My house is done!!

I am so excited to show ya'll these pictures.  I owe a HUGE thank you to my parents and my sister Lauren who worked their booties off Easter Weekend to get my patio and spare room finished.  (And just so ya'll don't think I was lazy, I was at the office working while all these changes were going on!)
 
My finished patio:

It's really hard to get a good picture of this area.  I feel like these pictures really don't do it justice.  The couch is on your left as you walk onto the patio and the chairs are on your right.  Before we put the furniture together, (yes, we!) my Dad power-washed the deck then he and my Mom painted the fence.  There's still a few things I'd like to do, like add twinkling lights around the top of the fence and maybe add some small plants but I love the way this space turned out!  I've already used it quite a bit. :o)

The finished spare room:       

I love, love, LOVE my new spare room.  Again, these pictures don't really do it justice but I promise, it looks SO good in person!  This is when you first walk into the room...and yes, that it Toby's pillow and toy in the corner because that's where he sleeps while I get ready in the morning.  I'm pretty sure he camps out there all day actually...  

This is the wall on the left side of the room.  My vanity area is on the right side with the patterened chair.  I LOVE my patterend Tar-jay chair.  It's so comfy.  And I like that the vanity area is kind of hidden too so I can leave it messy and no one will see!  (Although I try really hard to keep it organized and clean because apparently I don't like clutter in my 30s.)

Next up: my new "office" area.  I feel so grown up; I've never had a different room to put my desk in!  It's always been in my bedroom.  It used to be an antiqued white which was pretty, but it didn't work with the overall look of this room so well.  My Dad painted it a glossy black and now it fits the space perfectly.  I LOVE a cheap project. :o) 
We found this zebra print chair at Steinmart for $60.  In my opinion, that's fate, people.  We got the filing cabinet at Office Max and I'm thrilled with how pretty it is.  I searched high and low for a nice filing cabinet and all I could find were the metal ones that were not cute and WAY overpriced.  My sister and mom found this on one of their outings and it's exactly what I was looking for. 
We added touches to the other rooms and I'll show ya'll those pictures later in the week because I don't want this post to be obnoxiously long. 
I hope ya'll had a fabulous Monday!

Some House Pics

I love, love, LOVE my condo. And while it's not quite done yet, I couldn't resist sharing pictures of everything that is done! I'm thrilled with the way things have turned out so far and I can't wait until I feel like it's 100% finished (although I'm told I will never, ever feel that way.)

My Living Room
View from the front door (or corner by the front door where I took the pic)

View from the Kitchen (which is obviously at the back of the house)

The Kitchen (table area will have to wait...it's just way too messy!)

My Bedroom
**Sidenote: Toby appeared in 3 of the 4 pictures at his own free will. I think it is safe to say my dog is a camera whore :o).

Thank you, Overstock.

I am not patient in my 30s.
I ordered a bookshelf from Overstock.com a couple weeks ago and the massive white box has been sitting in my living room mocking me for about a week now. I finally looked at the directions Sunday night and took note of the "2 persons" needed for assembly. Being the smart girl I am, I decided to wait until 2 persons were present.

Fast foward 24 hours...patience is certainly a virtue. And one I obviously do not have.
2 persons? Hmph. How hard could it really be?

One hour and 2 episodes of Sex and the City later...

I DID IT! A small feat in home ownership but nonetheless, I am quite proud. I haven't attached it to the wall yet because 1) I actually have no idea how to do that and 2) I'm pretty sure it involves a power drill. While I may not be patient, I'm also not stupid. I am NOT touching anything that can drill a hole and requires electricity to do so.
I went to bed feeling quite accomplished only to slam my finger in a window 20 minutes later. I can put a bookshelf together but I can't open a window without hurting myself? Seriously??

Interior Style: Bedroom

I am moving to a new apartment in August. I think. (Things are still a bit up in the air.) But I am so ready to be somewhere new. Whether or not my checking account agress with me remains to be seen.
I cannot stop looking at Interior Design magazines. On top of wanting a new location, I want a new look. I'm about to be 30 (yikes!) and I want to start fresh. New apartment, new interior looks, maybe I'll even go nuts and dye my hair brown. (But probably not...I did that once and it just didn't look so great.)

I love this bedroom. Purple is one of my new favorite colors and I just so happen to already own gold accessories and cream colored pillows. :o) So calm and chic.

Ahem, glamorous and girly. This look is completely different than anything I thought I wanted but I seriously love it!
Picture from Elements of Style
PS-This is a picture from a real campsite in Montana. Who wants to go on a roadtrip???

I have an obsession...

I am obsessed with home decor lately. I have no idea why. I'm not moving, I love my apartment and I have no need or desire even, for anything different or new! I love my furniture, I love how cozy my place is (the only thing I wish I had was hardwood floors but that's not gonna happen in an apartment!) But lately I find myself on home decor websites constantly. HGTV is always on my tv.
I actually have always loved looking at houses. I think I actually wanted to be an architect until I was 8 and discovered math would be involved. So then I focused on psychology and that went out the window as soon as I discovered I'd have to be in school for 8+ years.
Anyway, back to the point...I have been obsessed with home decor lately!! I've already decided I want a chandelier in my next bedroom. I absolutely love chandeliers (hence part of the name of this blog.) I just love the look. This is one of my favorites:










This is my bedroom set.




I've had it for over 3 years and I still love it!! So why do I feel the need for change?!?
I love this bedroom too. I found it on hgtv.com and it's designed by Kenneth Brown. To make it more "me," I would put up girlier (is that a word??) pictures and put a cute little neutral deep seated chair in the corner with purple accent pillows! And of course, put up my chandelier!! :o)

Would that even be cute? Or not so much? I can't really decide. Maybe I should stick with my current set and the chandelier or my original idea of gray, white and pink. Don't ya'll love how I'm talking about all this like it's an actual possibility I might do this??
I love this bedroom too...





















And this one...




















It's a good thing I'm not actually in the market for a new set. I am obviously quite confused on my what my style actually is....
I promised my mother I would stop feeling sorry for myself and actually start living my life again so I'm headed out the door because it's just not healthy for me to go this long without wearing any makeup. Ya'll have a good night! :o)
PS-Is the blanket on the bed in that picture purple or brown?? I thought it was purple but now it kinda looks brown...in my bedroom it'd be purple! :o)