Completed Makeover

After a week of unpacking, organizing, painting, rearranging and decorating, my room is starting to reflect a more sophisticated, more mature Amanda.

This was the only picture I could find of my room prior to all the improvements. This was taken just after moving out of my freshman dorm at Baylor (2008), so pardon the junk scattered around the room. Can you tell I liked pink?

One thing I've always loved about my room is the tree right outside my window. When I was little, I always felt like I lived in a treehouse, so I try to keep my blinds open whenever possible.

And with that, here are a few pictures of my updated living quarters...

No more pink bathroom! And no "big girl" bathroom would be complete without a little Audrey Hepburn.

I put some coffee beans in a short glass vase to hold/display my makeup brushes, concealer, eyeliner and mascara. My powder and bronzer also fit nicely on my vanity tray, so now I don't have to dig for my make-up bag under my sink.

Here's the finished vanity tray I found while antiquing. In retrospect, the creme colored paint I used blends in with my counter a little more than I'd like, but it's okay for now. If I change my mind, I can always paint it again!

Here's the finished window shutter! I used 'Italian Olive' spray paint and replaced the old, plastic knob with a pewter one. It needs a few more nails to accommodate some of my jewelry, but I love how it turned out.

My bedspread is red and I liked the olive green color for the shutter, but I didn't want my bathroom to look like Christmas with red towels. I chose 'Soho Grape' hand towels with some tan bath towels. The toilet and shower area (through the door to the left) is painted the same tan color and has the grape colored bath mat and toilet cover to match my sink area.

Desk area, next to the entryway of my bathroom.

A view from the window.

I feel I've had my bed on every wall in the 12 years I lived in this room, so I decided to put my bed on an angle to change it up. My goal is to paint the bookshelf to the right the same black/espresso color as the rest of my furniture.

Getting Settled

After my Austin post, I took a blogging hiatus to enjoy my last weekend in Waco (for a while). I'll be back for Baylor football, Homecoming, All-University Sing, and random weekends in between, but I wanted to savor every last moment of summer freedom in my college town.

On Friday, Thomas had a short school day and his weekend began at noon. He told me to pick someplace "Waco" for lunch, something that I'd crave when I got back to Austin, so we went and ate sandwiches at Schmaltz's. For you non-Wacoans, Schmaltz's is almost exactly like Schlotzsky's, except one million times better. The bread is baked fresh every day, and their Wisconsin cheese soup is out of this world. Afterwards, we grabbed dessert at What About Cupcakes?, ran errands, enjoyed happy hour at Klassy Glass Wine Bar with their amazing Monte Cristo sandwiches, and then went back to my house to watch "Italian Job." It's one of my all-time favorite movies and Thomas had never seen it! On Saturday, Thomas and I had a movie date to go see "Winnie the Pooh." It was PRECIOUS. So glad I'm going to marry a guy who loves Disney and who's a kid at heart, just like me!

The packing began on Sunday. After church and lunch, Dad drove up from Austin to help move out my big pieces of furniture (desk and dresser). The bed and bookshelf are staying put... thankfully, my dad is my landlord in Waco, so he's allowing me to keep my room there so I'll have a place to stay when I visit.

Monday was moving day. I got an early start and had breakfast with Mallory at Cafe Cappuccino before hitting the road, and now here I am. Home sweet home in Austin.

I'm grateful that my parents allowed me to move back in with them for the next year as I start a full-time job and save money before getting married. Many people dread moving home after college, and while I'd love to get a fun little apartment closer to work, I'm finding so many blessings in living at home.

• Wedding planning will be easier with Mom down the hall instead of a phone call away.
• Dad and I will get to bond over photography, and I may get to join him on some shoots!
• I'll get to enjoy Mom's cooking every day.
• There will be two other people in the house getting up early for work - that way, I'll be less likely to sleep through my alarm (fingers crossed). And Dad gets up earlier than us girls, so maybe coffee will be ready by the time I'm awake?
• I'll have loved ones to talk to when I get home from work! I've never lived by myself, and I think I'd get pretty lonely.
• $$$ - Have I mentioned I'll be saving money?
• ... And there are many more blessings to discover in the coming 12 months!

To make the move easier, I decided to re-do my old bedroom to make it a little more cozy and adult. I left my room untouched from high school until about my sophomore year at Baylor, and two summers ago I painted my once-white walls a warm 'oatmeal' color. My homecoming mums, dance trophies and posters were already cleared out, but it was still in need of a little revamping.

The biggest makeover was needed in my bathroom. I'm a girly-girl. What can I say, I love pink. It was cute for a season, but that time has passed. Here's a before picture...

My bubblegum pink bathroom, taped and ready to be painted.

My sister's bathroom is through the door to the left, and we share a shower and toilet. It was sky blue, which complemented my sink area like cotton candy, hah! Sarah's sink area is painted lime green - we aren't boring people.

I almost forgot to take a "before" picture of the blue bathroom. This is now painted the same tan/oatmeal color as my sink area. And look, you even get a sneak peak of what it looks like!

After many hours on a ladder, several coats of paint, a very sore back, and two blistered, sore hands, the painting is finished. Pictures of the final product will be coming soon, after a few finishing touches!

Gone Antiquing

After becoming addicted to Pinterest and following DIY blogs like "Young House Love," I have a newfound passion for antiquing, or "junking" as some call it.

Junking is loosely defined as "the art of searching or shopping for bargains, anitques, collectibles, or any concievable kind of dust collector or garbage." They say one man's trash is another man's treasure, and I'm really finding that to be true.

If you're ever in Waco, be sure to check out Junque in the Trunk, an antique boutique only open on the weekends. This is where I found Ruthie's painting that she blogged about wanting, for a mere $25. I also bought an antique suitcase for $6 that I hope to use someday in my photography. Two weeks ago I visited the shop and found two "milk glass" vases for $4 each. I thought they'd be great for the wedding to hold some beautiful hydrangeas! Even if I don't find a place for them in our wedding decor, they'll be great pieces for our future home.

Yesterday, Meredith had the day off of work, so we met for Sonic Happy Hour and spent the afternoon antiquing. We went to Cameron Trading Company on Austin Avenue in downtown Waco, and I can't believe I'd never been there before. It definitely won't be the last time! We spent an hour walking around the first floor, and then realized there was an entire second floor of more fun finds! I could have easily gone antique crazy, but I used some self control and walked out with just a few items.

My first find was three pieces of sheet music from the 1950s, with song titles that include the word "love" ($2 each). I envision putting them in shabby chic frames and using them somewhere at our wedding reception. You'll just have to wait and see if you can spot them on the big day! If nothing else, they're a fun collector's item. The adorable woman who rang up my purchases had a sweet moment of nostalgia when she recognized one of the songs. Melted my heart.

The next piece of "junk" I found was an old wooden window shutter ($7.50). My roommate Allison has one on her bedroom wall that she uses to display her jewelry, so I'm going to do the same! All it needs is a good sanding, a coat of paint, and some little nails in order to hang my necklaces and bracelets. I'm also going to search the sale bins at Anthropologie (or maybe even Lowe's/Home Depot) for an inexpensive crystal drawer knob to replace the little plastic one in the middle. Photos to come once it's complete!

The last thing I purchased was a silver vanity tray with mirror base ($9.95). When I move to Austin, I'm going to have a larger bathroom counter than I have in Waco, but I'm trading that for a lot less cabinet space. For that reason, I saw this tray as a fun, girly way to accommodate my perfume, lotion, and other toiletries.

When I got home, I started sprucing up the vanity tray. The silver was pretty tarnished and dull (don't let the picture above fool you), and after trying to scrub it with a baking soda paste, I decided it may be easier to maintain if I just painted it. [Sidenote: Dad was a little appalled that I'd use spray paint on silver, but hey, I only paid $10 for it.]

I used some blue painter's tape to protect the edges of the mirror, and then taped newspaper to the rest of it. I used some cream colored Rust-Oleum brand spray paint and then went to town!

You'll have to wait until I move home to see the finished product, but I'm pretty excited to see how it looks in my bathroom.

This summer has been a wonderful season of rediscovering my hobbies, and now I can add DIY projects and antiquing to the list!