I love that pictures freeze moments in time and allow you to relive them again and again. Pictures are a physical memory since we can’t always rely on our mind memories (mind memories…totally a thing) to recall a special occasion, or remember exactly what that moment looked like. I toted a Polaroid camera along with me for Linz’s bachelorette party in Vegas last month, and asked that everyone take photos of the weekend and then give the Polaroids to me for a gift we’d make for her. This is what I did with all the photos, a Polaroid photo frame! Thank you Pinterest!!!!!! When in DIY doubt, Pinterest out!!!
For this you’ll need:
a frame of your choice
sturdy string or wire
mini clothes pins or metal clips
your photos
scissors
hot glue gun and glue
measuring tape
Method:
You’ll remove the back cardboard and glass from the frame so that you’re just left with the frame body
line up your photos so that you know how many columns you’ll have and how many rows
use the tape measure to figure out where you’re laying down your string or wire so that your rows are evenly distributed
lay down a dollop of hot glue into the nook of the frame to hold the string in place on one side than line up the other side and do the same
allow the glue to dry and then hang your photos onto the string with the mini clips and walaaaa!
All of your memories in a cute lil DIY frame, handmade by you, with love…and a few burned fingers 😉 I hope you enjoyed this DIY post, I love doing home decor, especially at a level that my skills or lack there of are able to grasp! haha!
Let me know what other home decor/DIY things you’d like to see, and I hope your weekend is awesome!!!
In my best ‘Elf’ voice…”It’s Amazon Prime Dayyyy”!
Well not today but on the 15th at midnight on through the 16th you’ll be able to score some pretty sweet deals from your one stop shopping spot! There’s so much happening between the promotions and the coupon codes that I wanted to share with you what I personally recommend on Amazon Prime day and what to buy.
I’ll share my picks from Home Goods, Fashion, and Accessories. There’s gonna be a lot coming at you fast in the next few days leading up to THE day, so sift through all the things, pay attention to what catches your eye, and in the interest of Amazon not taking ALL your money … shop with a ‘need’ over ‘want’ mentality … unless it comes to the concerts! Then gogogo! Eeek!
FASHION/ACCESSORIES (Summer staples!)
I debated whether or not to photoshop out this 1998 unrecognizable tattoo then decided, we all make mistakes, we can’t photoshop them all out now can we LOL
If you thought I’d ever spend more than $100 on a pair of shoes you thought wrong 😉 I have a daughter in college who takes all my money so I found the best inspired styles for some of this season’s most popular pieces.
I chose the Golden Goose leopard print + ponyskin effect leather ($560… esscuse me) and the Hermes Oran Sandals in Blanc ($650… wuuut), so off to ‘destination dupe city’ we go! For a fraction of the cost you get almost identical styles AND you won’t be upset when you get them dirty. I mean the Golden Gooses already come dirty though so. Why would you want already dirty ass shoes…oh fashun. *** PS if you love the originals and you’re willing to pay the price, there is no judgement here! We all prioritize and budget differently <3
Faux plants– if you have a special gift for killing plants (even plants they say you can’t kill- ahem, cacti and succulents still do not thrive under my care) than this baby and this baby is for you
Vitruvi stone diffuser– the chicest most loveliest diffuser of them all they come in all kinds of beautiful colors
Sicilian blood orange diffuser sticks– if you’d rather not commit to adding water, dropping in oils, turning anything on… well than this is for you. Set it and forget it
Candle favorites- I burn candles in our home 24/7 and these are some of my favorites! Somethin’ abut Tobacco scented candles in the living room and Lemongrass in the bathrooms that are relaxing but also feel like a sexy speakeasy… emphasis on candles in the bathroom.
I honestly had SO many things to share with you and I’d like to share some of my staple skincare/beauty products with you too – also on Amazon so I created a list for you! Which I’ll be updating as much as I can as we go along this summer. And don’t mind the list “name”… Amazon named it for me: ‘influencer jess lizama’, its top choice? It’s kinda like having a middle name you don’t like…ya didn’t choose it and ya can’t change it! Can we photoshop it out though?! ;)-
What will you be scooping up at midnight on the 15th?! I’m creating a wish list for myself, would you like me to share it?
I’ve been waiting a long time to finally reveal to you our space revamped! This has been a long time coming, it all started back in September of last year when I became interested in home interiors and then fell deep into a West Elm love affair. I never really cared about what our home looked like, just that it was cozy and clean. Now I care all the cares.
Joe and I both work from home and we live in a two bedroom apartment with Corriney and our two puppers. That means there’s not much room for us to escape one another or to hide out between editing meltdowns, which I have on occasion a lot because we each don’t have our own offices. We knew we wanted a fresh start but we didn’t want to start over because we plan on moving within a year. That meant not investing too much on new furniture or creating big projects. Enter Anita Devlin!
Anita is founder of We Heave Ho, a business where she focuses on rejuvenating your space and clearing your clutter, without sacrificing your life savings … or your grandmother’s china that you’ve been holding onto (hi!). She came in with a no fuss attitude and we were ready to throw out all the things creating chaos. It was a match made in heaven! She did our entire home UNDER budget … that’s 5 spaces all revamped and all for under $1,000! Our living room, Joe’s office, my set, my vanity, our bathroom, and our closet, here goes!
THE BEFORE – our entry way, living room aka Joe’s office/ theatre
THE AFTER
So now you walk into our living room and don’t immediately see Joe sitting at his ginormous desk in the middle of our living room. Instead, you look over to see a beautiful cabinet and lots of pretty plants, and not Joe’s office which is so cleverly hidden behind it all. The cabinet holds all of his filming equipment and his desk drawers hide all the things that used to take up space on and around his desk.
Our living room is now a real living room (mismatched couches and all, we’ll replace the L couch later shhh don’t tell Joe) where we can sit and entertain or I can sit and work on my couch ‘set’. I was spending so much money renting out other people’s spaces to work out of and now I can feel creative in my own. For now, Anita helped me juje up the L couch to better match my theme.
She also completely redesigned our living room so that our offices work around our living spaces and not the other way around. I’ve never seen Joe so happy to organize his desk 😀
This nook by our front door makes me so happy, something about the wooden modern bench next to brushed gold metal and pops of black and white … Anita and I decided these are our colors and you’ll see them throughout our entire home.
My vanity in my bedroom was a big change for me! Anita had a running theme going throughout this entire revamp process, 1) open up the space and make room for living with the focus on creating work space around your living space and not living space around your work space 2) use what you already have to redesign instead of refurnish and 3) don’t get rid of anything you don’t want to, just get rid of ‘things’ that don’t serve you… like the 27 outfits I haven’t reached for in over a year! I was most scared for her to re-do my closet… that’s another article post on its own.
BEFORE
AFTER
So she shifted the location of my vanity and it opened up the room like she said it would and gave my area more access to sunlight. My mom’s gold china that she gifted to me yearssss ago now sits near my vanity and I get to look at it and think of my momma every time I’m getting dolled up. So perfect for this piece.
Our dresser got some lovin’ too with some added plants, some shelving, and cute storage to tuck away all of my skincare products that didn’t make it onto my vanity. Behind our bedroom door that once hung my shoes now hold all of my toiletries and knick knacks that were piled high. Heave Ho pro tip: shoe organizers with clear pockets are perfect for this kind of storage. You can see how we used that in the third photo of the carousel.
My favorite part, besides the fact that Joe now has a space that we don’t have to live around… these two babes. They’re called the Female Support System and they’re here to give our keys a lil ‘lift’ 😉
Also, that nook by our front door … SWOON! I sit there sometimes and take off my shoes and just look around for a bit, it’s all a work in progress just like we all are. Deep, I know. It’s raining here in L.A. so. And honestly I could design and re-design over and over again, forever. So I’m going to be content with this until we move on to another home and call Anita back over <3
Do you agree, could you revamp your home over and over again and find things to change up and switch out? Please go check out We Heave Ho and give them a follow to see this entire home revamp in real time! She has a series launching that shares with you how to do all of this, on trend and on a budget! Stay tuned!
P.S. I’m gonna take a moment this week to link you here to all the furniture, companies, and decorations featured in our revamp <333
SPRUCING UP YOUR HOME FOR SPRINGTIME – You’d be so proud! I’ve been a DIY queen over here because DIY-not am I right?! Ahem, that is in reference to my series on YouTube where I take a Pinterest idea and do it my way. ‘My way’ usually means that things end up pretty janky, yet surprisingly fun and functional! This week has been all about revamping my space, from my bedroom to my kitchen and the spaces in between. I gave myself a $200 budget, put Pinterest on repeat, and behold, here is the magic that was created!
I combined my favorite color schemes to refresh my bedroom, my vanity area, my kitchen, and my dining room table. I kind of sprinkled pops of color around each nook of mine and put lights on just about anything I could get my hands on! Pastels, yellows, blues, pinks, oranges, you name it, it’s here! And guess what?! I also built a headboard WITH MY OWN HANDS. Yes slightly burned with hot glue hands, but with these bare hands of mine nonetheless! If I can do it, trust me, anyone can! So here’s the sitch …
MY VANITY
I’ve always wanted a space in my bedroom that I could get ready at, film at, and decorate in a way that made me feel organized … ya know, like a real adult! Since I’m borderline hoarder-status over here, my vanity up until this point has always been covered with product and spritzes and sprays, and I never really got a chance to use it. I kind of just sat on the floor NEXT to my vanity and got ready each day. Joe got this set for me a few years ago and I’m happy to say that it is finally being used for all its intended purposes!
Organized chaos, that’s what this is! I kind of sectioned out all of my foundations, liners, perfumes, and palettes. I love this place mat that I got from Marshalls because it’s bright and colorful and fits in perfectly with the rest of my color scheme. If you haven’t noticed, I’m all about that bright, poppy, happy kind of feel!
So in a fit of creativity I ran out to TJ Maxx and picked up the double sided area rug, 2 makeup trays, a 3-tiered shelf organizer, and the hanging jewelry display. Marshall’s, just down the street is my go-to for accessories! The candle, photo frame, and planter were all on sale for less than $7 each! Also, IKEA is pretty great for DIY home projects, and from there I purchased the chair, pillow, blanket, shelf, and white planter. I thought the planter was so pretty with it’s lace detail that I used it as a makeup brush holder and filled the inside with beads to hold my brushes in place. You can get the shelf and lights at IKEA or even at Home Depot depending on your location.
MY BED
Why yes, this IS a homemade headboard put together by yours truly! I watched YouTube OF COURSE and made this headboard from two poster boards … a BUTT LOAD of tape and all of my hot glue! You can check out the video I followed for this headboard here! I doubled the stuffing to really give the buttons that ‘pierced’ look. From $500 to $50, this headboard is the way to go! The fairy lights I got from Amazon and the pillows came from both World Market and Marshalls. Any chance I get to add color or lights, I’m all over it! Also, thank you Corrine for letting me steal your foliage, it really completed my whole ‘bo-ho’ theme!
MY KITCHEN
Moving out of the bedroom and in to my kitchen, this space was my favorite to spice up! Yo check out my play on words! *I think I’m so funny sometimes! I hope we’re still friends* Everything here was on sale at Michael’s, 40% off to be exact, and the candles, tea pot, and mason jars were also on sale, at World Market. It’s incredible the things you can find when you sift. Head to the back, it’s the last place people will rummage!
Some paper straws from the Dollar Store, placements of color from one end to the other, and you have a kitchen that’s ready for company! I love hosting dinners and cooking for Corrine’s friends and my kitchen is completely ready now!
There’s something about these bright colors and pastel combinations that make me so so happy. I’m a complete product of my environment and if I’m having a bad day you’ll know it, black is my favorite color but not for home decor. It feels bigger in my kitchen some how, brighter, and more inviting.
If you’re really into DIY, you could probably make this sectioned shelf and paint it whatever color you like. I really loved this distressed vintage blue color and Corrine helped me pick out the tiny arrangements for it. I think with each season I will switch up the items that it holds, and paint it a chalky white so that it’s universal no matter what theme I choose.
MY DINING ROOM TABLE
Last but not least, our dining room table. I have a video and blog post coming soon where I paint this wooden table a white-chalk and distress it with sandpaper and tape. Until then, I decided I wanted a pastel pink runner and I couldn’t pass on these air plants from Trader Joe’s. They were only $2.99 each and I was told that I CAN’T kill these, no matter what! Water them once every two weeks, I think I can handle that!
Sunflowers make me smile and this tray from Marshalls was a nice separation from the plants and the table runner. See how I came full circle with the pastels and color combinations again? … Poor Joe, he gets a corner. ONE corner. Haha!
I’ve never been great at interior design, it takes time and money. It also takes patience and knowing what you want and where to get them without breaking the bank, home improvements can be costly and we’re saving for a wedding over here! Besides the excitement over Spring and all things color pop, a driving force behind all of these modifications was that I didn’t feel confident about my space.
I love hosting parties but when you aren’t happy with how things look it detours you from inviting people in. At least for me. See, I like everything, and I love color and I love print, so we really didn’t have a cohesive theme in our apartment and I was okay with that. Until Pinterest happened! Then I got all motivated to do our ‘Pinterest DIY-not’ series and it pushed me to try some DIY projects for myself to see how expensive or inexpensive these kinds of ventures would be.
I’m happy to say that you can take on these tasks and complete them in an affordable way. If you set a budget for yourself you can do just about anything within those boarders. What once gave me grief and seemed to be an eye sore I am now most proud of. I kind of just sit back these days and stare at each room the way a five year old stares at a bouncy house … with excitement and awe. Sounds crazy because it’s just an addition of color here or an accessory there, but for me, I’m so proud of these changes and this kind of thing is necessary. It makes me feel so refreshed.
Do you have any particular plans for your home and this next season? What are your favorite color schemes and where are your go-to places to find the things you create with?
I love updating our areas surrounding the different seasons of the year and I can’t wait to show you what I have in mind for Summer! Thank you for indulging my DIY side and all things bright, blinding, and beautiful!
The other day I realized we have waaaay too many candles in the house. Out of the desire to make something simple with my hands and steer away from our candle-overload problem, this little DIY came about. I’d always read about making your own smudge stick and seen so many Pinterest DIY’s but I’d never taken the plunge and just did it. So I finally decided that would change and just went for it, and it was super easy and inexpensive!
Aside from being visually appealing and all around lovely, smudge sticks are a fantastic way to get any indoor or outdoor space cleansed, energized and smelling great. They’ve been used in sacred rituals for centuries and I kind of hold a little place in my heart for them because they’re magical and so easy to make.
I used those little pre-packaged white sage and rosemary sprigs from the fresh produce section because they were easy to find and inexpensive. You’ll only need one package of each herb you choose, because one package will be enough to make at least two smudge sticks. You can switch it up and add cedar, sweetgrass or any other herb that you please. Flowers are a great idea too, they’ll add some color and smell wonderful, so I also added chamomile to mine. Roses, lavender and pretty much any flower with soft, bendy petals will work. You wouldn’t really wanna use tulips, for example.
It’s really as simple as you’d think. Take your herbs and flowers and arrange them however looks best to you. There really is no messing up with this one, because it’s going to look beautiful and smell so good. You can’t even be mad at that! You may have to cut the ends and modify them to match one length. When you’ve used up all your herbs or you’re content with how it looks, wrap it in twine and tie it up nice and safe. Voila! A beauty is born.
As far as letting the herbs dry out, I hung mine upside down for about a week and a half. When they’re all dried up, they’re set to be used. Burn them in your space or outdoors for a good energy cleanse, give them as gifts or put them in the bathroom for whenever someone lays a stinky one. They even work as decor, just lying around on the coffee table.
Spring has S P R U N G! Have you heard?! Everyone I talk to is all buzzing about Spring time, the change in season, the change in weather, and the change they’re feeling internally. What is it about a new season that makes us feel the need to turn a new leaf? Pun intended.
So June 20th will mark mid Spring- like we’ll officially be in the middle of the season! I said June… can you believe we’re talking about JUNE?! So I thought instead of freaking out over how FAST this year is flying by, I’d chill out and share with you the top 5 ways to spring clean your life. Hey, if I have to deal with the crazy so do you 😉
FRESH FLOWERS – this is a good one. Not even gonna lie, spending the $3 at Trader Joe’s for some fresh flowers is totally worth having fresh flowers every week. Can’t put a price on attitude amirite? There’s something about the presence of flowers (like real ones) that makes a difference in your space. The color, the movement, the smell. Yes, stop and smell your flowers. Did I mention they’re only $3!
CANDLES – this is a real one. All the candles, light them. Every time you light a candle a Fragile Rock finds its way home … or something like that but it works. Use it for meditation. And to rid your space of that bad bad ju ju.
MEDITATION – this is a big one. Which moves me into the next tip which is to actually meditate. I personally don’t know how to be still and appreciate it so I’m still working on it. But even if it means you close your eyes for 10 mins and be still, practice yoga, read a book, or take some time in the car to just breathe, it all helps. Everything helps when everything hurts. Okay now I’m just being dramatic. Taking some time to regroup will allow your mind the ability to focus on the purge to come. *being super extra now
ACTUALLY SPING CLEAN – this is a literal one. Yes clean, clean your closet out, clean out your fridge, get rid of the 347 mugs you’ll never use but that you’re waiting to Insta-Story because they say things like, “Go the extra mile, it’s never crowded”. Get. it. together. Oh, no pressure I know! I hear people talk about Spring cleaning and my eyes glaze over. The last thing I want to do on a chill Saturday morning is go through all of my things and organize. But we gotta do it! We’re adulting. It’s also okay if now’s the time you purge toxic people from your life. Just blame it on cleaning out your closet.
DON’T FORGET ABOUT YOUR GOALS – this is my favorite one. It may be time to revisit your vision board, does anything need to be added or removed? Is it in a place you can see every day and not shoved behind the dresser? Does it reflect your current goals? It’s normal to look at your vision board and go “pffftttt!” LOL because where you were 6 months ago may not be where you’re at today and that’s okay. Jot down your current feels, be realistic, and remember to think big – like still aim for those stars baby!
And that’s it! Those FIVE super simple steps to Spring cleaning your life. Mostly this is for me too because I’m stuck somewhere between learning to be still and actually cleaning 😀
When you Spring clean what’s the first thing you go through? Your car? Your home? Your mind space? Have you glazed over yet?
If you consider sprinkling flowers around the place decorating, than I’m an interior designer 😉 I think simple additions like fresh florals and nice smelling candles make your home cozy and inviting – it’s the little things I tell ya! Today’s post is inspired by the most effortlessly charming shop around that currently contributes to our Spring-time home makeover.
Our recent visit to Whimsy and Row was for their launch party in Venice, CA. With live music, laughs and libations, it was such a fun event and I had some of my best girls with me! Swag bags are always so appreciated especially from locally ran businesses where we get to support fellow entrepreneurs, but this swag bag was SUH-WAG-GA-LICIOUS!
Huge shout out to P.F. Candle Co., The Giving Keys, Led To Believe, and Back Beat Rags for their generosity, we’re officially fans! Check them out if you haven’t already, add their items to your wardrobe collection or set out some pieces around the house for some Spring flare!
What are some additions around your house that help welcome in a change of season? This can be in your closet or interior design!
Stay tuned for our “How To Spring Forward” post! Slowly but surely we’ll all be prepared to declutter our lives and decorate the crap out of our homes! lol
Happy Valentine’s Day! If you’re a last minute gift giver . . . ahem it’s TODAY, than this DIY will not only save you time and money, but it’s also personalized and super unique! AKA it will cover up your last-minute-DAY OF-gift-giving tendencies LOL! All will be forgiven!
So whether you’re making it for your special one or with your ladies for Galentine’s Day festivities, it’s a lot of fun and super minimal. Don’t be afraid to get messy and make some mistakes, that’s where all the fun is at! All you’ll need is the polymer clay of your choice, an x-acto knife or mold, and gold paint. Before you begin, set the mood with this Valentine’s playlist I created just for you!
Directions:
1. Roll your polymer clay into a ball. I used beige because it resembled more of a light pink to me. Once you’ve rolled it into a ball, flatten it out with a rolling pin (can also be done with a cup or jar! )
2. Now that it’s flattened out, use your x-acto knife and/or mold to shape your clay. (For the circle, I used the rim of a candleholder) Don’t be afraid to get creative and make all kinds of wacky shapes!
3. Now that you have the shape you want, poke a hole in the middle of the clay with an incense stick, just enough so that it can wiggle around a bit.
4. It’s time to bake! Preset your oven to 275°F and let your creations bake for 15 minutes.
5. Once they are done baking, let them cool. When finished cooling, grab your gold paint and begin painting the sides and around the outer rim. Imperfections and uneven lines will make it look even more authentic and effortless, so have fun with it! You can also paint the entire thing gold or create a pattern on it. You’ll most likely have some extra clay sitting around, so you can make more to give to your friends and loved ones. ?
Altogether, the supplies for this tutorial cost me a grand total of $10 and I made almost a dozen holders! They’re the perfect gift for your bestie, room decor, or housewarming present and are super sweet!
I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and high five for saving the day <3
Having enjoyed a staycation this past weekend, in one of the most luxurious homes I’ve ever visited, I was totally inspired to revamp my room! I took these photos from a beautiful home in the hills that we stayed in that was elegant and clean with its crisp whites and pops of color!
Stay with me here, if you’re ready to flee from the pom poms, stick around because it’s a jungle in here, literally!
I really love this string of pom poms above this simple bed, the chandelier above, and the all that natural light coming through! It was a YouTuber’s dream to film in here … ahem no lights necessary, there was so much light coming through both corners of the room! Filming a vlog was the first thing I thought of when I saw this set up, “Yes I can sit there and face that way”. Also, those prints you see on the bed spread, that would be from puppy Luna thinking she owns the place! She galloped (she runs like a baby horse) from room to room and jumped on all of the beds. All of them.
This was one of the 4 bedrooms in the house, and my personal favorite! I called it the Princess Room because that’s what it felt like to me, a doll-house princess room, so pretty and dainty. The second room I’ll feature was Corrine’s favorite! We called it the Jungle Room because the walls were covered with giant leaves and the green hue was so beautiful, I wish I could’ve really captured it’s true tone!
Again with the simple, clean, white bedspread and sheets, I love the choice here because it doesn’t take away from how busy, yet fun, the walls are. A simple lamp in the corner, two windows allowing for the day to peak through, and this beautiful set up on the far wall – we were in love I tell ya.
Why yes, that is my phone just candidly hanging out on the bamboo table. I had forgotten where it was until I saw this photo and remembered I’d put it down here. Lavender stems in vases sprinkled around the house was the most inviting and fragrant aroma you could imagine. Again, the decor is simple, but I love simplicity, I love the bamboo themed furniture, and I love how it fit so perfectly with the painted walls.
The rest of the home was just as beautifully decorated as these two rooms, people were bustling about so I wasn’t able to capture the home room by room. It has however inspired me to focus on being more simplistic in my decor choices, more open to big prints and bright colors, and to let light be the focus of each room.
I really loved it here and I loved how inspired we were when we left. I actually ordered some pom pom wall hangings of my own and a new white duvet cover in honor of these rooms! One room at a time, one space at time, that’s what I keep telling myself. I think it’s easy to get overwhelmed by decorating, by theming a room or picking colors. It’s especially difficult when you have zero clue what you’re doing … me!
I like to think that once my bedroom is complete, I’ll migrate into the living room and redecorate the space in there. Baby steps … if I can do it, trust me, you can too! Pick a space in your home, start small, and surround it with things that make you feel less anxious and more relaxed. That’s exactly how I felt when I walked into this house.
I hope this inspired you to get thinking about Spring decor and what colors you’re drawn to. I know that I’m really loving this white out look!
What kinds of colors or prints are you most drawn to, and are you more of a decor person or a wall and accessory person?
See you next week with some more happenings and have a wonderful weekend!
