What's Good In Your Hood {Orange County}

Hey friends! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday weekend! David and I {plus Maw Maw and Paw Paw} headed to Southern Illinois for a family reunion, D and I went to the movies and watched The Hangover: Part II, had a pizza dinner with my Mom & Tom, we managed to fit in a little shopping, and ended the weekend with a BBQ with his family!

I've only got one more short day of school and then summertime is all mine! Today we're headed to one of my favorite places in the country, Orange County.

$120 Desk

$220 Dresser

$30 Bench

$25 Lamp

$100 Coffee Table

$59 {4} Dining Chairs

$150 Dresser

$200 Desk

$300 Pair of Lamps

If you want me to search your craigslist, check the list in my sidebar ---> to see if your city's in the lineup, if not, send me an email to Nuestravidadulce@gmail.com and I would be happy to add it to the list!

xoxo

DIY: Unlikely Umbrella Stand

The other day I tweeted about this little Los Angeles Rams trashcan that I scoped out in my neighbor's trash while David and I were on a walk with the doggies.

I passed it up the first time around, but when we returned home, I knew I wanted it. Dave and I took a drive around the neighborhood and put it in the backseat.

My plans were to turn this bad boy into a totally unnecessary but fun umbrella stand. I thought I wanted it to be blue...but it turned out like an electric blue this and I was not a fan. No me gusta.

I then tuned to my color of all colors: the tried and true pink; but it ended up looking more like Barney and Friends purple! Shoot! From there I decided to try blue, yet again, and I still ended up not liking it. Just my luck.

None of the three colors you see pictured above actually worked for me. I eventually came back to pink again {surprised??? nah, didn't think so!}, but chose a color I knew I liked {Krylon's Raspberry} and I was satisfied!

I wanted to add a little pizazz to the can so I ordered a Greek key stencil from this online store and it arrived super fast!

I was a little puzzled as to how to use it, but finally figured it out after messing up on cardboard three different times. Whoops.

Once I decided on the location of the stencil, I taped it to the side of the can with plain old scotch tape, and used a small stamper brush with acrylic paint to dab on the white. I did experience some oozing {that just sounds gross--sorry!} but it was nothing a little elbow grease and some water couldn't clean up.

I had to stencil the bottom layer of the stencil first and then moved on to the top layer. It's much like connect the dots once you finally figure out the order in which the two stencil cut-outs work together.

Notice how I have "bottom" written on the stencil to help me remember which direction it went.

When it was all said and done, I was way proud of myself and placed her in the living room.

Of course, I had to make a trip to Target to buy a cute umbrella to place in it! I told you earlier this was an unnecessary but oh-so-fun project! : )

It was quite the fun little DIY project if I do say so myself! Now my only problem is that I'm constantly scouring the house looking for more items to which I can add my fun Greek key stencil. Nothing's safe...oh my.

xoxo

What's Good In Your Hood {Kansas City}

Well, well, well! I made it! I survived the last "real" day of school yesterday and now it's all downhill dealing with final exams! Summertime is calling my name and as you all more than know, I am ready.

And while I may seem a little playful-dramatic about the end of school, I must take a second to be serious and send my prayers to the people of Joplin, Missouri. My eyes are astonished by the destruction and David and I have made a donation to the Red Cross. I hope you all consider the same. Our neighbors need our love, support, financial assistance, and prayers.

Today we tackle Kansas City's craigslist!

$75 Pair of Chairs

$115 Trunk

$150 Headboard{Other items included in price}

$125 Glass Table

$50 Dresser

$15 Chairs

$50 Rocker + Ottoman

{I LOVE this!}

$60 Pair of End Tables

$75 Pair of Blue Chairs

$60 Sofa

$35 Table

$40 Headboard

If you want me to search your craigslist, check the list in my sidebar ---> to see if your city's in the lineup, if not, send me an email to Nuestravidadulce@gmail.com and I would be happy to add it to the list!

xoxo

Gladys Takes On Chicago

This past weekend was a very fun {& funny} one because two of my dear friends and I left St. Louie for Chi-Town.

Melissa was a dear and planned the lodging and offered to drive! She's a saint because I'm not an aggressive driver at all and Chicago drivers would probably eat me alive. Those who know me in real life know how true this is

We left last Friday right after school and when we arrived {thanks to Ms. Gladys (my GPS)} we headed straight to Gino's Pizza for some deep dish!

It was tasty pasty and I was in love. I ate two pieces like it was nothing...I must've been hungry because you all know how much two pieces of deep dish pizza is! Since we all had worked a full school week {we're all teachers!} we went back to the hotel and went straight to bed.

Saturday morning we woke up fairly early and took a stroll to Millineum Park to check out the bean and the city art.

Later we took a cab ride {oh those are always an adventure!} to Navy Pier and strolled the whole thing.

We also took a boat ride {where a bird pooped on Melissa's shoulder--crazy funny!} and rode the ferris wheel {where Melissa may have prayed for her life!}.

Next we headed to Michigan Avenue and had fun people watching and walking the street!

We enjoyed some street drummers and saw a couple of wedding parties. Melissa and Paige were so sweet to oblige my wishes and let me walk to one of my dream stores: the Jonathan Adler store!

I wanted that LOVE pillow in a major way but just could not justify spending over $100 for it! Maybe someday!

He's definitely one of my favorite designers that I look up to and compare my style to as well! He totally gets that design can be fun and colorful and I love that about him. I'm obsessed with his
design manifesto:

Afterwards we took a cab to CB2 so I could buy my beloved ferris wheel I've been wanting ever since seeing Emily use it on Secrets From A Stylist. So many people gave me a look as I carried that thing around town!

Later on we took another cab toward the Planetarium and Field Museum so that Paige could get a hot dog from a stand! I'm sure there were other places that had some but Melissa remembered this place in particular and since we hadn't eaten since morning we were all ready to chow down.

That night we came home to freshen up and went out to dinner at Carnivale. Our waiter was gorgeous {Jeannie, you would have been in LOVE!} and I had a delicious and spicy Gnocchi dish.

We finished our dinner with some churros dipped in some sort of sugary loveliness!

We had planned on going out that night but our daytime escapades had worn us out! We woke up early the next morning and ventured over to Wicker Park {I think?} to eat at Hot Chocolate {thanks, Cor!} and do some shopping. The hot chocolate was pure deliciousness and Paige, Melissa and I could not stop raving about it. Holy yum. ; )

We hit up the Brown Elephant thrift store {which was kind of a let down}, took a stroll through some neighborhoods, and then headed out of the city to end our adventures at one of my beloved stores: IKEA!

I bought some fabulous pillows {I'll share later} and some of my favorite cookies. I was super bummed that they didn't have my fig leaf tree I wanted. Sad face for sure...but I'm not giving up. Summer is just around the corner and I'm going to find that bad boy if it's the last thing I do!

I am truly blessed to have such great friends in my life and I am constantly reminded of my blessings everytime we laugh 'til we cry! Thanks, Melissa and Paige.

xoxo