Archive | March, 2013

FRIDAY READING

29 Mar

Many of us are enjoying a relaxing Friday holiday from work this Easter weekend…. 
But some of us are not.
If you’re sitting at work, reading all of your friends’ fun Facebook statuses and watching the clock tick tock til 5:00, here is some friendly Friday reading material! These are my latest two posts for my Bring it Home series on CamilleStyles! 
The first is how to camouflage your TV so that it isn’t the focal point of a room. Living in a studio apartment has made this design dilemma all the more poignant for me. I’m happy to say I’ve actually used all of these tips in my own home, and they really do work! Like seriously, I used to lose the remote all the time.
And the second is my ideas to dress up your desk at work, and why it’s important to do so. What do your coworkers think of your work space? Your boss? Does it inspire you? I will be perfectly honest my own workspace is SO not decorated… yet. But writing this post was my way to motivate myself/kick myself in the butt to take care of that.
I hope you all have a fabulous Friday, no matter where you are.
And be sure to let me know if you guys try any of my suggestions, it makes me feel REALLY good when these posts actually help people 🙂

xoxo Cristina

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What I Wore:: Austin Graffiti Park

26 Mar
Hey loves! So it’s 12:30 (at night) and I was already in bed. But then I decided to get up and eat some chips and hummus… oh and write a quick blog post. One hour and half a tub of hummus later, I bring you this outfit post! This was taken at the end of a perfect Austin day, just as the sun was setting (golden hourrr) in this random graffiti park on a neighborhood street. We took these photos to the tune of spray cans shaking and the scent of fresh paint in the air. 
Austin weather is vacillating between the 80’s (last Monday) and the 30’s (this Monday) and it’s throwing my wardrobe for a loop. So on this day I wore layers layers layers. I really liked the combo of a jeweled t-shirt with an unbuttoned chambray (my favorite!), and a parka on top for warmth. I also threw on a metallic skirt that some might consider evening attire, but to me it makes more sense with a t-shirt and sneakers. Oh the sneakers! A Target find, can you believe it? 

T-SHIRT ZARA / CHAMBRAY SHIRT ZARA / PARKA F21 / SKIRT ZARA / SHOES TARGET

xoxo Cristina
ps my friends thought that bandaid was an accessory, but it’s not! I got stitches 😐

Thank you for taking my pictures Nikki!

BLOGLOVIN * TWITTER * FACEBOOK


PHOTOS: CHRIS PARKER & NIKKI CHANEL

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SXSW, HAIR, & SXSW HAIR

20 Mar

 
Hey Fuji Filers. It has been longer than I’d like to admit since my last blog post, but I’ve been busy. Doing important stuff. (See above). But in all seriousness I have been working my butt off at work, went to Chicago (for business, not pleasure) and just survived my first SXSW experience here in Austin. I made it out alive (barely… as I now suffer through the SXSW flu) with a couple of mementos. This cool new take on the photobooth was the source of endless fun at Fader Fort. I also got to work a couple of music events and even got my hair done while I was at it!

I haven’t blogged much about my day job, but you now have an idea of what I do! 
Let me know if any of you’d like to hear more about curly and wavy hair or see tutorials. I know this isn’t a beauty blog but it’s something I happen to know a lot about, so just tell me in the comments below if this is something you’d be interested in?
xoxo Cristina

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DIY FILES:: CAMPAIGN DRESSER IKEA HACK

6 Mar
Handles Ansaldi & Sons / Paint Behr Herbal Tea / Corner brackets Hardware World
I feel like a fake and a phony posting this. This was not my idea and I won’t claim to be original. In fact when I was contemplating this DIY this is the conversation that went down:
Me: I really want to DIY myself some green campaign drawers, but I just feel like EVERYONE has them
Marisa: Nobody has them, I’ve never met anyone that has them. Have you?
Me: Well no.
Marisa: You don’t actually know anyone with campaign drawers then.
Me: No, I guess I don’t. But it feels like I do.
Sometimes the lines between real life and the internet are blurred, does anyone else feel this way?
It all started with this little spread in Lonny magazine. And then the bloggers were off. I was infected with Campaign fever from the start, so (after the aforementioned conversation) I studied the RAST hacks and cherry picked the bits that I liked most, and here are my results! I’d first like to acknowledge the hackers that came before me: I used the Campaign drawer handles from LittleGreenNotebook and the corner brackets on Design Manifest.

WHAT YOU’LL NEED:
1 quart high gloss paint – I used Behr Herbal Tea
6 Campaign handles from Ansaldi & Sons
6 packets of corner brackets (they come 4/set), Hardware World
paint brush
wood filler
sand paper
drill
optional: hot glue

Step 1: Buy Ikea RAST drawers

They are only $34.99 each. If you’ve searched for side tables (especially with drawers) you will know that this is a steal. Alternatively, if you already have drawers at home that could use a facelift, use those!
Step 2: Choose paint color
A few people have asked me how I got the lacquer look to mine, I just used a high gloss paint. I’ve seen some fabulous renditions of these in pink, grey, black, and white – you could really go any color with these. I’d love to re-do mine in orange! 
Note: this wood soaks up paint, if you don’t use a primer it will take 2-3 coats and the finished product might not be completely even. I didn’t use a primer so I don’t know if that would fix this.
Step 3: Fill in handle holes & paint
Use woodfiller to fill in the holes meant for the Ikea drawer pulls, there are two on each drawer. Once this has dried sand them down until smooth. Then paint everything your color of choice.
Note: Save yourself time (and paint) by figuring out which sides will be showing. I went ahead and painted everything green (even insides of drawers) but no one will ever see those.
Step 4. You can begin to assemble the RAST once the paint has dried (don’t assemble the drawers yet)

Step 5. Measure the center of the drawer and then drill the handle pulls in. Measure twice, drill once.
Note: it’s difficult to get these centered… mine are slightly off but I don’t think anyone can notice

Step 6. Attach the corner brackets, then slide the drawers into place!
I drilled mine in with the small screws that came with the brackets BUT I would recommend skipping the screws and hot glueing them instead, because when I open and close the drawers the screws rub against each other, making it difficult to close the drawers all the way. One day, I’d like to remove the screws and re-attach them with hot glue, but… it’s been a year and I have not gotten around to it. Save yourself the trouble.

I really hope this helps, but if you have any questions leave them in the comments below and I’ll get back to every single one! 
And for more photos of my nightstands and my home, look here and here.
xoxo Cristina

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