Jord Wood Watch.

My insta-friends, and lovely readers who caught this post, know I'm a sucker for accessories.  They are the finishing touches that really make an outfit complete.  Lucky me, I'll be making quite the statement this fall with the addition of my new wood watch.  It's my latest obsession.

A wooden watch...say whaaaat?!?!  I know.  It's not a traditional watch you would see every day, but that's what makes it so great.  The wood grain of the watch makes me feel like I'm wearing a piece of art.  It's lightweight and comfortable on the wrist.

It’s a versatile piece.  You can dress it up or down.  It pairs just as well with a cardigan and skirt as it does with a t-shirt and jeans.

This watch is from the unisex Fieldcrest series and I have to admit I've caught hubby eyeing it up a few times. Too bad for him, it was sized for my wrist before it was sent to me.  How cool is that?! Not only do they offer free shipping, worldwide, but for an additional $10, they will size your watch for you. That means your watch will be ready to wear when it arrives on your doorstep.  No trip to your local jeweler will be necessary. :)

So who is the genius company behind all this beauty?!  That would be Jord...a handmade, luxury wood watch company.  Their men’s and women’s series are equally amazing, but I’m partial to the unisex selections.  Which of their watches is your favorite?  I dare you to browse their site and not fall in love.

Thank you for my new favorite watch, Jord!!  Want to see how others wear their watches?  Check out their hashtag wall.

Wooden Watch For Men

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Jord supplied me with the watch featured in this post.  All opinions are 100% mine.

DIY Jewelry Organizer - Tutorial.

I really shouldn't even call this post a "tutorial".  A couple people asked how I created my jewelry organizer, and I'm more than happy to share...but please don't be surprised that I winged whole project!!

Step 1: Buy a piece of MDF from Home Depot.

Step 2: Spray paint it with my favorite spray primer as I was priming a few other projects.

Step 3: After it's dry, let it lean up against your master bedroom wall for over a year while you put the project off.

Step 4: Keep your beloved jewelry in a massive pile on a tray in your bedroom.

Step 5: Get super fed up contending with a jumbled jewelry mess every day.

Step 6: Untangle all your necklaces and sort based on similar styles/lengths.

Step 7: Lay jewelry out on the MDF and play around until you like the placement.

Step 8: Get out tape measure and pretend like you are going to use it.

Step 9: Forget said tape measure and decide to just eyeball the placement.  Using a ballpoint pen, mark the spot where you need to drill pilot holes for the cup hooks you will later screw in.

Step 10: Drill pilot holes.

Step 11: Find a leftover gallon of white satin paint in the basement and apply two coats.  Allow to dry overnight.

Step 12: Get out your painters tape and start winging a design.  Decide you don't need to use a tape measure here either...just your eyeballs and a couple widths of tape will do.

Step 13: Get out the X-Acto knife and remove superfluous pieces of tape in your design.

Step 14: Whine like a big baby because being bent over doing all that taping hurt your back like no other.  Then suck it up and paint the white paint over your design to minimize bleed through.

Step 15: Use your favorite gold spray paint to paint to coat your design, the cup hooks, curtain rod bracket and metal strip you will later attach.

Step 16: Remove the painters tape while the paint is fairly wet so nothing rips the paint off.

Step 17: Hate your project because there are paint splatters all over that you didn't notice while spraying, but are VERY obvious now that it's dry. (Note - do not spray paint in the evening light.)

Step 18: Attach cup hooks and hang some necklaces while praying it looks a little better.

Step 18a: That didn't work so attach bracelet bar and earring holder hoping they'll distract from the ugly splatters.  Nope, still ugly.

Step 18b: Throw yourself a mini-pity party.

Step 18c: Use the non-tape-measure method and drill more pilot holes into your board because more necklaces hanging = less ugly board showing.  You will definitely like the project then.  WRONG.

Step 19: Wave the white flag and realize you need to start back at step 12...re-tape/re-cut out your design.

Step 20: Spray paint another coat, or two, of paint over your project...and now fall in love.

Step 21: Remove the tape while the spray paint is still semi-wet.

Step 22: Touch up any small areas where the white paint lifted with the tape.

Step 23: Spray a matte clear coat over the whole board to protect your project that you now love. Also, spray your hooks, curtain rod bracket and metal strip for the earrings.

Step 24: Reattach cup hooks, bracelet bar and earring holder

Step 25: Arrange your jewelry in a way that makes your heart happy, and thank the Lord this project can be crossed off your to-do list!!!

Optional step-

Step 26: Wonder how long it will take you to actually hang it on the wall instead of just leaning it up against the wall.

PS-the bracelet bar is made out of left over materials from my DIY lucite curtain rods, and the earring holder is made from a metal strip I picked up at the hardware store.  I simply drilled 3 screws halfway into the board, dabbed some gorilla glue onto each screw and positioned the metal strip on top.  Then I secured the strip in place with painters tape while the glue dried.

DIY Jewelry Organizer.

Today I'm taking a little break from our before and after series to show off a project I wrapped up not too long ago.  Don't worry, it'll be back soon...showing off our 1954 cabinets, in all their painted glory!

If you follow my Instagram account, it's no surprise to you that I love jewelry.  I'm a huge fan of the statement necklace and I have wayyyy more than is necessary for just one person.

Here's a snap shot of my current collection, and embarrassingly enough, this is after I purged 2/3 of what I used to have.

Since we moved into our house a few years ago, I've slowly been making my way through different areas of our home and clearing it out!  I've focused my attention on my closet and jewelry more times than I want to admit, and each time, I still found a ton to sell/donate/toss.

Now I'm not announcing that I'm on my way to becoming a minimalist...it's just not in the cards for this girl (although I so wish I could do it!!), but I do find something incredibly therapeutic about cleaning up and clearing out unnecessary material possessions.  For me, it frees up space in both our house and my mind.  And hopefully what I've left myself with is a collection of things I actually use, actually want and actually love.

Then it's time to organize said things.

When it comes to my clothing, jewelry and shoes, if I don't see it, I won't wear it.  I need visual access to my wardrobe to keep it fresh in my mind.  This is probably definitely because I have too much clothing, and therefore can't remember all of my options.  What happens then?  I wear 20% of my wardrobe 80% of the time.  (FYI, I'm well aware this is a first world problem and I sound like a huge brat right now.  I'm hanging my head in shame as I type...)

So when it came time to create a jewelry organizer, I knew I needed to see it all.  And since this organizer was going to be hung on a wall in our bedroom, I needed the display to somewhat double as art.

Throughout the process of this DIY, I had mixed emotions about how it was turning out.  Thankfully, I stayed the course, kept patient and it all worked out!  I really love the statement it makes against our dark walls and the immediate access to all of my pretty, sparkly things. ;)

Stay tuned for the wing-it-as-I-go tutorial!  And let's take bets on how long it takes me to actually hang this on my wall. ;)  We all know how I feel about hanging things...UGH!

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Linked up to Work it Wednesday here!

Paisley Print Boutique Giveaway!

I'm taking the blog a bit off course today.  99.9% of the time I use this little slice of the web to talk about all-things-home/DIY/design related, but today I'm talking about another love of mine...jewelry!

If you follow me on Instagram, you already know I adore jewelry.  Okay, that's putting it lightly.  I fully admit I have a mild problem obsession, but I can't help myself.  I <3 jewelry and fashion...just as much as I love everything-home!

Luckily, this embarrassing Instagram-over-share of my wardrobe caught the attention of a good blog friend, Jen, who reached out to see if I wanted to collaborate with her and help spread the word about her uh-mazing shop, Paisley Print Boutique.  

Ummmmm, yes!!  I was ready to shout about PPB from the top of my lungs...because not only does her shop carry a variety of beautiful goods (I'm talking soap to scarves to paper goods to jewelry to art), but it is making a difference in people's lives.

Several years ago, Jen spent a year on the international mission field.  She worked with many individuals all over the world...from women who were victims of sex-trafficking crimes, to HIV-positive, single-mothers who were trying to support their families in Kenya, to girls who were abducted by the LRA in Uganda. Now, even when she's home in the states, she is able to help those in need through PPB.  

Jen graciously allowed me to pick a few things from her shop.  I fell in love with a pair of Raven + Lily gold leaf earrings and a beautiful necklace from Miriam Designs.  I couldn't wait to wear these pretty things, and I was even more excited when I opened my envelope and saw the adorable packaging she wrapped them in!

It's wonderful when you can use or wear something that doesn't only look good, but makes you feel good, because you know you are making a difference in someone's life.

Now for the exciting part...there are TWO $50 Paisley Print Boutique giveaways up for grabs!!  To enter, just use the Rafflecopter widget below.  And if you can't wait that long to get your hands on some PPB goodies, you can save 20% (today - August 29th) by using the code RetroRanchFriend.  Good luck, friends!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

****My usual disclaimer...I was not compensated for this post.  I just think Jen and PPB rocks so I wanted to spread the word and share the love!!****