Steal of a Deal

 

I had some time to kill so I ran into Home Goods, there is now one close to where I live! Yay! I was fresh out of cash so  I decided to snap some photos of cute things I found to share with you all. Home Goods continually amazes me with their great products for very affordable prices.

 

 

Gold glitter pumpkin $12.99

Black and silver skull with rhinestones $9.99. Skulls are very popular right not, but especially since Halloween is right around the corner, this is a steal! I’m kicking myself now for not buying it.

These fun tribal boxes are $12.99 and $14.99

Bright blue lacquered box $19.99- this is my favorite color!

Dwell studio bird tray are artwork $59.99

I thought this was a cute tray, but it has hooks on the back, so you can hang it or display your items on it! Very cute!

 

This large mirror was only $49.99! Can you believe that?!

French vases $59.99 and $69.99

Cute paris themed mannequin $59.99. One of my friends has one of these in her cute “dressing room” that she uses to display scarfs and bags. So adorable!

These golden planes would be cute in a study $19.99

 

 

Absolutely in love with this lamp! If only I had a space for it.  It was $29.99 no joke!

Glossy white faceted vase $19.99!

 

Any good bargains for the home you have found recently?

Outfit of the day

 

One of my close friends has an adorable boutique in Corvallis called Modern Avenue. She loves posting outfit of the day on her instagram and I love seeing the cute outfits she puts together! So I decided to do my own outfit of the day! It proved quite challenging since I didn't  have anyone to take my photo!

Shirt: blue and white stripes from h & m
earrings: brass leaves from Modern Avenue
jeans: silver skinnys from Modern Avenue
boots: DSW on clearance!

Dabble and Skillshare

Just read about a pretty cool new concept that will be coming to Portland soon. Dabble. $20 for a short class (1-3 hours, one time) on lots of cool hobbies and interests! Painting, drawing, cooking, business, etc.  I always think of new things I want to try and do but the classes are expensive and often quite time consuming.  Also, this is a pretty fun idea for a date night! Whether it be with a friend or significant other. Check out the cool video explaining it!

There is also skillshare, offering classes, digital or in person for as little as $5! A lot of classes are business related, but there are also arts and crafts, culianry arts and lifestyle classes. I came across a jewelry making class (digital) by I Spy DIY, a popular blogger. The class was free for the first 500 people to join! Pretty cool.

I'm looking forward to trying some new things :)

Adorable Bachelorette Gift

 

 

One of my best friends recently got married. I wanted to make her bachelorette party super fun and had to give her a few gifts! I have seen cute undies with the brides future last name on the butt, but found they were quite spendy, so I got crafty! I picked up some iron on rhinestone letters, a pair of inexpensive undies and a tank and got to work! Gather your iron, tank, undies and the rhinestone letters and follow the instructions. The basic instructions I followed was to cut out the letters, remove the backing, place on item in the arrangement you want, then turn the garment inside out and begin ironing over the letters. Once again, follow the instructions so you don’t iron too long or too little. When you are done allow the item to cool, then turn correct side out and make sure all the rhinestones are applied securely. Ta Da! You are done and have now created an adorable, personal gift for a close friend!

 

 

 

 

Blue Skies

Portland can be so beautiful when the weather is right! Lately I have been having a blast taking photos with my nice camera. Unfortunately, there are lots of photo opportunities when I don’t have my camera. Luckily, I have an Iphone 4s with a really amazing camera. That + instagram creates some pretty cool photos! I love it! Below are a few photos I took back in spring. I am looking forward to going back here with my nice camera, because it is just gorgeous!

What cool places have you found to photograph in Portland? I would love some more ideas!

New Beauty Products!

Today was a whirlwind at work and not in the good way. The phone wouldn't stop ringing, papers were scattered everywhere and there was lots of stuff to deal with. It was quite overwhelming. But, I got to do something fun after work and visit my brothers work Blush Beauty Bar. This store is quite amazing if you have never been. But it is very hard to resist indulging in their amazing products! I got lucky and got a few gifts from my brother! New Stila foundation, which includes a concealer on the top and a brush. I also got a new stila stay all day liquid lipstick! Then i invested in a very popular product called the beauty blender. It is an egg shaped sponge that is suppose to make applying foundation flawless and super easy! The best part is its reusable and can be cleaned! Can't wait to try out my new products!

photography by Kristen Peterson.

Design Star

So I always enjoy watching Design Star on HGTV and just kinda forgot about it this year! Luckily it is available on on demand so I watched the first two episodes. In the first episode my favorite spaces were Danielle and Luca's. I love love love the room! The beautiful gray blue color, the molding used on the walls to create architectural detail and the contemporary furniture.

I also love how Brittany created interest on the wall in a bedroom by adding fretwork. She had a carpenter cut out the pieces from mdf, painted them white and adhered them to the wall. It really makes an impact!

In the second episode it was the white box challenge! The catch this year was the white rooms were in the middle of Union Station, a very busy train station in LA! They had to purchase everything at a home and garden store so creativity was a must!

I love the chain link chandelier Brittany made!

Bex had some very cool creative ideas. She took this copper disk and painted a silhouette on it, then embellished it with hot gluing pennies around it. She also created interest by cutting PVC pipes and grouping them together. 

Rachel's room really impressed me with her use of patterns. I loved the graphic wall she created. I cannot believe she did that by hand and it turned out so perfect! Unfortunately this photos doesn't show the room as well as it appeared on tv. I also loved her fashionable drawing, so cute!

Danielle wants again showed how good of a designer she is. So far she is my favorite! She took inspiration from a photo of her mother to create this awesome graphic on the wall! She also completely transformed the sofa! This also doesn't show as well in the photo as it did on tv. I have to agree with the judges though, that horrible torchiere really needed to be pulled!

All photos from hgtv.com

Have you been watching design star this season? Are there any other design shows your recommend? I really want to start watching more of them! Hope you all enjoy your weekend! 

Colorful, geometric wonder wall

One of my good friends is getting married in a month and I can't hardly wait! She asked me to be her maid of honor and I was so delighted! I recently visited her in Corvallis and went over some wedding details. Today, I was perusing a Martha Stewart Wedding magazine and found a very cool geometric wall. I think this would be cool to do in a lot of different places; retail shops, parties, offices, or even your home! Its a great, inexpensive statement piece. 

This simple project just involves cutting and folding paper! For detailed instructions visit Martha Stewart.

Recipe Review: Stir Fry

 I found this great recipe from AllRecipes.com I love that this recipe incorporates vegetables, I have been working on eating better and having more vegetables and fruits (if you know me you know I am very picky and not so healthy of an eater).

First take a look in your fridge and pantry for ingredients and then take a trip to the store for the remaining items:

½ cup chicken broth

1/3 cup soy sauce

¼ cup white wine or additional chicken broth (I used broth)

2 garlic cloves minced

¼ teaspoon ground ginger (I found fresh ginger root for 99 cents at Grocery Outlet)

¼ teaspoon pepper

1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

¾ pound skinless boneless chicken breast halves, cut into strips

4 teaspoons canola oil

2 cups broccoli florets

2 cups julienned carrots

2 cups shredded Chinese or napa cabbage

1 cup fresh or frozen snow peas cut into 1 inch pieces

A handful of scallions

6 ounces spaghetti or chow mien noodles

2 teaspoons cornstarch

After gathering all the ingredients together, combine the first seven ingredients to make your marinade. Set aside ¾ cup of this mix for later.

Put the chicken (in strips or chunks) in a large ziplock bag and pour in the marinade. Mix the marinade so it coats all pieces. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

After a half an hour, remove the bag and pour out the marinade. Add the chicken to a large nonstick skillet or wok with 2 teaspoons of oil. Cook for 3-5 minutes or until no longer pink. Remove and keep warm.

Stir fry the broccoli and carrots in the remaining oil for 6 minutes. I broke the broccoli into really small pieces to help it mix in a little better. Add cabbage and peas and continue cooking for three minutes longer or until the veggies or crisp tender. Meanwhile cook the pasta according to directions. I used chow mien and cooked for 3 minutes then drained.

Combine cornstarch and remaining marinade you set aside, stir until smooth. Add to the vegetable mixture and bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes or until sauce thickens. After draining pasta, pour into vegetable mixture and stir. Add some chopped scallions if you like. Return chicken to the pan, stir and heat until warm.

 The meal was delicious! I loved the marinade. The vegetables were a bit hard to swallow though, but at least I got a few nutrients J Also, I enjoyed using my new vintage apron from Sur la Table! Isn’t it adorable?

 I hope you enjoyed this recipe review! Any new recipes you have tried lately? 

Quick and easy pork loins

Are you ready for a very easy and healthy dinner? I hadn't had pork in a while and remember always enjoying barbecued pork when I was younger so I asked my mom what she did to season it and it was so simple: garlic powder and Lawry's seasoning salt! So I bought three small organic pork loins. Pork is a bit expensive but the difference between organic and non organic was very minimal so it was easy to make the right choice! I sprinkled on some garlic powder, Lawry's seasoning salt and a bit of pepper around all the edges of the meat. I then barbecued it on medium heat until it was seared on one side, flipped it and seared the other side, then I cut into it to make sure it was done since I don't have a thermometer. The best part of pork is it has very low fat in it! I served it with a side of salad and garlic cheese bread! I didn't take a photo as I didn't intend on blogging about it, but I thought I would share this easy meal for those looking for dinner in a pinch! 

photo credit