busy busy saturday!

It's almost Easter, and my entire day was dedicated to prep. I'm not hosting, but I was helping my mom get things ready (in exchange for doing my laundry at her house)!

Here is my day through photographs!...

First, I HAD to wear something comfy. I knew I would be running around and arranging flowers and moving furniture- no time for beauty!

My first stop was at Trader Joe's for flowers. Thankfully they bulked up on their stock, so I was able to get a bunch of pincushions and the prettiest orange/yellow tulips around. Score.

After I loaded my trunk with the flowers, I noticed the back of a road sign that looked super cool. I had to take a pic! Seriously, that is something I would hang in my house!

Anyway... my next stop was to Crate&Barrel for a few new vases, and new chairs for my mom's dining room. (shown below) 

I fit 3 in my car... 2 trips. Pretty easy.

 While I was running around, my mom offered to pick up lunch for me... I asked for a happy meal (don't judge) and this is the new size of french fries for the kiddos. I had to take a pic because it was SO funny. I mean really? Look at the size in relation to one nugget!! Ha! Serves me right I guess for eating terrible food! 

 Then the floral arranging got started. (the fun part) Tulips and pincushions yay! 

 Here was my trick for not having quite enough tulips for my last arrangement. Nothing a little tape can't fix! I added the leaves to the edges to make the arrangement look fuller. See below.

Tiny little mason jars to add to the buffet area tomorrow. Super easy, super cute.

Here is the final set table (yes a whole day early!) Can't wait for tomorrow's brunch!

Happy Easter everyone!

DIY: From Ugly To Adorable

I'm always looking for affordable trendy costume jewelry. I usually lust after pieces from j.crew but often can't afford them, or feel like something may be a passing trend that I'll get over quickly enough to not want to spend much money on. So often I run into pieces that are almost fabulous, but have  something hideous on them that ruins them completely! I recently found myself in this situation- I found a nearly adorable necklace at Forever 21 for $10.80. (what a deal!) So I got crafty and turned it into a fabulous find! Here's how I did it:

Yikes, those dangling pearls! But the rhinestone part is super cute...

Here's where I get crafty. I pulled out my needle nose pliers and went to town on those offensive pearls! They were simply connected with o-rings so they came right off! I then realized that I could salvage the middle gold/rhinestone beads for a future project...

Looks like I'll get 2 pieces of jewelry for $10.80! Score!

And after a few minutes of work here is the final product! Cute! I've worn the necklace a few time and love it! 

Here's a super grainy pic of me wearing it... sorry about the image quality!

-kara

DIY decorative branches

I had been looking for decorative branches for my apartment for a long time, and struggled to find the perfect ones. I had an idea in my head for what I wanted them to look like- basically bleached manzanita, and had no success finding them for a reasonable price. I could only find them online, for $24.50 per branch plus shipping- not an option! Instead I got my hands on some manzanita and sanded them myself. Here's the process:

The manzanita in its natural state.

Some serious garden shears! Necessary due to the strength of the branches!

 I clipped off all the leaves, and any "extra" branches I didn't like.

 The branch after its "haircut."

Then I went to town with the sanding. I found the sanding tool as seen in this photo to be the best for the job. There are some tight spaces to get into, and the precision tips were necessary. However, a variety of sandpaper pieces could be used. (and no, those are not my hands! I had a little help!)

Now that's my hand! (photo taken with Instagram)

The finished product! I love the organic shape and feel they create in my space. 

Here's a detail picture of the texture that is left after the sanding. Gorgeous!

Another option is to simply spray paint the branches white. I sprayed these branches and used them as an unconventional Christmas tree for a holiday party.

Success!

-kara