Mar 29, 2016

MAKING THE MOST OUT OF YOUR HOME OFFICE

Few things in life bring me as much joy as home decorating. The bathrooms, a living room, the bedrooms— you name it, I love it! 

One space that fails to make this list, however, is a home office. The reason is simple: it sucks and I hate it! Well, no…I hate clutter. And to me, that is what a home office (or any office for that matter) is: piles, upon piles, of clutter. 

If you add living in a 2 bedroom apartment to the mix (like me) then you can surely empathize—trying to fit an office space into your bedroom is daunting. But... it's not impossible! By keeping these concepts in mind while decorating, you too will be able to make your home office functional, organized, and easy on the eyes!

{Pics of my actual home office will be posted shortly…but you're gonna have to wait for the big reveal until I can get it finished and uploaded to my computer ...believe it or not, we are still getting settled in to our new abode 3 months after moving in}

I don't know why no one has told me about Lulu & Georgia before now but I'm mad about it! It's my new favorite website and if you've never checked them out then I strongly encourage you to do so…. a lot of the pieces that I've purchased and/or am eyeballing with enthusiasm at the moment are from there. Shall we take a look?


Both of these bookcases are sturdy and eye-catching; a must when displaying otherwise boring office supplies. Being a blogger and in the beauty industry, I always have an array of reading materials, magazines, and textbooks on-hand that I'm looking to store in a way that is attractive while still easily accessible….and these are perfect choices. With their reclaimed wood and industrial aesthetic, they're a solid option for just about any home office, regardless of whether it's file folders or craft supplies that you're storing. 

I am a really big fan of white office chairs (or so I've come to find out) and I think that has a lot to do with me not wanting them to be the main focus. They look clean and crisp; exactly what I'm going for with my workspace. I've posted an office chair idea here before as well that fell under the same design concept. Either one is a great choice. 


Both of these area rugs I really liked, not only for the neutrality of either option, but because they still tie the space together with the whites and reclaimed woods of the other pieces I've shown. For the record though— this site has some killer deals on area rugs and I am going to be browsing again later when it's time to finally choose one for our living room! (And they have a ton to choose from for every decor and every budget. Seriously some of the best deals I've seen on quality rugs anywhere!) 

Is there anything better than a hipster-upholstered pouf to accessorize a room? I mean, really…..This one would be my choice. I may just purchase one for every room in the house. 



Clearly when it comes to choosing a desk you can take a guess at what my style is…. I am ultra minimalist when it comes to tables (of any kind.) Their sole purpose in life is to put things ON. Not in. So you will never see me putting some ornate desk with a thousand drawers in my office…and i'm not telling you how to live your life but people, please stop buying huge 80's office desks!! They take up entirely too much space, are a bitch to move and quite frankly— are hideous. The same thing goes for the quintessential I'm-a-total-bachelor-check-out-my-metal-and-glass desk — with their sharp corners and finger prints all over them— no! ** sorry honey, but you know I'm talking about you — I will compromise somewhere else but your desk's days are numbered! 




And with wall space, you can't go wrong with some organizational mounted bins to put all of your items that you regularly reach for. It's the cleanest way to store them and keeps your floors clear. Which is my entire goal in life… clean, uncluttered floors! (Oh the simple dreams of a mom, am I right?) These I haven't made a decision on yet, but above are what I'm using as vision board images until I locate the right one; just to give you some ideas to work with. 

If you have an awesome office and want to share I'd love to see! I can use all the inspiration that I can get while I'm putting together the final touches. Leave me a link in the comments below or follow me on Pinterest, at the link to the right, if you have a vision board of your own in progress…..it never hurts to see some more ideas and who knows? I may end up liking yours better;) HAPPY DECORATING! 

❤︎, B.








Oct 13, 2015

✢ organization // erin condren ✢


I hate using my phone for organization. I love it for everything else, but the calendar is just one of those features I don't use. Call me old-fashioned but I guess I need to break up the digital-obsession where I can, and I much prefer to actually write down my to-do lists. 

Last year I ordered a planner from Erin Condren after I saw my bestie's ADORABLE customized one and now...i'm hooked! In fact, as I'm writing this I'm actually customizing my new planner online since mine is coming to an end in December. I can't fathom how disorganized my life will become without one! 

When you visit her site you start by selecting from a bevy of different templates she offers (all equally feminine and cutesy) and from there you can begin customizing everything from the colors to the cover design and the display name. In my 2015 planner shown above I literally customized every detail down to the line placement. And of course, the display name was edited 'cuz I'm a freak about penmanship and how my name is written-- "it needs to say 'jen b.'...and there needs to be a period after the b...AND it needs to be all lowercase--no, I don't care about grammar, oh and can we make it white?" 

{poor Erin}

But my girl delivered! And it came precisely how I'd asked her to make it...every single annoying request I made. I also chose to purchase one of her add-on features: custom STICKERS!! I sound like a 13 year old girl saying that so excitedly but I'm telling you--they're awesome! 


You get to choose the colors and names for those as well, cuz she means it when she says "customized" (yes, I was a pain in the ass with those too) and they're a really cute way to quickly mark dates that are important and make those dates stand out when you're glancing at your calendar. 


Inside looks like this. Each month is color-coded. I want to meet her and hug her and maybe ask her to be best friends for enabling my OCD tendencies! It's just a very functional planner that happens to be f'ing perfect to look at. The ONLY downside is that it takes awhile to arrive, what with everyone making a fuss about periods and lowercase lettering...

Mine took about 6 weeks to finally be delivered. I was like a sad puppy staring out the window every time I heard a UPS truck drive by--but it's worth the wait! 

And even though I wouldn't normally spend $55+ on a day-planner of all things, I can honestly say that I am so in love with it and I'm totally happy with my purchase! (Clearly....I mean...I AM buying it again as we speak) 

OH and ps: they make great gifts for girls in your life, especially those who are a little harder to shop for. Everyone has loved mine since I got it and I've ordered 2 as gifts that were total hits! They're unique and come on...everyone loves having something personalized, right?! 

{❤︎, b.}