Okay, maybe I’m just a total child at heart, because recently I’ve become kind of fixated on the idea of adding swing sets to my backyard. I don’t have kids (and really don’t plan on ever having any, to be completely honest), so yes, this would be a completely selfish purchase and totally just for me. It’s just that I had gotten into a recent discussion with my boyfriend about all the crazy, elaborate backyard toys that you see nowadays (especially when watching one of my more guilty pleasures, The Fabulous Life Of… on VH1), and he asked me what childhood toy - out of all the extravagant things that can be found today - I would want to spoil myself with. And honestly? The only answer that I could come up with was a good, old fashioned wooden swing set. I like the idea of having my dogs running around the backyard while I relax on the swings, enjoying the (at least in my daydreams) nice weather. This small, relaxing fantasy of mine has completely made me dead set on making it come true someday… I WILL have a swing set. You can’t stop me, adulthood!
When I was younger, I was probably one of the messiest people that you could ever meet - and living in a room or apartment that consistently looked like it had been hit by a hurricane did not bother me at all! However, things have changed - I have noticed that recently, I find myself driven to distraction by messes, clutter, or having too much furniture in too small of a space.
My current home office is right on the precipice of falling into that last “too crowded” category, even when it’s perfectly clean. In order to fix this and make me feel a little less claustrophobic & crazy when I’m trying to get some work down, I’ve been looking into ways to sort of condense all my electronics and furniture, by way of home entertainment centers (you know, with all the nice cupboards and such) and a TV wall mount to clear up space even further.
Does anyone have any organizational or space-saving tips that I should know about?
The Fourth of July has come and gone, and with its passing, summer is in full swing. Unfortunately for me, that’s a mixed blessing - while I love the longer days and warm weather, summer also forces me to confront my lifelong nemesis; one that respawns itself every year solely to torment me. That’s right, it’s mosquito season again.
While I once read that somewhere out there exists a small percentage of people who actually get enjoyment out of mosquito bites (um…), I am so not even CLOSE to being one of them. First off, they seem to single me out - I can be hanging outside with 5 other people, and somehow none of them will get even one bit; whereas I’ll be eaten alive within 15 minutes. And not to be disgusting, but I think I must be mildy allergic to mosquito saliva or something - any bites on me immediately swell to half-dollar proportions at the smallest. So you can see why the return of these evil, evil insects is something I dread completely.
However… this year, it seems that salvation may emerge from the unlikeliest of places: cattle supplies. The Macro Fly Manager Dispenser, to be exact. From what I can tell, it’s like one of those air fresheners that sprays scent every half hour or so - except this sprays mosquito (and general bug) repellent. I’m thinking of ordering one and installing it on my balcony, because having a constant source of insect control without having to keep an eye on citronella candles or slathering bug spray all over myself every five seconds sounds like a REALLY nice idea. Thanks, cows, who knew you’d end up saving my skin (literally)?
I don’t know about where everyone reading this lives, but where I am, the weather has been pretty nasty. Around 90-95 degrees every day, with INSANE humidity because we’ve had a nightly thunderstorm every day for the past week and a half. And of course, probably because this weather is working it to its limit, this is when the A/C unit decides to start screwing up. I mean, it’s running, but hardly - it’s not uncommon for it to reach 90 degrees INSIDE our apartment this past week.
With a base of 90 degrees, I’m sure you can image how bad my home office has gotten - considering that having the computer on boosts the heat as well as the fact that there’s a TV and an Xbox 360 in this room as well… yeah, it gets gross in here.
I found two things on my beloved ThinkGeek.com
that I ordered today in hopes of making my workspace a bit more cool & livable: the Desktop Personal Air Conditioner ($22.99) - which is powered by water! - and the newly discounted USB LED Beverage Cooler ($14.99), basically a USB-powered mini-fridge to keep your drinks cool even in hot weather.
I’m totally excited for the UPS man to bring my deliciously cold goodies, and I’ll be sure to let everyone know how they work out. If you don’t want to wait for my feedback and feel that you need some relief from the summer heat as well, use coupon code 8CBB
for $5 off any order of $25 or more, or $10 off any order of $50 or more. Knock yourselves out!
I’ve always been a complete & total sucker when it comes to snazzy new gadgets - I pretty much worship all those online shops & mall stores that sell them, even when they’re admittedly kinda gimmicky. I mean, for example, I have a USB-powered plasma ball - betcha didn’t think anyone still was entertained by those, huh?
But recently I stumbled on something so incredibly cool that it managed to evoke my classic OMG MUST HAVE WANT BUY BUY instinct without setting off any silly/tacky/pointless alarms. Ladies and gentlemen, I am now lusting over a digital frame. If you haven’t seen them before, they’re basically dynamic photo frames - you can display any image from your computer or digital camera on a what is essentially a LCD monitor styled to look like a classic white picture frame. This means that you can change the image whenever you want without any fuss - and most of all, it just looks so effing cool. I want one SO bad.
As many of you know, I recently moved into a bigger & better place to live. The only downside to moving on up in the real estate world is that now my old furniture just looks so… old. I’m ready to find some new pieces of pretty, stylish furniture, but would prefer to NOT break the bank while doing so. So this has resulted in me scouring the internet for good sources of discount furniture that also manage to provide quality craftsmanship & appearance. I’m envisioning a gorgeous, chocolate brown sofa - maybe microsuede? - so wish me luck!
Just wanted to throw up a quick notice to those of you who may not be aware - the Bath & Body Works website has lots of stuff discounted at the moment. You can grab hair products for $5/each (I grabbed one of each of the moisturizing shampoo/conditioner in Sweet Pea), most of their home fragrance oils are knocked down to $4/each (with all my stinkybutt dogs, I’m addicted to home fragrances, so I scooped up oils in Vanilla Coconut, Melon Sorbet, Japanese Cherry Blossom, Fresh Linen, and Black Raspberry Vanilla. Also got two Wallflower refills in the new Pineapple Orchid scent - the double pack is on sale for $6 right now).
Lastly, they have a REALLY cute pink & green Goldie tote bag full of various skincare samples that you can score for $20 with any order of $20 or more - BUT I found a promo code (enter 6805 at checkout) that knocks the price down to $10, so hell yeah.
Just wanted to share in case anyone else wanted to take advantage of the low prices!
Like most college kids, thus far I’ve gone through life pretty much only owning cheap office furniture. As long as it was, you know, a desk and a chair and under $100, I was fine with it. Of course, in the long run that’s a pretty terrible point of view… because let’s face it, you get what you pay for. I’d drop $50 on a new desk and have one of the crappily-produced shelves fall apart when I set a drink on it, or the rolling keyboard shelf would constantly come off its track… just endless annoying problems that usually resulted in me having to go out and buy ANOTHER replacement desk within a few months!
So this time, I’m trying to think a bit more long-term and am looking into slightly pricier office desks that will stand the test of time. The “Price Point Grey” desks that I found here from Inter County look really promising. Not only do I really love the “wave” styles, but the desk top itself is thicker (25mm as opposed to the normal 18mm) which will make it a whole lot sturdier. Since I’m totally old school and still use a desktop computer (laptops just bug me, I don’t like the smaller keyboards and their tendency to overheat), I need good quality office tables that can support the weight of a bigger monitor, speakers, a mouse, and my keyboard. You’d be surprised at how many desks actually CAN’T take even that small amount of weight without bowing or just breaking down. It’s kind of ridiculous.
It looks like the Inter County site also offers an EIGHT YEAR guarantee. That’s amazing, in my opinion. Now it’s just a matter of deciding which aesthetic I prefer - the wave style or the crescent style. Hmm.
I really can’t even pretend that I’m a wine connoisseur of any sort (although I wish I was, I recently read an article about sommeliers making over $150k yearly - jeez), but I do thoroughly enjoy a good glass of Merlot or Beaujolais from time to time. Lately, I’ve been thinking about trying to learn a bit more about wines & training my palate a bit more to recognize all the unique flavors that makes each wine different. I’ve thrown wine parties before, but it was more just because I needed a change of pace from all the college campus beer-beer-beer parties I usually frequent.
To be completely honest, part of my desire to become more well-versed in wines is so I can have an excuse to go shopping for wine racks - I’ve always liked the aesthetic of the dark wooden wine racks that I see in stores. It really fits in with the personal sense of style that my dream home would embody: all dark, luxe woods and clean, sophisticated lines. Like a posh ski lodge, basically. I would really love a few of these style racks in a dark, mahogany stain. Of course, they’d probably be stocked with wines that are nowhere near extravagant (hello, Charles Shaw is awesome), but at least they’d LOOK amazing.
I am SO imagining finishing my basement right now and using the little alcove beneath the stairs as a miniature wine cellar right now.
As previously mentioned, I recently moved into a home where I have more opportunities to decorate both the interior and exterior of the house - and my imagination is going WILD. Just think of all the ways there are to turn your backyard into a paradise - patio furniture, fire pits, gazebos. Yes, gazebos.
I remember when I was very young; I have a faint memory of a family friend’s home in Southern California. She had a huge backyard, with gorgeous tropical flowers and this unique gazebo made out of dark wood. Ever since, I’ve always known that someday, when I have a house of my own with enough space and the money for it, I wanted a gazebo of my own.
I’m not quite there yet, but that hasn’t stopped me from doing some serious internet window shopping at the Leisure Woods website. I’m currently imagining some crazy custom-made backyard retreat, preferably in their cedar style - just looking at the examples of the custom designed gazebos they’ve done in the past is enough to open up your mind to possibilities far beyond the traditional round, light-wood gazebo.
I can’t even settle on one aesthetic that I’d like the best; so maybe it’s a blessing in disguise that I can’t afford a custom gazebo yet. Maybe by the time it’s a realistic possibility, I’ll have settled between a more rustic/Norse look, the tropical hut look, or the British brick variety. Eep!
Sorry for the long delay in updating - I’ve been moving. I now have my own place that I can decorate & personalize to my heart’s content… and one of the first things I’m looking into is mailboxes. Random? Maybe so. Mailboxes aren’t really something I thought about too much in the past, mostly because I was living in apartments where having a unique mailbox wasn’t even an option. But now that I have my own house, it dawned on me that yes, I CAN get rid of the ugly, boring standard box out front and replace it with something that actually suits my personal aesthetic.
I’m really tempted by a lot of the mailboxes on the SeattleLuxe website - they literally have more varieties and designs than I ever thought possible. I’m looking at the curbside mailboxes, specifically, but they also have wall-mounted mailboxes, commercial mailboxes, locking mailboxes, letter drops, copper & brass mailboxes… seriously, consider my mind blown at how many options they give you. Their website is the perfect marriage for people like me who are both shopaholics, but also really picky about their home decor. I want quality when I splurge; and SeattleLuxe delivers.
My personal favorite so far is the Manchester Column Mailbox - although the Dahlhaus Mailboxes are also amazing, they don’t fit as perfectly into my style as the Manchester. But that’s what’s so amazing about these mailboxes - you can find literally any style, any function, any aesthetic at SeattleLuxe, and the quality is going to be top-notch, regardless. So if you’re a new home owner or just looking to spruce up your current residence, mailboxes are a surprisingly effective way to do so.
I have two dogs and four cats, so scented candles and their air freshening ilk = must haves for my household. Hands-down, the BEST candles I’ve found so far are by
For Every Body Candles, sold via
Amazon. Not only are the candles tiny works of art, they have the greatest throw (read: you can actually smell them all over your house when you’re burning them) of any candle I’ve tried. They also last incredibly long; I was burning my first batch for a few months. With scents ranging from foody bakery scents to fresh, green garden smells, you’re sure to find one that piques your interest.
For Every Body Candles range from $9.99 to $19.99 and come in a huge range of scents.
I’ve always loved kitschy little Halloween goodies - for example, I wore my orange pumpkin slippers year-round until they wore out sometime in May. I figure, if it’s adorable enough, why limit it to October? These awesome “Spöka” lights from IKEA definitely fit the bill off “too damned cute to hide down in the basement until next October”.
The pastel ghosties come in three colors (red is tall & skinny; indigo is a medium build; green is short and squat). The light is turned on and off by pressing the ghost’s head, which just adds to the overwhelming cuteness these little Kirby-esque creatures add to your home… and at only $14.99 a pop, you can easily populate your house with enough to become a regular Boo Manor!
Thus far, the Spöka lamps seem to be exclusive to IKEA’s Children’s Lighting department. Let me know if you find them anywhere else!
2007’s
Transformers reincarnation was one of the year’s smash hit movies, and we all took sides. The morally upstanding Autobots, or the scheming & destructive Decepticons? Whichever side you pledged your allegiance to, showcasing your decision has never been easier with these kickass
Transformers Pillows from
Think Geek.Choose from Autobot or Decepticon, or stay neutral and get both… either way, you’ll snuggle your way to victory over the Allspark. Autobot Pillow is approx. 15″ tall; Decepticon Pillow is approx. 17″ tall.
The pillows are $19.99 each and, as far as I know, are exclusive to Think Geek.
disposable gloves
