A Dash of Paisley

To compliment yesterday's post on A Beautiful Mess, here's a little photo shoot that Cole and I did while snapping pics of our kitchen! I'm really loving the contrast of my bright outfit with the simplistic background. I still can't believe it's been sooooo very long since I've done an outfit post. Come to think of it, this is the first one for my new blog! Yay! Hopefully this will be the kick-in-the-pants I need to get back in the swing of things.

Photos by Cole. Thanks, darling!

Dress and boots: F21
Tights: Target
Vintage belt: my mom's

xxMaria

The Great Kitchen Reveal!

While the kitchen might not be fully finished, I finally have a great excuse to show it off. A big Thank You to the lovely girls at A Beautiful Mess for wanting to feature my little house!

Before & During:

the real estate photo; our first walk through

dark wood and beige everywhere; there was a weird desk under the window

after I painted and ripped off the back splash; with new walls, counters, sink and faucet!

xxMaria

DIY Woven Throw Pillow

Ever since I completed the chair, I've been in search of the perfect pillow. I looked at new pillows and old and still couldn't find what I wanted. Last week, I was at my local Savers and found this vintage piece of woven fabric. It was marked at $.99 and I got it half off! A ridiculous steal. After giving it a good cleanse, it became clear that it would make a wonderful pillow for the chair.

-the fabric before; -a mock size test

-old chambray cut to size & pinned the right sides together; -sewed a straight stitch on all edges; -cut the extra fabric

-left a gap near the bottom corner for turning right side out; -old stuffing used to fill the pillow and then hand stitched the gap

Wishing you all a Happy Thanksgiving!!

xxMaria

A Map & Credenza

Cole and I have had quite the craigslist luck. I first found this mid century credenza for a mere $25 and a few days later stumbled upon this 1939 pull down map for $50!! I call that some excellent scavenging. The only drawback was that it took us two weeks to get everything arranged and the map hung. I kept waffling between cutting the map and leaving it be. In the end, I couldn't stomach altering the original. I've arranged a few books and knickknacks on the credenza, including the dog bookends and green eagle pot from my first sponsor, Vintage Relief. I would like to add more plants (maybe some hanging next to the map?) and a floor lamp in the left corner. After that, I think I shall feel more satisfied with the end results, it's still feeling a bit bare.



Two days ago I decided to tackle a mini project and dye my Privet House for Target pouf. It went from boring beige to a lovely shade of golden brown and fits perfectly in the credenza nook. I think I'll next attempt to dye my duvet cover and shams!!!


I hope everyone had a scary Halloween! If you haven't already seen our costumes check out instagram (@mariaconfer) or the right sidebar. ;)

xxMaria