almost makes perfect

diy marble valentines chocolate box makeover

02.03.15

it seems like forever ago that we were seeing bill cosby perform on valentines day, last year. ick. so much can change in a year. but my love of marble still hasn’t! here’s a super easy way to makeover cheap chocolate boxes from the drugstore, along with an item you can also buy at the drugstore, contact paper!

so basically, you wrap contact paper onto your chocolate box! it’s a little tricky around the sharp edges and rounded curves, and it really doesn’t look that amazing once you open it — but it’s valentines day so it’s the thought that counts. also, they won’t notice because it’s filled with chocolate.

to do the edges of the box, i just layered little pieces on top of each other. the sides i use long skinny pieces and the top i just laid a big piece on top. then trim. then give.

5 Comments

favorite not too mushy valentines day cards

02.02.15

it’s almost that time of year when you express your love in a big way on the day they tell us to. i am big into valentines cards when they’re not too girly or cheesy — so here are some of my favorites.

01 / 02 / 03 / 04 / 05 / 06 / 07

7 Comments

our wedding / travel

riviera maya, mexico

01.29.15

after we left tulum — and i have to be honest, i was crying as we drove away from our new honeymoon friends and our hotel, we headed past playa del carmen to the viceroy riviera maya for the last couple days of our trip.

i originally wanted to stay in tulum the whole trip, but we got a really great deal and decided the last leg of our trip would be for complete R&R since we were going going going in tulum. it was SUCH a different experience than tulum, the resort is insanely gorgeous – and they make you feel like royalty. no joke, they have “butlers” that do whatever you want. it’s pretty cray.

all the rooms come with their own private patios and pools – we got to our amazing room and it started raining. remember how i said it didn’t rain once in tulum? so we just relaxed and ordered room service and rented DVDs from the lobby. until it kept raining and we got a few leaks in our roof, so they moved us into a new [bigger!] room.

2 Comments

our wedding / travel

tulum, mexico

01.28.15

well, i’m FINALLY posting about our honeymoon as promised. tulum was a magical place that i absolutely fell in love with the first day we were there. and honestly, i’d be happy going back every year. when we went in october, it was low season — so there were some pros and some cons.

the PROS were : hotel rates were cheaper, the town itself was super quiet and serene. there were no lines anywhere and we had the beach to ourselves. we expected some rain, but the weather was perfect everyday.

the CONS were : a lot of restaurants were closed, the bugs are REALLY intense, there’s more seaweed on the beach thus a funky smell sometimes.

regardless, though — we had such an amazing trip and i highly recommend tulum (just like everyone else in the universe). if you want a quieter more relaxing experience and prefer to not have tourists everywhere, then i recommend low season.

we stayed at the beach hotel, and based on our visits to a bunch of hotels – we were so happy with our choice. every staff member was so friendly and fun. the vibe of the hotel was also so relaxed – we barely ever wore shoes and ziggy’s bar had 2 for 1 happy hour everyday. and they had swings at the bar. so yes, i loved our hotel.

28 Comments

diy

diy mudcloth pillow

01.27.15

i have been wanting to make little updates to our apartment ever since the wedding ended and we decided we’d hold off a tiny bit for house hunting — and i’ve been searching for new throw pillows everywhere. i’ve wanted a mudcloth pillow for a few years now, but have never taken the plunge to just get one. so natch, i decided to make my own.

there are no process shots for this DIY, because it’s pretty self explanatory. you draw on a pillow for crying out loud.

materials
a light colored pillowcase + a permanent fabric marker

directions
01. lay out your pillowcase on a piece of thick foamcore or cardboard. tape down the edges, and stick some cardboard in the pillowcase to prevent bleeding through to the other side.
02. choose your design and practice. (i bought two pillowcases in case, and i blew it on the first one in about 2 minutes because i didn’t practice. my marker was too thick and i was working too low to see if i was drawing straight.)
03. decide how much width you want for each row. tape off every few inches (or whatever width you’d like each row) and draw within the guides. this is something i also learned after i messed up the first pillow.

mine still looks wonky and i messed up the pattern a few times, but i love the look of it.

this pillow on the left is the other side of the first pillow. the marker was clearly much thicker and made it hard to do intricate patterns. so use a thinner marker, you guys.

also, if you’re watching a good tv show or movie while you do it, try not to pay attention to it even if it’s super good, because you have to focus on the pattern OK?! i learned that the hard way.

24 Comments

i link you

01.22.15

it’s been a loooong time since i’ve linked you. but it’s back. here are six DIY projects i would love to make. but most likely won’t.

01. beautiful watercolor tableware by fall for diy. but i’m pretty afraid of these porcelain paints claiming to be non-toxic, so i’d play it safe and use for catchalls
02. i’ve been wanting to make some gods eyes, and i love the handmade vibe of this one by elise vaughn for simply grove
03. dude. they made incense. apparently you can like make incense, by heidi’s bridge for poppytalk
04. i would probably put one of these scented satchets by house tweaking in every single room
05. most likely the prettiest jump rope of all time by turning it home
06. simple leather keychains by homey oh my that i want to make for every set of spares we have laying around

4 Comments

beauty / diy / printables / valentines day

diy sea salt spray + printable labels

01.21.15

remember yesterday when i said i love valentines day? well a day later and i still do. after my trip to hawaii, i picked up a bag of hawaiian sea salt (and a couple as souvenirs for my family) – and i decided to make a little valentines gift for the special ladies in my life.

i have wavy hair naturally, but unless i just got out of the shower – it usually needs a little help. so i will stick my hair in the sink and wet it, or i will use sea salt spray. i’ve been using bumble & bumble surf spray for years, but i wanted to learn how to make your own. if you don’t know about sea salt spray – it basically is supposed to replicate the way your hair looks when you come out of the ocean (all beachy and wavy and textured) the verdict so far with my formula is that it’s working and cost me like no money!

* i used these small 4 oz. spray bottles so if you’re going to use a bottle that’s larger, just increase the measurements.

INGREDIENTS

spray bottles
a little less than 4 ounces of hot water (not boiling, just get your faucet super hot)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt (adds stiffness)
1/2 teaspoon epson salt (less stiffness)
1 teaspoon of conditioning oil (coconut or almond or whatever, i used my husbands citrus beard oil because i love the scent)
a small dab of gel (you can use hair gel or aloe vera gel)
a small dab of leave in conditioner

DIRECTIONS

fill your bottle with the hot water, add together the remaining ingredients. shake the bottle HARD for about 1-2 minutes (it’s fun to hear the fizzy sound at first, then it gets boring).

that’s it. that’s all you do. you can modify your recipe for your hair (less oil if you have oily hair, you can add more scent, etc) and it takes like 5 minutes to make it!

once your bottle is shaken and dry, apply the printable labels! (you can tell i’m still on my lettering kick) you can print the labels on any round label paper, or whatever shape you have or want.

27 Comments

holiday / printables / valentines day

printable valentines cards

01.20.15

valentines day will be here before we know it – so i made some printable valentines for you guys to give your sweeties. i’m usually not very girly unless it’s valentines day and then i go all f-ing out. last year i wore a pink skirt even. and i made scrambled eggs in the shape of a heart. i guess i love valentines day, because i love love.

you know the drill : print on paper or cardstock and trim with an xacto or scissors. write your valentine a sappy or sexy message on the back.

16 Comments