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tidying up

A while back I talked a bit about the Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo.  Well last month I put her trademark Konmari method into action, and I am so glad I did!

The Konmari method applies not just to clothes, but to all objects around the house including paper, books, momentos, housewares, etc.  Clothes though are the starting point.  I emptied my two closets onto the bed and floor.  My closets are averaged size by San Francisco standards, but relatively tiny in my opinion.  All of my clothes managed to fit inside, but just barely.  After going through each item, identifying those that still spark joy, and discarding the rest, my closets were transformed!

I’ve even gotten rid of more items since the purge and I haven’t missed a thing.  Goodbye jeans that no longer fit, goodbye dress I never wore, goodbye clothes that were loved and worn tons but are no longer my style, goodbye clothes I binge bought on a too-good-to-pass-up sale that no longer get me– goodbye and thank you.

But the changes went beyond the closets.  As I applied the Konmari method throughout the house the energy in the space shifted – and my energy shifted!  Guests that stopped by would comment on how nice the house looked — “Did you paint?  … The trim, you changed the color of the trim?! … What did you do?  Your house looks great!?!”  And the answer was simply that I got rid of stuff that I didn’t need and that didn’t spark joy!  That’s it.  It is so simple and has such a huge impact.

Imagine sitting in your home and everywhere you look are things that spark joy — no, everywhere you look there are only things that spark joy.  Can you imagine?!  How awesome would that be?!

I had heard about Marie Kondo’s methods and I’d thought I got the gist, but it wasn’t until I actually started listening to her book that I really drank the Kool-Aid.  I commute 2 hours a day for work and I fill the ride with audiobooks.  The first day I started listing, I could not wait to get home and to start the tidying process!

So if you haven’t already read or listened to Marie Kondo’s The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up – IN ITS ENTIRETY – then do so stat!  You’re going to love yourself for it.

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Happy tidying!
xoxo

ashLeave a comment

wedding guest dress

wedding guest dresses

This weekend I’m headed to a wedding.  I love going to weddings!  Weddings are great excuses to dress up and sip champagne, two of my favorites.  But what to wear?!  Here are some of my current picks for wedding guest attire:

Eliza J – Lace Fit & Flare Dress ($138)

Vici Collection – Thora Maxi Romper ($68) in mustard.  The romper-dress also comes in wine  and black.

Alfred Sung – Woven Fit & Flare Dress ($198) in royal

Jay Godfrey – Strapless Popover Crepe Jumpsuit ($495)

Vici Collection – Girl About Town Dress ($48) in black

Roseblock Cross-Back Dress (was $198, on sale for $119—plus an additional 25% off!)

Vici Collection – In the Moment Wrap Maxi Dress ($62)

Jackie Jumpsuit ($240)

Stella McCartney – Rita poppy-print asymmetric-hem silk dress (was $1,365; on sale for $738)

 

xoxo

ash2 Comments

BFHU – the fireplace

A budget friendly house update (BFHU) for the fireplace.  Here are the details of my experience, and some super simple directions for whitewashing brick.

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It was a tough decision whether or not to paint the brick fireplace.  While we love the look of natural stone and brick, our fireplace was just not working.  And those mirror tiles in the back of the shelves… wow.

I started by getting rid of the mirror tiles, which came down surprisingly easily.  And to our   surprise we found that the wall was made of thin wooden planks and was signed and dated by prior owners!  Super cute.  After removing the tiles I sanded the wooden planks a bit to remove any leftover sticky from the mirrors and wiped away the dust with a damp rag.

With the wall prepped I wanted to start painting straight away.  Literally could not wait, so I used some white paint we had leftover from painting trim around the house (Benjamin Moore Regal Select in White with Pearl Finish).

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And when I was done it looked SO MUCH BETTER! … but still didn’t feel quite right :-/

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(Still less than good, huh?  Yah, I was a bit bummed too.)

All that work, and it still felt like a cluttered mess with no clear style direction.  Sigh.  But that was about to change.  My mom and sister came for a visit and the three of us decided to see what the fireplace would look like white.  So we read some online tutorials for whitewashing brick, watched a couple YouTube videos, and went to work.

As an aside, I might suggest giving your husband or domestic partner a heads up before beginning similar projects.  I did not, and there was an initial adverse reaction.

A short time later, the fireplace was white – glorious gleaming white!

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I instantly LOVED the crisp clean feel of the white… but how to style it?!  Well the big style reveal and details will be up on the blog soon.  In the interim I’ll leave you with some super simple whitewashing instructions.  🙂

 

Whitewashing Brick

You’ll need:  

  • rags
  • painter’s tape (optional)
  • drip cloth (optional)
  • paint brushes
  • white paint (we used Benjamin Moore Regal Select in White, Pearl Finish)
  • 1/2 gallon(ish) sized container  (we used tupperware)

Directions:

  1. Use the painter’s tape and drip cloth to cover anything you don’t want paint to get on.  (good luck)
  2. Using the 1/2 gallon container, mix some white paint with water –  roughly 50/50 mix depending on how opaque white you want the result. (FYI:  We ultimately decided we wanted the bricks solid white, so our ‘mix’ got progressively thicker… hindsight we probably could have just applied the paint straight from the bucket.)
  3. Paint a section of the bricks (maybe 1.5 ft square) and then dab at the wet paint with a rag to give a slight texture and remove any drips.
  4. Then move on to paint another section of bricks, dab at the wet paint, and repeat.  After 5-10 minutes you’ll notice that the bricks will have absorbed some of the paint and the white will fade a bit.  Simply keep repeating the process until the desired color is achieved.

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Happy renovating!

xoxo

 

ash1 Comment

BFHU – the bathroom

A Budget Friendly House Update (BFHU) for the bathroom.

The MLS photos of the house we bought literally showed it in the best light – like with a magic filter that brightened all the rooms, blurred the cracks in the walls, and changed the tint of the tile in the split bathroom.  Because of the bright yellow tile and faint moldy smell, updating the bathroom was a priority.

Ideally we would have loved to gut the split bathroom and merge the rooms into a shiny new full bath, but we’d sunk all of our funds into the downpayment.  That tile though.  So I had a google and found the Homax “Tough-as-Tile” Tub & Sink Refinishing Kit ($38 at Home Depot).  I think this stuff is really intended for smaller jobs, but I figured if I could give our bathroom a facelift for less than $40 per box it was worth a shot.  I picked up 4 boxes of the Homax brush-on product ($38×4), a vanity that was on sale for $99 (similar here), a faucet for $40 (similar here), a new light fixture for $80 (similar here), and some paint.  I then spent a three day weekend on the project.

(Instructions say don’t use an electric sander, but do you see all those tiles?!?!)

I used the Homax product to paint the tiles on the walls and in the shower.  I did not use the product on the tub itself.  To prep the tiles I used an electric hand sander with 35-40 grit sandpaper and I went over the tiles with the sander only once.  I note this because there are warnings not to use an electric sander as it could tear up the surface, but I did not have an issue.  The instructions also say to prep the area by sanding three times, but I did not have the patience.  I do think some additional sanding prep would have been beneficial, but for me it wasn’t worth the time or energy.

(The tub appears to bow a bit, but that’s just my bad photography.  What’s that brown stuff?  #gross)

The actual painting of the Homax product takes s o  m u c h  l o n g e r than I thought it would.  The paint is thick and sticky, and you really need to apply it in relatively thin coats for an even finish.  I also found that the instructions aren’t kidding when they say to paint in a single direction with overlapping strokes.  If you think this stuff will go on just like painting a wall in your living room, you are wrong.  If you are painting a large area it will take a long time and it will be painfully slow and it will suck.  I also did not follow the instructions about using a good quality mask and I was quite ill with a horrible headache the next day… but some inexpensive Advil fixed that.

(Forgot to mention that I had an old mirror that I repurposed over the sink here.  And yes the cavity of lathe and plaster is simply hidden behind it.)

It took 3 cans/kits of the Homax product to paint 2 coats for my project.  I kept the 4th can for touch ups, and it turned out that I needed it (though not a lot).  When I taped the tiles to paint the walls, some of the tough-as-tile paint pulled off when I removed the tape.  There were only 3-4 bits that pulled off, and the amount that pulled off was smaller than a fingernail in size.  I just touched up the few spots with the extra product, no biggie.  For what it’s worth, I think the bits might not have pulled off had I done the 2nd or 3rd recommended sanding/prepping sessions.  Also, definitely wait the full 72 hours cure time per the instructions too!

All in all we are very pleased with the results.  It’s been over 2 years since we painted the bathrooms, and so far so good!  We were able to completely re-do the (split) bathroom for less than $400 and would highly recommend the Homax product to anyone with icky tile to cover on a budget!

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Happy renovating!
xoxo

 

 

ashLeave a comment

BFHU – preamble

Finally!  As promised this is the kickoff to several installments of Budget Friendly House Updates (BFHU), a series of blog entries that highlight some relatively simple and cost effective ways to take your space next level!

For those that don’t know, we live in San Francisco where the housing market is insane.  It is very common for multiple all cash offers to be made at well above the list price.  When we purchased our home 3 years ago, we did not have the option of making an all cash offer.  We barely had enough for 10% down.  To be as competitive as possible, we would routinely waive all contingencies, including inspections, and submit our offer with a personal cover letter detailing in earnest how we would love and care for the home.

When we made the offer on our current home, we had been house hunting for half a year, submitted offers on 4 homes, and were becoming discouraged.  We learned that 32 offers had been submitted, and that we were not the highest or the cleanest offer, and yet the seller chose us.  Then our lender tried to renege, but that’s another story.  We closed on the house 2 weeks later and words cannot describe how lucky we felt and still feel.

Since that time we have been tackling one project after another to fix up the house; keeping our promise to love and care for the home as we make it our own.

As a starting point, below are the photos from the original MLS listing for reference.

entry hallhouse2

living roomhouse3

dining roomhouse4

kitchenhouse5

hallwayhouse6

bathroom

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master bedroom and sunroomhouse7

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guestroomhouse9

backyard
(fyi – those are very large and thorny blackberry bushes)

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xoxo

ash2 Comments

Nordstrom SALE!

nordstrom sale

Has it really been three weeks since my last post?  How embarrassing.  In any event, the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale CANNOT be ignored.  I just finished scrolling through pages and pages of sale awesomeness and wanted to share with you some of my top picks!  If you have a Nordstrom card you can shop now with early access to the sale through July 21.

Caslon – Print Split Neck Blouson Dress on sale for $49 (reg. $79).  I love dresses and the color of this one transitions from summer to fall easily.  As the temps drop just add a denim jacket or cardigan and/or tights and boots and voila!  Also comes in black and white.

FOREO – ‘LUNA mini’ Compact Facial Cleansing Device on sale for $74 (reg. $99).  I have one of these and I love it!  It’s particularly great for travel since it dries quickly and holds a charge for months.

Topshop – Hooded Colorblock Duster Cardigan on sale for $56 (was $85).  Living in San Francisco there is a constant threat of chilly fog rolling in.  This hooded duster would be perfect!

Vince Camuto – ‘Peera’ Cutout Bootie on sale for $99 (reg. $149).  How cute are these?  Wear them now without socks and as the weather turns cooler pair them with tights.  They’d look awesome with dresses as well as cuffed boyfriend jeans.

Soft Joie – ‘Lilyana’ Roll Sleeve Shirtdress on sale for $145 (reg. $218).  Another dress that can easily transition from summer to fall.  Love everything about it.

Tom Ford – ‘Alicia’ 59mm Sunglasses on sale for $253 (reg. $380).  Who doesn’t need some oversized glasses?  They ooze glamour with a hint of drama.  Tom Ford is genius.

BP – Open Front Cardigan on sale for $31 (reg. $48)   and a hooded version is also on sale for $44 (reg. $68).  These cardigans are perfect to combat:  the San Francisco fog, chilly airplanes, over air-conditioned offices, and fall breezes.  And they look smart with skinny jeans and sleek flats.

Hinge – ‘Cora’ Block Heel Sandal on sale for $66 (reg. $99).  Versatile sandal in a neutral color.  Again, looks great with dresses, jeans, rompers, etc.

Soprano – Stripe Rib Knit Midi Dress on sale for $24 (reg. $38).  This dress caught my attention because of its options options options… Pair it with flip flops poolside; some white tennies and denim jacket to run errands; a white crop sweater and sandals for brunch– so many options!  And it’s less than $25?!?!

Happy shopping!

xoxo

 

ash1 Comment