Instagram roundup – May

This week alone has been a bit of a bombardment of inspiration. I have a couple of very exciting projects about to kick off in the coming weeks, but I’m sworn to secrecy on them for the moment. I’m going to do that annoying thing Bloggers do where I tell you about something, but at the same time tell you absolutely nothing.
Enough about that. It’s Friday. Here in Ireland it’s a bank holiday weekend and I can’t even. I’m so looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow. I woke up this morning way too early, thought to myself ahh it’s Saturday! And then experienced the crippling realization it was only Friday. I hate brains sometimes. 

I have a few DIYs and home improvements lined up for the long weekend. I made a head start and primed the spare bedroom bedside table last night ahead of its mini makeover. I’m thinking black and white. Nothing too shocking, and maybe when I’m finished with it I’ll sell it. That’s if it doesn’t turn out like a heap of crap. 
And with that I bid you a happy Friday, homies! I hope you have something awesome planned this weekend. We’re due some cracking weather tomorrow and I will personally be spending it BBQing, with a beverage in hand. Expect and onslaught of Instagrams if you follow me. You have been warned. xx A

DIY Friday – rescue kit for the unexpected guest

It has happened on occasion where a friend or family member would come over for dinner, wine would happen, we’d chat about all sorts of rubbish into the wee hours, then husband and I would offer our guests to stay in our spare bedroom if they’d like. Since they didn’t bring anything with them with the intention of staying over, on most occasions they’ve had to head home. So in preparation for next time, I came up with a little emergency guest kit to keep in our spare bedroom, should we have some unexpected {but not unwelcome} guests. 

I should say that I didn’t buy anything especially for this kit. I didn’t even buy a new box – I just painted one we already had. Since husband and I do a fair amount of travelling, we usually come home with travel sized stuff {pretty hotel shampoo and shower caps we’ll never use, amirite?}, so it just made sense to put my hoard of tiny hotel stuff to good use … 

What’s in our rescue kit for the unexpected guest:

– a facecloth {or two}
– mini shampoo
– mini conditioner
– mini dry shampoo {god bless dry shampoo. Just sayin’}
– moisturiser
– travel pack of tissues
– a lady item {we’re all grown ups here. Yes. Things happen to ladies.}
– shower cap
– toothbrush and teeny tube of toothpaste {in the long white box}
– nail file
– a small pair of scissors {you never know}

This is just a rough guideline of what to include in an unexpected guest kit. Again, most of the items are things we picked up while travelling. The black and white boxes are from the hotel we stayed on our honeymoon in St. Petersburg. It’s nice to know they’re finally being put to good use. Or at least they’re ready to be, should the time come. 
So this weekend invite your friends around for a couple of drinks, and tell them you’re prepared. Just in case. 😉 xx A

p.s. That bedside table is getting it and soon. I’ve been meaning to give it a makeover for about 4 years now. Its time has come. 

New project – #OfficeKitchenMakeover

I’m taking a note out of Christine Dovey‘s book and coining a hashtag if you will for my newest project, project #OfficeKitchenMakeover! 
I’ve mentioned a couple times before that during the day I’m an office zombie – an office administrator / personal assistant in the Dublin city centre, to be more precise. While I was working last week, an opportunity arose for me to put my design ‘skills’ to good use. Our office is looking to give the kitchen canteen a mini face lift, and I was asked if I’d like to help tackle the job. Well if you’re going to twist my arm! 
Our office kitchen is a run-of-the-mill canteen. Magnolia walls, greyish-blue lino flooring, builders cabinets, and more mismatched plates and chairs than we know what to do with. It’s tempting to look at Pinterest for inspiration, but as there’s a tight budget, I’ll be focusing mainly on two areas – the walls, and making the storage work. 
In stead of fighting the blue floors, I’ll be embracing it and pairing it with washed out mink purple and black and white. Our office already uses Viking Direct for their office supplies, so I’ll be sourcing most of our items from there. And as it turns out, they have some, dare I say, on trend stuff. Those chairs? Yep. 

THE WALLS

I’m hoping to repaint the walls white to brighten the room since it gets no natural sunlight. Then I’m hoping to add some serious oompf by spray painting a quote on the wall, along the lines of what I did for the Localise Youth Room at Sophia House. Our office deals with sensitive issues with members of the public, so for the sake of my blog post, I chose a strong {and one of my favourite} Dolly Parton quotes as an example. Plus, it rains here in Ireland a lot so we can relate to it literally as well. I’d also like to add a pegboard section to one wall where we can keep all the odd shaped items which at the moment are being crammed into cupboards, patiently waiting to fall on you the moment they’re opened. 
THE STORAGE
I can’t wait to put my decluttering skills {I say that like it’s a real thing} to the test and make the most of the storage we have. Our office kitchen is like any kitchen – everything needs to be taken out of the cupboards, ruthlessly downsized, and put back in a place that makes more sense. And to ensure everyone is on the same page going forward, I’m hoping to label the inside of the cupboards {Mrs. Doubtfire style}. I did something similar using a Dymo machine with the stationery cupboard before Christmas, which has remained relatively civilized since {shock, horror}. So fingers crossed my neat-freakery will be welcomed with open arms in the kitchen. 

1. Graffiti wall quote, painted in the same fashion as the quote I painted for the Localise Youth Room at Sophia House
2. 14cent Quartz Heavy Duty Office Wall Clock, €22.49, Viking Direct
3. Transworld Products Preserve Jar, 2ltr, €7.79 each, Viking Direct
4. Linen Cotton Dish Tea Towels Chrysanthemum, €13.40 for a set of 2, ColoredWorld via Etsy
6. Dymo LabelManager LM160P, €38.99, Viking Direct
7. DIY kitchen pegboard, via A Beautiful Mess 
8. Lavandula plant, €8, IKEA 
My next blog post on project #OfficeKitchenMakeover I’m hoping to share some before pictures and a more specific design once it’s finalized. What do you guys think about quotes on office walls? Do you think it works well? Fingers crossed they’re open to the idea of me graffitying one on their walls … Wish me luck! xx A