HEY HEY HEY

Hey hey heyyyyyyy, it's Fat Albert! JK it's Phoebe ;)
I wanted to take part in Friday Introductions but I wanted to do it here on my blog for anyone who is new to my page!

SO AWAY WE GO....
As you've probably come to realize, my name is Phoebe! I am a Jesus loving, decor obsessed, free spirited, beach crazy, devoted wife to my husband who I have been married to for TWO YEARS (May 17th) and have known for 6 years now! 
I started this blog about a year ago as a little hobby to document some of my projects. It wasn't until the beginning of fall that I realized I wanted to take my blog to a new level and become more serious about it! I still am not where I want to be when it comes to blogging, but I am learning and growing each and everyday in hopes to make my blog better in any way I can.
I am a firm believer in understanding your tiny decor person that is living on the inside of each and everyone of us. TINY DECOR PERSON? Yes, you read that right heheh! I believe that we all find MULTIPLE design & decor styles appealing and beautiful but they aren't what we belong having in our home. I found farmhouse and industrial very beautiful so I thought that is what I belonged decorating my house in. With time I realized I was not happy with our home, I was not at peace, I did not feel like it was MY HOME.

I took a step back from TRYING to put together a home and I asked myself: 
What is my lifestyle?
What did I grow up loving?
Who am I as a person?

WELL.....
My lifestyle is easy breezy. I go with the flow. I live life at a slower pace. 
I grew up at the beach. We rode our bikes to the beach everyday in the summer. I spent all day in my bathing suit getting brown as a berry. I brought sand home with me and tracked it all the way into the bathroom where I would wash the ocean off of me. I am a beach baby despite now being in inland NC. I did not grow up on a farm. I did not live even close to a farm. Well actually we had a little farm 2 towns over where you could feed goats and a cow hahah.
I am a laid back person. I am not fancy or elaborate. I like sleeping in, being comfy, going without makeup with my hair up.
FARMHOUSE DID NOT DESCRIBE WHO I AM!

Now, I know the TINY DECOR PERSON inside of me is a little California Bohemian (wearing cute gladiator sandals) with a flare of vintage goodness! I like light and airy spaces with BOLD accents. I like bringing the outside in in the form of PLANTS. LOTS OF PLANTS. I like natural elements and different textures. I like cultural pieces. I like rare pieces. I like unique pieces.

I encourage every person who is even remotely interested in decorating their home to take a step back and find who their inner TINY DECOR PERSON is. It will save you time, money, and sanity!

Thank you for coming to my corner of cyber world! I hope you enjoyed getting to know a little more about me, friend.

xoxo Phoebe

EXCITING NEWS

AHHH so much is going on over here! We closed on our HOUSE YESTERDAY so we are OFFICIALLY homeowners!! Construction starts tomorrow *insert happy dance*

We have been finalizing design choices and getting everything in order so the construction process is easy breezy.

Through all the running around and excitement I found out that I was nominated for the Liebster Award! Alexis over at alexisnickcreates thought that my blog was worthy enough to receive the nomination, which is just BEYOND! So thank you, Alexis ;)

The Liebster Award is actually really awesome. It is an award given out through the blogging community. It is given to bloggers BY bloggers as a way to not only let bloggers know they are doing an AMAZING job but also to shed light on different blogs and introduce readers to different material. The blogging world is just getting bigger and bigger so it is great to make blogging friends and uplift, encourage, support, and push each other to do our best!

We are FAMILY!

Once nominated, throw out 11 facts about yourself and answer the eleven questions written by the chic or dude that nominated you, and then create eleven questions of your own for whoever you choose to nominate. So here we gooooo:

1.     I am a Jersey girl. I was born and raised in a small beach town before marrying my husband and moving to NC where I have been for the past 2 years.

2.     I have bachelors in Criminal Justice specializing in Youth Corrections. People usually are shocked at the fact. It makes me laugh when I see peoples faces after they ask me “what did you go to school for?”

3.     I am foodie. I LOVE food so much. I am seriously ALWAYS eating. My grandma used to always wonder why I am not 1,000 pounds.

4.     I am obsessed with olives. My husband thinks its gross, but I will just sit there with a jar of olives munchin away!

5.     I have an adorable Carolina Dog mix named, Rango. We rescued the little nugget. He is pretty rad.

6.     I’m German, Russian, Irish, Italian, Polish, Enlgish and I am not sure what else. Like our dog, I’m a mut.

7.     Hmm what else? My favorite ice cream is chocolate chip mint

8.     Alice in Wonderland is my favorite movie…EVER

9.     I have an obsession with plants

10. I REALLY want to go to Greece one day!

11. I have a fascination with stars. I can sit outside and look at the stars and moon for hours.

11 Questions from Alexis

1.     Where is your favorite place that you have traveled to?

My husband and I went on our honeymoon to the Bahamas. We stopped in Free Port and that was possibly one of the prettiest places I have been to. It was an underdeveloped city but had such a chill vibe. It was so relaxing. Not to mention the water was ice blue!

           

      2.  What is your dream career?

I would LOVE to blog and design homes for a living! I currently nanny and sell home décor which I love but I am starting to get the itch to want to begin designing more spaces for people.

3.     Current favorite artist (musician, designer, painter..)?

My favorite artist of all time is Salvador Dali. He has been my favorite artist for years!

4.     Do you keep your phone on ringer or vibrate?

I am a vibrate kind of girl! That sounds dirty as I type it out, but yeah no ringer for me.

5.     Who is your biggest inspiration?

My biggest inspiration would have to be nature. That sounds kind of strange when I say it out loud but as I sit outside writing this I am looking at my in-laws backyard and I am getting so many different ideas for different home designs.

6.     Why did you start your blog?

I love love LOVE home décor! I love creating beautiful spaces that are budget friendly for the everyday person. I am a firm believer in buying things old and used and bringing them back to life again. That is why I started Rebely. I wanted to show others what they can be capable of doing in their own homes without spending an arm and a leg!

7.     If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?

OOOH, good question! Hard question to answer! Hmmm I would have to say sushi. Is that cheating though because there are different types of sushi? I love sushi though. I could eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I would say wine but apparently that isn’t a food (booooo).

8.     What social media platform is your favorite?

I really enjoy Instagram! My husband got me a new camera for my birthday and I really like taking beautiful photos of different projects and displaying them for my follower to see. I feel like they give inspiration to others not to mention I get lots of inspiration myself from photos I see on my Instagram feed.

9.     What is your ultimate goal for your blog?

I would really like to have my full-time job be blogging (along with running my own store front). I enjoy it so much and I would love to be solely doing that as a living and following any open doors it may lead me to Lord willing.

10. Do you prefer coffee or tea?

Iced coffee all day long, baby!

11. Where is your favorite place to find blogging inspiration?

Pinterest! It is full of beautiful photos and crafts and unique ideas. I love getting inspiration from there and making it my own!

MY NOMINATIONS

http://crispinteriors.blogspot.com

https://intentionallysmall.com

http://shoeboxdwelling.com

http://www.myfirstapartment.com

http://www.themakerista.com

http://theinspiredroom.net

http://www.abeautifulmess.com

http://stylebyemilyhenderson.com

My questions for my nominees

1.     What is something no one knows about you?

2.     Beside blogging, what is another creative outlet that you enjoy?

3.     Where do you see your blog in the next year?

4.     Who would you say is your  favorite blogger to follow?

5.     If you were stranded on an island and could only bring ONE thing with you, what would it be?

6.     Favorite food?

7.     Margarita or wine?

8.     How would you describe your décor style?

9.     If you could give one piece of advice to someone looking to start a blog, what would it be?

10. Chocolate or vanilla? (I will judge you based off your answer).

11. Beach or mountains?

WHO TO FOLLOW ON INSTAGRAM

Social media is taking over the WORLD! Everyone now-a-days is tweeting, Instagramming, Facebooking, Pinning, etc. It can be overwhelming for some to enter the “sub culture” that is social media. I know when I first got Instagram, I was so confused on who to follow. Obviously I followed my friends, but then I wanted to follow users who shared the same passion as me when it came to creating a beautiful and funky home!

I proceeded to follow EVERY home décor account I could find. Soon enough I was following like 200 accounts that were just dedicated to home décor and DIY. After a while I came to find out that those accounts were all pretty cookie cutter. No shade on them, but some accounts were so dang similar you would have no idea that they were separate accounts.  We have all come across those types of accounts.

So who should I follow? Well, I made a short list of AMAZING and UNIQUE accounts that are a MUST FOLLOW and from there you can follow who they follow (cause I know from experience that these accounts don’t follow just any boring Instagram accounts!) and the chain just keeps on going.

Nichol Naranjo @nicholnaranjo

Nichol is probably my FAVORITE instgrammer! Her home is BEYOND beautiful. It is a mixture of boho, modern, coastal, vintage, city goodness. Not to mention she has some pretty adorable pups that like to pop up in her photos like little doggie models! She documents all of her amazing craigslist, thrift store, estate sale finds showing her followers that things do not always need to be NEW to be beautiful and worthy to be on display. Her account is authentic and inspiring, making her truly ONE TO FOLLOW!

Emily K. @crispinteriors

Emily is one of my dearest friends but that is not the reason she made this list! Go to her account and you will see just why she rightfully deserves to be ONE TO FOLLOW. Emily and her husband recently remodeled their gorgeous lakeside home. Her account is filled with photos of her design ideas, breathtaking rugs that she sells in her store, and crazy awesome DIY projects that she documents on her BLOG! (<here).  Emily is one of the sweetest people I have the pleasure of knowing and in my opinion has one of the most beautiful Instagram accounts.

Alexis S. @alexistaylor8

Alexis is one of my friends that I have known since elementary school.  Now, her account isn't necessarily “home design/décor” but she is a designer and social media strategist who has an account filled with beautiful photos BUT also AMAZING tips and advice on how to not only create but grow your brand and social media. I cannot tell you how much she and her wealth of knowledge have helped me out when it comes to growing the REBELY brand. Check out her site to get amazing advice, encouragement, and tips on how to navigate this cyber world at alexisnickcreates.com

Elizabeth Rose @elizabethrosedesigns_

I have been following Elizabeth for a while now and let me just say I am so happy I hit that follow button way back when! Her Instagram account is filled with not just affordable home décor ideas but romantic photos filled with soft pinks and gold. Anytime one of her photos graces my feed I cannot help but stare of the beauty she creates! Her home is the ultimate bachelorette pad!

Tori C. @torilovesvintage

I have had the pleasure of knowing Tori for just about 10 years now! She is friends with my cousin which is how we met but we really connected over home décor and hair heheh. The reason I believe Tori is ONE TO FOLLOW is because her Instagram account is real. She doesn’t sugar coat things. She doesn’t try to take the most perfect photos (even though they are all gorgeous). She is a mama to a toddler and pregnant with baby number two. She is busy running a home; a beautiful home filled with vintage goodness but with having a toddler things can get messy and she isn’t afraid to display that for the world to see. She has amazing design ideas, ideas that are simple yet stunning. Design ideas for the everyday woman/mama!

So head on over to Instagram, I know you all have your phones out anyway ;) and follow these amazing women! I promise you will be glad you did!

happy following

TIE DYE FOR ADULTS

Tie dye. When was the last time you did tie dye? Gosh, for me it was during summer camp when I was in elementary school. It was the typical obnoxious primary colors on a t-shirt that rarely got worn. 

Now you see "tie dye" popping up more and more when it comes to being incorporated into home decor. The biggest decor trend regarding "tie dye" is found in African indigo mud cloth. 

photo creds: Brit + Co

Tie Dye has been found to date back to between 500-810 AD in Peru, Asia, and Africa then being brought over to the Western world. Colors were found in nature from the use of berries and leaves being ground down into pulp and left outside to dry. Once they were dried out, ash and water was added to the died berries and leaves to create a dye. Then the hand woven fabric was twisted and manipulated different ways and dipped into the dye and left out to dry. It is truly amazing how ancient tie dying was done, and still is done today in some places!

Well I do not have the time nor patience to gather berries and leaves to make dye. Nor, do I have the time to hand weave fabric. I don't think any of us have that time. Well some do. But not me haha.

I wanted to make some fabric that I could use to cover pillows, and more specifically an ottoman that I just bought. So I went back to my childhood and had some tie dying fun!

WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

• Tulip Fabric Dye Navy Blue (and black if you want a deeper color)
• Cotton, linen, or some other type of natural fiber fabric
• Large plastic container
• Rubber bands (of different sizes)
• Plastic drop cloth

I wanted to give the fabric I picked out two different types of patterns. For pattern one, I folded the fabric to look like this

To achieve this, all you need to do is take your fabric and fold it like you did construction paper when you were little and made paper fans. So horizontally fold the fabric like an accordion. Once you get to the end, roll the fabric up like a cinnamon bun and put a rubber band around it to secure it. Where ever you put the rubber band is where the dye will stop running up the fabric. It acts as a barrier. 

For the second pattern, I folder the fabric to look like this

For this pattern. You are going to do the same accordion folding and then fold it in half and do different ized rubber bands going down the fabric. I did a few overlapping each other to give it a thicker area that will remain white. (Next time I will probably get a bit thicker rubber bands)

Follow the directions on the bottle of dye for proper dying. For mine I boiled 2 gallons of water and added half a bottle of my dye to it. Next time I will probably add the whole bottle OR add half of the Navy blue bottle and half of a black bottle of dye to give it a deeper more drastic color.

I then placed the fabric in the dye for 10 minutes.

With the fabric that was rolled up. You just want to stand it upright in the dye. You will see the dye start to travel up the roll but don't worry, it will stop at the rubber band. My water did not cover my fabric, so I rotated it throughout the 10 minutes. 

After the 10 minutes I took the fabric out of the dye and let them sit on the plastic drop cloth for 5 minutes. Then, I took the rubber bands off and hung the fabric up to dry (which only took 2 hours).

Ain't she a beaut?!

See why next time I will use thicker rubber bands? I want the white lines to be a bit thicker. But hey it's ok, as long as I and YOU can learn from it!

Once they were dry, I washed them in cold, JUST cold water. No detergent. NADA but COLD WATER. I washed mine on delicate. The color may fade a bit, which is another reason you might want to add a little black to your dye mixture or add a whole bottle of the navy blue. Have fun with it, experiment with the colors. Then, I dried them on medium heat and ironed them to lock the color in and obviously smooth out any wrinkles.

I ended up using pattern TWO to recover a new ottoman I just bought. This was the ottoman BEFORE

I scored it at GOODWILL with a matching coffee table ALL for only $10! When the worker at GOODWILL told me they came together I literally said,  "SHUT UP! Well I don't mean shut up, but I am shocked! I'll take it!" All it needed was a little loving'

And here it is AFTER with the new fabric 

SO MUCH BETTER! 

Tie dye is no longer a little kid activity! It CAN be for adults and it can be used in fun and unique ways for home decor. I'm going to end up using pattern ONE for some throw pillows ;)

*UPDATE*

I ended up experimenting with dye colors and I found the perfect mixture. Like I stated above, I bought Tulip (powder) black dye. I mixed half of the packet of black dye with a bottle of Tulip (liquid) navy blue dye in 2 gallons of water. I let the fabric sit in the water for 15 minutes. I stirred it for 10 minutes and let it sit for 5 minutes. And WOW! It made a BIG difference.

It is actually indigo now and not that soft blue (which I still like and am going to use but I had in mind indigo for our ottoman).

And since it came out the color I intended it to be, I ended up recovering our ottoman

SO, SO much BETTER! And it will find more stains ;)

happy decorating