The Lovely Side

Katelyn moved into her dorm at the University of Missouri-Columbia this past fall.  Since she used some of the design ideas found on The Lovely Side, she sent some photos of her space my way.  She was aiming for a "sophisticated, clean feel" for her dorm room, which is part of a 4-person suite with 3 other girls. They each get their own bedroom but share a bathroom area.

Lovely reader Aranthza wrote in, "Hi I'm about to start college and I love the way you've decorated your apartment! I was just wondering where you like shopping for stuff to decorate your apartment!"
Well, Arantha... I really shop around. ;) I'd like to say that I live near enough to an Urban Outfitters and Ikea or that I have the budget for Anthropologie.  While I drool over decor items from all three of those places, the truth is that I've never shopped at any of them.  Instead, I get crafty and creative at what is nearby and within my college student income.

I love seeing bland dorm rooms turned into lovely spaces... especially when these spaces belong to you readers!  Today I'm featuring Monica's first year dorm at SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design) in Georgia.  Monica transferred to SCAD from Venezuela to finish a BFA in Graphic Design.  Before we tour the rest of her dorm room, let's check out the "before" image!

Today, we're revisiting an apartment that I've blogged about and swooned over a couple times before (...Pretty Patterns, Pretty Pastels here and Alisons Oh-So-Pretty Apartment here.)  I'm as smitten as ever with Alison's use of dreamy whites, pretty pastels, and playful touches of color.  So I was psyched to see she's been busy with some more decorating updates in 2013.

Apps, apps, apps!  Not being a smart phone user... (Gasp! I know! Oh, the horror!) ...it took me a little bit to get used to this app thing.  Okay, well more like fifteen minutes.  Once I got started, I couldn't start.  Although I consider myself app-happy, I did go through and uninstall the apps that I knew I wouldn't really use.  Sports.  Multiple weather apps. (I only need one.) Games. (I'm not a big game player. No, not even Angry Birds.)

Just a quick update on this cold first night of Spring. (It's a whole 20 degrees Fahrenheit out there!)  I spent the workday at our new property putting together an Ikea cabinet with my boss (more like high stake LEGOs, as Nick Miller would say---amIright, New Girl fans?) and chowing down at a nearby BBQ joint for lunch.  After work, one of my good friends came over.  We made breakfast for dinner: bacon, scrambled eggs, biscuits smothered in bacon gravy, and orange juice.  We watched Think Like a Man (...funny movie!)  And ended the night snacking on strawberries dipped in chocolates.  I say it was successful girls' night in. :)

Take a break from whatever you're doing.  I have a musical treat your ears are sure to enjoy.  Back in January, I had the pleasure of seeing one of my favorite bands Snowmine play.  I posted photos and swooned all about their music in the post Music Spotlight: Snowmine.
I love this band's music. So I was thrilled find an email in my inbox from band member Jay Goodman to inform me Snowmine had finished their soon-to-be-released second album. I'm so excited for them and so excited for the album release!  (You can bet I want that baby on vinyl.)

A while back, you may remember me posting a review about my Acer Iconia W510.  While I had nothing but good things to say about the Windows 8 tablet, I did experience a touchscreen malfunction with it due to an error on my part (I think).  So while Clover (as I called her) could be fixed, Intel offered to do a swap.  I'd send the Acer back and get sent another tablet to try in return.  So Clover 2.0 the Samsung ATIV Smart PC came into my life.  And it's been exceedingly lovely ever since.

I could go on and on about how much I love red lipstick, but that's a whole 'nother post!  Instead, today I'm sharing one of my favorite new red lipstick finds.  (Because when I find something good, I just can't help but share it!)  I've been on the lookout for a lipstick that stays put.  As much as I love some of my cherry and strawberry hued sticks, I hate having to reapply them when out for dinner or drinks... or between kisses!

View this collection on Polyvore Easing into Spring with Florals and Layers by thelovelyside on polyvore.com
I'm soooo ready to slip into pretty dresses, charming flats, lovely blouses, and sweet sandals... without the boots, coats, and thick scarves! Iowa weather is so unpredictable... I woke up to snow today! Springtime really can't get here soon enough and until it warms up for good and the snow melts away, I guess I'll just be dreaming about those pretty dresses and sandals.

I'm spending this snow day inside staying nice and cozy, doing homework, bonding with my new Samsung tablet, and enjoying the solitude.  Despite being nearly half-way through March, Mother Nature decided to dump some snow on us Iowans again. (The photo above is the view out the window above my bed.) I'm really hoping for a decent, snow-free St. Paddy's Day next weekend... but we'll see.  In the meantime, I decided to snap some photos of my attic bedroom using my new Samsung tablet.  (And the Fhotoroom app for a little fun editing.)  Be warned, I didn't clean my room to spick-and-span quality before taking these, so you're going to get to see a bit of creative chaos in some corners. ;)

Between the Branston pickle, raspberry wheat beer bread, and Guinness Extra Stout brownies, it seems like all I'm doing lately is eating and sharing recipes. ;)  Today isn't much different.  After a weekend in Williamsburg, I ventured to my hometown of Osky to spend some time with family.  Today I'm lounging around my parents' house doing some work, studying, cuddling with my dog Adalae and cat Io, and hanging out with my grandma. 

This decadent dessert combines two of my favorite things: chocolate and dark beer.  I first stumbled across the recipe on Pinterest and it lead me to Blondie's Cakes blog.  From what I can tell from the photos on the Blondie's Cakes blog, she used Guinness Draught.  This weekend, I whipped up these brownies with G using Guinness Extra Stout.  (The recipe only uses up two of the bottles, so we got the rest of the pack to enjoy!)

Miss Deschanel is one of my all-time favorite ladies who lives life on the lovely side.  She makes me laugh every Tuesday night during New Girl... (and scream out with glee when she and Nick finally kissed!)  When I need some happy tunes, I turn on the She & Him.  And she's a style icon when it comes to pretty clothes, hair, and makeup.  
So I was delighted to come across this post on Inspired by Charm, which rounds up some of Zooey's lovely and inspiring words.  Head over.  Check 'em out.  And then have a very lovely weekend!

Thank all you so much for entering this book giveaway!  One lucky comment'er and one lucky tweet'er will each receive a copy of Philippa Gregory's Changeling, the first in her new young adult series Order of Darkness.  I used a random number generator to choose both a random comment and a random tweet.


And the winners are...