How Does Your Garden Grow?

I love the idea of using recycled items as planters.

It’s green. It’s creative. and I think it looks cool.

{ p/c via apartment therapy }

Sometimes it takes a little thinking outside the box like these awesome ideas…

{ p/c via curbly }

I found these items in our stores that I think will be PERFECT!

That little chef hat dude …

YEP! He’s going home with me .. I envision some rad hair growing outta that hat!

Here are some other ideas I really like:

The following upcycle ideas aren’t really MY style, but i guess you gotta give ‘em some credit for creativity:

What are your garden plans this year?

Hope you found a little inspiration!

Obsessed With Doilies

WHAT the?

When do you ever hear “obsessed” and “doilies” in the same sentence?

I know!  Right?!

But check out these ways others have recycled doilies:

{ above / below }

( unconventional but gorgeous, i think )

{ below  I’ve shared this one before, but it’s too awesome not share twice }

{ stunning!  above / below  someone’s dedicated doily pins }

Are you feeling the obsession yet?

Ok … maybe not obsession, but how about inspiration?

Doilies NEVER looked so good!

And we can help you get your doily on at all of our Stuff Etc locations!

We get them often and they turn over quickly so check back regularly.

{ p.s.  I’d LOVE to see your recycled doily creations }

Ugly Sweater Christmas Party

Maybe you haven’t heard of it yet … the Midwest is generally slower to catch up with the latest trends … but the latest, greatest, hottest type of Holiday party is the Ugly Sweater Christmas Party.

HOT!  Right?  I think HYSTERICAL is the best word for it.

Last year, our Iowa City store had an ugly sweater Christmas party at the bowling alley … talk about a motley crew! But it was a BLAST!

All of our Stuff Etc stores are loading up on all the best and “ugliest” holiday sweaters for everyone to sport this year, the majority priced at $3.99.  That’s cheap enough for your entire family to throw one on and a get a priceless snapshot for your 2011 Christmas card!

Thinking of hosting your own sweater party?  Make the attire mandatory and give out prizes for the “ugliest”, “most embellishments” and the best “head to toe ensemble”.  Set up a holiday scene perfect for a party photo op.   Have some snacks and beverages on hand and let the hoot of the sweaters take over!

I hope I have provided enough inspiration to get you excited about this hot new trend.  I know that I am!

(I’ve already sent out my invitations!)

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!

Gotta Get Me Some Plaid!

I don’t know if it’s my Scottish roots coming out,

but I can’t wait to get my hands on a few of these pieces….

(that I find at Stuff – these prices are insane – but great inspiration)

Check our stores for displays of all the hot plaids we have collected!

AND watch for our posts of plaid pics on FACEBOOK

Inspired by Allie…Everyone Needs a Little White House

When I was a little girl, I had this little white playhouse. It was a replica of the actual house we lived in at the time, just a much smaller version. My absolute favorite thing to do in there was to take my dolls and play “house.” Some of my favorite memories were through that white door where my imagination went wild. My dolls and I would “fly” in our cars to Subway (seriously, that was my favorite place to eat as a kid), paint our nails and have tea parties with cookies. My little house was so many things to me: but mostly it was a place where I felt safe and I could really be myself. I was in a totally different world when I was in there. I didn’t care what people thought of me and I told Peach, my doll, all about my life.

But, like they all say, I grew up in the blink of an eye and I could no longer fit inside my little white house… so we had to get rid of it.

This past year I wanted to try to create a “little white house” for big kids. I thought of a few ideas – forts, tents, tree houses, etc., and finally decided to make a cozy hideout deep in the woods.

As I started to dig out a nice patch to put a bench, that imagination I had as a little girl jumped out my back pocket. I added seat cushions, a table, lanterns, a burn pit, a rug, curtains and some frames… and all of it I found at the Coralville Stuff Etc.  It was such a fun process too. Each day I added something new. Nothing matches in my hideout either – I picked out totally random items. The rug, seat cushions and curtains were a grand total of $4.46.

Even though I’m a “big girl” now, I can have a quiet little place, tucked deep in the woods where I can be “me.”  Usually, I grab my coffee and a good book and take a seat. Other times I strike up a conversation with myself with the light from the lanterns in the trees above me.  So thank you Stuff Etc, for helping me build my new “little white house”.  It’s allowed me to regain my childhood imagination, enable me to dream big and accomplish much. It may not be small, or white, or even have a roof, but it does the same thing for me as my little white house did…. help me paint a big, beautiful picture of my life.

My New Vice… I Mean, Inspiration

MAGAZINES…Anyone that knows me, knows that MAGAZINES are truly an addiction for me.

I can’t get enough.

Enough pictures, enough information, enough fashion, decor,  gossip, enough ideas…. seriously.  Just can’t get enough.

I don’t know if it’s the glossy pages, the colorful images, or the sound as the pages flip?  Perhaps it’s the fact I can pick one up at any time and find something different to read or look at in small doses? Maybe it’s that they are perfect in the car, the tub, at the beach, on the couch, during my lunch break, on the plane, or just about anywhere?  Seriously.  Perfect.

Just talking about them has me jonesing for a glossy fix!

Thank goodness I can leave the crazy sanctuary (conundrum, I know) of my office and run upstairs at any time like a true junky.  In the beauty of recycling, Stuff Etc offers the most current issues of all of my (& your) favorite publications for only 99 cents!  No kidding!  Did you know there are over 10,000 magazines currently being published?  And the average magazine goes for $3.99 per month!  You could drop a fortune….  if you were like me….    before Stuff Etc.

Stuff Etc allows me to afford my vice.  But after looking up the definition of ‘VICE – immoral or wicked behavior’, I’ve decided from now on I’m going to call it “inspiration” instead because I gain some every time I turn a page.  And there’s nothing ‘wicked’ in that!

Contrary to my blog title, this isn’t new for me either.  I’ve been nurturing this “vice”, I mean, “inspiration” for YEARS!  What is new in my vice realms and in the spirit of being green is digital shelter magazines.

These are magazines produced 100% online. And I am officially HOOKED! The pictures are just as colorful, some even interactive.  The articles are smart and savvy, nothing canned, all original, current, and inspiring! AND the pages even flip!  Check out a few of my favorites:  Matchbook, Rue, Lonny, & High Gloss.

I can read them on my smart phone or iPad, on my pc at home or hop online while at work for some quick inspiration.  They are convenient, cool and easy.  But can they ever replace the print versions?

Na…. never.

To satisfy my true addiction, and that of others (I’m sure I’m not the only one), I still need the look, the smell, and the sounds of the magazines.

But these are way fun too! 

Hello friends!

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