Cute {Cheap} Loot

Just a few cute things I picked up in the dollar spot section at Target on a recent shopping trip. 

(For the niece)

Happpy Shopping!

cBv

Weekend Recap

The weekend kicked off with hubs walking through the door Friday night with a beautiful bouquet of pink tulips {my favorite} for me.  It was a total surprise, but a welcomed one!

I made my mom's crabcake recipe for dinner.  It was the first time I'd made them, not sure why because they're super easy and quick to make. They were delish -- no filler!  And it was an addded bonus that hubs was able to eat them since he can't chew anything for a few more weeks.  They will definitely be added into our regualr dinner rotation.

Saturday was a lazy day full of cleaning the house, laundry, a few errands followed by a date night in.  I indulged in some long, overdue vino and a cheese plate and hubs chowed down on peach cobbler while watching Horrible Bosses.  Have you seen it? It was one of those stupid, funny movies but man is Jennifer Anniston's character vulgar!  I'm pretty sure I need to go to church all week after watching it!

Oh but the best part of Saturday?!  Learning our good friends, actually our old neighbors, spilled the beans that they're pregnant....with TWINS!!  They have a little guy, Luc, who is 15 months.  Needless to say we were SHOCKED by the news and SO incredibly excited for them.  I can't wait, twins are so much fun!

Sunday was filled with a morning of church, much needed after missing the last 3 Sundays, followed by an afternoon of shopping at the outlets. 

We did a little damage! : )

We were excited to find out the outlets now have a Vineyard Vines -- with amazing prices!

It was a nice, lazy weekend.  One of the lasts for quite a while until all the holiday craziness is over. 

Happy Monday and yay for a short week!

cBv

Trash to Treasure - Living Room Ottoman

When we moved and gained more space I knew right off the bat that I wanted a round ottoman for our living room to use in place a traditional coffee table. We shopped around at a few home décor/furniture stores such as Arhaus, Ethan Allen, etc. but I refused to spend $1,000 on a coffee table that wasn’t e.x.a.c.t.l.y what I wanted. So I started watching trusty old Craigslist and after a couple weeks I found this eyesore.

Although the fabric was hideous, it had great bones and was from a smoke-free environment and was in excellent condition, structurally. It was listed for $60 but I low balled the seller since they were moving {and I assumed eager to get rid of things} and snagged it for $40. I knew there was endless potential to reupholster.

I started searching for a fabric and scoured the interwebs for local upholstery shops, reading reviews and getting estimates. I stumbled upon a super nice, older man with a little shop that offered free pick-up and delivery AND was a third of the price as the other two estimates I received. Even better, the few reviews I was able to find online claimed he did great work and the clients were thrilled with the outcome.

I decided to take a chance. Mr. Upholstery Man picked up the ottoman and two weeks later delivered what looked like a brand spanking new ottoman.

I am more than thrilled with the quality of work and the way it turned out overall. So pleased, in fact, that I’m considering buying two used accent chairs and having them reupholstered instead of buying brand new in order to achieve exactly what I want. I’ve been giddy like a kid on Christmas morning every time I walk into our living room and see it. It is by far my favorite piece in our house.

If you live in the DC Metro area and are looking for a great upholstery shop please email me and I’ll be more than happy to share the info with you. 

In the end we ended up saving about $600 and ended up with a custom piece.

Total Cost: $450

Breakdown:

Ottoman $40

Reupholster $290

Robert Allen Fabric (5 yards) $120

I'm thinking a cute tray is the perfect finishing touch.

source

Review: Target Frye Look Alike Boots by Merona

Lately there just aren't enough hours in the day and sometimes I wonder if I'll ever get back to blogging, regularly.  I've been busy playing nurse to my wonderful, amazing and hero husband who underwent some unplanned surgery last week.

Anyways, the Target Frye wannabe boots by Merona arrived last week and I finally got around to trying them on this weekend.

The verdict? 

Meh. 

They had lots of potential but both pairs, cognac and brown, ended up being returned to Target. 

Ignore the jeans, they went back, too.  I'm striking out lately w. fashion.

Although they were extremely comfortable on my feet, they just looked cheap to me. The other thing I wasn't crazy about was they were a bit tight on my upper calves, I wasn't blessed with chicken legs, and they slouched (already) on my ankles.  I don't want to be walking around with cankles. And I totally forgot to take a picture of the brown ones but you can see a smidgen of the color in the corner of the pic.

And while we're talking footwear, does anyone else have this problem?

No matter what brand or type of footies/liners I buy to wear with (any pair of) flats they always show.  So then I end up just wearing flats barefoot, which I hate because I don't want them smelling funky. 

Do y'all wear footies with flats? If so, where/what brands do you buy?  And do they show?

Driving.me.crazy.

Hope everyone is having a good week. 

CVB