home

To Build A Home

Crafty

Growing up, my mom would decorate our house in a way that was far beyond your typical Pottery Barn catalogue. She tiled our fireplace and back patio by hand. A vintage wooden spaceship (meant as a type of rocking horse for a child in the 1950s) hung from the ceiling of our kitchen with christmas lights strung around it — that was our “chandelier”. Most furniture was vintage and picked up at a thrift store, antique store or the curb outside someone else’s house, then repurposed in some way.

An upbringing surrounded by this DIY aesthetic instilled in me what I like to refer to as “nesting syndrome” — regardless of where I am living or how long I will be there, I cannot fight the urge to make a place my own. Build a home, so to speak. Even if that home consists of four walls and 100-square feet of floor, you can bet I will hang lanterns, cover all bare wall space with art or a quote or a cut out from a magazine and find every possible way to make the space as much a part of me as I can in the time I have there.

I am in the brainstorming phases of this process right now and my weekend will be spent hunting for supplies and materials to outfit my teeny apartment with some homemade decor. Below are some of my favorite DIY projects that I can’t wait to try:

1. Teacup Candles

2. Crayon splatter painted canvas

3. DIY Wall Confetti

4. Dixie Cup String Lights

5. Tulle Pom Poms

If that wasn’t enough, one of my best friends passed along this link to 38 Anthropologie Hacks; happy crafting, everyone!

More DIY adventures to come.

The Comforts of Home

Photo Credit: Madeline Beard

As I write this, I am sitting with my family listening to old vinyls of artists like Bob Dylan, The Beatles and The Manhattans. This is home. I am taking a brief moment out of this Christmas Eve to share with you all some of my favorite parts of this season, my own comforts of home. They’re simple pleasures that I have learned not to take for granted:

1. A roaring fire on a cold winter’s night

Photo Credit: Madeline Beard

2. My brother’s new slacklining hobby

Photo Credit: Madeline Beard

Photo Credit: Madeline Beard

3. My mother’s potato latkes for a belated Hannukah dinner

Photo Credit: Madeline Beard

4. Sharing the year’s best YouTube videos

5. Whimsical Christmas decorations

Photo Credit: Madeline Beard

Photo Credit: Madeline Beard

I am so lucky to be surrounded by family tonight, and I wish everyone a holiday filled with laughter, joy and love.

More Vegas adventures to come!

Melodies to Make It Through

I have a few special songs tucked away in the back of my brain, set aside for times like these, when life gets increasingly hectic and I am just far enough away from winter break to feel like I am running a marathon with a mad dash to the finish line. I want to share a few of these pick-me-ups to my readers as a virtual survival kit for anyone yearning for the holiday season (or better yet, simply a break from the busy).

Thinking back on thanksgiving break makes me smile, and I love this photo I took of my mom and sweet cousin Ollie:

Tonight’s life mantra: keep calm and listen to music. It’s good for the soul.