Quick and Inexpensive Comforter Update

Need an inexpensive refresh for an old comforter? Look no further than IKEA!

When we got married we received a gorgeous duvet cover off our registry and retired our hand me down comforter. After we bought our house, we used that comforter in our guest bedroom as a quick solution to a room low on our decorating priority list.

It's a good comforter, just too dark for my taste. Once we got settled, I wanted to add a little decor for our guests and brighten the room up. Comforters are SO expensive though!

That's when I found the duvet covers at IKEA. One duvet and 2 pillow shams for $29.99. I wasn't sure if I could use the duvet over the existing comforter but I'm cheap and wanted to try before spending money on a filler comforter. 

Duvet Set: IKEA MALIN RUND $29.99

It fit perfectly over the existing comforter and you can't even see the old pattern through the white bits. Just another reason I love IKEA!

Trial Tuesdays

Delish and Mostly Healthy Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese (with Bacon and Apples)

I won't lie, I pin almost everything that has "Bacon" in the title, but we're always on the look out for healthy, easy to make recipes and this fit the bill so we gave it a try. 

The original recipe is from Pinch of Yum - Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese with Caramelized Onions, Bacon and Apple. 

Oh my goodness! It is SO good! I try a lot of Pinterest recipes and some of them are TERRIBLE but not this one, it's amazing! Apples - good, Bacon - good, Cheese- good!

Here is the adapted recipe for my picky eater - aka my husband. We also double the recipe for healthy lunches during the week.

*The Rotini holds the sauce so much better than the elbows!
**We couldn't find canned butternut squash, so we use the boxed soup. It works.
***We omit the onions for my picky eater, along with the butter and salt. It's plenty salty.

ENJOY!! It tastes like fall and it's so incredibly good, you'd never know its slightly good for you. This trial was definitely a win.

Kitchen Love

In under a year of owning our house, we've managed to paint 10 out of 13 rooms, 2 hallways and 1 two story foyer. We did all this while maintaining our full time jobs and working solely on the weekends!

This Saturday, we started and finished the 10th room, our kitchen. It was a buttery yellow, pleasant but not eye catching. Oh and you could totally see the 90's-tastic wallpaper through the paint...

We took the advice of our local Ben Moore guys and did not remove the wallpaper. We were told (and they were correct) that likely it was the original wallpaper and the contractors had probably adhered it directly to the drywall. If we had tried to remove it, it would've taken down half the drywall with it.

To paint over the wallpaper, we would've started with an oil based primer but the existing paint acted as like a primer, sealing the wallpaper down. No need to prime in our case, yay!

We removed the bubbles and seams from the wallpaper as best we could. To do this we sanded the seams, cut open bubbled areas, and caulked (lots of caulk jokes). It doesn't look perfect but it's better.

After prepping the walls, we taped all the trim and painted. The tiny detail roller was our friend with all the trim and above cabinet painting. I think it took us about 7 hours from start to finish and 2 trips to Lowe's.

Paint color: Benjamin Moore Sherwood Green 

For all our paint colors, see my post here.

Don't you think it makes the woodwork, trim, and back-splash pop? It flows much better with our house too. We love it!!

Friday Favorites

1. Solar Screens

I posted our solar screen tutorial on Monday but I'm loving how cool our house has been this week! They make such a difference!

2. My First DIY Skirt

I purchased way too much of this gorgeous chevron for my classroom a few weeks ago - so to use it up I found a tutorial on Pinterest and tried my hand at sewing a skirt. It turned out perfect and it was so easy! I can't wait to do another one!

3. Teaching Resources

Bless the teacher who left all these amazing resources behind. I found a treasure trove of amazing things while cleaning out my cabinets this week. Excited for the school year to begin!!

4. Kohls

I LOVE Kohls! We ventured out last Saturday for Tax Free Weekend and bought all this for  $75. A pretty work top for me, 2 pairs of dress crop pants, Essie polish, a polo and a pair of nice shorts for Chris. Plus $10 Kohls cash for next time! There is just no reason to pay full price for clothes.

5. This Guy

Sometimes he's the only thing that can cheer me up after a down day. It's been a tough week for me but boy am I just so lucky to have him to come home to at the end of the day. Love!

Linking up with a few of my favs. Check them out!

Happy Friday!

Holiday Cheer

Source

As summer comes to a close and a new school year begins, it's time to start looking forward to the holidays! With Fall comes cooler temperatures, football, and the beginning of the holiday season. 

Here are a few holiday inspirations to bring some cheer to your Thursday.

Make Your Island Festive for a Football Watch Party

Source

Watch Party Ideas for the Kiddos

Source

Pretty Fall Decor

Source: Unknown

Amazing Costume Idea

Source

Awesome Pumpkin Pie Dip

Source

Pumpkin French Toast - YUM

Source

Adorable Turkey Wreath

Source

The Christmas Card Holder that's been on my to do list for years!

Source: Unknown

Christmas Lights Cupcakes

Source

Perfect Garland for the Banister

Source

Beautiful Mantel Display

Source

Hopefully this post gave you some warm fuzzies to get you through the week! The holiday season is coming soon!

Easy Skirt Tutorial

This weekend I made my first ever piece of clothing not to be worn as a costume, complete with a zipper!

It only took me a couple of hours and I think it turned out fabulously! The best part? It cost me a total of $13.

I even went with a fun red zipper to jazz up the grey.

For easy to follow instructions, check out the tutorial over at This Big Oak Tree. The only thing I would add is to wash your fabric first - it will shrink.

I'll be trying this again in a maxi version with some fun fabric I've been eyeing at Hobby Lobby. Maybe I'll even add pockets! The possibilities are endless - have fun!!

Trial Tuesdays

This is post #2 of my new themed post, Trial Tuesdays. Click here to see my first Trial Tuesday post on hanging frames the easy way.

I didn't grow up with stainless steel appliances but Chris and I both really love the look of it. So, when it came time to purchase a refrigerator, we bought stainless. Right out of the box it had fingerprints on it and there they stayed for months because I had no idea how to clean it. The delivery guys had told us, no paper towels and no harsh cleaners.

When I couldn't stand it anymore, I searched Pinterest and found this pin, http://smithocracy.com/2012/02/23/how-to-clean-stainless-steel-for-real/.

I read through her blog post and decided to give it a try. 

For this trial I purchased:

*Orange Pledge - which says its safe to use on wood, granite, stainless steel, etc.

*Microfiber cloths from Target

This is what my fridge looked like before:

To clean, I sprayed a little of the pledge onto my microfiber cloth and buffed it onto my fridge. In minutes the fingerprints were gone and my fridge looked flawless! I also discovered that the pledge protects my fridge from future fingerprints and I now have to clean it less often. Oh, and the orange smells amazing!

*Tip: In the smithocracy blog, she does mention that this does not work on brushed stainless steel, so beware.

Hooray! Go try this today!