Master Bathroom Reveal

My bathroom is finally done!

I am not going to lie, it was a lot of hard work. But as always it is worth it in the end. 

See the bathroom progress here

Now lets get started on this photo overload. 

My Ikea Vanity

I customized it with new knobs from Home Depot and IKEA Overlays

The before hallway:

and the after:

The Before of the teeny tiny bathroom:

And the After:

Paint is Sterling by Behr

Vanity is from IKEA

Side table next to the vanity is from IKEA

Sink is from IKEA

Faucet is from IKEA

Medicine cabinet is from IKEA

Towel Rod is from Home Depot

Shower Head/faucet are from Home Depot

Shower curtain is from Urban Outfitters

Floor and shower tile is from Home depot

Baskets are from Home Goods

Orchid/candle is from Target

Apothecary jars are from Michael's (bought each one with a coupon)

Soap dispenser and cup is from Home Goods

Rug is from Home Goods

I think I listed everything, Please let me know if you have any questions. 

My "new" record player

Ok, its not new. Its actually really old, but it is new to us!

My hubby found this treasure by a curb!

Off-course it didn't always look like this, but I saw the potential it had as soon as I saw it. 

The best thing is that it actually works! I have already started picking up records at thrift stores.

Now this beauty stands my living room:

Here is the before.

I am not sure when this was made. 

It has no stickers or tags inside.

The top is covered with particle board and the sides are actually plastic. 

Look at the nasty red fabric over the speakers, Gross!

I sanded the top and gave the whole thing a good cleaning. 

-I gave it one coat of Kiltz primer

-One coat of Crystal Blue by Valspar Signature in Semi Gloss

-I then glazed it with Martha Stewart metallic paint in equal parts of vintage gold and cast bronze.

-Then I gave it three coats of Minwax Water Based Polycrylic Protective Finish

The sound is wonderful!

I have already picked up a few christmas records at Goodwill, I cant wait for the Holidays. 

I bought a small sheet of the radiator sheet cover, I think it goes very well with the original hardware (which I gave a good cleaning to)

Thanks for visiting :)

Apple Pie

We love apple pie, I can make it anytime, and we end up eating it all up. 

The crust is so flaky, the apples are delicious and slice holds up very well when sliced. This one is a keeper!! 

PRINT RECIPE HERE

crust recipe :

Ingredients

• • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 16 tablespoons cold (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
  • 1/2 cup ice water

Directions

1. In a food processor, combine flour, salt, and sugar; pulse to combine. Add butter; pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal, with just a few pea-size pieces of butter remaining.
2. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup ice water. Pulse until dough is crumbly but holds together when squeezed with fingers (if necessary, add up to 1/4 cup more water, 1 tablespoon at a time). To help ensure a flaky crust, do not overprocess.
3. Transfer half of dough (still crumbly) onto a piece of plastic wrap. Form dough into a disk 3/4 inch thick; wrap tightly in plastic. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour (and up to 3 days). Repeat with remaining dough. (Disks can be frozen, tightly wrapped, up to 3 months. Thaw before using.) Makes 2 disks.

Pie recipe:

Ingredients

• • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling dough
  • 1 recipe (2 disks) Basic Pie Dough 
  • 4 pounds (8 to 10) apples, such as Empire, Granny Smith, Gala, Cortland, Winesap, or a mix
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Directions

1. Lightly flour a large piece of waxed paper; place a disk of dough in center. Rolling from center outward, form into a 12-inch circle. (Use paper to rotate dough, and flour rolling pin and paper as necessary to prevent sticking.) 
2. Preheat oven to 450 degrees with a rack set in lowest position. Gently lift edges and lower dough into the pie plate so it hugs bottom and sides. Avoid stretching the dough, which will make it shrink during baking. 
3. Peel, core, and cut apples into 1/4-inch-thick slices, Add sugar, flour, cinnamon, and salt; toss to combine.
4. Fill with apple mixture, gently packing apples and mounding slightly in center; dot with butter. Lightly brush rim of pie shell with water. Roll the next disc of dough. Lay over apples, Using kitchen shears, trim overhang to 1 inch.
5. To crimp edges: With thumb and index finger of one hand, gently press dough against knuckle of other hand; continue around pie. 
6. With a paring knife, cut 5 to 6 slits in top of pie, radiating from center; place pie plate on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake 20 minutes; reduce heat to 375 degrees and bake until crust is golden and juices are bubbling, 50 to 60 minutes more. If edges brown too quickly, cover with aluminum foil. Cool completely, at least 6 hours, before serving.

Enjoy!

September 2012 Birchbox

I received my September Birchbox today, I always get so excited when I see it in the mail. 

Let me tell you what birch box is, just in case you are not familiar with it.

It's a monthly subscription service which is $10.00 a month where you get sent 5-6 high-end samples each month. First you take a little survey so they can find out more about your skin, make up likes and dislikes so they know what to send you.

You know how I love trying out new products? Well, with the birch box, I can try high end products without having to buy full size products. If I love the product, then I can go buy it :)

If you are interested in checking it out, go to Birch Box

Here is my box:

1. BVLGARI Mon Jasmin Noir : perfume sample. Full size is $47-$83. I like the fact it has a spray pump attached to the sample. The scent has fruit and a base of jasmine.  

2. Color Club Custom Birchbox Polish. In color Put a Pn in It Full Size $8

I am actually kind of glad I got this shade since I wouldn't wear any of the other shades they had:

3. twistband. Set of 6 $14. I got one of theses before in black. I find them cute to wear on your wrist incase you need to pull your hair up. However after a few uses the black one got hard and not as soft. I am not sure if the elastic dried up or what happened. This new one feels soft, we will see if it happens  to this one to. 

4. Vasanti Brighten Up! Enzymatic Face Rejuvenator. Full Size $34. This I am actually excited to try! It is Paraben Free, Sulfate free and 99% natural. 

5. WEI to Go. Sleep Over Kit. Full size $19. This come with 2 face wash packets and one packet of a tinted moisturizer. I actually have never heard of this brand, but I am excited to try out the tinted moisturizer. 

EXTRA: the extra this month is 3 different sized makeup brush guards. I have been wanting to order some on amazon for my brushes, so this will give me a chance to try them before I do. 

That is my birchbox this month. What did you get in yours?

Refinishing my mirror with Martha Stewart Metallic Paint

Hello my beautiful readers. Today I have another project to show you. 

Check out my new mirror in my Master Bedroom. 

Isn't it just gorgeous? See the before picture below.

(Pardon the towel under the mirror, I want the dresser to completely cure before I place anything on it)

Can you believe that this is the same mirror?

If you want to know how I refinished the mirror, keep reading:

My Own Closet!

I have wanted my own closet for a very, very long time. 

I used to share my closet with my hubby, but not anymore! (No, I did not move his things to the guest room closet although at times I was tempted to.  We actually built him his own closet) :)

This is the only space in the whole house which belongs to 

just me! 

The other day I locked the door in the bathroom, and got comfy in the closet and did my nails while the hubby watched the kids. It was wonderful not to have any interruptions :)

Here is all the info you might need:

The closet system we used was Closet Maid from Home Depot

One 16 inch organizer $89.00

Two Corner units stacked $77.98 each

Four stackable shelves $9.48 each

Total Cost: $282.88

The bench I had (from kids room- We switched rooms for them, and there was no space for it anymore.)

The wall color is Pelican by Valspar

The stenciled used is the Morrocan stencil from Cutting Edge

The paint color used for the stencil is Designer White from Behr

First let me show you the before pics:

OK, now I can show you the AFTER

So please come in and take a look:

On this side I keep my tops and skirts.

I keep them organized by color

This bench is useful to sit down when I need to buckle or tie my shoes

I sewed a new cushion and made these tack boards for my statement pieces.

(If you follow me on Facebook, you have already seen this)

In the bench cubbies I keep my belts and slips

My hats are up above in my "self made" shelf which is a left over from another project. I just placed it up above. (I still need to get the brackets for this)

I love the deep corner shelves, they fit so much stuff!

On the very top I keep my floppy sun hats.

The 1st shelf is for my purses

2nd shelf is for T shirts and sweaters

3rd shelf is for my jeans and skirts

4th shelf is for sweats, work out clothes and painting clothes

and the last shelf is for my boots

On the hanging rod I keep my maxi skirts at the very left

then I keep my jackets and blazers

The rest of the items are clothes that I have just bought, but have not worn yet. (At the moment I have been picking up some fall pieces)

These stackable shelves are from Home Depot

However they do not fit high heels which are more then 3 inches tall ( they are not listed as shoe racks, but it was the only thing I could find which fit in this space)

 My perfume tray is up above for now.

The little candle holder holds all of the tiny perfume samples.

Here you can see my dresses.

I keep all the maxi dresses on the right. 

The rest of the dresses I organize by sleeve length and color.

Under the dresses, I keep another shoe rack.

Remember these glitter shoes I made? They still look great!

This is where I keep the heels which did not fit in the shelves I bought.

I keep one shoe in front of the other, this way I can fit 4 different pairs on one shelf.

Above the shoes are some clutches and scarves

I keep square scarves in the black box and the rectangle and infinity scarves folded on the shelf below.

On the top shelf I keep my acrylic boxes from The Container Store where I keep some watches, bracelets, glasses, head bands and my nail stuff. 

The nail polish rack is from Amazon

And because I could not resist, here is my beautiful "art work":

Thank you so much for visiting :)

If you have any questions, please let me know :)

His Closet (plus a sneak peek of mine!)

I really wanted my own closet. I was tired of having all my clothes cramped and not being to tell what is what.  Alhtough at times I was tempted to "nicely" move all of my hubby's clothes to the guest room, I just couldn't do it.
So we decided to build a second closet in our room to have his/her closets.


I posted my closet before we started to work on it here. You can take a look at it, just to see how cramped it was ;)

We had this little nook in our master bedroom. I really don't know what it was for. Maybe a reading nook? A place to stash a baby crib in your room? I don't know,  I used it for my vanity area. It was nice and bright here, however... It was always a mess. So I was OK on using this space for a closet, if it meant that I could have a closet for myself. 

Hubby built a doorway with 2X4s, put sheet rock on it and then we hired people to mud the doorway and spray it with texture, after that I painted everything and Hubby installed the door. 

If this closet wasn't so small, I would have claimed it as my own. Because the window makes it so bright and airy. 

I can not wait to show you my closet! It still needs a few finishing touches. 

But here is a sneak peek :

Skincare and makeup haul

I placed this order towards the end of August and am just getting around to hauling them. 

I was placing my Nordstrom Order for the toner and face wash and could not resist to pick up a few more things I have wanted to try out.

The reason I love ordering online at Nordstrom, Is because the shipping is always free, I can read all the reviews and don't need to wait for someone to help me. 

Here are a few things I picked up. 

Clarins Gentle foaming cleanser  (repurchase)

Clarins Toning lotion (repurchase)

Clarins ombre face pallete 

Estee Lauder Double Wear Maximim Cover foundation

Mario Badescu Hyaluronic Eye cream (this is a repurchase)

Lancome Translucence mattifying pressed powder

The best part was that nordstrom was having a special (gifts with purchase)

I love samples!

Have you tried any of these products? 

Nordstrom is having great promotions now again! Free Lancome Gift with purchase!

I turned 26!

I recently turned 26!

It was such a special day. Hubby made me breakfast in bed, my little Em brought me her pictures she drew for my birthday and a special gift she and daddy picked out for me. 

Later that evening we went all went out and had dinner with our close friends.

I couldn't have asked for a better birthday.

Thank you Lord for the best present of all, my family!

Refinishing my Night Stands

I have been all over the place lately. Working on the bathroom, painting the master bedroom, working on his/her closets and one more thing was refinishing furniture.

I decided that my 2 night stands needed a update. 

I didn't want to go spend money and buy new night stands, since these are nice solid wood and I like the curves and lines they have.

I thought they would look great stained a nice deep walnut with my new wall color. 

Here is the problem, I painted them black a few years back.

As you can tell, they are a bit beat up:

And here is the after:

It was a lot of hard work, but worth it in the end. I am no longer afraid to refinish furniture!

I will show you step by step on how I did this, If you are interested, then read on. 

(WARNING- PICTURE OVERLOAD)