DIY DECOR ROOM

Favorite Things Giveaway

I'm so excited it's spring and finally warm weather so we are celebrating by having a Spring Fling Favorite Things Giveaway!  I've joined with 14 DIY and home decor bloggers total, also sharing their favorite things, and each of us are having a giveaway. That means 14 winners total! Not only is it a fun prospect to WIN, but they make great gift giving ideas as well. Here are the goodies I'm giving away, make sure you scroll down to the very bottom of this post to enter MY giveaway.


My giveaway includes a 4 cup espresso machine, 20 ounce stainless steal frothing pitcher and this cute SIP mug! (new items shipped via Amazon, not my used ones :) ) I actually had these items in my Amazon cart for weeks waiting for Mother's Day. I sent the links to my husband in hopes he would get them for me. Then I couldn't wait any longer and ordered them myself :) I love this little machine! I've only had it for a few weeks, but it is so great to be able to make my own lattes at home now. And this cute little mug looks like Rae Dunn, but it's not! Mud Pie actually has a few similar items to Rae Dunn, all available on Amazon too!

For another option, if you win this giveaway, you can decide on the 3 pieces above or a $60 Amazon gift card to buy whatever you want! For more details on my giveaway, scroll below the collage.

Below are the 14 gifts from 14 friends. I just love to see new things and ideas or be reminded of things I've forgotten! Each of them can make great gifts for your loved ones. To see each gift up closer, and to enter to win, you must HOP to each site to fill out the entry forms. It's possible you could win more than ONE! To enter--

1. Check out the 14 gift collage below
2. Scroll to the bottom of this post to enter to win MY gift giveaway
3. HOP to all of the other sites to enter to win their gifts
4. Look around and enjoy the sites of the other home bloggers–they will not disappoint!
5. *Note- if you receive an error message w hen you HOP, click to the blog’s home page, then it should be the top post (some times there are glitches on day 1)

The collage of giveaways...  



a Rafflecopter giveaway

My giveaway includes the below items OR a $60 Amazon Gift card/Credit:
Mr. Coffee Steam Espresso System with Milk Frother



Stainless Steal Frothing Pitcher 20 oz.
 
Mud Pie White Ceramic "SIP" Mug



By entering this giveaway, you agree to the following: This giveaway is open to US residents 18 and older. Note: These items will be shipped to US addresses only. If any problems or defect in espresso machine may occur, winner must talk directly to the manufacturer of the machine to fix the problems, not Thrifty and Chic. The owner of this site is not responsible and cannot be held liable for any manufacture defects or user problems. The owner of this site is not responsible and cannot be held liable for any injuries that may result in use of the espresso machine or it's parts. The winner must follow all warnings and instructions provided by the espresso machine manufacturer.   The winner will be notified by email. Winner must claim their prize within seven (7) business days after the date of notification of such prize. A winner's failure to respond to the prize notification within the specified seven (7) business days will be considered such winner's forfeiture of the prize and an alternate winner may be selected from the pool of eligible entries. If an entrant is found to be ineligible, an alternate winner may also be selected from the pool of eligible entries. Thrifty and Chic reserves the right to ship prizes directly to the mailing address provided by winner during their entry to the giveaway.
 No purchase is necessary to participate in giveaway. Giveaway goes from May 8, 2017 thru Midnight MDT May 15, 2017. Winner will be chosen randomly from pool of entrants. Winner must select either a $60 Amazon Gift Card/Credit OR the Espresso Machine package, not both.

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” 

Best Breathing Technique For Sleeping plus 6 More Tips For A Good Night Sleep

I am a person who loves sleep. For reals. I can't wait to go to sleep at night, and I don't ever want to wake up in the morning. I'm a 10 hour a night type girl. Yep. Any less and I feel sluggish and tired all day. Not too long ago when I had my second baby, my sleep went from amazing to just horrid. Like not ever having 1 full hour of sleep in a row and at most 4 hours a night...total. My body freaked out. I ended up having a lot of health problems. A year and half of this took it's toll. So, it's not an understatement when I say I value my sleep.

These are the five things I have come to realize what I need to get not just a good night's rest, but a great one. The most obvious and not included on this was not having a newborn or baby :) That helps things greatly haha. Although, my first baby slept like a dream :) So, I guess every baby is different.

Environment: 
I keep my room my sanctuary. No work goes on in here. No toys. Just my space decorated in neutral calming tones and colors. I chose to do a lot of white because nothing is better than waking up feeling like you are on a cloud :) The ultimate best is when my husband opens the curtains during the morning to bring the morning sunshine in. It's a great way to wake up to the day...especially when I'm one that does not like getting up.
 Bed Size:
This may be different for everyone, but for me, the bed size has made a dramatic difference on my sleep. Especially when little ones tend to climb in the bed during the night. I upgraded to a king earlier this year and would never turn back. It has made such a huge difference in the quality of my sleep. We slept on a queen for a long time and even a full before then. Never knew what I was missing!

Bedding Quality:
When we first got married, we registered for an all season down comforter, and it was seriously the best comforter I had ever had. Never got too hot or too cold with it on. It worked for all seasons :) So, when we upgraded to our king bed, I was forced to find another one. I was lucky enough to find one I love just as much...so far :) Still, haven't tested it during the Summer.

Along with the comforter, are the sheets, pillows and duvet cover. Another thing I was missing greatly was my Crane and Canopy duvet, the Vienna Soft White.  I was lucky enough to get another one for my king bed, and just absolutely love it. Both the shams and the duvet are so soft and silky. They have the perfect amount of girly ruffle...but not enough that it bugs my husband :)  They are like sleeping on a cloud.


Keeping Warm:
We live in an area where we get snow 8 months out of the year. It gets warm, then right when you think it's Summer, it snows. So, most of my nights are spent in low temps and trying to keep warm. I have found two things work best for me to sleep well when it's so cold. One: I wear socks. Serious. I have noticed a huge difference in my sleep when I wear socks. I sleep longer and deeper and wake up more alert. Second, I hoard throw blankets all over my bed and in baskets. I always keep on close by just in case I get cold, or if my blankets are taken from me in the middle of night. I'll throw one on, warm myself up and fall back to sleep. But, the quality and feel and weight of the throw blanket matters. One's like this at the foot of my bed, also from Crane and Canopy, works beautifully! The perfect softness and weight.

Keeping Calm:
With two toddlers running around the house, having a full time job, being a full time stay at home mom, running a blog, and my naturally stressed persona, I need help getting relaxed and winding down. A great way to do this is with lavender. I take lavender salt baths on high stress days. I also use lavender essential oil, rub it in my palms and inhale it and rub a drop onto my temples. I also sleep with a sachet full of lavender on my bedside. Another extra thing I do, especially for guests, is using a lavender bed spray.

Change What You Do Before Bed:
This is probably going to be different for everyone, you just have to think of what may be affecting your night's sleep negatively. These are two things I noticed I needed to change. I used to take my vitamins at night. I thought doing so, my body would absorb it better. Not even thinking that vitamins are like energy for your body. The day I stopped taking my vitamins at night, my rest improved immensely! I sleep so much better now. Also, I try the best I can to disconnect from technology at least a half hour, if not an hour before bed. This allows my mind and brain to calm down a little so I can fall asleep quicker.

Breathing:
My mind used to race a mile per second the moment my head hit the pillow. I wouldn't be able to get to sleep. I read something somewhere years and years ago about the best technique to get yourself to fall asleep quickly, and I do it every time I find myself having trouble falling asleep. And it seriously works every time. Here's what I do: I repeat "Breath in, breath out" and follow with breathing in and out. I think this in my mind slowly, repeating it until I fall asleep. Usually within a couple of minutes, I'm out. I noticed this does a couple of things. When you think "breath in, breath out" you are rerouting your mind from the thousands of things you are thinking of to a simple four words. You soon calm your mind. When you follow the breathing technique with breathing in and out slowly, you are lowering your pulse and your blood pressure, also calming your body down. It's an amazing technique. Within minutes, your mind could go from racing with everything that went on with your day, getting crazy anxiety, to calmness and relaxation then ultimately to sleep.

P.S. The above picture is of my sweet new pup! He quickly found that my bed is the best place to sleep in the house :) 


 Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

10 Ideas For Blank Walls

Hello!  I'm so excited to be taking over Alicia's blog today.  Alicia lives near me and sometimes we get together and just talk about decorating--haha!  My name is Heidi Ferguson and I blog at Honeybear Lane.  I am totally obsessed with decor and DIY and if you are too, be sure to sign up for my free course--the First 5 Steps You Need to Take to Decorate!

 If you're like 79.5% of America (okay, yes--made up statistic!) you probably have at least one boring and blank wall in your house. A wall that stares you in the face and taunts you "Look at how boring I am! Do something with me!" But no matter how much you stare at it, ideas evade you.  Here are 10 ideas for you to decorate that blank wall! 1. Gallery Wall: This is a great solution for a blank wall space. Collect photos you have but keep one element the same-if you have mismatched shapes and sizes of frames, spray paint them all the same color. Or use the same shape frames with full color photos inside. The color will lend variety.  2. Board and batten wall treatment: I have lots of board and batten in my house because I love the level of elegance it gives to a wall. It breaks up the wall and accents the paint color, like this beautiful white and navy contrast in my guest bedroom. And bonus, it's not hard to do--believe it or not! 3. Shiplap wall treatment: Shiplap is all the rage these days--it's similar to board and batten with more of a farmhouse flair.  True shiplap is actually a specific way the wood interlocks with each other, but you can do your own imitation shiplap for a fraction of the price!   Bonus tip! Doing a wall treatment behind a TV sitting on a cabinet lends the wall interest, creates a natural space for art or photos above, and draws attention away from the TV.  4. Shelves and a hutch: One of my favorite and a super practical way to fill a wall space is open shelving coupled with a console table, sideboard, buffet, or other type of hutch. Usually if you do open shelving you will want a more closed table below it to ground the shelves. But now you have tons of storage and display space! 5. Large scale art: If it's a really big wall, it's only that more daunting of a task to decorate. Big walls need big things on them or they will get lost. Try finding some large scale artwork or other piece (clock, ironwork, cute sign, etc) to fill the space. Sometimes all it takes is one very large piece to fill the void.   And they don't have to be fancy, like this cute sign in my farmhouse loft. 6. Wallpaper: Wallpaper can be scary because it's more of a commitment, it's tricky to apply correctly, and can be hard to remove later. If you're not ready for wallpaper, you can often achieve a similar effect with stenciling, like I did with my daughter's bedroom. Or you can do half wallpaper, half solid color wall.    7. Other large scale things, thinking outside the box: This can include large plants or even plants hung on the wall. Hang a rug on the wall. Paint a mural. Large scale letters. Chalkboard wall. Floor to ceiling bookshelves. Floor to ceiling photo shelves. Old shutters, old windows, old doors. Strings of lights. Blanket ladder. Plate shelves. Large mirrors. So many possibilities--like this ginormous pegboard I built for my craft room.  It's pretty AND functional! 8. Tile Backsplash:  This is more of a wall treatment for kitchens, bathrooms, and laundry rooms, but when installing your backsplash, consider taking the tile all the way up the wall for more of a bold statement.   9. Grid Wainscoting:  I love the grid wainscoting.  You could add in some cove molding to make it look more traditional and high-end.   10.  Skinny Board and Batten:  This is my favorite of all the wall treatments.  I feel like it just screams farmhouse and it's super easy to do.  I had this in my old bedroom but I'm pretty sure it's going to end up in my current bedroom when we get around to doing it! Whatever you decide to do, just make sure you love it and that it reflects your style!  
If you enjoyed this post, please come visit me at my blog and be sure to sign up for my free courseThe First 5 Steps You Need to Take to Decorate! 
 

$400 Dining Room Makeover

I shared with you last week my ambitious moment in trying to redo my mom's dining room while she was out of town. My two day time table turned to 5 hours. It was crazy. And...I didn't get everything done that I wished I had. So, I went back and finished things up a bit. Here's what it looked like before this all started:
 And this is the finished product after 5 hours.
 I wanted to get board and batten on the two other walls, frame the window, redo some chairs and finish up the table. I did love these chairs though, but I had these other chairs in my basement that I knew would be perfect for this and they are a lot bigger and comfier :)
Here's the finished product:
 You can barely see the board and batten on the other walls due to the light peach paint color..which will hopefully be changed soon to a pretty greige.

I wasn't sure how the standard board and batten would look against an accent wall with a full treatment of square board and batten, but I wouldn't know until it happened. First step was to paint it the same height as one of the boards on the square wall.
 Next, I framed the window and put up the boards. To keep it consistent, I used the same width boards for the top rail and the vertical slats.
 I love how cottagey this already felt! And it wasn't even painted yet.
 I also did this wall and the hallway on the other side.
 Here's how the chairs looked before. They actually match my table in my dining room, but I haven't used them for 8 years. They were just taking up a huge space in my basement. We just painted them white, and decided to keep the cushions the same to match the bench.
 Here's another before of this whole space:
 And after:
 This table is so much better with it all finished! I extended the apron and painted the legs. The top of the table is actually pretty cool looking in person. I did a mahogany stain underneath and then white washed the rest.
 I'm still loving this vase and wish I had found it for myself!
Here's a closer idea of what this corner looks like with the board and batten up against the square board and batten. It doesn't look that bad! It gives me hopes for doing something like this in my bedroom :)
 I mentioned this amazing carpet in my last post...I know you all are jealous! :) Hopefully that'll be changed out soon!

 I had made this bench for her years ago. It was in the entryway, but got replaced with something else. So, it was just sitting around. I wanted to use it so this space looked more open.

 I really loved the color wood of this mirror and chest, but in the dining room before, it just got lost. Now, it really pops. I tied in the color with the curtains. I think almost every room should have curtains! Windows look naked without them :) 
I'll probably revisit this room in another post with updates on the peach color and the hallway. The white color used here is Glidden's Linen White but with Behr paint.

Here's the breakdown on the room:
Back wall, paint and boards: $100
Two adjacent walls, paint and boards: $100
Curtains: Target, clearance $16
Rug: Rugs USA $50
Wall art: Hobby Lobby $17
Lamp: $30
Vase and cotton stems: $20
Chairs: Gifted (found here on Amazon)
Bench: Handmade gift
Table; $45
Total: $378