I'll start with the basics. The bookcase is from Ikea and it matches the coffee table and tv stand. Personally, I love the white and glass look. It has a very modern feel and it's a clean look. If I'm being completely honest though Omar is over the white, so I had to start adding some "manly" colors and key items to the apartment. Like his gamer chair I got him for Valentine's Day, ha! I didn't need anything too big, but I also only had about $100 left on my Ikea gift card. So, this one was perfect.
I'm going to work my way up and start off with what's on the bottom row. As you can see there is my awesome printer. This bad boy has been kicking for over 5 years now. It's an HP Photosmart printer and it works flawlessly. To the right of it I have leaning against it all my textbooks for this semester. To decide where I'm going to buy my textbooks I usually use BookTornado or SlugBooks. These websites compare all the websites that have your textbook and help you find the cheapest price. So even though my books are from like ten different places, I use those two websites because it saves me time and is a lot less stress. Next to my textbooks I have a cute little storage box that I found at Marshall's last spring. It's got a french/pink/macaroons/girly look to it. I wanted a cute box like this to take to Arizona because I wanted to have a little memory box filled with pictures or cards that would help me from being so homesick. I still have all those memories and I've added a few more things to it (like Bloguettes memories or trinkets Omar got me in Japan). It's a nice way to store memories without ruining or losing them.
On the middle shelf of the bookcase I have some of my favorite books and books I am currently reading. I love to read. It's an obsession. I get so confused when people say that they don't like to read because sometimes real life sucks and you need an escape. I kind of sound like a drug addict now, but that's what books are. They're addictive! I love just getting lost in a good book and like I said this doesn't even begin to touch my book collection. Below I listed all the books that are on that shelf.
From left to right:
Brunette Ambition - Lea Michele
Make Up - Michelle Phan
The Teen Vogue Handbook (first edition) - Razorbill
The Teen Vogue Handbook (second edition) - Razorbill
Style - Lauren Conrad
A Real Guide To Really Getting It Together Once And For All - Ashley Rickards
Everybody Rise - Stephen Clifford
Cupcakes And Cashmere At Home - Emily Schuman
Leave Your Mark - Aliza Licht
The Sweet Life - Dulce Candy
You First - Lea Michele
Nice Is Just A Place In France - The Betches
P.S. I Still Love You - Jenny Han
Dirty Rush - Taylor Bell
White Girl Problems - Babe Walker
The Perks Of Being A Wallflower - Stephen Chbosky
Next to my awesome book collection I have a stack of magazines that are dedicated to graphic design and marketing. I have a copy of The Pitchfork Review and The Swiss Magazine of Visual Creation - Graphic Design/Typography issue #37. Both those I picked up in a super cute book store when I was in San Francisco. Underneath that I have two issues of Computer Arts Presents. On top of all of those I have a copy of my magazine resume that I created when I attended Teen Vogue Fashion University (one of my proudest accomplishments and projects I have ever worked on). Alongside all of those nifty reads I have three rose gold letters K (for Katsaris) & (for and) C (for Contreras). I had to be creative since Burlington Coat Factory didn't have an M (for Michele) or an O (for Omar). When I was gone last summer my mom completely cleaned and rearranged my bedroom and it looked so freakin' awesome. When I came home she had personalized canvases of some of my favorite pictures and quotes from Bloguettes. I thought this one was sooooo cool because it was the Bloguettes snapchat. It just has the media marketing vibe to it and it's from the best internship I've ever had.
Finally, we have reached the top shelf. From left to right you see a candle that says Lucky and the definition of the word below it. I love this candle because it smells amazing, it makes me think of my Irish family, and the fun day I had with my mom when I bought it at this super cute store back in Virginia, called At Home. Next to the candle is another one of the pictures my mom had made with a pink background and one of my all time favorite quotes "What if I fall? Oh, but darling, what if you fly?" This was posted on the Bloguettes page last summer. I love this quote because it just reminds you to keep going after what you want, because you can fail and keep failing, but eventually you'll get to where you need to be. Behind the picture is the wooden mannequin that came in this art set my brother bought me one year for Christmas. In the middle I have my mood board that helped me figure out the look I wanted for when I launched my website. It's a rose gold/rose colored theme with lots of Mary-Kate and Ashley, and a black and white typography mood board. I absolutely love it and worked on it for a long time. It was one of those projects that you're proud of even if it seems kind of silly to others. On top of my cork board I have a cat ear headband that I found at Forever 21. It seemed fitting given my website name. On the right side of the mood board is a mini pink/purpleish orchid plant that I bought at Lowe's. I bought my mom and orchid plant one year for Mother's Day and she still has it so I wanted to kind of match her so now we both have one. What's really funny about this is that for Christmas my dad got me a mini tool kit and a $100 gift card to Lowe's so I could "fix my own things." So far I've gotten this pretty orchid, some marble tile to take stock photos on, lysol cleaning wipes, and 3 candles. I still have $86 left on the gift card, hah! Thanks Dad! There is also another picture my mama printed out for me (she printed out a ton of them, seriously it looked so cool and it was one of the best surprises!). This picture is after the Bloguette's Instacamp last summer. It was a very long day (I was running on about 4 hrs of sleep) and I was the last intern there when we took this group shot. I absolutely love this picture because it felt really nice to be included in a team picture like this. Every time I see this picture I can't help but to smile. It reminds me of how much work goes into a creative business like this and I'm constantly inspired by these women. I know it seems like I talk about Bloguettes a lot, but it was a life changing experience. My time in Arizona will never be taken for granted because it completely changed me and I will forever be thankful to the amazing people that were included in that.
Well there you have it folks! This is how I decorated my lovely bookcase. This might just be my favorite part of the apartment so far, but only because the apartment isn't completely finished. Stay tuned for more post about my apartment as I'm slowly but surely putting everything together. If you want a book review post leave me a comment below on which book you want a review on!
Lucky syn: fortunate, blessed, auspicious. Having success or good fortune, especially when unexpected. Everyone needs a lucky charm!
xoxo, Michele
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