Blog - The Latina Next Door

June 1, 2020 By Yami Leave a Comment

DIY Seagrass Vase

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Happy Monday!

Hope you all had a great weekend! We are making great progress on the house and I was able to tackle several blog posts while staying at my parents’ house for a few days. It was nice to be able to focus on writing for once. I am almost caught up on the projects that I have been meaning to share on here.

Woot woot!

One of these projects was this cute vase from Ballard Designs. It was from last month’s Look for Less Challenge and I did it along with the Dollar Tree Faux Cement Bowl. I have had this idea for a long time and I was finally able to execute it.

Here is what I used to recreate this look for less…

SUPPLIES

Thrifted Glass Vase
Candle Holder
Grass Hula Skirt

Yep! I got this hula skirt at Hobby Lobby with my 40% off coupon . The reason I chose the grass skirt instead of buying raffia in a bag is because 1. it’s cheaper and 2. the raffia is not tangled and bunched up all over the place.

You’re welcome!

The vase and candleholder cost me less than $1.50 for both at Goodwill. This complete DIY cost me about $4.50.

TUTORIAL

I cleaned them off with rubbing alcohol and glued them together with E6000.

Then I painted the candle holder portion with a light brown acrylic paint in order to mask the gray. Only one coat is necessary.

Next, get your grass skirt and start braiding. I use 6 bundles/strands divided into 3 sections to create one braid.

RELATED: DIY Farmhouse Napkin Rings

You will need to make quite a few braids.

Once you have your braids done, cut them off one at a time as you use them (or they will unravel). Fold over the end for a nice seamless look and begin to hot-glue them from the bottom working your way up.

Keep the braids really tight to each other making sure nothing from beneath shows.

When one strand ends glue it down and start with the next one. Simply fold over the end of the new braid and place right on top of the end of the previous one. It may be slightly raised but most of the seems aren’t that noticeable.

Once you get to the glass, you will need to use more than just hot glue.

You will need to also use E6000.

What I did was take some E6000 and applied it to the glass where the braid was supposed to go. But before I placed it down, I used a bit of hot glue on the edge of the braid so that it would attach to the previous braid. That would dry instantly and hold the braid in place while the part that attached to the glass dried.

This will make the braids permanent.

Once you reach the top make sure to cover the glass lip and fold over the end of the last braid inside the glass vase. And that’s it! Insert some greenery and enjoy!

What I love about this is that since it’s glass inside, you can use fresh stems in this vase.

You can keep it natural like I did or use tea to dye the braids to make them darker.

Hope you enjoyed another DIY! Please share with your friends and I will see you in the next one.

Until then… adios!

May 29, 2020 By Yami Leave a Comment

Great Father’s Day Gift Ideas

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Happy Friday everyone! Hope you all are as excited to see the weekend as I am. Of course with Father’s Day coming up very soon, I thought it would be fun to share some gift ideas for DAD.

The Latino Engineer already has his Father’s Day gift, but there are actually several other gifts I have gotten him on special occasions listed below (and might I add he has loved them all).

This post contains affiliate links which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you

And whether you decide to go with any of the ideas you see below or not, if you enjoy shopping online, definitely check out Rakuten where you get cash back from making everyday purchases online. I recently started using it and I wish I had done it sooner!

All you do is create an account and add Rakuten to your browser. When you need to shop online, check to see if your retailer is listed on Rakuten and activate the cash back rate on that store. Shop as you would normally and you cash back for your purchase.

Then they literally mail you a check in the mail! How awesome is that?!

Use this link and get $10 cash back on your first purchase of $25.

Okay, so onto the list…

Personalized Leather Keychains

This is one of my favorite items and I actually gave this to the Latino Engineer not that long ago. He even showed it off in one of our renovation update videos. It actually says “Latino Engineer” on it. LOL! They are well made and look just as good as the image. Plus they are reasonably priced!

2. Personalized Apron

Does your special man love grilling? I know mine does! I have never figured out their fascination with grilling… perhaps it has something to do with the fact that they get to play with fire. Ha! This apron is such a great idea for any guy who loves to “burn meat” as my dad likes to call it.

Coasters

And while they grill, they usually like to enjoy a cold one. And who could resist anything with Star Wars on it?! Both my dad and my hubby love Star Wars and I know they would both appreciate these.

Who can’t wait for the Mandolorian to start back up? 🙋🏻‍♀️

Engraved Watch

This one is actually one of two watches I find perfect for Father’s Day. This one has a special message engraved in it which I find super sweet. Plus the simple wood grain face is definitely unique. It could be dressed up or down!

Grooming Bag

The Latino Engineer does not go anywhere without his grooming bag. He doesn’t have this exact one, but it’s similar in style. I love the embroidered initials on this bag and you can get it in different colors as well.

Under Armour Headphones

This has got to be one of the best gifts I have given the Latino Engineer. I got these for him on his birthday last year and he loves them. He mostly wears them to work out and never has a problem with them getting in the way of his workouts. He listens to music without interruption or outside noises and he appreciates how light weight they are. I was proud of myself with this gift.

Fossil Watch

This one has a sad story behind it. I bought the Latino Engineer this watch below several years ago (his actually had a brown leather strap), and it was stolen. He still gets angry to this day about it. We recently saw this one online with the black strap and he has been hesitant to buy it because it’s not exactly like the one I got him back in the day, but I think I might get it for him anyways.

The blue face on this watch makes it truly unique and I love the robust design. It’s very “macho” LOL! And he never had an issue with its performance when he had it so we can vouch for it being a great watch (probably why it was stolen 🙄).

Multi- Tool

Now, if your baby daddy is handy like mine, he will appreciate the following gift idea. I cannot tell you how many the Latino Engineer has! He likes having one in each car, one in the house, one in his toolbox. They really are handy to have around. He usually comes to me with a new one and I’m like “why do we need another one?!”

NewAir Beer Fridge Froster 125 Can Freestanding in Black

The last one on this list is if you really want to make your hubby’s Father’s Day special by splurging a little. This actually was what the Latino Engineer got for Father’s Day this year. He is stoked about it still! We partnered with NewAir and did a review of it on our channel where you can get even more information about it.

But basically it can hold up to 125 beer cans (yes we have tested it) and keep them ice cold. It has a party mode (to keep the beers cold no matter how many times your guests open the door). It has a Turbo mode which gets any beer from room temperature to ice cold in one hour. A light, screen lock and so much more. It’s dreamy even for me!

It’s currently in the sunroom by the TV. Eventually it will make it to the man cave in the basement, but for now it’s safe where it’s at

You can always watch our video on it and even use our 20% OFF CODE: THE_LATINA_NEXT_DOOR at checkout.

And that’s it for my list of totally awesome daddy gifts.

I hope this gave you some really good ideas if you were still trying to figure out what to get your sweet guy!

Have a great weekend and I will see you in the next one.

Until then… adios!

May 27, 2020 By Yami 7 Comments

Farmhouse Kitchen Progress

Hello friends! I hope you all are having a wonderful week! Our first full week of summer vacation has started out great and I am ready to continue tackling our kitchen.

If you have been following along, you know that I shared my mood board for my kitchen. I also explained all of the plans for the kitchen which I am so excited about. I also listed all of the sources in you like anything you see.

One of the things I mentioned was that we were changing the layout of the rooms in the house.

The former dining area will now have an island. We ordered them from a local cabinet company (B2B Cabinet) here in North Georgia. They were fast and had amazing prices.

I wanted a dual sided island that would give me the most storage. The cabinets needed to be no more than 36″ x 60″ due to the size of the eat-in area.

I have also been wanting drawers in my kitchen forever. I have never had large drawers so I wanted to make sure they included that as well. So the cabinet company created this for me:

The Island

And because of the size of the measurements, I could only have upper cabinets on the back side.

But that was fine with me. I will have a countertop overhang on that side since I do want an eating area on the island. 2 beautiful legs will hold up the countertop. That will still work out well since I will only be storing items that I don’t use that often in those cabinets. This will then free up space in the main kitchen area where I do use items frequently.

Here is a kitchen island that is already done to give you an idea of what the island will look like with the legs.

Source

Here is what the island looks like right now.

The Latino Engineer made platform boxes to raise the upper cabinets on the left to match the counter height ones. And the island may look off center now, but it will all be centered once the counter top with the overhang on the left side is installed.

The Latino Engineer will add outlets on either side of the island (good thing he has an electrical background). We will cover the side seams with shiplap.

Aren’t those drawers pretty?

They still need hardware and I plan on having them match the ones I purchased for the rest of the main kitchen, but I think I need to tweak the ones for the drawers. They are too small for them.

By the way, those floors are made from plywood (tutorial coming soon!)

Here’s what it looks like from farther away.

You can see there are still some floors yet to be finished and that is our breakfast table you see in front of the island temporarily.

The kitchen has no pantry, so the plan is to add one to the wall you see on the right. We will build it ourselves. It won’t be too deep but it will be the entire length and height of the wall so it will be a good size.

It may not even be done this year, but that is definitely going to happen.

The New Layout

So where do we put the dining area?

Right here.

This is actually the living area of the home, but right now we spend all of our time in the sunroom. I think this area will be perfect for a dining room since it’s right off the kitchen. It’s a great size so there will still be space for a proper entrance to the house.

Plus lots of houses have the formal dining right near the entrance so it still makes sense.

Of course this leaves us with no real main living space.

Truth be told, the minute we did our first viewing this house, The Latino Engineer and I knew the house was short one living space. We both agreed that turning the garage into living space would be the best idea… and then I came up with this!

I want to add 2 cased openings on either side of the fireplace. I want to modify the fireplace into a dual faced fireplace and have a step down into a large living room (currently the garage).

He loved the idea!

I think that would look darling with a dining table and chandelier in front no?

Anyways that is not going to happen anytime soon, but it at least shows you the big picture of what we plan on doing here and how it’s all going to come together. So for now, TV time is in the sunroom.

But that’s totally something we can live with!

So that is what we have been doing here at the “farmhouse”. It’s been so much easier to write about now that I am taking it one room at a time.

What do you think of the progress so far? I can’t wait to share more with you all! Hopefully the next time I share an update the cabinet doors will be painted (but I won’t hold my breath!).

Until then… adios!

May 25, 2020 By Yami Leave a Comment

Dollar Tree Farmhouse Napkin Rings

The following post contains affiliate links. Please see full disclosure for details.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Memorial Day weekend! We are at my parent’s house since the hubby is staining and sealing the last section of floors in our home. It smells pretty bad so we keep the kids away from it. One thing for sure though, we are in the home stretch on the floors!

I will be sharing more kitchen plans in my next post, but I thought it would be fun to share how to make these super easy farmhouse inspired napkin rings made from items at your local Dollar Tree.

All you need are two things. Those plastic silver napkin rings….

…and those raffia packs you find in the floral section.

If you don’t find the raffia packs you can always use a Hawaiian skirt, like I did with my faux rattan vase. Works just as great!

So, here is what you do…

Take the raffia and start making individual braids. Make sure to get the longer pieces. If you do, then you all you need is one braid per ring.

Next, hot glue the braid onto the ring. Make sure to fold over the end piece underneath itself to give it a clean start.

Oh and that is the same silver ring from before. I just happened to paint it for another DIY and it didn’t work out. #craftfail

Begin on one end of the ring and continue to wrap the braid around tightly. Secure with hot glue as you go. Make sure to cover the edges and not let any of the original ring shine through.

Continue until the other end of the ring.

And that’s it! Just make as many as you like for your table setting. I think they are so pretty! And you can make and entire set of them for $2!

They are a perfect complement to my faux galvanized chargers as well.

Well, I hope you like this super easy DIY. I will be back with more kitchen plans!

Don’t forget to share with your friends and I will see you in the next one.

Until then… adios!

DIY Seagrass Vase

*Some of the following links are affiliate links. Please see full disclosure for more details.*

SUPPLIES

TUTORIAL

RELATED: DIY Farmhouse Napkin Rings

*This post contains affiliate links for your convenience. For more details please see full disclosure.*

*This post contains affiliate links which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you*

Use this link and get $10 cash back on your first purchase of $25.

2. Personalized Apron

The Island

The New Layout

*The following post contains affiliate links. Please see full disclosure for details.*

Instagram

Some of the following links are affiliate links. Please see full disclosure for more details.

This post contains affiliate links for your convenience. For more details please see full disclosure.

This post contains affiliate links which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you

The following post contains affiliate links. Please see full disclosure for details.