actually much more coral in real life... 5a and 5b!

Did you do anything crafty this weekend?!

Catastrophic Monday

I saw sunshine for 3 days straight this weekend! Granted, it was far from WARM and sunny... but it was sunny, and at this point I'll take whatever little glimpse of spring Mama Nature decides to dish out.

1) Chris and I had a nice little dinner date Friday night that we ended with some ice skating... me, being the professional, never fell. Chris, trying to show off, fell once. The dinner - meh. The date - smiles.

2) I had vowed to not let Russell on the couch. He's such a cuddler though, that that resolution lasted nearly 6 hours. 2a) Yes he does go by Russell now. The artist formerly known as Oro. He is actually listening when you say his name now instead of ignoring you and continuing to run rampant through out the house. Although when he's feeling frisky he responds only to Russello d'Oro (and you MUST roll the R)

2b) Russell got a haircut last week. Apparently the lady felt that he was a poodle/SCHNAUZER mix because he has a straight schnauzer haircut. I'm not really a fan. (Side note: we are pretty sure he is, however, indeed a schnauzer mix. When I vacuum and he goes NUTS barking... you can very clearly hear the schnauzy influence of his bark)

3) I popped into Goodwill on Saturday while I was running some errands. This is what I saw.
You already know what I'm going to say next.
I walked out with a dresser. Not literally walked out... fitting a dresser into my car - now THAT's a funny thought.
It has taken up residence in my craft room (that was empty up until this weekend). $24.99... how could I say no?! Solid wood too - that sucker is heavy. Missing a few pieces of hardware, but I've got ideas.

3a) Added bonus: mom and I discovered, while unloading it, that one drawer was still full of clothes (slightly odd, slightly humorous). And then, stuck back behind another drawer, I found a really old picture of two little boys on a swing that is HILARIOUS. I think I will frame it.

4) The weathermen are calling for a "CATASTROPHIC ICE STORM" tomorrow. Won't that mean we will all die? Catastrophic... huh... nice knowing ya'll.
I'm keeping my fingers crossed that perhaps we'll get a strong wind and all that snow will come a little further south... I'd much rather have 12" of snow than 4" of ice. I do like the hot pink coloring though. It's like a little glimmer of fun before the CATASTROPHIC event.



I'm linking up to Miscellany Monday with Carissa!

Today I love

I scored 8 big antique wooden frames (Some plain, some ornate) off CraigsList for a whopping $25 last night. That's like $3 a frame! Cheaper than Goodwill and WAY cheaper than ones I've been scoping out at the antique malls

A little step closer to completing my stairway to heaven!

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Sigh... I get so giddy over a good deal and a hands on project!