Now that we’re fully into December (WHAT?!), it’s getting quite chilly in these parts.  All I want to do is curl up on the couch with a blanket and a giant cup of tea.  I think I will do that all weekend long, what about you??  Here’s what I’ve been loving this week:

• I’m printing out these DIY gift tags immediately, if not sooner.
• This perfect gray tee, please come into my life.
• I’ve had Kate’s holiday mixtape on repeat.
• The best chocolate mousse you’ve ever had in your life?  Count me in.
• Last night, we went to the West Elm party at their new Beverly Blvd location.  Beyond the fact that the store looks absolutely gorgeous, the party was super fun and they served mini donuts.  Any party with donuts is amazing in my book.  Best part?  Emily Henderson was there and I almost died.  Love.  That.  Girl.

Happy weekend!!

Image via Scout’s Honor Co.

I know I’ve posted about Renegade craft fair several times before, i.e. here and here, but it’s just so dang fun!  I go whenever they’re out here (July and December) and have a new experience with great new vendors every time.  Also, I can’t help but take photos of all the awesome things so here we are with a 3rd Renegade post…

*these are my favorite green pants EVER.  kyle got them for me for my birthday (yesss my birthday is not until the end of January but we like to give early birthday presents around here…no judging).

Happy Monday!  This is probably one of my longest posts in history, but with good reason!  I wanted to share a few of my favorite items on Etsy that would be the perfect gift this holiday season.  And I did them all separate so you can click on the photo and it sends you straight to their Etsy.  Easy peasy!  I think it’s super important to support small businesses and what better way to do so than during the holidays?  Here are some of my favorites:

These bags are made by my friend Christy – aren’t they so cute?  They’re the perfect size to throw in a purse.  I would toss in a few lip balms and a hand lotion and give it to one of my best friends for Christmas.  See the full Etsy here.

It’s hard to pick a favorite piece from A Merry Mishap because they’re all so unique and fun, but I think I would give this ring as a gift because I’ve never seen anything like it.  So neat!  See the full Etsy here.

Ann-Marie is one of my best friends and she is so dang talented!  I love her newly added digital prints and would gift them to anyone needing a little color and inspiration in their life.  See the full Etsy here.

I would totally buy this camera strap for myself.  What?  I’m not allowed to by myself a Christmas present here and there??  It would be awesome for my new camera.  See the full Etsy here.

These striped linen dish towels are the perfect addition to any kitchen.  Wrap it around a wooden spoon and BAM you have a great gift.  See the full Etsy here.

I love these bright graphic prints and actually have one hanging on my gallery wall!  I would gift one of these to an art lover, of course.  See the full Etsy here.

The coral in this beaded bracelet is so gorgeous!  Ayofemi makes the most beautiful, delicate bracelets and I would give any one of them to my jewelry-loving cousin. See the full Etsy here.

Everyone needs a chunky cowl in their life but I think it would be such a good gift for my friend that moved to the east coast.  She will actually need it!  See the full Etsy here.

*You can see my last two gift guides here and here.

Over Thanksgiving weekend, Kyle decided to build us a bookshelf.  Totally on a whim!  I like when he does things like that.  We used this DIY from The Brick House and absolutely loved the results.  Exactly the right level of industrial chic we were looking for.  Don’t ask why the wall is 2 different paint colors, though.  That’s the landlord’s fault.  I mean, 2 paint colors on one wall…really??

But back to the unit…we put a few things on the shelves for now but plan to add lots of flea market goods and old books as soon as possible.  Can’t wait until it’s all finished!

Now on to the “building” part.  I can’t really take credit for any of it, not gonna lie.  I took the photos and held a pipe every once in a while, but Kyle (the Tool Man Taylor…har har) did all the manual labor.  Full disclosure: this was NOT an easy project.  It took about 7 trips to Home Depot and lots of F bombs.  We put it together once, had to take it apart, and then put it together again.  But now that it’s up and attached to the wall, I couldn’t be happier with the results!

The full size of the bookshelf is 40″ wide by 92″ tall by 12″ deep.  In total, it cost us about $250 and 12 hours of labor (over the course of a week).

Here are the parts we use:
Pipe (1/2″ gas pipe)
4  - 18″
10 – 8″
2 – 10″
8 – 12″

Fittings
4 base flanges
10 tees
12 90º elbows

Wood Shelves
5 – 40″ x 12″ x 1″ pine (custom cut at Home Depot)

Wood Finishes
1 Minwax wood conditioner (to prep before the stain)
1 Minwax wood stain in “dark walnut”

Rustolem gloss spray paint (for the pipes)
1 – black

Screws
8 – #12 2.5″ wood screws (to screw into the wall)

Other tools
Prep All Spray (to clean the pipes before spray painting)
Extra fine sand paper, 220 (to sand the wood before staining)
7/8″ Hole Saw (to drill the holes into the wood)
Hand drill
Stud finder
Lots of brute strength (seriously, you need some muscle)

Important things to note:
+ Clean pipes thoroughly with soap and water and THEN with Prep All spray to get rid of the oil
+ Because studs are most commonly 16″ apart, make sure the holes you drill in the wood are either 16″ apart or 32″ apart (or 48″ apart, so on and so forth in multiples of 16 – ours are 32″ apart)
+ Again regarding studs, it’s super important to drill the unit’s top base flanges into studs for maximum support (which is why we made the wood holes 32″ apart)

If you would like a more complete set of directions, just email me and I would be happy to share!

•  I want to wrap all my presents in Anthropologie gift wrap – it’s so gorgeous!
• Debating whether or not to have/make a wreath this year, but this sweet DIY holiday wreath is definitely persuading me to create one.
• These refined rustic touches from Creature Comforts are right up my alley.
• This holiday inspiration from Odessa May Society is exactly what I needed to dive into the holiday season.
• Not gonna lie, this first birthday party makes me want to get on the baby train.  Sooo ridiculously cute.

Hope everyone has a lovely weekend – oh and Happy December!  WHAT?  I can’t believe it’s almost 2012.  This year has flown byyyyyyy.

This week has been a sparse blogging week for me.  If I have a really crazy Monday (and boy did I have a real cray cray Monday!), then I’m totally screwed for the rest of the week.  But that’s okay because you were probs tired of all that regular posting.  And that regular pinning/tweeting.  And all that Janelle time.  I feel ya, you needed a break!  But hey, I’m back now and here are a few things I found this week that I’d like to do/make/replicate/own:

• 100% making this chicken pot pie with root vegetables.
• Oh and also these cornflake, marshmallow, chocolate chip cookies.  …can you tell I’m hungry right now?
• The new Maje collection is so major, I can’t even take it.
• Obsessed with bright rugs right now like this one.
• I want to wrap holiday presents like this.  Now I just need to find the actual presents.

PS – guess what next week is??  My FAVORITE holiday!!

• The fact that it’s going to be in the mid-50s and rainy today.  I can’t remember the last time it was this chilly!
• I ordered this print from Ann-Marie Loves Paper this week and when it arrived in the mail, it was in the CUTEST/CRAFTIEST packaging I’ve ever seen.  Thanks AM!
• I’m still loving knitting and can’t wait to show you my creations.  I’m half way through 2 different ones (I got bored with the first and started the second…typical) and will show you as soon as they are completed!
• Loving this Maison Scotch collection from Scotch & Soda (found via because im addicted).  This is what I want to wear for the next 5 months straight.  Plus, it’s a Dutch brand and I’m a little Dutch girl, so I love it even more.
• Happy weekending!  Enjoy it with something sweet.

This weekend, my cousin Kayla gave me and 2 of my cousins (Kels & Jess) knitting lessons!  Not only did she teach us the basics, but we also had a super fun time.  I love my family so much!  I {of course} chose a mustard-colored yarn and even though my progress (above) looks kind of crappy, I think I’m finally getting the hang of it.  I will definitely show you the completed piece (circle scarf) as soon as I finish.  Thanks so much Kayla!

If you’re interested in learning how to knit and don’t have a super crafty family member, I would try this or these tutorials.  So much fun!

*And here’s Kayla workin’ that yarn like a professional.  She’s so good!

Happy Friday!!  This week has seen a drastic change in Los Angeles weather.  LOVING.  IT.  Cooler temps mean warmer clothes and layers, pumpkin-flavored desserts, scarves and oversized sweaters, seasonal soup recipes…I could go on and on!  It’s my favorite time of the year so I’m enjoying every minute of it.  Also, today is one of my best friends’ birthdays!  Happy birthday Sarah Jayne, sending so much love all the way across the United States.  In addition to Sarita’s birthday, here are a few things I’m loving this week:

• Can you believe the J. Crew discount right now??  25% off orders of $150+ through Sunday.  These kind of discounts come around once in a lifetime.  I couldn’t be more excited!
• The newly launched Besotted Brand paper goods and stamps are as beautiful as they are chic.  Can’t wait to add a few sweet things to my ever growing stationary collection.
• This chocolate chip cookie recipe (found on Cup of Jo) looks BEYOND delicious.  Need to test drive them immediately.
• My love for delicate rings is as strong as ever and these Gabriela Artigas rings could not possibly be more gorgeous.
• This weekend, my cousin Kayla is teaching me how to knit.  I’ve been dying to learn, but is knitting really hard??  I’ve literally never done it before so this will be a very new experience for me.  Excited!

Have a wonderful & relaxing weekend, lovelies.

Hi!

I’m Ann-Marie and I am so excited to be guest-blogging here at The Style Eater. I’ve known Janelle since our freshman year of high school, when I totally bought the same pair of DVS skater shoes that she had (lord help us understand why those were ever considered stylish?!). Let’s just say, she has always been a fashion idol of mine!  :) So while she is rubbing elbows with Fred Armisen in Portlandia, I will tell you a little about my slight obsession with thrifting.

California will always hold the number one spot in my heart in virtually every other way, but I have to say it: Utah has the best thrifting. When I moved here last year to take on an awesome job in the crafts industry, I quickly discovered Deseret Industries. Okay, so it’s totally owned by the Mormons, but it is AWESOME! There are a bunch of stores within a thirty mile radius of where I live, and you better believe I hit up each and every one of them as often as possible. Here are a some of my favorite items to look for:

Bowls, bowls, and more bowls. I use them to hold just about everything, from craft supplies to food to keys.

Frames in all different shapes and sizes. It doesn’t matter what color they come in because you can spray paint the heck out of them to match your decor. For less than two dollars a pop, creating gallery walls in your space has never been more affordable!

Trays + other types of decorative holders. In this case, I bought a glass cabinet window for three bucks and turned it into a tray for my coffee table. Easy peasy.

Typewriters. Currently I am the owner of two typewriters that are both fully-functioning and as awesome as ever. I love using them for all my paper projects and labeling needs.

And the one area I have not had much luck in…clothes. It doesn’t help matters when most of the clothing section has lovely(?) pieces like the one above, but I have faith that the right items will come my way one day!

A few key things to remember when thrifting…

• There are very few things that a good scrubbing and a few coats of spray paint can’t fix. Look beyond the current state of the object and think about it’s potential.
•  Don’t be afraid to dig in and move things around. There are bargains to be had, so get in there!
• Sometimes it’s fun to go hunting when you have a few desired items in mind, but I always score my best finds when I simply keep my eyes open to whatever may be there that day.
• Always have a bottle of hand sanitizer on you at all times!

Happy thrifting!

Ann-Marie: Ann-Marie Loves Paper // ETSY STORE // Pinterest [editor note: she's the pinning QUEEN!!]