A Visit to the Cincinnati Art Museum

During the holiday break, my mother and I visited the Cincinnati Art Museum to see the "Wedded Perfection: Two Centuries of Wedding Gowns" exhibit. Not only did I fall in love with the dresses, I feel in love with some of their gift shop items. The gift shop featured rhinestoned and mirrored trees decorated with an abundance of glittering ornaments. I wanted more than anything for those trees to go home with me. Who cares about the ornaments... you can find those anywhere, but the trees were magnificent.

the rhinestone tree

the mirrored tree

In addition, I heart the elegance of the Cincinnati Art Museum architecture. I have dreamed of having my wedding reception there, but had to keep dreaming since it only holds 150 people. Below is a shot of the grand staircase leading to the area where wedding receptions are held.

How elegant!

I highly recommend a visit to the Cincinnati Art Museum if you are looking for an afternoon of entertainment.  After all, admission is free.  Please note, the wedding dress exhibit is only open to January 30th so hurry over before you miss out!

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Comfy Cozy

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! I hate that this holiday is over already. I feel my house will look bare when I take down all the lovely holiday decorations.

I came across this room and feel in love. It still says warm winter decor, but not so much in a Christmas way. It speaks to me, "comfy, cozy."

I would love to cuddle up here in front of the fire!

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Deck the Halls

This is the perfect time of the year to reflect on what we are thankful for. I am thankful that I have officially been a homeowner for one year now. Wow, time has flown by fast! My home has definitely gone through several transformations. When I purchased my condo, there were holes in the walls and no light fixtures. Now it is completely different... still a work in progress though.

I thought I would share some pictures of my first year decorating for Christmas. I'm hoping to snag some deals on Christmas decor the day after the holiday for the years to come.

Meanwhile, I'm enjoying the decorations I have now.

For the most part, I went with a gold and silver scheme with some hints of blue.

My artificial tree came with pine cones attached so I decided to go with a natural and simplistic look selecting only gold ornaments to trim the limbs.

The "Merry Christmas" garland below is my favorite holiday purchase this year. I came across this at Home Goods and knew it had to come home with me.

Of course, had to had some festive holiday decor to my wooden cart. I found these pre-lit trees at the Christmas Tree Shop for $1.99 and $2.99... not a bad deal!

Lastly, my hallway decor. I love this old fashion Santa my mom gave me.



Merry Christmas Eve readers!

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Welcome Emerson

As stated in the post below, many of my friends are having their first child. With baby bliss comes the excitement of decorating a nursery. Each of my friends have spent numerous hours researching color and theme options for their new bundle of joy.

My friend, Becky, just welcomed her daughter Emerson into the world. Emerson's nursery is adorned with accents of pink and baby blue. Her design inspiration came from a Pottery Barn Kids bedding line.

My favorite part of the nursery is the tutu-like curtains that are layered over the blue panels. I helped pick those out!

Emerson's nursery is the collection of all things precious for an adorable little girl.

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Baby Bliss

There must be something in the water. Everyone I know is either pregnant or a new mom. I guess it was the wedding phase and now it's the baby craze.

Below are pictures from a shower Lauren and I threw for our friend Brittany.

Enjoy!


My present for Baby Humphreys

Everyone ready for Baby Bingo


I found these awesome cupcake toppers on Etsy. They were the perfect silhouette especially since the cute bob haircut symbolized Brittany.

Party favors

"A baby is brewing"

Personalized mugs for every guest

Even for grandmas, aunts, and cousins to be

Everyone with their party favors

As you can see, I am addicted to my Cricut machine. I made all the favors using my Cricut and mugs from IKEA.

Now it's on to Christmas season and gift giving.

Thanks for stopping by!

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Macy's Fashion Challenge

I came across a video Macy's used to create hype for their Martha Stewart collection.

Martha decorates a fraternity house.

Enjoy!

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Snow Day!

Today was the first official snow day of the season. I celebrated with Auntie Anne's pretzels at home.

I was ecstatic to find a box mix at Kroger. Everyone who knows me knows that I LOVE hot pretzels so this box mix was perfect for me!

Here is the result of my creation:

Yum!

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Three Thrifty Finds

As mentioned prior, I used to dread the days my mom forced me to go into a thrift store. Now as a home owner, I get it. I get the excitement of finding the perfect piece of home decor or an accessory for pennies.

In addition to visiting all the normal stores on Black Friday, my mom and I stopped in a thrift store. Here are the finds I came home with:

Three items for $3.98 (including tax)

1. Equestrian Style Belt - $2.00



2. A set of old fashion milk glasses - $0.50



3. A 12 pack of gold ball ornaments - $1.25

(basket not included)

Deals like this make my day!

What was your best Black Friday deal?

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Thanksgiving Blessings

There are so many blessing to be thankful for this holiday season. One thing I am truly thankful for is the fact that my family always likes to be festive for every occasion.

Here are some shots from our family Thanksgiving:

Family festivities complete with head dresses and spiritual names.

Celebrating in style!

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Sperry Top-Siders

I never paid attention to my mom when she would tell me that one day I would care more about comfort and less about what the shoes looked like. Now I have found a shoe that satisfies both needs! I can honestly say that I absolutely LOVE my Sperrys because they are so comfortable and cute. I currently own two pairs: one leather and one plaid. I wear my Sperrys for days when I know I'm going to be on my feet a lot. For example, this summer they ended up being perfect choices for concerts and fairs.

Here are new styles I am crushing on this season...

THE MONTACK SLIP ON

(in platinum gold)


(in griege, yellow, and bone)

(in sand suede)

THE CORMORANT RUBBER SLIP ON

THE HINGHAM BOOT

Do you own a pair?

What's your favorite style?

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Savoring the last traces of fall

With Christmas season knocking at our doors, I wanted to savor the last days of the autumn atmosphere.

My mom brought over some branches from the bush in her front yard. They made the perfect accent pieces for my foyer and dining room. The best part... this decor was completely FREE!

Goodbye fall... I'll be counting down the days until you visit us again! Love, Sarah

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Frugal Fashionista

I fell in love with these shoes cheetah print booties featured on the Frugal Fashionista site.

I also have noticed that "capes" will be in this season. I may try my hand at them!


Check out Frugal Fashionista for great outfit ideas on a budget. You'll be addicted at keeping up with the new posts.

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Craft Day - Project 2

I purchased a sofa bed earlier this year so my friends would have somewhere to sleep when they visited. This piece came from IKEA and included a white cover as well as two white pillows. To entertain myself on Saturday, I decided I was going to experiment with decorating the pillows.

I started with the following items that I already had lying around the house:

* Two Types of Ribbon

* Pillow

* White Pillow Cover

* Sewing Kit

I googled "how to make a flower out of ribbon" to watch demo videos and get started.

I started folding the ribbon using various methods I came across in my google search.

I sewed the ribbon in several places throughout the middle to secure the flower creation.

I also added lighter color ribbon as little leaves since my mom insisted the pillow needed something else to make it pop.

Here is the pillow featured in my guest bedroom/office:

My second attempt at frugal entertainment: a success!

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Craft Day - Project 1

During my weekend attempt to be frugal, I sought out activities that were free.

What did I come up with?

Craft day using items around my house.

First Project: use my Cricut machine to explore vinyl projects.

I have owned a Cricut for several years now but just now realized that they sell vinyl for the machine. I already have several store-bought vinyl wall quotes featured around my home. I thought... I can make these now!

Store-bought quote in my bedroom:

Store-bought quote in my entry way:

Store-bought quote in my master bathroom:

Quote I cut myself on my Cricut:
This quote is above my patio door.

Notice the typical white blinds (which I despise). Please let me know if you have any cost effective solutions for window treatments of this size. I am so ready to move on from these.

Currently, I only own the "George" font that came with my machine, but am looking forward to purchasing more so I can expand on my vinyl projects!

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Nate Berkus Inspiration

Watching the Nate Berkus show inspired me to revamp store bought furniture.

My first project:

MY TV STAND

Per Nate's instructions, I bought a can of gold spray paint and a paint pen. Then went to town on this Wal-Mart bought piece of furniture. Here is the step by step demo to how I added a little pizazz to my TV stand.

THE BEFORE

I started by spray painting the hardware gold. I couldn't believe how much fun and easy spray painting was!

Then I used painting tape to block off areas where I wanted to add gold trim. I filled in the areas with a gold paint pen.

Eight dollars later, here is THE FINAL PRODUCT:

Okay, not a huge difference... but it was fun! Plus, this opened me up to exploring other projects.

MORE SPRAY PAINTING EXCITEMENT

Like I mentioned above, spray painting was fun and easy so I started looking around my house for other things turn metallic gold. I thought this glass container displayed in my kitchen would look dazzling in gold so I started by spraying the cork piece.

I loved it so much that I decided to spray the entire bottle.


Don't you love all things shiny and metallic?

Happy Spray Painting! :)

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