{ words for your week }

I know I can't be the only one who gets so focused on an end goal that I miss the beauty of the in between. I've realized that I almost never fully appreciate things in the present, I only see how wonderful it was when I'm looking back at it.

Here's to learning to enjoy the journey!

One other thing I plan to try to be better at this week: turning the computer off after 8pm. I want to be more productive during the day so that my nights can be spent more with my loved ones. Yes? Yes. 

Hope you all have a wonderful day. Do something fun for yourself. Some of my favorite Monday treats? A warm croissant, or chocolate milk in a wine glass. Today, I plan to engage in Happy Hour.

Thanks for stopping in! I'll see you all tomorrow.

lovelovelove.

-C

image via

{ kodak moments }

It used to be that while I loved snapping photos of precious kodak moments, I never really could find a way to display them through the house without feeling like it looked cheesy. Then I found these images, which have me thinking that I need to stop storing images on my laptop and start getting them printed ASAP. 

I love how displaying these in mass makes such an impact. It feels personal, original, yet elegant and chic. And if you follow Rita Konig's example in the second photo, you have a much less expensive option for art above your mantle than purchasing a large statement piece of art. Totally in love with this.

What do y'all think?  

Thanks for stopping in! lovelovelove.

-C

*I have no source for this first photo. Can anyone help a blogga out?

Second photo source

{ Breathe...and Reboot. }

{breathe. make a list. it will all get done.}

Doesn't it seem like just as you scrounge up the money to pay your bills, they are already sending you new ones?

Tell me that's not just me.

I have so many exciting things ahead of me this summer with my internships in Chicago. I truly could not be more excited.

With the excitement comes a wee bit of stress. Just a wee bit. I need to sublet my apartment. I need to figure out a way that I'm going to pay my phone bill when I'm living there with no paying job. I'm hoping there is still time for me to save up a substantial amount of money before I leave, but I feel like every time I turn around I'm having to spend money on something. I need to figure out if I'm going to take summer classes. Is it worth the money? 

Then again, my paychecks have been off the last few weeks so maybe that's to blame for this sudden surge of stress.

Oh, I also dropped my iphone on the concrete yesterday as I was scrambling to get to work on time (I was actually super early but then realized the parking meter I was at was out of order so I had to find a new parking spot) and the screen shattered. I don't know how much they'll charge me to fix it,  but I guess I'll find out soon. Either way, it's useable for now so I'm not panicking about it.

At the end of the day, life is great. I'm so lucky. I mean, dropping your iphone on concrete and being stressed out about your cable bill? Definitely first world problems. All will be figured out in the end, and for now, I'm just going to breathe...and reboot. (brownie points for you if you can name that quote)

P.S. A post with more budget tips for furniture shopping is still coming! I just needed to change directions a little today. Hope you understand.

lovelovelove.

-C

photo via

{ Love Notes: Rita Konig }

Rita Konig, style writer and interior designer, and as it turns out, responsible for about 75% of all the images I drool over on Pinterest. I was browsing her online portfolio last night, and holy guacamole. 

I love her.

Her use of patterns and color is so well done, and I love that her rooms feel playful, never stuffy (even when they're traditional).

Don't you just want to dive into those heart sheets from the first photo? What a beautiful, cozy room. The styling in all of them is outta this world.

Okay. I will pick my jaw up off the floor now. But only because I have to get to work.

Hope you all have the most wonderful day. Do you have a favorite designer?

lovelovelove.

-C

All photos from Rita Konig

{ Sources-My Kitchen }

Good Morning! How are you all doing today? I started the morning off with a cup of french pressed coffee in bed. Today is my day off, and so far I'm enjoying every moment of it.

But enough about me. Let's move on to the good stuff. The Kitchen. If you're just now joining us, I'm going through the sources of where I got everything featured in my home tour for The Everygirl.  Hope you enjoy!

Table: An antique gifted to me by a family friend that I used to nanny for, because she had just moved into a new home and didn't have a place for it. I loove this table. First of all, it's on casters. My mom says that I love anything on wheels. She's right. This table is actually a full length, six person dining table. However, I just could not fit the darn thing in my apartment. There was no place for it. After going back and forth between selling it or sticking it awkwardly in a corner somewhere (because I really wanted to keep it) I decided just to tweak it a little work with the space. See, there used to be a leaf for this table, so the two ends of it were actually disconnected, and only attached by a piece of wood and some screws underneath. So, I unscrewed and pried the piece of wood off to detach the two pieces, giving me two separate tables. I use one of them in my kitchen (pictured above) and the other as my desk (photos to come soon!) The beauty of this arrangement is that it will be really easy to attach them again if I move and am able to fit a large dining table in my home. Phew.

Shelf: The actual shelf is from the "As Is" section of Ikea. I'm actually not entirely sure what it's use was supposed to be. It was just laying there with a bunch of other pieces of wood, but it was way cheaper to get this than to get the other shelves that they had in the regular section. I did pick up the brackets in that section though! I think overall the entire shelf probably cost somewhere around $10-12.

Pear Art: My mom found this at a garage sale back home in Texas, and I snuck off with it at Christmas :). Is it not the most precious thing you've ever seen?! I love it.

Latte Mugs: Originally from Pottery Barn, but I picked them up at a local thrift store down the street for around $2 each. I love them.

All other white dishes: from Ikea.

Ceramic Vase: Big Lots

Good Morning coffee mug: World Market ( I don't see it on their website anymore though :( )

Gold Bread Knife: This is actually the cheapest knife set that Ikea has to offer (you know, the ones with the plastic, colorful handles?). I just spray painted the handles gold!

I hope you guys found these posts useful! I've still got a post with tips and tricks up my sleeve, along with some examples of sources that I bet you haven't considered yet! Stay tuned :)

Thank you all so much for stopping in today. lovelovelove.

-C

All photos by Arielle Elise Photography for The Everygirl

See the full feature of my home tour here.

{ Sources-Living Room }

Why helllo there. Welcome to my living room. Have a seat. Stay a while. We're going to dive right in here because we've got lotsa ground to cover.

Couch-$399 Ikea Ektorp Sofa with white slipcover. For many people, this is a cheap couch. For me, it was the most expensive purchase I made for my apartment. I planned/saved up for it all summer, and I'm really happy with it. It's so comfortable, and being able to wash the slipcover is such a live saver. 

Rug- $35 at Big Lots. I know. I think it was literally the luckiest find anyone has ever found in there. A lot of people were surprised that Big Lots would have anything worth while, but I'm here to tell you, keep an open mind when you're looking for inexpensive furniture sources. You will be surprised at what you can find and where you can find it. More on that later.

Coffee Table-bought from a local consignment shop in Houston called The Guild Shop. Listen up Houston friends: If you have not been to The Guild Shop YOU DO NOT KNOW WHAT YOU'RE MISSING. It is my happy place. You can't really tell how neat this coffee table actually is in pictures, but  the top of it is this neat, aged herringbone wood pattern. I was totally fascinated when I saw it, and knew it had to be mine.  

Round side table-thrifted and and painted white

Bistro Chair: taken off the street by my boyfriend and given to me because he knows I have an obsession with bentwood chairs. We sanded it down a little so that it would be less glossy and have a bit more of a raw finish, and then recovered the ugly vinyl cushion in some pretty toile fabric on sale at JoAnns. I'm in love with it. I'll probably take some additional photos of it and do a separate post soon so you can see the fabric and details a little bit. Total cost of this chair=$7.

Small chest in the corner nook-Picked this up during some dumpster diving. At the end of the school year, everyone is moving out of their apartments and they just throw everything they don't want on the streets or around the dumpsters. When I moved in I had very little furniture, so when I saw this little guy I felt like I could use him. I'll probably still paint him one day, I just haven't gotten around to it yet. The bottom drawer was missing when I found it, so I put in a brown wicker basket in its place and it works great! 

Okay, lets talk accessories:

On the coffee table: Striped tray from Ikea. Round mercury glass candle holder was gifted to me by my best friend since 3rd grade at Christmas- she purchased from Home Goods. 

On the round side table: Design Sponge at Home book, and Ikea Lantern

Pillows on the couch: (from left to right) Ikea, Big Lots, Home Goods, Target, Pier One 

On the chest of drawers in the corner: Two Champagne Glasses from West Elm (gifted to me by my boyfriends amazing sister and boyfriend), two books (The One Hundred by Nina Garcia and Nate Berkus' Home Rules) Lamp from HomeGoods. Peachy/Pink Ceramic Cannister from HomeGoods.

Wall Art: Made by Girl I Love You Blogs and Coffee Print (gifted to me by my awesome cousin!), silver and gold mirrors were purchased from a thrift store for a dollar each (real fast: I LOVE the way it looks to combine the silver and gold. lends a playful touch. have fun with your decorating!) The New York City Map print on the other side of the wall is from Ikea, but I couldn't find it on their website so they may not have it anymore.

Okay, lovely readers, I think I may have underestimated how much we had to go through here, so this series is going to continue into next week. On Monday we're going to talk kitchen, and then I have a whole special post coming your way with my favorite surprise sources to find treasures, and what suggestions I have for you to find your very own budget finds. Stay tuned. It's going to be a good time.

I'm off to work. Thank you all so much for stopping in today. lovelovelove and a happy weekend to each of you!

-C

All photos by Arielle Elise Photography for The Everygirl

{ Sources-My Boudoir }

Good Morning, ladies! (and gents...if you're out there)

I'm sharing sources for my bedroom today. I have to say, when I was about to move in, my bedroom was the room I was most nervous about. It's teeny tiny and there was really only one option for how the layout could go, so I knew I had to make it work. There are actually some additional nooks and crannies to the bedroom that I'd really like to share with you guys, so I'm going to have another post on this soon. I think it'll provide some good tips on working with small, awkward spaces.

But enough chit chat. Let's get to it!

Bed-the bed is actually this bed from Ikea. However, the only place for the bed to go was in front of these windows and I hated how high the headboard was against them. Lucky for me, it was removable. So, I took off that piece of the headboard so it was just a plain white frame. The posts on the bed looked unfinished because the white finials (that were on the additional piece of the headboard that I took off) couldn't fit anymore. So, I bought four unfinished finials from Lowes for about $2 each, and spray painted them gold. I thought at first about just doing white, but I knew it would drive me crazy if the spray paint didn't match up with the white that was already on the bed.  I'm actually really glad I chose the gold in the end. It gives it a little somethin'. After spray painting, I literally attached these to the bed with some hardcore super glue. It's an $89 Ikea bed, so I didn't think twice about it. And now, it works so much better in the space. 

Bedding- Duvet is also from Ikea. To me, there is nothing like clean white bedding. It's perfect for every season and you can switch up the look of your throw pillows as much as you want. It's a staple for me.

 End of the bed throw- Purchased from a local consignment shop. Don't worry, I washed it! But isn't it darling? It cost me all of about $6 and it adds a great pop of color and pattern to the otherwise pretty neutral room.

Throw Pillow- This was on clearance at Pier One. Originally it was $24, and I can't remember exactly how much I paid for it but I think it was somewhere around $15. I love it! It's great quality, and the other side of it is a neutral fabric with a subtle shimmer. I like to mix it up and use both sides. 

Bedside Table-thrifted and painted white by my talented mother. 

Bedside Lamp- Ikea. I like it because it breaks up how girly the rest of the bedroom is. I felt like I needed something to balance out all the pink and feminine details so it wasn't all on one note. I actually "stole" this from my boyfriend. It used to be on his desk. Hehe. He doesn't mind. Too much.

Small glass vase with flowers-A few cents at the thrift store (you can never have too many of things like this, I've used it to store pens, make up brushes, flowers, etc) 

Sparkly, vintage cigarette holder- I do not actually use this to store cigarettes. I don't even smoke. But it was given to me by a family friend when she was moving and getting rid of some things she had lying around. It's pretty and sparkly so I keep it on my bedside table and use it to store packets of aspirin or any other unsightly things that can fit into it, since my bedside table doesn't offer any concealed storage.

Tomorrow is gonna be a big day around these parts. We're going through the kitchen and living room, so make sure you check back. I'm going to wrap up with a second post tomorrow (thats right, two posts in one day!) with my best tips and tricks to scour for treasures. Stay tuned ;).

And thank you all SO much for stopping in this week. I'm so happy to have you here. You are making my week with all of your sweet comments and emails. Have a great Thursday. It's almost the weekend! lovelovelove.

-C

Photos by Arielle Elise Photography for The Everygirl

{ Sources-My Entryway }

Good Morning! So happy that you've stopped in.

As per your requests, I'm putting together some posts this week that review each room that was featured on The Everygirl and am going through the sources for each item. Here's the thing: I rarely shop at places that I can just link to for you to buy online, because almost every purchase I make is at a thrift or discount store. But this will at least give you an idea about where I go to find items and what I do with them once they're purchased. I think you'll enjoy this little series!  Kapeesh? :). Okay! Let's get started. With the entryway. Naturally.

It wasn't very long ago that my entryway looked like this:

ugh. shield your eyes.

I need to make a disclaimer: I KNOW that the faux fur throw looks totally silly in my little red carry-all, but I had just bought it and was so darn excited that I decided it needed to be in the picture. Lesson learned, guys, lesson learned.

Moving on. Let's look at something a little more aesthetically pleasing, shall we?

Ah. thats better. Okay. Let's break it down.

Firstly, use The Everygirl's Tips on How to Style an Entryway. It's the perfect formula. Alaina is the bomb.com when it comes to lots of things, but especially styling. 

1. The Table- One of the main differences in the photos is obviously the table in the newer look. It's actually the same one, just with a few tweaks. See, my mom picked up this little guy at a thrift store a while back for probably less than $10. It was covered in butterfly stickers. I tried to sand it down and paint over it, but good lord, t was taking for.ev.er and my patience was wearing thin, so truth be told, it just never looked very good. It was painted but you could still see the outline of the butterflies all over the top of the table. And it was driving me BONKERS. So, I took myself to Lowes and bought a precut, unfinished piece of wood that was ready for paint. I'm pretty sure it was around six or seven dollars.  I removed the old tabletop, painted the new one with leftover paint that I had from the project before, and voila! No more butterfly stickers staring at me. For a moment I thought I was finished, but then I got a wild hair and decided to spray paint the drawers with some gold Rustoleum spray paint. Suddenly, my sweet little table started lookin' a little more sassy.

2. Lamp-The base is from a garage sale, the shade is from Target. I'm still wanting to add some trim or something to jazz it up a little. Or leave it plain? you tell me. 

3. Mirror-On clearance at HomeGoods for a little under $20. I love it. It was the perfect size, as something too much bigger would have dwarfed the table and made it look goofy. Pay attention to scale. (but have fun!)

4. Vase/TJ Maxx, Bowl for keys/Anthropologie (no longer available according to the site, but I think they have ones similar), Gold Letter "C"/on clearance at Tuesday Morning for $4, spruced up with gold Rustoleum spray paint.

5. Red Carry-all/TJ Maxx

6. Throw blanket-Target (similar)

7. Coat hooks-Lowes. I knew I wanted some type of coat hanging apparatus, but most of the coat racks that I liked were out of my price range. These were only a couple bucks each, and I love them. Clean and Simple. 

8. Paint Color- Silver Sage by Restoration Hardware. I admit, this was a little bit of a splurge. My mom has used this paint color ten thousand times-I love it and the paint is such good quality. We tried to get it matched in a less expensive paint before and it just didn't look the same at all. It was much greener. What I love about it is that it can look more grey, blue, or green depending on the light and the colors you pair with it. Perfect for someone like me who has a serious case of design ADD.

My goal was to give the entry a makeover for under $50. It ended up costing about $42. I mostly worked with things that I had, but added in a few extra items (like the mirror, and decorative accessories) to tie everything together. 

Before you run out and buy all new things, asses what you have. I was dying to buy a new entryway table until I came to terms with the fact that it wasn't in the budget, so I better figure out someway to live with it. Being realistic doesn't mean you have to hate what you have, it just means you need to be more creative with your problem solving ;). If you're having any design predicaments that you need help solving, or if you're in the process of making over your own apartment, feel free to shoot me an email. I'd love to see!

Tomorrow we're heading into the bedroom. oo la la. 

Thank you all so much for stopping in today. lovelovelove.

-C

P.S. After I finish with sources, I'm going to wrap up with a post on Friday about how I spend my money, what I splurge on, and an overview of my best tricks and tips for creating a cozy, pretty apartment on a ramen noodle budget. Be sure to keep checking back! :)

{ Thank You }

Thank you all so, so much for your kind words about The Everygirl feature yesterday! Each comment, email, or tweet made my day. You guys are the best :).

I've had a lot of questions about where I got certain things in the apartment, and a few blog post requests to share some more tips on my favorite ways to put a home together on a strict budget (and sometimes, no budget at all).

So that's what the rest of this week is going to be about. I'm going to go through my source list with you and give you all the tricks up my sleeve. I hope it helps. Check back tomorrow to get started :).

Thank you all so much for stopping in today. lovelovelove to each of you.

-C

All photos by Arielle Elise for The Everygirl

{ words for your week: don't discount yourself. }

Tomorrow morning my home is being featured on The Everygirl. 

You know that REALLY surprised face that Taylor Swift has every time she wins an award? 

(By the way, this is not me making fun of Tswift. I totally love that lady.)

Well, that was pretty much my face when The Everygirl told me they wanted to feature my little ol' apartment. I have been a huge, huge fan of both Danielle and Alaina's blogs for quite some time now. Receiving a compliment like that from two ladies who I've admired for so long had me literally leaping down the hallways at work. 

No, seriously. There was lots of leaping.

I just want to be honest with you guys because it's just not me to play it cool. I'm not cool at all. This is such a surreal experience for me, and I'm still not sure I'll believe it until tomorrow. Either way, I just wanted to remember this day because this process has reminded me that you should never discount yourself. Crazier things have happened than your dreams coming true.

Thank you, The Everygirl.

I hope you all will stop over tomorrow for a peek into my home.  Sending lots of love your way this week.

-C

{ Sneak Peek of My Home Tour! }

As mentioned in a previous post, my little apartment is being featured on The Everygirl on Monday! I am so, so excited to see the feature, and can't wait to share it all with you. Here's a couple of sneak peeks:

Be sure to check it out on Monday, when the tour goes live :).

The last couple of months have been totally surreal. I can't believe the opportunities I've been so lucky to have. I just continue to be so thankful to be learning and growing each day. Thanks to each and every one of you for inspiring me on a daily basis. I hope you all have the happiest of weekends.

lovelovelove.

-C

Photos were taken by the amazing Arielle Elise Photography

{ What's black and white and striped all over? }

These beauties.

I love them. Like many others, I definitely tend to gravitate towards neutrals when it comes to the main pieces of a room because I love switching things out all the time. Even though the stripes offer more interest, I would still consider these to be super neutral. I would have a ball mixing in some jewel toned floral pillows. Or keep theming simple just as they are here. See? Flexibility.

What do you think? Would you say yes to a striped couch?

Thanks for stopping in, guys! lovelovelove.

-C

photo via 

{ Smile }

If you're not following The Everygirl's Pinterest yet, you should be. The Everygirl Smiles board has just about the sweetest, happiest photos you could ever dream of, and it's only just begun. These are a few of my favorites. Don't you already feel a little happier?

I definitely needed a little pick me up after a long, grueling day yesterday. I woke up, french pressed some coffee, made an omelet and am now getting dressed to head back to work. I have to leave in about 5 minutes and I'm still in my jammies so I suppose I better get on that.

Hope you all have the most wonderful day. lovelovelove.

-C

all photos via The Everygirl Smiles board

{ words for your week }

Don't be the one that stands in your way.

Hey, everyone! How was your weekend? I spent mine hanging low. Yesterday was my first Sunday off in a long time, so even though I didn't do anything particularly Easter-like (my family is all in a different state) I did get to spend some quality time with the boyfriend, which was wonderful. And I did lotsa relaxin'. 

I have quite a few things on the to-do list today. You know that feeling when you  keep seeing the same things reappearing because you keep putting 'em off? Yeah. Thats me right now. Trying to force myself to bite the bullet and get it all done. 

Have a wonderful Monday, everyone. Treat yourself to something fun today! Mondays are hard enough. My treat of choice? Chocolate milk in a wine glass with my breakfast. ;).

Thanks for stopping in! lovelovelove.

-C

photo via GlitterGuides tumblr

{ Happy Weekend! }

I had a pretty awesome week, aside from the fact that I did nothing but work.

This happened! Must take a moment just to smile at how lucky I've been lately to receive so many amazing opportunities from amazing people). I can still hardly believe it. I have a potential opportunity at work that will help me save more money for my summer in Chicago. And tonight is date night! I haven't seen Treasure (my boyfriend, if you are a new reader. His real name is Trevor, and the nickname came from my three year old cousin at the time) all week despite the fact that we live streets apart. It's been hectic and the poor guy has been working like crazy. I'm so glad that we'll finally get to spend a little time together before another crazy week commences (even though I work all weekend. boo!)

I hope you all have the most wonderful weekend. Happy Easter!

-C

{ Stony Run Home }

(love these floors)

I spent my extra time in Baltimore this spring break (when not hanging out with my big sis) browsing furniture stores, antique shops, thrifting, etc. It's my idea of a grand time.

When my friend Christine suggested that I go check out Stony Run Home, an extremely well curated furniture boutique and studio owned by designers Lauri and Patrick Fitzgerald, I happily obliged.

What. a. treat. It's off the beaten path a little, and had Christine not pointed it out to me I probably would never have found it. I couldn't snap pictures fast enough (if only I had more than just my iphone on me!). Each corner was filled with quality, beautiful items, and the whole shop had a cozy, yet light and airy feeling about it. If you are in the area, I highly suggest you seek out Lauri and her daughter's design services, or at least stop by the boutique/studio. You'll definitely leave feeling inspired.

Thanks for stopping in today! lovelovelove.

-C

*all photos via my iphone