la dolce (cheapo) vita

We've moved!

2009-12-07T10:18:00.001-05:00

Come visit us in our new home: life effervescent

Vintage Dux chair

2008-10-13T10:41:00.006-05:00

Over the weekend I visited a little shop that was a cross between a garage sale and a thrift store. Most of the stuff was overpriced, but just when I was about to give up I spotted a vintage Dux chair that was marked down to $6.

The chair is currently living in my Dad's garage, so I didn't have a chance to snap a photo. It basically looks like the chair in the photo above except someone had started trying to refinish it. They also did a pretty crappy reupholstering job with what look like old sheets....Any way, the plan is to finish the refinishing and upholster new cushions. But, I'm not sure what fabric to go with. I want something kind of funky that speak to the chair's midcentury mod roots. I like these, but I'm still looking. Suggestions?

The first four are from Maine Cottage, the bottom two are from Fat Quarter Shop and Fabric.com respectively.

I need a new bed...

2008-09-25T16:31:00.009-05:00

Our long beloved Malm bed has finally given out and the time has come to sleep on the floor or chose a replacement. I'd like to chose a bed that will last us for many years and we won't get sick of, but we do have a limited budget. So, I've found a few that I like but I'm not sure any perfectly meet our requirements. I'm open to any suggestions as well....The possibilities:

West elm, Crate & Barrel, Room & Board

Housewarming Gifts

2008-05-20T08:29:00.005-05:00

A friend recently asked for ideas on what to give as a housewarming gift, and I thought I would share what I told her with all of you.

I believe that the best housewarming gifts are the ones that help make a new house feel like home. So, to that end, here are some ideas:

1. A cute bucket (such as the plastic Michael Graves mop bucket from Target, which doesn't appear to be online) filled with high-end, nice smelling cleaning supplies.

2. A really cozy throw, gourmet popcorn, and a really great DVD (or book).

3. A binder filled with menus for local restaurants/take out places and a couple of gift cards for the new home owners to use while they're still unpacking their pots and pans.

4. Breakfast for their first morning in their new home -- chocolate croissants, gourmet coffee, and a French press.

5. A custom return address stamp or labels.

6. Have a photo of your friend's family enlarged, framed, and ready to hang in their new home.

7. A nice bottle of sparkling wine and wine glasses to toast their first night in their new home.

8. A metal pail or toolbox filled with all the things you need when moving into a new house, but inevitably forget -- light bulbs, extension cords, cable cords, picture hangers, felt pads, furniture polish and scratch remover, furniture movers, super glue, level, tape measure, etc.

9. A small fruit tree (the gift that keeps on giving) to plant in their new front yard. Year after year they can watch it grow and enjoy its fruit.

10. A personalized doormat using their new address instead of their last name.

image from www.williamssonoma.com

Shoe Paper

2008-05-14T20:30:00.002-05:00

Olli and Lime tag themselves as being exclusively for kids, but I have a strong desire to paper my closet in this shoe print.

Cardbored? Not Us...

2008-02-10T12:58:00.000-05:00

With the wedding, then Christmas, then an amazing sale at Nine West, we were starting to feel a little boxed in (sorry, I couldn't help myself) by cardboard boxes. It felt like a waste to get rid of them all, so I started looking for ideas to repurpose them.

First, I took the shoeboxes from the shoes I bought at a Nine West store-closing clearance sale ($80 for four pairs of shoes, a purse, and a wallet). I glued them together, covered them with white contact paper, added a few little details, and voila -- a new dollhouse for Ava! It didn't turn out quite as nice as I'd hoped, but I think she'll have fun with it for a little while.

I found a bunch of other ideas online that I'm hoping to try out soon, like this oven and this puppet theatre. And I'm also thinking about making a little bulletin board or two.

By the way, this is what Ava was doing while I was working on the dollhouse:

DwellStudio sale at Target

2008-02-07T16:40:00.000-05:00

Not only does Target have an adorable new collection of baby goodies from DwellStudio, but they are all on sale this week. These are my favs.

Schoolbook Pillow on sale for $7.64
Farm Girl Curtains on sale for $12.74

Zebra Rug on sale for $152.99

the creative family

2008-02-06T10:55:00.000-05:00

The intro for this book states: "When you learn to awaken your family's creativity, wonderful things will happen." What a great promise! And I truly believe being creative and imaginative are skills just as important as math or science. At ~~26 months~~ (oops, she's 16 months), Ava already loves to use her imagination. Just last night she was having a tea party with some of her dolls. I try to be as encouraging as I can of imaginative play, because with so many options for kids today that don't require the use of creativity or imagination, these skills might be fading for a lot of kids. So, I encourage everyone to find something creative to do with your kids today. I have something in mind already that I'll post more about tomorrow. In the meantime, I think I might order this book.

wtf?!?!

2008-02-05T18:57:00.000-05:00

Apparently high winds, plus rain, plus sub-zero wind chills lead to this. Oh the joys of homeownership. I just hope this doesn't mean we have to cancel our trip to Florida...

adventurous

2007-12-07T13:24:00.000-05:00

image from marthastewart.com

I've been charmed by advent calendars of late. But rather than a little treat or trinket for each day, I love the idea of making in adventurous advent. Below are the things I plan to include in this year's advent calendar (I know, I know, I'm a little behind on actually making this). Our little Ava might still be too small to appreciate all of them right now, but I hope to instill a sense of tradition in her.

1. Go for a walk in fresh snow
2. Give a gift to Toys for Tots
3. Visit the Nite Lite Christmas light show at Fifth Third Ballpark
4. Sledding
5. Watch the Nutcracker (this year on DVD, but hopefully soon we'll see it live)
6. Visit Santa (I'm still not sure how I feel about this one)
7. Take our Christmas photo
8. Decorate a gingerbread house
9. Decorate the tree
10. Make a popcorn or cranberry garland
11. Watch White Christmas (the best Christmas movie of all time)
12. Make and send Christmas cards
13. Celebrate St. Lucia day with coffee, cinnamon rolls, and lingonberry juice
14. Make orange pomanders
15. Make paper snowflakes
16. Build a snowman
17. Hang a wreath
18. Watch Charlie Brown Christmas
19. Make hot chocolate from scratch
20. Write a letter to Santa
21. Make snow globes
22. Snuggle in front of a warm fire
23. Make Christmas cookies
24. Read The Night Before Christmas
25. Celebrate Christmas!

how inviting

2007-11-12T10:31:00.000-05:00

Our wedding invitations are finally ready to mail! Can I just say, though, that I love them so much that I've actually thought about keeping them...all of them....it's just a fleeting thought, as I do want people to come to our wedding. Do you think Emily Post would approve of wedding evites?

Our letterpress wedding invitations were designed and printed by Melissa Baldwin of Blackbird Press. We were so lucky to find her because I really wanted letterpress, but we couldn't afford the typical letterpress price. Melissa gave us a great deal and she was so much fun to work with!

do people sleep better in the UK?

2007-09-14T08:42:00.001-05:00

They must with beds like this. The Loren Bed Frame from Heal's.

great furniture on craigslist

2007-05-24T09:09:00.000-05:00

Oh the joys of living in West Michigan! A quick search on craigslist.com for furniture in the Grands Rapids area turned up these little gems:

kohls welcomes vera wang

2007-05-21T21:21:00.001-05:00

Legendary designer Vera Wang is slated to launch a low-cost line of clothes, accessories, and home goods at Kohls this fall. I've been able to find a few photos of the new clothing collection, but I can't find any images of the Simply Vera home collection. Has anyone seen them? I'm keeping my fingers crossed that she'll launch a low-cost wedding dress collection as well (hello, Issac Mizrahi) before my December nuptials (more on that later).

mid-century illustration prints

2007-05-19T22:06:00.000-05:00

Plan 59 is a mid-century illustration museum. The website and blog are a great source for info on mid-century illustration and advertising, but the best part is the print shop. Prints of old ads and photos range in price from just $9 for a HP photo print (19 x 13") to $250 for museum-grade large format (56 x 44"). A few of my favorites:

chalk it up

2007-05-16T20:50:00.000-05:00

I love this idea from Martha Stewart Living. I want to paint one on the wall in my home office/craft room. Chalkboard paint isn't just for the kids' room anymore (and who were we kidding by pretending we'd given up our hopscotch chalk? -- speaking of which, check out this other great idea over at decor8).

general patent

2007-05-01T20:34:00.000-05:00

My obsession started when a co-worker started wearing a pair of patent boots to the office. Their glossiness made my mouth water. Then, a friend picked up a sassy pair of patent peep-toe slingbacks. Wa-wa-we-wa! And wouldn't you know it, when I opened my May issue of Real Simple what do I see? An entire feature on patent (I swear every time I open that magazine I feel like the entire editorial staff has been living inside my brain for the past month)! But most of the patent they featured was a bit outside a cheapster's budget, so I did a little shopping on my own and found some patent for pennies.

Piperlime has a gorgeous pair of Franco Sarto patent peep-toes on sale for just $44.99. For the ultimate budget patent, try these Mossimo white flip-flops from Target, just $9.99. Also from Target is this gorgeous seagrass and patent tote. You can order yours for $19.99.

welcome to ava's room

2007-05-01T19:40:00.000-05:00

My daughter's room is one of the only ones in our house that is (nearly) complete, so I've decided to share a few photos. I'd love to hear any and all opinions. Welcome to Ava's room:

I chose bedding from Pottery Barn Kids (on clearance I might add) that would work for future children we might have, so no babydoll pink. My favorite part are the letters. I love letters and numbers as a motif. Hanging on the wire right now are cards from all our baby showers. When she gets older, we plan to use it for her artwork.

My dad built this dollhouse bookcase for Ava as a Christmas gift. It was based on the one available from Pottery Barn Kids, but I of course love ours much more -- and it's handcrafted! I added a little upholstered stool, some cushions, a light from Ikea and instant reading nook!

Above the changing table I hung two Hold Everything CD shelves (from the Pottery Barn outlet) to hold diapers and other supplies. The changing table, dresser, and crib came in a set from Walmart. I wasn't sure what the quality would be (we ordered online), but I've been pleasantly surprised. I didn't want to spend a fortune on furniture we'd only use until she outgrew it.

The artwork is all homemade and the dollhouse is one my mom and I made together when I was about 11.

All in all, I'm pretty pleased with how it has turned out. Although, she's seven months old and I'm already thinking of ways to change it as she gets older.

frugal gourmet

2007-04-26T20:50:00.000-05:00

If you're looking for super-cute dishes for not a lot, click on over to rosanna.com and check out her new stuff! Rosanna Bowles (yes, that's really her last name) knows her tableware. Dishes from Rosanna are richly handcrafted and afforadable -- the cheapsters' motto!

A few of my faves:

Dinner Party, American Bungalow, and King's Road -- But I really love them all!

ruffle some feathers

2007-04-23T10:46:00.000-05:00

Those geniuses at Blueprint magazine have found a simple, diy way to improve on the classic white button-down. Their gorgeous iron-on ruffles will give any white shirt trompe-l'oeil appeal. And it looks easy enough that even the diy-challenged (namely me -- I hate to admit that I can barely thread a needle) can manage.

walk the line

2007-04-12T09:41:00.000-05:00

I've discovered a great little blog from the folks at Blueprint magazine. Bluelines is a blog with contributions from editors, contributing editors, editorial assistants, and other mag insiders. With posts about Old Navy, Target, and DIY, it's a cheapsters dream. These gals have some great ideas! And there's a fly-on-the-wall aspect in the 'behind the scenes' posts (ever wonder what the Blueprint offices look like?) that's kinda cool, especially to us magazine junkies.

I especially love the zany posts from contributing editor, Rory. Check out her Old Navy/DIY dress post. And, Rory, what's up with not having your photo next to your name like all the other bloggers?

magazines for not-much

2007-04-01T08:50:00.000-05:00

Thanks to CeLee at Dress Your Nest for this great cheapo deal (I had no idea!). Looking for a great price for a magazine subscription? Head on over to eBay. From the popular to the obscure, eBay has thousands of subscriptions available. Check it out!

affordable organics

2007-03-14T08:20:00.000-05:00

Now that my daughter is starting to move into the world of solid foods, I've become more and more concerned about what's actually in the foods we eat. And more and more convinced that eating organic is the best option for us.

That's why I'm so excited about all the affordable new organic lines that are available today. Talk about perfect timing, Gerber has recently unveiled a line of organic baby food (my daughter's favorite is the bananas). Kraft has also introduced several organic versions of their popular products including Macaroni & Cheese, Wheat Thins, and even coffee. And, Kellogg's has launched organic versions of several of their popular cereals as well.

Now even large grocery chains are getting in on the organic action. Meijer, a popular chain based right here in west Michigan, has introduced a large collection from milk to frozen pizza. And, nationally, Walmart is planning to offer more organic selections as well.

What a great time to eat!

nothing's cheaper than free

2007-02-18T21:01:00.000-05:00

There's been a lot of ink about this lately but it's such an amazing opportunity, it deserves the continued proliferation. MIT is offering free courses from aeronautics to writing through their OpenCourseWare program. You'll have access to course materials, some audio or video lectures, and much more. You won't earn a degree, but in my opinion learning is its own reward.

luxe v. low-cost: baby crib

2007-01-29T20:36:00.000-05:00

While I was pregnant with my daughter, I found the Netto nursery collection. Their beautiful modern designs were just the kind of thing that I wanted my little princess to wake up in every morning. But, the $1,490 price tag just for the crib was more than a little prohibitive. Especially for a piece of furniture that you don't use very often or for very long. I wound up buying a much cheaper plain white crib.

So, imagine my surprise when I flipped open the WalMart circular over the weekend and spotted a truly beautiful modern nursery collection. And, the Roxanne crib goes for just under a cool $300. Nice.

lace 'em up

2007-01-21T16:58:00.000-05:00

Today I've been watching the huge, potato-chip-size, snowflakes drifting lazily toward the frozen ground, and it's finally put me in the mood for winter...and large amounts of rich, creamy hot chocolate.

If you're lucky enough to live in West Michigan, head over to the Rosa Parks Circle ice skating rink for some cheap family fun. It costs just $1 to enter the rink and skate rentals are free. And, yes, they have hot chocolate.

decor-a-phobia (noun) -- fear of decorating

2007-01-11T19:08:00.000-05:00

I watched hour upon hour of HGTV, flipped through countless decorating magazines, and surfed the web until the wee hours of the morning on more than one occasion. I had ideas. Tons of 'em. I ripped out pages and saved websites, but when the time came to actually start decorating our new home -- I froze. What if I made a mistake? What if we spent a fortune and then couldn't stand it in a few months? What if I bought something now and then found something better? I had decoraphobia. And I had it bad.

After eight months in our new house, I'd only painted two bedrooms and done nothing else. Then it came -- an invitation to a progressive dinner party through our neighborhood. The basic premise was that each house chose a country and prepared an appetizer and a drink from that country, then all the couples trekked through the neighborhood from house to house. It sounded like great fun and we've been meaning to meet the neighbors (yes, I suffer from neighboraphobia as well), but there was just one catch -- joining the dinner party meant that all of our neighbors would be coming to our house! In two weeks!

I looked around the house and noticed all the things we'd been putting off. The unpainted walls, the empty rooms, the moving boxes (!), and I realized it was time to overcome my fear of decorating. I took the first giant leap yesterday and ordered the Farmhouse table from West Elm, then I ordered the Morocco Window Rug, and some throw pillows from Tonic Living in rapid succession. Then I hit a wall.

I'm having a dining chair dilemma. I want black chairs to go with our limed blonde table. I'm thinking of having four of one kind and two of another. And I'd like something somewhat modern. Any suggestions? Please save me from my decoraphobia!

luxe v. low-cost: dining table

2007-01-11T18:20:00.000-05:00

Last summer in Philly I fell in love...with a dining table. The Big Sur table at Crate and Barrel is incredibly gorgeous, with it's big, rustic, natural cracks and knots. And it's big price tag. $1,300 may not be a lot for some people, but with a new house and a new baby it's more than we can afford.

Luckily, I found another great table at West Elm. The Farmhouse table has similar strong, hearty proportions (I love the chunky legs), but priced at just $650 it's a good deal. And, on sale right now for just $350, it's a steal!

Yet, my favorite part of the Big Sur table is that each leg is made from a single, core piece of wood so the inner rings are visible. Unfortunately, the Farmhouse table doesn't have this.

cute felt pilliows?

2007-01-11T18:11:00.000-05:00

I'm looking for a cute felt pillow to go in the rocking chair in my baby girl's room. I'm thinking maybe something with a cutout bird (chick,maybe?) or another animal. Does anyone have any suggestions of where to find one that isn't uber-expensive?

delicious dish

2007-01-08T21:20:00.000-05:00

With a new baby and a full-time job, when I get home from work the last thing I want to do is worry about dinner. Now, the folks at Main Dish Kitchen do it for me. Main Dish is one of those popular places where they have all the recipes, ingredients, and dishes and you just pick the meals you want and make two weeks worth of freezer-stable meals in one afternoon. But, if you're like me the idea of spending even one afternoon cooking is just this side of torture.

Now, for the month of January, the nice ladies at Main Dish will even prepare the meals for you at no additional cost. All you have to do is pick it up. Now that I can do!

If you have a small family, get the six meal package and have them divide it. You'll get plenty of food to feed two to three (or even four, these are generous portions) people 12 meals and still only pay the six meal price. If you're feeding two people, it breaks down to less than $5 per person per meal. What a deal!

diy: custom bedding without the price

2007-01-07T22:52:00.000-05:00

I'm totally in love with monograms right now. How else can a mass produced item be one-of-a-kind? But there's no reason a monogram has to be traditional. These beautiful shams from West Elm were monogrammed with 'him' and 'her'. Putting a nickname or sleep-inspiring words like 'slumber,' 'beddy-bye,' or 'dream.' West Elm has a three letter limit, but the Company Store has several fonts that allow up to 11 letters.

luxe v. low-price: Lotta Jansdotter

2007-01-07T02:33:00.000-05:00

I absolutely adore Lotta Jansdotter's designs. Her simple, yet elegant contemporary organic designs are pure art. She achieves her signature look by turning her sketches into designs using her copy machine. How cool is that?

For now, I sate my appetite for Lotta's designs with the adorable sticky-notes. One day, I'd like to reupholster a Scandinavian-style chair in one of her gorgeous fabrics. For a low-price fabric similar to Lotta's luxe designs, check out Ikea's Hannela fabric.

travel on the cheap

2007-01-06T22:12:00.000-05:00

Don't have the time or money for a real vacation? Check out WikiMapia. Just click a box anywhere on the map and you'll zoom in on that part of the globe. Click another box and you'll get the inside scoop on that spot. Often it's just-the-facts-ma'am, but you'll occasionally find some local flavor, which means it's also a great way to plan your next vaca.

WikiMapia currently has info on more than 2 million places around the world with more being added every day. Know a little something about a place on WikiMapia or disagree with a comment about your hometown? It's a wiki site, so it depends on users to add and edit content.