Flower Power

Two words: Floral Denim.

Completely on trend for spring, completely attainable on a budget, and, surprisingly, NOT completely stupid looking!

Because flowers are a bold pattern with multiple colors, I'd say the safest bet would be to pair them with neutrals, the way these three pairs are shown.

I've been seeing pairs that cost upwards of $150, which is absurd.

 Let's be real...these jeans will never have a second life. You'll wear them this spring and summer, and maybe a handful of times next spring.  For most of us, these will never become a wardrobe staple, and 5 years from now we'll wonder what the hell we were thinking wearing them at all.

If you want to spend a boatload of cash on a pair, more power to you. I'm sure they will fit like a dream and not fade or fray regardless of how many washes they endure.

But I just bought a pair for $30 that look shockingly similar to a Current/Elliot pair that cost $198. (In fact, I think I like mine BETTER!)

Obviously you can tell by the pictures which pair are mine, but if both pairs were laid out next to each other...would you still be able to tell? Nope. Sure, the fit may be a little less tailored feeling than, say,    J Brand's (whose jeans I adore), but they satisfy my momentary fashion obsession. And really, what more could I ask for?

New Bedding

What's a girl to do after a mild emotional-breakdown due to over-exhaustion from working and going to school and working and doing homework and working?

Buy new bedding, obviously.

These are my new Kate Spade sheets that I splurged on.

I loved the grey, white, and pink geometric pattern the moment I saw it.

The grey polka-dot pillow cases are Royal Velvet.
I couldn't find any coordinating Kate Spade pillow cases, so I searched the store and came up with the dots. Not too shabby, eh?

The duvet cover is one I've had for quite some time. I knew that this sheet set would work well with it, which was one of the driving factors in me purchasing these babies. (Ok fine that's a blatant lie. I would have bought them anyway.)

So a bummy day turned out to be not so bad.

Shopping makes things better. Always. That is a rule of life. You should probably start practicing it...

Bookshelf reorganization

As my room is slowly coming to a finish, I think it's time I start posting some of my before and after pictures.

This is what my bookcase looked like before:

Disaster doesn't even begin to do it justice. Do I even need to say anything more about it?

Here's the after:

This is a list of things that are different:

1. Approximately 65% of the books, papers, and junk were either donated or trashed.

2. The items I couldn't part with but were an eyesore are conveniently stored in pretty baskets dispersed throughout the selves.

3. The books are organized by color.

4. Some of my favorite pictures and trinkets are now showcased to add some visual intrigue.

5. There is unused space on the shelves to prevent them from looking cluttered.

      I could continue the list, but I think the pictures speak for themselves.

One of my favorite things here is something from my childhood. 

I've had a button collection ever since I was a kid, but it's always been stored in a shoe box (a children's Stride-Rite box, if you must know) which meant they were kept in a closet. But...why take up extra closet space storing things that are so pretty? AH-HA!

I put my buttons in a mason jar and now they are proudly displayed on my bookshelf. The child in me is extremely pleased with this.

Each shelf has it's own points of interest, with the middle most shelves holding most of my favorite colors and items. Those are the eye-level shelves, so I may as well put things I love on them, right?

The before-and-after difference is like night and day. In fact, the entire room looks astonishingly different, even though the furniture itself (for the most part) hasn't been changed.

Check back soon for more room-updates!

Poster Love

My room is coming along fantastically. In fact, it doesn't even look like the same room.
Now that it's been painted, I've been trying to decide what to put on the walls.

This poster
from Made by Girl is a front runner.

I think (indecisive? me?) I'm leaning towards a wall of framed pictures, and this one would be a fantastic focal point. It's made with gold foil, which has reflective qualities.
















Made by Girl also does these cool alphabet/name posters.
This is one of my favorites:

These are all custom made by 'Girl' herself.

They are intended for children's bedrooms, but I think they'd work fantastically on a bookshelf with perhaps a favorite authors name, to help break up the monotony of books and books and books.

I'm not sure if I really have the space/necessity for a poster like this, (I know my name, I have no room on my bookshelf) but if I did, you can bet I'd own this.

Both of these posters come in multiple colors (Oh the choices!!) and they're worth checking out.

Made by Girl

Bedroom Redo: Update

         
           As you know, I've been in the process of purging my childhood bedroom of all the junk that has taken it over, with the goal of giving it a new life. I've stripped the room of all the built up clutter (mostly), and my design ideas have been morphing constantly.

Last time I wrote, I was consumed with this fantastic removable wallpaper. I still love the concept, but I've moved away from the idea of having it in my room. In fact, my whole vision has been re-imagined. Hopefully (since I've already spent a nice chunk of money) my current vision will hold steady.

My walls are going to be Dove Gray, which has a warm tone and is light in color. I originally wanted a BRIGHT accent wall, but I've given up on that, instead deciding on some other choice pieces, like these:

Marrakech curtains from Anthropologie. They captured my attention the first time I saw them, months ago, and I still adore them.



















I also chose these new knobs for the two closets in my bedroom (also from Anthropologie):

As for my bed, I've chosen this studded headboard from West Elm:

Against the pale grey that will be on the walls, I think the velvet fabric and pewter hardware will look spectacular.
















In addition to these items, I'm planning to have an armchair in a bold pattern as the real piece-de-resistance.
My bedroom is at the end of a straight hallway leading from the living room and front door area back to the rest of the apartment. This means that when my bedroom door is open, you have a clear view into it when you enter the apartment, etc.
I'm taking this into account with choosing the perfect chair, which is why you're not seeing a picture of it yet. It needs to be bold, size appropriate, and unfortunately, under a certain price point. (Oh how sweet it would be to have a $2,000 chair perched under my window...) So for now, no chair to speak of.

I've been taking pictures of my bedroom throughout all its stages of disaster, and at some point you'll get to see the culmination of all my work in a picture-rich before-and-after post. Hopefully it will be sooner rather than later. I do start school again next week though, so I guess we'll have to see how it all plays out. Wish me luck!

Gifted

Let me just start by saying that today is the coldest day we've had in close to a year. 27 degrees. BRRRR!!! It's strange to have made it this far into winter without being legitimately cold even once. And now...after new years eve (which is usually bone chillingly cold since obviously I don't dress weather-appropriatly) it's cold? Well all right. I suppose I know where my long-johns are.

Ok. Let's get on with it, now that my ranting about the weather is done.

Happy New Year! Happy Chanukah! Merry Christmas!

Did you get any good gifts this year? Give any good gifts? I sure did.

BF, being the fantastic BF that he is, reads my blog regularly (by choice, generally) and read my post about Christmas gifts. (As a side-note, I may add, I considered deleting that post because it felt so self indulgent. Boy am I glad I didn't!) So, what did he get me, you ask? Well, this:

The Michael Kors watch I've been coveting for as long as it's existed! (Don't mind the stuff in the background, that's my bedroom, still in the makeover process. Which I should be documenting, I suppose...) I was so happy and surprised and excited when I opened this gift. BF did good. BF did really good.

In addition to this watch, I got something else that I've been adoring from afar for as long as it's existed:

The most beautiful Marc Jacobs bag that ever did exist. I am in love with it. Mom did good too. REALLY good.





Now, as for the things I gave:

BF got these sneakers (and not a moment too soon...his old ones were so so bad) along with some other assorted goodies.


And for my Mom, my Dad and I split this fantastic Barbour coat. She had one years ago and loved it, but along the road of life it got lost in the shuffle. She is notoriously difficult to buy gifts for, (she never likes anything) so this one was excitingly perfect. There was no way she wouldn't like it.
And mostly that proved true, although she was a bit bothered by how much money we spent.

But alas, she loves it. Overall, the holiday's were good to us all this year.

As I part with you today, I'll leave you with this: Our jewy little Christmas tree:

Going Home Again

After much deliberation and many indecisive moments, I have decided to move back in with my parents. This was not an easy decision, and I am extremely apprehensive about it, but as of right now, logically speaking...it seems to be my best option.

I have not lived with my parents steadily since high school. Sure, there were a couple of years after high school when I was going to college and living at home, but I was always spending time elsewhere. There were summer vacations spent here, there were intermittent periods of unloading all my belongings just to pack up again and leave.

Comings-and-goings of that nature, I have found, amount in an excess of...stuff. Years and years worth of junk. I would post some pictures of the clutter...but it looks like a hoarder has been living there. My bedroom was demoted to a storage closet about two years ago, amassing not just my junk, but my family's junk as well.

My mission for the past couple weeks, which will span into as many weeks as necessary, is to get rid of EVERYTHING that hasn't been touched in over a year. So far I've parted with three garbage bags full of clothes (2 closets and 2 dressers, and I still can't fit everything I own? Give me a break.) One bag of shoes, three bags of things stuff for the trash, one bag of books...And I'm maybe halfway through the trenches.

BUT!! There is a light at the end of the tunnel, and it is this:

Tempaper is a company that makes removable wallpaper. It's similar to a contact paper, made of vinyl, and goes on as a decal.










The wall behind my bed is flanked by 2 closets, making it a perfect candidate for some snazzing-up. I've chosen the Honey Jade Marrakesh pattern, and am yet to choose a wall color to go with it.

I want to avoid a Moroccan theme, so I plan to keep the rest of the room pretty neutral (Orange? Purple? No thanks.) I'll update as the project progresses. Heres hoping it goes well!