home: DIY gallery wall.

by 3 Comments

One of the things I was determined to do going into this new year was to do a better job of decorating my apartment.

I’ve barely decorated any of my NYC apartments since I’ve lived here - mostly because I got in a groove of moving every year (or less). But since we just renewed our lease for this place (wooo!), I decided it was time to make it feel more like home.

Because our apartment is extremely small and I still didn’t want to spend a ton of money on new furniture/decor, I decided to get a bit creative.

Enter: this fun little {DIY} gallery wall.

DIY gallery wall

Here’s how I did it!

1) I got one of these Gallery Art Pads (which I found at Michael’s). I have the “quotes” pad, but they have a ton of different options. I paired those with some old pictures I had, plus the fun vintage-y mirror.

2) I mixed and matched different frames that I found at Bed Bath and Beyond, Home Goods, and Marshall’s. I went with a black + silver + gold theme, but you could do any finish you’d like. A mix of white and wood finish would be a great combo too.

3) I kept it easy-peasy by using Command hanging strips (they work best if your frames/pictures are on the lighter side).

4) Then just place the group of pictures wherever you’d like. Try to avoid making them too perfectly aligned - it’s all about the staggered placement with this.

…it’s as simple as that!

DIY gallery wall

DIY gallery wall

**********

What’s the last decor/DIY you did around the house?

5 tips for decorating a small apartment.

by 7 Comments

Apartment living. It has its ups and downs, but to me the most important thing is to make your apartment feel like home.

I’ve lived in five (yes, five!) apartments over the past three years, and here’s what I’ve learned are some simple ways to decorate your apartment.

1. pick a color scheme.

Picking a color scheme is a good idea for a few reasons. First of all, it makes things easier by acting as a guide for your decorating (helping you decide which furniture and pieces to get). Secondly, having a color scheme is visually appealing, which will make your apartment feel more cozy and welcoming.

2. keep it simple.

Don’t feel the need to go over the top! Sometimes the simplest design and décor can lend to the best vibes for your apartment. I’m a big fan of embracing whites. I also love classic pieces of furniture that will never go out of style.

3. make a statement.

With that being said, adding one or two statement pieces to your apartment décor can make all the difference. For example – an eye-catching lamp, a large framed picture, or a big mirror.

4. work with what you’ve got.

If you have exposed brick in your apartment, embrace it. A beautiful window? Show it off! (Find more home ideas and inspiration via Homeclick Community)

5. repurpose pieces.

When you have a smaller living space, sometimes you need to transform furniture pieces into serving different purposes. For example, I love this idea of using an old ladder as a towel rack. It’s practical but looks great too.

**********

Do you live in an apartment? What are your best tips for decorating a smaller space?

jessi’s {nyc} bachelorette party.

by 11 Comments

Yesterday we celebrated my best friend Jessi’s last big hoorah as a single lady.

As the Maid of Honor, the bachelorette party was one of my main responsibilities. I’ll be honest – I wasn’t sure how to impress someone who has worked in events for 10 years and knows the ins and outs of a good party! But, I think I did a decent job :)

These days most bachelorette parties are some sort of vacation or getaway, but I knew I couldn’t throw that together with Jessi and Parker’s short engagement. Instead, I decided to do a full “staycation” for Jessi right here in New York.

Jessi’s love language is gifts, so I made sure to have little surprises for her throughout the day. On Friday morning, I got her some coffee and gave her the first gifts – some fun “attire” to wear throughout the day. Let’s be real – you can’t not have at least some cheesy bachelorette props!

Then I told her to pack a bag with clothes to go out at night and her hair/makeup stuff. I didn’t want her to know we were staying overnight somewhere, so I separately packed her a toothbrush, pajamas, and outfit for the next day.

And then – we were off! We hopped in a cab to our first destination, Eden Day Spa, where we met up with most of the other bridesmaids for a few hours of pampering.

The spa was so perfect. The bridesmaids and I treated Jessi to a 60-minute massage, manicure, and pedicure. I got an hour massage myself and it was amazing – definitely one of the best I’ve had in the city.

After our massages we headed to a reserved room for our group, where we enjoyed a complimentary lunch and champagne. It was great because anyone who got mani/pedis got them right there in the room with the others of us who were just hanging out. It was so nice to spend a few hours relaxing with the girls!

We also gave Jessi her next gift – a beautiful key necklace that Rhema picked out. So far we had a very happy bachelorette on our hands :)

After the spa, it was time for the next surprise. I had us start walking towards Saturdays and told Jessi I was going to get her favorite latte. But our destination was actually on the way – the Mondrian.

The Mondrian is one of the nicest hotels in the city, and I knew Jessi had never stayed there, so I booked us a room for the night.

It was beautiful! And felt like a great little escape from our normal city life.

After a quick run for that latte, I gave Jessi another gift.

Come on, you’ve got to have the tiara veil!

We got all dolled up and ready to go…

…and then it was time to head to dinner. I initially wanted to take Jessi somewhere she had never been, but I knew that having all of her girl friends there to celebrate was more important. It’s not exactly easy to find a restaurant that could accommodate 30+ people with our budget, so I decided to have the dinner at one of FreelyBe’s partner venues, 121 Fulton Street.

It ended up being the absolute perfect place for dinner. We had the whole back dining area reserved for us, so it was private and intimate.

The bridesmaids and I decorated the tables with some beads and Ring Pops (get it?), which turned out to be quite the hit.

The restaurant provided a great prix fixe menu for us, and all of the food was amazing.

After dinner Jessi opened her (ginormous amount of) lingerie gifts. It turned out to be the perfect girlie party with all of her closest friends.

When dinner was over, the night had really just begun. A smaller group of us headed to Jessi’s favorite club, Southside, where the music was loud and champagne was flowing. The groom may have made an appearance too, shhh 😉

After a great night’s sleep back at our hotel, Jessi, Leah and I had a fun morning of recapping the night, more Saturdays lattes, and brunch at Delicatessen.

All in all, it was an amazing bachelorette party from start to finish. It really was an honor to give my best friend one last big party before getting married. Love you, Jessi!

What’s your favorite thing about bachelorette parties?
Tell me about the best one you’ve been to!

birthday, bridal shower, and brunch.

by 12 Comments

…because everyone loves a good alliteration, right?

That’s what my weekend looked like for the most part, and I loved every second of it.

Rewind to Friday, where we had a little birthday get together for none other than my good friend Leah.

A group of us met up at Mudspot in the East Village. I had heard a lot about Mud and was excited to go there for the first time.

I loved it so much that I went back on Sunday (where I wrote the beginning of this post with a big chai latte :)).

Everyone went to karaoke after dinner on Friday, but I called it an early night so I could get a good night’s sleep. My reason why?

Saturday was Jessi’s bridal shower!!!

I had been planning and organizing the shower for a couple of months, so I was so thrilled to finally share the special day with my best friend and bride-to-be.

The shower went off without a hitch. All of Jessi’s closest friends and family gathered at my friend’s showroom for a few hours of eating, mingling, opening gifts, and some fun activities.

For activities we did a fun trivia game about Parker and Jessi, as well as compiled a scrapbook for them with a ton of photos of friends, family, Parker and Jessi’s childhoods, etc. We did a similar scrapbook two years ago at Chrissy’s shower, and I knew Jessi would love going home with such a special gift!

IMG_102

It was such an honor getting to host the special day for my best friend. She and I have been through thick and thin, and I literally could not ask for a better friend in the world. Love you Jessi!

After the shower a group of us went out for another fun Saturday on the town. Considering how crazy I was prepping for the shower that morning, it was a much-needed afternoon/evening!

Sunday was pretty much my normal start-of-the-week routine, with a great church service followed by brunch. Monica, Courtney and I enjoyed a perfect Sunday meal at The Smith, followed by bopping around the city for a few hours.

And now, it’s back to the work week for me! Will leave you with this verse I’ve been loving lately…

{thanks to Alex for taking a handful of those photos!}

What was the highlight of your weekend?
What’s your favorite thing about bridal showers?

my new gig.

by 21 Comments

If you’ve been reading GML at all over the past two years, you’ve probably gotten to know my best friend Jessi quite well. She’s my partner in crime, an amazing blogger and event curator, a woman of God, and basically just the coolest chick I know. I don’t know what I’d do without our friendship!

We’ve been through a lot over the past couple of years – especially when it comes to relationships and heart stuff – so you can imagine how ecstatic I was for my best friend when she got engaged last week.

The icing on the cake came a few days ago when Jessi asked me to be her Maid of Honor! :)

How adorable is that little message in a bottle?! The sand is from the beach Parker proposed on, which is the same beach they’ll be getting married on in September. Yup…perfection.

As if this summer wasn’t going to be fun enough, now I get to help my best friend plan her dream wedding! Congratulation again, you little supermodels, you.

Have you ever been a MOH? Any tips for this first-timer??

{sort of} diy wrapping paper.

by 10 Comments

No wrapping paper? No problem.

I don’t know about you, but I always seem to save old magazines lying around despite knowing that I’ll never read them again. So, why not put those pages to good use?

I’m not sure if this would be considered DIY or just me being cheap (quite sure it’s the latter), but either way I think that magazine wrapping paper looks pretty rad…

…or in this case, pretty handsome.

(Jessi – pretend you didn’t see this.)

What’s your favorite unique way you like to wrap gifts?