Tag: Lily

Have a Cozy-Making Sunday

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I am writing this to you from my kitchen table, where I have a lovely view of an aluminum butter wrapper that has flown onto my balcony and out of someone’s trash. Either that or my upstairs neighbors are dumping their garbage out of their window.

I have yet to learn to love life on the east side.

ANYWAY.

I have a face mask on, I’m wearing my gnocchi Uggs, and I’m sipping some re-heated coffee. To add to the major relaxation vibes, Dan has football on (which is serving as my background noise ASMR for the day) and I have lit every single candle in our apartment. It is the late-teens of October and I am extremely dedicated to the spirit of Sunday cozy-making.

While it still may not be cold enough in LA to wear a sweater and I will probably have to say R.I.P. to any plans I had to go to a pumpkin patch this year, here are some things on the internet that are making me feel especially cozy today:

In the spirit of becoming my own favorite Midwestern aunt, it is my duty to inform all of you that this is the last day of Bath & Body Works buy 1, get 1 3-wick candle sale.

This weekend I listened to the Amelia Diamond episode of Gee Thanks, Just Bought It, and it was like spending time with an old friend. Diamond left Man Repeller (now called, Repeller) in 2018 and I have missed her voice/sense of humor ever since.

As soon as I take a leisurely solo trip to the grocery store to buy ingredients, I’ll be baking this apple cider doughnut cake.

Independent book stores really need your help right now. Even if you don’t have time to read (or like to), you definitely have friends and family who do. Consider buying a book, tote bag, or cool crewneck sweater to keep these places open. Here are a few independent book stores that I love: Unabridged Bookstore (Chicago), Women & Children First (Chicago), Skylight Books (Los Angeles), City Lights Bookstore (San Francisco), McNally Jackson (New York).

I got into my friend’s car after months of not seeing her and one of the first things she said to me was “you smell SO good.” I just started wearing this perfume.

I used to hate tomatoes and now I am obsessed with bursting them with olive oil and a little garlic to make pasta sauce. Will probably make some variation of this for dinner this week.

Have you been doing yoga at home? I’ve been really into SarahBethYoga’s videos. Sometimes I take a 15 minute break from work to do this one. I’ve also been looking for a new yoga mat. Anyone have any recs?

Just copped this plaid jacket from Minnesota/North Dakota brand Kittsona. I’m going to have to wait a little until the temps drop to wear it, but when I do I’d love to pair it with something like cozy like this. Mommy blogger fall is the vibe.

Speaking of mommy blogger fall, every year I consider buying this Everlane glove boot. TC if you’re reading this, I need you to peer pressure me into it!!! NO RAGRETS

Hope you’re somewhere cozy, enjoying Great British Baking Show, and drinking mugs of tea.

Love

LL

Things in My Los Angeles Apartment That Just Make Sense

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We’re in our new space! I can’t believe I finally left the valley! And that all the people who used to make fun of me for living there have had to move back to Pennsylvania/central Illinois to live with their parents!

Here are some bright spots about our new place:

This candelabra set my boyfriend hates but I think is really cool

He told me they remind him of when Delia Deetz decorates the house with really modern furniture in Beetlejuice. That may have been meant as an insult, but Delia Deetz manically decorating things might just be my overall vibe. Anyway, I love their cool squiggly shape and brassy color. It was actually difficult to find candlesticks that would fit into these mASSIVE holes, but I finally did.

I got both from Urban online: candle holder, candle sticks

A rolling cart

I have already mentioned this rolling cart a few times, but I am obsessed with it. My new kitchen is teeny tiny and I need all the storage space I can get. You can’t really tell in this photo but I am currently using my salad bowl as a fruit bowl. Chic!

If you’re straining your eyes to read what the art above my cart says, don’t. It says “Orange you glad you’re still here despite it all.” It feels appropriate because fruit belongs in the kitchen and because this is an old-ass Los Feliz apartment building, it has had a LOT of issues! Even before we started officially living in it! Also the frame is not off center, you’re just crooked.

Also Tori if you’re reading this, my Always Pan in sage green just shipped.

A lot of plants

Don’t let this photo fool you. My new apartment is basically a little cave. This is one of the ONLY sunny spots for plants. Luckily, these plants aren’t like….sun-obsessed (plant community please don’t come for me if I am wrong).

I am planning on going to my fave plant store in the valley to get some plants for the rest of the apartment that thrive in low-light.

A haphazardly organized bar cart

I really want to make this look cute and it is kind of looking like a disaster! Please HELP! I think I want to put a plant on it? Again, it will need to be something that thrives in lower light. Because of course it does.

However, I do love that this cart solved a lot of my storage issues and that it is cute, even if it is disorganized. Yes, I drink Casamigos AND Trader Joe’s rum. Yes, we exist.

A Larry David pillow

It’s Dan’s. Peep the purple rug below!!

My little bedroom reading nook

After much back-and-forth with my interior designer a.k.a. my friend Erin who has a great eye for design and gave me advice for free, we decided to put this little bench-moment under my bedroom window to make it look purposeful.

You might think this iced coffee and book placement was just for the photo, but I was actually curled up reading before this.!

Also, if anyone has some goo-gone for the leftover sticker bits on my mirror that they could bring me, it would be much appreciated.

A shower curtain that looks like a lot of nipples

When I purchased this curtain online I thought, how sweet! It will add some texture and I love the rosy color. Then I set it up and thought hmmm….looks like nipples. It is definitely more flesh-toned in person, but I still like it a lot. I got it from Amazon, where I also got my cute little peach bath mat. I wanted Urban Outfitters but at “fell off a truck” prices.

bath mat, shower curtain

My shelfie

Honestly, I wanted to show off what skincare I’ve been using. Aside from the mask-ne I’ve been dealing with (one of the many pleasures of the pandemic), my skin has been looking and feeling pretty good. I am especially obsessed with the Rio Viera-Newton-approved double cleansing duo with my Then I Met You Living Cleansing Balm and the Dr. Loretta Gentle Hydrating Cleanser.

Also, I started using Megababe on my pits and now I believe the hype and my armpits smell like flowers. 10/10 recommend.

Anyway, I have more apartment than this. I just can’t show it to you because it’s Dan’s office not fully decorated yet.

I have one very large wall in the bedroom that I am considering hanging some shelves on. Also we might get a new coffee table. HMU with some ideas. You know where to find me.

I’m an east side girl now.

xo

L

Home Goods & Home Okays

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Hello it’s me, your favorite anthropomorphic hot Cheeto, here to talk to you about decorating.

I am currently in the process of moving and while I’m not totally all moved in yet, I have been decorating/planning how to decorate/crying/dreaming about how I would decorate if I had more money.

I am a Cancer sun, Cancer rising, so I am a homebody.

I like my apartment to be a place where I can rest and recharge. I want all of it to be as comfortable as possible, with lots of textures and colors and plants and candles. I want to feel cozy and like I could sit and eat a snack in virtually every square inch!

I also really like knick knacks.

Rooms that look like this make me feel cozy:

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Felt cute, might archive later 😊

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and this

and this

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🌀 home stuff 🌀

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However, I am someone who frequently spills iced coffee/red wine on to my white bed sheets. I am afraid to hammer nails into my walls or hooks into the ceiling because I will most certainly fuck it up and ,,,,,,asbestos. My new kitchen is itty bitty. I’m going to be living with my boyfriend. My budget is like $5.

HERE IS HOW I AM MAKING IT WORK, URBAN OUTFITTERS HOME SECTION BE DAMNED!!!

Get a statement piece

I can’t afford hundreds of those cool neon bendy candles I keep seeing on Instagram. All I have are my own shitty Target ones. So I got this purple rug after reading about it on The Strategist. Yes, it’s bright AF but it’s going to add a much needed pop of color to the rest of the room which I am decorating with a grey couch, a white TV stand and a white bookshelf.

This way, when people enter my apartment they won’t be like “wow she doesn’t even have cool candles” they’ll be like “WOW THAT IS A PURPLE ASS RUG.”

Bookshelves are multi-purpose

Did I arrange my boyfriend’s copies of David Sedaris books by color? That’s a secret I’ll never tell. But I WILL tell you that I am using our new Ikea bookshelf as a spot to display artwork from my friends, cards I have been sent in an effort to save the USPS, plants and various little bits and bobs. However, if I had an Urban Outfitters home budget, you’d better believe I’d be getting one of these!

This may seem like a duh to everyone BUT I am happy to find an alternative to wall shelves. Don’t tell me they’re easy to just nail in. I’m sure they are. You’re more than welcome to come over and do that for me!

Here’s what is saving my little kitchen

My new kitchen is small.

Like New York apartment small.

Like I can reach into the refrigerator and pull something out of the oven while also passing someone at the table something from inside a cupboard, SMALL.

As you can imagine, there is also virtually no storage.

So as a woman with a lot of cookware (and a lot of wine) I invested in a bar cart and a rolling kitchen rack. Now I have room on my shelves for food instead of wine glasses, won’t have to store my alcohol like I live in a college dorm and have two really cute spaces that I can mix/match/decorate as I please. I’ll provide photos later. Promise.

Let the light in

Excluding the living room, the apartment tends to be on the darker side due to the windows and where they are placed. To make the bedroom feel light and airy, I went to Home Goods (shoutout title of this post) and purchased the biggest round mirror I could find and any light/natural wood frames. The goal is to make the room feel bigger, brighter, lighter and warmer. That means I am going to be decorating it with mirrors, replacing dark wood frames with light ones and furnishing the space with light fabrics but with cool textures.

My duvet cover (which is a dupe for an expensive Urban Outfitters one) is white, but features a cool textured fringe-y bottom. I am currently searching for the perfect uniquely-shaped pillow (would love one like this) and I have been looking at headboard alternatives (because I never found one that I liked) and am giving strong consideration to a few macramé hangings including: this one and this one.

Randomly I own these woven baskets that I am going to use to store extra blankets in, so those will go in the room as well. Of course, there will also be plants just like… everywhere.

The place IS coming together. Slowly but surely. You don’t have to take my word for it but eventually photos will do it justice! Thank you to everyone who has given me furniture as they have moved away or just Mari Kondo-ed their space. It’s all bringing me joy.

If you feel like sending me a house warming gift, I’d love candlesticks. Or a bottle of wine.

loving u

LL