House Upgrades & Changes

This month I set myself some house projects I wanted to slowly tackle to upgrade my apartment and organize things better. Plus, it gave me something fun to look forward to in a month that's still kinda bitersweet for me.

I was planning to share them in separate posts but, in the end I decided to put all of them together. It may end up being a long post tho. Sorry in advance but, I'm in a yappy mood so, yeah. 

Before I start, I have to say that my place is not an aesthetic one, that's not my intention. I like a lived-in place that feels good (to me) but that is also functional for me and my babies. Plus, I believe I have to make the most out of what I have until I have the budget or the chance to change some things. 

Not all the upgrades I'm gonna share here are big ones and some of them were only reorganizing things I already had but was too lazy to work on. 

Now, let's start with the thing I was the most excited about, my kitchen cabinet. I knew I wanted one for a while but, I took my sweet time deciding which one I liked the most. I have a white and grey kitchen, so I wanted it to match but also be a clean color. I'm thinking about painting the kitchen at some point cuz, even tho I like the white, it's way too dirty~ But that'll be a project for another day...

This is the one I ended up choosing. I liked it because it's very versatile, you can make it work in other rooms without looking like a kitchen cabinet thingy. I bought it online and it arrived sooner than expected, making the beginning of my month a very exciting one.

One thing about me is that, I love to assemble furniture and play with some tools. I am my father's daughter after all and I'm sure he would be proud. ♡
I wanted to take more pics of the process but I was so focused, I forgot to do it so, here are the ones I took. I spent a whole Friday afternoon working on it and it was so satisfying and so worth it.

I'm not proud of my mess but, I want to show you the real before and after, haha. I had been using a metallic shelf that was my dad's for a long time. And I mean, the shelf is sturdy and it did the job. It helped me for a while but, it was just too messy since I kept throwing random things at it. I wanted the kitchen to look more put together. You know, like a proper kitchen. It really made a big, big difference. 

I like it because I can still have easy access and see everything I have but, if someone comes over, they don't have to see it. I'm sure It'll get messy with time but, that's ok. Hehehe.

One of the things I liked the most were the round shelves it has on the side cuz I can actually use some of them for decor. Right now, I'm not too sure how I want to decorate it but I added a few things just to see how it'd look.

Closer look to some of the things I put as decor for now. The only shelf I think will stay like that is the one with the abundance jar I made, the candle and the frame that as an old, handwritten recipe from my grandma's recipe notebook. I love it so so much and I think it's a cute way to honor her. 

This change came with some reorganizing and decluttering but, I'm SO happy with the way it makes my kitchen look. Now, since I was not going to use the shelf in the kitchen anymore, my idea was to change it to my office to have more space to store my things. And that takes us to my next mini project...

My office space is a bit of everything; working space, closet, cat's relaxing room and my fangirl, otaku place haha. I'm still working on it cuz I want it to feel like a cozy space but, it's been a slow process since I don't focus on it too much. 

Before and after.
Before I was using a bathroom shelf I brought from my dad's house when I moved cuz I didn't have much furniture and, I kept moving it around until it made it to my office. It was a bit small and I always kept it super messy, throwing all types of things on it. Changing it for the metallic shelf gave me more space to organize things and even add some decor. Is is the prettiest? No. But it does the job for now and changing it isn't really a proirity atm.

Lastly we have the smallest change, but the one I kept postponing for whatever reason, drilling the 3 plates in one wall. It only took me like 20 mins and honestly, it made a good difference.

I don't have a good before pic, but at the top, you can kinda see what it looked like. Between the plates I used to have a frame but, it fell and I just decided to put it somewhere else. Then I started noticing how the plates were not centered or aligned with the other side. And that happened because I never measured anything properly when I first hung everything. It was starting to bother me so much, haha. So, I decided to hang the 3 plates on the same wall and get something else to decorate the other side of the window later. 
This time I made sure to measure things and even had paper circles on my wall for some time to make sure it looked good.
It's something super simple and small but, it made me so happy to finally see it finished. I still want to change the curtains but I still dunno what color I want for them. All I know is, I want them to be plain and neutral, because I usually have a lot going on in the house.

Closer peek at the plates. They were Sari's (my dad's gf). Her daughter brought them form a trip to China but she couldn't take them when she moved away so, I kept them. 

Last thing I want to share is my lamp! My mom gave me that floor lamp and I think it complements the space really well. I wanted one for whenever I read in the living room at night. Having a lamp on is cozier than having all the lights on so, yeah. I plan to change the light to a warmer one as soon as I remember to get a new bulb, hehe.

And, that's it for this upgrades and changes in the apartment. Setting these projects for the month really helped and motivated me to actually focus and make the time to work on them. Defo better than trying to tackle a million things at the same time without making any progress.

I think I'll continue doing it this way, keeping in mind it doesn's always have to be something big. 

So, if you read til the end, big thanks! This was a long one. But I hope you enjoyed, I really love sharing and working on these thingies. 

Maybe I'll save other changes for future posts.

See you next time~! 💋

Collective House Goodies Haul

Even tho I already decorated my house for Fall a little, I still have some non-Fall related things I want to show you in here. A few decor pieces & random things I've collected for some time now.

I'll also share how I've styled some of them so far, but I know things might change at some point since I'm constantly moving things around, hehe.

Ok, let's start in no particular order~

This lamp from Temu has to be one of my favorite things in this post. I got it a couple of months ago for my bedroom and it is just sooo pretty! It has a warm light and it's USB-powered.
I currently have it on my nightstand but I haven't finished decorating my room so, I guess I'll show you more in a future post, hehe.

This isn't exactly a decor item but, I decided to include it here anyway. It's a Scentworx Lemon Blueberry Muffin wax melt that smells so, so good. Last year I bought a cauldron wax melter but, I hadn't used it much since I didn't really like the sugar skull wax I got back then. The smell of this one is strong and it makes my apartment smell like freshly baked muffins. 

I really want to have a nice centerpiece on my dining room table but, one of my cats will bite every single flower I put in there, real or fake. I originally bought this one for that, but after a few days I had to find a new place for it. I really like the color of these flowers and, even tho they're fake, they are still really pretty. 

You know I'll always add a witchy something to my decor if I have the chance and this DW Home Witching Hour candle was something I knew I had to get. There were many others with fun, halloweeny names and it was difficult to choose just one cuz they all smelled really good. This one doesn't smell like Fall tho it's more on the fruity side with notes of plum, nectarine, wild blackberry and black cherry.

How I styled them~

So, in this house we love Stray Kids and, my sister printed and framed some paintings made by Hyunjin and share them with me and my mom. I only chose this one for now cuz it went well with the kind of decor I have. But there were many great options to choose from.

Last item is this small, macrame basket. I originally bought it because I thought it was so cute but, didn't have a purpose for it. I ended up using it to keep my bookmarks and I love how it looks!

And, that's it. I think. I feel like there are some things missing but, I can always share those in another post. I just love buying and receiving things for my house so, so much. Hehe.

See you next time~!💋

Apartment 07 | My Cups & Mugs Collection |

Months ago, my friend told me I should make a video sharing my cups & mugs collection. I also remember watching some Youtubers I like doing it and, I thought it was a fun idea. I'm not making videos atm but, that doesn't mean I can't share them in here so, that's what I'm doing today, showing you the ones I've collected through the years.

I think I might have mentioned this before but, both of my parents used to collect mugs so, I kinda grew up with that. Plus, we know I'm a coffee lover who needs her seasonal mugs. Especially during Fall and Halloween.

While taking the pics for this blog, I kinda got rid of some of them, mostly the ones I just never used. It was a bit of a decluttering thing too, which is good cuz, somehow I find myself buying and receiving more each year, and I don't have enough space for them.

Anyway, this will be in no particular order, I'll just try to organize them into small groups and tell you a little about some of them.

Let's start with some anime~ You'd think I'd have many but, surprisingly, I don't!

I used to have a Nana mug that was suuuuper old and the pictures were already fading so, I threw it away and a Shingeki No Kyojin one but, I lost it when I moved. It's sad~
At least I was able to find old pics of them to show you.

Starting with one of my favorites, my Bleach Japanese tea cup. I love Rangiku and the 10th Division so, this one is precious to me. It was a gift I received many, many years ago. I can say, it was one of my first Bleach goodies. It came in a set of two, the other one was Hitsugaya's but, the guy who gave it to me, kept it. I believe there are sets like this for all the other Divisions too. I'd love to have Taichou's one day~ I have to say tho, I mostly use it to drink sake, hehe.
Then we have a Naruto mug I received for my birthday a couple years ago. This girl has a big crush on Sasuke, especially his papa Sasuke look. I just love seeing him here, hehe. 

This one is an oldie and you can tell cuz the red color is kinda fading but, it's still one of my favs. My Evangelion NERV mug. I believe I got it at an anime event and it's one of the ones I use the most. I love it so much. 

Moving on, it feels right to share the Japanese style cups I have, which, now that I thing about it, were all from my bestie...

The first two pics are of the same cup, it is from Miniso and it was a bday gift. It has two things I love, sakura flowers and bunnies. The bunny peeking from inside the cup is the cutest thing ever.
Next, there's another sakura tea cup that was also a bday gift. This one is from Dokkoi and I think it's just the prettiest thing ever. Love it so much. Similar to my Bleach cup, I sometimes use it to drink sake instead of tea~ hoho.
Last one was made by the bestie along with a matching plate. I mostly have them for decoration in the house.

The cup and its matching plate. ♡

Now, I'll show you some of the mugs that don't really have a specific category or group, hehe. Some of them are my most used ones.

My M&M's mug is one of my most used ones! It was a bday pressie and I love how big it is, it's perfect for my morning coffee. Plus, that quote it's me every morning. Haha.
The pink "Be yourself everyday" mug was a gift from my dad. The pic doesn't show it much but, it's a little iridescent. I also use this one a lot.
The one next to it was a teacher's day pressie, I think. I use it a lot too, espeically during Fall. For some reason it feels like a Fall mug to me.
The We Bare Bears was one of the first things I bought from Miniso, years ago when they released their merch. I wasn't even a big fan of the show but I thought they were cute. I actually bought many more things from that collab at that moment.
And then we have the Tess mug. That's my most recent one. Mom got it for me and, now I know it's from a tea brand but I only wanted it because of a character from one of my fav anime, Full Metal Panic! Her name is Tessa and sometimes, people call her Tess so, yeah.

My sister and one of my friends have a matching Spice Girls mug too, we custom made them years ago since the 3 of us were big Spice Girls fans. On one side we have the classic Spice Girls logo and pics of them with their signatures on the other side. Even tho I really like this one, I don't use it that often.
In the center, is my makeup cup. I think my mom gave it to me during my makeup obsessed era, haha. Honestly, I think I've used it like twice in my life but, I can't seem to get rid of it. It's fun and kind of unique. Haven't seen a similar one.
Below that one, is a Thundercats mug my dad gave me. I try not to use it much cuz the black color started chipping after a few washes. It's still pretty cool tho.
The black cat mug came in a set of 2, my mom has the other one that's pink with a white cat on it. I like it cuz it's a big one and use it often too.
Last on this pic is my Playful Kiss mug. It's still one of my fav kdramas. I bought it back when I was absolutely obsessed with it. It was a nice surprise to find it in a random store cuz, I watched this drama years after it was released. I don't use it as much anymore but, it still has a very special place in my heart.

This was the cat mug set. One was supposed to be Masha and the other one, Michee.

Pink mugs! Haha. The Hello Kitty one is from Walmart, I bought it many years ago and it's still one of the ones I reach for the most every morning because of how big it is.
The pink cat is from a xmas gift exchange at work. It's super cute and it came with a ceramic lid and a matching spoon. 
The hearts cup was a gift from my mom, even tho it doesn't look big, it is! I really like the heart deet on the handle and if you look closely, it also has hearts all over it. I don't really know how this effect or finish is called tho.
The last cup was also a gift my sister's friend sent me. The size it's pretty similar to he Hello Kitty one so, I use it a lot too. I like big ones!
 

This is the only espresso cup I have and, I've never used it. I got this one as a gift after buying a cocktail promotion at Sanborns on my mom's birthday a few years ago. It's really pretty and colorful but I only have it on display on my coffee station.

This black cat mug is the perfect transition to move to the seasonal/holiday ones. 
It is from H&M Home and it was a gift from one of my cousins. I love it because, it's really big, it has black cats on it and it feels kinda witchy! The gold deets give it an extra something.  

Starting with the seasonal/holiday ones we have, of course, my Halloween and Fall ones. I used to have many more but Masha broke some of the ones I had and I have been trying to slowly grow the collection again. I'm sure I'll get at least 1 new cup this year.

From top to bottom: Ghosty mugs! 
I got the first ghost last year for a small Halloweeny reunion I had at home. I got one for everyone so, of course I had to get one for myself too. The one next to it was part of the Halloween presies my mom gave me last year. It has a great size and I just love the ghosty on the handle. It's too cute! They were both from Walmart.
Then we have my cauldrons! The one on the left was a gift my dad and Sari brought from Universal Studios. It's a Harry Potter mug and, it's just too pretty I didn't want to use it much at first but, I actually love it and start using it as soon as September starts, hehe. I got the "magic potion" one at Walmart many, many years ago. I love it and it's pretty big but, the rim of it is a little too thick, which makes it weird to drink from it.
I honestly can't remember where the witch mug is from, I've had it for years and years now, but there's something about it that reminds me of the show Bewitched and I love it way too much.
The pumpkin is a new one too, it was on of my first Fall pressies last year. My mom got it at Walmart and it came with a lid and a straw so you can also take it on the go.

Even tho I'm not the biggest Christmas girlie, I do have some mugs I use during the holidays. Most of them have been gifts.

The first two are very small and similar. I think those were gifts from students with some chocolates in them. I think one of the is actually my mom's hehe.

The snowman face is the newest, I bought it two years ago to have matching mugs with my mom and sister. It is pretty big and I do use it a lot in December.

The Dallas Cowboys cup was also a gift a student got me when he visited the Cowboys Stadium.

The next one is a bit more wintery than christmassy. My sister gave me that one and I really like how the shape is different from the other I have. It's also pretty big.

The last one is made of a tin like material, it feels kinda old and that's why I like it. I honestly can't remember where it is from or if it was a gift. I don't use it much, cuz it's pretty small but, still like it for some eggnog or something like that. The only thing I don'y like, is that, because of its material, it gets suuuuuuper hot.

We are going to finish this post with my teacher mugs. I feel like I get a new one at least every year, haha. I don't use them much and I've given some of the older ones away in the past.

At the top is a mug a coworker gave me. She got personalized mugs for her 6th graders and was sweet enough to give me a Sailor Moon one. Working at that school wasn't really that great but, I met a few great coworkers and that particular group has been one of my favs so far so, I keep this one with love.
My dad and Sari gave me the Disney cup. It is very big and, even tho I'm not a big Disney fan, I like the design on it. It's pretty different from all the other teacher mugs I have.

These are some of the ones I've received in my current job throughout the years, hehe. There's not much to say really, I'm showing both sides of them and the one in the middle is one of those mugs that reveal the design on it with hot water.

And, I think that's it for the cups and mugs I have. I'm sure I'll be adding some more this year. At least a Fall or Halloween one. Can't be helped, I've already seen one I want online. Hehe.

I also have some thermos, tumblers and takeaway reusable cups (Idk if that's the name) but I didn't include them here because I didn't want to make this post super duper long. 

Let me know if you'd like to see those too.

See you next time~!💋

Recent Decor Finds

 

I just love buying things for my house so, we have another decor haul! I've already styled some of them during my Spring break and, I still have to figure out what to do or where to put the rest. Guess we'll have to make an updated post to share that. But for now, let's start with the haul!

The first two items are from a dollar-like store called Prichos, I have mentioned it before. You can find pretty nice things there sometimes for a very cheap price.

I actually need more frames, I have lots of things I still want to hang, I only got 2 this time but I'll start getting more soon to finally start decorating with those prints and drawings I have. 

I actually regret not getting more of these, at least one more, they were gone last time I went. The quality is pretty good for the price I paid. I think a small plant or candle would be pretty cute there. Maybe in my bathroom? Idk yet.

Now we'll move on to some things I ordered from Temu~

I got sick of the blue heart shaped hanger thingy I used for my keys, it just didn't go well with the house anymore (at least for me), I wanted to get something like this for a while, especially because you can put some decor or things on it too.

 

This area is not done yet but I think changing the key hanger thing made a big difference. I also moved the frame a little bit to make it look more centered on that wall.

                               

I wanted to get decent curtain tiebacks for the longest time now (I was using ribbon to tie them) and I love these! They are so magical! There's also the silver version and I think I might get them later too. The thing is, I don't think they go that well with my current curtains. That's something I want to change in the future even tho it is not a priority atm.

This is not a decor item but, it came in the same Temu package so, I just included it here. Cat lady needs a cat wine stopper for her drinks. No more words needed.

It looks super cute when it's on the bottle!

The pic doesn't show it that well but, this table runner has a very pretty sakura print. I love everything sakura so, this will be on my table not only during spring time. I just think I bought it way to big for my table... hehe.

The last thing I got from Temu was this basket for my babies' toys. I wanted to check the size and quality before buying a second one so I can keep part of their toys in different places in the house. 

And these last things were from a world fair I went to last month. I got them at the Japan stand.

This one is pretty self explanatory. I thought they were pretty cute, I got one for my mom and sister too.

This one has to be one of my favorite things ever! A manekineko fabric banner, my idea is to hang it (or part of it cuz it's suuuuper long) in the kitchen. Will it make look like a festival? Maybe, but I don't really care, haha.

And, that is it for this haul. Honestly? I didn't work on everything I was planning to do during my break but I'll defo update some things as they get done. I feel like I never finish decorating my house... haha. But I always have so much fun with it so, it's ok.

See you next time~!💋

Collective House Decor Haul ✨

Defo not my best pic ever, lol

I've been collecting some random house decor for a couple of months now and, for whatever reason, I just can't seem to put the post together until now. I'd usually try to focus on sharing things for a specific part of the house but lately, I have been working and getting things for different parts of the house so, guess you'll see a bit of everything here.

I'll start with some things I've gotten and also share some things I've received as gifts. So, let's do this!

 

I got this Zodiac Constellation frame back in December. I got one for my mom and sister as Yule pressies. I thought it was a very original and personal gift to give.
Of course I got my Gemini with Aventurine stones. This quartz is known as the "Stone of Opportunity" and it's believed to attract good luck, prosperity, and inner peace. It's super pretty, I ended up displaying it on my living room.

This is one of my favorites atm, hehe. It's a tiny pyrite bat I randomly got from one of those flash sales on Temu. It was super cheap and adorable! How could I resist? 

These two ended up together on a shelf in my living room along with some other witchy, magical things.

This is another random thing from Temu. An acrylic hanging thingy that was described as a "suncatcher". Honestly, I wasn't expecting it to be super good quality because of the price. I mostly got it cuz it's super cute and one of the cats looks like Michee. 

If you look at it from afar, it looks cute and not cheap. Haha. I hung it on my kitchen window, along with the dried oranges garland I made.

This one might not be a very exciting thing but, it took me forever to get it so, I'm very happy to have it now. After some years, I finally bought a frame for my Yayoi Kusama poster. It is a plastic, golden frame with some subtle black details on it. I especially love this poster because it's a pumpkin and you all know how much I love Fall and pumpkins. 

And now, let's move to the pressies! If there is something I love, is receiving things for my house.

This one is extra special. My sister gave me this quartz my dad got for her many, many years ago. It was something she kept for a long time but she told me she wanted me to have it. I honestly don't know what kind of quartz it is, but it's really pretty and meaningful.

First I had it in my room but, I decided to move it to the living room for now, since my room still needs a lot of love and work. Hehe.

Earlier this year my mom gave me this cat mini pot (at least it said it was a pot). It is super cute and, you know I'm a cat lady so, yeah. It's perfect.

Instead of using it as a pot, it holds some of my teaspoons on my coffee station.

An, that'll be the end of this haul. I've already gotten a few more things and have others coming in the mail so, I'm sure I'll share another house haul soon.

See you next time~! 💋