The Options: Silver or Gold

Option 1: decor pad | Option 2: Caitlin Wilson Textiles

I am all about metallics in our home. While I’m typically drawn to the look of 1960’s/70’s brass, there’s certainly something to be said about the silver-and-gold mainstays. A little hit of sparkle can go a long way in transforming a bland room into a dimensional and warm space. But if you had to choose one or the other, which way would you lean?

Option 1: In my own opinion, silver tends to read a little more contemporary than gold. Whether you go with brushed nickel or polished chrome, this glossy milky gray finish will instantly add elegance to your home. From light fixtures, to metallic wallpaper, silver is a trend that’s here to stay.

Option 2: But if I had to choose, I would definitely lean towards gold. Settling in easily with my favorite brass finishes, there is something undeniably sophisticated about gold accents. The gold side table and metallic pillows in the inspiration image above bring a little bit of antiqued worldliness to this space. Imagine if all of the gold was gone from the room, leaving you with just the pink sofa, black frames and potted flower. It’s just not the same…

At any rate, those are my thoughts, but what are you leaning towards? – Cast your vote!

Weekly Pinterest Challenge: Antler Jewelry Holder

Notice anything different about today’s post? Specifically the title? Well, I’ve officially decided to retire the feature title “Pinspiration Monday” once and for all. When I first started this recurring Monday morning theme over 2 years ago, I had no idea just how much it would consume my focus. What initially began as a way to chat out loud about my favorite Pinterest pins, has evolved into a full on weekly challenge – “challenge” being the operative word. Making the commitment to recreate one of my pins each and every week is a LOT of fun, but also a LOT of work. But I adore making the promise to myself that my pins (all 7,681 of them) won’t go untested, or at least unconsidered.

So it’s time to slap a REAL title to this challenge and shout out the truth behind the mission. I hope you don’t mind the minor shift and that it doesn’t throw you off. Aside from the new name, nothing else will change – Meet me here same time each Monday, and you’ll continue to see a Pinterest pin brought to life through my own perspective.

Source: Etsy

Now that that little piece of business is out of the way, I’m excited to share today’s “Weekly Pinterest Challenge” focus – antlers. Way back when I got my own vintage antler to be used for styling around the house, I considered painting it, I considered leaving it as is and I even considered wrapping it in yarn (like this). But that was only until I saw the image above. What better way to put that protruding, sculptural shape to use then by hanging jewelry from it?

The only issue was that my particular antler was a solo piece – no mountable duo like the inspiration from Pinterest. But I figured it would be just as fun to lay my own antler on a surface and hang bracelets from the upturned curvature – I’ve seen a couple of people do just that on other blogs before, so I wasn’t thinking too far out of the box here. And luckily, it worked!

This is one of those amazingly simple, amazingly fast projects that took only, oh…five minutes. And that was mostly factoring in the time it took me to walk to the basement den to grab the antler and walk back upstairs to set it on the bedroom dresser. Sometimes though, it’s these quick and easy styling fixes that make all the difference in a space.

If you’re also into this rustic trend, what are your favorite ways to style antlers?

Ashley & Nathan’s DIY wedding

Today, I am beyond honored to share the lovely DIY wedding of our good friends Nathan and Ashley. Now, if ever there was a soulmate couple to our own little twosome, this is “the one.” Made up of one part manly musician and outdoor enthusiast, and another part girly crafting extraordinaire, the newlywed Hilbish’s are the yin to our yang. I could sit and chat for hours with Ashley about this and that for the home. Her exceptional taste (no surprise, she works as an interior decorator for Curtains, Blinds and Bath locally) is one that I have come to rely on for bouncing ideas off of. And nothing showcases that taste better than her and her hubby’s wedding day.

Shot by the talented Colling Photography, this oh-so-special May event is just saturated in style and elegance. What I thought a lot of you would appreciate is that, while the wedding ceremony and reception look filled to the brim with exuberance, a large portion of it was created at the hands of Ashley and her family and friends.

Throughout the photos shown below, you’ll find thoughts and memories spoken straight from the bride herself. If you’re planning your own wedding this season, Ashley shares tons of valuable (and practical) advice for tackling the sometimes stressful planning stages. A full list of local event vendors is also included along with links at the end of the post. I hope you enjoy!

I never thought it would be so daunting to recollect a day that was literally just a month ago! Trying to remember your wedding day is like trying to remember your 5th birthday – You know it happened and lots of amazing people were there to share the experience with you, (and yes you have way better pictures from your wedding than your 5th birthday, unless your parents are photographers) but that’s about it! I’ve never been a “focus on me” type of girl, or so I think, so I was all about the details. I had so much fun planning my wedding with my maid-of-honor/sister and mother, it was like I wasn’t even doing it. Also, props to Pinterest because without it I would have been lost.

I really started planning everything like um … a month or two before! I’m a low to no stress type of person so I didn’t worry about stuff (but seriously, take Pilates it will help). I knew the wedding would happen no matter what and that it would be awesome because everyone I surrounded myself with was awesome. So what if I verified flowers a week before, or my caterer had something terribly tragic happen and we had to switch to someone brand new four weeks before. Just wait until you see the food. Yeah, it was awesome. You can be “that girl” who stresses over everything, but what’s the point? You make your vendors miserable AND yourself, along with everyone around you who wishes you were just eloping.

Nathan and I didn’t have any type of ideas to plan; well, frankly he didn’t care. We started out one way but as events fall into place, you can get a sense of direction on your true style. Don’t force it if it’s not meant to be, otherwise you’ll look back and you won’t even be reflected in it. Ours I think was relaxed, vintage-y, fun and personal. We had little details, from Nathan’s squirrel tie (yes, he loves squirrels and I thought why the heck not) and a group dance to break the ice prior to going down the aisle, to really cute things about us on the program to keep people entertained while they waited! It was fun to have fun doing everything, and I think it made it that much more special to the people involved because it made them know you really appreciated them as individuals. If you know your wedding party isn’t filled with “tux-loving” guys, don’t try to put them in one – They will just look super awkward in the pictures. Yes, my girls are girly in 3” designer heels and dresses from who knows where, and the guys were “the guys” with rolled up sleeves and Vans – It just worked together because we were all comfortable.

The best advice I received that every bride should remember is that it’s your wedding! People are going to ooh and ahh over things they find, and  they will bring you magazine clippings from 1999 that make no sense to your scheme, and email you 1,000 photos of dresses you hate with hints on what they “wish” you’d do (but that you actually want to gag over), or tell you how they did it at their wedding; but what you actually decide to do is a different story. I learned to breathe deep, smile, tell them how great their ideas were, and thank them for thinking of me. I only had one huge meltdown before truly embracing that advice, and then it was all groovy! Have fun with it, it’s your day and your adventure, so surround yourself with people you love and who like to have fun, because in the end it’s so great to stand back and still have all of those people around you laughing at how ridiculous you look in a group jumping picture. 

Photography: Colling Photography
Venue: Afton Mountain Vineyards
Flowers: Doyle’s Forist (Bloom)
Dress: Celebration Bridal
Hair: Bliss Salon
Catering: Cater This!
Cake: Willie Payne (former owner of Magnolia Foods)
Coordination: R.S. Exclusive
Entertainment: DJ Mendez of Mendez Music Academy

All in the details…

Source

Our laundry room is one of the last spaces in the house largely untouched by my crafting neurosis. We’ve got some attractive organization, a DIY embellished curtain (please forgive my HORRIBLE photography skills way back when) and some lackluster artwork and dishwasher repair, but that’s it. Suffice it to say that it could use a little something more. Thankfully, this well styled laundry room could just be the inspiration that I need to GET. ON. IT.

Let’s talk details…

1…First and foremost, the metallic pattern on the back wall makes a major difference. It distracts from the utilitarian washing machine and dryer, and adds just the right touch of feminine character. I hate to sound so traditional, but I feel like a laundry room is OFTEN a lady’s domain, so why not play that up with distinctly girly colors, patterns and accents?

2…Sure, this particular homeowner got a little help from the big guys when it came to styling, but that doesn’t make it any less awesome. Who wouldn’t want their detergent powder stored in oversized glass gars and their rags tucked neatly away in wicker baskets? I know I would.

3…The floor here is another great DIY project that we could all try tackling at home. A simple painted navy and white stripe takes it, again, from utilitarian to stylish in a single afternoon of hands-and-knees labor. I’m jotting all of this down on my to-do list as we speak.

What are your favorite details?

For past “All in the details” features, click here. 

A DIY Paper Pinwheel Tutorial

Paper pinwheels probably take the prize for simplest DIY craft with the most brilliant final product. Truly, once you get the hang of the process, you can whip these babies up in less than 10 minutes each. So with an hour or two on your hands (or, better yet, a couple of PAIRS of hands helping you out), you could have a pretty big  pile ready to hang – and, as we saw during last week’s studio reveal, hanging them en masse makes quite a statement. Want to learn how to do it? Read on!

Supplies:

• Stapler (although I would suggest a full size over our mini – I just couldn’t find the big one)
• Hot glue gun and glue sticks
• Thin wooden dowel rod (about 1/4″ in diameter) cut to about 1ft in length
• Two pieces of scrapbook paper in the same print
• An oversized button in your color of choice
• A pair of scissors

Directions:

1. Start by folding each piece of scrapbook paper in half. This will help you cut the two pieces in perfect halves since you can easily follow the bend mark with your scissors.

2. Once you have all four halves cut, begin to fold them accordion style. I make my first bend about 1 inch in width and then allow that to dictate the rest of my folds so that they stay even. If you fold your piece of paper all the way through but notice that you have a bit of a wide piece at the end (see below photo for representation of this), just trim it to match the rest of your folds – It won’t make any difference at the end of the project.

3. With all 4 pieces of paper folded accordingly, match them up end to end to create one super long trail. To do this, take the end of one piece and drop it over the beginning of another.

3. (continued) Here’s where things can sort of be a crapshoot. You’ll either get pieces that match perfectly (like above) – one edge angles up, while the other angles down – or you’ll get ends that DON’T mesh well, with both ends angled up or down (like below). Although this might seem alarming, it’s a simple fix – Just trim the last angle off of one of the pieces of accordion paper. See two photos down for an example of this quick fix.

4. Once you have your ends matched up creating that long piece of accordion paper, take your stapler and connect them together – one staple at the top of the connecting edges, and another at the bottom. If you use a nice and busy pattern like I did, your staples will be very difficult to see. But if you’d like it to be more seamless, feel free to use glue to attach the papers together.

5. This is the moment that everything starts to take shape. Grab the two ends of your paper accordion and bring them together to create your pinwheel’s final rounded silhouette, and staple together like you did before. Although I made sure to demonstrate how it would look nicely just below, your pinwheel will probably look more like the shot 2 photos down.

6. Once stapled together, the darn thing will NOT want to stay down – Instead, it will try to sit up like some kind of weird pyramid or cylinder. To fix it, grab the end sticking up into the air and clasp together in the middle, then gently push down, forcing the bottom edge to fan out. Now you’ll have the blank underside exposed.

7. To keep the pinwheel sitting flat, squeeze a generous line of hot glue down the middle section of the folds (it doesn’t matter which sections you choose) and put the wooden dowel rod in place while the glue is still hot.

8. Finally, flip the pinwheel over and squeeze another generous amount, this time JUST in the center of the pinwheel, and push your button into the glue while it’s still hot.

And that’s it! In about 5-10 minutes, you’ll have your very own pinwheel to show off. Pretty simple right? If you have any troubleshooting questions, just leave a comment below or email me anytime. Once you get the hang of it though, you’ll be a pro and ready to impress your friends with your new craft talent. Host a fun pinwheel making party, if you like!

That’s actually exactly what we did right before the wedding – My mom and I invited a large group of family friends to the house, and we made a big pile of paper pinwheels, factory style, to be hung at our wedding reception. Click here for the final look.

My favorite thing to do with pinwheels is to combine unlikely colors and patterns. There is absolutely no hot pink in the pattern of scrapbook paper that I chose for this tutorial, but the contrast between the muted pattern in the paper and the neon in the button is what makes it so eye-catching – At least in my opinion!

And, although you see that I did a collection of full size pinwheels below, you can do half sized pinwheels too – Just keep cutting your scrapbook paper in half until you get the size you’d like. I’ve even seen them made into a mini size perfect for cupcake toppers before.

Where would you hang or display your paper pinwheel collection?

Pinspiration Monday: Gold+Neon Bookends

Searching for projects to recreate in my “Pinspiration Monday” feature is always a crapshoot. I’m either feeling super adventurous, tackling something large-scale with an entire tabletop full of materials, or I’m feeling like a quick ten minute project using a maximum of 2 supplies. This past weekend I was feeling somewhere in between. The project in question? This time I went with a fun office-inspired DIY first discovered on one of my favorite blogs, designlovefest. It was simple, inexpensive and you really can’t go wrong with hot pink and gold.

via designlovefest

For this project, you need two medium-sized rocks (I envisioned something about the size of my hand) a can of gold spray paint and a can of hot pink spray paint. In the midst of a to-do list about three miles long this past Saturday, I made a point to pick up some hot pink spray paint – I already had the gold on hand at home, so that wasn’t a concern. But on my way home, I remembered that I still needed my rocks…No more than 15 seconds after realizing this, I happened to come around the bend in the road and noticed a construction site with a pile of, you guessed it, hand-sized rocks. My split decision made, I eased the car to the side of the road, hopped out and, in a silk sundress and sandals, proceeded to choose two appropriately sized rocks. Gotta love free supplies.

With my rocks brought home in the passenger seat of the car (and feeling a little scrappier than usual) I turned my attention to the paint. Like I said, I already owned the gold – Valspar metallic gold in a gloss finish – but the Krylon was a new one for me. Keeping in line with my inspiration image, I chose a neon hot pink (“Mambo Pink,” to be specific) and was overall pretty impressed with the coverage and nozzle design. I’m hardly picky when it comes to spray paint, but I will definitely make a conscious decision in the future to use this brand (and heck no, I’m not being paid to say that in case you were wondering).

I was actually in the midst of a different project around the time that this one needed to begin, so John graciously spritzed the gold layer on for me – Didn’t he do a good job? The jubilant expression on his face when he came up from the garage was enough to get me pumped for the second half of the project, and when I finally saw the metallic beauties for myself, I was all but psyched.

And we hadn’t even GOTTEN to the fun part yet – The hot pink.

Before sending John down to spray the gold layer, we decided on the orientation and wrote a big red “B” on the bottom of each rock just to make sure we sprayed the right end. So once the gold paint was dry (I waited 24 hours) and I flipped the rocks over exposing the “B,” I proceeded to cover it with pink paint.

Unlike with the gold paint, the pink was sprayed ever so lightly in order to achieve the misted effect of Bri’s own bookends. There’s something about the tone on tone effect these two colors make that really captures my attention, and when I stepped back from the completed (albeit wet and upside down) bookends I had officially reached “psyched” territory.

We were having an exceptionally stormy day when I styled the new natural-meets-contrived bookends so they’re a little more brilliant in person than they look here, but I’m sure you can see just how funky and unique they are.

The subtle transition from pink at the bottom to gold at the top is the winning factor for me. It’s hard for me to even picture what they looked like before, in their once muddled gray color. Now, they are fit for my color splashed studio.

What kinds of natural materials do you use in your DIY projects at home?

My island shopping haul

I promise this will be my last post about our Hilton Head vacation…Okay, maybe that’s more like a soft promise, but for the MOST part I’ve already told all that there is to tell. All except for a companion piece to my HomeGoods tale – plus a few extra beach shop goodies thrown in for good measure.

As you saw last week, my mom and I had a blast browsing the island’s HomeGoods store (twice, in fact). We laid eyes on TONS of fabulous treasures during our multiple tours of the store, but could sadly only bring home a few armloads each. So what did I end up grabbing for myself? The cat is finally out of the (shopping) bag – Scroll on.

The first thing I just haaad to have was the ikat patterned Cynthia Rowley box for $9.99. The price was too good to be true, plus the on-trend pattern in a classically bohemian color palette was irresistible. You may have caught sight of it in yesterday’s studio redesign reveal (thanks for all of the love and support on that, by the way!)

To continue our “Where’s Waldo?” (or should I say, “Where’s The HomeGoods Treasure?”) in yesterday’s reveal post, one other piece ended up making the cut in the final design. The $12.99 burlap basket you see above filled with my growing everday wrapping paper collection was yet another HomeGoods steal (figuratively) that serves as great storage for the multi-functional space. Oh, and if you’re thinking it looks a little boring now, I definitely plan on adding some kind of paint treatment to the burlap down the line…

But let’s take a break from the studio for a moment and move on to a couple of kitchen-y items. That yellow patterned drying mat (for only $4.99) was just what our sink had been begging for. The old one had seen much better days, plus we could use the upgraded color and pattern – I so love when I can find utilitarian pieces in fun and perky colors/patterns, don’t you?

Okay, so the can of dog biscuits shown above didn’t actually come from HomeGoods…But I DID buy it during our trip – just at a local beach shop rather than my go-to chain home accessory mecca. I loved the color and the old school pattern seemed like the perfect fit for our retro-filled kitchen.

The glass bowl shown above is another departure from HomeGoods specific souvenirs, although it DID come from T.J.Maxx, which feels like it’s at least related. If you can’t tell from the bag of beach-scooped rocks beneath it, I plan on turning the pint sized bowl into a mini terrarium. More on that project soon!

The two pieces pictured above, the agate pendant and silver horse, both came from another of our favorite beach shops on the island. As seen in this post from 2 years ago, we always make a point to stop in at Black Market Minerals, and this trip was no different. It was a struggle to leave with just those 2 pieces in hand…

Remember how I was describing an idea for one of the inexpensive table cloths in my HomeGoods recap? Well I plan on doing exactly as announced – in other words, add velcro to the edges of the summery vinyl tablecloth pictured above, and then wrap it around the dingy glass tabletop of our outdoor dining set. I’m hoping it will act as a slip cover of sorts. We’ll all see how that turns out soon enough.

I also mentioned this sculptural gold and white frame in my original store recap last week – At just $7.99, I just had to have it. I could stand to start upgrading my frame collection, and this metallic beauty fit my style too perfectly to leave it behind.

While hardly functional in the normal sense of the word, my new $9.99 gold filled hour glass is one of those really cool signature styling pieces that I’m more than happy to welcome into our collection. The “sand” in this particular hour glass is actually tiny fine beads, making the sound a little more unique in comparison to others like it – it’s sort of dull and heavy, rather than soft and whispery.

Last but certainly not least, we have my favorite take of the day – This Moroccan style side table. At $49.99, it was the most expensive piece I bought that day, but I have some pretty grand plans for it, as I’ve hinted before. A big name brand has claimed it for a specially hosted project and review, and I can’t wait to share more in the coming weeks. So mysterious…

Have a great weekend everyone!

P.S. I’ve announced the winner of the SIGG Active Top bottle – Click here to see if it’s you!

P.P.S. In today’s Friday Feature Round Up, we’ve got 2 posts over on Le Papier Studio – a “Pin of the Day” post focused on picnicking, and an “Inspired by…” post central to the new “Children of the World” collection that was recently released. Over on Glitter Guide, I designed and wrote a feature all about 4 ways to add pink to your home. Enjoy!

Side by Side: White Parsons Desk

Today’s post begins a two-part reveal to a little something I’ve been working on in the studio. If you’ve been following along for the past couple of years, then you know just how much trouble this room has caused me. It just NEVER. FELT. RIGHT. That is, up until now. That’s right, folks – I think I finally finally finally landed it. Yet, before I get ahead of myself, let me explain where it all started – namely with a new desk.

Now I’ve known for a while that I wanted to get a new desk. Something streamlined and modern, a far cry from the traditional hand-me-down I’ve been carting around for the past several years. In my wildest dreams I always pictured a nice crisp white Parson’s desk, but didn’t have West Elm’s original version in my budget. Thankfully, Overstock saved me yet again with an affordable version of the look I so craved.

Option 1: Overstock | Option 2: West Elm

Yeah, that’s a whopping $280 difference. I was a little blown away by the value, even despite the slight difference in dimensions. Overstock’s version measures 39 inches wide x 19.70 inches deep x 30 inches high. West Elm’s version? That one measures 48 inches wide x 24 inches deep x 30 inches high. That’s only a difference of 4.3 inches in depth and 9 inches in width – Hardly worth the extra money (again $280!!), if you ask me.

That said, please don’t get me wrong. West Elm might as well be dubbed the Olympia of all things home decor, and I am sure it’s an incredible piece of furniture. I just can’t afford it. Check out https://www.shoreofficewarehouse.com/product-category/new/chairs-new/ergonomic-chairs/ for the popular and practical type of equipment for asset and document storage and protection for your home. But in the essence of full disclosure, after unpacking and assembling my new desk, I could tell right away that it wouldn’t last forever. The material is pretty cheap, but it’s not as though I put a desk through the ringer – If I can make the piece last through one more move and HOPEFULLY one decade, I’ll be more than satisfied with my $69 spent. If you want a budget-friendly version of this trendy piece of furniture, I highly recommend the Overstock parson’s desk!

And now for a small taste of the full reveal of my new studio, complete with a fresh coat of paint (yes, this will be the 4th), new furniture, new art and a few new accessories.

I’m going to attempt to ignore all of the other goodies and just point out how fabulous my new desk is functionally. Whereas my old desk had 6 drawers packed to the brim with things I hardly ever used, the new desk has one clean, streamlined drawer right beneath the keyboard. I ended up tossing or boxing up all of my extraneous office supplies, leaving just the useful things like push pins and camera cords in the drawer – So much better. The biggest thing though is being able to cross my legs and pull my chair in without banging around within the minuscule footprint afforded by my old desk (as seen in this post). It’s worlds and away better.

See you back here tomorrow same time for much, much more of this room update!

A Review and Giveaway: Active Top SIGG Bottle

This giveaway is officially closed. Keep scrolling  to see if you’re the winner!!
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Wanna know an odd ball secret? John and I are a family that owns, quite literally, a family of water bottles. Frankly, I’m a bit embarrassed by our extreme collection because, I kid you not, we have close to 10 on-the-go water/coffee carafes between the two of us. I suppose it’s just one of those quirky characteristics of our household, but we just can’t get enough of these convenient portable vessels.

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So when SIGG approached me to host a review and giveaway in time for the debut of their Active Top bottles in new rainbow colors, I couldn’t say “no.” Although I’ve been contacted by a few Spam-y companies this season looking to get some DGD exposure, very few have been a good fit. Sunglasses? Not so much (especially since the ones I currently have rattling around in my bag were free). Start your email to me as “Dear Carmel”? Yeah, no. But SIGG was a different story. This was a product that I knew we’d embrace everyday here at casa Waller, and as assumed it fit right in – Especially while on a certain week-long excursion I just got back from…

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In the interest of full disclosure…I’ll be entirely honest with you.

I LOVED it!

At first sip, I knew that SIGG was onto something special. Why? Instead of worrying with leakage and spills due to an open straw or mouth piece, the active top on this baby is sealed tight. In fact, to access your favorite drink, you literally bite down on the mouth piece. Seriously! All it takes is a little gentle pressure from your teeth to open the soft mouth piece, and then you suck on it like a straw. Talk about high tech! The straw took care of everything – No need to tip the bottle, no shaking over your open jaw to get that last drop, although it was pretty darn funny to see my dad do exactly that to a full bottle of water because we hadn’t explained the concept to him beforehand…

So the construction is obviously legit, but this is thankfully one of those space age inventions that actually sports a pretty stylish exterior to match. The bottle comes in several fun colors, including yellow, red, green and even a crisp white. I certainly wasn’t shy about flaunting my shiny water bottle whether on the sand or lounging pool side.

Still not convinced? Please excuse my unintentional infommercial voice, but I can’t help but tell you that the bottle is ALSO extremely light weight, durable and completely BPA free. Plus, it’s totally recyclable at the end of its long life.

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I can’t speak for John, but I have a feeling that our local thrift store is going to be inundated with a bunch of my extra water bottles this weekend…

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So. Want to hit the beach, the pool or the gym with your own SIGG bottle? Here are the details:

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The prize:
One reader will receive their own purple Active Top bottle courtesy of SIGG (a $28.99 value).

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To enter:
Leave a comment on this post telling me your favorite summer time drink. Are you an H20 gal (or guy!)? Or do you like to spice things up with a fancy, umbrella-topped cocktail? Maybe sodas are your guilty pleasure during the warm season? I want to know! (Don’t forget to include an email address in the form so I can contact you!)
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Bonus entries:
For extra chances to win a prize, follow Dream Green DIY on Facebook and/or Twitter and leave a comment for each here letting me know that you did. (it’s a win-win since you’ll be able to keep up with my daily updates once you’re a follower – But of course, there’s NO pressure to do so. You don’t need to do this in order to win the prize).

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Deadline:

You have until Thursday, May 30th at 11:59 p.m. to enter. The winner will be announced here on Friday, May 31st – Don’t forget to check back to see if you’ve won.

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Nitty gritty:

Contest is limited to the U.S. and Canada. The winner will be selected using random.org.

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Good luck!

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GIVEAWAY UPDATE: Congratulations to Jennifer C!!
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Jennifer, I will be emailing you shortly with details on your new SIGG Active Top bottle.
Thanks to everyone for participating – I really enjoyed hearing all of
your favorite summer time drinks. Cheers!!
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An HHI Home Goods Trip (or Two)

So, as promised, I’m back for a second installment of what all went down during our family get away last week to Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. Although I mentioned yesterday that an HHI Home Goods recap was “coming soon” and had planned to do my normal “All in the details…” feature today, I just couldn’t wait. So without further adieu, I welcome you into the always energizing, ALWAYS inspiring Home Goods off of William Hilton Parkway (which, yes, we visited not once but twice during our week-long vacation – who could blame us!).

This first picture was snapped (oh, please forgive all of the iPhone photos in this post…) because I thought the smooth glass bowl would be super fun as a succulent terrarium. That side opening is really unique and would look fabulous perched on a bookshelf or coffee table. Plus, at only $9.99, it’s a STEAL.

How cute would those patterned mugs above be hung from petite hooks on either a kitchen hutch or coffee station shelf. I was particularly taken with the mod bird motif – obviously.

This aisle of vinyl tablecloths chalk FULL of color and pattern was like a magnet for me. I made a bee line over and was astounded to find that the pieces started at only $4.99 apiece. What would I do with one? I’m currently loathing our back deck glass table, with its dingy looking surface, and would love to add some Velcro to the edges of one of these fun tablecloths, wrapping it around our existing table top (think slip cover).

This little multi compartment dish was on clearance for only $7! I see it (obviously) as a chip and dip or veggie dish, but also as a fun place to corral paperclips and push pins in an office, or crayons and little plastic figurines in a kid’s room. Luckily, my mom decided to swoop it up for herself, so we’ll have to see what she ends up doing with it.

At only $19.99, the teaky type ladder pictured above would be so fun as a towel or magazine holder. No joke, if we hadn’t driven a small sedan to the beach, this baby would be sitting pretty in our living room right now.

Pretty storage is always an enticing buy for me, so these collapsible burlap baskets were calling my name with enthusiasm. I actually was more drawn to the plain ones believe it not, but only because they provide me with a blank canvas to add all of my OWN color and pattern. Plus, the $14.99 price tag for the large and only $9.99 for the small was a big sway factor.

Speaking of pretty storage, it was love at first sight with these hot pink and mustard boxes (at only $9.99 apiece). This was definitely the trip that I realized my immediate affinity for all things Cynthia Rowley. I already have a few of her pieces throughout our house, but I was drawn over and over and OVER again to her prints and shapes this trip. Love her.

No, I don’t NEED a designer white porcelain dog (especially since it was on clearance for $130), but that doesn’t mean I can’t dream. That said, someone needs to give Fido a bone – or 10! Those ribs…

We can’t take a virtual tour of Home Goods without talking seating – And again, I do apologize for the cruddy photography…I blame my shaky excitement over all the deals ::har har:: But anyway, while those adorable upholstered side chairs were major temptations, that little clearance Eiffel chair knock off above was “the one.” I loved it. Like REALLY loved it, but I had already ordered a brand new acrylic ghost chair for the only spot where I could have used an accent chair like this one, so I had to gloomily walk away…

Hello, odd conversation piece! This massive bust sculpture so reminds me of something Emily Henderson would use in a room. Undeniably quirky and totally WRONG proportionally, it would look so avant-garde in an airy loft space. Oh, and when I say “massive,” I mean it. It’s sort of hard to tell how big it is in that photo, but it was probably almost as tall as I am (use the side chair next to it as a point of reference if you haven’t already). Wow.

Notice more Cynthia Rowley? Aside from those pretty striped beauties, I was all but drooling over the gold frames they had on hand. Wouldn’t that cluster look so great filled with black and white photos on an entry console?

The pillow section at Home Goods is always a pretty big draw for me. Great prices and they tend to outweigh places like Target by leaps and bounds when it comes to variety in texture and pattern. Is it just me or does that last one, the peacock, look like it could possibly be DIY-ed with a little felt and fabric paint?

Sure, this plain natural fiber door mat is a little boring, but grab a stencil and some paint and you can have an entirely unique rug all your own – For under $20!

Those gold and glass side tables above take the cake for SOOOOOOO-wish-I-could-have-bought-them. Alas, I didn’t have the space to cart even one of them home with me, plus the $80 price tag (for the smaller one) would have swallowed my measly little $100 budget. Still a great deal though.

The art section was yet another department that didn’t disappoint this go around. As I mentioned earlier this week though, I don’t have any business buying more art. So I had to again, walk away. Even from that SUPER cute moroccan pattern clearance mirror shown above – One $5 people!!

What to leave you with? Well let’s just say that I’ve got big plans for the one large piece I bought – Namely that majorly fun orange metal side table above. P.S. It involves a collaboration with an equally major brand. Details to come in June! I need to sell my house Miami and i dont want to pay realtor comissions.

Now let’s play the guessing game – What do you think I actually bought? Or what do you think I SHOULD have bought?? I’ll be sharing all the details plus where they ended up next week.