Making Plans and Moving On…

I moved to Dayton in 2000, and since I have been here I have met some wonderful people and done a lot of things. I like the city and the things that it has to offer. But, I knew when I moved here that this would not be where I would lay my roots. Over the past year I have been talking with a friend about moving to Atlanta. I decided about 6 months ago that once I graduate and find a job down there that is what I will do.
Upon my arrival in Atlanta I will rent an apartment, but my goal is to purchase my first house. As you all know, I love decorating, and I am very excited about decorating my future first home. As a result, I have been scouring the net to find inspiration.
Here are some of the photos that I have found. (All photos are from the DwellingGawker app).
As you all know by now, I am an Ikea lover. I constantly read the Ikea Hacker blog. Here is an Ikea hack that I absolutely love.

I currently live in a one bedroom apartment, and I have art all over the apartment. Once I buy my home I plan to go to oversized art. There is something about it that I am really attracted to.

I love how these homeowners have put images of their kids above the sofa. I plan to do this with some of my family photos. I also love the white sofa. It allows you to put pops of color and still have that clean look.

These last photos are of looks that I like. I can see something in each room that I can pull out and add to my home. As you will be able to tell by the photos, I love decorating with white!!!

Where do you get your decorating inspiration?

Peace and blessings,
Michelle

 

Christian Turns One…

My niece turned one on Mother’s Day, so her Mom had a birthday party for her on the 12th. I drove to Cleveland (3 hour drive from Dayton) to help Christian celebrate her first birthday. I had a blast at the party, and it was really good to see family that I had not seen in a long time. Here are some pics from Christian’s birthday party.

Happy Birthday Christian Michale. Auntie loves you!

Peace and Blessings,

 

Urban Nights 2012

Every year the city of Dayton hosts an event called Urban Nights. It’s a chance for the residents of Dayton to come out and enjoy their city. There is a lot involved in this event…discounts at restaurants, live music on different corners, music and food in the Paul Laurence Dunbar neighborhood, shops open late, art galleries and tours of the condos and loft apartments in the downtown area.

I have attended Urban Nights every year since I moved to Dayton, and I have always thoroughly enjoyed it. When I moved into the loft apartments last year I told myself that I would one day open my apartment for the Urban Nights tour. Well, that day came on Saturday, May 11th.

An estimated 700 people came through my apartment, and I really enjoyed talking to all of them. The one drawback is that some people kept opening my closets. I don’t know if it was because some thought it was a model apartment, but at any rate, it was a little creepy.

I received A LOT of compliments about my decor. I was asked by many of the visitors if I am an Interior Designer/Decorator. Many folks stated that they loved my apartment more than the model that was showing on the fifth floor. All in all I had a blast showing my apartment, and I am strongly considering showing again in the September 14th Urban Nights event.

So, here are some pics from Urban Nights. The first is a pic of the sun shining through my windows the morning of…

As most of you know, I have been talking about the Mongstad mirror from Ikea for quite some time. Well, I finally purchased the mirror, and my friends husband hung it for me. (Thanks Tommy!!!) So, here is the mirror on the wall!

Other pics of the apartment…

These two young men stopped by, and we just talked like we were old friends. It’s always good to meet people who make you feel like you have known them forever! Shout out to Dante and Dan!

Thanks to everyone who came out and showed me love! I hope to see you all again in September! A special thanks goes out to Ms. Bev for helping me with traffic flow!!!

Peace and blessings,

 

Polyvore

Sometime last year I came across a site called Polyvore. It is a fashion site where you can put together different looks. Each item that you choose has a link to where that item can be purchased, and the price. In the past I have only liked others look boards, so tonight I thought I would see how Polyvore works. So, I put together an outfit that I would like to wear to see how the whole system works.

This is what I came up with. I can see myself becoming addicted to this!

Cool and Casual by lifeinapt214 featuring summer tops

Are you on Polyvore? If so, follow me.

Peace and blessings,

 

Fighting for Space

As most of you know, I live in a one bedroom loft apartment. It’s hard to go from living in a two bedroom spacious apartment to a one bedroom with minimal closet space. In my old apartment I had a linen closet. This isn’t the case in my current apartment. As a result I have to come up with solitons to store items that would generally go in the linen closet.
There is a small hall closet, but it is very tiny. I put some shelves in there, and that is currently where I keep my towels. But that plan is going to change.
When in a small apartment you have to learn to utilize every piece of space that you have. Furniture must serve dual purposes.
I thought about the space under my bed and decided that I will buy some bins and put items like sheets, towels, hoodies, sweaters, etc in them. This will free up the hall closet and some space in my bedroom closet. I will then move my shoes to the shelves in the hall closet and add two Rast nightstands from Ikea.
So, as I look for items that will act as storage, I wanted to share some wonderful storage solutions with you.

My bathroom is a decent size, but there isn’t much cabinet space. I came across this picture and it shows how someone has used an Ikea spice rack to house their hair products. Although there isn’t room for this in the bathroom, I can hang some in the hall closet, which is right outside the bathroom.

I already have a display case for my jewelry, but my cousin KD posted this on pinterest and I fell in love with it. Using a picture frame and a coat hook is such a clever idea!

I bought this shoe cabinet from Ikea, but it was too wide for my entryway. I love this one right here!

Baskets are a lovely way to keep items organized. I like the look of these baskets.

Do you have any storage issues in your home? How have you addressed them?

Peace and Blessings,
Michelle

 

Black Movie Love…

This weekend I did a little shopping. I needed to buy frames to put up my black movie posters. I was also in search of a jewelry tray that I saw on LovelyUnderGrad’s blog. I posted a picture on instagram of the jewelry tray that she had on her blog. Here is the tray.

My cousin Whit saw the picture on Instagram, and she wanted to know where it was sold. I told her I was going out shopping and I would see if I could find it. The Lovely Undergrad found it on clearance at TJ Maxx for $5. I got one for Whit and one for me for $7.50 each.

I already display my jewelry in two shadow box display cases, but I figured I would get one for my nail polish, headbands and other items that I didn’t have a place for. It was the perfect solution. Here is mine. I will add more items soon.

Yesterday I framed up my black movie posters.

Here is a picture of my hallway. The posters are waiting to be hung.

I wanted to make sure that the pics were lined up as straight as possible, so I cut out some craft paper and taped it to the wall.

And here are the posters on the wall.

Do you have movie posters in your home? If so, what movies?

Peace and Blessings,

 

 

 

Art in the Entryway

A few posts back I mentioned the artist ThatArtista and how much I love her work. I purchased an image from her, and I got it framed and placed in the entryway. I chose a 16×20 floating frame. I am toying around with painting the entryway. If I do, the color will show through the glass.

At first I hung the piece under my childhood picture…

I didn’t like that so much, so I relocated myself to the other wall, and left the print to hang on its on. I think it will a lovely greeting when friends and family enter.

I already have my eye on my next piece. Currently looking for a place for it!

Have you made any art purchases lately?

Peace and blessings,

 

 

Making Changes…

I am always looking at things that I can change in my apartment. When I decided to make a headboard, I went back and forth in my head about the pattern that I wanted it. When I finally decided on the pattern, I was still undecided about whether I wanted a pattern or a plain fabric. I decided on a gray and white fabric, and I am now regretting my decision. So, I am now in search of a nice plain gray fabric to cover the headboard.

In case you don’t remember the fabric that I chose, here is a picture of my bedroom.

My thought process is that if I put a plain fabric on the headboard I can play around with the textiles on the bed. I can mix and match the fabrics without too much worry about it clashing with the headboard.

The second project change in the bedroom is that I would like to put shelves above the closet doors in my bedroom. I am wondering if that will be too busy though. The picture above is the big part of my living room. Here is a picture of the closets and the tv.

I have some shelves in the dining room that I bought from Ikea. I would like to buy some over those to put over the close doors. Do you all think that would be too busy?

Here is a photo of the shelves.

So, would you go for the shelves, or leave things as they are?

Peace and blessings,

 

And The Winner Is…

First of all, let me say thank you for participating in my giveaway. If you do not win, keep checking back because I will have a giveaway each month.

Here is the bracelet that I am giving away.

And the winner is…

AquariusSoul is the winner of this giveaway! Congratulations! Please email your information to hersandhersgreetings@gmail.com

Peace and Blessings,

 

Bracelet Giveaway

Well hello all! That time is here again. Time to do a bracelet giveaway. If you would like to make a purchase of any of my bracelets, go to my shop.

This month’s giveaway is the Double Buddha bracelet. This giveaway will be open from March 21, 2012 through March 27, 2012. If you would like to enter, just leave a comment on this post.

Good luck everyone!

Peace and blessings,

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED!