The Lovely Side

Sometimes as I'm scrolling through Instagram or Pinterest, I feel like my feed is flooded by rooms and decor that all look the same. The trending spaces look something like this: White on white on white. Accents of gold. Splashes of hot pink. And maybe (if things get crazy) some black and white stripes. 
I read somewhere that an Instagram photo with a lot of white is likely to get more hearts. That as users scroll through their feed, the white background will be a visual break for the eyes and they'll feel more inclined to double-tap that.

Here and there, I've been putting some finishing touches on my living room. It's really coming together as a cozy space. I love the orchid walls, plum accents, and splashes of rich turquoise and juicy tangerine. I still can't imagine why anyone would ever paint century-old hardwood floors black?! (A previous tenant did just that.) Maybe someday the floor will get stripped, sanded, and refinished. Wouldn't that be lovely?

This corner single dorm room at Iowa State University was the first place that I truly lived "on my own." I loved the extra square footage, but it turned out that corner rooms in these old buildings got very drafty in the late fall. I ended up moving to a smaller, cozier room with a bigger window (and closet) later in the semester, but I remember this colorful space fondly.

I recently put some finishing touches on my bedroom and I'm so excited to share the progress! On a random trip to Goodwill, I scored several burlap sacks and a $7 red vintage typewriter. The bargains were just what my bedroom was missing!

I love to-do lists. I don't always love the to-dos that fill them up, but I do enjoy checking, crossing, and erasing them off as I complete them. Living on my own, there's no one to tell me to do the dishes, put away laundry, or clean the bathroom except... well, me.
Roommate Harmony sent me over this nifty dry-erase chore chart to try out - and giveaway (but more on that later). For me, this is a great way to organize my many weekly to-dos. When I come home from work, I often want to eat an easy supper and spend the rest of my evening playing with the cats, reading a good book, or binge-watching Netflix... or some combination of those. But I sometimes have work, blogging, or writing to do. And the last thing I want to do is wash dishes or vacuum Cotton's massive amounts of fur.

ICYMI: I gave up Cotton after deciding that after trying so many things, my two adopted cats Dahlia and Cotton were just never going to get along. Long story short: I missed her. And Cotton's back. And Dahlia's not going anywhere. My heart is big enough to keep trying. And my apartment is big enough that if I need to keep them separated long term (or permanently), it can be done.
I'm going to write-up a separate post about some of the solutions I've tried, how they worked, who they worked on, and what I'll be trying next. But in this post, I wanted to share the main 'piece de resistance' of having both cats in my apartment: an un-climbable, un-jumpable, see-through barrier to separate Cotton and Dahlia.

Warm weather is finally here! I moved into my lovely little Victorian duplex late last fall... in fact, the first snowfall occurred just as we moved in my last load of furniture. So I'm really excited to put my pretty little porch to use this spring and summer. I foresee some lovely summer evenings drinking beer with the boyfriend or wine with a good girlfriend who is moving into the area. 
But before I do anything of the sort, my porch needs some "prettying up." It's a cute porch with its painted lady Victorian colors and details, but it lacks my personality. So Gordmans stepped in and provided me with a mini springtime shopping spree to spruce up my outdoor living space. With $50, I tackled what my porch needed most: seating and a welcome rug.

UPDATE: Thank you all for your kind words, suggestions, and encouragement! Cotton is back. So many of you opened my eyes to solutions I hadn't tried... and encouraged me to give other solutions a bit more time. Others of you let me know that sometimes two cats just need to be separated longer, long term, or even permanently. I researched more solutions and I've resolved to keep them separate for longer (or permanently) if they need to be. 
But it comes down to this happiness: Cotton is back. Dahlia's not going anywhere. My heart is big enough for both of them. My optimism is big enough to try other solutions. And my apartment is fortunately big enough that if they need to live in their own spaces, it's not a big deal.
Cotton's happy to be home. Dahlia's doesn't care as long as she gets her own space. And my bf and I are soooo happy to be putting up with Cotton's antics again. 

On New Year's Eve, I adopted two lovely felines and welcomed them into my…