here's an idea: TTFN sign

We're big Winnie the Pooh fans in my family and we each have a character to represent us -- mine is Tigger! I decided to pay homage to my favorite bouncy tiger with this sign above my front door :)

My apartment is on the second floor but you enter at ground level and go up a private staircase to get there, so I thought I'd put a hello sign at the top of the stairs to greet guests when they're arriving (I haven't decided what that one is going to say yet..) and a goodbye sign at the bottom for when they leave.

It was so simple it doesn't even require a DIY post -- I just bought wooden letters at the craft store (already painted white) and attached them with Command strips. The whole project cost like $12. I haven't been super cautious about being renter-friendly (I got a list of how much each thing will cost to replace when I moved in and I'm just planning on owing some money when I move out, lol) but this project is definitely renter-friendly and so fun! :)

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baby it's cold outside

I thought I'd change things up a little and give a peek at another part of my apartment (one of my favorites!) I don't really love it as an outfit post background but I didn't feel like taking new photos again after this and the lighting was already starting to get bad so... there you go.

This is my little entryway, right when you get to the top of the stairs. I already had one dresser that I was using as a nightstand in my old bedroom, so I just bought one more and painted it to match to create the illusion of one long cabinet. Ideally I'd like a nice big vintage piece there someday but it's just not in the budget yet. In the meantime I do love how this turned out! I framed a bunch of old family photos in embroidery hoops (post on that coming soon!) and it's the ideal place for my lilac Christmas tree!

We're starting to have some really cold days here now (hence the coat & cupcake beanie!) but it's still fluctuating a lot. One day you're all bundled up and want to swim in a tank of hot chocolate and the next you're guzzling lemonade and wearing shorts. Make up your mind already, mother nature. Today is one of those freezing days so I'm layering up and enjoying it very much! :)

coat - c/o oasap | shoes -  bait footwear | tights - target | sweater - f21

skirt - asos | faux fur collar - asos | cupcake beanie - modcloth

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a wall of cats

The rest of the dining room is still a work in progress but I had to share this little peek at my new cat wall!! They're gold vinyl decals from Emerging Thoughts and they're basically my favorite thing ever. I have a bookcase that separates my workspace from my dining room and I keep peeking around it to stare at the wall some more. The wall is about 8 feet by 8 feet and one pack of cats was the purr-fect amount to cover it. I even had a few leftover so I made my pen cup on my desk look extra fancy too ;)

1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6

If you want a cat wall of your own (you do. I know you do) you can get 15% off today with code "Kate" The discount also applies to everything in the store, including the things shown above (those lip earrings were handmade by me!) and the Hypatia dress! And this perfect pink furry coat! :)

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DIY Cracker Barrel inspired centerpiece

After I set up my dining room table I spent way more time than I'd like to admit mulling over possible centerpieces. I didn't want to do anything conventional like candles or flowers, but I couldn't really think of anything else. Then I went out for dinner at Cracker Barrel with my family and as we passed around that little peg game while we were waiting for our food this idea came to me!

I got a vintage tray on etsy (scalloped border!!) and filled it with fun games (a Rubik's cube, a deck of cards and a magic 8 ball) as well as restaurant table condiments like sugar packets and salt and pepper shakers. I also added a little bowl of candy and, well, I went with some flowers after all. It just needed some height and they look so pretty! ;)

I got the pea pod shakers and sugar packet container from amazon, and all the games were from K-Mart. I love that whenever I have guests they can fiddle around with the toys while I'm finishing up in the kitchen, or munch on some candy if we're just hanging out around the table. Since it's on a tray it's easy to move it when I want to bring out food... and in addition to being functional, it does make for a pretty (and fun!) centerpiece!

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the first night

On Saturday night I brought over the cats and we spent our first night in our new home! It went so smoothly. Arrietty and Hubble did their fair share of investigating every nook and cranny before cuddling up in bed with me. It was so perfect and sweet!  My room is still a work in progress (basically the only room that's completely finished right now is the kitchen, which I'll share soon!) but it's finished *enough* that it feels cozy and home-like. I get the best light in the morning, my room was practically glowing when I woke up. It was gorgeous!



Tomorrow is my birthday (it really snuck up on me this year!) so I'll have my annual birthday giveaway posted here in the morning! I included lots of fun stuff so make sure to check back tomorrow and enter :D 

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my halloween party

Every year on Halloween I throw a costume party, and this year I had it at my apartment! A lot of the rooms are still not finished (we had to use folding lawn chairs at my dining room table) but my kitchen is functional and I have enough complete that I thought I was ready for my first little party :) I went to Michaels on Halloween morning and they had all their decorations 80% off! I got a huge removable decal kit that was $20 marked down to $4 (!!) as well as some plastic pumpkins and glittery pipe cleaner cats and spiders. I couldn't get over how cheap everything was.. I'm definitely doing my holiday decoration shopping last-minute from now on! :)





The party was a huge success. I made chicken parmesan (it's apparently the best thing I cook, based on family feedback, although I've never tasted it myself since I'm vegetarian lol) and spaghetti for dinner and tried my hand at my first soufflés for dessert! I used this recipe for pumpkin soufflé and they came out delicious! I was so excited that they cooked right since I've always heard soufflés can be tough cookies.

I really loved having my flapper doodle halloween banner up (it was the very first thing I hung up in my apartment 2 weeks ago!) I think I'm going to make a printable that includes every letter in the alphabet so you (and I!) can make custom banners for every day of the year ;)

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sneak peek!

Most of my apartment is still a work in progress but my studio area is officially complete! I figured that I could always sleep at home while I'm getting things ready, I can still cook at the kitchen at home, but with Christmas shopping season coming up I wanted my work area to be 100% complete as soon as possible. As you can see it's incredibly similar to my studio at home. I loved it so much I didn't really want to change anything! The only big difference is the wall color (white chalkboard paint!!) and I don't have any curtains on my table... yet. I'm still undecided on whether or not to add them.

Does anyone have any fun plans for Halloween tonight? I'm throwing a little party with my family at my apartment (first party here!!) and I am SO excited about my costume!! I took photos of it already to post tomorrow and I am having the hardest time not just posting them right this second. It's my favorite costume ever :)

dress - asos | tights - h&m | shoes - asos | halloween brooch - thrifted | hat - f21

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a first time for everything

My first outfit photo in my new place! I only have one wall left to paint and a couple small projects to complete before I can start moving in my furniture. I've been over there every day hurrying to get things finished. I didn't realize how incredibly time-intensive and stressful moving can be! There is SO much to be done, so many things I have to spend money on that I don't want to (hello there, microwave) and so many normal day-to-day responsibilities that are hard to keep up with when all of your stuff is in limbo. eek! Hopefully I'll be able to wrap everything up this week and get settled. I really can't wait to get the cats over there and see them inspecting everything. A house just isn't a home until there are little furry babies running around in it! :)

I just got these new glasses in the mail this week and I love them so much.. they remind me of the ones Marilyn Monroe wore in How to Marry a Millionaire (one of my favorite movies, by the way!) I've had prescription glasses for over a year but it's taking me a while to get used to wearing them regularly. Mostly because I've had a hard time finding frames that I like. I've acquired a bit of a collection after ordering a lot online, but these and this blue pair are the only ones I've felt comfortable in. These are from London Retro... they have a lot of nice old-fashioned styles to choose from so I have a feeling I'll be going back for more at some point. Right now they have a collection inspired by the London Underground, with each pair named after a different station. Pretty nifty! :)

dress - forever 21 | shoes - c/o bait footwear | hat - gift from casey

heart brooch - gift from rosa clementine | glasses - c/o my optique

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hearts again

I seem to have an unintentional theme going on this week!

I wore this yesterday when I visited my apartment for the first time that it could really be called MY apartment. After I gave my parents a little tour we went out for dinner and then came back to my place for dessert. It's currently completely empty except for 7 cans of paint on the floor, whipped cream and chocolate pudding in the fridge, and a pink feather wreath on the door. A nice start, if I do say so myself ;)

Despite all the hustle and bustle going on right now with moving I'm also working on so many projects! I finally finished part of my 2014 calendar (thank goodness, I was worried it would be 2016 before I got around to it!!) and I have a really exciting new sweet & lovely project I'm hoping to have ready in the next couple of weeks. I kind of neglected that shop for a while.. I think the last time I added anything new was in the spring, but all of a sudden my ideas notebook is overflowing. And me and Kyle are working on opening a new joint etsy shop! That last one might take a little while but the wheels are in motion and we're both so excited about it!

ps. Ever + Mi Crush is having a 40% off sale, so if you still haven't snagged a Hypatia dress now would definitely be the perfect time ;) Just use code "autumn40" at checkout!

dress - trollied dolly | shirt - h&m | tie - flapper girl | shoes - urban outfitters

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new digs

Today I get the keys to my apartment! ahh! I'm a complete bundle of nervousness and excitement right now. I picked out my paint colors and I'm planning on tarping and blue-painters-taping the whole place tomorrow so it's ready to paint Thursday. They actually told me it was fine if I painted as long as I put it back to white before leaving. Honestly though I would have probably done it anyway... I can't even imagine living somewhere without color surrounding me like a big happy hug.

However! I am actually leaving my studio area white (gasp!) I settled on white chalkboard paint after seeing it on A Beautiful Mess a little while ago. This way I can still add pops of color whenever I want (imagine the possibilities -- snowflakes all over in the winter, easter eggs in the spring, etc.!) but wipe it away for a plain white photo background whenever I need one. Plus I'm planning on having colorful furniture to counterbalance the plain walls, and the trim is going to be pink! :D

I've been obsessing over my dream home board on pinterest all week, soaking up ideas and inspiration and, frankly, getting a little overwhelmed by the many things I want to do when I can't possibly do them all! I want wallpaper somewhere, giant statement art (I already painted a huge portrait of Dwight Schrute for my hallway!) family photos, colorful furniture, white furniture, pastels everywhere but also bright colors? I think I'm going to end up meticulously planning some things (like my kitchen design is already pretty solid) and then letting others evolve as I live there for a while. My bedroom took years to end up exactly the way that I wanted, and I'm sure my apartment will be the same way. But I think that's part of the fun! Waiting to see how rooms grow to suit your ever-changing needs and tastes!

Anyway, these are some of my absolute favorite pins that definitely represent the direction I want to take. Pastel, feminine, slightly kitschy and kind of retro. The photos link back to the source (except for two that I couldn't track down.)

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apartments and laptops

First things first -- I got the apartment!! ahh! I was a complete nervous wreck all day yesterday waiting for them to call me. I've been feeling under the weather a bit the last couple of days and I think the anxiety might have pushed me over the edge into "actually sick" territory, but knowing I got the apartment makes up for it lol. I get to move in REALLY soon, too! I'm already planning paint colors (they said I could paint as long as I change it back to white again before I move out. yay!) and layout schemes. I'll finally be putting all these pins to good use, ha!



In non-apartment-related news, a little while ago I got to try out a sample of a caseable laptop sleeve. They're handmade cases made in Brooklyn, NY from green materials, and you get to customize them with your own images! So I uploaded one of my vintage bedding patterns that I designed for Kitschy Digitals, and I absolutely LOVE how it turned out! The design looks even better on the fabric than it did on my computer and the blue zipper matches perfectly.

It's a nice substantial case, too, so I feel like my laptop is actually protected. And it fits over my pink speck case! I've gone through three laptops in the last five years because of accidents so I feel like I need all the extra protection I can get!



If you want to try making your own case you can get 20% off with the code "brilliantpromo" You can upload any photos or patterns that you want to make it your own (how cute would it be with a giant close-up of your pet?!) -- or if you're interested in having the exact same case as me, you can get that one here! It defaults to a macbook air 11" since that's what I purchased but you can edit the size that you need in the drop down menu :)

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