Making It Mine

I decided that since I'm going to be staying in my current apartment for the next 10 months, I might as well make it feel and look like my home. So last night I started moving some things around, hanging pictures up, and just putting together a plan for how I want my place to be. Here's a shot of my day bed after my updates.

Day bed update.

Here's the before shot. I exchanged the duna for a crocheted blanket my grandma made me. I also FINALLY sewed the two pillows you see on either end. They're made from Ikea rugs and pillows; I think the entire project cost me around $10. I also moved my coffee table to the side (you can kind of see it off to the right). I'll need to pick up a lamp for over there. And I also want to get a floating shelf for over the bed. The script painting, which still isn't done, will be moved to the hallway. 

What do you think? It's starting to feel more like my home, which I love! And I'm trying not to spend much money on these changes, so I'm going to have to put my thinking cap to get creative. Anyway, I'm off to a concert that my friend is performing in tonight and a massage with my mom tomorrow. Happy Friday!

Love,

Stephanie Marie

Hair DO: Side Pony Braid

I think I have finally figured out how to make the side ponytail work for me. It is one of the easiest looks for me to do at work since I frequently do not blow dry my hair during the weekdays because I work out after work, wash my hair at night, and let it dry while I sleep. And then in the mornings, the last thing I want to do is get up early to curl or straighten my hair. That extra 15 minutes of sleep is PRICELESS :) So, usually I wake up and try to figure something to do with that day's waves or wisps or whatever. And since I look better with my hair down (trust me, a gay guy once told me so), I've been trying to figure out how to do pony tails that are easy and flattering. Welcome to the side pony braid, my friends! 

View from the back. Will use a bobby pin next time.

This holds in the hair that's not long enough to stay in the side-swept elastic, but has the same look. I love it! I just started with a slight side part, french braided my hair starting on one side (it works much better if you braid your hair With your hands behind rather than in front of your head. I just kept braiding until I had all of the bottom layers in the braid, then swooped the rest together, and called it a day. What do you think?!

View from the front!

Do you have any hair-down style suggestion?

Love,

Stephanie Marie

Keep on Rollin'

First we're going to do this nice and easy.

Then we're going to finish rough.

Yesterday (Thursday) I wore my black cotton pants from Old Navy, a red polka dot shirt I had to buy from Target (due to a coffee spill on my way into my first day of orientation at a new job), and a black cardigan from Gap, I think. Anyway, I saw this girl walking through the streets on Wednesday morning wearing slightly cropped pants with heels. Since I don’t have a pair of black slightly cropped pants like she did and I’m not really in a place to go shopping for an article of clothing to recreate one look, I decided to do an experiment with the pants I DO have. And this is the result:

I actually really like the effect that rolling my pants did to the overall look of the outfit. Completely different than just plain pants, right? The only thing I didn't like was because they're cotton, when I sat down in my chair the knees sort of poofed out. I just patted them back down when I stood up to go anywhere, but that was the only drawback...that and my chilly ankles!

 

Nice and easy: Regular un-rolled look.

The (diamond in the) rough: Rolled pants.

What makes this outfit even more special is the rolled pants reminds of being in the second grade when my sister would stand me on the stairs and roll my jeans for me. Pleat and roll twice! She refused to let me out of the house without rolled jeans because, come on, that would be embarrassing! Dear fifth-grade-Jen, I think the poofy bangs were more embarrassing then me not rolling my jeans, but we'll just go with the pants for your sake. I dedicate this outfit to my 13-year-old sister. She'd think these pants were rad.

Enough talk about pants? Tried any fun twists on your regular clothes to get more bang for your buck? Gotta be honest, I kind of want to raid my closet and see what other cool things I can come up with! Consider this experiment a success! Proud Steffie keep on rollin' ;)

Love,

Stephanie Marie

Sweet Accessory

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My dad gave me this "purse" for Valentine's Day, but it would be sweet to give any day of the year. It's made with a bite-sized Hershey bar, craft paper, ribbon, button, and hot glue. If all of my purses were made out of chocolate, I'd be happy to lug them around town with me :)

I'm so happy this week is almost over! Michelle and I are heading up to Brooklyn to visit Kath this weekend. Looking for nighttime outfit ideas now...

Love,

Stephanie Marie

It's A Couch! It's A Bed! It's Superwoman!

Yesterday after work, I was full of projects to keep me busy: gathering tax information, making homemade pancakes, and laundering my sheets. That last one was a MUST-DO. I went to my friend Jen's house on Sunday and for some reason the girls started to talk about bed bugs. Note: I do not have bed bugs. It made me completely insane when I went home and I've been itching ever since. It's amazing what your mind can do to your body. Ugh. Anyway, washed all my sheets, including the crocheted blanket my grandma and grandpa made me, and remade the bed. 

Don't you love how it looks like a sofa now? I do too! I'm a genius :) It's a king sized duvet cover on a single duvet (I had high hopes for that cover), so I let the extra fabric hang off the side like the front of a couch. And you can see my half-finished quote art. I need to go over the rest of the words with another layer of purple, but all intents and purposes, it's done. Anywho, this living/bedroom is coming along quite nicely if I do say so myself (I do). 

Going to make this tonight...

How are you celebrating Mardi Gras/Lent/Four-Day-Week?

Love,

Stephanie Marie

Weekend Recap: February 3-5

Breakfast burritos with yummy leftovers.

Hand-made necklace for a friend's 30th birthday.

Hungry Girl's Pasta with clams.

I had a nice and relaxing weekend. Happy hour in Baltimore Friday, walk around the park Saturday, and puzzles and movies Sunday. I also spent Saturday night eating and drinking in D.C. for a friend's 30th birthday. The first of many this year :)

How was your weekend? I skipped the Super Bowl party for something more relaxing, but hear it was a winner!

Love,

Stephanie Marie

Oh Yes, It's Ladies' Night!

Sub-heading: "No Longer Just for Tiny Tops and Make-outs!"

Hmm...I'm trying out my Instagram app on my BRAND NEW iPHONE! (Hope you said that in a Bob Barker voice like I did. If not, feel free to pause here and reread it.) It's a super fun app, but I'm not sure it converts to my blogger very well. Anyway, this is the dinner I made for Michelle and me last night. It's Pantry Pasta with shells instead of bow-ties, which was exciting to make because I already had everything  at home..sans Sweet Italian Style With Peppers and Mozzarella Cheese sausage, which I wrote out because not only was it AMAZING, but it's also two-for-one right now at Safeway. Side note: If you don't like garlic, you should just leave it out of this recipe because this dish is sure to keep the vampires at bay!

Anyway, so I made dinner for us for craft night :) Love craft night! And I love that Michelle and I can walk to each other's house for a random Wednesday night craft night. She made a card/photo holder. I made this twine-wrapped vase:

This was my inspiration, if you remember. It still needs a little work. Some loose ends need to be anchored, and Michelle thinks it needs a trimming...perhaps it is a little hairy fuzzy after all. But I love the overall results! All I did was use spray adhesive, starting on the bottom section of an old vase, and wrapped twine up until I hit the top. I didn't get the wraps perfectly straight, so every once in a while I'd do a straight wrap and fill in the holes. For a FREE craft, this thing is bangin'! And I think it will fit perfectly with my rustic chic vibe.

Have you done any crafts lately? It feels really good to complete a pinterest-inspired craft every once in a while. Otherwise, that site just makes me feel inadequate :P

Love,
Stephanie Marie

A Little Frosting

Update: I think I'll be making this rosette for my new lamp. Assuming I'm given proper permission to mess around with aforementioned lamp :) I know this is what keeps you up at night, knowing what type of frosting I'm going to put on my lamp. And that is why I came right over here to inform you of this update. Good thing this blog is mainly to help me remember stuff. Regardless, cute, isn't she?

Love,
Stephanie Marie

You can buy the lamp from Pier 1 here.

Relax, DIY It

Relax, don't do it. When you want to go through it. Relax, don't do it. When you want to come. Bum BUM! PS. My great aunt's name was Frankie :)

I'm keeping up the string of wonderful days! Winter, be damned! Yesterday, I had an appointment in Annapolis, so afterwards my mom and I decided to use our Groupons for 60-minute massages in downtown. It was lovely. You forget anything that might be troubling you over the course of 60 minutes of relaxing. Even just sitting by a fire with a good book would cure the soul for an evening. While waiting for my mom to finish her massage, I stopped by Annapolis Coffee and Tea, Co. for a chai tea latte and some P&P. If I lived in Annapolis, I'd be there every night. I just love being in coffee/book shops.We rounded out the evening with dinner with dad at California Tortilla. It was really a great night spending time with my family...definitely a great reason to be living in Maryland again :)

While I was there, my parents mentioned they were going to get rid of a little side table/lamp that they've had for years. So now that I've claimed said table for future use, I've been thinking about how I want to make it work for my space. It's currently a redish wood with bronze neck holding a cream shade. I think I might paint the wood white, spray the neck oil-rubbed bronze (ORB as Younghouselove.com calls it), and the shade will either stay cream or get sprayed a robyn's egg blue or covered in lace. My inspiration for this feel is in the photo I spotted over at "Garden and Gun Magazine." I just love the mix of the rustic, white, and a hint of color.

What do you think? Girlie yet natural, right? I hope so, since that's what I'm going for. Do you have any crafts in the making?

Love,
Stephanie Marie

Photo courtesy of Garden and Gun.