It’s The Little Things: Paper Straws

Folks. I have a problem. We can joke about. Pretend it is a silly thing. A small thing.

But it is getting a bit out of hand.

It is kind of my habit or need, if you will, to have a supply of every possible thing. Imaginable. Just in case. You never know.

“Just in case. You never know.” That is the mantra of my life, by the way. In one word it can be summed up to: greed paranoia.

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I have always been a Straw Freak. I bet you didn’t know there was such a thing. Well there is. Here I am. “Nice to meet you.” I cannot drink out of a glass without a straw. I make weird slurping noises. It is like I have been drinking out of puddles all of my life. My lips cannot form properly onto the glass.

I am sure at this point you are crossing off the word “straw” in Straw Freak.

I don’t blame you.

Also. I cannot drink water with a straw. Or milk (unless the milk is from a donut shop in a small container purchased on the way to the airport between the hours of five and seven thirty in the morning. Jealous of my husband now?). It is simply not done. Sends shivers down my spine, it does.

If I am at a restaurant, I always grab extra ones. Especially at Coffee Bean And Tea Leaf. Their straws are the absolute best. They are big. They are purple. They live in my purse where I can stroke them daily.

Shhhhhh!

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So, I started seeing these gorgeous paper straws popping up all over the place. And the Need Beast in my heart grew.

I finally caved and purchased some hot pink paper straws from Amazon.
.

But the Need Beast was not satisfied.

So I bought a small pack of twenty yellow polkadot and stripe ones.

But he longed for more.

He wanted. All. Of. The. Colors.

RRRROOOOOAAAARRRRR!

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But I did not want to pay for them. Well, the other day Anthropologie had free shipping on anything. That’s right. Anything. Do you want to know what I bought?

Clothes?

Nope.

Shoes?

Nope.

Jewelry?

Nope.

Shocker: I bought straws.

Eight boxes of fabulous clearanced paper straws. Eight boxes of 144 count straws (seriously, the best price I have found is on Anthropologie. Who knew?). This, combined with my previous Amazon purchases, left me with a total of 1,196 straws.

My husband was very impressed with this number, folks.

You should have seen his jaw clench.

I think it was in anticipation of the fun sipping he will be doing all season.

Don’t you?

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I am so ready for this summer. For margaritas by the pool. For lemonade. And piƱa coladas.

All made more exciting with the use of colorful, happy straws.

It’s the little things: Making a drink even better.

Do you have paper straws in your house? Do you drink from a straw? Do you have weird rules about straws? Please share. My Need Beast really wants to know.

* The Amazon link is an affiliate link. The straws for this link are $1 more than what Anthropologie is selling their straws for. However, I provided the link in case Anthropologie runs out. Also, I get free shipping on Amazon but not on Anthropologie. Purchasing through the Amazon link will result in a small commission for The Need Beast this blog.

A Dress And A Cookie

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After doing my Anthropologie reviews, I could not get the Caravane Tunic Dress out of my mind. It was all ready half off. It fit all of my sale criteria. It seemed like a no-brainer. Yes, I see the irony there. And so I bought it. I am so glad I did. I adore it. Adore it. Adore… It. I can wear it in the summer with easy flat sandals. In these pictures, I am wearing the Almanac Sandals. In the wintertime, I will pair it with leggings and boots.

The blue is so bright and cheerful in person. Truly lovely.

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In my trying out new photo ideas. Trying not to be boring. I decided to pretend to eat a cookie.

Why?

Who knows? I am trying to be more creative. This is definitely going to involve some fails.

Many fails.

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And who the heck can pretend to eat a cookie?

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Not me.

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The dress has gorgeous black and gold buttons on it. The embroidered necklace with my husband and my initials was a Christmas present from my husband in 2012. It can be found here.

* Disclaimer: A cookie was definitely hurt in the making of this post. Brutally. I am not sad to state it did not survive. Its brothers and sisters shared the same fate. Blame it on creativity. This is posted in accordance to the PETC regulations and guidelines.

Though shall not eat thy prop.

P.S. I shared this on The Pleated Poppy!

Our Finished Otomi Bathroom

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I am so excited to share our finished bathroom! Here is part one and part two in case you missed them.

My friend, Jessica, owns Bella Wall Designs. She was such a sweetie and stenciled my walls for me. She did such an amazing job on the stencil. The whole bathroom just pops. The updated bathroom makes me smile. Just like Jessica does.

My philosophy on design is to do whatever makes you happy. And every room should have layers. Small bathrooms have so much potential, because you can really make them pop in a more bold way than the rest of your home.

Do not be afraid of color.

It has never bit anyone.

That I know of.

I wanted to share some tips on what I did for a quick update on a builder’s stock bathroom. Our bathroom is over twenty years old. I thought of replacing the vanity, but the tile in there is fairly new. And it matched the tile throughout the house. To replace the vanity probably meant having to patch some areas of the tile. This seemed risky (what if it didn’t match?) and costly. I also priced out several vanity pieces. I fell in love with an antique pine cabinet, but it sold out when I was not looking.

What’s a girl to do?

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Well, I simply purchased these furniture legs on clearance from a hardware store in town that specializes in molding. Our woodworker who did our library cabinets and baseboards put them in for us at the same time he did our mirror.

Then we just painted the cabinet a medium shade of grey to compliment the blue that was going to go in.

Added mustard knobs from World Market.

And voila’! Our vanity looked like a new one!

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I love the frame that Paul from Vrieling Woodworks. (he also installed our large baseboards and our bookcases) built us last year. It was installed around our standard builder’s mirror. It definitely goes with my Alice In Wonderland meets The Hobbit themed home.

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I love our farmhouse copper sink in our kitchen. I purchased that one off of eBay. So, I knew I wanted to continue the copper theme into our hallway bathroom. I continued the savings by purchasing this copper vessel sink from eBay, as well. Copper is a natural killer of bacteria. So, it is perfect for a bathroom. If you do choose to purchase copper sinks from eBay, it is important to do your research. Some copper sinks from certain countries have lead in them. That would be dangerous to have in your home!

The faucet was also purchased from eBay for a steal.

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We went to the local countertop dealer and requested a look at their scrap pieces. We were able to save money on the countertop this way. We also got a much higher end countertop than we thought we would be able to get, because of our savings. It is a concrete countertop with bits of blue glass and shells in it. Almost as if Alice came back from her adventure and put her souvenirs into this countertop.

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I bought the Otomi Stencil from Etsy. I have a collection of Otomi pieces from our trips to Mexico. I love the pattern. I knew I wanted to match the blue of the Otomi in the bathroom to the blue of the pattern below.

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Here is sweet Jessica, who did my stencil in the bathroom holding the Otomi piece with me. Notice her amazing vintage Ralph Lauren tie. She has the coolest style.

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Here we are in the finished bathroom. The embroidered crewel pieces are all part of my vintage collection.

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And here are some pictures of the bathroom sans us friends. The shower curtain is Anthropologie’s Flamenco Shower Curtain. I love the different shades of blue and green it holds.

I am so proud of this room. I think it came together in a variety of cool layers.

Have you redone a room in your home lately? Added any fun colors?

P.S. I shared this on Savvy Southern Style.

And My Romantic Home.

Bathroom Progress

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My good friend, Jessica, has been at my house this week stenciling my bathroom with the Otomi design I had purchased from Etsy last year. I had a vision in my head and it is so exciting to see it coming to fruition.

This is our main bathroom. Our house only has two. So, I wanted it to be fun and have a bit of a wow factor in the small space.

I started the renovation last year with a new countertop and sink. I had my sweet contractor who installed our baseboards, add legs to the vanity and build and paint the green mirror. Our painter painted the vanity gun metal grey for us. He also painted the yellowing walls white. If you missed those updates, you can see them here.

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Before.

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This is halfway finished. Isn’t it looking awesome?

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Jessica has a business called Bella Wall Designs. I am so lucky to have such a talented friend. There is no way I could have done this on my own. And the only help I gave was to sit in my bathroom while she stenciled and I drank wine. I’m really good at that. Jess, I’m available for hire!

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Seriously though, thank you Jessica! It is looking amazing! Jessica’s specialty is Italian plastering, so if my design is too out there for you, she is a girl with many skills. I have seen her other work and it is beautiful.

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Here is my inspirational Otomi piece. I purchased it with my family in Puerta Vallarta two years ago. It usually rests behind my couch. On that trip I brought home four Otomi pieces. I love the beautiful embroidery and whimsical creatures.

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I have a slight rug dilemma. Ideally I wanted a 3 X 5 rag rug with a feed bag design on it. Just one to two red stripes. No more. It turns out that doesn’t really exist. I might look into making one. But, after the tablecloth debacle, it might be years before we create another family heirloom.

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In the meantime, do you think those two rugs will work in the space? Keep in mind, my vintage crewel wall embroidery is going back up soon. And some pieces have burlap in them. I like it. But it might be too busy. Although my whole house would be considered too busy for many. : ). The rugs were $11.99 each after a coupon at World Market. So the price is right, too.

Have you done anything fun in your home recently? I really love Brynne from The Gathered Home’s new Ikea desk revision.

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Jessica finished the stenciling on Saturday evening while I was on a date. Is she awesome or what? Here is a sneak peak at the finished project. I still have to layer it with my embroidered pieces and a towel or two.

I am beyond in love. It is like she pulled a dream from my head and brought it into reality. Thank you Jessica!

* Since this post was written, I have completed the project. To see the finished project, click here.

Also, I shared this on Savvy Southern Style!

And My Romantic Home.