Hey everyone, and happy Wednesday!

I love moving forward on Wednesday, especially if the first half of my workweek was a bit funky (which it was, ugh). I happily took on my new goal of making meditation a daily practice, and spent 30 minutes experimenting with different breathing techniques. Really makes me crave being back in the mountains!

Speaking of mountains and nature in general, if you've been keeping up with me *too frequent* pinning on Pinterest, you've probably noticed my new-found love for bright and bold pops of pink and turquoise paired with textural neutrals and metallics. I suppose it's not so much a new-found love as much as it is a surprising one! I definitely was picturing more of a neutral, boho look. Nope!

I decided my weekly project last weekend was going to be making pillows! I tried the method of hand-sewing and fabric gluing, and I'm definitely a fan of the glue!

I've also thoroughly enjoyed sharing behind-the-scenes dorkiness whilst decorating and trying and re-trying looks in the home on Snapchat (karsyndupree). My recent score was definitely taking a look at a flimsy rug (canvas lightweight rug from Urban years ago) that was beyond stained and dingy on it's donation death bed. I realized the underside was blank so I was basically like What the hell, I'll try to paint it while I cry my eyes out to the series finale of Parenthood nbd. I *obviously* didn't want to do anything too involved, since I was surrendering my soul to my show, so I chose the trendy plus-sign in black. I used black acrylic waterproof paint btw. Once the rug was painted, it dried instantly. I looked through some crafts and found some thick vegan yarn, tied it into tassels, and hot-glued it onto the ends. Boom!

Since I started taking pics of the rug, I've had so many inquires about a possible DIY post, but it seemed so intuitive and simple that I didn't take any pictures of the process! If this is something you want to do in your own home, let me know!

I also fell in love with the idea of having several statement walls in our home, since it is a rental, and we are NOT allowed to make permanent alterations. We've considered buying it, but regardless, we wouldn't be able to until the end of our 12 month lease, and who knows where I'll want to be by then! Financially, I may be ready, or I may not be! In the meantime, I love figuring out ways to make my home shine. In all honesty, it's such a nice home. Quality tubs, sinks, doors, lights, fans, you know, the important stuff.

I've lived in homes where you could paint and kind of do whatever the crap you desired but that was because the property was pretty worthless to the leasing office. Literally at my old home in Tyler, the toilet was falling through the floor. There was a giant HOLE NEXT TO THE TOILET. But hey, I was able to paint the walls white. Worth it? Not now that I know the joy of pooing in safety.

The statement walls I've dreamt up (and accomplished so far) have a lot to do with contact paper, but I've also collaborated with VistaPrint to have one of my favorite Flickr images blown up to 3X4 poster! I'm awaiting it's arrival in the mail (next week can't come soon enough!), but for now, you can take a look at my primo iPhone photo-shopping skills in the photo.

We've also partnered with MuralsYourWay to add removable wallpaper to our dining room! We've chosen a large-scale peach and white floral print that will go sooooo well with our decorations so far.

I can't really get over the cabinets in the kitchen, but there's nothing I can do! I've replaced the countertops with contact paper (idea via Pinterest, product via Amazon $8 everyone---just peel and stick!) I'm trying to figure out the lighting situation, since it's one giant terrible generic fixture. Ugh. Still, I'm so grateful. The kitchen has great appliances, space, a million outlets, storage, and a nice faucet and sprayer. Oh yeah, and A DISHWASHER which I haven't had in forever!

Here's some extra inspiration for you to drool over!

Our New Home: Progress + Inspiration

Here's some extra inspiration for you to drool over!

What have been your rental struggles/accomplishments? Have you ever successfully rented to own? I'd love to hear your stories :)!