Proud Recipient of the LIEBSTER BLOG AWARD!!

I'm feeling pretty good thanks to Kari @ Big Plans Little Victories. She awarded me with the LIEBSTER BLOG AWARD and I feel pretty honored. Please stop by and say hello!! What a beautiful family:)

{German word meaning "dearest or beloved"}

It's an award in the blogging community given to an up and coming blog, having less than 200 followers. Kari liked what she saw and I'm so thrilled. One of the many reasons I love blogging. This community of bloggers is amazing. So supportive of each other and I genuinely feel the love!! So thank you! In return, I then nominate 5 blogs to receive the Liebster Blog Award. How fun is this!!

Official Rules:

1. Choose FIVE UP AND COMING blogs to pass the award onto. 

2. Show a BIG THANKS to the blogger who gave the award to you by linking back to them.

3. Post the AWARD on your blog. List the bloggers you are giving the award to with links to their site. 

Blogs I'm digging and would like to honor as well are...Drum roll... please....

1. Lori @ Color It Simple. I love your outlook on life and your faith! Very inspiring...and I do happen to LOVE your REPURPOSED CHAIR!

2. Tonya @ My Cozy Little Farmhouse. I'm digging on anything "Cozy" and I love your attitude. Great sense of humor!!!  I love your post on , "What Makes A Home". I'm all about keeping it cozy!!

3. Monica & Elaine @ Decorating Insanity also known as the Vintage Chicks!! I love your repurposed furniture and your link party called Furniture Friday! Will be checking that one out this week. This screen is 

awesome! I would love one for my living room:)

4. Tricia @ Seeking Eco-Chic. I love your "Tips of the Day" section. Really good stuff. Also, pretty darn creative I must say!! Great step-by-step homemade Chevron rug! I need to make me one. 

5. Sarah @ Savvy Young Something. All us married with or without kids are showing you the love!! Lucky you have such a good head on your shoulders and going after what you want!! I think that's awesome. Follow your passion!!! Loving this desk and grown up chair:)

There they are!! Congratulations ya'll and keep doing what your doing!!! 

Thank you again Kari for the honor!

I have been blogging less than a year and consistently for the last 6 months or so. This is the creative outlet I so desperately needed. It's given me such an awesome opportunity to connect with 

so many wonderful, inspiring people! 

Your Friend,

 Allison

  

Jazzing up your front entry for Spring..It's almost here!

Spring has arrived..on my calendar at least. I've been dying to fix up my front porch and with the weather being so nice, I finally put my mind to it, and got it done.

I was inspired last week when I saw this wreath on Pinterest. I love this natural look. It can go all summer long and you don't have to worry about changing it out, which I love.

{image via livingwithlindsay.com}

I stopped into Hobby Lobby on Saturday and picked up some floral, green moss, spray adhesive, monogram letter, and green tulle. I had the grapevine wreath and fern already. Total cost @ Hobby Lobby.. $30.00. Not bad.

I spent about 45 minutes putting it together. I think the spray adhesive really helped out on time. I didn't have to mess with a glue gun, which saved a lot of mess and burnt fingers:)

I'm pretty excited how it turned out. Makes such a big difference to the front door and really personalizes it with the monogram letter. Very cozy:) Thanks Lindsay for the idea!!

With the wreath done, I drove on over to Calloway's and picked up this real pretty pot, cypress, and a couple flowers. Will be nice for this summer. I typically do containers of flowers, but to keep maintenance low, this one will be all I need. I can just change out flowers in the front when the time comes and keep the spruce trimmed. The green pot really brightens things up. Between the wreath and the container, I spent under $100.00. What a deal!!

It's really a shame that we drive up to our house through the alley and miss out on walking up through our front door. It's not everywhere in Dallas, but many homes you drive through the back and into your garage to get in. Miss that about Jersey. Miss having a driveway. Weekly, I'll do a drive-by to take a look at the front of our home and make sure it's still standing:)

Thanks for stopping by!! Hopefully your able to decorate your front entry soon for Spring.

 I'd love to hear about it. 

When you know..you know

So I've been in a little creative funk these past couple weeks and haven't had much going on. I'm excited to report that the creative juices are flowin' again and I've been reawakened! You will learn it doesn't take much to get me excited, and this week, all it took were two adorable pillows I found while out on my lunch break.

If you've been out shopping, you'll notice geometric prints are all the craze right now and bold colors. It's so easy to keep things neutral at home, but ask yourself, "Does my home really reflect my personality." If your answer is "No", make some changes. It can just take a couple gallons of paint and some new throw pillows.

Can look vibrant and colorful!

{image via bhg.com}

{image via studioten25}

Or can look a little more subdued and soft.

{image via 3.bp.blogspot.com}

{Image via designsponge.com}

Since we moved into our new place back in August, I'm still trying to finish up our front living room. It's such a great space and I've been struggling at finding pieces that speak to me. I bought these great chairs and they've been dying for some pillows to liven them up.

{Needs Something}

Last week, I took my weekly gander at Weir's down off Knox Street. And long and behold, there sat two adorable pillows I knew would work perfectly for our chairs. They were definitely speaking to me and I snatched them up in 2.2 seconds. Took them home and viola... Perfecto!  You can also find these great pillows at Z Gallerie online right now in multiple colors.

{After}

You'll learn that I love a great find and one that's reasonable too! Throw pillows aren't cheap you'll find. These bad boy pillows were $60 each, which I was happy to pay, especially for something I love. It was worth the wait! It's amazing what a couple great pillows will do.

Have you tapped into the craze?? Any prints at home your loving?? Have an awesome weekend!!

Secondhand shopping...Be Cautious!

So here is my two sense on any secondhand shopping you do...BE CAUTIOUS! Some can be so OVERPRICED. You have to be savvy and have an idea on what things cost, or you'll get ripped off.

I love a great find at a great price. I'm willing to pay you what the item it worth. When you shop on consignment, at garage sales, on Craigslist, or estate sales, your shopping there obviously to pay less than the retail cost would be somewhere else. Your looking for a fair price. Remember folks, we're talking secondhand. We're not talking brand new, never worn, or never used. If it's been out in your backyard for 20+years pieces, price it accordingly.

Now this was a great find on Craigslist. Beautiful, dining set for $330.00. Solid wood, with the glass table top. You can't beat it. Yes, I had to reupholster the chairs, but that was an easy, DIY project. It was worth it!

Why I bring this up is ALL because of two pagodas my dad and I checked out an estate sale this week. These we saw were made of concrete and very small pagodas. Average price for a brand new one, made of concrete at these small sizes can go for $40 and up.

So with that in mind, we are looking at two, used pagodas from an estate sale.

Here is the first one being sold for $40.00. This tiny thing should be no more than $20.00.

The second one we saw was a whopping $80.00. Again, should be no more than $30.

Really?? My dad almost fell over when she told us the price. We were pretty astounded and her answer and reason why it was that price is because, "It's so heavy". Really?? Yes, it's concrete, and it comes apart. I have a feeling she didn't even realize that. For both of these, my dad and I would have paid $50.00 max. She had the nerve to ask us if we wanted to place a bid on it. Really?? What happened to just negotiating. I hope this is not the direction we are heading when shopping at estate sales or any other secondhand shops. It's SECONDHAND for crying out loud. I realize it's trendy these days, but still, most of the stuff out there is junk.

Just saying..... HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND &  HAPPY HUNTING!

{image via zazzle.com}

                                            and remember...