Cheap, Easy, and a Whole New Look!

This new year calls for a new look in the P-Pad (yeah, that's the new name that I just thought of to call our apartment--we all have names that start with a P).

As we were sitting bored today, we decided to rearrange our furniture.

I have so enjoyed the new arrangement. It brings a cozier aspect to the room that we didn't really want in the summer, but now it's perfect! Change is always good after a while of living in the same space. My mother is the queen of moving furniture/rooms (thankfully we never really could move houses easily). Every time I go home there is already a new arrangement, or else she'll ask me to help her move. I love it!

I'm pretty sure I've developed that moving gene.

But, in my mind, there is no reason why you shouldn't rearrange. It never hurts anything.

And in case I haven't convinced you, I'll give you the top 3 reasons to get up off the sofa and move it:

1. It doesn't cost anything, and that is always a plus.

2. Well, it doesn't cost anything besides energy, and especially on rainy days like today, that is always needed.

3. You get a whole new room with just a few shoves of the furniture.

So go ahead and change your furniture around! If you don't like it, change it in a couple of days.

The Wall of Randomness

I'm a college student. And so are my roommates. That means that we have practically no money for decorating our apartment.

We had a huge, white, blank wall in our living room. And we had no idea what to do with it. At least, no affordable ideas about what to do.

We discussed and we figured, heck, when else in our life can we just write on our walls?

And so, Gavin went out and bought paint pens. Blue, green, and brown, of course, to match the colors of our living room. (Keepin' it classy.)

After about a half minute of discussion, we just began writing our names on the wall. The neighbors came over and signed their names. And then my cousins left their love. And then a random guy from Oregon who was visiting the neighbors belowAnd by the time the weekend was over, the wall was half covered.

We thought that it was going to take up just one little section of the wall, but it's already almost covering the wall after two weekends.

So here it is. Here is our Wall of Randomness. If you'd like to contribute, please come on over!

These are a few of my Favorite Things

I've moved, unpacked, started school, and cooking on my own again. I've discovered a few things for the first time and some things that I just forgot from last year, and here is my list of my top ten favorite things in my life now that the semester has begun.

1.) The fact that I'm finally all moved in. I love decorating and so actually having it all come together and barely spending money on it just made my whole month! We used stuff from our houses and Gav's family's fabric from their fabric store.


2.) The fact that we don't care that we have empty picture frames all over the apartment makes me happy.

We have one picture in one frame and all the rest are this strange man and woman looking at a book. I think the man looks like a Chan.

Here we have a missing lamp shade along with a missing picture in the frame.

And the missing pictures in the frig magnets.

Last year I accidentally left empty picture frames in my living room all year long and didn't realize they were still empty until I was moving out.

3.) My third favorite thing doesn't sound very nice, but it's the truth. I'm so excited that the swine flu is going around and I haven't gotten it. I'm not excited that poor roomies Gnat and Beal have had to suffer through the fever and cough, but I feel like this is the first time in about a year that I haven't gotten sick when someone else is sick. Maybe my immune system is actually returning! It's a miracle in itself.

4.) Asian Toasted Sesame salad dressing. I could probably do a commercial for this stuff just because I'm such a fan. I now love eating salads for dinner. Or snack actually. Or snack and dinner. And we ran out of cereal, so I may even have a salad for breakfast tomorrow :) . I eat the salad purely for the dressing.

5.) The fact that I truly believe that it's okay to wear my favorite comfy clothes every single day to class. I realized that I automatically go back to the same clothes every year when school starts. For some reason, there's no looking cute for class in college for me. My complete wardrobe is as follows:



Pretty simple. I've got my assorted colored t-shirts, Nike shorts, and podiatrist-recommended tennis shoes that I wear day in and day out.

6.) Classical music and black out blinds. When the neighbors get loud, I can use these two things to sleep, but really I love that I have a need for these two things now. I have lively neighbors. But really, that's good. It's nice to be able to go right outside my door and talk to some lively people. And when I get tired I can just come on in, blast my classical music, and usually fall asleep.

7.)Sugarland. It Happens. Everyday America. The two songs make me happy every time I hear them.

8.) Outdoor adirondack chairs. I love sitting outside. Especially around here, I can stay entertained for hours just watching people. And this weather has been perfect.


9.) A Perfect Mess. By Lisa Harper. The book somewhat defines my life. Each chapter focuses on a different Psalm, and they are all incredible. Just the book I've been needing.


10.) My first indoor closet. I don't have a closet at home. And I definitely have never been able to walk in a closet that is my own. It's revolutionary. But, problem is-- I'm going to have to get more clothes to fill up my closet. Not sure how Dad will feel about that problem.


So there they are, my top ten favorites. It's the little things in life that can be my favorite. Truthfully, I get more excited about the salad dressing than the big closet. The empty picture frames make a great conversation starter, and wearing workout clothes today got me some Adidas promotion job because I looked 'fit'... It was totally the tennis shoes though. I know I didn't look fit exactly. And, after the guy offered me the job, I tripped while standing.

Anyways, take a look around at the little things in life and discover the little quirky things that you really appreciate. There are probably more things that you'd think.

I went to Ikea in Orlando. Ikea + not spending money = impossible

I saw some super deals plus I will have a double bed next year and I have never had to furnish a double bed bedroom before--I have had a twin and a king so far, no double, so this means I have to/get to buy all new bedding.

I didn't think about sharing this with you but I figured I probably should since Beal did on her blog. So, this is what I found so far....

Above is the main pillow I'm working with because I just loved it.



And this is actually yellow and white and looks completely different on my bed and I think it's much cuter in person.

And then this pillow goes with it too and it's much larger in real life than the picture, ya know?

I have a double bed at home but I haven't always lived in this room, so I didn't choose the bedding here and I really disliked it, so I put my new bedding on it and I'm already loving it, although it clashes with the slightly tacky bright green walls of my bedroom. That's okay though because it's so soft and much better anyways. Have you ever seen my bedroom at home?


It's very bright and so not me. But, that's what happens when you go to college and your mom moves you around while you're gone.

My room is packed to the max at the moment and I don't have a closet either. But that's okay--I'm making do just fine for the time being.


So anyways, I have to keep working on my room a little but I'm not buying much more because you know, I don't really have a job anymore. Actually, I really don't have a job anymore. Not sure if you know, but I'm not working for Granddaddy anymore. I bought this stuff when I still had a job, so now it's back to the ole' spend no money plan. Oh how I love that plan.