DIY Headboard

I've alluded to the DIY Headboard I was meaning to get around to doing for the last few months, and this past weekend I finally did it!!  It was just as easy as I've heard, but it does take 2 people, a bit of thinking (and planning it out) and a couple of hours.

I think it adds so much to our room!  Here's before and after, and then the process I took to do it.

Here is the step-by-step process I took:

1. Measure your bed.  Mine is a queen, and I wanted the headboard to be a few inches wider.  I then used painters tape to visualize the measurement and make sure I would like the size:

2.  I mapped out all the measurements and figured out exactly how much batting and fabric I'd need.  For the batting and fabric, you want to add 3 inches onto the headboard measurements all around.

My Road Map:

3. I got all my materials:

-Fabric: ordered from Fabric.com and got Waverly Parerre Grass

-Quilting batting from a hobby store, mine from Hobby Lobby

-Cushioning foam - got a twin size bedding foam from Walmart and trimmed to size

-Ply-wood - cut the base to size at Lowe's and used the extra pieces for the legs on the headboard

Tools needed:

-Staple gun & staples

-Circular saw (to cut the legs to size - you could have the hardware store do that instead)

-Nuts and bolts to adhere the the legs to the base & headboard legs to the bed frame

4. Start assembling.  Take the base of the headboard (the cut to size ply wood):

and find a working space.  We used two saw horses for our workstation.

5.  Attach the legs to the base.

6. Use the Staple gun to fix the twin-bed sized foam to the ply wood (we stapled it right on top since we were covering this up with batting and fabric) & trim off the extra foam:

7. Wrap the batting around the base.  This is where 2 people come in hand.  Pulling the batting tight, staple it on the backside (wall facing) of the headboard. 

8. Now, the same thing for the fabric.  If you have a patterned fabric, like we did.  We got it in place by doing a few staples with the front side up, so we could make sure we were keep the fabric in place.  Though, using the stable gun this way, is not super safe. You should probably wear goggles/face protecting gear if doing this.

9. After getting the fabric in place, we flipped it over to secure the rest by stapling the fabric to the back side.

10. Dealing with the legs.  We did the base first, and around the legs, cut slits to corner off.  I took extra fabric and batting and added it to the legs.  I overlapped the fabric from the base with the added fabric to the legs and we stapled it to the back side of the legs.

End result:

Now with the addition of the lime green patterned headboard (and the 2nd newly refurbished nightstand), I'm thinking the yellow FLOR rug option - what do you think?

Wearing the Colors of Fall Trees

We haven't gotten to the colorful tree portion of Fall yet, but I am looking forward to that as last year my neighborhood was beautiful with vibrant purple, red, orange.  My outfit reminds me of the trees in the fall:

Comprised of red, orange, yellow, purple - I think I'm wearing all the colors of the leaves in the Fall!

New Loft Jacket I got on sale + 25% off (check a store near you)

Loft purple sweater

New York & CO floral skirt

Yellow Target shoes

Surfer Casual & Blue Sandal Review

Feeling low key and relaxed, all I really wanted to wear were my new blue sandals.

I got these sandals last week after finding them in my size on Amazon.  They were only $18 and I love them...but they hurt my feet. :(

The back rubbed the my heal and thankfully my work keeps stock of band aids.  That helped that.  To put the shoe on, you pull apart the slightly stretchy fabric (no zipper or buckles).  Looks cool, but dug into my ankles a bit.  You can kind of see evidence of this in the above pic.  I will give the shoes another try, because sometimes it takes a bit to get your feet use to something...but these will not be any new go-to sandals and more on certain occasions (when I need blue shoes).

My outfit deets:

Dress - Target

Cardi - J.Crew

Shoes - ZiGiny Majesty

Spin Pin = Perfect Bad Hair Day Remedy

Yep, and that's a bold statement from me, because I often have bad hair days.  So if two little twisted pieces of metal can turn my ratty hair into a smooth up-do in 5 minutes, I'm gonna tell you about it.  Because that is one awesome time saver.

The twisted pieces of metal:

Goody's Spin Pins

The Ratty Hair:

I have multiple fly-aways at my hair line around my forehead, so when I don't feel like whipping out the hot iron to smooth them down, I French braid my hair back from the hair line and here, pulled it all into a high pony.  

Enter Spin Pin:

Wrapped the hair around the base of the pony tail/holder (twisting while wrapping).  Then take one spin pin and twist it into the bun from the bottom, the the other pin from the top.  You might feel them hit each other inside the bun, but that's ok - they just twist together.  

5 minutes or less. Done.

Favorite Blogger Outfit: ROYGBV!

This girly boy mom introduced a new clothing challenge to me this week... while sporting a super cute summer into fall outfit.

Jan of The Girliest Boy Mom blog is doing a ROYGBV challenge!  For one week, she followed the colors of the rainbow, on day one, wearing something with red, then orange on day 2, and so on.  Her outfit on day 2 of this challenge caught my eye.  I'm particularly into orange right now, and love the mix of summer pieces and the intro to fall feelings.

Her outfit deets:

Anthropologie In a Twinkling Dress
J. Crew Cardigan

J.Crew Belt

Target Shoes

Now, am I up for another clothing challenge?  This one is only a week....Might start next Monday!

Swooning over J.Crew's Fall Stylings

I walked into the J.Crew store near me, just killing a few extra minutes before meeting a friend and I swooned. I'm officially ready for Fall now.  Few favorite styled mannequins that stopped me in my tracks (on the way to the sale section):

Totally has the same "Sloppy-Elegant" look I'm so loving right now! And I'm still lusting after a "warm" sequin skirt (currently this JCrew option - on the left - is not avail in my size).

Military jacket with bright fuchsia pencil skirt...and that is a tie you see in there.  Love it!

(though, I have no guts to actually wear a tie, I love this look)

Dare I say that this is so much better than that little doggy in the window??

Love all these skirt and layer stylings.

Multiple necklaces layered over a collared shirt, yes please!

Outfit of the Day: Sloppy Elegance

Overs-sized cardigan (the sloppy) + fancy-pretty skit (the elegant).  Inspired by Serena on Gossip Girl:

Serena's got this look down.  Love the sequin skirts with the loose open tops and tees.

My Go:

Skirt from Loft - 25% off already on sale = cheapie!

Old Cardi from Gap.

V-neck T from Forever 21

Jellies!

Shoe of the Day: Suede Wedges

Perfect for fall...suede wedges.  Anything in gray, I love.

So I got them.  Target Merona Myka Suede Wedges and I used a $5 off Merona coupon in the latest InStyle & People magazines.  IRL:

In store, there was gray (the ones I got/wearing), taupe and black.  Online I saw plum - which would be totally cute!

Falling for Jackets: Rawr!

I actually wore a jacket this past weekend when the temps dropped into the 60s and was rainy!  It is now back up to high 80s, but the Fall weather is right around the corner - I can feel it!

Last two Jacket specials: Leather Jackets and Military/Utility Jacket

Now looking at something lush and fun: Leopard Print Jackets

Clockwise from top: Trouvé $138; Newport-News $35; Victoria's Secret $178; Alice + Olivia $484

I've never had enough guts to wear a leopard print jacket, though I really want to! Have you?

Considering FLOR

Before winter comes and leaves my bare hardwood floors ally chilly - I'm considering FLOR Carpet Tiles for a custom area rug - starting with my bedroom (for when I get out of bed in the morning)!  Has anyone ever used FLOR?

The site describes them as a modular carpet tile - easy to customize, move around, replace and environmentally friendly.  It is said to "hug" a hard surface floor and the adhesive (FLORdots) rounds hold the squares together without touching your floor.

I'm considering a few different styles for my bedroom, and probably going to go ahead and order some samples...but my one concern is that this carpet and it's "hugging" won't harm my wood floors in anyway.  I haven't been able to find anything about that.

Here are the options I'm leaning towards, but first where it will go:

Right in front of that dog (whose bed no longer lives there) and around the corner of the bed, leading to the bathroom (in front of the window); aka my side of the bed.

The Options:

Graphite - might blend to much with the bedding

Thick and Thin Striped 

or more solid and bold to bring some color in - Lime or Yellow.

So, have you heard anything about FLOR, especially with hardwoods you don't want ruined or have them yourself?  What do you think about the tile options with my room? 

School Girl Plaid, with Stripes

Starting to incorporate my Fall favorites, and so excited!  I love the change of seasons, mainly just to bring out clothes that have been packed away for months.  Makes them feel all new and fresh.  I'll hate them again in a month, but for now, I'm loving them!

My (light) wool skirt in plaid from Gap last year, over my H&M Stripe tunic/mini dress with my Aldo Booties & Banana Republic chunky necklace:

Favorite Blogger Outfit: Très chic

Très Tippy hit up the Martha Stewart Show in an uber cute Jacket that Je l'adore!  I love her berry J.Crew jacket with her stripped tee and fun wedges.

Her Outfit Deets:

J. Crew Berry trim astrid jacket

tissue painted stripe tank

toothpick ankle jeans

Jeffrey Campbell Mary Roks wedges

Balenciaga city bag

Long Beach Dress, Thanks to Gigi!

This post is a bit delayed due to my Remix Challenge and then waiting to wear this dress on Vacation...but without further ado, a HUGE thank you to Gigi!  Why you wonder?

A month or so ago, I hit up Kohl's and got a few great finds, but left longing for one dress that I couldn't find in my right size and not available online...

So Miss Gigi emailed me and let me know she found this dress at a store near her!  She didn't just go out of her way to get it for me, but used a coupon to get an extra discount and then shipped it to me.  I was so excited to wear this dress and so I saved it for my vacation.  I wore it and I love it. 

And then I wore it right after vacay to the office over my J.Crew stripe T:

 This dress is so comfy.  Did you notice it has pockets?! Oh, and the zipper is red, not white as shown in the display photo from Kohl's. Thank you so much, Gigi!!!