A TRIP, TWEAKS, & TWO TIPS

Last weekend my sister and I made a one day marathon shopping trip to Dallas.  It was her first time to Ikea, Home Goods, West Elm, and World Market.  She got a haul at Ikea!

I make it to Ikea about once a year, and this time there wasn't anything I had my heart set on getting.  But, they did have this little throw in stock-it's always been out on my previous trips.  I waffled on getting it, but so glad I did!
  

I love it on the back of the sofa...it helps break up the brown carpet, sofa, and walls.

My favorite purchase of the day was the gigantic twig ball from West Elm.  I saw it a year ago when we were in Atlanta, and have still wanted it ever since.  It's about as big as a basketball and that's not a DIY I wanted to tackle.

They had a couple with a missing stick or two, and I saw my opportunity for a discount!  Always ask!  They gave me 20% off, and I put the missing sticks on the bottom, so it doesn't matter anyway.

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Do you have some accessories that aren't quite working for you?  If you try to see them in a different light, sometimes a small change makes a big difference! 

I've made a few easy accessory tweaks around the house.  I've had these gigantic chunky candleholders for a few years, but had tired of the red.  Nothing a little bit of spray paint couldn't fix!

I used Rustoleum glossy "Fern" and thought I might glaze the details a little, but decided I liked it as is.

This big birdcage was a great $8 thrift score.  I'm using it on the shelves in the office.  It got a coat of gold spray paint, but I thought it looked a little flat in the big shelf.  So, I bought 6 $0.94 wooden knobs at Home Depot, painted them, and glued them to the bottom.  Everything looks better with a little lift!  That's all I'll say about that. :)

While browsing the web I saw that The Nester had put a few little ceramic animals in one of her planters.  I thought "Huh, I can do that too!"  I've always liked giraffes, and these little guys get lost on a shelf, so I gave them a new jungle home in place of a little succulent that died in that spot.  Perfect amount of quirk and whimsy.  

Turtle shells are all the rage in decor lately in our town.  I've spotted them often in design magazines.  One of my favorite bookshelf styling images is full of shells and other natural elements...but I can't find the photo!  A sweet friend gave this little one to me for my birthday.

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I introduced you to these guys a few weeks ago.  They're cute and the kids (and the hubby) are having a ball with them.  I get to babysit all day when everyone else goes to school and work. The one thing I didn't miss while we were without a cat is the fur on the furniture, and as hard as I'm trying, I can't keep them off of the sofa or the chair seats.  I remembered a great tip that I wanted to share with you.   All you need to banish fur is a rubber glove!  

Put the glove on and run your hand across your cushions.  All of the fur will easily collect into a pile.  I did this on a sofa cushion that I had JUST vacuumed and was amazed at all the hair the vacuum left behind!

I've also got another soap refill tip for you.  I was shocked to see how many of you liked my foaming soap refill tip, so I thought I'd pass this one along as well.

My daughter got one of those Lysol no-touch soap dispensers for a fun gift for her birthday.  She loves it!  But, $3.50 at Wal-Mart for the 8 oz. refill bottle?  I don't think so!

They make it challenging to make you think you can't do it, but you can pop the top off of the original bottle!  I used a sturdy thin flat head screwdriver to pry the cap off.  It's tough, you might think it's going to break, but it shouldn't.  I've removed the cap twice so far to refill with our favorite less than $1 liquid soap.  Snap the cap right back on and replace the bottle in the dispenser.  Easy!

Alright!  There's lots of info. for you to think about over the weekend.  What quick little changes can you make around your house?


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