Happiness List

Ever just have a BAD day? The kind where everything just seems to go wrong, you can't seem to make anyone happy, things just break, and in my case you actually fall UP a flight of stairs as opposed to down them (like a normal human being )..... Ever have one of those days? Well, that was me yesterday and today seemed like it would be the same.

However, I decided to take some advice from my mother and count my blessings instead. 

I have wrote lists of what I was thankful for since I was a child but as an adult I find it getting harder and harder to do. Sometimes its just easier to feel sorry for yourself and wallow in self pity and blagh, blagh, blagh. So, this morning I decided it would be best to have a positive beginning and I began with my usual "I am thankful that ___?" and " I am blessed because___?" but today the list thing just wasn't working for me. I decided to switch things up a bit. Change can be good!

Sometimes all you need is a little visual reminder of happiness to remind you that there is so much to be thankful for...even if it feels like everything is crashing down around you. 

The beach has always been my happy place so I decided to go back there via Instagram and make a little "Happiness list" from the pictures, and so here is what I came up with today. Enjoy! 

 How can you be in a bad mood when you know this beauty exists? I know I cant. 

I'm in LOVE with flamingo's!

Conch stew for breakfast

You can ALWAYS find something to smile about

These are the pictures that helped turn my negative day into a positive one. Nothing fancy, just small Instagram shots.  I really think that today, using visual reminders of happiness worked better than my usual pen and paper " thankful" lists. 

What do you do to stay thankful and happy in hard times? I think I will make a regular habit of this and hope to share many more " Happiness Lists" with you. Until then, here's to being thankful for the small things even when we may not feel like it! 

Hope you all have a "happy" night!

XOXO, 

Nia 

DIY Drop Cloth Ottoman Cover

Happy Sunday Funday! 

My Husband has spent the day watching football (eye roll ) and so I decided to tackle another project that I have been putting off for WAY too long. 

I found this ottoman at a Goodwill for four dollars and decided I would sew a cover for it and give it new life. It was super sturdy and still comfy for putting your feet up. It was just so UGLY! As you can see it needed to be covered BADLY. 

 Before

My dogs love it and use it as their little sleeping place so I needed to find a durable fabric that I could throw in the wash over and over again. I had made my curtains out of canvas drop cloths and they have held up super well and were so cheap too! So I decided to use a drop cloth for this project as well and see how it went. 

I washed the drop cloth several times until it was soft and then just placed the fabric over the ottoman, pinned the sides, sewed and pressed and whala! It was super easy and took about an hour or less.

Its not perfect and I probably could have put more detail into it but hey, its Sunday! I didn't want to waste the whole day on this! 

I think my Sherman is happy with his new bed

I just couldn't get him off of it. 

Not only is this a dog bed and a foot rest but we can now use it as extra seating for when we have get together's! That will come in handy this Holiday season because my family is HUGE! 

I love thrifty finds and I like being able to give them new life on the cheap too! 

I hope your Sunday was as productive as mine has been. And now......an early cocktail hour on this Sunday Funday.

XOXO,

Nia

Our, TOTALLY free, rustic table

Well howdy there blog world! I decided to take a small break from blogging to finish setting up my little Etsy shop but I'm back! It's November already and the Holidays are just around the corner! Eeeek! I'm so excited and have already been working on projects to get my home ready for the festivities. 

Part of getting ready for the holidays was finding the perfect, VERY cheap,  kitchen table. ( Strict budget around these parts ) 

A few months back I had found some awesome leather and metal chairs on Craigslist and I just had to have them.  I bought all four for 100 bucks! What a steal! 
Finding the perfect rustic (round) table to go along with them was another thing. I looked ALL over for months and found nothing I liked. (Or that I was willing to spend money on ) They were all too big, too small, too modern, too ugly....blagh, blagh, blagh

And then....I remembered that we had an old cable spool in the back yard. My husband had found it on the job site awhile ago and we had just been using it for an extra table in the backyard. Sooooo, I asked my hubby if he could make it into a kitchen table for me.....
Well duh, he can make everything! He told me to come up with a plan and we went from there. 

I have seen so many tables made from cable spools and all of them had just kept the whole spool in one piece and then just turned it on its side. I wanted something a little different and this is what we came up with. 

Here you go, A FREE, rustic kitchen table. Just the perfect size for our little dinner nook. 


My Husband started by detaching the top part of the spool and sanding it all down until it was super smooth. I had originally wanted him to use steel rods for the table legs but then we just decided to go with materials we had on hand. 

 We had a few wooden pallets on hand and so my Husband spent the afternoon creating a table base and legs from the wooden pallets. I think it came out so amazing and the best part about it all was that it ended up costing us ZERO, ZILCH...NADA....well, You get the point. 

These chairs are my favorite Craigslist find!
( My pup decided he needed to be in this post) 

 We are still trying to decide what stain to use ( so many choices ) but for now we are keeping it as is, and I LOVE it ! 

 There will be cracks and irregularities in the wood but that doesn't bother us. It gives it such a  rustic feeling...AND that's pretty much the theme around our place. 

So pretty !  

I am so happy we FINALLY have a table. We can eat together now.
 I know, its small but it is perfect for us.

Thanks for stopping by!

XOXO,

Nia