[intoourhome]

My Home Diary

Last week I moved into an apartment with my boyfriend. I just wanted to post some pictures so as I add more furniture and decorate more I can look back on the progress :) Please excuse the mess & boxes! In my defense- It's only been a week.

Kitchen in the midst of the hectic unpacking

Slightly cleaner and more organized kitchen! (Dishes everywhere- Robbie told me not to do them & said he was going to clean them. They're giving me anxiety.) Island counter on the left is a little messy, not really sure what to put there. My dad added window blinds to the big window- really glad about this, I don't wear pants around the house and we have neighbors on that side. 

Our bedroom! I ordered this tapestry from Urban Outfitters, incase anyone was curious. I love lighting candles and hanging a string of lights- it makes it feel much more cozy. I bought just a basic white comforter & pillow shams so it didn't clash with the tapestry, I wanted it to be the main focus of the room. More photos of the bedroom & closet will come…it's very messy at the moment.

End table ($10), coffee table($20?), lamp($40), red tray($5) & rug($60)- all from IKEA. The pillows came with the couch- not crazy about them, but they'll stay until I find ones I like. The orange and off-white blanket was made by a family friend, it's so heavy and warm, I love it. Currently burning a pear candle from Bath & Body Works and it smells amazing.

The walls are super bare for now. I'm excited to buy some local artwork to hang- we really wants original pieces, not something from a store or IKEA that 1,000 other people have. My brother is an artist, lucky for us, so without a doubt i'll be hanging his pieces all over. 

Last photo- view from the couch. I've really been loving having coffee and juice while playing Xbox or watching Netflix on the days I don't have work at 7am. 

This is the dining room. The table isn't huge, so the room feels a little empty right now, I can't decide on what other furniture to stick in here. 

I really love this 8 cubbie shelving from IKEA. I have a lot of empty space in it at the moment, though. On top I have a cake platter with two candles on it, a little light, an empty photo frame, and two tiny buckets I got from Target's $1 section- one is empty and the other I filled with the mini hand sanitizers from B&BW.

Walls are super bare in this room as well and it kind of echoes because of how empty it is. 

We also have a room in the basement that is finished- which will soon become my boyfriends man cave. Photos to come. 

[intoourhome]

How to : agenda organization

In highschool I was never one to be orangized. I had a school planner that was given to every student, but it was mainly filled with doodles. Now that i'm in college, have two jobs, appointments and bills to pay, I desperartly needed to get my life organized. 

Tips for agenda organization :

In the beginning of your planner write down your name/phone number or e-mail, incase you happen to leave it somewhere. I think I would cry if I ever lost my planner. Hopefully some kind soul will call you and return it :)

Write down important phone numbers- With cellphones, I have about 4 phone numbers memorized. If my phone ever dies, i'm basically screwed, so I write down a handful of phone numbers incase theres ever an emergency and I don't have a way to look them up.

Color coordinate - Use different colored stickers, high lighters, pens, markers etc. for each job, activity or class. This avoids writing the subject or activity by an event or assignment each time you have an assignment or meeting.

Write down every assignment & when it's due - If it's assigned a few weeks ahead of when it's due, write a reminder 1 or 2 weeks before the date it's due : "Psychology paper due in 1 week!" Just to give yourself a heads up.

Cross off when completed- checking something off your list is a great feeling of accomplishment and personally, it keeps me motivated. 

Don't forget to write in appointments, birthdays, bill due dates, tests and meetings.

  The planner I use is a Lilly Pulitzer jumbo agenda, it retails for $34, which is pricey for an agenda, (can find it on Amazon for a few dollars cheaper) but I really wanted it, and in my opinion it's worth every penny. Target has some cute planners that are around $15, but my Lilly Pulitzer one is much more durable and hasn't fallen apart like the other brands I've had. 

On the monthly calendar page for each month I write a brief run down of whats going on for that day, then in the weekly calendar pages i'll have a more detailed description.

Example- HDFS paper due (monthly page), HDFS paper due- submit by 11:55 pm to turnitin.com, class password: xxxxx. (weekly)

For my work shifts, I have a different colored sticker for each of them, so I don't have to waste space writing which job it is. In the photo above orange is my Dunkin Donuts shifts, and green is my childcare shifts. 

I found a pack of the tiny circle stickers at Walmart for $.30. It has 4 color stickers and comes with a handful of sheets, so far one pack lasted me 8 months. I'm sure they're available at any office supply store or Target also. 

I write in when my bills are due (not something you want to forget!), and also a dollar sign highlighted in green when I get my biweekly paycheck.

[intoourhome]

PostalPix review/ Print your Instagram pictures

A few months ago I was on the hunt for a good site or app to print my instagram photos for a DIY project. I was so hesitant to order from PostalPix but I went ahead and did it anyway.

I downloaded the PostalPix app to my iPhone and loaded up my cart with the pictures I wanted. Before ordering, I checked out their Facebook page comments and there were so many mixed reviews. A few people wrote that they waited for weeks and their photos never arrived. Then there were comments raving about how great their pictures looked and they were so happy with it. I was on the fence about it, but I ordered and kept my fingers crossed.

About 2 days after ordering I realized I never got a confirmation e-mail. I placed an order and paid with a credit card- so why didn't I get one? This made me nervous and I for sure thought I was going to get scammed. 

My photos arrived 5 days after ordering. I ordered on a Thursday evening and they were at my door on Tuesday. I was relived and pretty impressed with how fast the shipping was.

Print sizes & pricing:

4x4 : $0.29 - $0.33

4x6: $0.21- $0.33 

5x5: $0.89

5x7: $0.89

You can also get your photos printed on a mouse pad or an iPhone case through this app.

I ordered the 5x5 size. I got 17 pictures which came out to $15.13, and plus shipping (mine was $2.40- it goes up with each photo), the total ended up being $17.53

Overall I am really happy with this app. The price, the quality of the photos- everything. The photos are vibrant and clear, i'm impressed.

Heres two pictures of some of my photos, unedited :

P.S.- Heres a tip for you guys: I wanted to get photos printed that I didn't have on my Instagram profiles. I didn't have to deal with sizing issues and parts of the picture getting cut off and all the issues that come with having to shrink a bigger photo to 5x5. I uploaded the photos from my computer to my iPhone, turned my phone on Airplane mode, went to Instagram, uploaded/added filter and all that, the upload will fail because of Airplane mode (your wifi & internet is off), but the photo will still save to your phone. WAH-LAH, you have your instagram photo all made and ready for you!

(I was not sponsored by PostalPix to write this and say nice things- although I  totally wouldn't mind that because who wouldn't want free prints ?!)

[intoourhome]

52 Week savings plan.

I have always struggled with saving my money. Slowly but surely I'm getting better at it and this savings plan is helping me not totally blow my money. 

               Click below to see my tips and how I use this savings plan !

I printed out the above picture and taped it on the front of a 6x9 inch envelope (I bought a a 15 count pack of them from the Dollar Store- you can find them also at any office supplies store)

When I enter an amount on the chart, I highlight it. I don't follow the weeks in order because my money will fluctuate throughout the week- the majority of the cash that goes in is tip money from work. 

After highlighting the row, I write the date I completed it.

On the back side of the envelope I write the date and how much money is in the envelope on that date. This is so I don't have to add everything up or count all the cash inside.

Tips for tackling this savings plan: 

Pick a day of the week to deposit the money. My day is Thursday. This way, you remember easier that you have to put money away. If you change up the days, you're more likely to forget about it and skip a week.

Have a goal. My goal is for the money to go towards the security deposit on my soon to be apartment. Write your goal on the envelope to help encourage you to save. 'Shopping Spree', 'Gas money', 'Trip to the beach', 'Christmas gift money'. (You obviously don't have to do all 52 weeks)

Make small sacrifices. For example- Instead of buying two or three coffees one week, put the $10 you would use to pay for them in the envelope and make a cup at home. 

Don't be discouraged. If one week you can only put a few dollars in, thats okay! It's better than nothing, right? Some weeks you will be able to add in a lot, and others not so much. Either way, you're still saving money.

Disclaimer: I did not make this savings plan- I wish i could credit who created it but i've seen this image on numerous sites and I don't know who first started it. 

[intoourhome]

Hi guys !

First off, thank you for taking a second to check out this pages, now before you click away let me tell you about what I'll be posting on here. I plan to have DIY projects, different types of recipes for every meal of the day, hauls showing household items I've been buying, home decor ideas, budgeting and organizing tips, health and beauty/makeup reviews and occasionally an outfit of the day. 

I'd love to have a little bit of everything on this page, and even if you are interested in one but not another- I will be categorizing them ! That way, you don't have to see the stuff you aren't interested in.

It's going to take some time to get some projects going- I'm in the process of packing and getting ready for a move, but I will be posting very soon! Thanks again for stopping by :)