Tutorial: Faux Chocolate Easter Decor

I recently fell in love with faux chocolate Easter decorations when I saw these faux chocolate bunnies on Martha Stewart's website. However, I was intimidated by how time-consuming and involved the project seemed, so I headed over to Pinterest to see how I could get the same look for a lot less time and money. I knew that I had found my solution when I came across Sisteroo's gorgeous milk and dark chocolate Easter tree. Using spray paint, they transformed papier-mâché eggs into chocolate. I decided to try the same technique to make a chocolate bunny.

Popcorn Ceiling Removal: Day 1

Now that the dust has finally settled (both literally and figuratively), I thought that I would recount our glorious popcorn ceiling removal. We still have a bit of cleaning up to do, so I decided to postpone the big reveal of our brand new great room ceiling until next week. But more on that later! It's time to talk about everything that went down on the first day.

Tutorial: Float Mounting Art on a Fabric Mat

It's time for a southwestern gallery wall update! Inspired by both Sherry Petersik's self-imposed "Dude, Get on That Already" challenge and our impending ceiling redo (which begins on Wednesday), I finally decided to tackle one of the last frames on our gallery wall that still needed art. I mentioned in my first southwestern gallery wall post that we had a piece of art that Alex made (the cowboy kid screenprint pictured above) that was an odd size. We planned to mount it on a burlap mat, but it fell by the wayside and ended up sitting untouched for the past two and a half months while we were working on other projects-- until last night!

Popcorn Ceilings 101

Love them or hate them, popcorn (or acoustic) ceilings can be found in houses all over the United States. Our house was built in 1982 and has popcorn ceilings in every single room except the two bathrooms and the kitchen-- yes, even the garage! Read on to find out why they exist and why we're choosing to have them removed from our home.

Thrift Store Find: Southwestern-Style Purse, Wallet, and Pencil Case

I was on the hunt for the perfect new (used) purse for a few weeks. I was looking for something relaxed, casual, and comfortable for every day use. The purse that I was using was getting a little worn and kept falling off of my shoulder while I was walking. When I spotted this purse, wallet, and pencil case at one of my local Goodwill stores, I knew that it was a match (love triangle?) made in heaven.

Spring in the Southwest

Opuntia basilaris "Beavertail Cactus"

Spring is the most beautiful time of year in the southwest. Here are some photos I've taken over the past few weeks that show the various types of desert blooms. All of these photos were taken with a free iPhone application called Instagram-- it's sort of like a toy camera for your iPhone. I've included all of the plant names (scientific and common) in case you're interested in learning more about them or incorporating them into your garden!

Tutorial: Budget Compost Bin

I've wanted to try making my own compost for awhile now. However, with compost bins at big box stores starting at around $50 and going up to as much as $250, it was something that I kept pushing to the bottom of my to-do list. I decided to check out one of my favorite blogs, Young House Love, to see if they had any ideas for a DIY budget compost bin, and to my pleasant surprise, they did!