recycled coasters

I had tons of product samples left over from my days in the interior design program. I gave most of them to friend still in the program, but I kept a few things that I really liked and had ideas of how to recycle. I love the glass tiles shown below and have been using them as coasters for a while, but I decided to spruce them up a bit.




I love chair silhouette images so I painted a couple of my favs on the back of the tiles.


Turn it over and you have an ador chair silhouette coaster


I also had some 2-inch tiles that I loved so I mix and matched them, and then super glued them together. Super easy

glass obsessed

I have a huge obsession for glassware. For real I will probably be on the show hoarders one day with a house full of glasses. Anyway, I have been eyeballing the stemware shown below from Anthropologie. I won't buy them of course but I just like to look. So yesterday while Jake and I were at the thrift store I found a tumbler that looks just like them! I was really excited and decided to buy it since it was only $.25!


Platinum Ombre


I will just pretend it's from Anthropologie


(photos via anthropologie)

what i'm loving

Curtain room dividers!

















(photos via design sponge, apartment therapy, ikea, absolutely beautiful things)

apt. 33 (part one)

After Jake and I got married I moved into his one bedroom apartment in Auburn. We consider ourselves very blessed to have come across this apartment at the perfect time. It is a three minute walk to class for Jake and it is a really great price.

That being said, it was not the most attractive apartment. It has wood paneling everywhere! No offense to those of you who have wood paneling in your homes but I just love a good smooth painted wall. Also, the apartment came furnished with furniture that looks like it came out of a beach condo from the 80’s, and we are not allowed to remove it. I had quite the challenge ahead of me, but I did have a lot of fun transforming apt. 33.




We found this old desk at a thrift store. It was transformed by adding shelves for Jake's video game stuff, a few coats of paint, and new knobs and pulls. We are kicking ourselves for not taking a before picture.




The chairs were also found at a thrift store. We sanded them down, painted them, and reupholstered with linen. Once again no before picture.


The rug is from World Market and I love it!




Since I was not allowed to remove the awful sofa and armchair I had to figure out a way to make them look better. I knew slipcovers were out of the question because they wouldn’t look right with the wood arms. So I bought some cheap fabric and safety pinned the fabric to the cushions. You can’t even tell it was safety pinned. It was a quick, easy and cheap solution.


It has actually held up great


This is the gross upholstery that I had to cover up


I painted some old frames with leftover paint from the TV stand

More pictures to come...

yes deer

Deer season is coming to a close so this post is inspired by deer heads. Well, actually alternatives to real deer heads...















I think this is the only one that I would actually hang on my wall

(photos via the W store, kaboodle, roost, mod cloth, & etsy)

my wish

I was watching Cougar Town the other day and I noticed that in the foyer there was a giant clam shell holding the mail. I want to do this!


I love it!


So that got me thinking...what other uses are there for giant clam shells?


Sitting on a shelf looking pretty...


A sink...


A centerpiece with a floral arrangement...


Hanging on the wall...


In a fireplace...


Holding holiday party favors...


In a shower...


A dog's water bowl...

My favorite is still the mail holder

Ballard Designs
, one of my favs, actually has them on their website! However it costs $119. That's a little pricey for a poor newlywed so I will just have wait for my giant clam shell.



(photos via abc.com, Ballard Designs, Completely Coastal, Coco Kelly, & Absolutely Beautiful Things)

my honeymoon

I love hospitality design so while we were on our honeymoon I had to take pics of the room. We went to Adventura Spa Palace in Riviera Maya, Mexico. We had an amazing time! We got to eat a lot and sleep a lot and just relax in the sun! I would definitely recommend an all-inclusive resort for honeymoons. Especially if the bride has been worried for months that she wouldn’t fit in her wedding dress.





It really was a beautiful place!








This actually happened a lot if we ever ate outside at a restaurant


I loved the hammock on our balcony, it was a very relaxing honeymoon