Closet Re-do!!

Oh yeah. I'm pretty much the worst blogger ever. But I have been working on so many projects it's unreal. I'm gonna show you the closet re-do, or at least the re-do in it's current state.

But first, I want to give a shout-out to StarrParnell (find her Facebook page here and her Etsy site here) who is doing an awesome giveaway, ending tomorrow! Go like her Facebook and Etsy pages, then write on her StarrParnell page that I sent you and we can both get entered into the give-away. Her stuff is super cute and you should totally check it out!

An update on my location:
I mentioned in my last post that I was moving back to Montgomery. Well, I'm here and trying to get settled. I am working at a doctor's office and LOVING it! I get to see some great people and my co-workers are just awesome! I also started singing in the choir at Frazier and am working on the Junior Miss committee (not sure what I'll be doing but I'll give an update on that later). I also plan on auditioning for some local community theatre shows in the near future.

So now on to the re-do. My room at my parent's house is great...but there isn't a lot of storage, and the closet is TINY. So what's a clothes horse to do? RE-do, of course! I had to come up with a solution that was easy, cheap, and space effective.

Here's some before shots of the closet. For those who are faint of heart, you may not want to look at this one.

 Scary, right? The years of accumulation of unwanted but not throw-away-able stuff was ridiculous. But it is all gone now!!  Next we have in-progress shots once all the crap was out.

And now with everything cleared out and the racks hung by my super manly/handy boyfriend.

And now the (almost) finished project. And yes, it is color-coded. Get over it!

I still want to hang some sort of curtain over the closet (that I will mirror over the soon-to-be re-done built in desk), but that's a ways off.

I got all the supplies from Home Depot-its the Closet Maid system that you can mix and match and cut to any length you want. I started by measuring the closet. Then I went to Home Depot and got all the parts. Then, to make a long story short, I made my boyfriend install it because he is so much better at that kind of stuff than I am. I'm going to try to convince him to blog on here about how he did it, but we will see if that actually happens!

Up next are a few DIY projects that I'm super excited to share with you!

Until next time,
Barefoot Decorista

Bad blogger bad blogger, or Fashion Friday

Sorry...I didn't realize it had been THAT long since I had been on here! A lot has been going on at the Bungalow, and the decision has been made that the bungalow is, for now, on hold. Because of personal and family reasons, I have decided to move back home. I hate that I have to leave my new home, awesome condo, and amazing boyfriend...but it really is the best thing to do for now! I wont go into all the factors that led me to this decision, but trust its the best one for now!

But no worries...the Barefoot Decorista will live on! Yes, I have thus and forevermore dubbed myself the Barefoot Decorista. I will continue to write on this blog as the Barefoot Decorista until I get a special bungalow all of my own. Until then, this blog will serve MOSTLY as an inspiration place, but I have a few projects up my sleeve:)

Like today, for instance. Today marks the first of Fashion Fridays. Each Friday I will post a trent or a piece I love, advice, tips for fashion for less, etc.

Today's post is about color blocking. I must admit, I was not for it at first. And by that I mean I hated it. I saw in my head those mod-style black and white sheath dresses...and I just was not for it. But some pictures I have seen of late have swayed me...and I think they will sway you too (but of course you are all much to fashionable to ever have a doubt about this beautiful trend)!!

Before I get ahead of myself, I should "define" color-blocking. To put it simply, color blocking is using two or more bands of color in an outfit. Doesn't have to be two bright colors (although it is really gorgeous if you get it right!) You can pair a bright with a neutral, a neutral with a neutral, and so on. Really simple. You are probably already doing it without realizing it. Seriously. Easy peasy.

So here is a runway version of the trend. Keep in mind runway is often over-the-top and not for average everyday wear. (Pictures from here and here .)

Here is a REALLY easy way to wear the look if you are afraid of wearing too  much color, found here.

Pairing the gorgeous turquoise skirt with a "neutral" like navy really keeps this trend wearable. Adding the nude shoe (a must for any wardrobe), the effortless brown belt and envelope clutch, and the bright but simple necklace keeps this outfit simple and elegant, while still maintaining that "color-block" feel without going over the top.

Here is another really simple way to do color blocking with a little more punch (found here and also here.)

Pairing the bright skirt with the cream shirt, brown belt, and tan cardigan keeps it grounded, while the addition of the orange pumps and chunky watch take it up just a notch!

For those of you TOTALLY afraid of color, you can try color blocking with a shoe, like this one from Steve Madden. Pair it with a black, brown, or even navy (my fave) to add just a bit of color blocking to your wardrobe.

And lastly, for the totally fashion ambitious out there, try pairing two bright colors together. You can pair two tones of the same color like this one from Ellie:

Or even two different bold colors together like this one. I couldn't resist throwing some gameday inspiration in here!

I hope you've enjoyed my foray into Friday fashion! Check back next Friday for whatever my current obsession is!

In the meantime, I will be doing some research on closet re-dos and closet desk spaces. Check back Monday for an inspiration post!

Get inspired!
The Barefoot Decorista (or Fashionista, today)

We interrupt your scheduled update...

for well, a program? I'm not sure...a little backwards, right? Isn't it supposed to be "we interrupt your scheduled program for this update?" But whatever.

I just want the world to know I finally finished painting my bedroom! It's only taken me 2 different paint colors and...ahem...2 months. But hey, being jobless leaves me with lots of time for that stuff...but I still wish I had a job!!

I will post pics of my newly painted bedroom as soon as I do touchups on the trim.

I also have a new friend in the house. He is a surprise and will be revealed soon, but let me just say, he is a big FAN of my work ;)

Stay cool in the heat guys!

The one who is tired of her bare feet hurting,
Courtney

A Bathroom Update

Just as I promised, I'm back today with a bathroom update. I'm super proud of the work that I have done in this room, and I hope you like it!

Just a reminder of the bathroom pre-paint:

 And here is the bathroom now, after paint and accessories, some that are new since the last update!

Extra long shower curtain with pretty natural hooks.

Towels seen in last update, plus a shadow box frame with print from Hobby Lobby. Not sure if the print will stay or not, Thoughts?

These framed shells were in my mom's first house after her divorce.  I love that I was able to continue the tradition with having them in my new place!

Shot of updated counter accessories (don't mind the picture-less frame) with a shot of the amazing picture my photographer bestie sent me!

Close up of the shells.

Close up of the print from Chelsea, owner of Chelsea Patricia Photography. This picture was taken several years ago at the beach and is typical me: reading while everyone else is playing sports!

Close up of counter accessories. Again, sorry for the picture-less frame!

 In case you are interested, check out Chelsea's photography at www.chelseapatricia.com . She is an amazingly talented wedding photographer, so check her out!!

Hope you like the updates I made in the bathroom. I'm super proud of them, and I would love to hear your feedback!

Check back soon for an update of my bedroom!

The one whose bare feet are covered in paint,
Courtney

A Long Over-Due Update

I have been meaning to post pictures of my super-awesome porch for a while, but this is the first time I have stopped to do it. And since I am in the updating mode, look out for updates of each room this week!

So the porch is the perfect spot-I'm on the top floor so I can see past the other buildings to the view. It really is the best place to watch the sunset or eat a yummy dinner!

In case you forgot, here is what the porch looked like when I moved in.

The view from the porch door.

Porch before.

Dark stormy porch. Unfortunately it looks like that a lot right now :(

Door to the front of the porch.

After a little bit of love, the porch is looking a lot better. The chairs were my boyfriend's grandfather's. The table was bought SUPER on-sale at Target to match the wrought iron of the chairs. The tray on the table was the first purchase and inspired the whole balcony. The tray, wine glasses, napkins, and napkin holders all came from  Pier One. The plates, bowls, and cups came from Target. The cushions were a bit of a splurge, but I bought them one at a time from World Market until I had all 4. At $20 a piece they were a little more than what I wanted to spend, but I saved for them until I had the money. They were one of the first things I put in my new apartment, and I'm so excited to finally share the new porch space with you!

Porch after.

The small table also came from my boyfriend. Here are the beautiful cushions from World Market!

The tray that inspired the whole patio space. I love the tray so much!!

A close up of the napkins and the napkin holders. 

I still want to add some sort of natural rug, possibly bamboo, to make the space look more polished (and to cover up the stained concrete floors!) and possibly add some sort of curtains to create more privacy, block out some of the sun in the morning, as well as make the space look more like an outdoor room than a patio on an apartment.

Up next will be an update of the bathroom. It's the most finished room in my apartment and I'm so excited to share it with you!

The shoeless front porch sitter,
Courtney

New Job Prospects

I am looking into getting paid for blogging. This might be the start of an exciting new direction in my writing life! My family always says that I should do this for a living, so maybe I'll start now!

I also am looking into a few other work-from-home options. In case you didn't know, I recently injured my ankle to the point where I'm not able to work at the Hangout for the moment. Anyone who knows a place I can work in the Gulf Shores area, let me know!!

But like I said, I am looking to get paid for blogging, and one of the sites requires me to post something on my blog so that they know it's me...so ignore the following sentence! a sprocket found in the backseat

Stay tuned for a blog about picking fabrics and paint colors...one that has been a LONG time coming!

The one who is barefoot because she cant fit her swollen foot into a shoe,
Courtney

RestauRANT

I cant believe it has been this long since I blogged...sorry Mom! I will resume with the decorating blog-ness once I have time to do more decorating (or at least finish what I have started!) but I wanted to write about a restaurant opening I went to here in Gulf Shores.

The new Tacky Jack's: Gulf Shores opened up this week and of course, being the social butterfly and foodie (lol...right) that I am, I HAD to attend. So Benjamin, Leigh Arkle, Preston Jones (more on Leigh and Preston's visit in a later post!), and I all rode on down to Tacky Jack's newest location on Canal Road. I was so excited to go to my first restaurant opening, even if it was just a local place.

We arrived at the restaurant to see that the parking lot was full. Or so I thought. We drove in and though there weren't many parking spots, the lot wasn't that big to begin with. That should have been our first sign that something wasn't right- if an opening cant generate bigger crowds, there is something wrong. But I digress.

I had seen pictures of the restaurant and thought they were pretty dadgum cool.

The artist's rendering of what the new location would look like.

The rendering looked SO COOL! That's part of what made me so excited to go. I couldn't wait to see how it looked in person.

The view of the canal side of the restaurant.

The view from the porch is pretty fantastic. Although the bugs were a HUGE problem (Ben was bitten by a yellow fly...VERY PAINFUL!), the view was pretty awesome.

The parking lot side.

In the multiple times I drove by the in-process building site, I thought for sure they would finish the side of the building. But they didn't. They meant for it to look un-finished. I'm not sure if it was intentional to make it look "Tacky" or if they just thought it looked cool, but we weren't impressed. 

So that was just the first impression. We got a table easily, as the place wasn't busy-at all (cue the forehead slapping duh moment) and were soon attacked by bugs. So we sprayed bug spray. And still got bitten by bugs. Awesome. 

Our waitress was unprepared and unknowledgable and hadn't tried any of the dishes I was asking her about. I ended up ordering the Ahi Tuna sandwich and was very disappointed. We have one at the Hangout where I work that is about a thousand times better. I almost sent it back, but I figured it wasn't worth it! Everyone else's food was fine, but their portions did NOT match their prices AT ALL. Their cups were tiny and not worth the price you had to pay for them or the time you would have to wait to get a refill. The "sides" (if you could call them that) were so small that they were more of a sample than  a side. And to top it off, their chips were stale and soggy. 


Overall, I was EXTREMELY disappointed with this restaurant. Ben even made a comment on their Facebook page about how disappointed he was with the restaurant and no one ever commented back or made any effort to get us to come back. So yeah, we DEFINITELY wont be returning to Tacky Jack's in Gulf Shores. 


That's all for now. Stay tuned soon for a new blog post!


Hungrily,
The Barefoot girl scarfing down food

Who said horizontal stripes weren't flattering?

I mean, I think they make my walls look super skinny awesome! Thanks for all your encouraging words about my bathroom design! I have received texts and comments and it seems everyone loves the stripes as much as I do! So for those of you who are wondering, here is how I did it!

1. Measure height of the wall. Mine was 103 inches high.
2. Decide how many colored stripes you want. I wanted 6.
3. Divide the length of the wall (103) by 2x the number of stripes you want minus 1 (12-1=11)
4. 103/11= 9.3 inches per stripe.
5. Tape off stripes.
6. Paint.
7. Remove tape.
8. Enjoy.

Yeah, I know. Really helpful. Those are the basic steps. Here are some things I learned from the process!

1. Don't put weight on things that aren't secured to the wall. Case in point: my towel bar.

Yeah. That was pretty stupid. I know this-now.

2. Think about which stripes are going to be the color and which will be the neutral. It's important-swear.  I didn't, and ended up with five white stripes instead of the six I wanted. Not that big of a deal in the long run, but I wanted six. Not five.

3. Measure twice, tape once. I thought I was being fairly accurate but I still ended up with a boo-boo:

If you look closely, you'll see that the stripes don't quite match up in the left corner above the door. Thankfully, the error was in a less noticeable spot than had it been, say, across from the toilet. I do plan on going back and fixing it (at least, as much as possible) eventually. But for the moment, it will have to do!

4. With the same tone as the last tip, think about where you mark BEFORE you mark of your tape spot. Use a level and make sure it is all straight and neat before you tape. It will make for clean and crisp stripes, and you wont be left with ugly pencil marks on the wall!

5. A hint about the taping process-if you start with a neutral wall, you only have to tape off the stripes you will be painting. So think about what you're taping-the stripe or the area outside the stripe. It will help in knowing which side of the pencil line to place the tape!

6. Remove the tape IMMEDIATELY. If you don't, your stripes wont be as clean as you want them to be. Don't wait for the tape to dry. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200.
Sorry. Got carried away. But seriously. Take the tape off.

So that's the last bathroom post for a while! Cant wait to update with pics once I get more "feathering" for my "nest."

The Barefoot Striper,
Courtney

Oy with the blogging already...

For anyone who doesn't know, Gilmore Girls is one of my favorite shows...EVER. I recently started rewatching the show again from start to finish, and one of my favorite lines to quote is "Oy with the poodles already!" Random, I know, but I felt the blog title deserved an explanation to those who didnt get it...

But anyways! I have been AWOL for entirely too long! Finals+moving+new job= not a lot of time for blogging! But here is the post I promised last week-an in progress look at the bathroom!

(Sorry for the grainy phone-pics. I left my camera back in Auburn-these will have to do for now! I will update them next week!)

Here is one of the main walls in-process of being taped.

Another wall.

 The shower area taped off.

Yet another taped off wall, this one partially painted!

An in-progress view of the counter decorations.

 My GORGEOUS extra-long shower curtain and new hooks that took me FOREVER to find!

New towels-I think they work perfectly!

  An in depth look of where I got everything, paint colors, and prices will come when the bathroom is completely finished! Some of the things are recent purchases, the others are things I have been collecting for a while now!

Things that I still want for the bathroom:
1. Another rug for in front of the sink, possibly in a natural fabric like jute or bamboo.
2. A picture for the picture frame.
3. A candle for the candle holder.
4. Possibly a vase with some sort of white flower for the counter.
5. A natural basket with pretty spa-like toiletries and hand towels for the top of the toilet.
6. A picture for the pretty white frame (for over the toilet) that I have yet to hang. And by that I mean I have yet to get my super-handy, hunky boyfriend to do it for me:)
7. Some sort of frame and art/picture for across from said picture.
8. Some sort of wall hanging/quote/picture/mirror/pretty-do-dad for the wall beside the mirror.

I think if I get ALL of those things I will be set. If not, well, I'm sure they will come soon.
My latest project is painting the bedroom. A post will come about choosing paint colors/themes for that room later, but in the meantime come back tomorrow for a step-by-step painting process of the bathroom along with things I learned (the hard way) along the way with pictures of my "whoops" moments!

The crazy hectic barefoot one,
Courtney