Hey everyone! This is the second post of the Ryan and I Upcycle series and I’m really excited to be starting so many new things here on my blog. I particularly love this series because it is not only something I do for content but also I am able to sell the pieces of furniture with Ryan and it’s our own little side business.
Ryan and I are super crafty people and we love to get creative. Ryan is really good with handy stuff and I am really good at decorating. So, together we make the perfect upcycling furniture duo. The last post I discussed an old end table we upcycled and I was obsessed with the end result.
This time around I will be talking about the entryway table we upcycled. We found a cherry wood entryway table on the side of the road that someone was getting rid of. Ryan and I quickly snatched it up and brought it home.
Luckily we got there just in time to get this beautiful piece of furniture. We then sanded the wood down, painted it with chalk paint and distressed the handles. It looks so amazing and I am obsessed. This took us about 3 hours to complete and I absolutely love the end product!
I hope you enjoyed this post and remember to subscribe for email notifications for when I post new content and make sure to comment down below what your thoughts are on this piece of furniture that Ryan and I upcycled.
-Stay Chic,
Hey everyone! I hope your day is going amazing. I am really excited because I’m going to be starting this new series called “Ryan &I Upcycle”. Ryan and I thrift a lot and we also pick up a lot of free furniture on the side of the road. One persons garbage is another’s treasure, I say! We love to pick up items and repurpose them, repaint them as well as completely Upcycle them. Recently, we Upcycled an old antique end table.
The table was a cherry wood but had some water damage, the finish was coming off, the edges were completely damaged and the inside was broken. We took chalk paint and upcycled the end table. The color we chose for the end table was gray because it was darker and we wouldn’t need as many coats for the paint to look even.
Here is the final product. I think the end table looks amazing and it has a farmhouse feel to it. After fixing the inside of the end table that was broken we were able to make it a lot more spacious. I really love the end product! I hope you enjoyed this post and remember to subscribe for email notifications for when I post new content and make sure you comment down below what your thoughts are on this post series.
-Stay Chic,
Hey everyone! Like I’ve said before Ryan and I have been thrifting as a new hobby of ours. We like to find really cool and pretty things in thrift stores, yard sales, flea markets and more. This is something we’ve been doing for a little bit now and we have found some really interesting stuff. I want to come on here and show you all the really awesome stuff we found.
I frequently sell items at the flea market for extra spending money (especially while I was in college). I would always sell with Ryan, and my best friend. Occasionally we would all take turns manning the table while the other walked around to look at stuff being sold. This time around Ryan and I went to our local flea market and we were walking around. Ryan and I passed a bunch of tables and found some really cool stuff but nothing we wanted to spend money on.
That was until we saw this diamond in the rough. We found a cassette playing old time radio but it was hidden in a dusty and damaged box. People passed the damaged dusty box and claimed the man was trying to sell a broken piece of trash but Ryan and I decided to actually investigate the item more and we ended up getting it. It’s a beautiful vintage piece that looks great in my room and you might have seen it in decor of previous posts. I wanted to tell the story of this specific thrift find because sometimes you might not realize while your thrifting you found something really special. Even if it may not look special to you after investing it more, you should realize that, that item was part of someone’s life. So, treat it with respect and you never know it might end up being something that you like and it might make you happy.
I hope you enjoyed this post and remember to subscribe for email notifications for when I post new content and make sure you comment down below what you’ve found while thrifting!
-Stay Chic,
Hey y’all! So, with the new show on Netflix called Tidying Up, organizing is on the rise and so is using the KonMari Method. I love organizing so I decided to give the KonMari Method a try. I wanted to share my experience using this method with you all.
I, of course, am such a huge fan of Marie Kondo. There’s truly something inspiring when it comes to her method of organizing. It’s one of those shows where you watch it and you get the urge to seriously clean out your life. Sometimes I watch it just to get into the cleaning mood. So let’s get into each of the KonMari steps and how they went for me.
KonMari Method Step 1: Clothes
Marie Kondo suggests to take all of your clothes and put them on your bed. You only keep the items that spark joy and get rid of the items that don’t. With every item you get rid of, you say thank you.
KonMari Method Step 2: Books
Go through your books, magazines etc and keep what you truly want but donate items that you don’t need anymore.
KonMari Method Step 3: Kimono
This step covers the rest of the miscellaneous items like decor, garage, bathroom etc. Get rid of anything you don’t actually need and organize using small boxes for some drawers etc.
KonMari Method Step 4: Sentimental Items
This step allows you to go through sentimental items and get rid of some things that you don’t need. For example she explains in the show that she had pictures and a few of them were similar. She kept the one picture that meant the most.
I followed all of these steps and I was able to get rid of almost three bags of clothes. It was truly incredible. I tried to fold my clothes the way she recommended but my drawers are very deep and not very wide so that didn’t work out for me. I didn’t have many books but I did toss papers that I no longer needed. I also didn’t have much miscellaneous items but out of what I did find I was able to eliminate half of what I had. I limited my sentimental items to only one small box– smaller than a shoe box.
So, overall this method worked for me pretty well but I had to modify it to fit my lifestyle needs. I hope you enjoyed this post and remember to subscribe for email notifications for when I post new content. Make sure to comment down below what your thoughts are on the KonMari Method.
-Stay Chic,
Hey beauties! I am currently in the process of cleaning out my closet and room for spring. I figured I would jump on here and talk about some really awesome spring cleaning hacks. These are hacks that I personally use and maybe hacks that you’ve heard of before.
Hack #1: Item for an item-
If you buy some stuff during these awesome spring sales that you might not have the room for, get rid of an item for each item you bring in. So if you purchase a cute new top, get rid of an old top that you can easily part with. This will help with shopping clutter!
Hack #2: Get rid of things you wouldn’t buy right now-
Look through your closet as if you were shopping at a store. If there are items in there that you wouldn’t see yourself purchasing right now– get rid of it! Odds are you won’t wear it if you wouldn’t buy it right now.
Hack #3: One year tops-
This might be one that you’ve heard of but before but it’s a good rule. If you haven’t worn the item for used it in over 1 year then get rid of it. The exception to that rule is if the item is designer or super expensive. For example, don’t give away your expensive prom dresses (unless you’re donating it to a high school or giving it to someone) but maybe try to sell them instead.
Hack #4: Raggedy items gotta go-
If you have items that are damaged, ripped, or just plain old and lost shape or color… throw it away/donate it (as long as it’s still wearable). Sometimes we hold onto our favorite t-shirts or jeans even though they’re in horrendous condition, but sometimes it’s good to let that stuff go. Out with the old and in with the new.
Hack #5: Decor clutter is never okay-
Sometimes I look at peoples rooms that are so heavily decorated that my head spins. If your room has a lot of decor and not a lot of room for it, try to part with some things. If you are super sentimental then put your extra decor into a box and put it in your attic or garage.
Hack #6: Kondomari-
Try to follow methods of kondomari and only keep items that spark joy for you. I’ve used this method and ended up giving away two garbage bags full of clothes. I think this method works and watching her Netflix series always gets me in the cleaning mood.
Hack #7: Expiration dates-
All too often I hear women complain that they have too much makeup, haircare products or nail polish. All of these things have a shelf life and it is important to get rid of things that have gone bad. Trust me, I’ve gone through the same thing and once I learned that makeup and haircare products go bad I was able to get rid of half of my items.
Hack #8: Shoes shouldn’t be falling apart-
It’s always good to have one pair of shoes to wear in the garden or while working. Keep in mind if your going out shoes are beat up and gross– it’s time to throw those things out. I have a few pairs of shoes that just reek and are severely damaged so I chose to let them go.
Hack #9: Try it on-
Trying on everything you own is unrealistic, yes but it puts things into perspective. I suggest trying on your clothes and seeing how they fit and how you feel in them. If you don’t feel like the gorgeous confident queen that you are– get rid of it.
Hack #10: Have a competition:
Whether if you bet yourself or your significant other how much you will get rid of, it makes it more fun. A lot of us don’t have a problem of parting with our things but starting to go through the clutter can be disheartening. Make it into a game or competition and it will make things so much easier!
I hope you enjoyed this post and remember to subscribe for email notifications for when I post new content and make sure to comment down below what tips you use. Happy spring and happy cleaning :)!
-Stay Chic,
Hey everyone! I wanted to drop in and talk about a new decoration I have for my room. As I was helping my friend find things for her new apartment I found a beautiful gold bar cart. I obviously don’t have a house or a lot of room so my friend told me I could store it in her apartment until I move and get a place of my own.
Well, it turns out that my friend wasn’t able to get her apartment and we had to empty her storage unit. I had to find a home for my bar cart. Considering bar carts cost a pretty penny and I purchased this one for only $15– I didn’t want to part with it. So what I did was rearrange my room (for like the eight time) and I put my bar cart in my room.
I actually really like the way it looks in my room and it’s going to be a nice piece to have when I finally get my own place. Something that is really nice about it is how the gold matches my furniture perfectly. I also re-did a lot more than this in my room but I’m waiting to show you all what it looks like because I want it to be done completely.
The bar cart is such a cute accent to my room and I’m going to be actively looking for more bar cart decor. But, for now this will do! Cheers to a chic new decor piece and to my lovely and inexpensive bar cart. I hope you enjoyed this post and remember to subscribe for email notifications for when I post new content. Comment down below if you want to see more posts like this.
-Stay Chic,
Hey y’all! Ryan and I are going to start a thrifting find post every two weeks or so because we absolutely love it. We have found some awesome stuff while thrifting so far. How do we thrift? We go to thrift stores, habitat for humanity, and goodwill. We mainly search online on OfferUp, LetGo, Facebook Marketplace and Poshmark if we are looking for thrifted clothes. We will also find things on the side of the road sometimes when people put their stuff on the curb for pickup.
There’s so much potential for thrifting items as well as upcycling those items and it’s a great way to save money. Upcycling is really huge right now and if you can save money instead of buying brand new furniture then you should. Plus, it’s easier to customize the items to your liking. So what did we find on this thrifting trip?
We found this gorgeous vintage phone. It goes perfectly with the decor in my room so we just had to grab it. Plus, we plugged it in and it actually works. I told Ryan that I wanted to actually use this when we got a house. I truly love the vintage look to it and how well it goes in my room. We picked this find up for $5 at our local thrift store!
This item was super cheap and it looks brand new. It’s a great decor piece and quite a steal in my opinion. We are super happy with this find and there’s more amazing thrift finds to come.
I hope you enjoyed this post and remember to subscribe for email notifications for when I post new content and make sure to comment down below what your thoughts are on this new post series? Would you like to see more? If so, would you like to see us upcycle some items as well?
-Stay Chic,
Hey everyone! I wanted to pop in and share a book recommendation that I have. Recently I purchased a book from Amazon while I was on the lookout for good coffee table books. My favorite type of coffee table book is one that doesn’t collect dust but starts conversation.
So while looking for a good coffee table book I make sure that it can be useful when people come over. I found a good coffee table book that does all of those things and I must share it with you all. It is great for any coffee table and any conversation.
The book is called The Ultimate Get To Know Someone Quiz– Fun Questions To Ask Friends, Family and Lovers by J. Edward Neill. This book is very affordable and can be purchased on Amazon new for $7.99. The kindle edition of this is $1.99 if you are just interested in reading.
It has many cool questions to ask your guests, friends or significant other. For example, how many selfies per day is too many? What would the world lack in your absence? Justify a lie you’ve told in your life. Save for the future or live in the moment? Coffee or tea/ Beer or wine/ Milk or juice/ Spicy or sweet/ Cake or pie?
Here is the link if you want to purchase the book for yourself: The Ultimate Get To Know Someone Quiz
This book is definitely one that will help spark conversations and it won’t collect dust! I hope you enjoyed this post and remember to subscribe for email notifications for when I post new content and make sure to comment down below what your thoughts are on this book recommendation.
Stay Chic,
Hey babes! I just recently got some new vintage bedroom decor for my bookcase and it is absolutely stunning. I wasn’t really sure how I felt about it at first but it is now growing on me. I also got some great comments on it so I figured that I would show you all since I’ve decided to keep it where it is!
At first I had doubts because it is an oak wood color and everything in my room is cream and pink– I thought this would be too much of a contrast in my room and wouldn’t flow nice. I also moved my Chanel boxes from here which I didn’t know what to do with after putting the antique in its place.
Thanks to Ryan I got this very pretty and unique radio piece from Crosley that also plays cassettes. It is a beautiful item of decor for my bookcase and adds a ton of character to my room. The wood also works well with my room since I have no contrasting wood furniture. I’m very much obsessed with this piece and Ryan found this for $15 at a flea market.
I hope you enjoyed this post and remember to subscribe for email notifications for when I post new content. Comment down below what your thoughts are on this decor piece!
-Stay Chic,
Stephanie Russell
Hey fashionistas! I am super excited to write today’s post because of course I have a JustFab Purchase which is actually my JustFab from August (I’ve just been super busy with posts and couldn’t review it in August). But I also re-decorated a part of my closet which is also something that I am ecstatic to share with you all!
First comes first, let’s talk about what I got from JustFab! I wanted a pair of white mules and I got exactly what I was looking for with these shoes! They are perfect! I felt that these were super chic especially with them being pointed toe mules. It’s different but they look very unique and fashionable. I’ve honestly been wearing them with everything!
Now, let’s discuss my closet. I had this bottom shelf jam packed with boots and shoes. It didn’t look cute so I wasn’t very happy with it. But I recently went to a Forever 21 (it’s always a hot mess in there so I wasn’t expecting to be inspired by their set up), and I was inspired by how they folded their jeans and laid them on the shelves. I took all of my jeans out, folded them and put them in the last shelf. My room has the feel of a store right now but I wanted it to look a little more stylish than just having jeans displayed. So, I grabbed my white mules and threw them in the middle of the piles of folded jeans and I love it!
I am super obsessed with the way my closet and room looks right now. There are still things that I want to do to my room to make it perfect but for right now I am super happy with this look! I hope you enjoyed reading this post and remember to subscribe for email notifications for when I post new content! Comment down below any ideas you have for a very small nook in a room! I need some inspiration!
-Stay Chic,
Stephanie Russell
