Guest Room Ideas

I'm big on family and friends visiting, and I love when my guests tell me they feel at home when they visit.

I think it's super important to have bathroom supplies on hand so guests can help themselves to items they didn't think to pack. Enter the "Guest Jar". I pick up 2 gallon lidded glass canisters at Walmart ($9.97), and fill them with samples (including the stuff I bring home from hotel stays, that I never end up using). Then I add labels which read "For Our Guests", and tuck them under the guest sinks. They're pretty popular with our guests!

I'm also a believer in robes; don't you always miss yours when you don't bring it with you? So I picked up some extra soft white robes, and had them embroidered. They each say "Guest", but one is embroidered in blue and one is in pink. They hang in the guest room closets, but always end up in the bathrooms (imagine that).

Each guest closet also holds extra pillows and blankets, a fan, and a luggage rack.

Baskets with Chalkboard Tags

Don't you just love being organized? I especially heart the baskets that come with the little chalkboards, so you can label all your stuff. I hate the price, though (about $20+ for a decent-sized basket). I just couldn't justify buying all new baskets to be able to have the little chalkboards.

Today it occurred to me: I already have great baskets, I already have chalkboard paint, all I need are little chalkboards. So I trotted off to Michaels and picked up a package of 6 wood signs ($2.99, minus $1.20 with my 40% off coupon). Then I went home and painted them with my paint (leftover from another project).  Fifteen minutes later, this is what I had! Ahh, organizational bliss*.

I even decided to add the chalkboard paint to some jars I was using for our dog supplies. I taped off the areas I wanted chalky, and then painted them:

Here is the paint I used:

*After realizing that the chalk rubbed off way too easily, I went with a chalk marker. This is a much better option if you want your labels to stay on without rubbing off. It can be removed with water if you want to change your labels later.

Addicted to Candles

I have a confession. I am addicted to candles. I love what they do to my home: they make it smell good, they look pretty, and they supposedly make you look more attractive, too!

Like all addictions, though, this one can get pricey. Can you imagine paying $129 for a "fashion candle"? I can. I have. Please don't tell my husband. Disclaimer: it was realllly beautiful. It was huge, and it had fleur-de-lis wax accents on the sides. But I digress. . .

Now for the good stuff: you can burn real candle wax, and get all the benefits of the scent and flickering of a real candle, without paying crazy prices. And you only need 5 things:

• A candle you love (new or only very slightly used; larger and higher quality are best)
• A tea light candle
• A 1.5" woodboring drill bit (about $6)
• A drill
• 2 minutes

You are going to love me for this. Love. Me. Because you are going to save lots of money with this "trick".

Here's what you do:

1. Cut down the wick on your candle as far as you can.
2. Drill out the center of your candle using the bit; do this slowly, as you can always make the hole deeper, but you don't want to drill down too far.
3. Drop the tea light into the center of your candle, making sure it sits level with the top of your large candle, or just slightly below the top.

Voila! Now when you want the benefits of a real candle you will burn the tea light, which is replaceable for less than a dollar. You never have to replace your huge, expensive candle again! You also have the added benefit of no more waxy messes on your tables or inside your candle holders.

I used to be pretty crazy about trying to match my tea lights to my candles, but sometimes it's pretty to use contrasting colors. You can also drop in unscented tea lights if you're using your candle during a dinner party. Genius, right?

Let me know what you think!