Champagne Taste Shoestring Budget: June 2013

Sunday, June 16, 2013

Coaster Tutorial

Emily and I are way too excited about our future apartment, even though it is not for another year or so. Our philosophy is that if we start buying and preparing to move in now, we will have a super cute collection of decorations, furniture, etc. to put in our apartment. One day we were out, and we found a great deal on wine glasses and margarita glasses. So naturally, we needed coasters to go along with them. Trying to save some money we decided to make them! They are so easy to make. Here is the how to...

Supplies:

Tiles from Home Depot 16 cents/tile

Mod Podge

Scrapbook paper

First cut the scrapbook paper down to fit on your tile. Next, Mod Podge the paper to the tile. We coated it two times. In order to get the air bubbles out, smooth out the paper with a ruler or some other straight edge. Let them dry overnight. Now you have sophisticated coasters that barely costed you a thing!

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Got me a haircut!

So being a college student, I don't have too much extra money to spend on myself (I usually spend all of my extra money on clothes...haha). Some things that I put aside are getting my nails and toes done or getting a hair cut. Honestly, it becomes the last thing I am thinking about while I am at school busy with work and school stuff. I am embarrassed to say that I don't even remember the last time I got a hair cut. I was noticing lately that my hair was doing some pretty funky things. If you have curly hair then you know what I am talking about. One day it would curl perfectly, and the next I couldn't even look at it because of the colossal amount of frizz goin' on up there. Needless to say it was time for a trim. My usual hair stylist is on maternity leave, so I found a salon near me. I am always hesitant trying a new hair place, just because scissors, curly hair, and a not so talented hair stylist scares me, but I decided that a new haircut couldn't be any worse than my current state of split ends, funky curls, and faded colors of red and orange. Okay sorry for that rant. But I am so happy with my new cut! It looks great, and I think the stylist did a fantastic job. Here are the before and after pics!

Old, sad hair.

New, sassy hair!

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Future Classroom Materials

Today for my Montessori training, I saw the cutest work for Practical Life! It's called Feed the Animals, for fine motor skills and development. It is an extension from spooning. The child uses the chopstick to transfer the bones from the food bowl into the dog's mouth. The children in my future classroom will love it. The set from Lakeshore Learning Center is $55 for three sets. I am going to get one soon!

Monday, June 10, 2013

Carriage Cookies

Baby Shower Cookies

My cousin is expecting a baby next month so my Grandma and I decided to throw her a baby shower! Since I have a little bit of experience baking I made Sugar cookies decorated as baby carriages.

Ingredients/Materials:

Sugar Cookies (I bought a bag mix because I didn't have time to make home made ones)

2 cups White Butter Cream (I like to use Miss. Bunny's Buttercream)

1 cup Blue Butter Cream

White lifesavers

2 piping bags with a star tip and a dot tip

How to create the Carriage:

1- Cover 3/4 of the Cookie with White Stars.

2- Then outline the 1/4 of a cookie with Blue Dots.

3- Place the white lifesavers on the bottom of the Carriage and fill the hole of the saver with blue frosting.

Montessori for DAYSSS

Today I started my Montessori Training to get my Montessori Certificate. I am so excited to learn more about the Montessori Method and to further my education in Early Childhood. Montessori is an amazing philosophy and if you are not familiar with it, it is a type of education approach that focuses on the individualized needs of children and unlocking their full potential. It is a very hands on approach to learning that encourages a child to develop autonomy and a love for learning. I attended a Montessori school, and I am working at that same school this summer! It's been super fun. My program is for four weeks during the summer, Mon-Fri 12-7. So you can say my brain is a little fried today. We are going through all the materials and work inside of a Montessori classroom during the summer. During the school year, there are weekly classes that discuss the Montessori philosophy further.

This week is Practical Life. Today we were taught how to teach a child how to roll and unroll a rug, how to handle work in the classroom, how to use the nuts and bolts, how to teach sorting, how to use clothes pins, and how to teach the string beading work. We are putting together these HUMONGOUS binders, with all of the instructions and details for the work. So I will have a total of 10 or so 3 inch binders when I am done. I had to buy 1000 page protectors. Yep that's right 1000! It is a lot of work, but I think it is totally worth it! Here I am, just being a student learning how to handle puzzles. Too much fun! ;)

Nicole's Bachelorette Inspiration (Emily Maynard)

So was everyone else as obsessed with Emily Maynard as I was? Since it is Monday night, and I am currently over at Em's house watching the Bachelorette, I was thinking about Emily Maynard today. She wore this one outfit on her season with Brad. I basically copied her. O well.

Jean Shirt: Gap: from my sister's closet

White Jean Shorts: Abercrombie from high school haha

Ankle Boots: PacSun $6.99

Purse: Lucky Brand $11.98

Earrings: Charlotte Russe $4

HOT DEAL

WOW! Nicole and I were searching for some good deals to decorate my bathroom with and we found one!
Original:$39.99 Sale Price:$11.98

I hung this metal leaf art piece above my toilet and it added the perfect about of edge to a feminne bathroom.

Bathroom Shelf: Old to Bold

As Emily and I were updating her bathroom, we knew that her shelving system needed a serious makeover. Instead of shopping for a new one, we attempted to give her current shelf an update.

Supplies for this Tutorial:

Old Metal Shelf that you don't like anymore

Sand Paper

Primer

Spray Paint

Baskets

We decided to spray paint it light blue. It was so easy! All we needed was a can of primer and a can of spray paint, both for only $3.49 from Home Depot. So we sandpapered to get all the rust off, then we primered, and spray painted.

The final step was to add the baskets, Target for $13.49 each. It turned out so much better than we thought it did. We are very proud of our thriftiness and craftiness for this project.

Emily's Bathroom Makeover

So Emily decided to update her bathroom! We were shopping at Target, for a a baby shower present, so naturally we went home with stuff for a bathroom remodel. She got the most adorable towels. They were a little bit on the pricier side, for target, but they were just too cute to pass up! They are mint hand towels, and gray shower towels with a little white geometric pattern. Leave it to Emily to find math in her towels. So here are the before pictures of her bathroom.

We went to Hobby Lobby and got the cutest metal pictures. They were 50% off! What a steal! To give them a little bit extra flare we added some ribbon to hang them. Look for that tutorial in our Mod Podge page. Anyways, we hung the pictures and the towels with a matching rug. I must say the bathroom is coming along. Here is the updated picture.

I know, super cute right? Next up, we decided to tackle her metal shelf. To give it a cheap update, we bought some light blue spray paint from Home Depot for $3.97. Also one of the plugs for the top of the metal pole was missing. We had no idea what to do with this. So we flirted our way into getting a free plug/screw thingy. We were pretty proud of that. To see the detailed steps for this project, please visit our Mod Podge page once again. Emily updated her baskets with some nice wicker baskets from target, only $13.49 a basket! I love it. Hopefully, you do too!

Last thing. We needed something to put over the toilet. We thought this was going to be an impossible feat, but luckily TARGET CAME TO THE RESCUE! We were walking around and found the perfect metal accent! The best part it was only $11.97' it was originally $39.99. It was an amazing deal. Emily is very happy. Here it is.

In conclusion, we updated Emily's bathroom by getting new towels, a new bathroom mat, painted her old, rusty shelf to a beautiful baby blue, and added some metal paintings. This is what Emily's gorgeous bathroom now looks like. Sophisticated and feminine. Just what we like. What do you think?

Chocolate and Strawberry Pie

Every Monday night Nicole and I have a few people over to my house to watch the Bachelorette. The first week I made my famous lemon bars (They are the best!, I will post the recipe next time I make them), the second week I just made a fruit, cheese, and cracker tray, and this week I am making a Chocolate and Strawberry Pie.

Ingredients:

2 Cups Chocolate Pudding

Basket of Strawberries

1 Oreo Crust (homemade or the one that is pre-made)

2 Dark Chocolate Bars or a Cup or so of Dark Chocolate Chips

Recipe:

1- Pour the pudding into the Oreo Crust and spread evenly. Let set in fridge for about an hour.

2-While the pudding is setting cut strawberries into halves and melt the chocolate.

3- Lay the strawberries over the pudding and then drizzle the dark chocolate over the strawberries.

4. Let set in the refrigerator for another hour or so and

ENJOY!

Emily's Strut the Stripes

Pink Stripe Quarter Sleeve Shirt- Forever 21- $10

Articles of Society Jeans- Nordstrom's-$69

Blue Cheetah Scarf-Forever 21-$7

Crochet Purse-Lucky-$11.98

Studded Tan Flats-Payless-$32

Silver Belt-I forgot :/

Emily's 20 and Graduated

Marron Cardigan- Nordy's-$42

Polka Dot Blouse- Express- $15

Articles of Society Jeans-Nordy's-$69

Black Pearl Necklace- Stole it from my Mommy :P

Black Flats-Pay Less-$14.99

Black Kathy Van Zeeland Purse-Macy's-$60

Sunday, June 9, 2013

Nicole's A Copycat

So Emily is loving the stripes lately, and since we are attached at the hip, I see her wearing, picking out, and eyeing stripes all the time. I'm usually not a huge fan, but I LOVE ombre looks so I thought this was super cute! Shhh don't tell Emily but I'm secretly competing with her stripes.

Striped shirt: Old Navy $7

Jean Shorts: American Eagle $29

Steve Madden Black Sandals: Off Broadway Shoes $40

Crotchet Purse: Lucky Brand $11

Teal LONG Earrings: Charlotte Russe $4

Emily's Most Unflattering but Attractive Shirt. EVER.

Not sure why but every time I go out in this shirt I seem to pick up guys. Not sure why because it's big and boxy but hey, it works.

Nicole says "It's True".

Sexy Boxy Black and Grey Tie-Dye Shirt-Norstroms-$32

Gold Studded Tan Satchel- Nordstroms-$52

Black Fringe Boots-Forever 21-$20

Black Triangle Necklace-Forever 21-$8

Black Bracelet-Forever 21-$12

Nicole's Emily Made Me Iron This Shirt

Blue Petal Tank: Old Navy $19 I never wore this shirt, because it needed to be ironed. I didn't want to but Emily made me iron it. So now it can be worn.

White capris: Gap $8

Ankle Boots: $7

Blue Tie Dye Purse: Lucky Brand $12

Statement Necklace: Forever 21 $8