Tag: home decor

Cold Turkey

Three simple rules that could break any design guru wannabe’s spirit.

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Alright everybody: I called it quits. As of June 14th– I have not been into a Home Goods, Kirklands, or..any home decor store.  That’s right, everybody. This bitch is taking her own advice, and NOT even walking into a store. On July 14th I will be free to go where I used to go every Wednesday or Friday: Home. Goods. Yep, a whole month.

It all started when I realized that my credit card was out of wack– on top of that, I realized that my house was a much bigger project than I let off to others. I need to clean and organize what I already have. I could potentially be on top of my laundry and home projects instead of hiding behind aisles of tablecloths and Rae Dunn Clay pottery (sobbing so hard)

I said to myself, “Kate, no more. You can’t buy any more pineapples…you’ve welcomed enough people.” So, no more– until I go up to NY for my nephew’s baptism and get to go to the REAL GOOD Home Goods up near my parent’s house. That’s right, I have a plan. Maybe by that point, the addiction will have subsided– and I can find other things to do on my days off…but I doubt it. I think this should be a fun experience.

Here are the rules:

  1. No MONEY can be spent in a home decor store: Since I have a sick, sad addiction– I will not be going IN any place either because I know myself.
  2. I have to make do with what is already in my house– get creative and clean and purge useless items!
  3. Buy necessities and home improvement (paint, etc) items. I’m not totally cured, guys.

Three simple rules that could break any design guru wannabe’s spirit.  Let’s think of this as a social experiment. If you see me foaming at the mouth outside of a Home Goods, ignore it. I need to do this cold turkey.

I’ll provide updates as I slowly break down from deprivation.

Love you, mean it.

K

 

 

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Home Decor Ripoffs!

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Is anyone else sitting on their couch on a Friday night watching HGTV and wishing that they figured out a way to make a ton of money and have a fabulous, Instagram worthy living room? No? It’s just me?

Okay, well is anyone on my same page about this: You hear about a store that is supposed to have amazing deals and awesome stuff, and you muster up the courage to go in– and everything you see is mediocre…and costs more than it should? Yea, me too.

I’m here to tell you that you aren’t alone– home decor is cute, and commercials and social media posts from various stores make you want to jump in the car and drive there even if it’s 10 at night. When you find a new place, the first visit in is like a blind date. You don’t know what you’re gonna get, and you might get stuck with a huge bill if things don’t work out.

So here it is: The top 3 most overrated places for home decor.

If you’ve had luck at these places, I need to go shopping with you– because I walk in, do a loop, and walk out after looking at a couple of price tags.  I can never find anything splurge worthy or affordable enough for me to pull out my Henri Bendel and swipe my Amex. (Don’t tell my husband I still use that card.)

Let me know, am I just looking for the WRONG things at these places? And if you get deals, what are you shopping for?

Pier One

Alright, don’t freaking kill me…but I can’t get into it. I walk in, and I immediately fall in love with a kitchen table that is farmhouse style with beautiful chairs and I can’t have it because it’s so much money and the chairs are all sold seperately….gasp for air… not that this happened to me. Although it’s featured on ebates rn, it’s a total rip off in there. And no, I’m not still bitter about the table, okay? I go in there, and I see a bedazzled pillow that my dog (or baby) would probably choke on, and it costs more than my gas to and from work all week. FORGET IT. I know, there are coupons, but it doesn’t help much. You can get the same, cute stuff for much cheaper other places: IE: Kirklands, Wayfair, NOT Joss and Main, Home Goods, and Ikea.

*Yea, I know Joanna Gaines has a new line that Pier One is selling, and since I love her– I’ll try to go in there again, because I’m a sucker for Chip and I want them both to love me.

Pottery Barn

NO apologies for this one. Included here: West Elm and Crate and Barrel. What am I? A Rockefeller? Not a chance in hell. I went in there during Christmas time to pick up a candle for my mother– one of those battery ones– and I almost choked on my Nordstrom cookie when she told me the price. Bitch, what?! One of those was $60. No way, Josephina. On that note, they have endless amounts of picture frames that are apparently dipped in 24k gold before they are shipped over to this place. I get it, I sound like Phoebe from Friends, but it’s true! If you don’t have to eat everyday, I suggest taking a look here for all of your home needs.

ZGallerie

I’ve never stepped into a store, but holy cannoli! It is expensive online! I watch a ton of YouTubers, and they all worship the ground ZGallerie builds on. Want something to hold…something in? $50 please. What about a purple fuzzy pillow? $150! I will admit, some of their accessories are comparable to what Home Goods sometimes tries to pull on us, but looking at this website makes me feel the same way I feel when I walk into a Bed, Bath, and Beyond. Ripped off.

 

Either way you slice it, I need to be able to rationalize my finds, and also be able to feed my child at the same time. There’s no way I’m going to spend the price of formula for two weeks on a golden artichoke for my mantle.

 

(I mean, if it’s super cute, I’ll consider it)

 

Love you, mean it.

K

 

 

 

 

 

What Did I Do This Week?

On Wednesday, my husband got home and we decided to go out and grab some unnecessary home decor to help us get our minds off of stuff.

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Hey you guys!

So, after a long and stressful week, we are finally at most people’s favorite day, Friday! For me, it’s not really the start of my weekend, but you guys like it, so I’ll post for you! This week, my husband and I were faced with some pretty tough decisions regarding his career, but we finally were able to solve it!

When we get stressed, we shop. It’s a super bad way to relieve stress, but we got stuff to make our house cuter– so that’s okay..right?

On Wednesday, my husband got home and we decided to go out and grab some unnecessary home decor to help us get our minds off of stuff. We went to home goods on 202 in Blue Bell, PA. Let me tell you, there’s a difference between good and bad Home Goods. The ones that get hit all the time…and the ones that don’t. This one– it’s a good one. It’s SUCH a good one.

We didn’t go too crazy, but they were just putting out their spring and summer stuff– so I knew we were going to find pineapples and flamingos galore. Let me tell you, I wasn’t disappointed. We walked in, and we immediately went to the mugs. #mugmonday anyone? If you go into a store and immediately put something in your cart– you know you’re going to be there for a while.

Michael found a mug that perfectly described his relationship with coffee. This one is pretty similar to what he found. I walked into the next aisle and found a new tablecloth!

Does anyone else have rules when they go into a Home Goods? Thankfully, my husband has caught on– and walks through every aisle with me and doesn’t stray. I promise you– you’ll miss something!

After debating some other items, we made a promise that we would throw more parties this summer. As you all know, I was pregnant and miserable last summer, so I didn’t want anyone to have fun. This year, I’m ready! We got an adorable pineapple outdoor tray as well as a wooden utensil holder, because I’m really rustic.

The moral of the story is, if anyone comes to my house this summer, they will feel super welcomed.

When we got home, we went right to sleep, and went right into work on Thursday. Today, I was off, and had plans of being in bed all day, but MP3 had other plans. He wanted to be up and out, so I put on my big girl pants and drove around to Marshall’s and Carter’s. (That stuff is in my haul also!)

I am super excited to be adding on another type of media into my blog, so please enjoy my random as hell vlog channel too! We all know I’m not organized to do this all the time, but I’m trying!

 

Love you mean it.

K

 

 

 

 

 

Home Decor: Entryway Edition

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How many of you are in love with those old houses with huge entryways that are perfectly designed? No one? Just me? Ok, liars.

When we bought our house, we were super excited to just move in our furniture and start decorating. Needless to say, a year later…and I’m just starting to realize what I love. As my mother says, I have champagne taste, and I don’t exactly have a paycheck that gives me what I actually want…so I have to improvise. To add to that, we live in a ranch, so you literally walk right into our living room/dining room. Here’s how I made this space more “homey.”

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The Overview

I wanted something that was practical with a touch of not so practical. (Get over it…how many pumpkins do you need? You aren’t making a pie) The little mirrors are less than helpful for checking your make-up before you go out the door, but they are cute and from Target, so they were affordable. If you want practical, Kirklands has some great pre-Black Friday sales going on right now. Each season, I plan on tweaking certain items so that it is seasonally appropriate. The more permanent items are more neutral.

 

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The Deets

Mail tray: kate spade (60.00) Alternate mail organizers

Dots Vase: kate spade (140.00) Alternate without dots

Entryway Table(99.99), Bowl (10.99) , Runner (14.99) , Owl pair (14.99), “Happy Thanksgiving” plaque (5.99) , “Give Thanks” pumpkin (12.99) , pilar candles (4.99) : Home Goods

Candle: Yankee Candle (make sure to have a coupon…those jawns are expensive!) This candle is Apple Pumpkin. (27.99)

Birdcage: Michael’s (18.99)

The two most expensive items on the table were wedding presents, however…you can always find cheaper options. In a couple of weeks, I’ll be updating the table to be more seasonally appropriate for Christmas/winter. Can’t wait what kind of items I find! Stay tuned.

Love you, mean it.