I found this real wood, heavy as a house dresser at the Goodwill the other day for only $40. Forty Bucks!

The drawers slide nice, there are 11 of them, and it was the perfect height that I was looking for.

Tall enough so that it doesn't take up too much space, yet wide enough so that I can still use it as a vanity, if needed. 

The only problem with it was it's blotchy mix of white and yellow finish.

It may be hard to tell in this picture, but I tell yea... it sure wasn't anything pretty.

I debated and debated over what color I wanted to paint it.

All the other furniture in my room was black, so black made sense.

But then I thought... how would a coral, or gray color look?

I decided against that, and went for the black. There is just something about the color black.

So I painted it black!

AND I love it!

It looks so much cleaner and put together!

--Kaylie

DIY Decorative Throw All Tray

Remember a couple of days ago when I said in my Friday 5 that this was a genius idea?

Well...  I have decided to create my own rendition of this project.

Basically, this is what happened...

I went to the Goodwill today and bought this $2.00 picture and frame. I tried to find one that was not very flat and aimed downwards towards the glass.

I took the picture and glass out so that all I was left with was the good old frame.

I printed a fun pattern off of the internet, and then changed the color scheme to gray... because everything matches gray. I'm starting to get hooked on the cross T pattern.

I've been debating over what I wanted the accent color for my bedroom to be. At first I wanted to go with yellow since that's what I decorated my old room with, and I have several pillows that would look great with it. Then I started to consider a bright green, and then a coral. Because I have no patience and get so antsy to start a project once I have most of the supplies, I decided on this coral color because it was the only paint I had at the time besides black. SO... it looks as though coral will be my pop of color!

I used the Valspar Color Radiance Paint, and it made my entire garage smell like bubble gum!?

After everything dried, I put everything back into the frame including the double T print, and am so pleased with how my decorative throw all tray all turned out! 

This beauty will more than likely end up on my dresser in my bedroom!

...or I could use it to put hair products on...

...oh the possibilities... 

(:

--Kaylie

5 for Friday!

Hello All!

Linking up with April, Natasha, Christina and Darci for another round of the Friday 5!

  

--ONE--

Because some gracious soul at work decided to pick up my shift tonight, I actually have a weekend evening to do something!

Dad and I are thinking about heading up to Prescott Park in Portsmouth to watch the musical Annie.

Hopefully the rain holds off.

--TWO--

This rainy overcast weather puts me in the mood for some new rain boots!

Oh these boots. (:

Hunter Boots has the colors SPICE, CHARTREUSE, BURNT ORANGE, and CIGAR on sale for only $89! Buy your pair now!!

I must say, the Chartreuse ones are calling my name.

--THREE--

Why have I never thought of this before?

(via)

This is genius!

I will definitely be frame shopping this next week.

I've been wanting a tray to put in the bathroom or on a dresser to throw jewelry and odds/ends.

--FOUR--

I also wanted to share with you these free printable letters if you are in the banner making mood!

I know I sure am!

(via)

I'm so inspired now!

--FIVE--

In a little over a week, I am traveling with L's family to Myrtle Beach for some much needed vacation time.

Look how warm it looks there!

I think our month of summer here in Maine is just about over. It's been pretty cool and rainy lately.

I have hope that we will get another hot week though!

Enjoy your weekend!!

--Kaylie

Apartment Goodies

MERRY CHRISTMAS in July!

Tonight after I get home from work, I will be snuggled up on the couch with hot cocoa watching either Elf or Christmas Vacation! I love Christmas!

I realize it has been 6 days centuries since I last posted on the blog, and quite frankly... I'm not very happy about that. Work has been sucking every last ounce of energy out of me lately leaving me with little to no time to give my blog some love. On the bright side, I did overtime it at the job this week. 40+ hours baby! At my old job, we were NEVER ever aloud to work over 30. 30 hours was considered overtime. So when I put my Friday night shift up for grabs on our little online schedule machine, and some gracious soul picked it up... I just wanted to do backflips the rest of the day! Thank goodness for people like that! 

Anyways.... moving on to the point of this post.

Since today marks one week until I move to the hub, I thought I would share with you some treasures that I will be decorating the apartment up with!

I'm in love with this rug. In love.

This will more than likely go in the living area in front of the couch.

The bright green should certainly brighten up the unit!

This beauty can actually be mounted on the wall. It was white, but then I painted it black... and now I love it.

...and I will probably leave every single one of L and I's high school homecoming and prom pictures at home, and replace them with more updated pictures. These ones are too special to me. I would probably end up breaking or losing one if I tried moving them again.

I found these counter height bar stools for a complete steal. They are not anything fancy, but they swivel all the way around and will fit perfectly where they need to be.

This bookcase used to be this hideous green and brown combo, so I took a paint brush to it and made it a little more friendlier looking.

Because my room is basically 8x10, I have decided to forgo the option of having a nightstand and will use this as a nightstand/bookshelf combo. I just don't have the space! Maybe I can find some cute baskets to stick on the shelves so that my disgusting looking organic chemistry and haunting lab books everything isn't so exposed. 

I wish I could share more with you today, but my job says otherwise.

Stay tuned for the Friday 5 tomorrow!

--Kaylie

5 on Fri!

Hey, Howdy, Hey!

How was everyone's week?

If you've been keeping up with the blog, you probably noticed that I've been cooking up some delicious concoctions in the kitchen this week.

Here's a little highlight of the Friday thoughts!

-- ONE --

I found myself like a ball and chain this week to the oven. I kept wanting to make stuff. I whipped up these tasty coconut macaroons, as well as this delicious fruit pizza!

-- TWO --

My little sister came up from Ohio to visit for a week, so I took her on a little Maine adventure. We found ourselves at the beach in the early AM. SO relaxing. It's hard to believe those UV rays are zapping you so bad when the weather is absolutely so perfect with a nice breeze.

THIS is what happened. Burned the first layer of my face off, except for (of course) where my sunglasses were. Fantastic! Can't wait to go into work today looking like a raccoon. 

-- THREE --

N and I drove over to the Bush's compound after the beach. You know, just checking on the neighbor's. Haha, yea right. It was quite the tourist hotspot, as expected, but we always love biking/driving over there to check it out. Last week Dad and L were biking over there and they saw Barbara out there on a huge bike hanging with some kids. Pretty cool... It's quite the setup they have!

-- FOUR --

This song.

This song is so catchy.

Song of the summer they say?

Blurred Lines

-- FIVE --

I'm constructing a 30 by 30 list.

I know I have a little less than a decade before I hit that mark, but I'm very goal oriented and a mega list maker... so I thought.. why not?

There will be short term goals and long term goals, as well as mandatory "to-do's" (pay off those undergrad loans).

Have you every made a 30 by 30 list?

If so, what kind of goals did you set for yourself?

--Kaylie

Fruit Pizza Squares

Say hello to these delicious pieces of heaven...

I hadn't had a fruit pizza in over 4 years, and was desperately in need of one!

It really is just a healthy touch to your typical sugar cookie.

The packaging tells you to bake it from 10-12 minutes, however I only baked mine for 8 minutes. I LOVE a doughy crust.

Decorate it up with some delicious fruit (the store had no blueberries)!

...and then add some whipped topping!!

Enjoy!

--Kaylie

Coconut Macaroons

If you've been craving something sweet lately, this post may be your sweet escape.

I baked up a batch of these amazing coconut macaroons today, and don't regret it one bit! ;)

Gina from Skinny Taste inspired me with this delicious recipe.

To start off, drive yourself to your closest grocery store, and pick up these 6 ingredients!

...and then follow these simple directions!

Enjoy!

The Macaroons turned out a little sweeter than I expected, and the almond extract makes all the difference! I would probably use less sugar the next time I whip up a batch.

I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!!

--Kaylie

4th of July!

In case you haven't heard it enough...

Happy 4th of July!

(a day late)

I am a total holiday guru, and look forward have count downs for each and every Holiday no matter how big or how small.

The fact that I had the day off of work yesterday made the day even better since work is always a tossup for every single holiday except Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Ahh, to continue on about the day yesterday!

It was probably the only nice day we've had here in Maine lately in awhile. If it's not raining here... it's snowing. However, yesterday (and today), we landed a perfectly sunny, hot, 90+ day here in New England. Woot woot!

We enjoyed most of the day time, grilling a feast up and snacking on some mighty delicious food followed by some pretty intense swimming afterwards. Being able to relax and unwind poolside is. Absolutely. Perfect. After we all completely exhausted ourselves from freeze tag and laying in the sun.. we crashed for a little bit, regained some energy and pumped up our bike tires. We loaded up the car and drove our bikes up to the coast... and then biked the rest of the way in hopes to avoid the crazy busy fireworks traffic. 

L and I before our bike ride.

We attended the Kennebunk fireworks this year and.. oh. my. gosh. they were good! Probably the best I've ever seen. They fire them right on the coast, where we can all sit on the beach and watch. The boats are also able to anchor themselves down and party. They put on quite the show, including ones that would shoot up from the water. My favorite! 

After the show, the boats would blow their horns, and everyone was trying to exit the coast. Ha! Yea right, it was next to impossible.. unless you were on a bike. Good thinking Dad! We biked our way back, stopped in Kennebunkport for some ice cream, and then continued the trek back to the car, that was conveniently parked far away from the traffic craziness. 

I hope everyone had a great day off yesterday!! 

--Kaylie