Cheap Chic: Deck Makeover

Sorry for the lack of postings but the hubby and I (and many other family members!) have been re-painting our deck since Sunday. This much-needed project is costing about $100 (plus a few more buck in "thank-you" meals to our lovely helpers). Not bad! Paint truly is an inexpensive way to clean-up and make over any home project. Here's a "work-in-progress" photo so you can see the color.

And here's the project breakdown:

1. Power Washing. If you are as lucky as we are to have a handy cousin with a power-washing machine, ask him to come by and clean your old deck. The force of the power-wash helped to strip away lots of the worn-out paint. We thanked him with a pizza lunch! Total: $30

2. Pick Your Paint. Our deck had been painted a yellow by the previous owners, to match our house, which is yellow. We did not love it at all. To make it a bit more modern and hopefully give it a more sophisticated look, we choose Antique Chest from Behr's line of Porch and Patio paint. We needed 2 gallons ($23.98 each) plus extra painting supplies. Total at Home Depot:$100

3. Get to work! We started right away, no priming since our color would cover the yellow nicely. We used rollers and brushes to ensure we got the best coverage. It's a tough task! Three hours on Monday, then my father-in-law graciously came by the next day to help my hubby finish up. They spent seven hours in the sun, whew. Another "thank-you" dinner: $40.

4. We're left with little touch-ups here and there, which is easy enough to finish. I love the color (can't stop looking at it) and cannot wait to bring my furniture back on and accessorize. I see a "deck party" in our future. I'll post more completed photos soon, once we can bring our furniture back up.

Wallpaper Makeover

We've been in our current home for about two years now and I still have quite a bit of re-decorating to do. We (or rather my lovely father-in-law and hubby) painted when we first moved in but I've quickly grown out of the color I chose for our bedroom.

It's the only room that I'm ready to change the walls and I keep toying with the idea of wallpaper. I know it’s a much bigger commitment but I am in love with all of the new designs and technologies available now.

York Wallcoverings has just introduced their line of wallpapers textured with sand right into the designs! How amazing to get great design and texture all in one. I especially love the designs from designer and HGTV star Candice Olson...classic, cool and modern.

This one is my favorite. It’s called "Lattice" and this is the color palette I'd like to go with for our bedroom. I would even settle for wallpapering just one wall with this and then painting the rest of the room in a soft gray. Loving it!

Lattice on Charcoal Non-Woven with White Sand (CX1227) from Candice Olson Dimensional Surfaces, $129.99 per single roll.

This is another of Candice's designs, "Ironwork," another favorite. Ironwork in Turquoise on Non-Woven (CX1329) from Candice Olson Dimensional Surfaces, $89.99 per single roll.

These and other sand designs are all available at www.yorkwall.com or you can always call 1-800-375-9675.

Summer Cocktails: St. Germain

Friday evening we celebrated a good friend's 30th birthday at a chic wine bar called Novita in Garden City, NY...if you live on Long Island, go check it out. Good food, good wine and fantastic cocktails.

I sipped Prosecco and St. Germain with a touch of fresh lemon juice all night and it was delish! Light, crisp and a little sweet...the perfect summer cocktail.


What is St. Germain you say? It's a french liqueur made from elderflower blossoms. Online you can find a bottle for about $29.99...worth the investment for a summer of delicious cocktails you can impress your friends with. Add a little to a glass of inexpensive but delicious champagne such as Frexinet (the best under $10 a bottle) or prosecco or use it to kick up a classic gin-and-tonic or martini.

You can learn more about St. Germain over at www.stgermain.fr and find tons of cocktail recipes.

Cheers!

Country Living at Kmart & Sears

A nice little surprise popped up in my inbox this morning. Country Living magazine has created a home collection (soft goods, furniture, etc.) to be sold at Kmart and Sears in stores and online, starting in August. The collection looks great and I am so excited to blog about it today!

I have a personal connection to the magazine. My first job out of college was assisting the former Editor-in-Chief, Nancy Soriano. Nancy was one of the classiest, kindest, smartest women I had ever met. Her passion for the magazine was truly evident. If I remember correctly, “Come Home to Comfort,” their tagline, was created by Nancy and I can just about remember her excitement when she came up with it while we were on a shoot location (or maybe it was a staff trip, my memory is fuzzy!) But I digress.

This new collection is beautiful and moderately priced. There is a bath collection, several bedding styles, dinnerware, furniture and so much more. Here is a sneak peek at some of my favorites:

Modern Countryside – I love the purple and green embroidery against the linen-colored bedding. Plus with 600-count Egyptian cotton sheets, how can you go wrong? The price will approximately be $14.99 - $137.99 for the collection. Very reasonable!

Accent Furniture – True Country Living…these embody the types of furniture pieces we’d always include in the product pages. Classic and comfy. Prices are from $79.99 - $199.99. So affordable!

Porcelain Blossom – Another bedding set that is a little bit country, a little bit chic in my opinion. Blue, especially a true denim shade can be a bit masculine and I think they balanced it nicely with a hint of romance from the white accents such as crochet, ruffles and embroidery. Prices are also $14.99 - $137.99

I hope you’ve enjoyed my mini sneak-peak at the new collection, look for it in August. I wish them lots of luck…I have my eye on that cozy sitting chair with the nailhead trim and the linen-like upholstery. I think it would make a perfect home office chair!

Dreamy Couture

Fashion is a secret passion of mine. If I had an endless supply of money (and a personal trainer) I would probably be a fashionista. But since I have neither, instead, I like to lose myself in photos such as these from the 2009 fall runway shows.

How could you not love this ruffly concoction from Chanel? So soft, feminine and pretty topped off with a fierce, black, satin ribbon. Amazing. This photo would be a great inspiration for a modern, romantic bedroom with a white ruffly down comforter, a black crystal chandelier and a mirrored dressing table.



And how completely gorgeous is this over-the-top pink skirt from the Christian Dior collection?



I first spotted it over at the Ruby PR blog (which I adore!). To me, it's a modern version of that amazing pink dress Marilyn Monroe wore when she sang "Diamonds are a Girls Best Friend" in the movie Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (a favorite movie of mine!). Then, when I saw the whole collection, it was like a vintage fashion show come to life! Kind of like the ones in favorite classic movies such as Funny Face and How to Marry a Millionaire.

Couture fashion might be insanely expensive and unattainable to most of us, but it offers such inspiration and keeps us daydreaming.

Sunday Sweets

I finally tested the Strawberry and Marscapone Filled Cupcake recipe from Giada De Laurentiis.They were sweet and delicious and easy too since you use a store-bought cake mix and a simple icing. The filling is an extra step but worth it. The sweet strawberries blend with marscapone cheese perfectly. If you're not familiar with this cheese, it is most commonly used in tiramisu. Think of it as an Italian cream cheese. You can usually find it in most specialty grocery stores like Trader Joe's, Best Yet or Italian-specialty stores.

I was so inspired I decided to use my Farmhouse Wares cupcake stands and take a little photo. I picked this vintagey fabric because the cupcakes have that old-fashioned bake sale look to them plus with the stands, I thought it would be great.

Of course I could pick a million things wrong with the photo (lighting, fabric needed to be steamed, better cupcake placement, etc.) but for an impromptu photo of a Sunday afternoon treat, I'd say this was just right.

How was your weekend? Did you bake anything delicious?

Clean, Quirky Fun

If I was armed with some of these quirky cleaning and house products from the Alice Supply Co., even I might whistle while I work! I happen to love the camouflage designs, but check out the stripes and woodgrain designs too. I'll take the garden hose, tool box and dust pan, please!


All photos via alicesupplyco.com

Crafty Cocktail Party Invites

The next time you're hosting your pals for a summer cocktail party, I think you should make these snazzy Margarita invites from Impress Rubber Stamps.



I love the use of the cocktail umbrellas, genius! Plus, when you click on over to the website and read the description for the cocktail umbrellas you'll find a free pattern to re-create the adorable beach bag card in the photo.

Flipalicious Flip Flops

If I had my way I would wear flip flops all year round. I love how they show off a pretty pedicure and more importantly I love all of the cool colors, patterns and designs they come in. My new favorites? The MacBeth Collection's Flipalicious Flip Flops.

I have always been a fan of this company's collection of decoupaged home goods, but flip flops now too - love it. The collection of eight metallic super-cool styles are perfect for design-loving girls like me!

Plus, their zebra print flip flop bucket is the perfect place to store my ever-growing collection.

Shop Obsession: Layla Grace

I first found out about LaylaGrace.com about 2 years ago, when good friend directed me to this adorable site. They have always had a fun variety of well-designed, cute, quirky, good-looking home accessories, gift ideas, baby goods, etc.

I was an occassional shopper, until today when I re-visited the site and couldn't believe my eyes! They have expanded and are now selling tons of the treasured brands I've grown to love. I mean, how can you not love an online shop that carries Dash & Albert rugs, Pine Cone Hill bedding, Jaime Young lighting, Rachel Ashwell Shabby Chic, The Macbeth Collection and so much more, all in one place! The list of brands is endless...you must go check it out, and they even have a blog!

Oh and hint hint...if you sign up for Daily Candy Deals, you'll receive 20% off your order! You can read all about it here.

photos via laylagrace.com