DIY Car Freshener

As much as I hate to admit it, our car kind of smells. Well, it used to. I think it was a combo of Eliza, us spilling things all the time, Brandon being sweaty after work, and then us getting a little lazy about car cleaning. I finally reached a point where I couldn't take it! It would get better for a bit but then mysteriously come back with full force (I think we might also have a water leak?) So I completely cleaned our car but the smell lingered. I tried a lot of different things and finally found a few that really helped.  I started by sprinkling baking soda all over the carpet, to get out any odors that may be in there. After I let it sit for like a day, I vacuumed it all up. The smell was still faintly there so I got a little cream cheese container (empty), poked about 20 holes in the top and filled it with used coffee grinds. I stuck this under one of the car seats. Coffee soaks up odors so this helped even more! But the smell still wasn't quite gone. And then I made this little beaut. It is basically just a drawstring bag filled with coffee beans. The coffee is great because 1) it soaks up odors and 2) makes my car smell delicious! And if it gets hot, it smells even more! However, this is only a good thing if you like the smell of coffee. So be warned. I used this tutorial on how to make a simple drawstring bag. I'll show you the steps I took to make it, pretty basic.  I wanted a heart on the front so I cut out a heart and then lined the back with some lace. I originally planned to use the same red suede for the back but then decided to go with lace.  Cut some yarn for a little fringe and place it at the bottom with all the ends facing up.  Place your back on top of all of that. Sew around the sides and bottom. Leave a 2" gap from the top (one the sides).  Now, on the sides where you left the gap, fold your fabric in about 1/4 inch.  Now fold the top down about a 1/4 of an inch.  Sew top. Do this to the lace or back piece of fabric as well.  Now, fold down the top again but now about 1/2 an inch. This is the casing for your string. Sew. Do both fabric pieces.  Turn inside out! And take some more yarn and feed it through the casing to make the drawstring. I didn't take pictures of this part so go here to see how she strung it all together.  Then, fill with coffee and tie up around your rearview mirror!  Here are some other helpful links I found for battling funky smells:  Remove odors through ventilation system  Using coffee grinds to deodorize and a few other tips DIY baking soda air freshener Homemade air freshener ideas Using baking soda as a carpet deodorizer
This project was awesome because I spent 0 money! And now my car smells like Starbucks, yummm! 

Home Inspiration: DIY

This is something I haven't been able to do much of and I have really missed being able to make things for our home. It's so hard to be a minimalist and crafty! With talks of moving, I've halted any kind of plans for decorating. Now, I'm thinking of more and more things we can get rid of/live without. But man, pinterest still has me dreaming. I'll keep pinning until someday we'll have another place of our own. Here are some fun DIY ideas that I've found recently.    Pallet benches, I love this little nook   Shelf ladder DIY dream catcher   knit pillows   lace contact paper for windows   easy DIY sign   source shell mobile   braided baskets    pallet table DIY dreamcatcher
*Note- I know a lot of these are made of "pallets". However, I don't encourage the use of these. Many are treated with loads of toxins & chemicals and may not be safe for your home. Please do research before using them.

Houston Love

I've been wanting to do a post of the other vendors that were at my pop up show. Sooo, herrrrre are a few of my favorites!  Santeria P.S. You're Lovely   Vida Antigua   Andrea Condara  
In leu of yesterday's post, I have to say that I hope you guys don't mind my rambling. When I first started sharing more of my personal life and thoughts here, I didn't know where I was going with it. As I have grown and changed, my blog changes with me. Lately, that has been a lot of thinking, speculation, and self-realizations. It just makes sense to share that here and sometimes it really helps for me to put what I feel into words. Like a journal. That's what my blog basically is, right? And I want to be able to share the good with the bad. Because my life isn't perfect. It's hard and I want to be able to look back and remember all the struggles and joys. Today was another hard day. I've been so frustrated because I don't know what we're going to do next. And every time I try to plan, it just gets harder and more frustrating. At first, all of our options are overwhelming but then I try to be realistic and turns out our options are insanely limited. Mostly because of money. Life is expensive. And it's really disheartening. Aghhh. I'm sorry, I'll stop now. I did have a really great weekend though. The cold from came through and was just wonderful. I'll be back with some pictures to share! So on a good note, enjoy the rest of your Sunday. Monday is coming up fast! 

A Few Things: Life Lately

Ahh, where do I start. Well first off, we are all back in school. For us, that means Eliza and I go to school Tuesdays and Thursdays and both Brandon and I take a few online courses. Things get a lot more hectic but it's kind of nice to get back in the routine. 

(Ugh, mommmm! No more pictures!!)

And it's nice to have that time on Tuesdays and Thursdays to have a break from Eliza and focus on school and work. 

(her new school gear, the backpack was a gift. Eliza & I picked out the hippo lunch box)

That doesn't happen often, even when I go to work and Brandon watches her, I can get kind of stressed out. I'm not sure why. I guess it's just pressure? Like I feel as if it's an inconvenience for him that he watches her while I work? I don't know. It's not the same.  As of today, I'm trying to incorporate naps back into our schedule. Eliza hasn't been napping for over a year but with waking up early, I think we're going to need them. And let's be real, I could use the peace and quiet to keep me sane and have a chance to clear my thoughts in the middle of the day. I find myself getting stressed out about work lately. Now that I don't have much time, I am kind of being stuck doing all the lame parts of my business and not getting enough time to do the fun parts (making clothes, getting supplies, planning photoshoots). So now, I kind of dread going to work. This is something I'm really struggling with. I hate that it has turned into "work" but with school taking up most of my free time, it's hard to fix.  But enough with the negativity. Something I am excited about is fall. God I can't wait until fall. It has been a heck of a summer. Thinking about fall clothes (for the shop) gets me so excited about cooler weather. But then I walk outside and the heat is just suffocating. Bleh. I hear there MAY be a cold front coming through this weekend, I'll be crossing my fingers!  Another recent change, a BIG change, has been our plans for the future. If you read my post to Brandon then you kind of have an idea of what we've been going through. It's been really exciting but really scary. Brandon wants to quit his job to follow his dreams which I am all for. However, this means we will have no security net. He pays most of the bills so this is kind of a big deal. And because my income is so undependable, it's hard to plan for.  This decision also means that we can make a lot of changes. For one, it will not hold us back from moving. Really, him having a job here is the only reason we have stayed for so long. School too but we will be done in the next semester or two. So with that in mind, we have been kind of thinking of moving back to our home town. This is something I thought I wouldn't like but the more I think about it, the more I like the idea. I love our hometown, it's so pretty and we will be around more people we know.  Something I have been desperately lacking here is nature. Where we grew up was basically a forest, now there are houses, schools and stores but it's still heavily wooded. This is something I'm looking forward to the most. I can take Eliza on walks, go to parks, all the places I used to love. It's strange, I feel like I'm being pulled back. Or maybe called? Does that sound weird? I just have this strong urge to go back. I think I will be much happier there. Majority of our family is up there and with all the extra help, life will be a lot less stressful. I just think that right now, it's the best move for us. We have to accomplish a lot in the next few years (like build our careers! and for Brandon, maybe going to a university?!) and we could use all the help we can get! However, this poses some difficulties. Right now, I work out of my dad's house. So I'll have to figure out a place to work from. We are thinking of moving in with my sister so I would have to find a place to work from. Brandon won't have a real job so getting our own place with an extra bedroom for a studio would be difficult. I'm not quite sure what we're going to do about that but I guess I have a while to figure it out. Whatever decision we make, we can't do anything until at least after Christmas. I won't be done with school until at least the spring semester so it might even have to wait until then. Ugh, waiting. I have this thing where once I get excited about a plan, it's reaaaaally hard to wait. I just want to do it NOW. This may be why I am getting so stressed out about our current situation. I just have to chill out and try to take it day by day. I want to work as much as I can to help out with bills but really, my priority needs to be school and finishing so we can get out of here!  I guess day to day life is what I need to focus on. Just doing the best I can everyday without driving myself crazy. My brain has been a jumble but I think that will settle down once the school routine sets in. I'm trying to find peace everyday in little ways. Trash talking with my sister in words with friends ;), making mini pies, cooking (you already know, I am loving cooking), squeezing in a few minutes to cuddle with Brandon before going to work, our nightly Star Trek episodes (we're addicted), Buffalo Wild Wings on thursdays (I know, it's bad), and the best of all, cuddling with Eliza every night (yay co-sleeping!). It's the little things right? 

Now Available: Floral Headbands!

I always get compliments when I where my floral headband and people always ask, "Where did you get it?!". When I reply that I made it myself, they always seemed so shocked. I have even gotten, "You should open up an Etsy store!". Sooo, here I am. Selling my floral headbands so that you guys too can walk around with all this loveliness and get compliments all day :) This is what I have so far and they're only $15!    Which one's your favorite??

Girlish Garb: Denim on Denim

If you guys follow me on instagram, you probably saw Brandon wearing this outfit. Yes. He's a weirdo. And the sad thing is, he can rock a pair of high waisted shorts.... Wow, moving on. I think this is my new favorite vest. I got this little pin from my sister (thanks Heather!) and together, they are the perfect match. I was feeling a bit tomboy this day so I threw on some shorts, my lucky boots and was off to work!  Outfit Details:  Vest- Thrifted/DIY  Shorts- Thrifted/DIY  Belt-Thrifted  Shoes- Gift from Brandon (Urban Outfitters?) This is kind of my farewell to summer outfit. Or my telling summer to f off outfit. It has been a hot one and I for one, can NOT wait until it starts too cool down around here. I've been trying to plan for fall (clothes and what not) but it is so hard when it's still 100+ degrees outside!! I hear there may be a cold front coming this weekend. We'll see about that!!  Also, remember the necklace from my last outfit post? I posted a tutorial over at Wanderlust for it, check it out here.  Annnnd something I'm super excited about, I got a tumblr!! You can check it out here. I signed up maybe three days ago and have spent way too much time filling it up. Just so much prettiness out there that needs to be blogged! So yes, check out my tumblr.  Have a great Friday everyone!!