A Home Away from Home

 

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Remember like four months ago when I told y'all that I had finally gotten a job and was finally moving up and out? In case you missed it ... that happened. I moved to D.C.; or rather the D.C. area-ish. I'm currently living with family in Maryland with a fun (read: long) commute into the city every morning. But actually, I won't complain. I'm #blessed to have family here to help me save up money before I venture out on my own. Speaking of which ... I have officially started the search for a new place. That's right! I'm on the hunt for a room with off-street parking—fun fact, I am very much afraid of street parking. :)

Anyway, since I really wasn't sure how long I would be staying with family, I was very unsure of how much of my stuff to bring. I'm not someone who likes to roll in with everything they own in tow ... that seems a bit presumptuous, right?

But at the same time, I did want to feel at home. I was going to be coming back to this bedroom every night after work and needed it to be a place for me to unwind from the stresses of the day. Even though I was told I didn't need to, I brought my own bedding with the encouragement of my mother. There is just something about the Room Essentials brand microfiber sheets from Target that I absolutely love. They are so comfortable!

I brought a bunch of books. Books I haven't read yet, but have had for approximately 1,000 years. Cookbooks since I knew I needed to find new things to keep my appetite up through the week.

After a few months, I went home to visit my parents and came back with my record player, and a few of my favorite records. The room has my scent now; I have candles and sprays everywhere.

I got comfortable buying things for the room that I wanted and knew I would use down the road in future rooms. I bought a cute retro style fan from TJ Maxx, since it is so so hot south of the Mason-Dixon line.

In my next place, I hope to feel a bit stronger a sense of permanence, though I know it won't be permanent. But the kind of permanence where you feel comfortable sticking a few nails in the wall and hanging up fancy wall art like the adult that you are. Of course, I will have to become a collector of such art first.

I do have a ton of photos of family and friends, though! However, I do feel slightly uncomfortable hanging too many pictures of them and having their eyes follow me room to room as I make my daily questionable decisions. Since most of these photos are stored in a digital space (very millennial, I know) and printing them seems a little excessive, I am a fan of placing the files in a digital frame and having it slide photo to photo. Check out these frames from Aura! How cute are they? You better believe the ivory and rose gold colored frame is all up in my shopping cart. And when you think about it, this is a way simpler idea than dealing with hanging frames on the wall and stepping back to see that one is like three inches lower than the rest, and you don't run the risk of people pointing out the aggressive number of picture frames crammed on bookshelves—I obviously have some opinions. Haha!

<3 Ashley

How do you make your space feel like "home?"

Dream Dressing Room

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I have spent many valuable hours (read: work hours) daydreaming lately. Having just moved to a new area and getting ready to enter into the transition of finding my own place, I have been doing a lot of fantasizing about what some of that space might look like. Of course my living room will have cushy seating and lovely wall art. The bathroom will have a distinct color scheme and hip accents. My bedroom will be a literal paradise because, duh ... it's me. Then I imagine opening up a pair of French doors leading from the bedroom into the amazing closet/dressing room. Note: I find that it is easiest to dream when one does not have the adequate funds to make the dream a reality; #firstjobstruggs, amirite?

But let's continue our tour through the closet, shall we? As a child of the MTV Cribs generation, I cannot have a dream closet without a massive shoe wall a la Kimora Lee Simmons—I feel that sentence was very 2005.

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Between the floor to ceiling windows, and the beautiful lighting fixtures, this will be the best lit dressing room ever. The windows will be dressed in soft, sheer drapes. I've been scrolling through the lighting fixtures at Arhaus, which conveniently (or dangerously) has stores located in the D.C. area. Perhaps one of these fabulous pendant fixtures hanging from the ceiling can fit in my dream. Tbh, I like the look of the Annabella light.

There will be paper ... yes there will be wallpaper, my friends. I'm thinking white with a gold pattern—I'd hate to be very plain. The shelving and furniture will be an antique off-white color. Not straight white, because I do not wish to blind myself; that certainly wouldn't be very good when picking out a stylish outfit, would it?

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I want a massive mirror in a tarnished gold frame leaning against the wall. Hardwood floors throughout, with a few soft, rose colored rugs. Of course, there needs to be some seating for the squad to hang out on while we take turns rummaging through the wardrobe before heading out for an incredible night (in this fantasy have a booming social life ... bear with me.) I love those big comfy chairs in the image above. ^

Ideally, despite the size of my dream closet, I would be the kind of person who takes initiative and keeps it up-to-date and organized with the clothes and accessories that I actually wear. That way it wouldn't be too cluttered. But, you can't really trust me with that kind of responsibility; this post is coming from a girl dreaming of the world's nicest dressing room on an approximately $5 budget. :P

<3 Ashley

What does your dream dressing room look like?

Room Reveal

Despite a few bumps along the journey, I did make it to Pittsburgh on Saturday a few hours later than expected. With a night out planned with the girls and a crazy need to get things done right away, I set to unpacking everything once my parents walked out the door. Three hours later: I had empty boxes and bags around me and everything was in its place. I may have actually high-fived myself...I did high-five myself. Since it is the last day of August and also the last day of Back-to-School month on Sunday Brunch, I thought I would share the results with you guys!

Cute, right?

<3 Ashley

Fellow collegiates! Have you moved into your housing for the year? How did you decorate? 

How to Organize the Dorm

While I am out of the dorms, I am very much still in the super small bedroom club. The silver lining there? The biggest closet in the house--high fives all around! I still feel qualified to share ideas for optimum design and storage in a teeny-tiny space (especially if you only get half the room!) Check out some of the inspiration below.

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A cart like this can be used so many ways in a dorm: bedside table for a lamp, alarm clock and some books; a beauty station for a mirror, cosmetics and hair supplies; or even a place to store food and beverage. Versatile pieces like this are basically essential in a dorm/small living space.

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Small spaces are prone to looking super cluttered super quick. For me, the worst area is always my desk. After hours of studying, rifling through notes and organizing papers the last thing I wanted to do at 2 AM was clean the space before finally going to sleep. Keep your desk organization game strong by utilizing shelving systems (frequently part of the desks provided by the school) and practice stacking books and organize with baskets, dishes, etc.

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Get creative with your storage. When in doubt, decorate up and not out. It will make the room look a little bit bigger. I love this idea of using an empty frame and string to hang you sunnies across. I have a cork board that I covered in fabric which I like to hang my necklaces on. I also use Command hooks to hang bags!

<3 Ashley

What are your tips for decorating a small space?

Dorm Essentials

Shower Caddy | Vintage Pillow | Pineapple Pillow | Bed Set | Storage | Keurig

If there is one thing  that I stressed out about just as much as the first day of classes freshman year, it was how I was going to decorate my half of the dorm room. Much of what I opted for has worked its way from year to year, residence hall to residences hall and finally to off-campus house. There are a few important things that I definitely suggest that freshman have in their dorms. 

A Keurig is absolutely essential in my opinion. If you are a coffee drinker, having one of these in your dorm will save you so much money--buying a cup from the coffee shop on your way to class can real amount to a huge number in the budget! 

A shower caddy is a must since bathrooms in the freshman dorms are almost always communal. Make that trip to the shower less cumbersome with a caddy for all of your necessities. (A separate one for toothpaste, toothbrush, face wash, etc is always hand as well!)

An appropriate amount of storage is key in a small dorm room. The school will typically provide students with a height adjustable bed, a desk with drawers and maybe a shelf, and a closet/wardrobe. For your belongings that you don't keep in your desk or drawers, store in stackable bins or a rolling cart, which can be placed under your bed if you set it high enough.

The bedding is of course an essential. The decorative pillows are not necessarily essential, but they will add a nice personal touch to your half of the room!

<3 Ashley

What are your dorm essentials?

Step Into My Office

My own teeny-tiny office space :) Gotta start somewhere

In my recent years on the Internet--namely Pinterest--there are several things that I have become obsessed with. To name a few: donut baking, crazy grilled cheeses, pretty flower arrangements, and office decor. I was always one of those kids who enjoyed back to school shopping for new pens, notebooks and folders. I guess that has crossed over into full on office space decor.

Here are just a few pieces of inspiration I have found in my internet travels:

Style Me Pretty

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<3 Ashley

How do you decorate your workspace?

Bedroom Decor Inspiration

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As the school year begins to wind down, my friends and I find ourselves looking forward to moving into our house in August and decorating floor to ceiling with Pinterest DIY projects. However, I am thinking just a bit more about decorating my own bedroom. How exactly will I set up and decorate my new lady haven?

I am going to be limited by space--the room is pretty small--however the closet does make up for it a little bit! :)

Also very important to me is the fact that there will be real furniture in it. No more uniform dorm furnishings. I am purchasing a full bed from one of the girls who lives in the house currently. The room has a built-in book case. The only thing I need to look for is a desk and chair!

Here are a few of the rooms I am looking at to get me inspired and thinking about my own plan!

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<3 Ashley

Any tips for decorating a small space?