Our Springy Living Room Refresh (New Art!)

I'm so excited to deep dive into our living room refresh today! We left off in April with the story of our new couch, and a springy moodboard for our space. Since then, we've gotten art, throw pillows, and a fabulous antique side table that have transformed the room. Things have finally started to come together and I am so happy with how our living room is turning out!

Spring Home Refresh: The Story of Our New Couch

Happy Sunday!! It finally feels like spring here in NYC and it has me absolutely craving a complete refresh, both for my closet and our apartment. There's just something about the fresh air, wardrobe turnover, blooming flowers, and the energy of a new season that sparks something inside of me every year. To add to the motivation, I'm thrilled to share that I'll be featured on a very exciting home channel next month (stay tuned!), which has sent me straight into decorating mode. 

painting // our new couch (!)

side table // vase // velvet pillows // round pillow // floor lamp

our custom coffee table // our rug

The End of an Era! (and the start of a new one!)

*our* new apartment

On Monday I officially moved out of my Soho apartment! My first apartment in NYC will always hold a special place in my heart; I moved into it sight-unseen after graduating from college and moving out of my house in Wisconsin. My brother drove me from Wisconsin to NYC in U-Haul, a two day trip that resulted in calling my perfect little one-bedroom home for the past three years.

My entire life I wanted to move to NYC after graduation. I always knew I wanted to be a city girlie, and the opportunity to live by myself in a precious apartment downtown is something I couldn't be more grateful for. I got so lucky with my apartment, and it shaped the first few years of my New York experience in the best way possible. I'll always remember this apartment so, so, so fondly. From my pink coffee tables to my naked barbies, all of the dinner parties and happy hours, the simple joys of living alone, and everything else I got to experience during my time my Soho, I'm sad to close this chapter of being an independent city girl, but excited for what's next.

Where Everything in my Apartment is From

Helloooo! Wow this is a long overdue post. My friend Sammy recently DM'd me on Instagram asking where some things in my apartment are from, and I realized I never did a consolidated post of everything. I've lived here for seven months and the apartment is probably halfway done, so I kept putting off documenting the progress that I have made. I have ideas of other things I really want to do, but I'm not sure I'll commit to them until I know if I can renew my lease... so for now, here's a roundup of everything in my apartment so far!

This Week's Top 10: Apartment Updates

 1. This week absolutely flew by for me. Anyone else? Work was insane, and on top of that, I've been in Wisconsin at Joe's apartment! I leave here tomorrow afternoon for Charleston to spend Mother's Day with my mom!

2. Speaking of Mother's Day: I shared a mother's day gift guide here. Graduations are also right around the corner / already here for some, so I shared a graduation dress roundup here and a graduation gift guide here!

3. I packed this dress to wear in Charleston and I'm so excited to frolic around in it. It's so cute and fun!

This Week's Top 10: Podcasts, Apartment Updates, Summer Dresses

image via pinterest

1. If you follow me on Instagram or Tik Tok, you already know this and are probably annoyed with my (LOL sorry), but this week I elevated my morning routine to a whole new level and was truly thriving as a result. I've been waking up at 6AM, doing a 15-20 minute at-home workout (I like Mad Fit on Youtube!), and then walking for about an hour. 

2. I've switched up the podcasts I listen to on those morning walks and have been enjoying the super motivating Mindset Mentor (especially loved this episode) followed by The New York Times Daily to get caught up on what's happening in the world. Highly recommend both podcasts if you don't listen to them already!

3. Speaking of what's going on in our world, more specifically, our country, the Daily episode on Derek Chauvin's charges that came out this week was a great listen. I found it particularly interesting and engaging to hear about how things felt and went down (or up, honestly) in Minnesota on Wednesday.

I Signed a Lease in NYC! (Answering all of your Questions)

If you follow me on Instagram, you already know that on Monday I signed a lease for an apartment in New York City!!! I did a Q&A on my IG stories sharing some details about my apartment and the process (saved to highlights if you missed it), and I'm excited to document all of that and more on here today. Let's just jump right in!

The Best Dorm/Apartment purchases I Made in College...

It's crazy to me that I'm not heading back to school in a couple of weeks! Although I can't move at the end of this month as planned, I am still looking forward to the day I finally get to decorate my apartment. However, until I am able to sign a lease, I have no idea how much stuff I'll actually need for my new space, or the vibe I'll want to go for! So, today I thought it would be kind of fun to share the best purchases I made for my dorm and apartments in college for anyone heading back to school this season!

My Senior Year of College Room Tour

Ah, leave it to me to wait until I'm moving out of my apartment to finally share some photos of my room! I can't believe college is actually over and my next move is to NYC into a "real" adult apartment. Better late than never, though, right? I'm excited to share my full senior year of college room tour with you guys today!

Small Space Decor: More Apartment Ideas

New quarantine activity alert! I've become addicted to watching YouTube videos of people apartment hunting in Manhattan and "shopping around" on Street Easy for apartments. It's not only entertaining, but it helps me get an idea of what I'm getting myself into when I move. I haven't heard any updates on my job (yet), so I am still planning on signing a lease in NYC around the first of September... of course, that could change at any moment, but that's the plan for now. Because this is my first job and apartment, I know I won't be living anywhere fancy, but I'm getting so excited about the impending move!

Small Space Decor (Part IV)

This Friday I am heading back to Madison to move into my new apartment! I'm not actually staying at school for good, just moving things in, but it's hard to believe it's already this time of the year again. This past weekend my mom and I sent my brother off to the airport for his semester abroad, and by the end of August I, too, will be back at school.

Small Space Decor (Future Room Sneak Peek)

Last summer I wrote Small Space Decor part I and part II, so this summer's edition could be considered part III of one of my favorite blog posts! Since I am moving into a new apartment this coming fall, which is the same situation I was in last summer, and the previous year (but with a dorm), I'm gathering inspiration for my new room and loving the vision I've come up with so far. I recently painted my desk in my room at home to bring to school, and that has sort of been the focal point from which the rest of my vision for my future room has stemmed.

My Room Tour (!!!) + How I Organize My Closet

I am so excited that the highly anticipated apartment room tour is finally here! I apologize for how long it took for me to get around to this. The decorating process just never truly feels complete, even in a college dorm or apartment! After a serious room cleaning and redoing the photo montage above my desk, I finally felt ready to share, and I'm so excited to hear what you think!

What I Eat at College + My Grocery List

Last week I shared four go-top recipe ideas in this blog post and a couple of food Insta stories, and I got a lot of questions about what I actually eat in a day. While I don't have a quick answer to that question (it changes everyday!), I will say I eat the same types of things daily because my grocery list is small and simple, and our apartment doesn't have the best storage to keep an overwhelming amount of food around. Plus, being just one person (and occasionally sharing groceries with my roomie) I don't want to buy too much food and risk it going bad. Below I'm sharing a few of my favorite things that I eat at school, along with a mini grocery list of foods I couldn't go without in my apartment!

My Apartment Bedroom Vision

I have always been strongly fond of my birth date. Late August, when summer is perfectly ripe, just before the reality kicks in of back-to-school duties... it's my favorite time of year. Let's be honest: we all feel like summer rushes by us every single year, and the last few weeks are regularly, at least for me, the most memorable. Of course I relish in the crisp months of September and October (changing leaves in Wisconsin, layers of neutral sweaters and cozy jackets paired with leather boots), but in my mind I'm an August girl at heart. If you're wondering where I'm going with this: my birth month is the ultimate inspiration behind how I am choosing to decorate my first apartment this year.

Small Space Decor: Part II

If you couldn't tell, I was feeling a little uninspired to blog last week. However, after a relaxing weekend and a little bit of apartment shopping yesterday, I am not only excited to be back on the blog, but also to be sharing the Part II of my Small Space Decor posts!

Small Space Decor

After heading to the University of Wisconsin this weekend to look at apartments, I am giddy to announce that I think I made up my mind about next semester's plan :) I love the thought of an apartment with a bedroom that's both my own and larger than a shoebox, non-communal bathrooms, and a kitchen (goodbye, dining halls!). Did I mention an infinity pool on the roof, hot tubs and workout facilities a few floors below me, and in-unit laundry! (Yes, I am excited about the in-unit laundry. My laundry skills freshman year were extremely horrific and sub-par at best)