Blog Archives

IKEA favorites for under $20

3/28/2016

IKEA has always been one of my favorites. I remember taking a spring break trip to Chicago with all of my college roommates just to visit the nearest IKEA and then driving the 7 hour drive back to Minnesota with no room in the car from all of our purchases.

I recently went to IKEA to purchase my normal go-to items and decided to gather all of my favorite IKEA stuff into one spot for you. Most items are under $5.00 and are definite must haves!

One of the best deals you will find is the FJADRAR Inner Cushion. This pillow insert is $5.99 and filled with down feathers to make a perfect throw pillow. IKEA even sells the covers or you can go to your local fabric store and pick out your own! Such an easy way to spruce up a room.

While I'm not typically a fan of fake plants, I DO LOVE these, FEJKA artificial potted plants! They look real and are so easy to spread around your home. IKEA has so many different vase options to match your décor and they fit into the vases perfectly.

Here are three FEJKA potted plants inside this SOCKER Greenhouse. You can also purchase this greenhouse at IKEA for $19.99.

One of my all time favorite things are the SMYCKA Decorative Sticks! I've searched everywhere for decorative sticks/branches that are thick enough to make a statement and these are the only ones I can find and they are $14.99. You can purchase a CYLINDER glass vase for the sticks for $19.99!

Seriously every time I get to IKEA I pick up a pack of GLIMMA Unscented Tealights. For only $3.49 you get 100 and they are a great way to make a cozy atmosphere in your kitchen, dining room or living room. Also love that they are unscented so my husband's sensitive nose can handle them.

Napkins are another essential and they always seem to have new designs and colors each time I visit. I always pick up one or two packs of SOMMER 2016 Paper Napkins to have on hand for dinner parties or outdoor BBQs.

Staying organized is also a passion of mine and IKEA is so good at helping with that. Most people already know about these awesome $1.99 VARIERA Plastic Bag Dispensers, but they are definitely one of my favorites.

Before having kids I used to just whiz through the kids section and never put any thought into it, however after having my babies I have now found so many fun things that we use on a daily basis. Here's a few:

DUKTIG mini, fancy, plastic glasses make great gifts and are fun for pretend play and tea parties. Only $3.99 for a pack of 8.

KLADD PRICKAR Bibs are perfect for meal time and also art projects! No more paint or spaghetti sauce on sleeves. $5.99 for a pack of 2.

We use the KALAS plate, bowls, cups and silverware every. single. day. Each set is $1.99 for a pack of 6. *Tip, don't buy any other brands of kids dishes. That way everything will stack nicely together in a cupboard or drawer.

Lastly, I personally have not purchased this yet, but each time I get home from IKEA I realize I should have picked up a KOMPLEMENT Multi-Use Hanger for $7.99. I desperately need something to help me organize my scarves! Next trip.....

Happy shopping!

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8 ways to update your living room on a tight budget

3/15/2016

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Recently I was able to decorate a good friend’s gorgeous new home. We picked out everything from wall décor to large furniture items. It was a blast! However, I came home and looked around my house and realized – MY HOUSE NEEDED AN UPDATE! My husband was thrilled (sense the sarcasm).

So, instead of spending a ton of money on new furniture I decided to make a few changes that were much cheaper and would make the biggest differences. I was also able to sell most of the old stuff on my local facebook online garage sale site which helped with purchasing the new times. Here’s a few things I did to make the updates!

Paint! It’s a lot of work but makes the biggest change. Picking out a lighter, neutral color is just what I needed. This allows you to play around with other colors using accent furnishings and will give your room a timeless feel.

Tip: Stay away from color trends. Paint trends come and go quickly and you don’t want to be painting your entire house every 4-5 years. One popular color I love is Benjamin Moore’s Revere Pewter. It’s a really nice shade of greige (gray/beige), however in some rooms it can have a slight tint of green and is on the beige side. So I played with about 15 different paint colors in my home to find the perfect gray/beige color. I fell in love with Sherwin-Williams Colonnade Gray. It’s a perfect shade of gray with light tints of beige so I can still use some of my old beige furnishings.

Lamps were next. I purchased a few new lamps to replace old ones and then got new updated shades for the rest of my lamps. Made a huge difference for very little $$. A typical lamp will range around $25.00 - $50.00 at stores like Home Goods or Marshalls.

Wall Art is another easy way to update a room. I noticed a few of my art pieces had red and brown accents and I had no other red or brown in my entire space – so out with the old and in with the new clearance wall decor I found at Tuesday Morning.

Curtains can make one of the biggest differences in a room. Many times we don’t even see our curtains anymore because they have just morphed into the rest of the room. But with a new wall color comes new curtains! Again, think timeless. Trendy patterns such as chevron look awesome now, but in 5 years will probably be completely out of style. I like simple, solid color curtains.

Curtain tips:

For large windows I always double up the panels putting two panels on each side to give a fuller look.
Make sure to extend the curtain rod well past the window trim to ensure the curtains hang outside of the window frame. This makes the window and room feel larger.

Throw pillows are one of my favorite ways to change a room. You can change colors and looks by just purchasing a few new pillows.

Tip: Your pillows don’t have to match. You can use different colors, patterns and textures.

De-cluttering your shelves, tables and desks can also update a room. Shelf simplicity is the key.

Plants: Get rid of your large fake plants that are collecting dust! Purchase a real tree or plant that is easy to care for. My new favorite tree is a Fiddle Leaf Fig Tree. Needs a lot of light but not a lot of water!

Lastly – updating picture frames. I love going to someone’s home and looking at their family photos hanging on the walls, What great memories to share with friends and family. However, frames can become out of date as well. Luckily Michaels or Hobby Lobby seem to have 50% off frames almost every week. Look for a simple design with sleek looking borders and try a different color frame to match your new décor!

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Sammy's Little Man 1st Birthday Party

3/11/2016

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Nothing says happy 1st birthday to my sweet little man than a Little Man Mustache and Bow Tie Birthday party. Here's a look at a few of the party decorations we used to help him ring in his first year on Earth!

I created a onsie banner with neck and bow ties using just colored card stock and string I had around the house. I found the onsie banner template from Bottle Your Brand's blog. It's FREE! I've included this downloadable Onesie Banner Pattern. This pattern makes a fabulous party banner. Each onesie is aproximately 8.5 inches tall by five inches wide.

"I really mustache you to grab a prop & smile for the camera." This was a highlight of the party. We created our own hashtag for friends and family to share their funny pictures and memories of the party that we will have forever! I found these super cheap photobooth props for less than $5.00.

These mustache straws added so much to the theme.

The life size picture of our little Sammy was the focal point of the party when guests arrived. I simply cut out mustaches from black card stock, used scotch tape and had the younger guests play Pin the Stache on the Baby for fun prizes. The print was from Vistaprint.com.