The Simple Solution For Ruined Chairs

When we first purchased our house, I was going through a very gray phase. I had seen some cool homes that were very monotone and I liked the idea of purchasing neutral furniture so that I could add any color through my decorating. I figured, if I had gray furniture, I could add some colorful rugs, throws, pillows, etc. and swap them out for the seasons. But I mean… everything I got was gray. And I mean EVERYTHING. Couches, chairs, curtains, even the wall colors! It was never-ending and earned my home the nickname “50 Shades of Gray”. I couldn’t even be mad at that nickname… I’d earned it and within just a couple of months, I started to hate all the gray in my home. 

I sat there for 3 years, dreaming of a day when we could re-decorate. Getting all new furniture wasn’t in the plans so I just had to wait. In the meantime, I loathed my home and my furniture, especially my dining chairs. You see, we have 3 cats who were very well behaved in our apartment. They never scratched anything. However, as soon as we moved into our home, they decided they loved to scratch. Their top choice? My brand new (very grey) dining chairs. Within a few months, they went from pretty, fancy-ish chairs to destructed Western chic. My cats had shredded the edges which looked like bad fringe. Some of the chairs even had the foam sticking out! 

Once again, I planned for a day when I could replace the chairs I had JUST spent several hundred dollars buying. And every time I would walk by that table, I would think about it. One day, I was perusing Amazon for a couch cover since our dog Lexie had been getting our (gray) couch super stinky, and that’s when I stumbled upon these awesome chair covers. I was so excited- I could get new chairs, without having to buy new chairs?! WHAT?!! The price was right, the style was perfect, and now I just needed to pick a color. 

Oh, I forgot to mention the reason why my house was gray. You see, I went through a period where I was afraid I’d regret picking something in a specific color. I vividly remember it starting one time in college. I was trying to figure out which awesome iPod nano color I wanted, only to settle on the gray one because I was too afraid I’d end up regretting the blue. It only got worse from there, as I always picked a neutral color from then on. It was almost a way that I hid myself and my childish nature. The truth was that I loved colors, I just lacked the confidence to pick one.

Fast forward to the chair covers. I didn’t know which way to go. Did I choose gray again? But ugh… how about aqua blue, like the rest of our home? Meh. White? Taupe? Nothing in my house is taupe. So, I bookmarked it and put it aside for later. Here’s the thing- these chair covers are easily removable and affordable. So you know what I did? I BOUGHT THE FREAKIN PINK ONES. I thought they were so pretty and I imagined my husband being annoyed but I did it anyway. I figured, worst case, I can buy another set later to replace it with. I thought the pink would be SO cute with all my holiday decor!

When the covers first arrived my husband was a little confused by the pink. But, once they were on, he said that it already looked so much better than before. No longer did we have shredded chairs that informed everyone that came to our door that we had 3 naughty cats. Instead, we were classy folks again.

These chair covers are machine washable, easy to put on, and come in so many colors. They’re really affordable (about $8/chair) and so soft! I no longer have to worry about guests coming over and dripping on the chairs, or having Hailey wandering around with her sticky fingers. If a cat lays down on the chair and covers it in fur? Eh, that’s ok too! I feel like I not only got a new look for my dining room, but I got some peace of mind too. If one cover gets horribly ruined, I can replace it. Much cheaper than if a chair gets ruined!

I love our “new” dining room now. I’ve been covering our black Ikea table (that I also hate!) with a sequin tablecloth which is breaking up some of the darkness over there too. Slowly but surely, I am making changes to our home with a small budget. Although I may dream of having my amazing, Pinterest-worthy home some day, I can make small steps to improving the one I have. I guess from seeing everyone overhauling their furniture regularly, it made me feel like that was the only way to get a new look. Turns out, I could find my own way. A much more affordable way ;)

PS- You can find the DIY table runner here and the floral pumpkin DIY here!

I do plan to go back and smooth out some of those wrinkles, since I think I pulled them down a little too much which left a bunch of excess at the bottom. But overall, I’m SO happy with how they look! And, I love that I can give my living room a new look with ease.

So what do you think of these chair covers? Will you be getting a set for your chairs? They’re honestly great for cat owners and parents!

Hailey's Nursery Organization Tour (Ideas On A Budget!)

I’m so excited to finally be sharing some sneak peeks of Hailey’s room! It only took 9+ months but hey, better late than never! I want to start by talking about how I organized Hailey’s room. My goal for her room was to be girly but pretty- something she could grow up with, instead of needing a total refresh as soon as she wasn’t a baby anymore. And, I wanted it to be fully functional, organized and GORGEOUS. I wanted everything to have a place and I wanted that place to be pretty. It definitely seemed silly at the time, and my husband thought it was ridiculous. However, every person that comes into her room comments on how pretty it is, including her closet. I leave the door open- it’s THAT nice! I even open up the drawers to show people how nicely everything is folded. My husband, who thought I was taking way too long to fold her clothes, recently said he wanted me to teach him how I fold her clothes because they definitely fit better when I do it. It’s the small victories.

I mean….. LOOK AT THAT CLOSET. It’s been several months and I still swoon over it. It’s gotten fuller since I took these photos a few months ago, but it still looks great. My favorite part of her whole room is those closet doors. I wanted to add a pop of color to her room without painting everything a bright hue. Originally, we were thinking to paint an accent wall but I couldn’t figure out which wall it should be. Mostly because I didn’t think any of them would be good for it! I remembered how much I loved the beautiful doors back in Greece and I decided to gather up some courage and ask my husband if we could paint the doors. Surprisingly, he agreed! I honestly think it was the best decision I could have made, because these doors make a statement without being cheesy.

Baby Closet Storage

Let’s venture inside the closet now. Hailey received a bunch of cozy blankets, so I decided to display them on the left side by hanging them in her closet. This area was pretty high up for anything other than blankets, since everything looked comically small in that corner. I folded the blankets in thirds to make them thin, then in half so they hung nicely off the hanger. Below all the blankets, I put this amazingly adorable pom pom basket (similar here) that I couldn’t resist getting! It holds miscellaneous breastfeeding items- nursing pads, my breast pump, etc. along with the chalk markers for her monthly updates. It’s essentially a catchall basket, which helps to keep the room tidy.

See those polka dot baskets there? Those are smack dab in the middle, and they hold all of Hailey’s clothes in bigger sizes. I put her 0-3 & 3-6 month clothes in her drawers, then made one cube of 6-9 and another of 9-12. Anything over 12 months was put into a giant storage bin for later and stored in the attic. These bins made it really easy to access new clothes as Hailey got bigger. I washed everything while I was pregnant and I’m sooooo glad I did. Those tiny clothes have more little plastic attachment pieces than should be legal. Plus, I can grab things from the bins without having to wash them, which is amazing now that I have a tiny human to care for. She makes more than enough laundry as it is!

At the top right, I have some transitional pieces. We plan to put some shelves up, so right now her decor and jewelry box are up there. The piggy bank was from her Oma (grandma) and belonged to her mom before that. When you put a coin in, it plays an Irish song! The jewelry box was a gift from my sister to me. I didn’t need it anymore, so instead of tossing it I decided it would be fun for Hailey to use. I can just imagine her storing her little plastic rings in there someday, and looking into the little mirror with lipstick smeared all over her face like a beauty queen.

Below those items is her fancy clothes- dresses, little coats, and tutus. All my favorite frilly things which are gorgeous! I couldn’t resist snapping a photo of just these little dressy items, because they’re that pretty! Everything is hung on tiny pink velvet hangers.

Let’s go down to the bottom of the closet. I used a structured bin or hamper (similar here, here and here) to hold even more of Hailey’s blankets. I had 2 comforters from her bedding set, plus her muslin swaddles and handmade blankets from family members. I folded everything up nicely and placed it in this bin for safekeeping. Above it, I have some of her extra hangers ready to go.

I knew we’d have to store Hailey’s bathtub in her room, since our bathroom is extremely small. I didn't want to remove it every time I wanted to shower, so it just made sense to keep it in her room. But again, I wanted everything to be pretty and this was no exception! So, I bought this oversize fabric hamper (similar here and here) to hold it when it’s not in use. After Hailey’s bath at night, I leave it in the tub to dry. Then, I put it back in the hamper until its next use. From the front, you can barely even tell what’s in there!

Now I’ll talk about all the other random bins I didn’t mention before. The pink striped bin at the top holds extra diapers and wipes, so we never have to worry about running out while she’s naked on the changing pad. The bins underneath it are her bath toys that she won’t be needing quite yet. The wooden box holds her very small shoe collection, and the pink bin at the bottom (similar here and here) is for clothes that no longer fit her. I get so sad when something has to go in that bin, but it means she’s happy and healthy which is a GREAT thing so I get over it fairly quickly.

The Book Shelf Storage

Over to the left of the closet is all of Hailey’s books! After seeing everyone else’s adorable book walls, I decided I wanted one for her room too. It fit perfectly on this narrow portion of wall underneath the AC, since anything bulky would block the closet. You can see a teensy portion of the door down there!

I organized all the books by rainbow order, which made it visually appealing. These wooden book shelves from Ikea were painted white so that they provided a nice, simple place to hold the books. At the bottom, I placed my dollhouse bookshelf which houses some of her smaller books and toys, again in color order. Off to the right side, I have a small basket filled with some of her stuffed toys and dolls. Hailey has quite a few unicorn toys, along with a mermaid and singing Mother Goose!

I can’t wait to show you the full room reveal, because those curtains are pretty epic too! This room is my favorite in the entire house.

Baby Dresser Storage

Off to the right of the closet is Hailey’s dresser! I chose this dresser because it was wide enough for our changing pad and was still a decent height for her changing pad. PS- I love this changing pad because you just wipe it clean if there’s a mess. No laundry needed. Just go ahead and order one now- you’ll thank me later!

Hailey’s dresser has 6 drawers. The top left holds her hats, headbands, and mittens along with her collection of socks. I kept everything neatly organized and accessible by putting in some smaller bins to help corral everything.

The top right is where all of Hailey’s diaper changing supplies go. On top of the dresser, I have an organizer that holds diapers, wet and dry wipes plus all her ointments. There’s even a drawer for her brushes and combs! We use vaseline to prevent diaper rash, and put it on using this diaper cream brush. The drawer below this organizer contains spare diapers, wipes, and body lotions.

Clothes Storage and Folding

I folded all of Hailey’s clothes nicely and neatly into little cubes, and placed them into these drawer organizers to keep everything contained. Her clothes are so small that without the drawer organizers, they felt like they were flopping around in a giant drawer.

The bottom 2 drawers hold Hailey’s blankets, bibs, and burp cloths. Again, I folded everything nice and neat and placed it into smaller bins. On the left side I placed all her blanket toys which she didn’t care about at first but now she LOVES them, especially the pink cat we nicknamed Kitty. Super creative, I know ;)

The bottom right holds burp cloths and bins. Ironically, we got WAY too many bibs and not nearly enough burp cloths, which we definitely needed more! I ended up ordering most of them myself, so if you’re unsure what to get a new momma, try burp cloths. The bottom drawer also holds some wrap sweaters they gave us at the hospital which were essential in the chilly hospital where she only wore a swaddle. They became a little less necessary at home since she wore sleeper pajamas, but they are helpful when she’s wearing a t-shirt.

Over on the other side of the room, I have fabric dresser drawer that matches the bin in her closet. It holds Hailey’s bath supplies like towels, soaps, and washcloths. It also holds all her medicines and personal care items like thermometers and nail clippers. There’s also a drawer that holds all her fitted sheets and bassinet pad covers. Can we talk about how neatly those fitted sheets are folded? Stand back folks- I’M A PROFESSIONAL!

PS- I realized these pictures were taken when Hailey was only 6 weeks old. For reference, she’s now 9 months old! Look how tiny she was, my little lumpy baby.

#SparkJoy: My Intro to KonMari

Anyone who knows me or my family knows we are messy. I can't remember a time that we weren't messy, dating back to when I was a small kid. And I don't mean the fake "oh no don't look at my house, it's such a mess!" but there's only 2 socks on the floor and 3 dishes in the sink. I mean the type where an entire overhaul is needed each time people come over. And I have literally (half) joked that part of the reason I like to have events at my house is that it forces me to clean it regularly. It's a lifestyle I'm used to but hate with a great passion. I'm afraid that one day, it'll all become too much and next thing I know, I'll be surrounded by far too many things. This happened in my bedroom at my parent's house, the 1-bedroom apartment John and I shared, and now it was slowly but surely happening in our house. My attic, which is one of the biggest rooms in the house (which I have all to myself for my studio) had become packed, stuffed... HOARDED. It's a word I'm familiar with and fight to my very core. But I had all the makings of a hoarder and I was heading there on local train. Sure it made stops where I could get off, but I was riding it to the end. Like magic, as soon as I got pregnant, I had enough. Call it nesting, call it a miracle, call it whatever you please but it was a long time coming and needed to happen. 

I had looked around my house and noticed the clutter for the last time. Finally frustrated to the point of desperation, I purchased The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up. People were always boasting about it, mainly for closet clean outs, and I always said I'd check it out "someday" but that day never came for me. Cleaning out my closet would be cool, for sure, but I needed a whole house overhaul. I was desperate, frustrated, and honestly a little scared of what my future would hold. I purchased the book after way too much deliberation and probably years of procrastinating, and I set out to read it right away. 

The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up

The book starts with the author, Marie Kondo, explaining her history with tidying. She had been doing it all her life, with an almost obsessive need to clean. But she always failed. She explained the reasoning for this was that she was doing it all wrong. I think that for a lot of us, a messy home is equivalent to laziness. Things we know we should have done, but we prolonged it. Well, Marie Kondo was telling us that she didn't have this laziness- but she still failed at keeping her home clean. And that's because "tidy a little a day and you'll be tidying forever". I won't get into too many specifics about the book, because honestly it's a short, easy read and I think that she does the very best job of explaining it. But I know that reading her 100% success rate had me hooked from the very beginning. If I did this process and did it RIGHT, I could have a clean home by the end of it too. 

Putting the book into practice

I decided to read the book before attempting to clean any part of my house. Having been a borderline hoarder and shopaholic all my life, I wanted to do this once, the right way. I wanted to change my life. 

I didn’t realize the impact the book had on me (before even cleaning a single thing!!) until I had a stressed-out crying session. I was stressed about a whole bunch of things, and in my husband’s attempt to console me, he had only made it worse. A few tears turned into full-on bawling. And I shouted something like, “you don’t understand! There’s just so much I need to do and I feel the weight of it all on me! I feel like I just can’t get anything done!” And it hit me... I needed to do things in my business, yes, but I also majorly needed to clean my home. And the thought of just how badly I needed to clean my home was weighing on me to the point of exhaustion. I knew this, but it’s like for the first time I actually realized it in a way that could spark change. I had finally had a breakthrough: I’m really freakin tired of being a slob, and living a life overall that I’m unhappy with. This was my start. 

As I laid in bed that night, I began to think of all the other times I felt this feeling without understanding it. I thought of all those times I was about to do something (with excitement, I might add!) before realizing I hadn’t finished something else. I couldn’t even go up and work in my attic studio, and for a good reason- all my unfinished projects, all my abandoned hobbies, all my clutter, was literally... physically... preventing me from advancing. And I thought to myself, what sparks less joy than going up to make some magic while surrounded by your failures. Of course my studio didn’t bring out the best in me. Instead of showing myself the best, all my accomplishments and the things I loved, I was crippling myself with clutter, and doubt, and neglect. These were not the feelings I wanted to invoke. Not in my studio, not in my home, and surely not in my life. I had to make changes. And I had to do it soon. 

Slow Progress

I'm now about 3 months into the KonMari method and I have to say I fell off the wagon a little bit. I know that procrastination is my biggest weakness, but I had somehow managed to procrastinate this process even further. It's funny, because you often don't notice the passage of time until you look back and realize just how much has gone by. Just like clutter. You don't realize just how much there is until you literally can't function with it anymore. I've been meaning to write this blog post since April and I'm just now getting to it. I am tired of sitting idly by, doing things that don't serve me. I am going to be proactive and set goals for myself and achieve them. And I hope that you guys can join me in doing so!

Join Me! Your Homework

If you want to join me on this insane process of cleaning my house, I urge you to buy The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up. I only fully used the KonMari method in one room (my closet) but I gotta say that for the past 3 months, it worked. And for those of you thinking that you have a whole family or a partner that makes a mess and needs to contribute, she covers this in her book as well. I'm going to pop in here more often with before and afters, advice on my journey to a clean home, and hopefully an incredible home reveal by the end of the year. With Baby Sunshine coming at the end of September, this is no time to push this off any longer. And for once in my life, cleaning sounds WAY better than procrastinating. And that feels amazing.

So, tell me about your struggles. Have you tried cleaning before but failed? Do you truly hate cleaning? Are you messy, a hoarder, or just really great at hiding your mess? Let me know in the comments below!

Wire Cactus Potted Plant

Although I am creating life within me, I am absolutely terrible at keeping plants alive. I even got succulents because I thought they were supposed to be easy to care for. Um... nope. They all dried up and died! In an effort to save the plants, I’ve decided I’d better stick to fake plants from now on. So, I decided to make these little beauties! They’re actually really simple to make, so its pretty funny that I started working on them about a year ago (!!!) and never got around to finishing them. Since one of my 29 goals for this year is to finish what I started, it seems like an appropriate task to cross of my to do list! After all, it’s been on there for so long. So grab your supplies, and maybe a friend, and let’s get crafting! 

You will need:

Wire (similar here)
Styrofoam Cones (similar here)
Acrylic paint (similar here)
Ceramic pots (from the local craft store)
Aquarium rocks (here)
Small flowers (similar here)
Glue gun (similar here)
Wire cutters (here)
Long knife or small saw (similar here)

Directions:

1. Paint your ceramic pots in your choice of color and let dry. 
2. Take your styrofoam cone and place it inside your pot, starting with the smallest one. Mark where you need to cut. 
3. Using your knife or saw and a cutting mat, carefully cut the styrofoam cone in a straight line. Test that it fits, and adjust if necessary. Repeat for all 3 pots.

Directions: Small Cactus Plant

1. Take your wire and fold it in half. Cut the wire. Repeat so you have 4 parts. 
2. Fold your half wire loosely into a U shape and place into the styrofoam. Take another piece and do the same, crossing over the first piece of wire. 
3. Repeat for the remaining pieces. Adjust if necessary. 

Directions: Medium Cactus Plant

1. Take a long piece of wire and fold it in half. 
2. Turn the wire so the curve is at the top. Bend the wire up then down to create cactus arms. 
3. Take a new piece of wire. Fold it in half, and measure so that it covers the arm cactus. Trim. 
4. Place the arm cactus into the styrofoam, then add the loop you made to fit. 

Directions: Adding the Rocks

Once you are happy with the placement of your wires, you’re ready to add the rocks! 

1. Using your glue gun, add a small patch of hot glue in the center of your cactus. 
2. Cover your glue with a hefty handful of rocks. Press them into the glue gently. 
3. Give it a moment, then tilt the plant to get rid of any excess rocks that are not glued on. Repeat until your styrofoam is covered. 
4. Note: for the large cactus, I had to remove one side to create a hole big enough for my hand. Just make sure you remember to put it back before you cover the whole thing up :)
5. Add a few small flowers on your wire to dress up your cactus. 

Artwork can be found here and blocks DIY can be found here.

Love it! Here are some photos of the cacti in action at the Cinco de Mama party.

This plant is perfect for those of us who don't have a green thumb. You can make them as big or as small as you'd like, in any color you want. You could probably even use pipe cleaners if you wanted to! 

So, what do you think of this wire cactus? Perfect for your home, or do you prefer real plants? Let me know in the comments below!