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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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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room tour part 4: my closet

Almost done! I have a couple photos that didn't really fit into any of the 4 themes I picked so I'll throw those up tomorrow, and then the room tour shall finally come to a close :)

I'm a little excited about finally posting the closet pictures though! I am SO happy with how the room turned out. Unlike my bedroom which has kind of evolved into what it looks like over the course of a few years, I planned my closet out before I started. Since I converted my bedroom closet into my office (see: room tour part 1) I didn't have anywhere to put my clothes. I was storing them on a shower curtain rod in my bathtub for a while (I have a separate shower and don't use the tub) but no matter how clean your bathroom is, it's just not fun to keep your clothes in there. Right? Just me?

Anyway, I ended up sectioning off a little room downstairs for my clothes. I have no idea why, but I decided to theme it like a mid-century beauty parlor. I neglected to take pictures but I even have vintage hair style magazines on my bench like it's a waiting room. I always go a little overboard when I get an idea in my head lol ;D



I keep my hats (and flamingo sunglasses, of course) piled up on a lamp that I never turn on because it's being used for hat storage now. The girl with the yellow bow was a recent etsy find. I saw a similar vase at an antique store in Alexandria, VA a couple months ago and I've been skimming etsy listings for its twin ever since.



Hi there brooch collection! I've found quite a few new-to-me enamel floral brooches at flea markets this year. They're always so pricey on etsy but tend to be like $1-2 at the flea market. yay!



I may have taken this picture just to get a shot of my cat-pocket-coat in here somewhere ;) I keep all of my pajamas rolled up in the shoe storage shelf, and keep my luggage on top. Also look at all of the pretty lady ties! I love Flapper Girl :)



My favorite BAIT Footwear shoes!  Also in the mirror you can kind of make out my really pretty scalloped mint rug! Somehow I didn't get a single shot of it in any other photo. It's just SO pretty though! You can see the whole thing on UO here.



A few of my favorite dresses on silly hangers :) I saw the mod one on Danielle's blog a long time ago and proceeded to stalk etsy and ebay for something similar ever since. It's so fun isn't it? The cat hanger is from urban outfitters (they also have a lot of other cool ones like dogs, foxes and skeletons, too)



Aside from my cats, I'd say these are probably the cutest things in my home! They're vintage Avon bottles from their Small World collection. If you search for "avon small world" on etsy or ebay there are usually a few bottles (and sometimes complete sets) available. The display is temporary (it's a cabinet divider from Ikea) until I can come up with something to showcase them a little better. I just love them so much!



This is my favorite of the 60's hair photos! I scanned a bunch of them last year and uploaded them here if anyone wants to download some :)



My dresser is from -- wait for it -- Ikea. Of course. I painted the frame mint green to match the room. I've had the pink heels since I was little. When my dad's mom passed away my parents gave them to me along with some of her jewelry. I used to stuff tissues in the front and walk around in them with the necklaces on. I'm so glad they withstood my childhood antics because they're one of my most prized possessions now.



I kind of like sunglasses. A lot. And belts.
ps. mint green heart shaped sunglasses. I just about DIED when I found them.



In my house we actually refer to this as "Chloe's room" because she has literally lived in here since it was completed. She even gives me this look like "um, excuse me.. this is MY room!" whenever I step inside. But of course, she was nowhere to be found when I took these pictures. She's such an elusive cat.

Hubble, however, always eager to be the center of attention, hung around the whole time and promptly posed for this picture. But even without the lure of a camera, an open drawer in my closet is like a Hubble magnet!

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room tour part 3: my studio

Well this part of my room probably looks pretty familiar lol ;) When I'm not standing awkwardly in front of this wall taking pictures of myself to post here, I use this space for drawing, painting, packing orders, sewing... basically everything that isn't sleeping or computer-related. I have oodles of storage behind the curtains so my table is completely freed up for work.



I got this at K-Mart earlier this year (it was like $7 I think, so worth it!!) but I had no idea what to do with it until I remembered my paint-storage issues. Before this I was keeping my paint under my bed and it was such a hassle to get it out, so I was painting a lot less. I've definitely picked up my brush a lot more often since I found an easily accessible (and cute!) storage option :)



The wall on the left is my Hypatia wall. I'm planning on adding more custom portraits of her over time. I fluctuate between smiling when I look at it and feeling like there is a giant pit in my stomach, but I'm so happy I made this little art grouping. In a way it makes me feel like she's still always in my room.



I love my little hanging pen cups! They're actually planters from IKEA, hanging from a metal bar from the kitchen organization section. One of my favorite things to do at IKEA is look for alternate uses for items. I get a lot of organizational things from the kitchen area, and under my table I have a cabinet from the kid's section (the perfect short height for under my table!)



A few weeks ago I realized I needed a little cart on wheels for the space next to my desk. I looked online for hours before I found a cart on etsy that looked really similar to this one -- and then I remembered that I already had it in the basement! Is there anything better than looking for something and then realizing you already have it?! :)

The shelving unit on my floor used to be on my wall but was re-redistricted when I got my new tv. I actually like it better here! That used to be completely unused space and now it's totally functional. Well, if you can call "displaying Office bobble head dolls" functional ;)

The carrot pillow (from Ikea) keeps my door from knocking into the shelf when it opens.



I use the extra purses hanging behind my door to store things when they aren't in use! The pretty floral bag was a handmade (HANDMADE!) present from Casey a few years ago.



I've had the wooden "Kate" in my room for as long as I can remember. I use floral glass cups (another Ikea purchase) to store my business cards for when I'm packing orders. They're the perfect size!



I got the Mary Poppins ornament in Disney World last year. We shipped all of our souvenirs home rather than take them on the plane and this one was broken when I opened the box :( Her head and umbrella and one hand had snapped off. I glued her back together though and you can barely tell there was any damage -- but I still think I might consider snatching up another one on my next trip, if it's still available.

I like having a color wheel around when I paint since I don't feel like I have a really good eye for matching colors and somehow that helps. The postcard is Pam's painting from The Office!! It came in this kit (which also includes the world's best boss mug!)



I had to squeeze Arrietty in here somewhere..

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room tour part 2: my bedroom

My "bedroom" is technically just a bed and a nightstand (and LOTS of pillows, ha!) I really do treat it like a bedroom, though. Once I make my bed in the morning I don't go near it until it's time to turn in for the night. It might seem silly but leaving my bed untouched during the day makes it that much more inviting and cozy when it's time to go to sleep! It's the same reason I get dressed each morning instead of staying in pajamas all day :)



Arrietty LOVES my bed. She has full rein of the house but she gravitates to this one area constantly. She usually keeps me company almost all day while I work :)



The vintage scalloped lace dress with the pink bow is pretty much my all-time favorite dress. I'm pretty sure it's going to be my birthday frock this year!



The heart pillow was from Target and the rest I handmade using vintage bedding fabric. If you search for "vintage sheet fat quarter" on etsy there are a TON of pretty fabrics to make into pillows, and they're really reasonable! Sometimes I like getting mystery packs with 10 or so randomly selected sheet patterns. It's so fun to get it in the mail and find out what you got :D (What an exciting life I lead, right? lol)



I got the poster of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers from ebay years ago (I just did a quick search and it's still available! yay!) Their movies never fail to cheer me up when I'm blue, so seeing this print everyday always makes me smile.



Dresses! Pillows!



More Arrietty!!!



The day after I took all of my photos for these posts I went to Target and found this lamp. THIS LAMP! THE CORD IS PINK!! PINK!! ahh! I get so ridiculously excited when I find utilitarian things in pretty colors.

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room tour part 1: my office

I've been talking about doing a room tour for so long I decided to make this one super duper jumbo-sized! I broke it up into a few posts, each focusing on one specific area. I thought that would be fun and also help the posts to load a little quicker :)

First up, my office! If you can call it that... it's actually a closet with a table in it. But it works perfectly and the size is just right for me. When I think about my ideal "forever home" I picture something pretty tiny. I've just become so accustomed to living and working in tight quarters that I can't even imagine living any other way. I like my cramped, cluttered space. It's so cozy!

The collage above my closet is by my friend Vivienne and the painting was a birthday gift from my  brother. I was upset that Turner Classic Movies was changing their nighttime intro so he painted me a stylized screenshot of the old one (you can watch it here at 0:31)



This screensaver is probably cliche now but I use it as my clock when I'm packing orders on the other side of my room (I'm always racing against time to finish & make it to the post office before they close!) I hate wearing my glasses so the huge text is perfect lol.

The die-cut jumbo ice cream print is one of my favorite things I own! I bought it from Everyday is a Holiday (Jenny and Aaron are also the super talented dynamic duo behind the cute apple pie print that's to my right in all of my outfit posts!) The cross-stitch of "That's What She Said" was a Christmas gift from my mom. I love having subtle Office references sprinkled around my room (...and not-so-subtle ones. The trophy on my desk is a Dundie award!)



To free-up desk space for my tablet and planner, I got a keyboard tray from Ikea. It came with a black foam insert which I promptly covered in vintage fabric. So much prettier - and equally functional :) My keyboard seems to be biting the dust now.. I'm having a heck of a time getting the letter "k" to show up on my screen without pounding the key as hard as possible. argh!



The clear plastic purse was from forever 21 (last year, I think) and I use it to hold extra notebooks. The Hibernate pennant is from Stay Home Club. The photo is a still of Dirk Bogarde and Julie Christie from one of my all-time favorite movies, Darling.  If you haven't seen it yet I highly recommend it! Mandi recently posted a nice review with some great screenshots ... you can take a peek here :)



Somehow I've been acquiring a little stuffed animal collection (and a stuffed person.. they had a Mary Poppins stuffed doll at the Disney Store in Times Square last year. It's pretty awesome!) so they all reside under my table at the moment. Even though he's much too small to actually be one of my cats, I always think the Tramp doll is Arrietty when I see him out of the corner of my eye.



I recently downloaded Danielle's happy face decals (available at Kitschy Digitals, here!) to cute-ify my printer! Isn't it just adorable?! The kit includes so many cute decals, I keep looking around my house trying to find more things to apply them to :)

Sidenote: This is my new printer (my old one broke about 2 weeks ago) It's a Canon Pixma MG6320 and so far I really love it. I think the print quality is top-notch and it has a smaller footprint than my old one. And of course I'm definitely smitten with the fact that it's white instead of black. My only complaint so far is that it doesn't always detect when I have paper in the tray, and sometimes the rollers leave marks so I've had to reprint. When I have some free time I'll call Canon to see if that can be fixed. I had so many issues with my old Lexmark though that so far this has really been a walk in the park :)



A little perspective so you can see where the closet/office is! And I had to sneak an Arrietty photo in here somewhere ;D

Part 2 will be up tomorrow! yay! :)

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room tour

There's a tour of my room over at teenvogue.com if you'd like to take a peek! It also includes pictures of my walk-in closet that I've been meaning to share here for over a year.

I'm planning on taking my own photos and doing something of a director's cut here next week (providing the sun finally comes out and lets me take pictures soon!) I didn't get to pick which things were featured in the article so a lot of my favorite knick knacks and little corners of my room didn't make the cut and I want to share those with you!! :) I'm also working on a follow-up to my storage solutions for small spaces post! yay!

I haven't actually done a room tour here in about two years and so much has changed since then! Mostly little things, but to me they make a huge difference. I should actually do a whole room evolution post since my room has changed so much over the years. At one point my walls were dark purple, my ceiling was orange and I had all dark wood furniture and jewel tone bedding. Seriously! I think my heart died a little during that period of pastel deprivation ;)

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if you like it then you should have put a coat of paint on it

Recently at Target I overheard a woman lamenting the fact that the (easily paintable!!) item she loved came in a color she didn't. I wanted to run over to her and preach the gospel of paint. But, being a shy person who avoids talking to strangers at all costs, I decided to avoid the soapbox for the time being and pour my passion into a blog post instead ;)

Paint allows you to see potential in things that you'd otherwise avoid. It can turn cheap toys (like... plastic dinosaurs) into cute decor, and ugly flea market finds into treasured possessions. And it's fun!! If you haven't seen a horrendous color disappear while you're waving a can of spray paint over it like a magic wand... well you simply have not lived, my friend!

Here are some of my favorite paint transformations!



Thanks to spray paint, I turned a bright red french fry bowl and a neon yellow clearance basket into pretty purple organizers for my closet! The same color also came in handy for my DIY lipstick holder!



Packing orders for my etsy shop requires the use of some terribly ugly utilitarian supplies like tape dispensers. The green one began life in a dull beige hue, and the peach one was originally black. I'm so much happier working when my office supplies are this pretty :)



This lamp was a flea market find almost 10 years ago. It was black and rusty and the original wiring was frayed. A little sandpaper and spray paint and it looks as good as new! My mom and I re-wired it, and now it's a one of a kind lamp that is right at home in my bedroom.



My IKEA dresser was originally completely unfinished wood, but I decided a couple months ago to spruce it up by painting the frame the same grapefruit shade as my door and closet. I also switched out the standard knobs. The flowers are from Anthropologie and the cats are from Urban Outfitters.



While I had the paint out, I also decided to paint my office desk! It too was unfinished wood and needed a little pick-me-up. I love unfinished wood (the desk behind me in my outfit pictures doesn't have any stain or paint on it) but sometimes a bright coat of paint is just so much better!



For the dressers in my closet I did the same thing that I did in my bedroom and just painted the frame. I think covering the original plain birch wood with mint green helped make these look more at home in my 60's beauty parlor themed dressing room!



Last but not least, my absolute favorite paint makeover! It was so easy (and cheap! I didn't even use one full quart of paint) and it made SUCH a huge difference! My room feels so much bigger and brighter since I painted my bed frame mint green.

And I mean, isn't it a nice thought that when you're shopping for a bed -- or a dresser, or a lamp, or a table -- that the only thing you really NEED to consider is the quality and basic structure. Even if it's the most hideous hue you've ever seen or covered in a blinding pattern fit for a fun house, as long as there is paint on this planet it doesn't matter. Just something to remember next time you're at Target and see the most beautiful vase you've ever laid your eyes on in the most apalling color known to man ;)

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