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Five Super-Easy Denim DIYs Literally Anyone Can Do

Omg, this photo. MEMORIES. I no longer have that pair of sandals, that hair, or that zip code (just re-watched our moving day video and sobbed through the whole thing)...but the shorts? Those are still hanging on. (I wore them today, in fact, which may have been a not-so-hot idea considering the fact that they're in the process of disintegrating, but whatever: I love them, and they fit me perfectly, and they are not going anywhere until the wearing of them results in the exposure of actual NC-17-rated body parts.)

If you've been reading here for awhile, you know that denim is sort of my thing. It's just what I feel best in - and what that means is that I've amassed a truly enormous collection of jeans over the years, approximately three of which I actually wear (so sue me: I'm fickle). And so every spring, I dig out a couple of old pairs that I can hack up with a pair of scissors and transform into new items of clothing that I'll actually wear. (As an aside, I know that jean cutoffs sound like the kind of thing you don't need a tutorial for - "...So you, like...cut them?" - but trust me: there are myriad ways in which to go wrong when doing something as permanent as slicing up your clothing. Let me help you.)

But DIY cutoffs aren't the only denim trick I have up my sleeve - and I am not a person who owns a sewing machine or enjoys do-it-yourself projects that take more than five minutes. Which is to say: The below projects require no experience, knowledge, or talent whatsoever, making them - to my mind - just about perfect.

Decor

I Am A Trucker Now

Just a girl and her (huge, huge) ride.

If you're wondering why, exactly, I decided to rent a 16-foot truck and drive it from Los Angeles to San Jose, my feeling is that the answer should, at this point, be obvious:

For a chair, of course.

ENTREES

Gnocchi with Simple Marinara Sauce, Fresh Mozzarella and Basil

four ingredient gnocchi with marinara sauce and fresh basil

love it when it's 5pm and I realize that I have to feed my beasts, then poke around in my refrigerator and discover that I have everything I need to whip up a dinner that they'll be thrilled about with just about zero effort.

This sauce - which is thrown over fresh store-bought gnocchi and finished by a quick run through the broiler with some fresh mozzarella on top - is the Platonic ideal of marinara sauce, I swear: it's light, but super flavorful, and 80% of the process of making it involves ignoring it.

(Did I mention my kids love it?)

Decor

Why You Should Give Fake Plants Another Chance

Every single plant you see in this photograph is fake. (Sorry, faux.)

Bonus: Spot the blogger in the mirror! 

I've been singing the praises of fake plants practically since I started this site. There's a good reason for this: While I've gotten better at plant-parenting over time, I still kill about 30% of the greenery that enters my house. Sometimes it's nice to have a plant and not worry about killing it. But the past few months have seen my thing for artificial plants reach a whole new level, because apparently some focus group somewhere determined that there was a gap in the market for affordable plants that actually look real and are actually in cute pots that you'd actually buy yourself...and then Target went ahead and filled it.


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