pallet shelves

As soon as I found out that I needed get a floor bed due to a bed frame being out of my budget, I knew I wanted a pallet to use as a headboard. 

The only problem remaining was finding a pallet. But! Low and behold, walking through the woods from campus to my house, I came across a whole mess of them sitting beside the path. All it took was a friend's help, some brushing off of spiders, and a day to dry in the sun. 

I decided to flip it around so I could use it as a shelf. And, while I have yet to put anything on it, it also works wonderfully as a pinboard.

suitcase bedside table

Thrifty, classic, and utilitarian. While it was tricky to get these cases on the plane, I was able to fill two of them up and fit them inside of my checked luggage. Then, it was a simple matter of carrying the middle one on the plane with me. Granted, I didn't figure on the handle snapping, or the latches wanting to open, but, without too much trouble thanks in part to my little brother being with me, I finagled in on and off the plane without too many stares.

And goodness was it worth it. Because my bed is on the floor, I didn't want a tall bedside table. They're just the right height o lean a pillow against and add a respectable amount of hidden storage. And they're a lovely olive green, which doesn't hurt anything.

crate shelves

I have always loved clean, unfinished wood. Such a glorious smell filled the room when I pulled these Home Depot crates from their shipping boxes.

I bought crates instead of a traditional bookshelf because not only do I like their more organic feel and nostalgia, but they can be configured multitudes of ways into many different types of furniture, far beyond simple shelving. They will also be wonderfully handy when I move in the near future. Here's to furniture that helps you move instead of having to be moved with difficulty!

jewelry storage

I have always loved birch trees...striking white trunks, the lace they make from sunshine, Robert Frost. As I was spending time out in the dirt weeding this past summer, I found this branch and knew I wanted to bring it with me. I thought about doing this wonderful tutorial by Mojomade with it, but I didn't have finishing nails and wanted to do something that wasn't as trendy.

Thanks to the layers of design in God's creation, I was able to use it as it was by simply propping it up in the corner. No nails, wire, or string, just a natural form, and one that I particularly love.

For bracelets, I'm using this artist's hand, something I have had in my room about three years now but have never used in this way. I knew I wanted to switch things up, and moving into a house has been very conducive to that. No longer in a familiar space, we're forced to come up with new solutions to old problems. It is a joy.

room tour

We are now all moved in. Everything has its place and (for now) everything is in that place. My roommate and I are reveling in all of the space we have. While it isn't all that spacious of a room, it is about the same size as one we were previously sharing with two other girls and four desks. I am really enjoying how it turned out. It is most certainly a testament to the fact that if you gather things which have utility and which you find beautiful, they will all work together. There are so many tidbits that it was too much for one post, so I will be doing individual posts on various things around our room. 

On living off campus. There are some very great joys in it, such as picking flowers on the way to class, having time and space to oneself, and putting nails in the walls, not to mention not having to be on the food plan. And yet, it is also difficult. Not in the ways that I expected, such as having to walk a mile to classes, or packing lunches, or having time enough to cook and prepare food. Rather, it is when classes are over for a few hours and there's nowhere to go, or when the Freshman still look unfamiliar even though we've already been on this mountain for a week and some.

There is a deep rut of separation now. Having been so deeply involved with my hall and friends on campus for the past three years, it feels bizarre. Word of mouth is so important here but we're not connected to it. We can't feel the heart beat and campus feels strangely rubber-like...one can touch it, but it just bounces back at you with no new information. 

Perhaps things will change. Perhaps the distance will be healed over. Perhaps this is the best thing that can happen...a buffer between remaining and leaving. I am content.

gift wrap closet

While it has been a pit of crumpled paper mess, I was able to transform this little sliver of a closet into a highly functional and organized place. While all of the supplies are in the exact same location as they were before, I've put to use some of the items themselves to corral the things we use.

The biggest problem was the gift bags. They generally stood in their cube of space on the bottom shelf, but finding a bag for the proper season was a chore. I would go to get a bag for a friend's birthday and end up having to shuffle through thirty Christmas ones before grabbing at the first non-seasonal one I could find simply because I was tired of looking. Now one bag "drawer" contains Christmas while the other contains everything else. All one need do is slide out the bag, flip through like a file-folder, and bring out the size and decoration required.

The rolls of gift wrap were happily standing before within their container, but now they aren't crowded with framing paper, various scrappy maps, or crumbled up notebook sheets.

Then there is the grab box. It contains everything necessary to wrap a gift...ribbons, pens, tape, scissors, etc...right at arms length. It makes covert wrapping operations a cinch.

coming adventures

Hello! This is the post where I talk about what I'll be doing next and show you pictures of me packing.

The next two weeks will be filled with backpacking...

15-20 // Scotland

21-22 // Switzerland

23-26 // France

...followed by time traveling and staying with family.

27-2 // Italy

3-9 // Germany

10-31 // England

As you can probably guess, I will not be bringing my laptop with me and will therefore not be blogging while traveling. Don't worry, I'm sure I'll have plenty of pictures and stories for you when I return home in June. 

So, cheers for now!

more little things

Just like I have found myself with little collections of stamps and coins, I've also become the owner of a large number of pictures, notes, and clippings that inspire me or remind me of people who have impacted me over the years.

My first reaction has always been to plaster the walls with them. Many of my past roommates as well as my room at home can testify to that habit. However, here in Oxford I have had to curb that impulse slightly because of the walls. They don't take to blue sticky tack as well with their matte paint. However, with some mending wool, tacks, and clothespins, I've been able to effectively transform the ugly tan bulletin board over my desk into a sort of memory box.

My favorite part about using clothespins and string has been the versatility of it. As the term has gone by, adventures have been had, and people met, more and more pieces have been added. It being such a simple matter to add another picture to one often clothespins or to move other pieces around to make room, the system has worked perfectly. I only wish I could take it home with me intact.

But that is what I thought when I left home and came here. I trust that their next home will be the same as well.

little things

I often find myself collecting little things - postcards, stamps, rocks, and the like. Unfortunately, I also become stressed with my surroundings aren't clutter free. This, as you can well imagine, becomes a problem with little things building up around the corners of my desk.

My solution? Glass jars.

Especially now that I buy my own food, it's really easy to find interestingly shaped containers. My current favorite was a delicious Indian Curry. Yes, I have bought food based on the jar that it came in. It has never disappointed me.

Now my little stamp collection is pretty yet contained while I can keep track of the coins that I find particularly lovely. Thankfully I have rocks from only two places around here (l to r: Wales, Ireland, Ireland) so far making it unnecessary to get them a jar...yet.

my last creative writing tutorial

As usual, I arrived a little early and got to treat myself to ten minutes of sitting by the Thames with nothing to do but wait. The river is lined with hardy summer boats and the cleats to secure them.

It was then a simple matter of slowly pedaling to his house, chaining my bike to the toaster racks out front, and knocking on the door. As soon as the door opens, you can smell the books. The small flat is brimming with them. bookshelves are on top of bookshelves and stacks of books have crept onto the mantelpiece and into vacant corners.

After a blissfully challenging hour had passed, we shook hands and it was over. On the slow way home I stopped in at Blackwell's for a suggested thesaurus. Walking out with the thesaurus and the most gorgeous copy of Jane Eyre I've ever seen (the only thing I've bought myself besides food and my teapot), the sun was lowering into golden hour.

I will most certainly miss this tutorial. Not only has my writing changed, but my attitude towards writing has changed. I have practical ways to critique myself and a much better understanding of the wider discourse of poets and somewhat where I fit into that. 

tape

I've been using tape on this trip. I broke down and got some right before I left because of the convenience of using it in my journal. It holds mementos and adds decoration with very little time and effort from me.

We've also marked the squeaky part of the floor in front of my dresser. It's precisely where I find myself standing when getting ready in the morning and we'd rather not infuriate the girls who live below us if we can help it.

This particular tape also peels off of walls without leaving any residue so I used it to put up our "where are you" plaques. We simply slide the ribbons across to the correct slot. It has helped immensely with bumbling in on a sleeping roommate or locking the door only to find out later that the other was downstairs without their keys.

stationary

My love of blue sticky tack increases daily. My current favorite use is keeping my stationary close at hand. The electrical cords in our room are channeled through a bar that wraps around my bed. It's the perfect little shelf for my glasses, knife, lotion, and other such tidbits as well as my stationary.

i love buttons

our room

unexpected usefulness

Remember those cards I made so I would always know what was coming next on the trip? 

Turns out they were absolutely wonderful for organizing during the actual traveling as well. If i got a receipt or a ticket, all I had to do was clip it and I knew exactly where it was. Also, when I arrived, it was a piece of cake to either write out the expenditure or slap a ticket into my journal.

traveling tidbits

Off to the airport to shoot across the pond tomorrow! Soon I can drown you in photos of Oxford architecture and wonderful home-cooked food. In the meantime, here are some clever little tricks I've learned while packing.

Lipstick holder? I don't think so.

The trip is a little complicated with two planes, and various subways and buses  Every step of the journey is written out on a card. I just have to flip through or move the top card to the back to see what I'm to do and where I'm to go next.

A hard folder holds all the paperwork I need for immigration. It's within easy reach so I can whip it out at customs and then slip it away again where it won't get in the way.

more journal inspiration

[ Telling the Story ]
Everything about this. Simple, yet detailed.
Images and words.

[ via Modern Hepburn on Tumblr ]
Sketching architecture.
There will be plenty of it!

[ Cotton Flower Press on Etsy ]
Documenting people I meet.
A simple way to do it would  be to take a photo,
cut it out, then blacken it.

journaling kit

My most recent project is proof that saved sock bags can actually be useful and pretty.

Today I started compiling all the materials I'll need for my journal while in Europe. I still have a couple things to snag, and some of them I'll be getting in Oxford itself, but for the most part it's put together.

The brilliance of the sock bag I've been saving and which I can finally put to use, is that it is not only the perfect size, but it is also water proof. I can therefore take it in my backpack without worry of a deluge of rain ruining all my work.

contents
decorative tapes for putting in pictures, feathers, leaves, or other tidbits like tube tickets
small scrap book papers to cut as journaling squares or banners
scissors with which to cut the scrapbook papers and tape
library date stamp to mark the date, of course
pen, another of course

to add
ink pad
journal
(watercolors though I might not use them in the journal)
(brushes)

and the best part?
It'll all fit in the bag!

ugh

I've had to start dealing with some of the little details of leaving. I am also being constantly reminded how bad I am at saying see you later. I'm excited to be gone just so I don't have to be leaving.

The tag is a Walmart paint chip of "Virgin Olive Oil"

The lining in the envelope is a map from an old encyclopedia.

quote board

Our room's quote board has taken a drastically different shape over the past week.

This lovely board, designed and created by the lovely and brilliant Hillary Eames (it's true Hillary...don't even), was wonderful in both function and appearance until some time last week when the delicate cardboard-duct tape bond gave up the ghost. That was something new I learned this week: duct tape and cardboard do not get along. I would not have guessed.

BUT! Now that that board doesn't work any more, we've strung the same string along the bottom of our book shelves lining the ceiling above our bookcases. I think it will continue to serve them sell next semester as well. So many good quotes up there already. I might share some more of them than are in this picture, but quite a few of them are ones that we couldn't put out on our hall quote board in our commons...mainly because they're just not funny out of context.

Anyhow! As I'm taking my mini-clothes pins with me to Oxford, I set up the new string using paper clips. I'd never done that before and it's working really well! Better than the pins actually because they can hold thicker pieces of paper with more ease.