The Lovely Side

I plan to add this^ into this...


In my apartment, the only space I really haven't tackled is my kitchen. It's large (the largest kitchen I've ever had as a renter). It's a blank slate. And it has some quirks... like, one of the previous tenants stuck leaf/floral sticker things on the cabinets. But I love the pantry, corner shelves on either side of the big window, and high ceilings. The above photo is one I snapped right when I moved in. Now, there's a dining table, kitchen accessories in all sorts of colors, and vintage fans in the space over the cabinets.

One of my favorite things to do is look back on my past dorms and apartments and looking at how my personal tastes and decorating style have evolved over the years. What's even cooler? Getting to see how a blog reader's style has evolved. Back in 2010, I featured Alyssa's lovely dorm full of do-it-yourself decor. Recently, she emailed me with photos of her big girl apartment. I'm thrilled to share it here on the blog today!

There's a lot going on in this, huh? There's been a lot going on in my office, too. For instance, my sister up-sized from a twin bed to a full - and I hauled her twin bed up here to use as a spare bed to turn my office into a combined office/guestroom.
I finally got the room just how I wanted it:

The other day, my boyfriend asked "What would you like to do this weekend?" He laughed when I told him that I wanted to visit a little shop down the road and smell all the candles.
I love candles. I love how they smell. I love how they set the mood for writing, for cleaning, for cuddling with my cats while binge-watching historical period drama. I love how they make wonderful, usable gifts - to give and receive.
I'm super excited to introduce you to Anthology Candles. The handcrafted, all-natural, soy candles are inspired by music, books, and movies. The scents are completely unique and ideal gifts for the unique, hard-to-buy-for. There's one inspired by Ed Sheeran's romantic Thinking Out Loud. Another, called The Great Pumpkin, is a spiced pumpkin ode to Charlie Brown. You'll even find one inspired by the Mad Hatter's Tea Party. I love the variety.

I remember when I was 12 or 13... going to the eye doctor to make the big switch from glasses to contacts. So exciting! Nowadays, I love flaunting fun frames. But I still wear contact lenses. A lot. I've worn the same brand of soft, prescription, green colored contacts since junior high - except for one year when I opted for teal. ;) And having been wearing them for over ten years, I felt like I'm pretty much a pro. 
Until I brushed up on my contact lens care according to the American Optometric Association. 



Here are five health rules to follow if you wear contacts. (And a few might surprise you.)

*** This giveaway is now closed. ***
Prizing and samples provided by Crown Publishing.

I love brunch. Especially in the comfort of home. A little backstory: One Sunday, the bf and I hopped over to a nearby town for lunch. When we got there, we discovered that it was brunch-only day. So we decided to give it a try. It was decent, but not amazing. Then we went up to the counter to pay our bill. Our jaws dropped. Nearly $40 a person for a sub-par brunch that didn't even include alcohol. Ugh.
Needless to say, we didn't go back for that brunch. The next weekend, we whipped up our own brunch of tasty frittata and mimosas. It was delicious. It was affordable. And there were leftovers. ;)
So when Crown Publishing offered to send me over a copy of Bobby Flay's new cookbook Brunch @ Bobby'spacked full of brunch recipes and a giveaway... How could I resist?