Random Shopping finds... J Crew and Thrift Shoppes!

I saw this in the J Crew Outlet in Michigan City, Indiana and instantly fell in love!  I love the citron cardi  (to me it will always be tennis ball yellow) and the navy shorts and crisp white shirt.  But what I am loving most of all is the polka-dot bow tie!  It is absolutely adorable!  I have been picking up bow ties at second hand stores lately because I so want to copy this trend.  I love this look so much.  Casual and yet so polished!

I also gushed over this lobster cotton sweater.  It just screams summer and reminds me of my time in Kennebunkport, Maine.  One of my most favorite places in the whole world.  This is on my J. Crew bucket list for sure!  Adorbs.

Since getting my iPhone, I love that fact that I have a camera with me at all times and I must admit the photo quality is pretty sweet.  I find myself taking pictures and videos of totally random stuff.  This post is simply a collection of some of these pictures!  :-)

I stopped in a Thrift Shoppe (I like to spell it that way to class it up a bit  :-) and found this vintage table!  I love this - the metal detailing, the decorative trim all make it adorable.  I don't know what I am going to do with it but I could not pass it up for $10!  White with silver metal accents?  Deep cherry with silver?  Mahogany with gold?  Seriously confused.  :-)

Then I walk five more feet and come across with this low side table.  It is SO cute and again it was only $10!  I think I am going to paint this and use it for flip-flop storage in my new navy and pink closet.  But the more I look at it, I think it would be a wonderful bedside night stand.  Storage for books and such.  And it also has a larger drawer for storage at the bottom.  I will have to think about this one.

 I also found this vintage magazine holder.  This is definitely going to get painted and stenciled but there are so many possibilities that my head is spinning.  I am going to take my time until I come up with the perfect idea.

Then I found this adorable metal sign at Hobby Lobby!  I love the saying and think I may have to use this quote somewhere in my house!  SO cute.  

So those are just some random shopping finds I wanted to share.  I have lots of work to do with my thrifty finds.  Hopefully, I will be posting "AFTERs"  very soon.  Have a great week - enjoy the promise of Springtime!

Boston Inspired Master Closet Make Over!

Boston.  Such an amazing city.  Tonight, the world's attention is on this American treasure because of the awfulness that occurred at the Boston Marathon earlier today.  My heart is indeed heavy and I am sad, angry, frustrated and even a little bit scared.  I visited Boston for only my second time in November 2012 for the Notre Dame vs. Boston College football game and I fell in love with this historical city all over again.

While exploring Newbury Street, one of my most favorite shopping streets in the world, I was introduced to the world of Jack Wills.  It is a store imported from Great Britain and its signature colors are navy blue and pink stripes.  The store is amazing and I became an instant fan.  I chose to use that Jack Wills inspired color scheme in my master closet makeover.

There aren't a lot of great things about being single, but it is definitely a perk that I don't have share a remote control or a closet.  And even though I hold out hope for meeting and marrying the man of my dreams, for now I will seek solace in enjoying MY new closet which is mine... all mine.  LOL

I don't believe I am going to post these BEFORE pictures.  Yikes - this closet held a LOT of stuff.  Everything from clothes to Christmas decorations, lamps and even a big Santa Claus.  Do you have holiday decorations in your closet?  I don't have the luxury of a basement but I still don't know why we do this.  :-)

These lamps were here only temporary so they wouldn't get broken but then there are some Easter baskets and an Eddie Bauer Home Store (now defunct) teddy bear which was a gift from my Mom.

So here we have an empty closet and a hardwood underlayment from tearing up the carpeting.

I started with some basic white stripes and only used paint which I had in the house.  I then moved to a navy paint which I decided against for the dining room.  I knew I had a quart of "oops" paint which I picked up for a $1 last summer to have on hand in case I came up with an idea for it.  :-)

My favorite color combo - navy and white!  I was thrilled with the stripes!  

I then primed and painted the floor white an really liked the open feeling of the empty closet.  I decided not to put the back shelf and rod back the way it was.  I had this overcrowded bookcase in the laundry room downstairs and decided to use that in the closet for room for sweaters and folded shirts.

I washed it and covered the shelves in this adorable pink shelf liner from MacBeth.  I found three packs on clearance at Marshall's.  It was the perfect color!

I put the book case in place and placed the large shelf on top which worked out perfectly.  I then cut up the long pole into smaller sections and attached them to the wall and the bookcase.  I covered them as well in the pink shelf liner for a more polished look.  I then had extra wood shelves from the dining room hutch I broke apart and used a circular saw to make shelves which fit between the bookcase and the wall.  This created little cubbies which are perfect for shoes or smaller items.

This is probably my favorite part of the closet.  I hung this bar low to the ground so as not to waste space but to create a place just for my tennis skirts.  It worked out perfectly.

When it came to the floor, I wanted something a little kicky.  So I decided to do a monogram and an anchor just for fun.  I found the initial decals on clearance at Hobby Lobby for $1.  Sweet.

I started to move in some pieces to see how it is all going to work out.  I wish I didn't have a ton of stuff to fit in this space although, rest assured, Santa Claus is not coming back in.  :-)  Cheers!

Stone accent wall in the foyer almost complete...

Since tearing down the wallpaper, this small accent wall was always an idea in the back of my head.  I would check for stone veneer listing on Craigslist and in the big box home improvement stores.

I eventually found some and the price was perfect.  It came to be that this is actual stone - not man made so it was extra heavy and very colorful.  I drove up and loaded it into the car with the help of the seller and his son.  They could not be nicer.  There was a LOT of stone!  :-)

Then I stacked it on the driveway - completely confident that I would have this project done in a week. (Um yeah - I bought this in October).  LOL

From the driveway, I moved it into the garage and that is where it is still sitting.  But the pile is shrinking.  Then the wall preparation began.  I started with a staple gun and some waterproof tar paper.

Next came the metal lath - this stuff just rips your fingers apart - OUCH!

Then you add mortar to create the scratch coat.  I let it dry completely and it was time for stone.  Yay!

I was nervous about starting this so I laid it out on the driveway first.  This actually didn't work too well for me - I liked doing it like a jigsaw puzzle - one piece at a time.  It was actually fun!

Here is the before - the view when you walk into the front door with the scratch coat ready and waiting.

I started with the first row and I was thinking ok, I can totally to this.  :-)  

And I simply worked my way up the wall....

Higher and higher.... until I reached the top!  

And ended with this...

I still have to icing and strike the joints but I am thrilled with the final outcome.  I will post a final reveal picture when I get the area de-mortared.  It is everywhere - even though I put tarps down.  I even have enough to to another wall in the living room.  Sweet!  

Walk-In Closet makeover progress....

Here is the progress on my Tiffany & Co. inspired closet door... still waiting for warm weather to spray paint the brass door knob silver.  UGH - Hurry Spring!

Here is a preview of my new navy and white striped walls.... I love it so far!

Found this awesome bright pink shelf liner on clearance at Marshall's!  This is what started it all!  More to come!