{Chevron Obsessed}

I am officially obsessed with Chevron. It is such a fun pattern that adds the perfect pop to any room or design. One of my favorite thing about it is that my husband and I both agree on the pattern - not too feminine and not too masculine. I was somewhat disapointed the other day when I went to Hobby Lobby and I asked the lady working in the fabric department if they had any chevron print material in stock. She looked at me funny - not knowing what Chevron was - so I explained the zig zag pattern to her and she replied, "Oh you mean a pattern that would make your eyes hurt every time you walked into the room?" - how sad! I guess if I decided to put it all over my house it might be overkill - but right now, I am working towards the perfect Chevron balance:)

After painting my ten dollar dresser that I bought off of Craigslist (see post below), I wanted an oversized entry rug to put in front of it. I had read about painting a rug using your everyday wall paint and thought this might be the perfect project for it. I went to Target and bought a rug on clearance for $7.00 (fabuless!). I figured if the rug didn't turn out I hadn't broke the bank on it and could chalk it up to a learning experience. I don't have any of the fun gadgets that cut out patterns or stencils, so I had to improvise. I went on Google and looked up "Chevron pattern" - I then found a link for a Chevron pattern and printed out two copies. Once I printed them, I pieced them together using tape and traced them on a scrap piece of cardboard that I had in my garage. Using a box cutter, I cut out the Chevron pattern and was ready to paint my rug!

I used the same Sherwin Williams paint that I had used on my dresser so that it would compliment my fabuless dresser. I probably could have been more of a perfectionist about this project but I was too excited to see if it would even work and just started going at it. Using a sponge brush (normal 1 inch craft brush) I painted my rug using my stencil. I measured about two inches down between each painted strip. You could make it smaller or larger depending on how you want your pattern to look.

After about an hour and a half - my $7.00 Target rug had been transformed! I absolutely love the finished project and the pop of color it adds to my front entry - (again, so excited to move out of my white wall house in a few weeks!).

Little bit of advice - if I was going to paint a rug again, I would probably use a rug that isn't so woven - the woven rug really absorbed a lot of the paint which made the rug quite stiff where the paint is BUT a little trick, you can take a hand sander to the finished project and soften it up so its not too rough on the paint and looks, well, less painted:)

If you decide to paint a rug, please leave us a comment and send us a picture! We would love to see what you come up with!

sincerely fabuless, Las Vegas.

{All Things Autumn}

Fall is finally here...I think. Living in Vegas has totally thrown me for a loop. I spent my entire life in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. in Springfield, Virginia. If you have ever been to Virginia, you know that you get to experience all FOUR seasons and the Fall is absolutely stunning - the leaves are beautiful, the air is crisp, and the weather is perfect. In Vegas, you don't really get the Fall, but as a Virginia native, I am bound and determined to bring a little piece of home to the desert!

For today's post, I am sharing a "how to" on how to make your own holiday garland. My sister-in-law made this for me a few years ago and it has been a great addition to my house each Halloween. The kids and I both love it, and even better, it is a perfect piece to use for our Annual Trunk or Treat when we decorate the trunk of our car.

For this holiday garland, you can use any holiday lights - these ones were purchased at Target AFTER Halloween so they were on a super clearance deal (fabuless!). My garland features both bats and spiders.

Once you have selected your garland, go to your local fabric store and purchase material to use for the ties - you can also ask the store if they have fabric scraps that you could go through to use since you will only be using small strips (again...fabuless!). Once you have your materials, cut or rip strips and start tying! On my garland, my sister-in-law was ultra motivated and cut the edge of the fabric with funky scissors to give the edges a textured look - if you have time and energy to do this method, by all means...go for it!

One of my favorite parts of this project is that it doesn't have to be perfect - you don't have to follow a color pattern or stick to a color scheme. If you want to use purple and black and orange fabric - go for it..maybe even throw in some frankenstein green!

I have my garland currently wrapped around my white walls and white banister (can't wait to move in two weeks!). At night time, when it is plugged in, it adds the perfect holiday glow to the inside of your home.

If you decide to make this garland, leave us a comment and send us a photo - we would LOVE to see what you come up with!

sincerely fabuless, Las Vegas.

{Table Topper}

My husband and I absolutely love walking around sleek and stylish furniture stores..dreaming about what our place might look like someday. At these moments, I remember advice given to me by my sister Candace..make every place you live, home. Whether it's for 1 year or 10 years, it's important that your space feels like home. It needs to represent you..your interests..etc.

I debated purchasing a somewhat pricey serving dish to place in the center of our new kitchen table..but decided to hold off. Then..my husband had a great idea! "What about using things we already have to make a 'centerpiece'?" Yes! We have a lot of books. Our books are great for a coffee table, but in our small space, we actually don't have a coffee table. So, rather than put them on a shelf where no one can really see them..we decided to arrange them in an interesting way in the center of our table..take a look..

It's important to combine books with other elements, like the vases we used View Ikea Vase Tall! and View Ikea Vase Short!. For us, this centerpiece makes perfect sense. It's something we enjoy and the books themselves represent us and our interests. Did I mention we didn't have to spend any money to do this? That's the key! Live life fabulessly!

Try to brainstorm what represents you and see how you can turn it into a centerpiece..jewelry..tools..artwork..games..food, etc. Maybe books would work for your table too! Please post a comment if you come up with some fun ideas!

sincerely fabuless, the windy city.




{Yard Sale or Yard Fail?}

Being that it is Saturday, I thought I would do a post on how to effectively shop a yard sale. I must admit, I am not a naturally talented yard sale shopper. In fact, (although I hate to admit it because it makes me sound superficial) when I got married five years ago, my husband would often try to yard sale hop on Saturday mornings and I wanted nothing to do with what I called "other people's junk". There were a lot of times I wouldn't even get out of the car. Yes, there is a lot of junk out there, but the key is sorting through that junk and finding a little piece of treasure:)

I always hear people say "I hate yard sales" or "I never find anything at yard sales, I am not a good yard sale shopper". Since I still consider myself a newbie at yard sales, I thought I would share a few tips that I have learned on how to be successful without wasting a lot of time driving around in circles trying to follow the arrows on the flourescent signs that lead you to a dead end, literally.

1. Prepare. If you know that you want to hit the yard sales on Saturday morning, look online on Craigslist or in your classified section of your newspaper the night before. Create a list of places that you want to go and look them up online so that you can go in an order that makes sense without driving all over town. If there is a yard sale that interests you more than another, make that the first one that you go to and plan the rest of your stops around that sale. I have also found that if someone goes to the effort of listing their sale online or in the classified section, then they mean serious business and usually are well organized.

2. Search Smart. If you are just looking for items in general, you may want to do a search on Craigslist for the area that you live in - for example, I would log on to craigslist.org, go to "For Sale" then click on "Garage Sales" and in the search box type "Henderson". However, if you know you are looking for antiques or a Little Tikes Picnic Table, in that same search box, type the item that you are looking for and see if anyone has it listed for sale. If you are really eager and you find something you want on Craigslist that is going to be for sale, send an email to the lister and let them know that you are really interested in that particular item. They may sell it to you early or hold it for you to get there first thing in the morning. It never hurts to ask.

3. The Early Bird Gets the Worm. Yard sale pros seem to always show up at that perfect moment when the gates open. It pays to show up early, but don't show up so early that it's obnoxious. I would say the general rule would be 10-15 minutes. You may also want to wait in your car. Many people are usually still setting up their items and it feels a little awkward to have a group hovering around you while you are trying to get organized.

4. Bring a Box. If you are like me, occasionally I need to put the seats down in my car for that piece of furniture that is an amazing deal I can't pass up, however, the majority of the time, I find myself buying the smaller items like neat frames, antique serving trays, or toys for my kids. It may be a good idea to put a box in your back seat to put smaller items or bring a few grocery bags to organize your items so things won't be rolling around in your back seat as you sale hop.

5. Be Negotiable. If someone is wanting to get rid of things, they are usually negotiable on prices. If something is listed as ten dollars, ask if they would be willing to sell it for seven dollars. If you see two items that you love that are ten dollars each, ask if they will sell two for fifteen dollars. Most people are up to negotiation and almost expect it to happen and may be marking up their prices because they know they may be talked down on the price. When negotiating, it pays to be fair. If something is listed as ten dollars, it probably isn't the best idea to ask if you can have it for 50 cents.

6. Know Your Neighborhoods. If you are looking for baby items, it probably isn't the best idea to shop in a seniors' community or a neighborhood that you know is more mature. If you are looking for antiques, you probably won't hit the mother load in a new development that caters to young professionals and families. Again, plug this in to Craigslist if there is a specific item or area that you are pursuing.

7. Change. One of the best things about yard sales is that the items are inexpensive. This also means that the person selling the items probably won't have large bills available or much change on hand. When you head out to shop, make sure you bring cash with you with a variety of both bills and coins. By the time you run to the ATM or convenient store to break your 100 dollar bill, that cute little table you wanted for 20 dollars just might be gone.

8. Community Sales. While it might seem exciting to go to a large community sale or multi-family sale, it isn't always the best spot to start. Many community sales allow for pre-shopping the day before so it may already be picked over by the time that the sale starts. These are also sales that are good to arrive early to because they usually have quite a bit of traffic and the good stuff goes fast.

9. Kids Toys. If I have my kids with me when I go out to the sales, they usually find something that they want for 25 cents or the seller usually sees their cute little faces and throws in things for free - score! When purchasing children's toys, make sure that you clean them thoroughly when you get home (especially baby toys). Besides the fact that there may be germs on them, you never know where the toys have been stored, so it's always a good idea to take Clorox wipes to them or wash them in hot soapy water before allowing your kids to handle them too much.

10. Post Sale Special. There are always items at yard sales that don't sell, which means the seller will most likely be more willing to negotiate the price. If you know that the sale ends at noon, drive past and see what items they have left and see if you can make a deal. You can also log back on to Craigslist and look under items for sale (baby items, furniture, or sometimes still under the garage sale section) and see what items didn't sell then pick them up for a great deal.

I hope these tips help. I am off to start sanding the two end tables from the 1940's that I scored today at a yard sale for 15 dollars - stay tuned for a before and after post!

sincerely fabuless, Las Vegas.




{Three Ripe Bananas}

I don't know about you, but it seems like every time I buy bananas there are ALWAYS three that never get eaten and that sit on my counter and continue to ripen. Every day I look at them and think, I need to make banana bread before these things get too ripe! Unfortunately, there have been many sad occasions where those three remaining bananas are tossed because, well, I just ran out of time or, I maybe I was just sick of banana bread.

A little trick my sister Courtney taught me: You can FREEZE your ripened bananas! How wonderful it is to look at those three remaining bananas and be able to say stop ripening, I don't have time to make banana bread today but maybe in a week!

A few weeks ago, those three bananas were once again, on my counter. It was time to make banana bread - but I didn't want it. Instead, I was curious what a banana bread cookie would taste like, so I turned to one of my favorite "Foodies" website: www.foodgawker.com.

Food Gawker is an awesome site - you type in what you are looking for or an ingredient you want to cook up and a grid of PICTURES (not recipes) show up. From the pictures, you can decide which one looks the tastiest and then click on the picture, which then takes you to another site/blog with the recipe - genius! It is like using Pinterest.com but just for food.

I typed in banana bread cookies and this is what I came up with - and they were delicious! More importantly, they were easier for the kids to eat (not as crumbly or messy) than a slice of banana bread or a muffin.

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Cookies
adapted from Buns in My Oven, source: Allrecipes.com

1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup butter, softened
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 ripe bananas, mashed
2 cups rolled oats
1 cup milk chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 375.

In the bowl of your mixer cream together the butter and sugars until creamy. Beat in the eggs and vanilla. In a separate bowl stir together the flour, baking soda, and cinnamon. Add to the creamed mixture and mix well. Mix in the mashed bananas, oats, and chocolate chips until well incorporated. Drop by rounded spoonful (or use a cookie scoop) onto a parchment lined cookie sheet and bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.


This fabuless recipe is a must have in your recipe box! If you have a chance to make them, leave a comment and let us know what you thought of the cookies!

sincerely fabuless, Las Vegas.

{Tulle Time!}

My husband and I purchased a great shelving unit from Ikea for Cora's room. We decided to purchase some storage boxes that fit into the shelving unit as well (see links at bottom of post to see these items). We tend to stick to the birch colored wood and black accessories, but I love adding a pop of color! I've gotten into the habit of holding on to ribbons of all shapes, textures, and sizes when friends or family have used them on gifts...even if the gifts weren't for me! (sometimes I just pick up the scraps at a party!) This leftover material can then be used for other fun projects...tulle being my material of choice for this specific one! Tulle is perfect for adding a fun element to storage in a kid's room...take a look..

And, as you may have noticed...you can easily add some interest to your child's bookshelf by arranging the books in a creative way! Don't just shove a ton of books in side by side..consider it an opportunity to show off a few choice books, and you can even incorporate other objects too! (see bunny bank)...close up..

View Shelving Unit!

View Storage Boxes!

sincerely fabuless, the windy city.

{Craigslist Jackpot!}

Living in Vegas - there is nothing that feels as good as striking Jackpot.....on Craigslist. Honestly, I get a rush when I find something for a good price with great potential and I get that email or call back that says - its yours, come and pick it up.

About a month ago, I did my nightly search on Craigslist, searching for that perfect piece to give a fresh coat of paint. I came across this dresser that was listed for a whooping TEN dollars - yes, you read that correctly! You can't even buy that much wood for ten dollars. The piece is really old so its made well - dove tail and heavy, not like today's very pricey mostly particle board furniture. I sent my husband (who never questions me and my odd requests) out to go pick up this dresser and I got to work! t A few hours later this dresser was transformed from "dingey old storage unit dresser" to my "Anthropologie inspired dresser" - I was more than happy with the results.


How To:

I started by sanding the dresser down - the top had some sort of laminate type finish so I just dulled it. I then gave it a fresh coat of primer and couldn't wait to pop open the lid to the my paint color from Sherwin Williams. The paint worked really well so I did do two coats to maximize my coverage - but it probably didn't need it. Once the paint dried, I used a Walnut Stain and just went to town on the piece - covering it. With stain, you get about 15 minutes to play with it so you may want to work in segments. After I applied the stain, I went back with an old towel and just started wiping it all off. Sounds counter-productive doesn't it? It is so NOT counter-productive - its a great trick to for giving a piece that Anthropologie distressed look - adding texture and dimension and is SO EASY.


In a few weeks we are moving to a new house - I can't wait to have a blank canvas to start over with and re-arrange my furniture and decor. Stay tuned to see how I plan to use THIS dresser in our new house...

sincerely fabuless, Las Vegas.