...and what a wonderful, though slightly painful Black Friday it was!

Except when they KILL my feet. My first day in retail was a whirlwind of fun and awesomeness.

Only problem was that I wore high heels that after 6+hours of being on my feet left me limping and dreaming of flats and comfort.

About an hour or so before my shift was up I couldn't take it anymore. I took my first and only break since lunch and bought a pair of comfy flats. You won't see this silly girl killing her feet in high heels on work days anymore.

Other than that, I had a wonderful day and I am so excited to work at the next opportunity!

On my way home I picked up a Starbucks for the hubby and I and enjoyed our coffees and a cigarette or two on the deck before I came in and warmed up.

My iPod isn't working correctly, so I plan to hit up the Genius Bar at Victoria Gardens to get it checked out and maybe do a lil Christmas shopping with my boo while I'm there.

I am so tired. I've finally wound down and it's all just hitting me now. Time to shut the computer and hit the sheets,

Hope you had a wonderful and fruitful Black Friday!

Gin xoxo

Black Friday

I got a job finally! And it's at a place I hadn't even considered at first.

My first day in retail ever will be in the Macy's Ladies Fragrance department on Black Friday and I am sooooo excited!

I hope I do well and don't make a lot of mistakes on my first day. I would love to stay with Macy's beyond being a holiday hire, so I must give every bit of myself every day to make myself stand out and be a great employee.

A lot has happened around the apartment and I've made a lot of decorating touches that I hope to soon post about on here.

Thanksgiving with the family was wonderful and now it's time to get all the food brought from my parents put away and get to bed. I have an early, crazy day tomorrow.

Wish me luck!

Happy Fall

I apologize for my absence, things have been quite hectic lately.

A couple positive things have happened though and I have a lot to be grateful for.

On Wednesday, after nine months of dying to have something done with my hair I was finally able to afford to go in and have my hair tended to. After some of the disastrous hair shows (for my hair at least) that I've been through, my hair has become pretty unmanageable. Tangled and curly/wavy, less than a blow dry and a curling iron, my hair looks like hell. A big frizz ball. Think Mia Thermopolis (Princess Diaries) pre princessification. But now it's pretty smooth and sleek, thanks to a Brazilian Blowout. I got a great deal on it, had my hair dyed and trimmed and decided it was time to test out bangs. I absolutely love what I see when I look in the mirror now and it's made my morning readying time so much quicker. And I don't have to blow-dry my hair when I get out of the shower now. I can just run a brush through it and let it do it's own thing. Though I'll admit, it will look a bit sleeker if I run a hot iron over it.

I don't have a good before shot of my hair, but here it is after my salon appointment...

G and I also had a nice lunch in Downtown Claremont this week and had a wonderful brunch in Downtown Upland yesterday. We fall more and more in love with our new home everyday and all the wonderful amenities the location offers. I don't miss LA in the least and am happy to be putting down roots here.

After my lovely morning and afternoon with G, I decided to go spend the evening with my parents and sister. We had a fun dinner at Chili's, did some shopping at Barnes and Noble and a bit of shopping at the local outdoor mall. Let's just say I was very spoiled and got a wonderful early Christmas gift.

At B&N I got 2 large novels...

Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly

Dracula in Love by Karen Essex

Next we went to Anthropologie and my parents bought me this wonderful bag...

Autumn Garden Bag

Quite expensive, an early Christmas gift, and so incredibly beautiful. And it has TONS of storage. I'll be able to fit pretty much everything in this bag. So many different compartments (2 small on the sides, two large and then the large zippered middle with compartments in there too. Makeup bag, wallet, camera, on the go snacks, and my journal will fit easily in here. I will be using this bag for years to come and will always hold it dear. Thank you so much Mom and Dad for all the wonderful gifts you gave me yesterday. I can't wait to gift you guys for your birthday this month, though unfortunately it will have to wait till beginning of next month, but if I'm able to get what I'm hoping to for you guys, you're both gonna LOVE it. 

Today so far has been a cool, rainy day. And G woke up feeling quite ill, though he is feeling better now, but is still feeling physically weak. I hate when he's sick. It worries me so, but hopefully by tomorrow he's well and his usual self.

I had planned to go around turning in job applications today, but with G feeling as weak as he does I don't dare leave him alone. Hopefully by the middle of next week I get myself out to do that, that way I have myself out there and maybe/hopefully hear from someone by the time I get back from visiting my family for my Mom's birthday and the Halloween holiday.

Have a great weekend y'all!

A moment of inspiration

Via Down and Out Chic

One look at this photo and it was like an internal sigh of relief/happiness. What a lovely bedroom. My first thought was, "What's the name and make of the paint?" and secondly, "Where can I get those bed linens."

Of course those windows make my heart all aflutter too. This will be in my bedroom inspiration folder for a while.

Jessica Simpson Shoes

Copito in Tobacco Premier

GORGEOUS! I want!


I've been a fan of Jessica's shoes since '08. I own two pairs of VERY high heels from her collection and they're the most comfortable heels (beside my Calvin Klein pair) that I own.


I've been jonesing for a pair of haute boots for a while and as I know her shoes are high on comfort, these look to be perfection.

McCall's Candles

In 2008, when I was living up in a little town called Tehachapi, I visited one of the many cutesy little gift shops in downtown and found the cutest candles ever. The rustic, antique look of McCall's Candles immediately drew me to them, but the scents they offer are even more enticing. My favorite is the Campfire Marshmallow. They are very aromatic and after being out of the house for a few minutes and walking back in, the scent just envelopes you. While in Tehachapi, I only bought the tiny 5 oz candle and it was used up all too quickly.

When visiting with a friend in my hometown of Corona, we decided to take a little drive to Tom's Farm's, which we knew best for it's candy store. But now as adults it's a whole new fun and lovely place. The furniture store is filled with gorgeous decor and obviously furniture and I was very surprised and happy when I saw that they sold McCall's candles. I bought the 26 oz candle this time and have been burning it throughout the day since. It lasts a while and when you look at it, the wax that has melted has a glittery look to it. I just love it!

While at Tom's Farm's I looked through their huge array of Halloween Decor and saw many things I absolutely wanted, but settled on a cute little LED pumpkin.

You can't tell from this picture, but the LED light flashes multiple colors (orange, green, red, blue, purple). He is just so cute. There were others like him there, and I'm hoping I'll be able to go back and snag a few other sizes.

And as mentioned, we hit up the famous candy store and I bought three different bags of salt water taffy. So delicious!

Worrying and waiting

Received the unfortunate news that little M is not at 100% right now. I'm trying not to let my imagination run away with what-if's, but it's hard when things are quiet. I'd like to think that the phrase "no news is good news" applies, but I'm not so sure. 


I don't really pray anymore, but the moment I got the call about him this morning I've been praying non stop and thinking constantly of him and A, my wonderful and beautiful cousin/best friend and hoping that all is going well and that she and the rest of the family are okay. Fingers crossed that good news is on it's way, and this whole scary ordeal will be over soon with A and baby M returning home happy, healthy and full of joy.




***UPDATE*** 3:45PM


Word through the family news vine is that baby M is ok, but will be in the hospital for a bit.
Awaiting a phone call from my Uncle to get more definitive news. Makes me feel better though to know that he is doing ok/a little better. Of course, as a friend said and I echoed, I won't be completely satisfied until they are home safe.

Favorite Perfumes; my blossoming collection

• At seventeen I began to have in interest in perfumes and the first one I fell in love with and received from my Dad for Christmas was Burberry Brit.

I still have about 1/4 left in the bottle and use it for fancy dinners. Unfortunately I lost the cap for it though.

• The second bottle of perfume was purchased by me at Sephora and I was instantly taken with it and it's delicious, sugary smell, Aquolina Pink Sugar.

Unfortunately it was in the sun a bit much at my last place and has a yellowish color to it now, but it still smells delicious and I love when I walk into a room and someone says, "I smell and am suddenly craving cookies..."

• My third perfume was a gift from my mother, DKNY Be Delicious.

I went through a green apple phase, possibly stemming from my love for Apple Martini's. Unfortunately I cannot indulge in them anymore, so I sniff on this instead to quell the craving. 

• On a weekend shopping trip with a friend to Montana Ave in Santa Monica we stopped in Benefit Cosmetics and I tried out a couple of their scents and unsurprisingly fell in love with the perfume with my name on it, My Place or Yours: Gina.

I scoff at the poem on the box, and I will not post it here, but the scent.... it's perfection. I pretty much consider it my signature scent. It was made for me and I for it. I wear it pretty much every day. 

Some of the other perfumes in this collection have a lotion that you can buy, but every time I've asked, no one has had the lotion. I hope at some point to be able to get it, and I also plan to stock up on an extra bottle or three of this because I will be so very sad if they discontinue it and I don't have any extra around.

Now for the ones that I hope to add to my collection:

Last December I fell in love with Prada L'Eau Ambree...

And this summer I smelled Coach's Poppy and am now lusting for it as well...

I'm hoping I'll find these in boxes under the tree this Christmas. 

New addition to the family

Via Captured by Carrie

A few hours ago my wonderful and beautiful cousin/best friend gave birth to an adorable little boy. I am so happy he is finally here and I can't wait to meet him next month! I have so many little gifts and stories for him. 


Congrats J & A! And little A too. You're going to be a great big sister! Our whole family is so blessed to have little M in the world! 

Anthropologie ♥

Calling for Rain Bag

Toy Soldiers Scarf

Mighty Adornment Tee

Lady's Choice Cardigan

Pal of Athena Owl Ring Box

Rooftops Switch plates

II Pause II

I am exhausted. I had hoped to churn out all 6 posts on the rooms/re-do plans of the apartment, but I can't keep my eyes open much longer.


But I will be back asap to finish up with the bedroom, living room/dining room and the kitchen posts.


Until then...


G'night!


xoxo

Bathroom

Oh the bathroom. Where to begin. I think it was the least kept room by the previous owners. And then whomever the bank hired to "fix it up" did a craptastic job touching things up.


He caulked HORRIBLY around the tub, the toilet and even the vanity. And he somehow splashed calk on the vanity itself. I had to scrape some off when I cleaned out the drawers (they were DISASTER!). I don't think the tub/shower itself was ever cleaned. It's got stains and nicks in the fiberglass everywhere. I tried to give it a good scrubbing when we moved in, but I refuse to lay down in it for a bath. Showering is all it will be for me!


After it was cleaned I made a little trip to Target and bought the brown rug you see and the shower curtain. Something to try and warm it up a little. :/


• It's crying out to be painted. I'm either gonna stick with the green, earthy thing or might switch to more of a beachy turquoise. Either way the paint will be light.


• G and I are both tall people (6ft +). Even if I had the big bucks to put a tub in there that would be big enough, it probably would be too big to fit in the room. So we hope to have the fiberglass ripped out and have a large tiled shower. The head of the shower is on the left wall and at the end we want to have a large tiled seat. It'll certainly make leg shaving easier and having that whole thing as a big shower will give us sooooo much room! I'm hoping there will be able to be some shelving built into the wall for soaps, etc.


• Flooring. Possibly the same tile as used in the shower, but bigger... I don't know. But I hope it will have radiant heating underneath and be a lovely stone.

Having a single sink kinda sucks, but we make due. Another ill kept and stained piece. If I scrubbed the wood any harder I'd probably ruin it. 


• New vanity. I've been in love with dark, sparkly speckled granite for a while now so that's what I want for the countertop. The vanity piece itself will probably be a dark wood, with hopefully lots of storage. We might go a little bigger than the current piece. The faucet we have now drips and either splashes water everywhere or barely trickles out. G has an old Moen faucet that he loves and at the end of this week we'll be installing that in the meantime to end the waste of water and have better water flow.


• The toilet paper holder will most probably be on the side of the vanity, and I'm hoping we'll get a nice modern looking piece. If it will fit, I have always liked the idea of using a deep hurricane vase as a extra toilet paper holder.

• The light fixture... goodbye. No brass. Ever. Again. 


• The mirror could be fixed up easily with a frame around it. With the way it sits low on the current vanity I can't attempt it without having to rip something out, so it'll be a wait and see if we keep it and modify it or buy a new one.


• The medicine cabinet is totally ick nast. Cleaned that as much as I could, but still. :/ I'm hoping we can get a deeper one, and possibly not mirrored. Too much mirror bothers me.


• Electrical and switch plates changed to white or maybe something decorative to go with the room.

I'm sorry, I'm sure you really don't want to see my toilet. I myself don't really like to see it. 
G and I swear this was brought here and installed from a pre-school. It is the lowest to the floor toilet I have ever had to deal with. We hate it!


• Obviously, replace the toilet. Which will be done sooner than later! This weekend in fact. We will be installing a new, low flow, double flush toilet that is elongated and ADULT height. lol


You can see my little glade scent/air deoderizer there. I absolutely love it! And recommend it. ; D

• In the last photo you can see a box to the right of the toilet. In it is our new towel rack and when the new toilet is installed, so too will the new towel rack. The current one is loose and has paint splattered all over it.


• That ugly door handle. It go bye bye. The sooner the better. The door too. Another old, cheap and ill fitting door. I'm in a love affair with the old crystal/glass door handles and I'm hoping that's what will end up on the bathroom door.

Entryway

This is the entryway looking from the laundry room. The door is dark and very beaten up and the handle is the same nasty brass as the laundry. We know that the previous owner had two big dogs that he let chew on whatever they liked, as the door shows it, as well as the fact that he... or someone, had a penchant for kicking it. :/

The teeny round white ball thing you see on the wall covers a small hole where the door handle had been bashed into the wall numerous times. When we start painting, that hole will be patched and the little protector will probably go back as it works perfectly.

As you can see I found a home for the pretty knob "hanger" I bought at Homegoods. Can hang my purse there on the go, as well as my book bag and a jacket once it starts and sticks to being cold around here. (last week it was in the 60's, this week we're back to being closer to 90 degrees. The cool was nice while it lasted.) As you go down the hallway, to the left is the bathroom and the door you see straight ahead is the bedroom. And at the end of the hall is the living room.

On the wall with the picture frame, underneath we plan to put a table. I'll have a bowl there for keys, a little box for in-going and out-going mail, and a spot to put more flowers. :D

Here are the lights I was referring to in the last 'Laundry' post. They're older than me and have seen better days. 

What I want to do...

• New flooring. Vinyl/linoleum must go. Some day the carpet will disappear too in trade for wood or bamboo flooring.

• Obviously paint. I may do the right wall (with the purse hangar) as a feature wall. Or find some of those wall decals and do something interesting with that.

• The electrical outlets and switch plates need to be changed to white.

• The smoke detector is older than me and I'd like to change it out for a white one with a combination smoke and carbon monoxide detector.

• Our doorbell is pretty much nonexistent. There's a button outside the door, but the "bell box" was missing from the wall when we moved in. Doorbells have become quite ritzy in the last few years. They've got bells with six different rings and even holiday themed ones. That might be too weird for me. 

• Light fixtures. No idea what yet, but it must happen and we're hoping to have them on a dimmer switch.

I'm gonna post the picture again so you will not be confused about where I'm talking about...

• On the short wall to the left (with the light switches) we plan to hang a mirror and a thick wooden coat rack underneath it. The coat rack is a dark wood and has a nice sized shelf on top. The mirror will be in the same shade. 

• At some point I hope we can switch out the front door. I don't know exactly what I want yet, and I'm sure it'll be quite a discussion between G and I as he will most probably be very picky about it. heh

Laundry Room

One of the things I love the most about this new apartment is that I have a dedicated laundry room. At our last place, there was a service porch off the back of the tiny kitchen and we had to crunch in a washer/dryer next to the water heater AND a cat litter box. 

Our laundry room here is its own decently sized little space, right off the entry way. As you can see it accommodates a side by side washer and dryer and has some old, kinda ugly cabinets above for ample storage. Right now I keep the laundering supplies, two drills, other small house tools, and hide the cat litter in there.

I'm very happy to have a window in the laundry room and I'm not tripping over the cat litter box to get to the dryer. 

Now that you've seen the room, here's what I plan to do in it:

• Obviously it needs a paint job. Nothing bright, just light and airy. A heavy cream or light grey.  As you can see in the last photo, the previous owner had (very badly) built a shelf under the window and I did my best to get it out without damaging the wall. Still, you can see that the room had been painted after the shelves were "installed".

• Window covering. I think I mentioned the other day that we had a company come in and put a tinted film on the windows to help cut down on the heat gain (and it's helped tremendously!), and during the day it keeps anyone from seeing inside, but at night it has a mirror finish look and if there's a light on in the room EVERYONE can see in. Plus with a window covering there, I'm hoping it'll deter the cats from jumping up into that window. I'm betting they'll show me otherwise, but... I'm gonna try. lol

• In the latest issue of Do It Yourself  they did a little bit of an ikea hack with the Lack shelving unit and  secured them horizontally on the wall for shelving. I'm not a big fan of the cabinets above the washer and dryer. They're clunky and I'd prefer something a little more open and airy, so I'm considering trying something like what they featured in the magazine...

• Next up is the flooring. I can't stand cheap vinyl/linoleum. And once you nick it, it just goes to hell from there. The laundry room, entry, and kitchen all have the same vinyl floor and as soon as possible it will all disappear. As the laundry/entry are pretty much connected they will end up with the same flooring, whatever happens to be chosen. I'm leaning towards a nice stone. I have no idea what, as we can far from afford to begin demo like that, but I'm hoping by next year I'll be able to start making my design mark on this apartment. 

• You can't see the light fixture in these photos, but you will in the next post which will feature the entry/hallway. It's very old and dated (and not in a good way). It shall be on its way out and a new, prettier fixture will replace it.

• All the switch plates in the house are a dark creme. Like the rest of the house, the switch in the laundry room needs to be changed out to a crisp white.

• The hollow core door is ill-fitting and the brass handle has seen better days. It would be my ultimate dream to see a lovely door with etched glass...

via  InteriorWoodenDoors.com

Of course I'd want it to be in white and the handle would (or something similar) be this lovely glass knob from Anthropologie...

Tea House Doorknob

• Lastly, I'm hoping one day we can afford to get a high efficiency front load washer/dryer pair. I'd most love to have one with steam option so I never have to pay for dry cleaning again! 

If and when we are lucky enough to get a set, I would put a countertop on top for in room folding.

Better late than never...

I know, I've been MIA the last couple days and I'm sorry. School, family gatherings, and medical issues have kept me quite busy the last few days, but I hope to be back on top of this and make up on posts this weekend.


I've taken photos of the apartment, have my list of remodel/decor hopes for each room and will be working on getting them all written up and posted before weekends end. Also I took a little hike with my family up Mount Baldy on Labor Day and will make a little post of our adventures up the mountain.


I was planning to take a bunch of photos at my local farmers market to post about it, but when I showed up downtown yesterday there wasn't a food stand in sight. I ending up asking in one of the stores why the farmers market was missing and they said that the city cancelled it. Last week was the final one for this year! Very sad and disappointed, but I know next door in Claremont they have the Claremont Farmers and Artisans Market on Sundays and I most likely will start hitting that up. Really want some fresh flowers for the living room. 


I got the LOVE print up in a lovely frame, purchased on sale from Michaels and the little vintage door handle rack has found it's home next to the front door. Now I have a spot to hang my purse and a jacket.


So that's a little peek into what I've been up to this last week, and you'll know more by Monday. Have a happy weekend, y'all!


xoxo

Oh what a frenzy

After driving up Mt Baldy and enjoying a lovely lunch at the Mt Baldy Lodge (pictures soon) I went into major cleaning mode when we got home.

I am so proud of myself and it's such a relief when you know your entire house is spotless. We brought some of G's photographs up from the garage and hung them, which makes it so much more homey. And I've been going crazy at the market buying flowers and arranging them. I love seeing so much green and bright color. And yummy, scented candles are the icing on the cake.

G has a myriad of frames, so I was hoping he'd already have one that my new LOVE print would fit in, but unfortunately they're all too small. Tomorrow I'll hopefully get a chance to pick one up and once I've hung it I'll get to work on apartment photos and my list of to-do's.

I tried a new tea today and fell totally in love, it's called Licorice Spice by Stash...

It has a delicious, sweet aftertaste. And I love the box.

I really need to get myself a tea kettle, dropping the tea bag in a cup of water and then microwaving it doesn't seem to make the tea saturate as well. I feel like I'm tasting more water than tea.

Well, it's been a long day and I am ready to go off to dreamland. G'night!

Happy Friday

Today was an all around good day. Got to sleep in a little, found some yummy banana nut muffins in the kitchen for breakfast and our MIA pool guy finally showed up and cleaned the pool (lots of banana leaves and algae in it, ick!).


Our gardener was here also today and got the lawn all clipped up and fixed one of our broken sprinklers. Said gardener also happens to be a plumber/handyman and attended to the broken shower drain in the main  house and installed the log lighter for the fireplace.


I am so jealous of our tenants having a fireplace! But in four or so years it will be all mine. I imagine many a wonderful Christmas'/parties around it.


I got the hummingbird feeder up yesterday and here's what it looks like in the yard...

I hung it from an eve, close to some plants I notice that the hummingbird likes to take a break at. I saw him go flying into my hibiscus today, but he didn't notice the feeder. If I don't see him at it soon I might have to move it. Part of the reason I put it there was because I want to be able to see it from upstairs/the balcony. It's mainly for his pleasure though, so if I have to move it, I move it.


I decided to go on the search today for a wind chime. First I hit up Armstrong Garden center and I liked what they had, but I wasn't feeling the prices. The cheapest wind chime that I liked was $55 and I understand that they sell the top of the line ones, but I just couldn't see myself spending that much on one I only slightly liked.


So off to Lowe's I went with my 10% off coupon. Right when I walked in the doors from the Garden Center was a display with a bunch of wind chimes. I was so happy! I tested them all, looking for the perfect chime. I don't like a chime with a lot of tinny. I like it to sound a lil... deeper. If that makes sense. I finally settled on a lovely copper colored one, with an interchangeable weight. Since it's fall, I am using the leaf...

I hung it at the far right end of the deck because I want to be able to hear it from the bedroom. I think it looks awful nice next to the palm and with the mountains as a background it's just lovely.


While at Lowe's I found lovely Calla Lily plant and decided to bring it home to have inside the house. All the plant focus has been on outside the house, but I've been dying for some green inside so I bought the Calla Lily plant and have it sitting on our window seat in the living room.

When I got home from my little shopping excursion the painters had arrived to get to work in the main house. They took the nasty old evaporative cooler off the dining room side of the main house and in the process had to pull down the siding. Since they weren't able to find siding that matched they pulled down the siding farther along the wall that meets the breezeway door and will be patching both with a wider wood siding. In the process of pulling everything down, down came my little butterfly bell (we use it as a "doorbell" and I decided it was time to find an actual chain for it rather than the ratty yellow cord that hung from the bell.

So off I went to Michaels. I adore Michaels. I can get in so much trouble there. But I think I really kept myself in check. I found a lovely chain and once the siding by the breezeway is done, I'll put the bell back up and take a photo to post here. I was enamored with all the Halloween stuff they had, but told myself to wait... HomeGoods is next door. I made a quick stop in the prints/posters area and found a lovely print that I'm going to hang above the living room sofa... as long as G doesn't fight me on it. lol

I need to get a frame on it and then I can hang it. I will take a photo of that once it's been done, which I hope will be before the end of this weekend.


After I took my Michael's purchases to the car I walked next door to HomeGoods. And I was so right to wait. Oh my gosh the Halloween stuff they have! I still practiced restraint, I will wait to buy Halloween stuff until I am with G, because he'll get really excited and then it won't be so bad as if I had come home all on my own with a bunch of stuff. haha


I ended up buying two 'Owl' related things for my expectant Cousin for her baby's room. And then I found this lovely aged looking red box for the coffee table to put odds and ends in, this beautiful set of mosaic candle holders, and a towel/jewelry rack.

The mosaic candle holders will probably be moved somewhere else and I've yet to figure out whether I want the rack to be in the bathroom or the bedroom. But will post pics once they've found their permanent homes.


Before I headed home I stopped at Bath and Body Works and picked up the new Fall soaps I talked about in a previous post. Once home I unpacked everything, made spaghetti, and now here I sit and that was my day. I took some pics earlier of my Lilies on the table. Still waiting for a few to open up, but they're looking beautiful.

It is my plan to take photos of each room in the apartment for the purpose of 'before and afters' as I make changes and updates to it. I hope to take these photos this weekend and do a post on each room detailing what I'd like to do. I'll try to make it as interesting as possible. I can get boring with my list love. lol


Hope you're having a lovely Friday evening and that you have a Happy Labor Day holiday weekend!


xoxo