Posts Tagged ‘Target

Today one of my friends asked me how I can have blogged for almost 2 years now.

Wouldn’t I run out of content? How do I always think of what to write about?

Well, in short, if there’s one thing I’m good at, it’s talking!

My kids get in trouble for talking in class at school. Their teachers will ask me what they can do to get my kids to just stop talking already!

Honestly, I don’t know. I apologize for my children’s behavior and offer up a few half-hearted suggestions like taping their mouth shut or removing their vocal cords. Nothing works.

Poor teachers. They really have absolutely no hope. They are at the wrong end of a losing battle.

I got in trouble for talking too much from grade school through the end of High School. In fact, I was booted from an extra curricular class in 11th grade for talking too much. I seriously cannot seem to just shut the hell up!

It’s genetic. And both my kids inherited it.

And that, my friends, is why I always have something to say.

Oh, and I’m a huge tinkerer. I’m always tinkering and moving stuff around. There is always and will always be at least one project in the works at my home at all times. I just can’t help myself.

It’s an illness.

So, would you be surprised if I said I’ve been tinkering again? Probably not.

Well, I have. And it involves this horribly ugly, but perfectly clean and organized desk in my family room.

The plan for the past year has been to replace this ugly desk with a pretty one so the kids have a nice place in our family room to work on the laptop, do homework, and color.

What we have had instead is something more like this:

I LOVE keepin’ it real, yo. Just telling it like it really is.

Their desk has turned into the catchall of the house. It is a nightmare.

(pictures were taken in December hence all the Christmas crap)

The kids can’t even use the desk for their homework because it’s always covered in piles and piles of random crap.

And the plastic drawer organizer next to the desk is not doing my family room any favors either.

This little area of my house is one big fat HOT MESS.

I finally put a stop to the hot mess madness. If the kids (oh, okay, myself too) can’t keep their desk clean, then guess what? They don’t get one anymore.

{Don’t worry, I’m not that mean. I relocated their crafting supplies to the kitchen and now they color at the breakfast table.}

I totally found the perfect piece of furniture to replace the desk, and besides being free! (I already owned it) it also fits the space so much better!

Do you remember that sofa table I had behind my couch?

Yes, the same sofa table that use to be my king sized headboard.

Well, I love the new sofa table, but honestly, after a few months of living with it behind the couch, I wasn’t sold. It was hard to see back there, I had to move my couch closer to the TV taking up valuable floor space, and whenever anyone plopped down on the sofa (like, daily) they would inevitably knock something off the table and onto the floor.

Getting rid of the trash heap desk instantly gave me an idea. What if I pulled the sofa table over to the desk wall and scooted my couch back again?

Absolutely love it.

The table fits the wall so much better than the desk. It also shows off the table and makes it a focal point instead of it hiding behind the couch.

It also opens up the walkway a lot more and makes the room feel so much bigger.

(Say hi to Ben!)

I also feel like I have a lot more freedom in decorating the sofa table now. Before, when it was behind the couch, I was afraid to put anything fragile on it in fear that it would get knocked onto the floor.

Well, now I can actually put stuff on it. I’m still trying to figure out how I want to decorate it, but I’m really digging the clutter-free, minimalistic decor approach right now. Less is more they say.

The burlap covered lamp (tutorial here) is a necessity as our family room has horrible lighting.

The pots of grass are all from ikea (both the grass and the pots).

The cute little cacti look perfectly placed nestled in the corner of the table.

(Find out what happened to the cacti’s brother here. Sad, but true story.)

My most recent Target score is this adorable guy:

I’ve been eying this Buddha Pillar Candle Holder for foreveh’. But dang it, it has never once gone on sale. Ever. And I’m way too cheap and broke to pay $30 for it, even though it’s quirky and cute.

Well, as luck would have it, I found it at Target last week for $4.88! I am not yanking your chain y’all.

There were 3 available, and this guy was the only one with a clearance sticker. The other two were full price.

I managed to find one tiny chip on it’s back, hardly visible to the naked eye. I’m assuming this is why he was on clearance? I do not know.

All I know is that I snatched him up so fast and sprinted to the check out. I nervously waited as she rang him up. I just knew it had to be a mistake and she would take my Buddha away from me. But nope. $4.88 later, he was mine. All mine.

My mom thinks I’ve gone crazy loco for collecting not one, but two Buddhas. I don’t know why I like them. I just do.

Here’s a full view of the family room (pre tv-mounting extravaganza) to give you a better idea of the placement of said sofa table.

So see? I’ve been tinkering again. I thought the sofa table had a permanent home behind the sofa, but here we are 4 months later and I’ve already moved it. Maybe it will stay here permanently, but you never know. I love it today, but tomorrow I might drag it around the house again.

All I know is that with all this tinkering and furniture switching, I will probably have enough content for this blog for the next 10 years! So help us all!

Are you a tinkerer? Do you constantly have to be rearranging your furniture and nick-knacks? Or are you of the more sane variety and can just leave stuff alone?!

*the art above the sofa table is by Rodney White. You can read all about my crush on him here.

This week I’ve randomly decided to start obsessing about my piano room again.

There’s really no rhyme or reason to what goes on inside my head. I’m having a hard time finishing any one room because I get so bored so quickly. I like to randomly hop from one project to another; most of the time before the first project is even completed.

So anyway, this week is Project-Piano-Room. Here’s where we last left off…

…carpet lines and all. I swear, these carpet vacuum lines have been heard ’round the world. Who woulda thunk a few lines would cause such a commotion?! (Several people have asked, so a carpet vacuum line tutorial is in the works. Fo’ shizzle.)

Okay, so first on the ixnay list: get rid of those chairs. Which I did. The maroon one went in my bedroom and the brown one is in my family room.

I drug the two captains chairs for my dining table in here, but obviously you can’t sit in them at the moment… Still working on that project too. :/

I’ve decided though that I’m just going to purchase two new chairs. As in, brand-new-from-the-store (not Craigslist or goodwill!). I’m doin’ it! Soon, my pretties, very soon. So, um, anyway, I guess just ignore the dining chairs as well ’cause they aren’t stayin’ either.

Isn’t my little orchid so cute?! Target. For five bucks on clearance. I swear, I am the queen of Target Clearance. I should do a post dedicated to showing you how to shop the clearance at Target. ‘Cause I’m the clearance master.

Back to the point. Wait. I haven’t even gotten to the point yet. Well alrighty then. The point today is ::drum roll::

Curtains.

I bet you so didn’t see that one coming. ::sarcasm, people. sarcasm::

I want curtains in here. Really bad. And I just so happened to be browsing through my linen closet the other day when I stumbled upon these bad boys:

Almost two years ago my best friend Heather gave me FOUR curtain panels that she didn’t want anymore. And they are nice. Really nice. But they are Toile. And I don’t know how I feel about Toile in my piano room. I mean, it’s really not the style of the room at all.

(Toile is pronounced TWALL).

So, what exactly is Toile? What does it mean?!!!

I used the ol’ ugooglizer and came up with this definition:

Basically, black and white fabric with fancy European people in fancy clothes and little fancy parasols printed on it.

But what the heck. I already have them which makes them FREE, and they are cute, though not really the style I’m going for in the piano room, but I’ll give them a go anyway.

To get a full visual I decided to take some thumb tacks and tack them on the wall.

Oh ya baby!

Heavens to Betsy, I think I actually like the way they look. Trust me, I am more shocked than you.

But I’ve got four panels so let’s just see what it would look like if I added another panel between the windows…

Oh, er, ugh, ick. No thank you. It’s like Toile threw up in here.

Plus, now it looks like I’ve added a curtain panel down the center of one large window instead of having two small windows in here. And that is just plain stupid. Don’t do that. It looks dumb. Okay?!

Two and through is what I say. Two and through. Oh wait, I say that about my kids… Um, two is plenty? Two is enough? Let’s just stick with the two panels.

But, Roger, we’ve got a problem here…

These things are in high water central. And considering Austin is in one of the worst droughts ever, we do not need to be preparing curtains for a flood.

So I bought a yard of dark gray fabric at IKEA to attach to the bottom of the curtains to lengthen them.

I’m not really 100% ready to bust out the sewing machine just yet, so I used some safety pins to attach the fabric just so I could see if I was even going to like this idea.

The result? I think they are going to look glamfabulous when I’m done with them. The gray actually makes them more luxurious. Now they POP!

I may even add a smaller strip to the top. You will just have to wait and see!

Isn’t this just the worst way to end a post?! I know. I’m so mean. But seriously, in my defense, I need to now go buy two curtain rods, sew up the curtains, then get them all installed… like a car stereo.

Part two will be on it’s way soon. I just wanted to show you my thought process when I decide to decorate the way I do. I test things out. Visualize different looks. And I even use tacks to give me the look I want before I do any permanent damage.

I’m 100% confident in exactly the kind of curtains I want for this room. Now that I’ve visualized it and planned it all out, hopefully I’ll be able execute the plan without any hiccups. That’s the plan at least.

Are you a planner and a tester? Or do you just throw caution to the wind and execute projects before thinking them through?!

Do you like the toile? I’m thinking the room will be Mid-Century European meets modern classic. Ya, that’s what I’ll call it. Or I can just call it “Allison’s random decorating style with no rhyme or reason (except cheapness).” That works too.

So, bottom line: I’m using the Toile curtains. I’m adding some additional dark gray fabric to them. I’ll hang them soon. The End.

And Heather, I miss you! Thanks again for the curtains. I love them. I hope you don’t want them back! Ha! If so, I have two panels left over that I can send to you.

I’m a step ahead of you. Here are all the answers to your questions before you ask me:
• The gray paint color is Route 66 by Dutch Boy. The white trim is Alabaster by Sherwin Williams.
• The yellow in the hallway is Honey Bear by Dutch Boy.
• My pictures for my tutorial on how to hang box moulding were accidentally deleted, but here’s the link anyway.
• Here’s how I added moulding around my windows with rounded edges.
• The little black table is from Target. Shocker.
• No, I still have not painted the piano. And I still don’t know what color to paint it.
• I made the red pillows. Here’s the tutorial.
• The plate rack leaning in the corner is from Garden Ridge about 9 years ago.

I think that should cover it. Feel free to ask me anything else I forgot to include in this list.

I seriously scored the best deal at Goodwill last week.

I really want to show you!!

But that would involve showing you my Master Bedroom. Trust me, there’s a reason I’ve been too mortified to show you this room.

Oh hell, let’s just get it over with, shall we?

Here’s my horribly embarrassing, hideous, and completely undecorated Master Bedroom.

See? I told you I had a good reason for avoiding sharing this room at all costs with you.

There are so many things wrong with this room that it’s easier to point out what’s right. Which is pretty much the… um… er… is there anything? Oh, the mirror! I love my mirror. Everything else is hideous.

But, now the room is looking just a teensy tiny bit better, thanks to finding this duvet set at Goodwill last week.

Before you start barfing all over the place at the thought of me buying used linens at Goodwill, let me explain.

They are not used. They are actually brand new. With Tags! They were donated by Target in their “salvage” pile. But honestly, NOTHING is wrong with this bedding set. Except maybe Target discontinued it or something.

The bedding is still looking a bit flat and frumpy though. Here’s why:

I would love nothing more than a thick, fluffy, hotel quality down-filled comforter to shove into my new awesome duvet, but I don’t have an extra hundred bucks laying around at the moment. So I improvised. I just shoved my crappy comforter into the duvet for now.

As for the huge king-sized pillows to go into the shams?

Target has these huge pillows for only $8! Except they were on sale last week so I picked them up for $6 a pop. They work great considering I’m only using them as decoration.

I was a little worried about this orange fabric though:

But surprisingly the orange doesn’t show through at all. Double bonus.

Here’s the bedding in all her ten dollar glory.

I still cannot believe I found brand-new-with-tags bedding at GW for ten dollars. Best GW purchase of the year.

Oh, I totally forgot to mention. I’ve been wanting WHITE bedding for my bedroom for some time now. I’ve decided when I finally give this room some TLC I want all white bedding so I can mix and match throw pillows on it. I absolutely love the look of white crisp hotel bedding.

As for those stools at the foot of the bed… I’ve got big plans for those bad-boyz. They are going to be the bomb when I’m done with them.

This picture above is killing me. I am so cheap. Let’s see, I got the bedding at GW for $10. I got the wicker side table at a garage sale for $6!!! (It’s currently at Target for $60, so I totally scored on that one). And I got the two stools at GW in Los Angeles for only $6 each. The purple polka-dot pillow is from the Target clearance section months ago. I did buy the bed brand-new, but it’s so old I’m embarrassed to even admit to you when we bought it. Let’s just say it’s been through two pregnancies and has more than worn out it’s welcome at our house. It’s days are numbered.

Okay, so I might as well give you a quick tour of this train-wreck of a room while I’m at it…

When you are standing at the doorway looking in, this is what you see (yes, I flip-flopped the bed from the first “before” picture at the top of this post):

Not too bad, right? I can’t wait to do an awesome wall treatment on that big wall with the windows. It’s going to be fab.

If you turn around, this is the entrance to the bedroom on the left. On the far right is the entrance to the closet and the bathroom.

Kinsey has taken it upon herself to make a “Gallery Wall” for me. How thoughtful of her! I don’t have the heart to take it down. It’s been there for months (and she keeps adding to it).

She is very proud of her artwork.

Here’s a better view of the entrance to the closet (on the left) and the bathroom (on the right). I LOVE this little alcove in the bedroom.

The mirror is from IKEA, but I found it on Craig’s List for $50, and the stool is from Target on clearance a few weeks ago marked from $70 down to $17. I’m going to paint it eventually. I’m not diggin’ the flowers.

And in closing, a nice blast-from-the-past. Do you remember when I gave you my Master Bathroom tour last March? I showed you the awesome placement of the toilet in reference to the entrance to our bedroom.

Ya, not the best floor plan design. You can see the commode when you poke your head into the bedroom. Whether you are sitting on the John or not, it’s still gross to see the potty the second you glance into the bedroom.

So, um… ya. On that note…

The moral?

I got a new duvet set. I love it. It was dirt cheap. The End.

Is it just me or do you find the best deals while thrifting too? And, is your entire house purchased from the Target clearance, Craig’s List, Goodwill, or thrift stores?

PS my kids start school today. Summer went by far too quickly for me. I’m going to miss them annoying the heck out of me all day! Have your kids started school yet?