decorating with succulents

I definitely do not have a green thumb... so when I have a thriving plant in my midst - the feelings of relief and "I can do this", rise within. Back in March I planted a succulent in a terra-cota pot that I gave a little makeover on.

Here he is in all his cuteness...

Here's another angle so you can see his size clearly....

Now check him out!!!

I actually had no clue succulents grew like this, but they surely do. Mine has grown at least two inches in about 3 months. Realizing that I didn't kill the poor guy, and that he evev grew I decided to load up on these super easy to care for and keep alive plants.

I first had the idea when my herbs needed to be transplanted out of the ball jars I planted in them in April.

I loved the look of the greenery popping of the bright blue jars, sitting in the beautiful carrier I found at william sonoma, that I knew I needed small plants to keep the look going. Succulents fit the jars perfectly.

When I went to pick out my succulents, I came across a great deal at my local grocery. That low round pot full of succulents there was only $7!

Yes, only $7, so I picked up two pots. 

One for my front porch, and another to transfer into smaller planters.

After repurposing my blue ball jars, 

I then brought some life to my mantel using three planter pots I already had on display.

I was left with three more little succulents and so I decided to give a new look to my centerpiece in my dining room. The plants that lived in here were formerly chewed on by my cat. I know they were never going to regenerate their leaves back, and therefore the plant looked very "lived". So I reluctantly made the decision to replace them.

My home is now covered with succulents. 

I love them! and hope they thrive as well as my first guy has. 

fourth of july wreaths

In March I had gave my fourth of july wreaths a little makeover for Spring and they ended up looking liked this...

Well, it was time to get them ready back for the fourth. So I removed the nests, repositioned the bows, and stuffed my flags back in!

Summer is almost here!!!

{another mini} porch makeover

In March I worked on my porch, attempting to give it some love. I ended up pausing with this look at Easter time...

Well, remember that world market purchase I made not too long ago... the main reason for my submitting that order was for a new side table to go next to my beloved white wicker love seat.

I love the warmth this little wood one brings to my front porch. 

I added some more flowers, and I have myself yet another mini porch makeover. This one was a mini, mini makeover. However, it is amazing how much one item can change a space.

friday favorites {swim suits}

In the spirit of entering summer, and getting ready for vacation ;) I bring you my friday favorites with swim suits. I ordered the Victoria Secret black one piece, and floral plunge cover up... and I love them both!

bohemian strappy side {pac sun}

rose wrap bikini one piece {urban outfitters}

high waist two piece {urban outfitters}

black one piece {victoria secret}

black and white smocked tankini {venus}

cabaret bandeau one piece {venus}

tie die cover up {urban outfitters}

floral plunge cover up {victoria secret}

dish towel art {DIY}

I recently made a World Market purchase that in it included a darling script dish towel. I saw it, I wanted it, and I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it :)

I turned the $6 dish towel into a piece of art in my dining room! It also involved a tiny of bit of sewing, a copper pipe and some jute string...

This little project took $10 total, and about 5 minutes tops of sewing. All I did was fold over the top inch or so and sew across to create a hole for the copper pipe to slide through. SOOO easy, and super cheap!

hand towel {world market}

train table makeover

This train table is eight years old, and has seen a lot of love from my oldest son who was mega obsessed with Thomas the Train. However, my youngest, who is now four barely played on this table with the trains. I normally found him battling tiny soldiers or stomping his dinosaurs through the tracks.

So I decided to give this table a new life.

How do you do that to a eight year old table that has been beat on by trains {and soldiers & dinosaurs}? This table visually is not much to look at... my children have peeled off the train image's protective film... and even the train image is a few spots. This table even has some bite marks!

But the table is still standing strong, and the drawer still works perfectly. So after a fresh coat {okay maybe a few!} this little table will maybe not be as good as new, but will get a fresh new start

...as a Lego table!

My boys had a little disagreement as to what color to paint it. My oldest wanted a dark gray, and my youngest wanted navy blue. So I made my attempt to mix the two and went with midnight blue. I was just happy to keep it in the neutral palette. 

I used Rust-Oleum's Chalked paint. I got a dark tint base and had it tinted to the midnight blue.

I also grabbed the matte clear topcoat. 

It took about 3 light coats to cover the train image. 

However, I did hit a snag with the half peeled protective film. 

Before painting, my oldest son and I attempted to peel all of it - but it wasn't happening. So I just lightly sanded over what I was and wasn't able to remove. Well after the third coat of paint a realized that the areas that had the film was going to be darker than the areas without it because the areas without was actually soaking in the paint, where the film areas were not.

So I went ahead and did my clear topcoat and it certainly helped. I did a second coat of the clear coat and the difference is barely noticeable. Whew! 

However, if I were to do it again, I would have taken a hand sander to remove the entire film.

I got two sets up these Lego plates when Amazon just so happened to be doing a lightning sale on them. I attached them with gorilla glue. And then finished the table off my replacing the tattered blue rope that was previously there with a piece of jute string. 

This transformation from train to lego table cost was about $75.

Other lego tables I found were over $100, were also smaller {like half the size}, and didn't use actual Lego plates {there were compatible plates}. Plus I am giving this much loved train table some continued life :)