Vienna Waits For You.

Slow down you crazy child,

You're so ambitious for a juvenile

But then if you're so smart tell me,

Why are you still so afraid?

Where's the fire, what's the hurry about?

You better cool it off before you burn it out

You got so much to do and only

So many hours in a day

But you know that when the truth is told

That you can get what you want

Or you can just get old

You're gonna kick off before you even get halfway through

When will you realize... Vienna waits for you?

Slow down you're doing fine

You can't be everything you want to be before your time

Although it's so romantic on the borderline tonight

Too bad, but it's the life you lead

You're so ahead of yourself that you forgot what you need

Though you can see when you're wrong

You know you can't always see when you're right

You got your passion, you got your pride

But don't you know that only fools are satisfied?

Dream on, but don't imagine they'll all come true

When will you realize... Vienna waits for you?

Slow down you crazy child

Take the phone off the hook and disappear for a while

It's alright, you can afford to lose a day or two

When will you realize... Vienna waits for you?

{Billy Joel}

P.S- Any other 90's kids else get major cravings to watch 13 Going On 30 after hearing this song?! I LOVE IT!!

The Lion & The Lamb.

"Our God is the Lion, the Lion of Judah,

He's roaring with power and fighting our battles;

And every knee will bow before You.

Our God is the Lamb, the Lamb that was slain,

For the sin of the world, His blood breaks the chains,

And every knee will bow before the Lion and the Lamb."

This SONG by Big Daddy Weave is amazing, you guys! As a way to conquer some of the negativity in my life I've devoted most of my commutes to and from work to listening to K-LOVE Radio. If you've never heard of it, it's only thee best Christian radio station, ever. And if you don't get it on your radio where you live, you can actually listen online HERE. {They also share awesome stories of people doing random acts of kindness and just helping others; it's so refreshing to hear GOOD things in the news, you know?}

This song very much overwhelms my soul and emotions with awe and gratefulness. I'm in awe of such an incredible God, He's a God who is BOTH a selfless and gentle lamb, and a fierce powerful lion. He came into this world, born in a stable. The most humble of beginnings I would say!
That's just one thing that separates Jesus Christ from other gods and religions; He spent His life serving others and was never on a pursuit of fame, earthly success, or money. His pursuit was servanthood, to love others, to glorify His Father in Heaven, and of course what encompasses the former three: to be the world's salvation!

And I'm just grateful that a God like that loves me and that's he's fighting my battles {like the song says}. To say that I'm GRATEFUL for the Saviour of the world fighting my battles, is such an understatement! Gahhh! How else can I put it though?! No words will ever do it justice! <3

Everytime I listen to this song it just makes me want to know my Lord and Saviour better. He gave everything so that He could know me, so why shouldn't I be doing the same?

Groceries.

Life has been BUSY you guys! Jarryd and I both work full-time jobs with pretty similar hours. After work he's got his soccer-coaching gig and I've got my cake-decorating gig. It's a GOOD kind of busy because we're busy doing the things we love! It's pretty sweet how we've both learned so much about each others' passions in the short time we've been married. Jarryd didn't know how much work actually went into baking and decorating cakes and cupcakes, and I certainly didn't know how much thought and strategy went into being a soccer coach. I've never heard so much about 4-3-3 and 4-3-2 and 2-3-1 and 9-0-2-1-0 formations in my life! {HA, I totally made that last one up.} ;)

Whenever Jarryd and I have a spare moment together it's usually spent eating our supper in front of the tv and enjoying some Gilmore Girls, and then occasionally pausing it to talk about how our days went. We just can't get enough!! Besides bedtime, that is absolutely our favourite time of the day! <3

I can just feel that Fall is right around the corner because I'm gettin' that undeniable craving to listen to all of Taylor Swifts' albums, new and old. It can't be stopped, you guys! The second reason that I know fall is around the corner is because the grocery store FINALLY released Pumpkin Spice coffee creamer. Apparently I missed the memo because the first time I checked, all they had left was the Sugar-Free version {blech!}. But the second time, they were fully stocked with extra-sugary Pumpkin Spice creamer. Mmm... I'm drinking it as I type actually.

It's actually a good thing I bought that creamer because it saves me money in the long run. For example, the thought of dropping by Starbucks on my commute home from work lingered in my mind UNTIL I remembered I had Pumpkin Spice creamer waiting for me at home. Why buy the milk when you already have the cow at home, right? {HA! Did I butcher that "saying" or what?!}

But then I'm seriously conflicted inside because the Starbucks PSL won't be around forever, so why wouldn't I just get it while I can, right?! Sigh...

Speaking of the grocery store, I am there ALL THE TIME. For real! It's because every time I get a cake order there's always some type of ingredient that I need to stock up on. Well, yes that's true, but it's not the whole truth. Whenever we run out of chips I head to grocery store. Yes, chips are the only reason I need to go grocery shopping. {Lately I've been really into Doritos Spicy Sweet Chili--but you didn't actually need to know that...unless you feel the need to send me some in the mail?! Yes?!}

Also, seeing as I am person of routine, I really wish I had ONE grocery store to shop at. You know? Like one that has every single item that you need, all at a great price. But I don't! I actually jump around four different grocery stores. Not in ONE trip, silly. In one trip I'll jump to a maximum of two stores. I alternate depending on what I need.
1) Aldi: They have spectacular prices that just can't be beat! Also, they have the cart system where you need a quarter in order to take a cart out, and then when you put your cart back in, you get your quarter back. {I like this because it reminds me of the grocery stores back home in Canada!} Despite all these great things, they don't have much selection, a.k.a they don't have the chips I like.
2) Safeway: I really like Safeway because it's nicest looking grocery store around and they have a fantastic produce selection. It's where I like to buy mangos and apples. ;) They also have a Starbucks right at the entrance....so yeahhhh. {need I say more?!} There's nothing better than grocery shopping with a PSL, right?! Anyway, I was going here pretty frequently until I read in the news about someone getting assaulted right outside in the parking lot!! I'm kind of hesitant to go grocery shopping there now, especially since I usually go alone! :S
3) Food Lion: They're the closest grocery store to us, so when we're in a pinch we go here. But it's definitely nothing special...like I honestly have nothing to say about it right now...
4) Wal-Mart. I know, I know, how could I?! Bring on the haters. Trust me, I don't like Wal-Mart either. BUT they're the only store near me that sells cake decorating products at a pretty dang good price. {They also sell the Pioneer Woman kitchen brand, which makes it feel a little more "Targety" inside} But let me tell you, Wal-Mart in this area is super sketchy, like incredibly janky. I purposely dress down when I go just so I don't stand out too much. And then there's Wal-Mart in Canada, it's just absolutely gorgeous. {I take that back, "gorgeous" is a strong word...}. It's more decent and clean-looking I should say. Also, people get shot at this Wal-Mart here, and yet I still go. It must be the cake-decorating motivation inside of me that just can't be bothered, you know?

Since we're still on the topic of grocery stores, I'm actually a huge fan of the whole "self-checkout" ordeal. I love avoiding any possible chance of awkward small-talk with cashiers. Seriously, I never know what to say when after asking a cashier how they're doing and they reply with in the most depressing tone "oh you know, hangin' in there" or "as good as I can be for being here" or "it's Monday, so enough said". Like, what am I supposed to say? "Thank you for making me feel guilty for asking you about your well-being..."?
Oh well, I feel I'm allowed to comment on cashier-etiquette only because I used to be one. Good times!

How You Made Them Feel.

"She said, 'i've learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart, I usually make the right decision. I've learned that even when I have pains, I don't have to be one. I've learned that everyday you should reach out and touch someone. People love a warm hug, or just a friendly pat on the back. I've learned that I still have alot to learn. I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.'"

{Maya Angelou}

I love that quote so much because of its' incredible truth. I always remember how people made me feel. I'll always remember how disheartened someone left me feeling, and I'll always remember how safe another person left me feeling. I'll always remember the person whom after spending the day with, left me feeling encouraged within my circumstances, inspired to love more, and thankful to Jesus for the people he's placed in my life. {I can't even count on my hands the number of loved ones in my life who make me feel this way! They're such blessings to me!}

And then...there's the people whom after spending time with, leave me feeling unsettled, exhausted, discouraged, sad, and disappointed. They're the kind of people you dread to see again. It's especially a battle for me because my INFJ personality, I'm like a sponge! I soak up the emotions around me, including every ounce of negative emotion. {Let's just say my dreams of becoming a therapist/counsellor didn't last long--I would have come home from work everyday an emotional basketcase!!} I often wish I could just be one of the people who simply brushes off the negative comments or vibes as if they never happened, someone with impermeable walls. BUT that's the thing with putting up walls, sure you block out the negative stuff, but you also then block out the positive stuff too!

The other day I did something dumb...I looked to the internet for emotional guidance {haha!}. I asked google something along the lines of "how to block other people's negative energy" and I got some hooey-phooey err...interesting advice about envisioning your brain as a house with four walls lifting your roof open to positive vibes only. {If that kind of stuff works for you, that is great...but for me personally, I think I'll run to Jesus for this instead}.

Back to the topic at hand, I wonder how I make people feel. Do people feel happy when they're with me? Do I leave them feeling encouraged, warm, and hopeful? {<---If not, then that's my goal!}

I struggle with the fear that I don't love people enough or that I'm not thoughtful enough. I'm afraid that I don't say enough and yet I'm afraid that sometimes I may say too much.
It's frustrating when I try so hard to show love and kindness to those around me and it isn't reciprocated. For instance, my work is a very busy place and we see hundreds of faces a day. I try to say "hello" and acknowledge every person I encounter. But when somebody doesn't even say anything back, it actually irritates me and causes me to stop saying the first "hello" to anyone after that. And then I get hit with a wave of guilt for not reaching out to others because what if somebody I walked right past was having a really bad day, or was feeling especially invisible or unloved that day? For some, a simple "hello" can mean the world to them. {I know there are moments for me when it really brightens my day!}

I hate when I have such a bad attitude going on in my mind that it manages to leak out to those least suspecting; I never want to be caught with snippy one-liners but it gets the best of me every now and then, unfortunately.

I think I spend so much energy trying to be "a light" for others {the kind of light that points people to Jesus} that I forget about the One who I'm doing it for, the one true light.

"Then Jesus spoke again to them, saying 'I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life". {John 8:12}

Pastel Purple Flower Cupcakes.

Hi friends!! At the beginning of August I was asked by a dear friend of mine to bake cupcakes for her upcoming baby shower. I felt incredibly honoured and flattered by her request! I was also super excited to get things rolling because she asked if I could do my signature buttercream flowers on the cupcakes. {Click here to see my past work!} YAY! Piping buttercream flowers is my favourite thing to do in the world of baking. I find it very therapeutic, fun, and at the same time informative because I learn something new every time I pipe out another petal or flower; I learn what I like, dislike, if my buttercream is too thin, thick, cold, or warm, and if I'm applying too much pressure or too little pressure with the piping bag. If I'm not writing these things down I'm attempting to take mental notes. {I need to get better at taking notes while baking because I'm always telling myself that I'll easily remember every little step that I did...pfft! Nope, not the case!}

I was asked to do 4 dozen cupcakes. {48 cupcakes!!} 24 chocolate, and 24 vanilla. This was the biggest cake/cupcake order I've had yet, so I was super excited!! Learning from past experiences and mistakes, I baked half of the cupcakes {12 chocolate and 12 vanilla} the week before the baby shower, froze them {with my careful and tedious-for-good-reason cupcake freezing method} and then baked the other 24 cupcakes on the evening before the baby shower. I think some people look down upon freezing baked goods, because they're not considered "fresh" to them, but alot if not most cake decorators have freezers full of frozen cake layers/cupcakes because it saves them time on the day of decorating. But more than that, freezing cakes actually makes your cake moister. Seriously. {And if you're curious about how to properly freeze cakes, I'd love to share with you a tried and true way!}
I could have easily baked all 48 cupcakes at once, but one of the recipes I love I had only done for cakes so I needed to experiment how they held up in cupcake form and how many cupcakes it could yield. THANKFULLY they turned out perfectly because that recipe is my all-time favourite and I wanted to use it so bad for this order!

ALSO, baking some ahead of time helped me figure out what to price the cupcakes at. <---This part is always fun...not! But I must say, since I started pricing baked goods back in the beginning of the year, I have gotten much better at it! Compared to the time it used to take me to price cakes out, this order took no time at all! You guys, the fact that I've improved and progressed in this area makes me SO happy; I feel so encouraged because pricing and cost is a crucial part to the "business" of baking and I feel like I'm on my way!! :) Thank you, Lord!  <3

The evening before the baby shower {Friday} I finished baking all 48 cupcakes {truthfully, I baked a few extra in case some didn't bake properly, and I'm glad I did because there were a few cupcake liners that I didn't fill with enough batter. Oops!}

After experiencing hallucinations and nightmares all night involving some sort of cupcake catastrophe or distaster, on Saturday morning I woke up to my alarm at 7 am. Thank goodness because I had a nightmare that I woke up at 12 pm, leaving me less than 2 hours to whip up the buttercream frosting and pipe 48 floral buttercream cupcakes. Talk about a stressful sleep!! Anyone else experience dreams like this before a big event?!

In all honesty, I spent an extended amount of time on this buttercream frosting; like, much more time than most people would. I just wanted it to be absolutely perfect; not too sweet {especially this!!}, not too soft, not too firm, not too salty {I love salt soooo....it's important for me to remember that not everyone loves salt as much as I do!}. I'm kind of particular in this way...I have a buttercream recipe that I go off of, but after I adding all of the measured ingredients that are listed I just go with the flow, adding a little more vanilla here and there, another teaspoon of salt, another 6 cups of icing sugar, ect. :P And best of all, it's ALL pure, amazing, delicious, melt-in-your-mouth butter. No filmy-feeling-on-the-tongue shortening.
But most of all, I wanted this frosting to be theeeee most perfect pastel purple ever!!

As I briefly mentioned in a previous blog post, I used my 6 QT Professional Series KitchenAid mixer for the buttercream and it was AMAZING. {I should really be getting paid by KitchenAid for saying this...} I've only had my stand mixer for a few months now, so I'm new to the working wonders of the glorious KitchenAid mixer and I must say it's practically life changing. It's like when you have a baby. All is well before your baby comes into the world, and you can't even imagine life WITH a baby in it. Now, after having a baby, you can't even remember your life "before-baby" and can't imagine life "without-baby". Ergo, I can't even imagine my life "without-my-pastel-pink-KitchenAid-stand-mixer". {bahah, how terrible was that comparison?! I thought it was fitting with the whole baby shower theme...be nice to me in your comments below... :P }

ANYWAY...This particular cupcake endeavour was my most organized and successful one yet, take this photo for example:

I have a clean kitchen {culinary school's classic: clean-as-you-go system}, all of the cupcakes are laid out in their fancy "boxes", and everything is set up in "assembly line" fashion; buttercream frosting, piping tips and couplers, disposable piping bags, cupcake wrappers, and glitter {which I never ended up using}.
I even had it all planned out of what piped flower designs I would do and exactly how many of each design as well. {I've progressed immensely!}

This is just beautiful. When I see cupcakes like this I see delicious blank slates, ready for anything. I get so so soooo excited and nervous {the good kind of nervous!} during this stage of baking because it's my favourite part and also the most crucial part. I just love piping flowers and applying all of the finishing touches!

 My first four cupcakes in the rose design, none of which I had to redo! I got it all perfect on the first try!! Ugh, what a good day.

A few hours later, DONE. 48 cupcakes DONE! I get asked how long it takes me to do each cupcake and honestly, it can go from a few seconds to a few minutes. The rose swirls for example take literally seconds, whereas the tiny-petaled-chrysanthemum designs take minutes because of the tediousness. {But the intricacy of the eye-appeal is totally worth it!}

Due to the annoyingly horrible indoor lighting our kitchen has to offer, the colour of the cupcakes you see in this photo is not true. In fact, they definitely look more pink here than they do purple. That is why whenever I am colouring my buttercream frosting I'm always dipping my spatula in the frosting and then walking over to our living room window and holding the spatula up against the white wall so that I can see the true colour of the frosting I've produced. I think I did this 10 + times trying to achieve the perfect pastel purple {and it SURE paid off}!

I bought these BEAUTIFUL laser-cut lace cupcake wrappers off of Amazon and I wasn't completely sure if I'd even use them, just because I'd never used cupcake wrappers before. But the moment I placed the first cupcake in one of those lacy-white beauties I fell in LOVE.

The cupcake wrappers made these cupcakes go from "pretty cute" to "GORGEOUS"! They add a whole different dimension to the cupcakes because they hide those wrinkly transparent cupcake liners.

AND OF COURSE, anyone who knows me at all know that I need to photograph all of my beauties!! :D Note the colour difference from the photos taken in my kitchen to the photos taken beside the window! If there's any advice I can give to foodie photographers, please take photos of your food in natural light--you'll give so much more justice to the work you put into your creations!!

Unfortunately I didn't have alot of time for a photoshoot, so setting them on this marble tray was all I could come up with.

 ^The cupcake with all of the little petals is the one that takes the longest to pipe. {Can you imagine piping 4 dozen of just that design of cupcakes?!}

 I also ordered these amazing plastic cupcake boxes off of Amazon {Amazon Prime is my best friend--what is better than free 2-day shipping?!}. These boxes are perfect because their domes have a high height and their compartments are wide enough to fit cupcakes plus their cupcake wrappers-although it was a little snug in there. I'd ask for compartments with a teeny-weeny bit more circumference if I could...

All ready for transport!! Delivering them is also a nerve-wracking part of the whole ordeal.

Now, normally I drive to the destination, open the boxes to show them to my client to make sure they're pleased, return to my car, drive home and sigh a huuuuuuge glorious sigh of cake-decorator's relief. But this time was different as I was actually attending the baby shower. Not only did I have to bake the cupcakes, but I had to be present for when people were trying them and eating them for the first time! {GAH!!} So many fears and insecurities snuck into my brain at this time such as, "what if they're actually horrible? What if nobody likes them?!" but I just have to remind myself that I KNOW what I'm doing. I've done this before! I've had friends and family taste-test all of my recipes and give me honest feedback. I've tasted this batch of cupcakes at every stage of the baking and decorating process, and most of all, I have put so much love into this it's not even funny! I don't think I've ever put so much love into a cake order yet {mostly because my love grows surprisingly deeper and deeper every time! Haha!}.

Despite driving to the wrong house and not remembering the actual address of the baby shower and having to call Jarryd at home to go look at the invite to tell me the address and then mentally freaking out because I was arriving late to the baby shower and feeling horrible because this is an important cake order and it probably looks so bad for my reputation that I'm LATE, it was all good because it was so busy inside the house with everyone standing and greeting one another that nobody even noticed I was late! * gasp * WOOOOW that was a long run-on sentence!! {Plus, I think when my "clients"/friends laid eyes on the cupcakes it distracted them from me being 10 minutes late}. Phewwwwww!

And then there's THIS!! I always say that piping the flowers on my cupcakes is my favourite part of the process, but seeing the look of approval and joy on people's faces when they see and taste my cupcakes is actually my favourite part. It's the reason I even DO all of this!!

It felt incredible to have complete strangers come up to me at this shower and ask me "was it you who made the cupcakes?", and after an enthusiastic squeaky "yes!" from me, for them to say how amazing they were, that they not only looked gorgeous but TASTED incredible and that they'd like business cards, felt so so so good!! I honestly can't even tell you how many people came up to me to compliment me because I completely lost count {haha!}. I'm pretty sure I looked like I was permanently blushing the entire time. And it's not like I went around the room approaching people with a "sooooo how'd you like the cupcakes?!" just fishing for compliments {believe it or not, there ARE personalities who do this!}. Like, total strangers approached me; total strangers along with friends and acquaintances went out of their way to talk to me about the cupcakes. They didn't have to say anything, but they did, and I'm so glad!

I've always been a person who can take criticism well. I'm very teachable and can learn from my shortcomings; therefore, I appreciate ANY kind of feedback, especially on something that I'm most passionate about!

As I said in my above Instagram post, I'm so thankful for this passion that God has instilled in me; He gives us these passions for a reason. He's given me the patience to wait for cake batter to rise in the oven. He's given me a steady hand to hold a piping bag and for piping intricate designs. He's given me a creative eye for food styling and skill with a camera. He's given me introverted mind that never tires of dreaming, imagining, and exploring new ideas! There's also things that aren't so natural to me such as planning most efficiently and working with numbers, but He's given me the determination and motivation to grow in these areas!! He is so good and I'm so excited and willing to go wherever He takes me with this whole baking thing! <3

A few days later after all of this, my friend sent me photos that she took of my cupcakes {and some with her preggo belly!!} with her fancy-schmancy camera and because I'm so in love with them I just HAD to share them on here with you guys!

 Baby belly! :)

I just love how they look with the wood!

Thank you to everyone for supporting me and for all of your encouragement and LOVE. I appreciate it more than you know! And thank you for reading my bloggy blog. I would absolutely love to hear what you think in the comments below!! Until next time, friends! <3

The Evolution of our Living Room Space.

I know I'm not an interior decorating guru or anything--nor do I participate in any remote form of Feng Shui--BUT I changed our living room around again. And I think that this arrangement just might be THE ONE. Yes, the one. The one that will stay for months and months to come.

Let's go way back, shall we?

After Jarryd and I got married in June of 2014, we moved into an above-garage apartment. It really did constitute as one of those apartments you "have to have" in your first year of marriage in order to get the full newlywed experience. {That's one positive way of looking at it...Ha!} This is what out first apartment living room looked like:

{July 2014}

We hardly had any furniture, but the beauty of it all was that you're just so excited to be married and living together that you don't even care what your apartment looks like.

But hey, weren't we just so creative with our American Flag casually draped over our rocking chair? Haaaa!

And then we rearranged and decorated for Christmas holidays:

{December 2014}

This look quite bachelorpad-esque, don't you think? Like, it has absolutely no personality to it. There's nothing in there that looks like "Jenny", and that's a sad, sad truth to swallow.

{March 2015}

 And now we're gettin' somewhere! We finally had enough money to buy a coffee table (which was much needed), and an area rug. And I painted our "tv stand" and end tables white! And we finally put up some wedding photos on the wall! (I sure do miss all of that natural lighting coming in through all those windows!)

{August 2015}

This was right after we moved into our current apartment! Yay! Just gettin' settled.

{October 2015}

We bought a futon for our second bedroom, but because we needed more seating available in our living room we decided to move it out here...

{February 2016}

 Put up some nice pictures on the walls and organized the tv stand! In regards to this arrangement, even at the time we weren't crazy about it. It just felt too crowded.

{April 2016}

There was even a short time where we put our desk in front of the window. That was quite nice, but the room STILL didn't feel right. (Perhaps I am more into Feng Shui than I thought?!)

{July 2016}

We bought new end tables, moved the desk around, put the coffee table by the window, and replaced that horrible dirty "floral" rug with a beautiful white sheepskin rug. {Let's see how long we can keep it white for!}

These two photos above were the photos that I had just showed you in my "One Year Apartment Anniversary" Blog Post (that you can click here to read), and literally the week after I took these, I changed up the living room AGAIN!

Are you ready to see what our living room currently looks like right now?? YAY me too!

{September 2016}

Because I knew that my family was coming to visit soon, I wanted it to look more put-together. So I went on a huge IKEA and HomeGoods haul. Well, I don't know if HUGE is the correct word to use because I didn't spend a crazy amount of money or anything, but I did buy a noticeable amount of home decor {just enough to spruce things up a little!}.

Also, at this time when I went to IKEA, I arrived just under an hour and a half before they closed. Talk about PANIC MODE. A person needs at least 3 hours at IKEA, right?! There's so much to consider and ponder {and admire}!

 Yep, we finally filled that empty wall!

 The two silver frames and the world map in the middle are all from IKEA. The world map definitely wasn't an impulse buy, as I had been eyeing it online for awhile! ;) The photo to the right is my FAVOURITE photo from our engagement shoot. We even had it on the back of our wedding invites.

 And this lovely photo was taken at, duh, DISNEYWORLD. It's where we took our honeymoon and I wouldn't have traded that experience for the world! It was SO fun!

There is ALOT of IKEA in this photo. The large palm plant was on sale for only $11. I was so hesitant to buy it because, I don't know...I KILL plants. But I thought, hey, as long as it survives up until my parents leave then that'll be fine. And now, almost a month later it's still living!

Also the framed greenery art is from IKEA and so is the cactus, and the two plant holders. :)

So I found this sultry soft sheepskin at HomeGoods for a way better price than the one at IKEA! It was only $16.99 and it feels amazing! I honestly used to loathe this rocking chair, I kept asking Jarryd to just throw it out and get rid of it somehow someway. But once I laid the sheepskin on it, I've been totally smitten and now it's my favourite place to sit. Actually, it's where I'm sitting RIGHT NOW as I type!

You would not believe how much a room changes once you stick a giant plant in it. Buying that plant was probably the best home decor decision I had ever made!

It felt almost surreal having my family here, in my living room! You get so used to having them live millions of miles away that you just can't picture them sitting in your apartment! And the awesome part is that both of my parents said that we did a great job with decorating the place! Yay what a compliment! :)

Anyway, I love our apartment and I love coming home to it after a long day at work {especially when it's clean! haha!}. SO, what do you guys think?? I'd love to hear your opinions! :)