Candles Currently Burning
I really can't get enough of candles. I think I would actually prefer getting a candle as a gift than a perfume. Aside from the obvious fact that they can make an entire room smell good I really enjoy decorating with them. whether you've got a stack of books, magazines, or just an empty table, candles will tie everything together and make everything look and feel much more cozy.
I know that this isn't the cheapest candle but I find that out of all of the candles that I own I have to burn this one for the least amount of time in order to get my entire living room to smell good, takes about 5-10 minutes for the area to smell amazing so you really do get your moneys worth... but on top of everything how gorgeous does it look?
If you follow me on just about any social media you would know that I absolutely love Pf Candle Co. I love the simplicity of their design and I have yet to try a candle from them that I do not like. This candle in Piñon was actually just released this Tuesday August 15th and it is my favorite scent from them so far. Smells masculine, warm and fresh all at the same time, which is my favorite combination of scents for my home.
Another one of their scents that I really love & is still a favorite is black fig Again, it is a very warm earthy scent which I also find very calming due to it's hints of lavender.
Paddywax apothecary chamomile & figSpeaking of fig this is one of my first candles and I have repurchased it numerous times already. I really love the apothecary-esq bottle.. if you haven't noticed by now I have a thing for vintage looking bottles. Again, aside from how it looks it is a beautiful scent and one of the lighter/fresher scents that I own.
If you guys are in the market for VERY inexpensive yet aesthetically pleasing candles please do yourself a favor and take a look at H&M Home's candles. This candle is slightly softer than the other candles I mentioned and not as potent but still a very nice scent and they last quite a long time despite how inexpensive they are.
Manly Indulgence Candle in MidnightThis is my newest candle but it has already become one of my favorites. It is pretty big and only cost me $7.99 at marshalls so definitely check out marshalls candle section!This stuff is pretty potent as well but not overbearing at all and it smells very masculine and brings so much warmth to a space. I absolutely love it and have gotten nothing but compliments from everyone who walks in.
Finally, I have this candle by mine design in cucumber mint at the entrance of my home.This candle isn't exactly the warmest candle but it is so perfect for hot summer days. Really reminds me of summer so I usually burn this one earlier in the day. A lot of people hate it when the glass gets stained like this but I actually like it. I think it makes things look a little more rustic and less perfect.
Current Throw Pillow Collection
A little while ago I had mentioned that I was slowly going to create a throw pillow collection so I thought I'd share what I have so far.... definitely not finished but wanted to share the progress.It's pretty hard to refrain from buying 17 throw pillows all at once, especially if you are a new homeowner but I have found that taking your time with it really helps you collect pieces that you truly love and aren't going to get tired of in two weeks. This actually applies to all interior decor purchases. However, even if I were to get tired of them, all of the pillows are actually pillow covers with pillow inserts so I can change them whenever I want either way so it kind of works out to wait a little longer and spend a tiny bit more.
The covers themselves are not even that expensive, what makes them a tiny bit more pricey is the fact that, for each cover, you need a pillow insert but I guess it's kind of an investment since you purchase the insert once and then switch out the cover whenever you please.
So far my favorite places to purchase pillows are Etsy & H&M home. On Etsy the covers are a bit more expensive but on H&M they are ridiculously inexpensive and actually very nicely made. I purchase most of my inserts on amazon and onlinefabricstore.com and all of my pillow inserts are mostly composed of feather in order to get the perfect shape when I karate chop them lol
As a person who has serious commitment issues with wall decor, I really enjoy decorating with pillows and throws & pretty much anything that doesn't require me committing to something 100%. Don't get me wrong, there are certain things I don't mind putting on the walls but for the most part I prefer being able to switch things around whenever I please. Links to all pillows are captioned on pertaining pictures. Please note that some of the pillows that I've purchased from etsy are one-of-a-kind so I have linked the store which I purchased them from instead of the actual pillow. xx
Kitchen Reveal
I'm so excited to finally be able to share our kitchen with you all. It has been a long process but in the end it was all worth it. This is my first kitchen and I am so grateful I was able to make it my own. It is truly a magical thing to be able to envision something in your head and make it a reality.
Anyone who would've seen this kitchen before would've probably turned around and walked out. Actually, anyone who would've seen this entire house when we first bought it would've probably walked out... but not us. I knew the potential that this little place held and from the moment I walked in I was tearing down walls in my head.
The cabinets before were formica, which is totally fine, nothing a good primer, some paint & new pulls couldn't fix but they weren't exactly in the best shape. Plus, they smelled like death.
I knew from the beginning that I wanted open shelving. I like the idea of owning exactly what you need and not having clutter and I feel as though open shelves force you to maintain that mentality. This was the main reason we ended up getting lower cabinets made, we needed more space.
Since our space is small I didn't want thick/bulky shelves so we opted for 1x12 inch wood which our contractor cut to size & then sanded. I then stained them with wood finish's special walnut stain.
We also didn't want a dishwasher, I'm totally fine with washing dishes myself and we're only two people so it was definitely a waste of space in our small kitchen. So when it came down to designing I ended up closing up the kitchen to make an island... or in this case a peninsula. We also added drawers & a microwave where the dishwasher used to be. I really wanted a range hood so I knew I didn't want to put a microwave above the stove & it was most certainly not going to be taking up counter space so I wanted it to sit nice and flush within the lower cabinets.
We also removed the trees that were blocking the window, why would anyone want a huge tree blocking their window? I don't get it! So much more light comes in now.
We tore down that awkward shelve-type-things which separated the kitchen from the dining room and made that into a bar/island where we could sit and eat. We also made a larger opening into the kitchen in order to make the space appear bigger (space in front of refrigerator.) We've made a lot of changes to this house but this is by far my favorite, the aesthetic when you walk in from then to now is night and day. The kitchen is one of my favorite areas of any house so I really didn't want it to be boxed in, I like to see everything when I'm in it.
Subway tiles were a no-brainer. If you saw my old room tour video you would've probably seen that I had them in my bathroom, I love them. Since I decided to take them all the way up to the roof they really made the kitchen appear much bigger.
We ended up getting our cabinets done at Panda Kitchen & Bath and opted for real wood white shaker cabinets. This was our most expensive purchase but since we only had lower cabinets it wasn't THAT bad compared to quotes that I've heard for people who have upper+lower cabinets. We finished off the cabinets with these handles from amazon.
If you read this Friday Five you would've seen me gush about my new woven shade, if you look at the before pictures you'll notice that our window is different as well. This was actually an unexpected hit to our budget. In order to get a gas stove we needed to get a sealed window. I wasn't happy about it because I was totally fine with the window we had before but I had my heart set on gas over electric so we ended up switching out the window.
One of the first purchases I made for the house, before we even moved in or started fixing the place was this faucet. I had my heart set on a brass faucet and I am so happy with my decision. This is the most subtle color of brass, in some lights you can't even tell its brass. I really feel as though it pulls everything together and it goes well with stainless steal and oil-rubbed bronze.
I searched high and low for the perfect farm sink but LORDDD those things are expensive! So we opted for this one from good ol' IKEA and may I say I am in love with it. Looks so much more expensive than what it was and it is massive!
For our countertop I knew I wanted quartz and not marble because of the durability but I didn't know that the quartz that I wanted was going to be so damn expensive -.- I love this house and I do plan on living here for a while but I know that once kids start coming we're going to have to move so I was not about to spend 2k on countertops... I don't think that I ever will, but I won't say never.
I knew I could find something much, much cheaper so I starting looking into plain white quartz that was going to cost a fraction of the price but the place that was going to give me the best price didn't have it in stock and I would've had to wait a couple of weeks. I had already waited long enough at this point & didn't want to wait any longer... so I went to the warehouse and ended up going with this countertop which kind of looks white from a distance but it has speckles of taupe and beige which give it a little more warmth & it matched the grout we chose perfectly so I really ended up liking how it turned out. If we would've gone with plain white I feel as though it would've been too much white, I like the subtle contrast in this one.
Plus, I must add that for being a relatively cheap countertop it is SO forgiving. I have placed hot things, cold things, spilled everything and nothing has left a stain.
I wanted to give a quick shoutout to my parents because if it was not for them we honestly wouldn't have been able to do half the stuff we have done to our house. Sometimes they seem more excited than we are about this house and they have helped so much, I cannot even express how grateful I am for them. It's hard to take on a fixer upper when it's just two people so I appreciate their help so much.
Our appliances (besides the microwave and toaster) were their housewarming gift to us and again, GRATEFUL. Since they insisted on gifting us this I was not about to pick out the top-of-the-line appliances, I just wanted a certain look and wanted them to be comfortable. Our stove/oven is Samsung, refrigerator is Maytag and range hood is premium.
For lighting I switched out some old white track lights on the roof beam for some new matte black ones and for above the kitchen window I bought two of these and I'm very happy with how they look paired with the brass faucet. I never like too much of any color so even though all-brass or gold detailing in some kitchens look beautiful I wanted to mix it up, I feel as though this fits my style a bit better.
In my "home decor trends I'm loving" post I mentioned how I love vintage rugs in kitchens so this is my little vintage rug from this etsy shop. Not the loudest or most extravagant rug but I really like the subtleness of it.
We got these stools at a very random local shop, some Australian guy who was high as a kite when he sold us these actually makes them lol, I don't care how high you are, you can make a beautiful stool "I'll take two."Originally I wanted these from west elm which are very similar but they were too short for the height of my counter so we needed something taller, which was very hard to find so you can imagine how excited I was when I found that random Australian.I've mentioned my letter board before, which I still need to hang up and cover my breaker with by the way. I really love how letter boards look in a kitchen, whether you want to put a quote or a menu it just makes it feel so much cozier & adds more characters.
I'm most likely going to change the shelves around every now & then but I know that no matter how many times I change them I want them to be practical and not full of crap. For now, on the left side of our range hood I have a plant, my cheeseboard, a casserole dish & some cups all from bed bath and beyond. Crate & barrel canisters, and some bowls which we use every day from Ikea.
On the right side I have my wine glasses next to my cookbooks which sit underneath my small plates. Underneath that is the "coffee section" 😊 I have two large mugs, my espresso maker and these espresso cups that I can't get enough of. Ninety percent of the things on our shelves (including the toaster, drying rack & knife set on the counter) were gifts from family and friends in our house warming party so if any of you are reading this thank you all so much!!!
Soap + lotion are from Murshison Hume in "original fig." I'm absolutely obsessed with the way they smell. Dish towels are from home goods.
Round marble cutting board is from Pier 1 and wooden cutting board was a travel gift from my brother in law.
xx
Don't forget to check out my KITCHEN TOUR VIDEO
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Friday Five
1. If you guys saw my last post you would've probably seen me rant about Eucalyptus and how I'm really digging the trend going on right now. Well, this week I picked some up & I'm going to have such a difficult time picking anything else for next time because these puppies make the house smell SOOOO good. Plus, they remind me of my child hood because my mom would always have these all around the house and she would dry them out using hairspray and hang them upside down in the towel closet, lol, good ol' days.
I paired them with some branches that kind of look like olive branches but the florist said they were something else, "rose"-something... can't remember the name of them for the life of me, way to go Gemary -.-.. you had one job kiddo.
2. My little corner: I got a new vanity! The drawer consists of everything that was in my old vanity, you can see my old vanity tour video HERE. This is actually a mini desk but I decided to make it my vanity to get ready each morning, so it is conveniently next to my bed & it matches perfectly with our nightstand on the other side of the bed. I don't have a chair for it yet so I've been using an old, beat up plastic chair that actually came with the house until I find the perfect little bench/vanity stool that isn't hundreds of freaking dollars.
3. Man, I love Tim Burton and everything he has created... and no, I'm not saying that in a tacky, cult following, "omg I love TB... but have only seen one of his movies" kind of way. I grew up on his movies. My dad & I use to live off of his films. I don't fan-girl over much but I will lose it if I ever meet him.
I watched Edward scissorhands, for like the millionth time, again this week which is what made me include this in this weeks post. Also, I came across this article, which I absolutely loved, where they turned some classic Disney animated movies into a Tim Burton-like cartoon.
4. I feel like I talk about this brand a lot, yes I am a rep for them but I promise you that there is a lot more that compels me to post about Glossier so often. For starters, I cannot resist their packaging, seriously the cutest packaging in the game but most importantly I have not tried a product from them that I do not like, my skin really loves their stuff.
I try something new from them every month so that I can be able to share my experience with you and educate myself a little more on each of their products first-hand & the more I try, the more I fall in love. I almost own every single one of their products, which is a first for me with any brand, and I'm genuinely interested in owning the entire line because they're just that good.
This month I got their super bounce serum and lip gloss, I just received it yesterday so I can't write a review just yet but I already tried the lipgloss and really like the consistency of it. If I end up loving them, which I'm pretty sure I will, then they'll most likely make it to my June favorites video at the end of the month and I'll share my review there.
Get 20% off by shopping through my rep link. HERE
5. If you don't follow fredericforest on IG I think you definitely should. I've never really been into art despite how much I love to draw but recently that has changed & I have really learned to appreciate it. Frederic is part of the reason I have fallen in love with very simple, minimal art like the one above. Everything he represents in his drawings is so unique & beautiful.