My Senior Year Apartment

I’ve been missing here for the last few weeks. It makes me kind of sad because I’ve just been so busy with school, sorority recruitment, and basically just enjoying the beginning portions of my last semester of living away at college. September is literally my favorite month, and I can't believe it's almost over! Where in the world did it go?

For the most part, I think my bedroom in my apartment is completed and I wanted to share it with everyone! Of course all rooms are always works in progress, but so far I'm in love with all of the space I have and how it's coming together. If you follow my blog, you know that I've been obsessing over decorating this space for months, so it's so much fun to see how it's come together.

 

We'll start with the view from my door! This is my bed. As you can see, I have the black and white chevron bedding from Urban Outfitters. So far I love it. It's a heavier fabric (more of a denim) and it holds up so well. I have red sheets from Kmart (finding red sheets are so hard!).

I hung up a vinyl monogram decal above my bed, and I love the interest it gives that wall. It's so classy!

 

My mom made the three dot pillows on the bed. One of my favorite details on the red and white polka dot ones, is that they are lined with crochet lace trim!

 

Looking at the nightstand (by the way, all the dark wood furniture was included with my apartment!), I have a chalkboard that I'm attempting to do some awesome chalk art on. This was my first attempt. My lamp came from Target two years ago and of course I have my alarm clock. Sorry for the cords you see, those are my phone charger and the cord to my little mini fan. It gets so hot sometimes!

From my past rooms, you probably remember my PB Teen dottie bins. One holds my Bath and Body Works collection (wallflowers, soaps, Scentportables, and other random odds and ends). The other holds my DVDS.

 

Here's another look that shows a few of my sorority paddles.

 

I've learned that I am most definitely not a handy person when it came to hanging my curtains. Keeping the intense eastern sun out of my face in the mornings were a huge priority, but hanging these curtains was way passed my limited about of DIYer skills. But, they are still hanging, not too crooked, and hung almost perfectly where they touch the floor. I bought them from Walmart.

 

 

Looking at the other wall beside my bed is familiar wall art: IKEA Wildflower wall decals! I had them in my room last year and adored them, so this year I bought another set. I just love them! You can also see Dottie, my ladybug Pillowpet hanging out on my red storage cube.

 

Turning around, here's the look at the other side of my room. I have my dresser and desk over there. And in case you are wondering, the leopard print box underneath my dresser is my nail polish collection! This proves to be the most convenient hiding spot for the box!

Here's a closer look at my dresser:

 

 

My TV is a Christmas present a few years ago from Target. I hung up chalkboard bird garland from World Market (I think they are adorable). I have a mason jar with fake fall flowers, a pumpkin candle from Bath and Body Works, my bird tray with my favorite perfume. And a bird from with a picture of my dog (also from World Market). In case you are curious about my dresser organization, the top drawer is dedicated to underwear and socks. Second drawer is pajamas and camis. Third drawer is shorts. Fourth drawer is jeans and pants.

 

Beside my dresser is my desk. Of course I have my laptop and my printer. But I also have a couple of Vera Bradley magazine holders that hold my textbooks. A red desk lamp, a couple decorative cupcake photo holders, chevron frame, Anthropologie mug with pens, and my Victoria's Secret mini dogs hanging out on my printer. Of course I also have a Pumpkin Cupcake candle too!

 

I also have above my desk my Vera Bradley ribbon board in Poppy Fields (boy do I miss this print!). I just have some photos and important things displayed there.

 

 

Beside my desk I put up my full length mirror, bought another storage drawer set to hold my school supplies, and on top of that I have my makeup collection. So essentially, this is my makeup area.

 

I'm lucky enough to have a walk in closet too! Here's a quick look. It's not the most organized, although I do like the hanging shelves for my cardigans and shoes.

I'm also lucky enough to have my own (huge) bathroom. I seriously don't even know how to handle this much space.

 

 

I absolutely adore my shower curtain from Ikea. I wanted to match my red dottie rug and towels that I bought from Walmart a couple of years ago. No matter where I looked, nothing matched. But Ikea had this super cute one.

I also really like having my wire shelf in my bathroom too. It hold three dottie bins that hold haircare products, makeup removing things, and body washes.

Overall I love my room! It's so spacious and it's fun to have a room to myself. I love having a walk in closet too.

What are you loving about your dorm room?

 

Just a Peek

Since there’s still a few finishing touches left for my new room at college, I thought I’d give you guys just a sneak peek of what it looks like…

 

Hopefully you like it! Of course it has chevron and dots!

Apartment Mood Board

Now that I've finally purchased the Urban Outfitters chevron duvet (at a deeply discounted price thankfully!), I've been playing around slightly more seriously about what I want my apartment to look like. I'm pretty sure since most of my stuff is red, that it's going to be red, black, and white. But I've really been loving vintage and more feminine details though, so I've been working on ways to get more of a cottage feel to it.
 

I'm not totally sure how I'll incorporate that vintage/cottagey feel to the room, but here is my latest mood board playing around with some things I already have, and incorporating items that I've been lusting over. Using the Urban Outfitters duvet as a starting point, I knew I want to incorporate red into the room for warmth and to cheer it up. And of course the easiest way to do that in a dorm room or apartment is through the accessories.

 

Using the Urban Outfitters duvet as a starting point, I knew I want to incorporate red into the room for warmth and to cheer it up. And of course the easiest way to do that in a dorm room or apartment is through the accessories.
 

In this mood board you'll see the Vera Bradley Poppy Fields Ribbon Board (which sadly is discontinued, but you might be able to find it on Ebay). Not only is Poppy Fields one of my most favorite VB prints of all time, but it also is a great sort of cottagey/vintage look that I love, that also incorporates red. I see this going over my desk and holding important pictures, notes, and coupons for me.

You'll also notice the polka dot pillow. I know that somewhere polka dots are going to be incorporated. I have to PB Teen dottie bins that might live on top of my dresser or nightstand. I also have a small accent pillow that my mom made me that could reside on my bed (or I also have the Aztec pillow from Ikea, but I'm not sure if that print will look good with the chevron).

It's kind of hard to see in the picture, but at the top are these adorable twig frames with birds on them from World Market. I actually already purchased one last month because I love the shabby chic/ cottage vibe. I see this residing on my nightstand with a picture of my dog or maybe my boyfriend in it.

It's hard to miss the giant scrolly Ikea mirror. I love the vintage look of it, and I hear it's lightweight, making it potentially good for hanging in my apartment. I think it's important to have light reflecting in my drab space too. I envision this over my dresser.

The bird garland from World Market has been calling me for months. The birds are chalkboard and I love how fun these are. I'm not totally sure what to do with them, but one potential option could be to hand this over my full size bed in place of a monogram. Though I'm not sure if this is long enough, so we'll see.

The chalkboard from World Market sneaked its way into my monthly lusts. I love this chalkboard a lot and I can envision cute quotes, notes, and pictures on this. I'm not sure how heavy it is, but I love the white vintage-y frame. Plus the price just can't be beat.

So that's the image that I have in my head currently, but nothing is ever set into stone. Let me know if you have any ideas for my apartment!

My Summer Dorm Room

Hi guys!

Curious as to how I decorated my single dorm room for my six week summer school stay? Well, here's a quick look!

 

I used things that I already owned from over the course of the last three years, mixing some things in and out so I wouldn't get too bored with what I was using this past school year in my sorority house. The key was not to go too overboard, since it's only six weeks, but make it feel home-y and cozy enough so it's a refuge  from being in class for four hours everyday (summer classes don't play, guys).

 

As you can tell, I used my PB Teen dottie duvet cover with my basic red Walmart sheets. I think this combination looks really sharp against white walls. I added only two new things to this room: the Ikea throw pillow on my bed and a chevron frame from Hobby Lobby on my bookcase (which is yet to get an actual picture in it haha).

 

Because I wanted to make sure my ample supply of wall space wasn't too barren, I used ribbon and hung some of my favorite Instagram pictures from them with clothespins (an idea that is waaaaay harder than it looks, seriously I cheated and used tacs on the walls...shhhhh don't tell on me haha).

 

But it came together really nice! Plus this room was a gem to begin with! It has an adorable dormer window and a slanted ceiling, making me feel like I'm tucked into a little attic apartment. Plus it has a an accent wall and the walls are actually not white, but a kind of yellow, off-white.

So that's my room for summer school! I also have my own bathroom, a long hallway, and a closet too. Seriously, I'm so in love with this room.

 

 

 

Senior Year Mood Boards

Hi everyone!

So I’m still completely stuck as far as what bedding to get for next year, but to visualize it a tad bit more, I whipped together some mood boards super fast. And I’m still completely confused.

Let me know which one you like better!

The first one is centered around the Walmart comforter with daisies, zinnias, and poppies. The main colors are going to be yellow, gray, black, and white. I'll incorporate chevron and dots into the room, as a well as a black monogram wall decal. 

The second option has chevron as a bigger focus with the chevron duvet cover from Urban Outfitters. In this option, red, black, and white are the main colors. I'll have red sheets from Target, use my Vera Bradley Deco Daisy pillows, and incorporate dots as well. 

The second option has chevron as a bigger focus with the chevron duvet cover from Urban Outfitters. In this option, red, black, and white are the main colors. I'll have red sheets from Target, use my Vera Bradley Deco Daisy pillows, and incorporate dots as well. 

Wanna see a couple of other bedding contenders? Take a look here and now see how utterly confused I am! Also, take a look at a little to-do list I made about all the things I want to incorporate in this room!

 

Let me know which one you prefer! 

Senior Year Apartment

Hi guys!

I don’t know about most colleges, but at my school, the time to decide where to live for next year has come and past. It seems like the rush for housing seems to come earlier and earlier.

Anyway, I love planning what my room will look like. As you probably already know from previous posts, I love trying to come up with new fresh looks for my dorm rooms. It’s something like a fresh slate that always gets me super excited!

For next year, my living situation will be much different than years past. Next year I will be living off campus in an apartment with one of my littles! I’m super excited for this change! Seeing as how it will be my last semester at my college campus (I’ll be student teaching next spring, hopefully in my hometown), this will be a great transition into adulthood. The other things about this that I can’t wait for: my own bedroom and bathroom! Guys, this will be the first time in my life that I’ll have both!

So you can imagine my excitement!

Another reason I’m really excited: that means I have lots of planning and decorating to do! While it’s still early on, here are some things I’m hoping to see in my future space! Here are some things that are bringing me inspiration for next year:


Sources: Duvet, Monogram, Home Print, Inspirational Poster, Chalkboard (Urban Orchard Interiors), Dottie Mugs

On Black Friday...

So I’m not much of a Black Friday shopper. I’m not a huge fan of crowds, rushing, and long lines. When I shop, I like to feel everything, read the packaging, compare, think about it, and just take my time. Because of that, I just hate how shopping on Black Friday.

However, this year I did snag a little steal on Black Friday.

Remember these from my lusting post? Well, World Market was having them 50% off! Yes, five super adorable dottie mugs in a stand for about $8! I may have not stormed the door at opening time (I actually got there around 2 that afternoon), but thankfully they still had about 7 sets of the dottie ones left, and about 4 plain colors.

Do I have a use for them currently? No. But I just couldn’t pass up this sale.

What deals did you get on Black Friday?

The Reveal: Junior Year Room!

You may have wondered when I would finally reveal what my room in my sorority house looks like. And honestly, I have no excuse for why it took like six weeks to get pictures up. But, I think it’s time.

Sorry for the blurry iPhone pictures, but you know, that’s how it goes sometimes.

But anyway, this picture shows my little corner of the room. I decided to arrange my massive amounts of pillows like a daybed, which I actually really like. It makes it feel less dormy and more cute. As you can see, there was a slight change of plans when it came to bedding. See, the white and black damask 5 piece bedding set cost only $39. Yes!! You read that right. A five piece set: comofter, bedskirt, sham, and two throw pillows for less than $40. With fast shipping (less than a week from Canada). And I love it.

 

Here’s a closer look (still blurry, sorry) at all my pillows. Normally, I would tell college students that this many throw pillows is slightly annoying. But, I’m addicted. I love all of them. Maybe it’s because my mom made four of them (the dottie, zebra, and two Vera Bradley ones) and my big made the other. So all of them have emotional ties to them. But I think they really are adorable. You'll also notice on the far right of the picture is the paddle my sister made me! I love it! And some frame decals with pictures of my family, boyfriend, and pets are there too!!

 

Here’s a slightly closer look at my dottie bulletin board (Hobby Lobby $5!), the sorority letters I made, and my Keep Calm and Carry On poster. I love this wall. And my zebra lamp.

 

 

And here is my metal shelf next to my bed. Because space is a premium in my small room, I decided to forgo the desk and just to a shelf, since there are a plenty of places to study around the house if I need a solid surface (although I’m usually the type of person that likes to sit on the floor or in my bed to do homework). So you can see my laptop and next to it a couple of Vera Bradley magazine holders that hold my school notebooks and folders. Below on the bottom shelf, are my two PB Teen dottie bins. The one on the right holds DVDS, and the one on the left holds all of my beauty sprays and lotions. The top shelf is home to a cute dottie frame from Hobby Lobby, a mug full of pens and pencils, alarm clock, and my lamp!

 

 

Across the room is my closet, which houses my dresser as well. Ignore the fan and my roommates random blue chair. The black curtains came with the room, so I just took some ribbon I had and tied them back. The space above the closets was the absolute perfect place for me to put the wildflower wall decals I bought from Ikea. That maybe my favorite part of my room.



Here is a closer look at my dresser. I knew when moving in that this area was going to be my dressing area. So I bought the red egg crate from Target to hold earrings, jewerly, bobby pins, and hair ties. I also have two more Hobby Lobby frames on display (I promise they do now have pictures in them! The one on the right has a picture of my boyfriend and the left one has a picture of one of my guinea pigs). I have a red mug that holds my makeup brushes, a fake orchid (the only kind I can keep alive), my pin box, and my Vera Bradley makeup pouch.

And here is a picture of our decorated door and you can see more of the clothes side of my closet.

So overall, I'm in love with my room. I think it came together really nice! My storage sysem is working great (which I'll probably go into more detail here soon in another post). And I got rave reviews about it during recruitment's house tours.

I hope you all enjoyed!

High Five for Friday!

It's Friday again, so that means it's time for the High Five for Friday!

 
1. Tomorrow is move-in day at the sorority house! I'm a little nervous, excited, and can't believe that I'm about to start my junior year of college! Ahhh, when did I get so old!!

2. My trip to Sephora I took yesterday! I don't see how anyone could ever not like that place. I think I spent over an hour in there, messing around with all the makeup. After all that testing and playing, I picked up two things that I've been eyeing for quite some time: Philosophy's I Love Candy Corn 3-1 Cleanser and Tarte's Smooth Operator tinted moisturizer. I'm in love with the smell of the Candy Corn! If you haven't already noticed, fall scents are my weakness, and this is one of them (although it had some serious competition with the Cozy Cabin gift set, that Pumpkin Spice Late scent is AMAZING!).

{Isn’t the packaging of the Candy Corn adorable?! I can’t get over it!}

3. Fast shipping! I was so worried that the new (and super affordable) cute bedding I bought last Saturday wouldn't arrive in time before I moved. However, it came only five days after I ordered it! From Canada! Isn't that damask cute, though?! I can't wait to see it on my bed! (this bedding shows that there's been a slight change of plans in the decor of my room this fall, so stay tuned haha).

4. This dottie bin from Hobby Lobby. How adorable is this? And I got it for like $12.50, half off! This is either going to store textbooks or snacks in my room.  

5. Some new school clothes! This has been collectively building, but of all the things I've bought, this lace dress has been my favorite! I needed a black dress for sorority recruitment, and when I spotted this one, I fell in love! And because it was only $25 (for an ALL lace dress!!), I actually bought a white one too, for sorority rituals as well! This just in...it's currently, at the time of right now, on sale for $20!! Click your way over to Target, because that is a deal!

 

Hope you have a great weekend! Wish me luck for moving in tomorrow! And for all of next week, which is my sorority’s work week!

Dorm Room Storage

Hey everyone! Can you believe how fast the summer is flying? I think I have 55 days or something until school! It seems like yesterday I just started summer (ok, that was actually April 30th, so I've had a nice LONG summer so far).

Today is a quickie post about dorm room storage. I'll definitely do a more in-depth one later, since it's such an important thing to keep your dorm room and college life from being completely chaotic.

First, you can never have too many bins, baskets, and such to keep your accessories, school supplies, DVDs, and whatnot stored away and out of sight.

For instance, my room last year during first semester I invested in some of these fabric bins from Walmart. It camt in a set of four (now I have no clue what the price of them were but I think it was around $25). They were so great for storage! I kept all my lotions and body sprays in one, DVDS in the middle one, journals and books for leisure reading in the far right, and the top one was magazines.

The desk had it's own storage container too. I don't know it's just because I'm an elementary education major, but I have a ton of textbooks. I believe I had something like 7 books just for my math class. So I needed a place to put them that I could quickly find them when I was heading to class (always in a rush). Using this crate was so handy! Plus it gave me a great place to display my sorority pin box and my earring holder!

Underneath my bed (I never took a picture of it) I had three large gallon rubber containers. Like this below! (Target btw)

These are absolute life savers. They are fantastic for move-in day. During the school year they can hold anything. Mine held things that were out of season (like clothes) textbooks, and generally things I wasn't using on an everyday basis. They make moving out and storing over the summer a breeze too!

One thing I know I want to get for this upcoming school year is Vera Bradley's magazine holders.

Adorable, right? Chances of me having a desk in my sorority house is actually extremely low, and if I do, the desks are more like tables (they don't have drawers or anything). So I got to thinking about where in the world am I going to put my notebooks and folders for my classes. And then I decided these are absolutely perfect! One holder can store my notebooks, the other my folders, and because they are Vera, they are absolutely adorable as an accent anyway.

Another great item from Vera Bradley that's great for storage and just plain anything involving the shower, is this shower tote. Last year I lived in a mostly freshmen dorm (I was the only sophomore on my floor besides the RA), so a community shower was the living situation. But I didn't mind because of this cute little guy.

Mine is actually in my favorite all-time print (Happy Snails!!), but they have all new ones this year that match the rest of their dorm collection. This one is in Va Va Bloom. You don't have to live with a community shower for these to be helpful either. When you share a bathroom with more than one person, it comes in handy to have all your stuff together, so it doesn't annoy your roomies. Plus, it would look adorable on a countertop holding towels or washcloths. In my book they are a must!

So this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to dorm room storage. I'll definitely talk about more specific storage issues like makeup, closets and clothes, snacks, and more!

Thanks for visiting and make sure to check out Caitiebug Love again!!

Inspiration

So last night I was looking at another site that often gives me ample amounts of design inspiration Decor 2 Ur Door. (since I got my iPhone a year ago, text wording is weirder than ever, I don't think I've typed "ur" in years) Anyway this site has some awesome design ideas for a more traditional dorm room and while I don't find myself wanting to purchase anything, they literally have given me so much inspiration in the past.

Here's a tour of their site and some of their awesome rooms!

 This. Is. So. Perfect. I love this red damask look. From the black, white, and red theme (my favorite!), to the dottie and chevron pillows, this look is just so pulled together and I absolutely love the layering! Who doesn't want this to be their bed in their dorm room? Plus, Decor  2 Ur Door has a great idea for making headboards for otherwise plain old dorm beds. How cute?

Here's another look I'm in love with. I love this black and white zebra look. Unlike a lot of dorm rooms that feature zebra, this is done in a super classy kind of way that I love. Plus, I'm totally loving the monogram wall decal frames above the bed. So cute.

 Look at this black and white damask room! Once again, beautiful. And I love the frames and mirror (maybe it is, maybe not haha) above the bed.

Look at the gray textiles? Definitely not something you'd think you would find in a dorm room, right?

Definitely not your average dorm room, right? Hopefully this will inspire you for in your decorating whether for a dorm or not. I know it has inspired me greatly!