Tag Archives: cheap

quick and easy kitchen upgrade

I seriously just upgraded my life in less than five minutes. Grab some nails and start pounding into your cabinets.

I don’t have a before picture, but this cupboard was a mess. Stacking pots is a science that I fail at.

And maybe this is a white person problem, but reaching for the pan lid that’s covered by other cookery in the back of your cabinet is not fun, especially while cooking.

Look at all of that space! There’s enough room for at least two more pots. Maybe it’s time to finally buy that Dutch oven. I’m pretty embarrassed that I didn’t do this sooner. My imagination has run wild with what I can do next: measuring cups, cake pans, spice jars?

Have you come across any simple kitchen upgrades lately?

pro tip: make sure the pots hanging on the door will fit and close before you start hammering away.

revitalize your couch cushions

The biggest eyesore in my house is truly my couch.

couch

I have big plans and dreams for this thrift-store find. Maybe one day I’ll get around to create a slip cover for it ala Honey Bear Lane, because frankly, I’m not even sure what color this couch is. Green? Brown? Regardless, if anything were to be done about the couch, it had to start with the back cushions.

couch cusions

I bought the couch with these saggy and lifeless back cushions. Over the past year and a half, they’ve just gotten worse. For some reason, only the middle cushion can stand upright. The side two are absolutely hopeless. So I set out to change it.

How to Revitalize Your Couch Cushions
*I apologize in advance for the terrible lighting in my house, which creates awful pictures.

For this project, you’ll need appx. 2 yards of high-loft batting.
Optional pillow stuffing

I took the pillow form out of the case and placed it on a flat piece of batting. I traced around the pillow, leaving about 5 inches of space on each side. You’ll need to cut two pieces.

pillow form

This pillow has a curve in it that fits over the armrest. I initially worried that I would really mess this part up, especially since I didn’t measure anything, but it works out because the pillow case holds a more defined curve than the pillow form.

On my second batting cut-out, I made the bottom piece a little longer, so I can create a wide base for the bottom.

pillow form

Pin the sides together and sew around the entire thing – sorry, no picture. I sewed at the 5/8″ line and didn’t even bother changing my thread color. It’s a tough sew. My machine made all sorts of bad noises. I recommend using a walking foot if you have one. I didn’t.

Leave a little opening big enough for you to put your hand though, so you can stuff your pillow. I left my opening at the bottom left corner.

opening

I didn’t trim my thread or seams. I didn’t even turn it inside out. No one will see this, ever.

Next, start stuffing. You can buy more stuffing if you want, but I just used the polyester mix that was already in my old pillow form, which had a big hole in it.

stuffing

Yeah, I didn’t cut that hole. It was already busted apart.

For the most part, this stuffing worked fine. I bought a huge bag in anticipation of filling the new pillow form, but only used a few handfuls. The filling from the old pillow just needed to be handled and spread apart a little.

stuffing

Pay attention to pushing the stuffing back into corners.

pillow

Once the pillow was stuffed, I started to freak out. It looked way bigger than my pillow form or the case. Also, it was a little crooked. I’m sloppy.

Then I went on to sew up the hole in the corner.

sewingI’m not an expert at hand sewing. It doesn’t matter. No one will see this.

And you’re done!

finished

Place it back in your pillow case.

beforeafter

I love the new full-bodied pillow. Any problems with the shape of the pillow form are fixed once you place it in the case.

Total Cost:
High Loft Batting: $17 with 50% off coupon: $8.50
Pillow stuffing (optional): $7, but I didn’t use enough to suggest purchasing it for this project

Total Time: 45 min! I think the time and financial investment are well worth it.

{linked up here, here, and here}

6 p.m. Discount Brand Clothing

Have you heard of 6pm.com? It’s a website that sells expensive name brand at around a 60% discount from the MSRP. Sometimes I think it’s pricey, I still couldn’t afford to shop there regularly. But if you have a special engagement and want to show up wearing a $500 dress that you only paid $100 for, well, it’s a possibility. My picks:

French Connection Wizard Cotton Dress
$47.60, MSRP $148

Michael Kors Tweed Kimono Dress
$71.50, MSRP $130

Roxy Newland Dress (Yes, I realize Roxy is a high school brand and there’s a good chance this dress will not cover my rear.)
$15.58, MSRP $44.50

Laundry by Shelli Segal Sleeveless Pleated Party Dress
$115.09, MSRP $295
This one is probably my favorite.

Betsey Johnson Bathing Beauties Trapeze Dress
$54.90, MSRP $265

HUGO Hugo Boss Korina Dress in Periwinkle
$102.60, MSRP $525

I know most of my male friends bleed Diesel clothing, which they have a nice selection of. Also, this is a haven for all things accessories and shoes. I think I’ll splurge on a new pair of Nike running shoes soon.

I try to never pay full price for anything.

good buy: kmart breakfast nook

My good friend, Bryan, always takes me to weird places that I normally wouldn’t walk into. This week, it was Kmart. We found this gem and he’s buying it.

It’s quite darling for a plastic Kmart breakfast nook. I’m very happy he’s buying it. It’s much better than the  Wal Mart table I bought a few years ago for the same price. Right, that’s the best part – we found it in store for $200. I can’t seem to find that price or this color online. But here’s one in white for the original price of $400, which I would not pay.

I know it’s not the most classy thing, but the truth is we’re poor and can’t afford great things yet. Crate & Barrel will have to wait.

What do you think about it?