Hi everyone! Happy New Year! It has been a while since I've posted on here. I think one of my 2020 resolution is to put more content here on my site. I always make this a goal but life has always gotten in the way and writing full blog posts seems to take the back burner...
2019 was a huge year for me! I started working to NYC, and life got crazy because I was commuting from Allentown, PA to New York City for work every day. My day started at 4am, I would get ready for work, drive 45 minutes to the bus stop, ride the bus for 2 hours, walk from the Port Authority to my office, and then head home at the end of the day. I wouldn't usually make it home until about 8-8:30PM at night, and then it would start again the next day! Which is why my blog posts never really took priority. BUT, it wasn't too bad, I made good friends with some of my bus drivers, and I love my job which made the craziness worth it! Then, my boyfriend Justin who some of you may know personally or just know from seeing my posts online, moved from Columbus, OH out here to be with me and started working in the city as well, and we started apartment hunting to finally say goodbye to our crazy commute!
In November we finally found the cutest apartment, and now we only live about 2 miles from NYC... and I get to decorate our new place! Now, as exciting as all this is, it is definitely a big investment, especially in the city (everything is SO expensive here). But, I still wanted to create a super cute "blog-worthy" place. Instagram shows all these other bloggers and influencers with crazy houses and super cute decor, all the same age as me, and all I could think was "how do these people afford all of this stuff???" Well, this was my opportunity to take my bargain hunting home. I started scouting Facebook marketplace, and since we moved right before black Friday, I was also scouting the adds and fliers for any Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals.
I was able to find a 9ft tall Christmas tree on Facebook Marketplace for $50 (normally a $600 tree), and the lights were broke. So, Justin and I ripped all of the light strands off and restrung it. I got some decorations on sale at Michael's, and we were able to make a gorgeous tree for our first Christmas in our new place... for less than $100.
After the tree find, I was like "wow, I can totally make this place look like Martha Stewart Mag without breaking the bank." LOL. I wanted to share with you guys some of the pictures and links for the stuff we have found for our new place for a few reasons. One, I think it looks pretty and cute and I'm excited. 2, I am assuming many of you are around my age, have a home, and might like to see some decor inspiration. And 3, I think it is so important to know that despite what you see on social media, sometimes what you see isn't as glamorous as you think. No one knew that my 9ft tall Christmas tree was a facebook marketplace find, and that I rubbed my hands raw (nearly bleeding) taking off hundreds of lights so that we could make the tree work. It isn't about how much money you have, or how expensive something is... there is always a way to make your vision come true within your budget! I hope you enjoy this post, and get some inspiration from my home finds and decor!
Ok, I am going to start with my kitchen! My kitchen is pretty small, and is also a little oddly laid out. There are a lot of dead spaces that I can't fit anything practical in, and I had trouble find things that I could fit in these nooks. This first kitchen corner was inspired by a Pinterest photo I found... and I am OBSESSED! The "EAT" sign was $12.99, the soap bottle was $5.99, the soap bar was $3.99, and the cake stand was $7.99, all from Home Goods. I got the greenery for $0.97 at Walmart. For under $40, I was able to fill this area in my kitchen and make it just how I envisioned.
MY PINTEREST INSPIRATION:
MY PHOTO:
This spice rack is a great Amazon find! This was a Christmas gift from my grandmother and looks so nice and expensive... but it is only $29.99! And it matches all our metal hardware in our kitchen! I got the bottle for olive oil from "At Home" for $5.99!
Since our place is so small, we also couldn't figure out where to put our coffee. But, I thought that this super small counter space would be a cute coffee nook. My mom found this GENIUS magnet K-Cup holder. I got the stackable mugs from TJMaxx for $5.99, and the Coffee sign was from Home Goods for I believe $5.99 as well!
Lastly, we had this random corner in our kitchen we did not know what to do with. But, we don't have a ton of counter space and the microwave was taking up 70% of the counter. So, we got this cart from Ikea for $129.99 that fit our small microwave perfectly, and our Instant Pot fits perfectly on the bottom shelf. I plan to get some wall art for this area, and also find a basket for the top shelf.. but it is a work in progress!
Ok, onto the living room. This living room is definitely a work in progress. For the first 2-3 weeks we lived here, this room was pretty empty and useless. But, we finally had couches delivered and we were able to start putting it together. The rug was a Black Friday find (rugs are so expensive)! I got it at LoMaxx for $29.99. Actually, when I brought it home and unrolled it, there was a section with blue ink all over the rug (no wonder it was so cheap). LIFE HACK: Hair spray helped to remove it! I used my Aqua Net hair spray on the ink, and blotted it with some paper towel. I also used a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. The combination of the two... and I got all the ink out good as new! (Thats one of the NOT glamorous things you don't see on social media LOL!) Our couches are from Ashley Furniture, and it was about $960 for both the couch and love-seat combo...including delivery. I will be honest and say that I love the couches, but one of them was delivered with a very crooked arm, and so now I am going back and forth trying to hopefully get a new one. But, we have something to sit on at least. LOL. I also loved the couches, but hated the pillows. I got new pillows for $29.99 for a pack of 2. They pop and have both a chic, shiny look with the metallic silver, but also look very boho with the twine. I'm obsessed! I finished it up with some cozy blankets (the one on the couch... not sure where it is from because it was a Christmas gift but it is SO cozy, and the one on the loveseat is from Target. It was $10 on Black Friday.) ALSO... the pouf! I wanted a pouf so bad... but those things run upwards of $100! My mom found this one on FB Marketplace for only $30! Another great marketplace find!
This wreath was $8.00 from AC Moore... they're closing so they have great deals right now.
Please ignore the tag on the ground... I just cut the tags off my couch for this blog post and didn't realize it was on the ground until just now LOL.
You all have seen this most likely on my instagram already, but just wanted to share with this home post! The headboard is from FB Marketplace... $20! The wall art is from Gabe's for $7.99 each, along with the night stands that were $25 a piece. The plants are from Home Goods for $9.99 a piece. I got the whole bedding set (pillows and throw included) from Macy's on sale... but I don't remember how much I paid (I cant image it was very much. LOL.)
Last picture for this post... is my make-up area. This picture is definitely more practical than cute, but I love this corner! Our master bedroom is very small and doesn't have any room for anymore furniture than our bed. So, we decided to turn our second bedroom into a multi purpose room, and I snagged the corner near our bedroom door to be my make up station. The desk is a make-up vanity from Ikea for $99, and the floating shelves are from Walmart! I believe the make up organizer is from Amazon (Justin got me the shelves and organizer for Christmas... this area was an unorganized MESS before the holidays). The chair was $14.99 from Ross. Listen, when you are city living and trying to make the most use of all your space, you can appreciate a corner like this! Haha.
Ok guys! I hope you enjoyed reading, and I am linking all of my shop-able finds on my LiketoKnow.It to shop!
Click this link to shop these pictures!
xoxo,
Rachel
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