Ya'll voted and I listened! I asked what Valentine's Gift Guide you wanted to see first, for your man or your BFF/yourself ;), and ya'll voted for your man! Don't worry though because the BFF/yourself Valentine's Gift Guide will be coming next week! If you're wondering, "what do you mean for yourself?" Well, you single ladies deserve to be spoiled on Valentine's Day, too, so why not spoil yourself! ;)
When it comes to Valentine's Day, my husband and I don't go all out! It is usually something small and thoughtful. Flowers and chocolate for me and I am a happy girl! I know some will think flowers are a waste of money, which I sorta agree, but flowers from the grocery store that are $10 are my favorite. My husband used to go all out with the flower arrangements and I told him that I was just as happy with flowers from the grocery store. It's not about the flowers, it's about the thought, right?! At least for me! Oh, and don't forget the chocolate! ;)
My husband could care less if I bought him anything for Valentine's Day but I still do. Like I said, I don't go all out. It's usually something small that he needs, but wouldn't purchase for himself. When creating this gift guide, I took that into consideration, but I did include some "bigger" items for those of you that do go all out for Valentine's Day.
As always, just click on the picture below to shop! Thank you SO much for using my links! :)
Happy Monday, friends! It is yet again Monday but that just means it's almost the end of January and that much closer to spring and summer! I don't know about you but I am so ready for winter to be over. We have so much snow and with these negative temps, it's not going anywhere, ::insert crying face::! Last Monday I wrote the DIY Easy Barn Door Tutorial and ya'll loved it! That makes me SO happy and excited to share more home content with you. I have written down all the ideas ya'll gave me in my IG stories.
I have been searching for simple farmhouse curtains for my living room but I just could not spend over $100 on curtains that looked that simple. Finally I just went to Pinterest and searched DIY farmhouse curtains and came across the best easiest and cheapest DIY curtains that were also so pretty. I was a little hesitant because of what the curtains actually were but I decided to go ahead and recreate them. I am soooo pleased with how they turned out and you won't believe what I used!
This highly anticipated tutorial is a lot easier than last week's because it literally takes 10 minutes and my 10 year old could do it. ;) I told ya'll about it a couple weeks ago and had so many DM's guessing how and what I was doing. A lot of ya'll were close but no one guessed it 100% correct. I did tell ya'll that I was making DIY farmhouse curtains and even showed you one item I was using to create them. I am so excited to finally share this super easy tutorial and hope you enjoy! The only thing I didn't do was get pictures of the process :( because I was so excited to get them up. I promise you won't need pictures to do it because it is that easy!
Ok now I am going to share what I used, DRUM ROLL PLEASE...twin size white flat sheets! Yes, you read that correctly! I used $6 sheets to create simple farmhouse curtains. You're probably thinking what my husband did, "WTH?" but I promise it looks so much better than you think. There is no sewing involved because I used drapery rings to clip and hang the sheets. Told you, it's that easy! I will give the step by step tutorial down below.
1- Pack of drapery rings- for one window you will need 14. These come in a set of 30 for only $10!
I bought new pipe curtain rods found here. I LOVE them! You can use your existing ones.
THAT'S IT! Lol.
STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS: (IMPORTANT NOTE: make sure your curtain rod is high enough because the sheets will drag the floor. You can see in my picture above.)
Once you receive your sheets, you can wash and dry or just dry to get the wrinkles out. I didn't wash but did put in the dryer. I then steamed them to get more of the wrinkles out. Not all of the wrinkles came out but after a few days of them hanging, they will.
After you have dried your sheets, lay one sheet flat on the floor and begin clipping your drapery rings at the very top. I put one on each end and clipped them throughout the middle. I used 7 drapery rings per sheet.
Once you have clipped all 7 drapery rings on your first sheet, lay your second sheet on top of the one sheet with the drapery rings. I did this to see exactly where I clipped the drapery rings on the first one. Now clip 7 drapery rings on the second sheet.
From here, you will just slide the sheets with drapery rings onto your curtain rod. Separate the sheets once they are on the rod.
THAT'S IT! You can fluff them out how you like.
I know these aren't going to be everyone's style and that's totally ok! I love them and that's all that matters. I do want to point out that yes I have three boys and I am sure these white "curtains" will get dirty easily, but remember they are sheets and can be washed many times. :) I have linked everything I used above including other items in my picture. I hope ya'll enjoyed!
Who else is happy that it is finally Friday?! I know I am even though we are getting ANOTHER snowstorm! Ugh! So over winter and so ready for spring! I have been wanting to put this blog post together for awhile and just kept putting it off and I honestly don't know why! I have received so many DM's about dupes for certain items and the time is here folks. I have finally put together a Designer Dupes post! I love it and it is probably one of my favs!
I love a good designer item and I love a good designer dupe. For those of you that are asking yourself, "what the heck is a dupe?" Well, a dupe is an item that is made to look like a designer item but at a fraction of the price aka REPLICA. It is not made by the same brand and to be honest, a lot of them come from China. Don't ask me why because I have no idea! There are tons of designer dupes out there and it can be really hard to find ones that are not in better lack of word, crap! Yes, I know a designer dupe is always going to have their flaws and not be made with the same material, but every so often you will come by some really amazing dupes.
Things I look for when it comes to an awesome dupe is first the look. Does it even look like the real deal? There are some dupes out there that I cannot even believe people are calling "dupes" because it looks nothing like the real one. Something else I look for is the quality of the item. Again, there are some dupes that look exactly like the designer but the quality is awful. Most of the time the quality won't be great because of the material they use. Those are the two important details I look for when finding great designer dupes. Oh, and read reviews! Honestly, those reviews will be your saving grace before purchasing a designer dupe.
Now that we have all the designer dupe talk out of the way, let's get right into some designer dupes that I have found to be awesome. I own two of these dupes, the Karen Walker sunglasses dupe and the Gucci belt dupe. Both are awesome and SO affordable! I have all dupes linked below so you can click on and shop!
1.) Louis Vuitton Pochette Metis Replica- This bag looks identical to the real LV. It has two reviews and they are positive so I would definitely read those carefully. Under $110!
2.) Gucci Belt Replica- I don't have this exact one but I have one similar that is a dupe and it's so good! This one is new and had been selling like hot cakes. Under $25. Make sure to read the measurements.
3.) Karen Walker Sunglasses Replica- These are really good! I have these and get compliments on them every time I wear them. A lot of you have already bought these when I post a pic of me wearing. Under $10!
4.) Hermes Bracelet Replica- This another one that I think every blogger has and raves about. Such a great replica and under $23 and comes in tons of colors.
5.) Golden Goose Sneaker Replica- Again I think every blogger has raved about how good these Golden Goose Dupes are. I linked more options below if leopard isn't your thing. I've been told to size up in these. Also, they are meant to look distressed because that is Golden Goose signature. Under $25.
7.) Christian Louboutin Follies Patent Leather Pumps Replica- LOVE these! One thing I will point out is these do not have the red bottom soles that is CL signature. They are under under $60 and come in more colors. Great reviews!
8.) Gucci Marmont Bag Replica- This is dream bag...the real one! ;) This is a great option if you are not wanting to shill over $1800! This one is only $36! I will say that the only difference I see between the dupe and real is the G's in the middle. The first one is more like a C. Other than that is has great reviews and a beautiful bag!
Again, have more dupes linked below that I think are great! If you have any questions about these please DM me on IG or email me. Again, I do not own all of these so I can't say that the quality will be great. Read reviews and remember they aren't going to be as great as quality as the real deal.
Hello friends and Happy Monday! I am so excited about today's blog post because if you didn't know, home decor and DIY projects are another passion of mine. It must be yours, too, because I had SO many DM's wanting a tutorial after posting a photo on my stories. My husband and I have completed so many DIY projects. One that has been on my list since we moved in our current home, is to replace our entryway closet doors. I have hated them since we moved in. So of course I am going to share because this is the easiest project if you have all the right materials. So, let's get this tutorial started!
First I am going to share the material list. These will be the items you will need to create these super easy barn doors. I also want to point out that I am not going to share any measurements because your closet/doorway will most likely have different measurements than mine. We just pulled our measurements from the existing doors and went from there. You should do the same if you are replacing old doors.
TOOL LIST: (Keep in mind, we had all of these items so if you need any of these, it will be more expensive to build.)
1- Nail Gun
1- Pack of 18 gauge 1 1/8" brad nails
1- Bottle of Wood Glue
1- Miter Saw
1- Pack of 100 Grit Sand Paper
1- Hand Sander (this is optional because you can just sand with yourself)
1- Tape Measure
1- Impact Power Drill with a Phillips drill bit
1- Wood Pencil
1- Carpenter Square
Material List: (This was our material list. Everyone's will vary depending on what size door(s) you need.)
However many wood boards you will need to build your doors. This is why it is important to take your measurements beforehand. For example, we used a variation of 1"x4"x8', 1"x6"x8', and 1"x8"x8' white pine boards. You can get this at your local lumber yard, Menards, Lowes, etc. We like buying ours from our local lumber yard because the wood is in better condition.
1- Sliding door track system if you are doing bypass doors (Hardware should be included)
1- Can of Minwax Wood Finish Stain (I used the color, Special Walnut 224)
1- Old Sock or Stain Brush ( I use an old sock to stain because it goes on smoother and doesn't splatter everywhere)
2- Door Handles ( I bought these and absolutely love) Hardware should be included
Now that you have your tool and material list, it's time to build. Like I said before, you want to pull measurements from your existing doors.
Steps:
1. Once you have your measurements, you will cut your boards to length using however many boards you need to make the width of your door panel. For example, our overall door frame measures 57" wide and 79.5" tall so we made two barn door panels that measure 29.5" wide and 79" tall. To get our width for a single barn door, we used the combination of 1-1x8 and 4 1x6, with the 1x8 in the middle.
2. Repeat step 1 for second barn door panel.
3. From here, you will cut a 1x6 board to the width of your panel 3x per barn door. For example, we needed six 29.5" 1x6 boards again using the saw to cut to length.
4. Once you have all of your wood cut, you will sand each board til they are smooth to the touch.
5. Now you will need your wood glue and nail gun. On a flat surface (even though we had to build ours inside because we had a foot of snow on the ground), lay the wood that you cut to make one of your barn door panels together with no space in between and flush with one another. Apply your wood glue to one of the six 1x6 boards that you cut and lay across the top, flush, with the top of your panel. Once you have glued, you want to make sure your boards are tight together and flush across the top. From here will use your nail gun to nail the 1x6 board to each board of your panel. We used about 5 nails per vertical board, spaced evenly. Repeat this for the bottom 1x6 board and middle, ensuring there is no space in between the boards before nailing.
6. Repeat step 5 for second barn door panel.
7. Now your barn door panels are built. We decided to put a design in ours to add more stability using 1x4 boards. There are numerous designs you could use or leave as is.
8. Let your wood glue dry overnight and stain the next day.
9. Once your stain is completely dry, it is time to hang your barn door panels. If you are replacing existing bypass doors like we did, we used the same track system but new rollers. Now you will need your impact drill to fasten your new rollers to the top, backside of your doors using the hardware that came with the rollers.
10. Now that your doors are hung, you can leave as is or add door handles like we did. I purchased these and love.
YOU'RE DONE! You just built barn doors. Congratulations! Again, your material list will vary depending on the size of the door you are building.
Hi friends! Today is the last day of the Nordstrom Half Yearly sale and there are so great items! I rounded up my favorites from the sale to share with you all. I added in a lot of spring colors so you can easily transition these pieces into spring! Enjoy! :)
Happy New Year! Can you believe that it is 2019?! That means next year is 2020, which seems so crazy to me! We had a nice night in for NYE and I wouldn't have had it any other way. Michael smoked ribs and they were delicious! He got a smoker for Christmas and if you watch my IG stories, you know he has been smoking meat almost every day during Christmas break. Lol. While I was putting Lennox down for a nap yesterday, we were talking about 2019 and I told him his third birthday would be in 2019, so when he woke up from his nap he was expecting his birthday party. ;) So of course, we got party hats, party noise makers, and cake! He loved it!
When I look back on 2018, it was a good year. Not too exciting but overall it was good! You will always have highs and lows and for the first time in awhile, we actually had more highs than lows. I pray we have the same this year with a little bit more excitement! I have so much I want to accomplish in 2019 and not sure it will all get done, but it's better to overachieve than not.
When it comes to New Year resolutions, I am not one to make any. I would rather make goals I really want to achieve because I feel like resolutions never make it out of January. Making tiny goals that lead up to a big goal has always been my go to. I love the feeling of accomplishing something even if it is tiny because that just means I am closer to the big goal! So here a few of my goals this year. They are very broad and may never really be accomplished.
Continue growing as a mother and wife
Be more confident
Be more adventurous
Continue growing Jen Miracle
Overall just be happy
I know these are VERY broad and can they really ever be accomplished? Not really because I want these 5 goals to continue growing. I never want them to ever come to an end or a complete accomplished goal. I know that sounds a little odd but these are the things I really want to continue growing on. Now if I really had to choose specific topics I want to achieve this year, here a few things...
Maintain a healthy lifestyle-exercise more and eat less junk
Step out of my comfort zone with my blog pictures
Grow and utilize Pinterest for my blog
Become more of a blogger than Instagrammer
Hit 50K on IG and hopefully 100k by the end of 2019
Go to NYFW (New York Fashion Week)
Finish my "cloffice" closet/office
Kitchen Renovation
Build a deck in our backyard- I won't physically build it but you get the point
Pay off debt
More date nights with my husband
Finish little home projects
I am sure there will be more added to this list as the year goes by but here are a few to get me started. I hope you have a happy, healthy, and full of love year. 2019 is going to be great for you and me! I can feel it!
