A Heavenly Home: Bring on Spring

            Lately, I have been in one of those ruts, you know when you want spring to come? Well this weekend, I woke up early and decided to get our apartment ready for spring. I watched a Dollar Tree Easter decoration video from Doltonadime and got the best ideas to decorate our home! I immediately got in my car and headed to the dollar store. I got rid of a lot of my decorations because a lot of them were girly.  I typically decorate 3 areas in our home seasonally or based on holidays. I decorate our coffee table, our dining table and the entry way. I will keep up these decorations for most of spring until about mid May.

            Our dining table has a pretty vinyl polka dot blue and white tablecloth. I am not usually a fan of vinyl but the pattern was so cute I had to get it. Plus, vinyl is nice and easy to wipe down. Then, I put a set of daisies in a vase on the dining room table. Not many decorations, as we use the table frequently, but it’s cute enough. 

            Nex,t I worked on our entryway. I put up a little vase of flowers. Again, I chose daisies because they are a gender neutral color and I feel like they really brightened up the space. Usually I am not a fan of decorating for Easter; this year is no exception. However, I found these cute eggs at the dollar store and purchased this egg Ferris wheel (from Jo Ann’s) to place by our door. 

          Lastly, I decorated the coffee table with pieces I have had around the home. For example, I like to have a placemat or two on my coffee table at all times to use instead of coasters. However, I was so tired of the boring tan. So I decided to use one of my boyfriend’s old pillowcases and folded it. It will need to be washed after being used and is temporary. I am hoping to find a few placemats as I shop around. I also placed this iron teapot I purchased a few years ago on the table. In my old apartment, it had pink flowers, but I took them out and added daisies. Finally, I placed our book “box” that is used to hold our remotes on the table. 

        I had one casualty that did not make it to our home (or did in small pieces). I got a snow globe chick that I was going to put in the entry way.  I decided to save it and break off (very gently the snow globe pieces) and wash out the glitter and use it by the door.

I am very happy with the design of our home. While I am a strong independent woman, I love decorating my home. Again, I am fortunate that my boyfriend is flexible with how I decorate our home, as long as it is fairly gender neutral (no pink or purple colors). How have you decorated your home for spring? How often do you change the décor in your home? 

Lynn's Lovely Life: Giveaway Extra

              
  I can’tbelieve I’m typing this, but I have hit 1000 views on my blog (and no those donot include my views, ha ha). I decided to do a giveaway to thank you for allof your support with visiting my blog.

                Thegiveaway has the following rules:

1)     Be a follower.

3)     Must be 18 years of age or older. (I will havelater giveaways for those who are under 18).

4)    Tweet the following statement. “I entered into @spottydottie85s#1000viewsgiveaway on http://lynnslivelylife.blogspot.com/” 

OR

5)     Post a comment to this blog telling me whattopics you would like to read about. 

 

Thiscontest IS open internationally. I realize that some of you may not have Twitter, so you have the option to enter by sending out a tweet or posting acomment.

I am giving away one Bath and Body Works candle. I loveBath and Body Works candles and want to share this with you. (Stay tuned for alater post). Of course this candle is brand new. I realize how hard it is toget these candles if you do not live in the US, so I wish my internationalreaders luck! 

Again, I can’t thank you enough for your support. I am justso honored that people would take the time to read my blog that I have beenputting my efforts into. I would also like to thank the love of my life, myboyfriend, for editing each and every post. Thanks again and GOOD LUCK! Deadline March 4th

A Heavenly Home: An Office for Two

                As stated in a previous post I have lived in many different places, basements, dorms, studios etc. However, my boyfriend and I have never had the luxury of having a two bedroom apartment until now. We are very fortunate to have a two bedroom apartment and actually save money on rent living together now. However, we are still working out the kinks of decorating.
                When we found out we were going to have a second bedroom my boyfriend told me he wanted a man cave. I was okay with this, because he gave me permission to decorate the house as I see fit. Of course I still consulted with him on our design of our house. However when we moved in he noticed he didn’t have a TV cord in the room. So in the end we made the second bedroom our office/guest bedroom. This is the one room (besides my bathroom) that I feel comfortable decorating in purple and pink (at least on my side).

 We each have a half of the room for our personal items. We have our desks, bookshelves and he has a dresser. In the middle we have a futon which pulls out as a bed. The best part is when you walk up the stairs the main thing you see from the office is the futon and the coffee table. It makes the room look cohesive.

 

"Guest Bedroom"

 
              We each decorate our “sides” however we see fit as these are our own little personal spaces but the middle of the room looks clean and cohesive. I really enjoy the look of our office. I find it to be comfortable and functional. I also think that it looks appropriate enough for guests to sleep in. Also, I enjoy the fact that I have a place that I can sit down and complete my work if I want to. I can keep other areas of my apartment for rest and relaxation and use the office for work as needed.

 

"Hers"

 

"His"

 

     Have you ever decorated an office for two? How did you make it work?



 

 

Lynn’s Library: Top 5 Books of All Time

                As I mentioned in my last Lynn’s Library post, I am an avid reader.  One thing I have a hard time with is keeping books. I am not a fan of clutter in my house, so I borrow books from the library and donate books when I finish using them. I also purchase books on my Kindle. Stay tuned for a later post on saving money with books. However, there are some books that I love so much I keep on my bookshelf or on my Kindle. The only books I have on my bookshelf in my apartment are books that I haven’t read and books that I love so much I would read again and again. Why waste space with books you just somewhat like?  Here are my top 5 books of all time:  

1.       Confessions of a Shopaholic  by Sophie Kinsella

There are two ways you can tell I am in love with Sophie Kinsella’s books. Number 1 I have kept all of her books. Number 2 my cat is named after her! I call my little monster “Sophie Kinsella” quite frequently, but her name is Sophie.  I am a huge Shopaholic. The way the character acts is the same way I get when I shop. It’s a problem, but I relate to the character. The character is funny, quirky and strong. I enjoy this series greatly.

2.       A Kiss in Time by Alex Finn

I first heard about Alex Finn because her book, Beastly, was turned into a movie. I thoroughly enjoyed this book as well, but my favorite written by her is A Kiss in Time. I enjoyed this book because it’s based on Sleeping Beauty, and the girl wakes up and has to adjust to life in the present. I found it very interesting and of course it had some romance as well. I hope the author continues to make books relating to fairy tales. 

3.       A Taste of Magic by Tracey Madison

There is something about books with food and romance that makes me happy. I enjoy the way the author talks about the character cooking with food and using magic. It also has romance as well as a sense of family. There is an entire series with four books. Again, I wish the author made more books in this series.  I am pretty sure I got the first book for free somewhere and then I had to purchase the rest on my kindle because I enjoyed them so much.

4.       The Indigo Spell  by Richelle Mead

This book just came out on February 12 and I read it cover to cover in a day! I just had to know what happens. I was not disappointed and am thrilled the new book will be out in November! Check out my previous blog post on Bloodlines and The Vampire Academy series.

5.       Last Sacrifice by Richelle Mead

Again check out my previous blog on Vampire Academy. I thoroughly enjoyed this series!

What are your top 5 books? What is your favorite all time book?  From these 5 books I would have a hard time deciding on my favorite. 

Beauty Boudoir: Makeup Cutback of 2013

                So as you can probably tell from my previous blog posts relating to beauty that I love makeup. Some people who see me daily might be surprised because I don’t wear it often. This is somewhat true because I’m not a morning person and prefer a few more minutes of sleep rather than a fully decorated face of makeup. However, I am slowly making myself put more makeup on to make myself feel better and to use my makeup products. While I love writing blog posts about makeup products I purchase, and I’m sure some of you love reading them, I have to stop purchasing makeup to the extent that I do.

I watched Pinksofoxy’s videos on makeup and while I do not have nearly as extensive collection as her, I do have a bit of makeup. She once counted all of her makeup products. I did the same and was shocked that, while I did not have as much as her, I have way too many products. So I decided to do the makeup cutback of 2013 after hearing about how she is cutting back. Pinksofoxy’s plan included purchasing only 10 makeup items a year. These do not include personal hygiene items and nail necessities. I decided to follow through with her plan with a small change and only purchase 1 beauty product of my choice a month. I plan on setting other goals for myself, like putting the money I could have spent on makeup in my savings account. I might use that towards a vacation.

I created a “contract” for myself that I have placed on the inside of my closet that I can see daily. As soon as I purchase my one item a month I will add it to the list. I’m excited to give this a try. Of course the shopaholic in me is already considering my monthly purchases for the year. I really need to consider and think about what I purchase. I am only purchasing 1 item a month. I may purchase 1 high end product for a little bit extra so that I get a quality product. I may consider purchasing a value kit so that I get a few products in a set so I get a better bang for my buck. I haven’t fully decided yet but that’s the beauty (no pun intended) of my makeup cutback of 2013. I am not depriving myself of products but I’m allowing myself to enjoy one beauty item. I definitely do not intend to purchase an item that costs more than $25 (I could never allow myself to do that). 

Have you ever had a problem you decided to fix using a contract? How did it work? Check back monthly for a post on my one beauty purchase of the month. Feel free to gently scold me if you see me post more than one beauty haul a month (or more than one item). We have to support each other!

Beauty Boudoir: Perfume Collection

                Who doesn’t love smelling nice? As a teenager I was into the body splashes and sprays from Bath and Body Works. However, as an adult my preferences have changed slightly.  I have a variety of perfumes and am fairly happy with my collection.

                I am not the best at describing scents, so instead I will tell you where I got these from or memories that relate to each product. Google the scents before you purchase them or go check them out in a store. 

   Perfume in Order of Purchase

 

                The oldest perfume I have is Charlie in Red. My grandmother and mom both got me into this fragrance. They also have a white version, but Red is preferable to me. As my tastes have changed, I am not the biggest fan of Charlie anymore. However, I refuse to get rid of it and use it sometimes to remind me of my grandmother. Have you ever felt that scents remind you of a memory?

                The next set of perfumes I purchased is from Bath and Body Works. I have Rainkissed Leaves and Dark Kiss. I wish I had a larger bottle of Dark Kiss because I enjoy this perfume, especially in the winter.

                Next, I ventured into the world of “impression” fragrances. One thing I am not ashamed to admit is that I am a thrifty girl. I THRIVE on sales. (Stay tuned for a later post on shopping to save!)  I love getting items on sale, which means I end up spending more money than I intended to.  These fragrances were not on sale but they are impressions of fragrances that are well known and in the $40 range. These fragrances only cost around $5.  So I purchased the SJP impression perfume, the Katy Perry impression perfume and the Vera Wang Princess perfume. My favorite has to be the Vera Wang impression perfume. However, the bottle falls over quite a bit. I would not recommend all “impression” fragrances. However, I would suggest smelling the original and then smelling the other version and determine if they are similar. I have had good experiences and bad ones and have gotten rid of the ones that I disliked.

                Next, I purchased my first Taylor Swift perfume (the purple one). I got it using Birchbox points so I only ended up spending $19 (I love deals!). I have a hard time spending $40 on a perfume.  I recently just purchased the roller ball to keep in my purse. Then my boyfriend gave me the other Taylor Swift version for Christmas with a lotion and body wash included in the set.

 

                Finally, my mom gave me a gift card to Ulta for Christmas so I purchased the Benefit set. Check out this blog by Amarixe to learn more about each scent. She does a great job at reviewing each item. She definitely helped me decide to purchase the set. Amarixe did state that one negative is that there is no pump for the bottles, but I can live with it as they are minis.

 My Perfume Tray

                I have to say I am very proud of my perfume collection, not of what I have but of the fact that I spent very little on these perfumes. I just can’t imagine spending $40 a bottle on 10 perfumes that I rarely use. I am pretty good at using each bottle. What perfumes have you purchased? What are your favorites and are worth the money?