Measuring Cups revisited

I think I overcompensated for my broken plastic measuring cups, by getting these great sets, that are all very much fragile :) But arent they fun? My husband surprised me with the ModCloth Whales for Christmas.

Arent the whales great?

A few sales..

I hope you all had a Merry Christmas! For the first time ever, I had my living room and house back in order the day after Christmas. Well, for the most part.

I've been shopping around online and have found some great deals...here are some highlights..

West Elm Panels $19 Clearance

Crate and Barrel Bennet Pillows $19 online, but I saw them for $9 in store.. 

Lots of colors, velvetty texture

Crate and Barrel Pillow $14

Anthropologie Queen Quilt $49 ( after adding 50% off code they provide )

Anthropologie Switchplates $5 in stores

Crate and Barrel Bromley Rug $19-39 ( it's thick and soft! )

West Elm 2x3 Green Diamond Jute Rug $19

Zgallerie Ikat Panels $9!!!!!

Urban Outfitters Board Batten Chair $99 ( so fun! )

World Market $107 Dining Chair

World Market Rattan Chair $119 ( I love these chairs )

Elf on the Shelf

Our family, and millions of others have jumped on the Elf on the Shelf tradition this year. I cant believe how hot it is. Those authors were brilliant. My daughter loves trying to find our elf every morning.

I started to do research on this, wanting to know the origin of this idea. Yesterday, while shopping at my favorite antique store, I came across this lil guy:
It kinda made me want to look for more original ones, considering this one was only $3.

like these:

Did you know these were actually created in Japan? Indeed they were, in the 1960s  by a company called "Yuletide of Japan" and were called kneehugger elves. So if you want to invest in these little guys and have an original, checkout etsy and ebay and search knee hugger elf ( or kneehugger ) they are usually cheap, unless they have "made in japan" somewhere on them ( worth more )
Here are a few of our elf, Blitz, in photos:

 milo the monkey has jealousy issues.

Pottery Barn Knockoff?

Man I havent done a Pottery Barn knockoff in forever! It's about time.

Years ago I swooned over this Pottery Barn "emma" rug. Big beautiful green and blue flowers, and too expensive for my wallet.

By the time I saved up for it, they retired it.
So I ended up buying THIS Martha  rug from Home Decorators. For the 8x10 I paid half the price I would've for Emma. ( remember that Home Decorators always has coupons online )

While browsing Overstock for a client, I came across this waverly rug. Mind you, it's not wool, it's polypropylene. 


BUT, for a 5x8 it's only $134. ( click here for link )

compared to the Emma:

impressive huh?

Before/Afters of 2011

2011 is near it's end, and I was looking back at all my projects this year. These are just a few of my of my before/after pics ..

$40 dresser redo:

Shed into hen house ( and then upcycled the shed window into a calendar )

Free Bench  Makeover

$15 Settee Redo ( plus cost of fabric )

This little room is still not complete, but I made immense progress this year. The dresser was a $30

I cant find a laundry room before, but it's probably better that way. :)

Here's the after:

I've already started my spring to do list, my garage is filling up with furniture and I have some really great  projects lined up ( but most of them require much warmer weather! )

New Pillows

Last week I posted photos of my daughters room, only to realize I wasnt satisfied with the pillow situation. I've been looking to add quilt like linens in her room, but usually any pillow or bedding with the word quilt tied to it has $$$ attached.

But I got lucky at Marshalls last night and found Carole Little Pillows on Clearance for $8 EACH.

I'm very pleased with them! Cant beat $24 for 3 pillows. And I found a gift card in my wallet, so I really only paid $15 for all :) That love pillow reminds me of something you'd find at Pottery Barn Teen.

My Christmas Picture Tradition

When I was pregnant with my daughter, which seems to be decades ago, my husband took this great photo of me in front of our humble little glowing tree. It has since become a tradition that I cherish for my daughter and I.