Chocolate Covered Strawberries 🍓 Valentines Day Hack

If you are more into the idea of buying expensive stuff for your love on Valentine's Day, more power to ya. 

I personally think any effort is sweet and it shouldn't matter how much you spent. 

My husband and I have this tradition where we do our own chocolate covered strawberries. Except, I wish I had a pic of what they looked like our first time doing them.. I mean it was EVERYWHERE! And it hardened in the tub so fast which took forever to clean. And the strawberries had fingerprints, they weren't smooth and pretty. 

This year, I figured out the fastest, easiest, and cheapest way to do the most perfect chocolate covered strawberries!!! 

All you need is;;

Bakers Dipping chocolate 

I got mine at Walmart, comes in a small microwaveable tub for just a few bucks.

Corn on the cob holders

That's it!

You melt the chocolate in the microwave for 30 seconds, stir, and then another 30 seconds, and then it should be ready! 

Just stab the strawberries and dip! So easy!!! 

Best part is, you don't have a bowl to scrub hard chocolate off of after! I've used my fingers and forks and these by far are the best way to do it! I've used the  chocolate bark that you can buy for baking purposes, I like the kind I used this time better. It's smoother and easier to get that pretty finish. 

Yumm! 😋

You'll Never Have To Say "I have nothing to wear" Ever Again!

A few times a year I go through my closet and I find the same problem. I have so many cute clothes that never get worn. I have like 5 "nice" shirts that I rotate through. I'm a stay at home mommy so comfy clothes is my normal. 

The rule is if you haven't worn it in a year get rid of it but I have problems throwing out perfectly cute clothes! 

So I decided to try something that I learned on the Rachel Ray show and it actually works! 

I decided to pair together outfits and accessorize them on the hanger! 

Instead of staring in your closet for ten minutes thinking "I have nothing to wear" all you have to do is pick up a hanger and your whole outfit is put together! 

I'm a big fan of layers. You can do so many different looks with the same cardigan and you can wear your tanks year round but by pairing it differently make it suitable for the different seasons. 

I wouldn't go overboard and put 20 outfits all put together but having a handful that are ready are perfect for those times when you are having a hard time putting something together or when you are in a hurry! It also helps you wear clothes that you wouldn't normally wear! 

DIY Coffee Bar for under $50!

I have a few yard sale  sites on my FB, they are great for those who are not particularly morning people and like to sleep in Saturday mornings. ;) I saw this post of a black corner desk for $15 and immediately thought of the corner in my kitchen that is bare! Figured I could figure out something to do with it! So I got it and there it sat in my kitchen for a few months.

On Pinterest, I kept seeing coffee bars and I fell in love! What girl doesn't love the feeling of a cafe in their own kitchen!

So I was looking at Target and other local stores for a cute wood structure for a while before I realized that after looking on Pinterest some more... that there were coffee bars made out of so many different materials! I saw some rolling carts, microwave tables, rolling island cabinets, I mean all kinds of stuff!

I sought out to take the ugly corner desk and make it into my litter "corner cafe!"

Here is my ugly desk taking up space in my kitchen.

Yea, that corner needs a lot of help! The kitchen ended up resulting in the room where things go that don't have a place... above my cabinets... this corner... the china hutch. It's pretty bad! So this is my first attempt at making it look pretty! But I didn't want to spend a lot since I could buy a new nice table for my "corner cafe" for $150.

I went to Ross and scored big time on the deals! I got a hook hanger for $5, a set of 5 colorful mugs for $6, a tea cup wire holder for my tea bags $4, a picture for the wall $5, a basket for $3, trashcan for $3, and a table cloth for $4.
= $31!!! For the decor!!! And the desk was $15, that's $46 for an entire makeover!

Now how freaking cute is that?? 

I know I am old school with my manual coffee maker instead of a cool Keurig :)

I'm super happy with how it turned out! My advice would be to lay out on your kitchen table the things you would want on your coffee bar and then you can figure out what kind of containers you need.  Be creative!

BTW- this table cloth is sweet because it hides all my junk that WAS on top of my desk, now on the shelves!

DIY Dining room table & chairs makeover on a budget!

Before you get to the point in your life where you can go out and buy room furniture sets, you have to make the furniture that you have work.

We have been on our own for 2 years and was given a free dining set. We were so grateful for that, immediately I saw potential underneath the horrible 60's Orange plaid cushions and the wobbly wood table. 

I don't have many pictures of it because it was so ugly and my kitchen is the last room that I am giving a makeover. I have put it off for so long because I am not to familiar with tools, I look like a deer in headlights in any Home Depot type store, and honestly I just thought I would mess it up. Then it hit me one day, who cares! It was a free table! A teacher of mine always said "You don't make mistakes you make discoveries." And it is so true. Even if the worst possible outcome happens, you learn from it! People are not born being able to be a pro at anything so take chances! I got a pink tool set for Christmas with the basics, and now I LOVE adding to my collection! 

So on to the makeover. 

1. I flipped the table on its top and put wood glue in the leg areas that were wobbly and let that dry. No wobbling table now, yay! 

2. Using a screw driver I flipped the chairs upside down and took the screws out of the seat. 

3. I took the material and padding off- oh man talk about old! It was falling apart like saw dust! (Ewww) 

4. Then I was just left with a board for the base. I measured the length and width of the largest side and added four inches to each (This will give you 2" all the way around the material to fold on to the back and staple to the board) 

5. After measuring I figured up how much material and padding I would need. I got extra so I could have left over fabric for another project, I could of got away with 1 or 1.5 yards but I did 2. And got a big piece of 1/2" padding. 

6. I measured the four squares of material I need for the chairs, cut those out. Then used the wood board to trace on the padding to cut four pads out. 

7. Then get your square of fabric and flip it upside down and lay it on your working surface. Next lay the padding with the board on top. Flip over fabric from opposit sides and using a staple gun, staple it all over the back. (Make sure not to cover the screw holes) 

8. Once your cushions are reupholstered you are halfway done! Yay!

 (These cushions are not yet screwed back into the chair I just sat it on there to see what it looked like) 

For painting the table and chairs

1. I bought Plaster of Paris at Home Depot it was pretty cheap, you need this to make your regular paint into chalk paint. Why? Because with chalk paint you do not have to sand or prime and it can go on any surface!!! You're welcome, I just saved you hours of labor! 

Mix into a good size bowl 

1 1/2 cup paint of choice (I used BEHR paint I already had) 

1/2 cup hot water

1/2 cup Plaster of Paris

Mix it all up until there are no lumps and that's all there is to it!! That mixture was enough to cover my chairs and bottom half of the table with a second coat! It is super fast drying so you can do a round of one coat then by the time you are done with your last item, start the second coat! 

2. Now just by using a regular brissle paint brush, paint one coat of the chalk paint. When finished start with the first piece make sure it's dry- then do a second coat. Let this sit for a few hours once done. 

3. By using one sheet of sand paper (I used 80 grit and it worked great) distress the area you painted wherever you want the paint to be worn off. This is also great for hiding areas of imperfections ;) 

4. Screw the seats back on the chairs and you are done! 

Note I plan on staining the top of the table- I'll add on to this once I do that! You can leave the table top as is, or stain it! It's your creation! :) 

Basics to give your living room a makeover! Where to start!

I know exactly what it is like to want nice things, a nice house when you are just starting out on your own. Your parents will just tell you "It takes time to have all the nice things you want," Which is true.  

 I have lived in my rental house now for a year and a half, and while my house looked clean and cute... I was ready to do some major upgrading!

I'm very tight with money on decorating because I tend to change my mind frequently on what color scheme/theme I want to do in each room. So I have made an effort to put more of the money into things I can change up the rooms by keeping some essentials.

I believe it is alright to dish out some money on good quality stuff if you are planning on keeping it for a while, better than having to replace cheap quality stuff every year.

But I love the bright colors and really am not digging the white walls that come in our rental home so I have found some ways to add some color and make your house look great on a budget! 

Pinterst is a huge help for this type of thing, if you are not familiar with it, I highly recommend making a profile so you can get so many ideas to give your home the best potential!

TIP- Check the app store on your phone to see if the stores in your area have an app, most of the time they will have extra coupons to those "VIP" customers! Cartwheel is Target's shopping discount app and holy cow, talk about good savings! Kirkland's has an app called "Spin to Win" where you can get a coupon every day! Michael's and Hobby Lobby always have a 40% off coupon on their app also. So before you go shopping- do your homework and find the deals!

OKAY Let's get to it! 

1. Color Schemes!! A very successful way to decorate your home like a PRO is to pick a general color scheme AND STICK TO IT! Pinterest (or google) has a million different ideas for color schemes. Usually they will consist of 5 or so colors that will accent each other! When trying to decide a color scheme, keep some things into consideration!  Find a color scheme that will incorporate your couch color if you plan on keeping your couch/sofa set. 

(For example; my couch happens to be sage green so I had to pick a color scheme that would flow with that green shade. Obviously bright vibrant colors wouldn't work for me! On pinterest I searched "sage green color schemes" and found one that I decided to work with!) That is just a way to start off your quest! :)

(Pic cred-theeberspatchers.blogspot.com)

2. Style! Once you pick your colors, pick what kind of style you want to decorate your home! There are many different styles and picking a style that you gravitate towards will help you figure out what kind of decor may be fitting in your home! This pic-guide helps give an idea of some styles, this is just one example of what that style may look like- it varies, and these examples are pretty extreme but it helps direct in which way you want to go!

(Pic cred-starfurnitureblog.com)

 

After picking a color scheme and style, do your research. Figure out what draws you to that type of style. What do you like about it? What about it makes you think of YOUR home? 


3. Furniture Layout!I know in some houses it is hard to get all your furniture to fit in multiple different layouts, but make your goal to have an inviting layout.  When you walk in the door THAT should be the best view of the room! All your best decor you want to be in that view! Pick a focal point, whether it be the TV or fireplace, and have the seating arranged around that. Just keep in mind you don't want to close off the opening to the room. It won't look so inviting walking into the room to see the back of a couch.

Now if you are like me, just starting out on your own, you are probably going to be renting a house for a few years. Most of the time you can't paint. So you will have to incorporate pops of color from your color scheme around the room.


 4.  Curtains!! You would NOT believe the difference curtains will make in any given room! Especially when you can not paint the walls! If you have an open floor plan, I'd recommend picking a color for the curtains that is going to flow from your living room into your kitchen/dining area.  In my opinion it's better to try and find good quality curtains on sale verses buying cheap curtains at regular price.  Getting a thicker upholstery material will cut back cost on your energy bill also! :) I found my curtains at Kirkland's, they are super nice and I scored half off (woop woop!) As far as colors go, my advice is to pick a curtain color in the color scheme that is more adaptable so if you change your decor for the different seasons that you can keep your nice curtains!

Stores where I find some good deals are: Marshalls, Ross, Hobby Lobby, Michael's, Wal-mart, and Kirklands

 Online discounted stores to try: wayfair.com, overstock.com

(Pic Cred-houzz.com)

5. Throw pillows/blankets! So with curtains, like I said it's best to get something that will match a large amount of stuff... Throw pillows are fun because they are the exact opposite! You can mix and match colors and designs (try to stick within your color scheme and style) This is where you can add some pops of fun color!

 6.  Area Rugs! Okay, so these go hand in hand with the throw pillows. In my opinion, I'd say either go more plain with the rug but in one of the colors of the throw pillows, and then have more designs and patterns in the pillows... Or switch it and do a colorful pattern area rug and get throw pillows from the colors pulled out of the rug of a more basic fabric. Area rugs not only make the space look bigger, it also makes them look so "homey" in my opinion! You could get a long skinny rug for the hallway or kitchen that matches to help transition from room to room. 

 

7. Wall Decor! There are many, many ways you could go about decorating the walls. 

• When you are renting and you can not paint the walls, one of my favorite cheats is to do the Wall Decals. They are stickers that you peel off and stick on the wall and peel right off without pulling off paint! It looks so nice, like it was painted on and are good to fill empty wall space!  

•  A really popular way to decorate in living rooms is with photos. I wouldn't go overboard with the pics but a nice collage of frames is super cute and can be personalized so many ways!

(thefirstgradeparade.blogspot.com)

• Decorative Clocks! This is an easy way to take up some wall space, and who doesn't love a beautiful clock?? At Hobby Lobby (my personal fave) there are sooo many options for clocks! All kinds of colors, shapes, and styles! Use that 40% off coupon and there ya go! :) Pick a clock in a color of the throw pillows/rug that you want to pull out for a pop of color!

(lindevegen.no)

8. Table Decor! If you have an end table and coffee table, get a few cute little things for them! Table lamps are easy for another excuse for a pop of color on an end stand. On coffee tables I personally like the trays (they come in all types of colors) where you can put your remotes and books on! Candles are an easy space filler also to add color. Also, you'd be surprised how much a plant can freshen up a room! They have the pots at Michaels for less than $3 and every color paint, it's super easy to get a bundle of fake flowers in one of your colors you maybe are having trouble finding anything for. 

(designindulgence.blogspot.com)

 

 Hope this helps! I'll hopefully get around to adding other room decorating tips soon!