Oh, the places you'll go...Volume I

First of all, hi everyone!  Sorry it's been awhile.  When I started this blog, I just KNEW I was going to post something every week because surely I can find at least an hour a week to sit down and write something, right?  Yeah...about that.  Note to self:  must try harder.  But anyway, back to tonight's topic...

I don't know about you, but I have a few favorite places that I can always count on for a good time, great company, and memories that will last forever.  I thought I'd start sharing some of these places with you in case you ever run across them in your travels.

First on the list is one of my absolute favorite restaurants on the planet.  It's called the Yacht Basin Eatery, and it is located in Southport, N.C.  The food is amazing, and the views are even better!  The dining area is literally on the water, and you'll get to choose from a mix of Italian and traditional seafood options (their menu is on their website).  It's a tiny little restaurant, so you might have to wait a little while during the tourist season.  No worries though...just grab a drink at the tiki bar and enjoy the views as you wait.  And those views?  They NEVER disappoint.  Here's just a few of the sunsets I've caught over dinner...

Beautiful, huh?  Sooooo...if you are ever in Southport, I hope you'll give this place a try!  And if you go, ask for Eddie.  I have no doubt he'll take care of you!

Yacht Basin Eatery Facebook page
Yacht Basin Eatery website

Pro Tip: Don't throw away those Bed Bath & Beyond coupons!

I know everyone gets those Bed Bath & Beyond coupons in the mail all. the. time.  Bud did you know they take the expired coupons in the store?  If not, you do now!  The expired coupons do not work online, but they will accept them in the store without any questions.  So...stop throwing them away and find a safe place to store them for your next project or splurge.  You'll save yourself all sorts of money!  I recently moved and had been keeping a stash of coupons since I knew I'd have a million things to buy.  Each time I was near BB&B, I'd stop by and pick up one thing at a time (the coupons are generally 20% off one item only, so try to plan your purchases with that in mind), and I saved myself over $150 with my handy dandy expired coupons.  Easy enough, right?

Bonus tip:  Don't forget to sign up for their promotional emails as well!  You will get emailed additional coupons and have access to extra online offers.

Happy expired coupon shopping! :)

My favorite places to shop...from the comfort of my couch!

NEWSFLASH:  I am not a fan of shopping.  Weeeelllll...unless I'm shopping for things to put in my house.  Or shoes.  But that's it!  And the next jack wagon that suggests that I would have "so much fun" going out at 3 a.m. on Black Friday is going to get injured.  I'm serious.  There is no reason to go stand in line (for hours) with all the other freak shows ready to duke it out over $10 of savings when I can save just as much on Cyber Monday...from my couch!  Whew...thanks for letting me vent!

So, back to our topic for the evening...  Recently, I purchased a new house, so I've been spending the last couple of months trying to get my new bachelorette pad in one piece.  Everyone keeps asking me where I've gotten various things (accent chairs, rugs, bedding, etc.), so I figured I'd get together a list of some of my favorite online stores.  Maybe some of you have already noticed, but if you haven't, let me help you out...the internet is basically a never ending supply of shopping options.  Right at your fingertips.  24-7.  Even on Christmas!  In your PJ's!  So, here's my little list.  I've left off the obvious eBays and Amazons of the world since most of you folks have probably already found them in your travels.  But hopefully, my list will help you get started on your own little home decor shopping spree....from your couch!  Sorry I don't have pictures of everything, but I'll post more later!  Ready?  Begin!

1.  Overstock - Overstock is one of those websites that has a little bit of everything - furniture, rugs, kitchen items, tools, clothes, jewelry, shoes, makeup...like I said, everything!  Sale items are switched out regularly, so if I'm looking for something in particular, I try to check out the website every few days.  They also have flash sales, so you can sometimes stumble upon an even sweeter deal if you catch it at the right time.  Shipping is always free to the lower 48 when you make a purchase of at least $50.  So far, I have ordered an area rug and a comforter set from them.  I am extremely pleased with both items.  Prices were extremely reasonable and shipping was even faster than I expected (less than a week in both cases) especially considering it was free!  Bonus points:  when you create an account, you get 10% off your first purchase.

Stock picture of the comforter I ordered from Overstock.

Stock picture of the rug I ordered from Overstock.  It is even more gorgeous in person!

2.  Wayfair - Wayfair's slogan is "a zillion things home," and I think that about sums it up.  Like Overstock, they also have regular sales, and my favorite thing about their sales is they very clearly post the end date for the sale price.  So, if you want a few days to think a purchase over, you know exactly how long you have to make up your mind (all you indecisive people should be rejoicing!).  Shipping is free over $49 in most cases.  So far, I have only purchased an area rug from them, but I'm waiting for some accent chairs to go on sale as we speak.  Prices were great and shipping was fast as well.

3.  Joss & Main - Joss & Main tends to be a little higher end than Wayfair and Overstock.  However, if you keep your eye out, there are always deals to be found.  Their website is set up a little differently.  At any given time, they have a series of "events" going on.  Basically, you can only order from certain collections of their products at certain times.  Also, many popular items sell out before the "event" has ended, so if you fall in love with something, it might be best to go ahead and put on your big girl pants and order it.  Personally, I have ordered an area rug from them.  It is absolutely beautiful, but I did pay a little more than rugs I had seen on other websites (it was exactly what I was looking for, so I went ahead and jumped on it).  Shipping did take about two weeks, but in the interest of full disclosure, I was notified that they were experiencing shipping delays due to wildfires in California (where it was shipped from) at the time.

4.  Target - No, I'm not talking about going to your neighborhood Target.  Go check out Target online.  Did you know that they offer a huge amount of products online only?  Yeah, me neither.  I found all sorts of things you'd never see in a store.  Tons of accent chairs, outdoor furniture, shelving units...all online only!  The also have regular online deals/discounts that often include free shipping as well.  At this point, I have ordered a pair of chevron accent chairs that I am absolutely in love with.  And they even got to my house in 3 days!  Target is also great because many of the products you purchase online can actually be returned to your local store (yay for no return shipping fees!).

Stock picture of the Target chair I ordered.

5.  Etsy - Etsy is a website that allows anyone on the planet to have an online "storefront" for their homemade goodies.  They sell everything from Christmas ornaments to tote bags to jewelry to artwork.  The great thing about Etsy is that you also have direct access to the seller making the products, so you can often work with them to customize your order.  I have yet to order anything home decor related from Etsy (although I've ordered Christmas presents before with great success), but I'm currently on the lookout for some throw pillow covers and curtains.

Ok, I think that's enough websites to get you on your way to single-handedly stimulating the economy, right?  Well maybe if not, it will at least give you something to do for a few hours.  Before we go, I feel like I wouldn't be a responsible blogger if I didn't also do a little housekeeping.  I know internet purchases aren't for everyone, but here are some tips that should help make the process a little smoother for some of the less experienced.  Some are common sense, but you know what they say about common sense...

1.  Sign up for the promotional emails!  Yes, they are obnoxious because you get them all the time, but they come in handy when you are ready to make a purchase (think 10-20% off most of your online purchases). Pro tip:  if you get a lot of promotional emails, it might make sense for you to set up an email address just for the promotions.  That way, they are all in one place but not irritating the shit out of you every day.

2.  Always check out the return policy before ordering online.  Some stores/sites make it MUCH easier/cheaper to return items than others.  If you are worried at all that you might have to return something, make sure you won't have to give up your right arm and first born to do so BEFORE ordering.

3.  Read the reviews.  You probably aren't the first person ordering your selected item.  Let other people's experiences with whatever you are ordering be your guide.  I guarantee you if someone hit the ground the first time they sat in a chair, they are going to go back and tell the whole internet about it (I mean, I know I would!).  Listen to what these folks are trying to tell you!

4.  Use coupon codes!  If you don't already have a discount through your email, go scour the internet for a coupon code.  It's as simple Googling "XYZ store coupon code" and doing a little trial and error.  The coupon codes don't always work, but you'd be surprised how often they do!

5.  I think this falls under the same idea as buyer beware, but don't spend more money than you are comfortable "losing" when making internet purchases.  Always remember that you are buying something without being able to touch it, sit on it, see the exact size, etc.  If you would be devastated if your purchase turns out being not quite perfect, you might be better off trying to find the item somewhere you can get your hands on it first.

6.  One thing I see over and over is reviews talking about the color of items on a computer screen vs. in person.  Have you ever looked at a picture on two different computers?  Ever notice that the color is NEVER the same across the board?  So...if you are looking for something that is a very particular color, the internet might not be your friend.  The pictures can often be misleading.  In my experience, it's best to stick with neutrals/basics or items where a slight variation would still work well in your room.

Ok folks, I'm sure I'll find more sites to add to this list, but those are my current go-to's.  Happy shopping!

Pallet Coffee Table: A Tutorial

Hey folks!  For the last few days, I've been trying to decide what I wanted to blog about first.  Luckily for you, I've decided I might as well go big or go home.  So, today we are going to tackle what is probably my all time favorite DIY project: my pallet coffee table!  Before we get started, here's the finished product:

And the story goes a little something like this...  About a year and a half ago, I got a new sofa and accent chair, and the coffee table I had in my living room just wasn't going to work anymore.  I wasn't sure what I wanted to replace it with, so I just started keeping my eye out whenever I was out shopping.  After a month or so, I still hadn't found anything close to what I wanted and/or under $500.  Sidenote:  Seriously, why in the hell are decent coffee tables so expensive?  Jesus people...it's just some wood and nails/screws.  Anyway, I finally decided the internet would probably hook me up, and I stumbled upon this picture. 

Google was good to me!

Hmmm, looks...promising.  I wasn't into the whole whitewashed look so much, but the table itself would be perfect in a different color. 

At this point, I decided that it wouldn't hurt to try a little project, so I set off on a new mission to find some pallets.  Luck was on my side at this point, as my sister-in-law was just about to have a bunch of mulch delivered to her house, so I scored four pallets for free.  Jackpot!  Now the fun can start!  Here's one of the pallets.  As you can see, they were pretty beat up. 

  

Is that blood???

Before starting this project, I had checked YouTube to see if anyone had any bright ideas about how to get these pallets apart.  Multiple videos assured me that all you need is a hammer, a crowbar, a sledgehammer, a screwdriver, or some combination of the above.  Uh yeah...good luck with that.  Let me put it to you this way:  that shit didn't work.  Period.  After an hour, all we ended up with was a bunch of splintered/cracked wood and an anger management problem.  So, after some more research, my trusty assistant (i.e. my friend who has muscles and is proficient in tool speak) and I went to Home Depot and rented one of these:

Just go do yourself a favor and rent one of these!

For anyone else who is not fluent in power tools, this is called a reciprocating saw.  I had never seen one of these things before (I'm a girl...give me a break), but it is pretty bad ass.  Not only will it cut through wood, but it will also cut through metal (think nails/screws here).  If I remember correctly, I think this was in the neighborhood of $20-$30 to rent for the day, and once we got our act together, we actually only needed this for about an hour.  To get the pallets apart, we simply cut the horizontal boards off just inside the edges of the frame (i.e. just inside the nails at the ends of the boards you can see in the above picture), and then we cut through the nails in the middle of the horizontal pieces where it is attached to the center of the frame.  I planned on leaving these nail holes in the center of the horizontal pieces because I was going for a rustic/barnyard look, but this is something to keep in mind.



Making progress...finally!



At this point, we sanded down all the wood (this step takes FOR...EV...ER) and found there were all sorts of crazy, cool patterns in the wood.  Bonus points!  Pictures in a minute...

Next, I needed to pick a stain color.  Personally, I only like wood two ways:  white or damn near black.  However, with this being my first foray into staining something myself, I chickened out and got a walnut colored stain instead of something darker.  The first coat of stain left me with this:

The stain color? No bueno... 

...but those patterns!  Me likey!



I couldn't decide if another coat of stain would get me to where I needed, so I went ahead and tried it.  No luck.  So back to the store I went.  This time, I swung for the fence, and got the ebony colored stain.  Much, much better!  This was all Minwax Wood Stain with Polyurethane, by the way. 


Success! 

So to recap...this wood has two coats of walnut stain and one coat of ebony.  The ebony is basically black, so I put a much lighter layer of this stain on the wood.  However, I made sure to get it into a lot of the grooves and notches so you can really see the dimension in the wood.  

Our next step was to start laying out the pieces and figuring out how to put this sucker together.  If you'll remember, all I had was a picture to start with, so we didn't have the luxury of any measurements or instructions.  We finally decided that it would actually be easiest to use 2x4's for what I will call the frame (the legs and the parallel pieces holding the pallet wood together on the top and bottom).  To figure out how long the parallel pieces need to be, we set the "top" out on the floor and just measured the length (in the picture below, horizontally from left to right).  You will need four pieces of the 2x4 cut in this length (two for the top and two for the bottom).  I also decided that I wanted my table to be 18" tall, so you will additionally need four pieces of the 2x4 cut in this length (or whatever height you choose) as well.  Basically, you are effectively making two sets of "train tracks" that will be connected by upright legs.  Make sense?  I hope so!  If not, there is a picture below that should help.  We just had Home Depot do the cutting for us.  Stain all of these frame pieces with the same color(s) as your pallet pieces.

This is the top laid out on the floor.

You might have noticed that I never meantioned cutting/measuring the actual pallet pieces themselves.  Because I was going for an old/rustic look, I decided that I actually liked that the pieces of wood weren't all exactly the same length.  However, if you want a more even look, you can cut the pallet pieces down before staining.  Also, I wanted a pretty large coffee table, so it worked to just use the length of the pallet pieces as they were cut off the original pallet.  If you want something smaller or a different shape, cut down the pallet pieces to the width you want, add or remove pieces to increase/decrease length, and then measure out your frame pieces.  Or, if you will look back at my original picture from Google, you can have your frame pieces run the width of your table instead of the length as another option.  It's totally up to you...you really can make this table any size or shape you want!

Finally, there is one additional cut to make when assembling this table.  The parallel pieces holding the frame together should be secured two inches (or in my case, slightly less than two inches...measure the width of your 2x4 and adjust accordingly) from the edge of the pallet wood top.  This will allow the legs to sit under the "overhang" of the top layer of the table.  On the bottom, the "overhang" would stop your leg from being able to sit flush with the frame piece and floor.  Therefore, each end piece of pallet wood on the bottom layer only needs to have (roughly...again, measure your 2x4) two inches cut off.  This will allow you to secure the leg to the bottom frame while still having an "overhang" for the rest of the bottom.  See picture below for a visual. 

Here are your two "train tracks" with legs connecting them.  Each end piece of pallet wood on the bottom needs to be cut down so that the leg can be secured to the frame piece on the bottom.

We secured the table together with wood screws, and it is sturdy as can be.  I also took a q-tip and put some stain where we put the screws in so you didn't see blonde-colored holes where we countersunk the screws in the frame.  Here's some finished pictures.  My finished table is 36" x 58" and as mentioned, 18" tall.  The couch it is sitting in front of is 13'1" long.



Mission accomplished!

All finished with a few decorations.



The uneven edges.



Those patterns are crazy!

I really am truly in love with this table.  Everyone who sees it wants to take it home, and it is a really cool conversation piece for my living room.  It was a ton of work, but it was totally worth it (I will admit that we wasted a whole lot of time not having a clue what in the hell we were doing).  I think I spent about $100 total on everything (tool rental, stain, more stain, gloves, screws...I think that's it).  I have no idea what the pallets would have cost if I had to purchase them.

If you are wanting to make one of these tables, I would definitely recommend putting some effort into planning dimensions, picking out stain color, and having your tools together beforehand.  It will save you time and extra trips to the store.  Also, I would recommend having two people when you are cutting the pallets apart as well as assembling the table.  It just makes everything much easier.

So, that's it...my first real blog about my first real piece of furniture I ever made. Hope it was helpful to someone out there!

Hello world!

Welcome!  I guess I owe you guys an introduction.  I'm kdots.  I'll be your tour guide for the length of your stay.  There's not much to see right now, but I've got a ton in store for you! 

The idea for this blog came from several friends who have encouraged me to share my adventures in home decorating, DIY projects, and finding creative uses for everyday things.  Hopefully someone on this planet finds my shenanigans helpful or interesting.  I also promise to share my Pinterest project fails and other bright ideas gone awry (hey, it happens to the best of us!).  I like to refer to these as free entertainment, so hopefully you will find them just as amusing as I do.

I have plenty of other hobbies too, so over time, there is no telling what might end up on here.  Hell, I might even surprise myself!  Anyway, I hope there will be a little something for everyone.  Stay tuned...