New Fav Website

Brocade Home is my new favorite semi-shabby chic website to go to in search of fun and funky inspirations.

I'm so girly that I love their Berry collection for bed linens.

They also have a lot of inspiring black and white furniture - so if you have accent pieces or artwork that you'd like to stand out in any of your rooms, go for broke and get one of Brocade Home's pieces. You'll be pleasantly surprised at how much better your beloved accent pieces pop out in your home!

A bit extravagent at $49, but these winestoppers would dress up any $3.99 bottle of Sutter Home! HOT TIP: Head to Pier 1 Imports to find some knock-offs...

Whatever you do, don't forget to look at their sale section -

There's velvet pillows, outdoor dining, sconces, fabulous rugs and even a super cute side table for only $99!

PSH

Ready to Assemble Furniture Finds - C&B SALE

Try the table-in-a-bag from Crate and Barrel. It's $39.95, plus there's a cute tablecloth to go with - that's only $12.95. Yippee - a camp table from C&B!!

Plus, there's a plastic 18 piece set of flatware on sale for $5.50. How cute would those be for a book club meeting???

Currently, I'm scouring websites in search of a firepit or something like it for August when we move. Target has some - I don't want to spend more than $80, so I have a good budget to work within... maybe I'll wait until some go on sale to post...

PSH

Organize Those Magazines!

I've been keeping too many magazines lately, it's not that I don't recycle them when I'm done, I bring them to the laundromat to share with everyone else. I just like to covet the magazines for awhile and scour the pages looking for pretty pictures and good recipes.

The Thomas Paul Magazine Holder from See Jane Work is $17.50, but if your a realy DIY'er, purchase one of these from Ikea, find your favorite scrapbooking paper and let your fingers do the glueing!

Check out Michael's for acid free glue - remember to flatten out the paper too so you don't get any wrinkles, spread your glue out VERY thinly as well!

PSH

Earth Day Deal - Seeds!

Seeds of Change Free Shipping

Enjoy your own garden growing - get free shipping!

Coupon Code: DAILYGREEN8

Offer good until the end of April.

Actually, how about a link to 30 DAYS of Green Deals???

PSH

Small Space Storage Solutions

If you're like me it means that you live in exactly 620 square feet and moved a three story house into a one bedroom apartment.

Kind of.

I can't convince my Beemer Man into donating a whole entire box of unsharpened pencils to a school, nor can I convince him that dirty clothes need to be in the hamper and when the hamper is full to wash what's in there. Um, no. He buys more socks. And underwear. That's only one problem.

Here were my solutions:

Kitchen Hutch from Target - $149
I whole heartedly admit, it's not the prettiest, but it's large and fits the needs of our small kitchen. ALL the baking stuff is stored along with the utensils.
For $39.99 the Rexbo storage unit is easily used in the office area. It holds the law school books along with a few reams of paper and one 8x10 framed wedding picture. Who knew that I would fall in love with red?

These are only two solutions to the many -

Closet organizers - boxes, baskets, an over the door shoe holder houses my bras & socks, a plastic closet doubler, purses that hang on what are supposed to be pants hangers (stuffed with tissue paper), plastic shelving under the bathroom sink...

Honestly I could go on forever (need more room for new glasses - use an old coffee mug for a pen & pencil holder) - sometimes ideas come to you that you would never think. I bought an old restaurant utensil holder (kinda like now what the six pack case is with the napkins in it) and it's now used for the address book, errant pens, a lighter, the stamps and all the remote controls.

Amazingly, you'll find something you love that you have to use for something. No worries, more solutions to come!

PSH

$6 Wallflowers

At Bath & Body Works.

Enjoy the discount - there's also a coupon code on the top banner of the website.

PSH

Buying Furniture

Wow... I haven't actually BOUGHT furniture in so long...

I'm a little shocked at shipping prices (finally, the Ikea in Ohio opened, so I'll be going there in July!), disturbed by the lack of not finding more dining sets and not so enthusiastic about going to furniture stores. Hmm. I think I like online shopping better.

For $499, this table will fit into the new kitchen of the new rental in August. It's mod, coffee colored and seems to be stable. But for $499, you also have to put it together yourself. I don't know if I LIKE that part! This is from West Elm (I think, whoops, I totally forgot to bookmark it for later!) or it could also be from CB2.

When shopping for furniture I have a strange obsession with shabby chic things for myself - Rachel Ashwell is the definite Shabby Chic decorator (Confession: I own Shabby Chic bed linens from Target) and I just can't seem to stray from the clean, comfortable lines and lovely feeling that you get, it's like when the sun shines down upon your face and you suddenly smile.

The above chair is the PB Basic Grand Chair. It comes in several slipcover colors - whoops, I mean like 50 - with different prices attached to it too. For $1,000, it's not in my budget, but check out this likeness from ikea:

For $249, the Ektorp comes in several colors as well, newly fashioned in pink! This is more of my budget, with a brightly colored throw and some fun pillows, what a fabulous reading chair this would make (with a glass of wine...).

PSH

Make Your Own Green Cleaning Products

Most people don't realize how bad Formula 409 is for the environment. Great for cleaning, but incredibly toxic! Follow these simple steps to cure your toxic cleaning habit...

Clogged Drain? Try this:

Put 2 - 3 tablespoons of baking soda into the clogged drain, then pour 1 cup of vinegar over it. Let fizz and bubble for about 5 minutes. Then pour boiling hot water into the drain to flush out the clog.


Smelly Carpet?

Sprinkle baking soda over the trouble carpet areas, then vacuum up. The baking soda works on carpet just like in the fridge, sucking the smells right out!


Microwave like a nasty frat boy has had it for years?

Mix vinegar, water and a little lemon juice in a medium microwave safe bowl. Nuke for 5 minutes, then let the steam soak into all the gross areas. Open the door and wipe away! It may take several tries, but it works wonders!

Toxic agents by the numbers, thanks to Treehugger.com:

1. 17,000: the number of petrochemicals available for home use, only 30% of which have been tested for exposure to human health and the environment.

2. 63: the number of synthetic chemical products found in the average American home, translating to roughly 10 gallons of harmful chemicals.

3. 100: the number of times higher that indoor air pollution levels can be above outdoor air pollution levels, according to US EPA estimates.

4. 275: the number of active ingredients in antimicrobials that the EPA classifies as pesticides because they are designed to kill microbes.

5. 5 billion: the number of pounds of chemicals that the institutional cleaning industry uses each year.

6. 23: the average gallons in chemicals (87 liters) that a janitor uses each year, 25% of which are hazardous.

PSH

What's Your Low Impact Living Score?

Try out this Low Impact Living Calculator. At the end, it gives you suggestions of what you can do to live an even more low impact life.

Love it!

PSH

Pink!

Check out the new Conversation Pieces by Crate & Barrel. At moment, Blogger's not letting me upload photos. Damn.

The new Savoir chair is the perfect shade of pink for an eye-catching Spring room. Yeah, $899 for a chair - probably not for my cheap budget, especially for trading out furniture seasonally. Still, it's perfect Spring color brightens any room!

My perfect idea of where all of my lovely paperback books and wedding gadgets should go:

For $269, the Bergsbo cabinet comes in 2 colors, white & red. I say make a statement. Go for the red.

OR

There's this red one too:

The Linnarp for $349 (which is my personal 1st choice, why, I'm not quite sure, maybe it's because it's on the front cover of the 2008 Ikea catalog).

Enjoy!

PSH

McTatty's Top 10 Things She Cannot Live Without

1. Burt's Bees lip balm

2. Diet Mountain Dew

3. The "Chunky" Sweater from Banana Republic. A reprisal is needed every spring in Minnesota of my biege, black, brown, white and gray chunky sweaters.

4. Seventh Generation Trash Bags - I actually do bulk orders from Gaiam.com.

5. Method hand soap - Sea Minerals. It seriously smells like the spa. How can you NOT deny something that's biodegradable and good for you? Plus it's only $4.00 online. At Target it's usually $2.99 OR $3.99. Get it, you'll never turn back!

6. The Young & The Restless (my soap opera). I read this religiously.

7. Aveda Replenishing body Moisturizer. No need to elaborate anymore on Aveda. I'm from Minnesota and have been addicted ever since my first smell at the Southdale Mall.

8. My 2 year old Nikon D70s. I got it when it was brand new. Now people have the D80 and don't know what ISO even is...

9. The GoogleReader. How the heck would I keep up with blogs like The Pioneer Woman Cooks or Apartment Therapy?

10. The song "Otherside" by Red Hot Chili Peppers. Or anything by Tom Petty. Or Dave Matthews.

PSH