Cha Cha Cha Changes!

We replaced our Ikea Ektorp sofa cover about 8 months ago for a white one.

 I loved the white one but so did my 3 black dogs.

Soon the beautiful sofa above looked like this:

I know these pictures are gross but hey it's real life

And yes that is discoloration not a shadow....eeewww!

I bought dye a few weeks ago with the intention of dying the sofa right away. But like usual, I have been really busy and not able to donate an evening to changing the sofa. When we got home from the lake on Sunday I looked at the filthy couch which needed to be washed anyway and thought why not.

I used iDye found at Joann's (the color is ecru)

The first step is to dissolve the dye packet in hot water, I added 1 cup of salt for better results.

Stir until fully dissolved, pre-wet your fabric, and....here comes the scary part.

Just dump the dye into the bottom of your washing machine.

I loaded up the machine and set it on the hottest temperature, 45 minutes later and....

It worked.

I am pleased with how even the color came out. I am really loving the new look.

Don't be afraid to drastically change the look of furniture, it's worth it!

Homemade Dog Treats

I came across this dog treat recipe a few months back and finally decided to give it a try tonight. 

It was super easy and very inexpensive, I am going to make another batch tomorrow.

All you need is: 

1 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour, 1 1/2 cups of white flour, 1/2 cup of all natural peanut butter, 1 cup of water, and 2 tablespoons of oil.

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Combine oil, peanut butter and water. Add flour, one cup at a time, forming a dough. Knead dough into firm ball and roll to 1/4 inch thickness.

 Cut into 3 to 4 inch pieces. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet. 

Bake at 350 F for 20 minutes. 

Makes 2 1/2 dozen cookies.

Wait until completely cool

and.......

    Enjoy!

WRARE

Last night we met friends in Ft. Worth for dinner at Tillmans. Which by the way has the coolest interior, branch chandeliers, wood planked walls, and tree trunk walls. 

Anyway, after we left we stumbled upon this adorable store:

(forgive the photos, they were taken with my phone)

Luckily they were still open at 9:30

Here were some of the goodies inside:

I really wanted one of those cute chalkboards but couldn't justify another chalkboard

(I have 6 including an entire wall)

Adorable mix and match iphone and ipad cases, my friend Liz bought one

And they were only 32 DOLLARS!!!

(that comment was for you Steve)

These cases can also be found here

Tin lighting fixtures

Linen oversized chair

These were my favorite, wouldn't these be cute in a child's room?

This was the window display, I loved the lighting above the table

(P.S. I like how I snapped a shot of Liz in the tiny mirror in the background.

Ain't No Party like a Labor Day Party

because a labor day party don't stop!
(side note: I have been writing this post for 3 days now but would fall asleep before finishing it)

Husband was out of town this past weekend on a 4 day camping trip to Colorado.

I kept the weekend full with several parties and one small project.

Friday night I had an Arbonne party at the Temple's house...it was so much fun, love those ladies!

After we (Katie B was with me) left the Arbonne party we stopped off at my brother's house for a birthday party.

Saturday afternoon I headed back to the Temple's for Alexie's 9th Birthday Party.
Alexie chose to have a spa party, it was so fun and relaxed.
Here are the details:

The front table:

Lisa had the cute American Girl spa outfit which we used in the middle of the table.

We set up 6 "spa" areas for the girls

Magazines for the girls to read while they waited

The "polish area"

This bowl contained goody bags, each girl received a manicure set, lotion, and body glitter.

More bunting

For the craft each girl decorated flip flops by tying fabric strips around the straps

Cupcakes!

The girls relaxing, each girl got a strawberry drink in a cute little koozie.

I love this picture

Decorated flip flops

The birthday girl

Happy Birthday Alexie!

Oh but wait.....that evening I had another party. Courtney had her bachelorette party. We went to Pete's Piano Bar in Addison. I had sooooo much fun! I cannot describe how great it was: 

friends, dancing, long island ice teas, singing without and inhibitions=happiness

Now time for my small Labor Day project. Katie and I went shopping on Sunday, we decided to go to World Market later that day, about 30 minutes before closing. While looking at all the pretties, I found this precious lamp shade:

I also spotted a hanging light kit and decided that I must have them both.

SOOOOO at 9 o'clock on Sunday night, I talked Katie into holding a flashlight at my ceiling so I could install a light over my breakfast table.

This was the current light over the breakfast table

Did I mention I could only find a very tiny screwdriver?

And I was doing this at 9:30 at night

This is how far I got, after several attempts

 There was lots of dry wall falling

 I tried to finish the next morning and voila!!

Here is a close up. I really liked the light that was currently up there but thought this would fit the space better.

I bought a vintage bulb at Lowe's

I couldn't hid this other cute fixture so Katie thought I should hang it in the hallway...I agree!

This chandelier replaced a builder grade flush mount fixture.

And the entire project only took 50 dollars and a lot of patience.