OUR FIRST APARTMENT
My husband Eric and I are officially hitched! *eek!* This season has been so fun, chaotic, special, and full of adventure. As newlyweds, creating our first place to live in has been so exciting. Creating an environment that feels like home, is comfortable, and life-giving has been a creative way for us to team up together. We were super blessed to have our parents, friends, and family help us piece it together with items from our registry. So thankful for our tribe!
Something I knew I wanted to incorporate into our place was a collage wall of photos of us from dating, engaged, and married. Seeing a timeline of us on our wall is so sentimental. Yosemite National Park was the first park we got to visit as a couple so I snuck that in as well.
Chair: Target, Rope Lights: Home Depot, Frames: Hobby Lobby, Yosemite Photography: Kyle Helmond https://www.kylehelmond.com/
The artwork that’s above our chair was handmade by artist Dave Avanzino. He’s an amazing artist that does work for Disney and super gifted in what he does! He’s also been one of my Dad’s best friends since before I was born. The artwork is of Psalm 121:1-2, “I lift my eyes to the mountains. Where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.”
You can check out Dave’s art on his Instagram page: @daveavanzino or his website: https://www.daveavanzinodesigns.com
Our bedroom I wanted to keep rustic with some pops of color. The metal / wood bed frame, nightstands, and lamps were a find from Amazon. The grey white rug was score of a deal from Costco, the deep teal bedspread from Pendleton, and my favorite part of all - our handmade National Park quilt made from my Aunt Melanie that was gifted to us at our bridal shower. Though my Aunt does not take custom orders, she shared the fabric details that she got to make this quilt. It’s by Riley Blake brand and can be found at this link if you’d like to make anything from blankets, quilts, or even pillows in a National Park theme: https://www.etsy.com/listing/820024569/national-parks-wilderness-wonders-panel
My Aunt’s Instagram for quilting techniques is: @theoutdoorquilter. We will treasure this gift forever! It’s so US.
Believe it or not, one of my favorite parts of our place is the bathroom, ha! It’s so bright & cheery, with lots of natural light. My mother-in-law Carey completely designed it from the wall color, hardware, cabinets, and flooring. She’s got an amazing creative eye and we are sure blessed!
Though we are working on my watercolor YouTube tutorial channel office currently downstairs, we also created a little desk space for us to work upstairs as well when needed. This is where I paint mostly, being that it has a ton of natural light and it’s conveniently placed just outside the bedroom close to our coffee maker. Where my coffee lovers at?
Here are a few direct links to some of our mini office items:
Faux leather chair by Magnolia: https://www.target.com/p/faux-leather-38-metal-accent-chair-hearth-38-hand-8482-with-magnolia/-/A-80176908#lnk=sametab
Plants, ceramic pots, and suede leather bound journals by The Potting Shed in Orange: www.tpshomeandgarden.com
Grey wood desk by Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B096Z53HWL/ref=sspa_mw_detail_5?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ACPL3DNKZAJPG&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9waG9uZV9kZXRhaWwp13NParams
National Park calendar by Erin Vaughan: https://www.etsy.com/shop/ErinVaughan?
Just against the wall behind the office, we have a little coffee nook with some pantry items in the cabinetry. Your girl needs her daily sourdough toast in the morning so a toaster was also a must next to our Ninja coffee maker, ha! To the left we have another tall open cabinet with a microwave, some organizing jars, & one of my favorite Mount Whitney photo prints from Kyle Helmond. This is where Eric and I camped for the first time so it’s a special place for us.
Black wood industrial clock by Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08J7XFFRX?colid=3L4TWF4NABV8X&coliid=I3ECXWPRR2Z55Q&ref_=wr_ov_pt
Mount Whitney Print by Kyle Helmond: https://www.kylehelmond.com/
If you haven’t noticed, we’re a bit obsessed with National Parks. We got to visit four during our honeymoon (Arches, Bryce, Zion, & Canyonlands) and have been to a few others together when we were dating. Naturally, I wanted to incorporate some elements of our National Parks throughout our place. I’m definitely a sentimental person, so having these visual reminders of some of our favorite places we have gone to brings back so many special, fond memories.
Watercolor Sequoia Tree as our wedding guestbook: https://www.etsy.com/listing/488601870/guest-book-alternative-signature-tree?campaign_label=proteus_transaction_guest_buyer_notification_q4_treatment_v2&utm_source=transactional&utm_campaign=proteus_transaction_guest_buyer_notification_q4_treatment_v2_010170_688909163015_0_0&utm_medium=email&utm_content=&email_sent=1641241467&euid=CyC5NVW1hiz38PtKLMZW3TeiJZmg&eaid=11743778959&x_eaid=79fdc3ff1a
Watercolor Yosemite Marriage License: https://www.etsy.com/listing/994594850/yosemite-marriage-certificate-wedding?click_key=1a0598a3270c65af93b5ef6e96b67dc9e12ea69e%3A994594850&click_sum=c766f87a&ga_search_query=Yosemite&ref=shop_items_search_2&pro=1&sts=1
Vintage Yosemite Chapel history booklet courtesy of my sister’s boyfriend, Carter.
Something that you can never have enough of… storage! We thrifted our antique dresser from Old Towne Orange and then got the tall dresser from Amazon. (It was quite a project to set up) Aside from that, we utilized storage bins underneath our bed in addition to upper shelves in the closet. Somehow, all our things fit and purging to get rid of quite a few things we no longer needed helped immensely.
One of my favorite little pieces we have in our room is the music sheet canvas I had made custom through Etsy. This artist put the words of the song we slow danced to when we first said “I love you.” Turning Page by Sydney Rose is a special song for us. Just above the words are our names and the date we became officially boyfriend and girlfriend. Can you tell I’m sentimental or what? Ha!
One way I like to capture memories from trips is getting a bulk order of square prints made through Parabo Press. The quality is amazing & they often have sales running! https://www.parabo.press.com
We have been so blessed to be surrounded by such encouraging, supportive, and generous friends and family during this season. Our cup is so full!
Many people have asked if I got “post wedding blues” that many brides may get after a wedding is all said and done. And to answer that: I have not… it only goes up & up from there! The actual “being married” part of this season has been the greatest gift. If you yourself are planning a wedding now, you got this! So much care, thought, and planning go into a wedding but being officially married has been the best part of it all. Soak it all in!
Wedding Photo by Tessa Marie Photography
Bridal Shower Photos by Uma Mainprize
https://instagram.com/umainprize?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
Any questions on our place or for Eric & I? Feel free to comment below.