Because we all need $3 mirrors...

I've been searching for something to hang in the corner of my living room for awhile. Everything seemed wrong...I tried a DIY painting, a small print, and even just stuck a tall plant there once, but it just didn't work. I came across this mirror awhile back:

I loved the simplicity and glitz of it, but I knew I needed two or three to take up the vertical space of the wall and these were $178, which equals well over $500, which equals no go. I looked at a couple of stores (just the usuals) for something simple, gold, and round, but came up empty handed. Then I saw these on clearance at Michaels for $1:

yes, that's uno smackeroo...

I grabbed three, along with three 7" craft mirrors ($2 a pop):

I hot glued those bad boys to the chargers.

Oh, and here's a little tip for ya..because I'm nice like that...pop can tabs+hot glue=free picture hangers:

And the final product:

 Just so ya know, they are not dirty, it's just the texture/sheen on the chargers reflecting the light AND I apologize for the picture quality, but this corner is between two windows, which is not prime for picture taking...

They're perfect. Exactly what this weird corner needed..and only $3 a piece. 

So there you go, a simple project...cheap and easy...ya know, like your mom...

Sorry, I need to spend more time with my lady friends...

Anyways, what do you guys think? 

Oh, and I'm linkin' this little ditty up over at:

Hookin Up With Hepworths

and

so go check out all the other great projects.

I'm Lovin' It...January

So here it is, what I'm lovin' in January...

My new camera....that's right, for the entirety of this blog's life I have complained about my old camera, and Santa (aka Race) finally delivered...Kind of:

He gave me this one:

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The Canon Power Shot 320 HS...

I loved it...at first, but realized quickly it didn't have the capabilities I wanted in a camera, so I exchanged it for this one:

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The Fuji Digital FinePix S4200 Super Zoom...

And, I'm smitten. It has everything I wanted in a camera, and is super easy to use, plus you can't beat that price.

Sidenote: I'm not sure why, but I feel like it's important to tell you that I've never exchanged a gift the hubby has bought me before, but he was obviously misled by the salesman about the capabilities of the first camera, so no I don't feel bad, and no, the hubby is not offended.

My pretty new wine tumblers made out of...wait for it... wine bottles. Super sweet anniversary gift from the hubs and I love them:

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The YoungHouseLove light collection...

If you read Young House Love's blog, you probably already know this, but the genius couple behind the blog and this book now have their own lighting collection through Shades of Light, and I love their stuff. A few of my favorites:

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Bubble Glass Pendant: Great shape, and price. I'm seriously considering replacing our pendants over our island with these babies..

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Metal Strap Drum Pendant: Love the metal work, and of course the gold...

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Wire globe lantern: Comes in some fabulous colors (including teal, bronze, red, and more).

These Pixie Wooden Toy Cameras...

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I'm in love with vintage style wooden toys...and no, I don't know why. These wooden toy cameras, had me at cheese. I can't wait to have a kid follow me around with one of these bad boys..too cute.

These Tassel Earrings...

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I love the pop of color, these would bring to any outfit. And a great price too...adding to cart now.

And finally, the obliged coffee favorite..

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I had never had eggnog before this holiday season (I know, crazy right?). Delicious...and even better, eggnog with caffeine. The Starbucks eggnog latte is amazing, try it, trust me.

Welp, folks that's all I got. How about you? What are you lovin' this month?

Epic fail with a happy ending...

This is the story of what my 5-year old brother-in-law would call an "epic fail", but with a happy ending.
It started with trying to find a temporary way to jazz up the boring Target frames that were  hanging in my living room, but ended with a very permanent solution, using good old rub n' buff...and yes like a 12 year old, the name rub n' buff makes me giggle...Here's the end product:

Fun, right? 

Here's the very long journey, that got us here:

These frames have been hanging on our walls since the day we came back from our honeymoon...which means they've been hanging here for four+ years.

In fact, I half expected that when I took them down there would be a faded square on the wall where they hung...there wasn't.

In any case, I was over them. I love the wedding pictures, and the vast span of wall they fill, but the frames themselves were starting to bore me. Just weren't doing it. And with them being along the same visual line in my great room as my DIY sunburst mirror, I felt like the dark wood was a little heavy. The problem: good frames are super expensive. I wanted to add something to them, without spending money, or taking them down. Enter spray paint and tape...yes you heard me right.

I spray painted the painters tape (there's something I never thought I'd say) a metallic gold.

And, yes I do know that they sell metallic gold tape, but I didn't have any on hand, and was not in the mood to put shoes on...what are ya gonna do?

My plan was to use the tape to cover each corner. I was hoping to add a little glamour without doing anything permanent to the frames. I figured, if I got sick of it, I could just peel it right off.
 I attempted to use them to cover the corners of the frames:

And, yes that is wine in the background...starting to see a pattern in "my process"...

I finished up all four corners with the tape....

And I hated them...

If  I had a picture I would show it to you, but sadly, as I've said before, I'm a bad blogger..

It looked great hanging from far away, and even a couple feet away, but because I sprayed the tape it wouldn't stick well, and kept bubbling up. Plan B time. 

Same idea but with Rub n' Buff, again because I already had it, Frog tape, and a ruler...and of course wine.

I was too frustrated to care that this solution was permanent, so I just used the gold rub n' buff directly on the frames...and I'm glad I did.

I love them. The rub n' buff makes them look aged, and I love that it doesn't look painted on..

Rub n' buff tip: it says on the package to use a brush or sponge, but PLEASE if you only get one thing from this post, let it be this: USE YOUR FINGERS, no gloves , but just your bare finger...

I especially love, that they reflect the 

brass hardware I added to the corners of my Expedit bookcase.

What about you guys, any small frame updates out there? Anyone else find the need to spray paint tape? Any other "brilliant ideas" go bad for anyone else this week? It would probably make me feel better if you could share...and in the same token, I'm sharing this over at:

and
Keeping It Simple's Motivate me Monday