Pre-reading post script: this was the nice post I was working on before the “Incident of the Hurled Avocado.” I think it fits perfectly: a post about a clean, organized space, interrupted by a fruit splatter. Oh, irony, you trickster.
This weekend afforded me some time to do some much needed “feathering” around the apartment. With the roommate out of town and Adam working in the ol’ office (booooo, going back to work) I could work relatively free from distraction. Despite having a generous amount of alone time in my regular life it was nice to have the weekend to just sit and hang out all by my lonesome.
I spent some pretty significant time running around on Saturday and Sunday to Home Goods, TJ Maxx, Target (Heaven has a Target!), Walmart, and Michael’s picking up the various components to nearly complete my “Project: Spruce Up the Little Apartment.” Below are most of the results.
The mantle was my biggest concern. It had been filled with various junk over the months, and definitely looked its best over the holidays when my roommate jam-packed it with Christmas cheer. The orchids on the end were purchased many moons ago, and the bottles belong the the roommate. The rest was purchased over the weekend. I filled the glass cylinder ($7 at TJ Maxx) with two packages of various decorative orbs of different sizes and shapes. I like the neutral turnout. The birds are from Target and the brown vase in the middle is Michael’s. Yahoo!
Next came my room. I had a photo collage in mind when I moved here in August, but never got to completing it. I only had the 8x10s for the last four months and I finally bought the three 5×7 picture frames to complete the look. Shots include trees in the woods of Switzerland, Lake Zurich, street view of Lisbon, Portugal, and Paris skyline. Swoon.
I found the blue vase that sits next to the dresser at TJ Maxx for $9. Well, I’m not going to leave something that inexpensive just sitting on the shelf, so not having a place to even put it, I bought it. I even considered just tucking it away in my closet for future use. But, opportunity presented itself in the way of shifting vases, and I moved what used to live there into the “family room/dining room/reading room.”I bought the “plant life” from Michael’s and gave it a little height and dimension (words I feel comfortable using after intense time logged with HGTV).
I didn’t change much to the shelving unit in my room, other than add the small owl that sits on the top right-hand shelf. He used to perch inside Urban Outfitters until I rescued him last week. He’s a nice $5 addition to the space, along with two semesters worth of books.
This is the arrangement that used to sit where the blue vase now resides. I added the two green pictures to complete a “green moment” in that corner of the room. The prints are from Target ($17) and I’m really digging them. The store added a revamped “Home Décor” section and I’m pretty impressed with what they have going on. Made me wish I could just start over with this whole space…
They’re not the most major improvements in the world, but they definitely added a little cheer to our abode. What I really wanted for Christmas was a new house so I could use all my mad-decorating skillz, but alas, no one listened. Until then, a girl can dream. And “feather”.
A Broad At Home 