Jammin'

I made some jelly today. It's so simple and much better for you than most store bought brands.

Ingredients:

Frozen fruit of choice

Chia seeds

Maple syrup (if you want it sweeter)

Put fruit in a pot on medium heat

Cook it down so it defrosts, breaks apart the fruit and becomes syrupy

(it can take between 10-20 minutes depending on fruit/pot size)

Once syrupy, add 1/4 cup of chia seeds

Stir and put in a container

Refrigerate for 2 hours

Ask For What You Want!

On my run last weekend, I saw a couple moving furniture from inside their house  to the garage. They had a beautiful credenza sitting out there already so of course I stopped to check it out. I asked if they were getting rid of these things and indeed they were! So I low balled them on a couple items and came away with a new shelving unit to house my Etsy store items. I tried to get both the shelving piece and credenza for a ridiculous price but the chick wasn't having it. She said she would rather donate it to the Goodwill than have me pay a low price for it!!! Makes NO sense to me but I guess she wanted to offer it to someone who might need it more than me. Whoever gets that credenza will be stoked with the Goodwill price since they'll sell it for less than I was willing to pay. 

Lesson - there is nothing wrong with asking. The worst they can say is no. Right? Right.

The piece is cream on the outside but inside was navy blue which wasn't working for me. I wanted something light to show everything off. I just finished painting the inside gold and love it even more now. My living room feels so much better now that everything is organized which I needed since I keep buying more stuff. I have the challenge of finally adding them to the shop to keep it organized!!!

The worst part is the taping!!

All of my goodies

I also added this shelf and kitty I got at a garage sale for $5. 

Christmas Vacation

I was lucky enough to have a week off before Christmas and it has been SO nice! I was able to relax, get plenty of rest, work on my place and enjoy time with family. As I said in my last post, I finally went to the Long Beach Antique Market with Arin and had a great time. It was freezing cold (for Southern Californians) and we got up super early but there were what seemed like hundreds of vendors to check out. It was a great time. I came away with this fun step chair and an entry table. I am the worst shopper because I needed to see EVERYTHING in the whole market before I could go back and buy what I had my eye on. It worked with this chair but the entry table was a second choice after the rolling bar I fell in love with was swiped. Of course I kicked myself for not getting it right away. Arin bought a really neat metal cake stand for her wedding next year! Note to newbies, if you're planning on buying furniture or large items, bring some kind of cart with wheels. It was a pain to schlep this thing around!

Vintage sweatshirt, Coach purse, Forever 21 jeans, Converse shoes

There was lots of family time since Brennan and Arin were in town for almost 2 weeks!! After the market, I suggested donuts! Always a good idea. :)

  

Vintage sweater, MAC Rubywoo lipstick

I checked out several second hand stores that were having some good sales. I picked up a shag rug, more milk glass, curtain rods and linens. My bed is now the perfect dreamland. Comfy, cozy and girly!

My dad and Angela gave me these shelves for my kitchen. They were a pain to put up but just what I was looking for. I had been searching online for a good spice rack but now I have both spices and all of my teas close by. It has been a lot of fun to work on all of my DIY project and feel so accomplished after hanging shelves and curtains, making my headboard and painting.

 I also did a whole lotta nothing! I was lazy, spent a good amount of time in bed and watched both seasons of Suits (my new favorite show). I did go on walks in the hills behind my place each day and found a great route for a daily treck. I may have been a bum but ate well-I needed to get back on track after all of my holiday grazing.

Vintage sweatshirt, handmade headband, vintage glasses, Active pants

Oh and I played in the annual Jingle Bells softball tournament. I don't want to brag but..... I was chosen as captain for one of four teams aaaaand my team won! It was tons of fun and always great to play with old friends. Thank you Graham sisters for putting it together once again this year!

Burton jacket, The North Face pants, unknown headband (gift)

Merry Christmas to all of you! xo

Coming Clean

The last couple months have been really rough for me. It has obviously caused me to slack on postings and I apologize but I kind of went off the deep end with shopping and life. I had my October episode with Forever 21 and just this month did it again at American Apparel. I also bought little (new) things here and there in November so I can't say I ended the year strongly. I did really well for 10 months though, right?! Thank you to everyone that gave me a hug, a kind word or encouragement. It was very much appreciated.

In other news, I got a new apartment...and you know what that means? Time to decorate. So the heartache isn't as bad because I've been able to focus on moving, painting, decorating and shopping for household goods. It's been a really good distraction. I love my new place and it worked out so perfectly. I had looked at a number of apartments back in June when I got my promotion but I decided to move in with Buster. But when I was looking, every place I saw was horrible-small, in bad neighborhoods, no character, 70's or 80's interiors...yuck. This time around, the first apartment I toured was the one. I didn't need to look any further! I have a very specific list when it comes to where I live: old, lots of character and old! Sounds crazy when most people are hoping for granite counter tops, parking and dishwashers. The first thing I go for is original hardwood floors, a classic kitchen and good bathroom tiles. I got all of these, plus tons of light, plenty of storage, an intercom system for security and 10' ceilings!!! All I can say is God's timing is perfect.

So far I've gotten the kitchen, bedroom and bathroom in order. I need to work on the living room next. And by work on, I mean find a couch! I got rid of my beautiful, micro suede, red, fluffy couch while moving because I didn't want the same color palette as before. It was time for big changes and decided to make this place much more feminine with pinks, golds, baby blues and floral prints. So that meant no red couch. As of right now, my living room consists of a desk, chair and Christmas tree (duh)! I'm on the hunt for the perfect vintage, floral, 60's or 70's sofa. If I can find one with a sofa bed, I would die.

Below are some pictures of what I've finished so far. Oh and everything I've bought for my home is used-it's only new clothes I've been after. I used Etsy and Craigslist a lot and found a ton of necessities at Goodwill and Salvation Army stores. I did run to Target for things like a broom, mop, cleaning supplies, nails, etc but my place is mostly used which I'm thrilled about. Oh and I bought paint, primer and brushes from Home Depot...you'll see what I painted in the pictures below.

This is my favorite place. I always wanted a kitchen with open cabinets to show off my milk glass collection. I painted the shelves myself...just don't look at the top shelf, I wasn't tall enough to reach that one.

I am kind of obsessed. I heard someone refer to it as Pyrexia, very funny. I added the hooks for all of my mugs, but need to add more.

My aunt Carolyn gave me boxes of china that belonged to my great grandmother. It is SO special and such a great addition.

Another favorite, I spend a lot of my time at this breakfast bench.

More milk glass on display. Don't forget to eat your fruits and vegetables!

Details in the kitchen.

I got this silly thing at Goodwill and painted it the same color as the shelves.

This nightstand was a Craigslist find. Negotiated down $10 but still overpaid. I didn't care though because it was just what I was looking for. Notice the milk glass lamp, also my great grandmothers. I think that is where the obsession started!!!

Another DIY project. Buster let me have that frame (he used it to case a guitar) so I painted it and hung it on the wall as a headboard. I am trying to decide if I want to put something inside of the frame or leave it as is. All of my sheets and comforter are used. I took some pillow cases from my mom ;) and the rest were finds. The chenille comforter was from Etsy and I LOVE it so much. Feminine and delicate.

Dinda's Psalms 23 and a shelf from Goodwill. It was white so I painted it the same color as the headboard.

Of course I have Elvis in my room, Etsy curtains, and more milk glass.

This guy is great, and almost new. I am convinced the first owner had too much trouble trying to put the thing together and gave up. It was a pain.

My favorite bathroom rack. It came with me from Long Beach.

Towel rack from Etsy, and hexagon tile that I love. The building was built in the 20's and I am pretty sure the tiles are original.

I got this table from the Long Beach Flea Market with my sis in law Arin. I cannot believe I never went there the whole time I lived in LB. Such a shame.

This alcove used to hold a Murphy bed but has since been replaced with shelves. I still need to do a lot of work in here. I am looking for a TV, and need to hang more pictures. But I have the holiday essentials: tacky garland, ornaments and a fake tree from my parents!

Do I dare to DIY?

Jessica Biel was on the red carpet recently and I immediately died when I saw her nails! She showed off her amazing new engagement ring from JT and had a beautiful manicure. I was impressed by the rock but also the nails. Silver tips?! I am in love.

Although my useroo year do NOT exclude services such as trips to hair salons, manicures or pedicures, I have really held off on indulging anything of the sort. These nails make me wanna. It also reignites the internal fight of can I or can't I? Services are something I think I can buy if needed, such as: car repairs, chiropracters, dry cleaning. But luxuries such as cleaning service, salon visits, car washes or anything else that makes life easier have been cut out. I know right-am I crazy? I just don't see the point in having someone else do it if it's something I'm capable of doing. Plus I enjoy things like cleaning the house. It's my Sunday after church ritual I adapted from my mother. I guess if it works for me then it isn't that strange.

Back to the nails-I think I will give it a horrendous try myself. If it is horrible, you will not see a follow up post!!! For fun, here are some other great manicures.

On the Other Side

I haven't posted anything in the last two weeks because I have made some serious changes. In the last month, I have:

1. Accepted a Promotion
2. Moved out of Long Beach
3. Moved to Los Angeles

The change was perfect timing and I am looking forward to this new adventure but in the meantime, I have been a wreck! Knowing I was going to be moving, I decided to have a garage sale to get rid of as much as I could. I hadn't put one together before but thought it would be a great opportunity. I go to enough of them to know it is a lot of work but I was up for the challenge. I thought it would be fun to see what it's like on the other side of things and be the seller instead of the buyer. Now realize how annoying it is to deal with bargainers like me!

I was very resourceful and made signs from old poster boards, used arrows from meetings and left over packing tape. For some reason, I decided to put the boards together it the parking lot of Trader Joe's and was really pleased with how they turned out. The night before the sale, I had SO much to take care of: run errands before moving, put out the signs, pack and prepping for the next morning.  Then on my way home, I got into an accident! The first thing I thought when my car came to a stop (and after cursing) was "Oh my gosh, this completely ruins my plan for the night." I was extremely upset and cranky because it set back all of the tasks I needed to handle for the next couple days. I wasn't injured, it wasn't my fault and the damage could have been worse so I should be relieved and grateful. Once the initial panic went away, I realized it wasn't as bad as it could of been and I was thankful.

  

The next morning, I was up at 6 with tea in hand and set up the sale. I made a decent amount of money and had a lot of fun. Mapping out where I was going to place everything to lure buyers in was the best part. I was surprised though, a lot of items I thought would sell didn't. I felt like a customer on Pawn Stars that thought my crappy relic was worth thousands and didn't understand why buyers didn't want to pay more than $1.00 for anything! In the end, whatever I didn't sell was donated. I just finished the move and have bruises, sore hands and scratches to show for it. My entire move was done without buying anything new, including: boxes, tape, paper for wrapping, truck rental, storage rental and even the lock on the storage unit. It all came together really easily (except for the accident).

Old Navy v-neck, Active pants, Haviana sandals, Forever 21 hat

Gap t-shirt, vintage Roxy overalls, Forever 21 sunglasses

Once we were done, a huge slurpee was SO needed!