Decorating!

Since not many people have seen where I live, I thought I'd give you all a taste of my apartment. I don't have a real decorating "style" - it's more just a combination of things I like. :)

My kitchen has become my cow showcase area. No, this is not all of my cows. Not even close! This was my attempt at putting the awkward space above the cabinets to work.

This is a tapestry I found on PeaceMonger.org and fell in love with. I wondered for a while where to put it, and finally decided that the ceiling was a good place. It's great for breaking up the excessive white-ness of the apartment.

I have an intense love of board games and puzzles, especially 3D puzzles. This bookcase is jam-packed full of them - and these are only the ones that fit. I think it's time to invest in another bookcase. :)

I also have a love of all things Egypt. My friend Becky got me some awesome papyrus pieces when she was in Egypt a while back, and they look great hanging next to my Osiris poster.

The blinds that lead to my balcony (and the walls around them) are excessively white and incredibly bland. I found some fun garland valances to help break up the whiteness at a store called Ten Thousand Villages, a non-profit, fair trade store that helps people in less-fortunate countries earn a living. I highly recommend you check out their stuff - some of it is amazing.

A close up shot of the stars. These were made in Bangladesh. How cool is that?

A few years ago, my parents went on a tour of Europe and brought back Black Forest cuckoo clocks for myself and my siblings. Mine, of course, has a cow. :)

Another obsession of mine is Keith Urban. I have so may pictures, posters, and calendars that they don't all fit in one room! These are in one room...

and these are in another! And no, this is not all of them. :)

An extra towel rod makes a great place to store necklaces.

Then there's the I Love Lucy Barbie collection. Yes, I am in my 20s. Yes, I collect Barbies (don't worry... I only collect the Lucy ones!). Yes, I am regularly mocked for this. Yes, I intend to continue expanding the collection as more dolls are released. A while back I convinced my awesome friend Becky to help me arrange and display them on these new shelves. It pretty much takes up the whole room, but I'm so happy that they are not all crammed on one little shelf anymore!

The last stop on our tour is my balcony. I attached a shepherd's hook to the railing so I can hang cute decorations out there. I love this cow bird feeder, found at Hobby Lobby. So cute.

 

My most recent attempt at decorating was arranging these flowers. When I put real flowers out, they die super fast and it depresses me. So this year, I decided to plant fake flowers. They are just as pretty, a lot hardier, and very low maintenance. :)

Views from above...

I'm pretty proud of how they turned out. They make my balcony look colorful and spring-ish, which was the whole point. Mission accomplished.