Before

After

I’m finally done with the cabinets! It took me about three different setups to find something I like. I switched to blue towels, as I hated the brown and they were shredded anyhow. White baskets hold small towels and laundry supplies. Extra bed on top. My vanity on the bottom. Here’s a close-up:

I apologize again for the bad lighting in my bathroom. There’s no natural light…

Regardless, I’m finally completely pleased with my vanity shelf! Here’s what I did:

• I trashed my clear organizer idea. It still looked too cluttered. I bought white drawers from Target and stored my makeup in there.
• I added picture frames to personalize the space. I think they were $2 from IKEA. I printed two illustrations: owls and a blue dress. I’ll likely change this often just to change the space up.
• I decided to put my nail polish on display, because it had more uniformity compared to my make up collection. The spice rack was $5 at Bed Bath and Beyond.
• My brushes are still in a coffee cup with rice to hold them upwards. I just tossed my old brushes and purchased a new collection from ELF. (Review coming soon!) I bought a blue make up sponge from Sonia Kashuk for $10 and keep that in a tea light glass.
• I moved my skin care to the another shelf.
• I made sure I had enough of a U-shape to pull things out, set up my mirror, and create a masterpiece on my face. (Sarcasm) When I’m done, things go back in their spot.
• Something I’d still like: lights. I may invest in a battery powered vanity mirror for better lighting when I put my make up on. But then…where will it go? Hmm, still to decide.

Before

After

Again, out with the brown towels and in with the blue. I also got rid of the brown (also broken) rugs and added blue and beige toned rugs. I’m not crazy about them… But they’ll do. I was pushing for white but the weird dude I live with said they’d get dirty too quickly. So that idea was thrown out. You may notice the huge contraption on the counter. I like to keep things simple and clear but I had no choice with this thing. It’s a towel warmer, and my mother-in-law-to-be gave it to me for Christmas. It’s been the best part of  the cold weather around here… I love it, even though it’s large and obnoxious!

Before

After

This is the bottom of the cabinet where I put skin care and miscellaneous things. Much better! You don’t even want to see that bottom shelf in the before picture…

It’s not perfect and I may change a few things here and there, but for the most part…Bathroom Project: Complete!

To take a look back in time, there’s also Part 1 and Part 2 for your amusement.

Just stopping by to announce that I’ve been in Florida since the 22nd, and will be here until the first week of January. I suppose you could call it a vacation, but I call it visiting my family because I don’t consider it too much of a vacation. I love sleeping in, and aside from hating everything about this state from its humid weather to this terrible town I’m thoroughly enjoying being home with my family.

Yet I can’t stop thinking of things I’d like to do when I get home. Here are a few:

• Post-Christmas decluttering.
• Clean out the closet.
• Go through the kitchen and all the appliances stored in the cupboards.
• Get a new shower head.
• Organize the entertainment center.
• See if it’s possible to reorganize to maximize studio space.
• Finish organizing cables.
• Buy more paint samples to patch up stained parts of the wall.

Only I would be excited to go home and organize. I’m actually kind of upset that as soon as I get home, my time off is over. Back to the apartment makeover on weekends only… I do have a few progress shots to show you when I get back!

How was your holiday? Did you travel?

If you’re a frequent reader of the blog, you may remember my quest for a bathroom overhaul. While I will soon update with progress on the bathroom, I’ve been so happy with the changes that I decided to go ahead and begin with the kitchen.

Before

After

My goal with the kitchen is to make things easier for me while I’m in there. I moved my spices out of the cabinets and installed a picture rack from IKEA near the oven. Using my spices has never been easier! I frequently forgot I had spices, so having them visible is a huge plus and has allowed me to experiment. Not to mention, more free counter space is always wanted… So having them off of the counter makes it easier to clean.

I was able to purchase a white ceramic utensil holder from Bed Bath & Beyond, since the utensils I had didn’t all fit into the old bamboo holder I was using. I was then inspired to move the knives off of the counter to have even more space.

The bar area received the biggest change. I thought about what to do with that space for the longest time… It was the number one space for Josh and I to throw our knick knacks onto. I had to figure out how to give the space a purpose to prevent us from doing that. I ended up buying two placemats at IKEA, which instantly took up the necessary space and gave the sitting area purpose. I grabbed a decorative (but also usable) ceramic pitcher, white ceramic pot, and an artificial plant.

I tried my best to do real plants in my apartment, but they die within three days because we rarely get natural light through our window… Which makes me sad. However, even the illusion of plants makes me happy and can make a room look so much better!

So I’m much happier with the kitchen, especially considering it wasn’t that expensive to overhaul the space. Now that I look at the before and after, I realize the little things make a huge difference!

A few years ago I started going completely digital with my photos. When I need one for a frame I usually just print it out myself and settle for a framed paper version. No one notices! However, lately I’ve been thinking about my mom’s photo albums and how happy it makes me to look through them.

This summer I was packing my things to get ready for the long road trip from Florida to California. I found myself going into my mom’s photo albums one more time before I left. I found a photo or two I wanted to keep and smuggled them in one of my books. A few weeks ago I stumbled across them and they made me so happy, though a little homesick as well.

Lately I’ve been looking at my camera and wanting to make more use of it. I think maybe I’m at the start of my life where I want to start documenting what’s going on, so my kids will one day be able to look at my photos and appreciate them the way I appreciate my mom’s. Josh and I are getting married in March 2013, and planning for the big day has opened my eyes to why pictures are so important. And this is coming from a girl who only had about 5 photos of her and her fiancé together before the engagement photo shoot!

So I’m exploring the possibilities and taking more pictures with my camera. Here are some possibilities of how to store your photos.

Virtual Photo Storage

• Computer: I’ve been storing all of my photos on my computer only. I still think this is the best option, because it allows you to keep every photo and only develop the ones you’d like to share.
• Hard Drive: I know some people who have a hard drive used only for photos and backing them up. This way they’re always available, can be transferred to any computer, and there is a back up just in case your computer photos are deleted.
• Flash Disc: If you don’t take many pictures, I can see a flash disc being a cheaper alternative to a hard drive.

Traditional Photo Storage

• Scrapbook Album: My mom frequently used old style albums that required each photo to be stuck on using corner adhesives. These will take some time but allow you to scrapbook and get creative with your picture collection.
• Protective Album: Most photo albums these days come in the style of using clear protective covers as pages. These are a faster way to create an album and there are some nice options out there.
• Printable Album: I’m seeing this trend a lot lately, and I have to admit I love it. You can send your photos to places like Shutterfly and they will mail you a printed and bound album using the design and photos you chose online. It’s like mixing the first option with the second! This is also great for creating albums with themes like wedding, summer vacation, 24th birthday, etc.

Photo Album Ideas