a bag in a frame

I have to admit, I like to think of myself as a pretty awesome decorator.  My dad is an architect, and my mom is like the go-to home stylist amongst her friends, so it kinda just runs in my blood.  I don't really have one style, I'm more eclectic and my house looks like a hodgepodge of goods, but I like what I have going on.  My decor is important to me, and impressing my guests matters, in some weird, non-vain way.

If you've been following, I'm trying to downsize and become a minimalist.  This means that the long shelf hanging above my couch (the shelf that I built and painted, thank you very much), had to be cleared of the clutter-that-actually-had-a-purpose and stocked with a few choice items that give it a chic and "grown-up" vibe.  My choices?  A canvas painting with pastel colors, a small frame of my sister's high school graduation picture, a vase with ceramic flowers, a picture of my dad, a vintage camera, a unicorn piggy bank (could you get anymore grown-up?) and a framed gift bag.

Yes, you heard me, a framed gift bag.  A gift bag from Target.  A fabulous gift bag from the Spritz collection.  The idea came from my mom, who decorated my college dorm with some wrapping paper she found.  It looked so perfect hanging on the wall with my pictures from home covering it.  So, when I saw that bag, I knew it was way too pretty to give to any of my friends (love you guys), and instead, I went immediately to the closest Homegoods and found a gold frame on clearance.  The total cost was around $18 for the frame and bag.  Yeah, just $18, and it seriously looks like a million bucks.  It looks so much better than having a bunch of mismatched art and goodies hanging out on a shelf.  I love all of my art and goodies, but I love the idea of having one statement piece even more, and the fact that it was a cheap statement piece makes it even better.

A blurry before photo... there's so much going on!

It's a crude photo, but you get the idea.  Don't you just love my dad in the middle?

What do you guys think?  Are you as excited about this as I am?  Oh, and please excuse the vent in the ceiling.  I rent, so I can't do much to change that.

it's time to declutter

I have to admit, sometimes I can't make it through an episode of Hoarders without vomiting.  Other times, I feel like my house could have its own episode.  I'm diagnosed OCD, and most people think that just means I super organized and clean all the time.  In reality, my struggle with the disorder includes a lot of compulsive shopping (and not the kind where women sit around a cafe table and joke about their compulsive shopping habits), which makes for having your house super organized a hard goal to meet.  This leads to my anxiety levels shooting through the roof, which leads to me compulsively eating (again, not like the kind women sit and talk about around a cafe table), which makes me need new pants, which gets me right back to the shopping.  It's a disaster, if you think about it.

Thankfully, I have a wonderful psychiatrist.  Yes, the "p" word.  Well, the other "p" word.  The "p" word that actually sounds like it starts with an "s" because the English language is awesome like that.  My psychiatrist realized what was going on and found the right medication and therapy, and along with a little self-awareness, I've been able to get control of all of most of some of my issues.  With this new-found realization of what's going on, I now have more of a desire to be more organized and more of a desire to minimize the amount of "stuff" that is in my home.  I'm sure that my house isn't near as bad as I'm making it out to be, but I just really do not see a purpose in having so many "things" anymore.  I'm also starting to realize that having all of said "things" just gives my boyfriend that many more opportunities to make a mess.

I'm a Pinterest fanatic (check out my Pinterest here!), and I have become more and more inspired by the fresh look of a white, well-lit, open space.  This is everything I want my house to look like.  Why do I need 15 picture frames on my coffee table when only half of them have pictures in them?  I'm learning the less things I have, the cleaner everything looks, and I like that concept.  I mean, there are some people who can fit their entire lives in one room, while I couldn't squeeze my belongings into a 2b/2ba townhome with an attic.  I'm only 29, guys; I shouldn't own that much!

This living space is gorgeous - and everything fits in one room!

So, over the next few months, I'm probably going to be detailing my struggles as I am downsizing.  Luckily, the thought of having a clean and organized space is much stronger than the desire to hold on to useless items, so hopefully it won't be too hard.  I'm not going to promise I will make everything fit in a loft - I happen to like my townhome - but I'll do my best to clean house, literally.  I'll post pictures as I go room by room, if my OCD will allow me to let you guys see my house in disarray.