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a California bedroom

A few weeks ago, I posted this photo on Instagram: 

And it was crazy - I got more direct messages, Facebook chats and texts from friends than I had in a LONG time on a blog post, gushing over and asking about my bedroom here in Cali. I realized that I had never showed my pretty little room here, and so here you have it - a California bedroom by yours truly!

I started this post from the comfort of my childhood bed, and let me tell you, there are few things I love more than that bed. My sister and I got to redecorate our bedrooms when we turned 14, and I've always adored my sunny yellow walls and bright espadrille-striped bedding. 

That said, I feel like as an adult I've redecorated my bedroom every couple years or so, for various reasons. My first grown-up room at the age of 22 was replaced by king-size, "couple-appropriate" Pottery Barn for cohabiting, then replaced again with girly, bohemian Anthropologie in the Chateau de Liz (RIP). As soon as I decided to relocate to California, I decided it was time for another change - and, being v. basic in all things, launched myself straight into the oh-so-Instagrammable all-white bedding world. 

For context, here's how I spent the time after my mom left and before my things arrived in California, and the near-finished product, a few days later: 

A few of my friends have all-white bedding - notably Kelsie, whose room I have ALWAYS envied - and I had found myself browsing Anthropologie's gorgeous offerings on more than one occasion. Given my penchant for lots of colorful decor, there was something so serene about the thought of an all-white bed...almost like waking up in a cloud every day. I pulled the trigger on Anthro's Bertilia duvet and standard shams, their gorgeous Georgina euro shams, and a Moroccan wedding dream of a lumbar pillow. Because the bedding mixed white and cream, I, too, mixed the two tones - it adds a really pretty depth to the bed and is a bit less stark than it could be otherwise in a white bedroom. 

Let's be real though - it wouldn't be me without a bit of color, and I was talked into the two throw pillows by my mom and the bedding consultant at the Palo Alto Anthropologie. (Because, naturally, the Palo Alto Anthropologie has a dedicated BEDDING consultant, right?!) I was doubtful at first, and leaned toward the idea of a totally monochromatic bed, but the second I saw the way the watercolor flowers matched my mural, I was sold. 

As for that mural...it is, without a doubt, my favorite thing I have ever had in a bedroom, bar none. It is actually wallpaper from, you guessed it, Anthropologie...but the story of how I fell in love with it makes me happy and SO I am going to tell you all. 

Anyone who has read this blog for a period longer than this move knows that my favorite restaurant in the Twin Cities is Spoon and Stable, the brainchild of culinary wunderkind Gavin Kaysen. His second restaurant, Bellecour, opened in March - right around when I actually committed to moving - and features this stunner in their "Garden Room:" 

Look familiar? I thought it was just the most gorgeous thing I had seen in a long time, and had actual heart flutters when I saw it pop up in Anthropologie's new products less than a week after Bellecour opened. I HAD to have it. Only problem? Renters of apartments tend not to be allowed to wallpaper, and, even had we been, our walls here are slightly textured. 

Naturally, my MacGyver of a father had a solution - 1/8" thick 3x9 plywood, reinforced from behind, whitewashed and turned, effectively, into mobile art installation panels. We spent one of my last afternoons in Minnesota together doing projects, and it was the coziest, most lovely way to spend a Saturday...it put me in mind of school days building boats for the 3rd grade regatta, or putting together science fair experiments. So much gratitude to him for being the kind of papa bear who will drop everything and try anything to make his child's dreams come true, even when said child is fast approaching 30 and, really, didn't need a 9x9 wallpaper installation. 

To this day, I get comments from everyone who sees the panels in their place of glory - our leasing agent lives across the hall, and had seen them through my window and asked about them, even! - and I'm utterly smitten with them. They make such a statement in a very standard, white, square box of a room, and are the perfect foil to my chill, neutral, girly bed. 

The view from said bed is, of course, of a gallery wall, because it is me and my magpie tendencies with art will never fade or die. I'm enchanted with my new pieces, framed (as always) by the experts at Posters on Board.

The central piece is a purchase from Shakespeare and Company in Paris, featuring Alice in Wonderland quotes. My actual fave, though, is the Golden Gate Bridge sketch I legit stole out of Emily's portfolio (with her permission!) over Easter. Seeing all my carefully selected art, from warm-fuzzy quotes to gifts from loved ones to travel souvenirs and thoughtful, intentional purchases, is such a great anchor point for me. I'll always love it. 

Other dresser-top features: a new jewelry box and necklace tree to make up for my absurd lack of good storage here, my budding collection of Waterford pieces, culled with love from my Grandma Lo's treasured keepsakes, and a new capiz lamp and, of course, Mark Succerberg holding court. It's really just very pretty and feminine and me, which is always my goal and always makes me smile. 

My curtains are Anthropologie (duh) and hide very necessary blackout curtains...and let me tell you, hanging them was an ORDEAL with all capital letters necessary. See evidence: 

Yeah, I did that. I actually broke down and called my parents in tears (very mature over here, yes) and bawled for a solid five minutes about what a mistake it had been moving here and how much I hated everything. My reactions are generally scaled appropriately to the situation, clearly. Anyway, the curtains are gorgeous and the glass tie-backs are so elegant, and I can't wait to get the matching finials. I'm also pleased that my cork pinboard yardstick thing reassembled as well as it did after the hot glue completely melted off on the cross-country road trip out here...I love displaying the notes and cards from my sweetest, most beloved friends there. 

On a not-so-glamorous note, look at that bitty closet! It's my first-ever not-walk-in closet and, friends, I was NERVOUS. After getting rid of pretty much half my wardrobe (details to come, soon!), everything fits, and it's been a great exercise in consumption reduction and keeping what I love. My favorite feature over here, though? The framed vintage puzzle pieces from Chicago's FourSided, featuring my beloved home state and new home. 

And there you have it! A thousand words on an 11x10 bedroom because I am NOTHING if not excessive, given the opportunity for verbosity. Come visit me sometime and admire it in person, hmm?! 

a micro-post on routines

YIKES another accidental ten-day break from writing - shameful! It's no excuse, but I've been busy with work lately, a bit under the weather, and of course packing plenty into a social calendar that's gotten a bit intense over the last several weeks. We've had friends in and out, and I've been in and out too. Add to that Daylight Savings and colds throwing a cramp in my sleep, and you've got one cranky, unmotivated, spastic Liz running amok in Northern California. 

It's gotten me thinking much more about how I need to get in better routines throughout the week. A few turbo-thoughts: 

- I set my alarm for 6am every morning but don't actually get to work until around 8:30. At the peak of my summer ass-kicking routine, I was waking up, journaling for a bit, reading (often the New York Times, or else the book of the moment), and ensuring my life was organized and ready to go for the day. Today, on the other hand? Snoozed until 6:45 after a restless night, watched like 30 Instastories, and didn't make my bed. Now I'm sitting at work, low-key obsessing over the fact that there's laundry I need to fold and my room is a mess and of course that means my life is a mess...and it's throwing me off in general. 

Goal: get back to the 6am wakeup, and actually, you know, wake up. I liked the journaling over the summer, but I think I'm going to try to get in a mini-workout before my 7am shower - it's better at getting me going than lounging in bed reading, after all. 

 

- I've been on a major cooking binge lately - for some reason, this time of year, I always find myself drawn to the kitchen. It's been such a fun activity to dive deeper into these days, especially with a huge kitchen and two hungry, appreciative/complimentary roommates. That said, I'm spending a lot of my after-work time waiting in the checkout line at Safeway, screwing around in the kitchen, and cleaning up when all's said and done. I genuinely enjoy it, but it's not the best use of my time. 

Goal: Grocery-shop on weekends and have a meal plan for the week so I only have to hardcore cook a couple times a week. Be better at putting together lunches for work that are grab-and-go, whether that's individually packaging leftovers or prepping for a week on Sundays. In general, do more work up-front to make dinners easier to pull together. 

 

- And of course, there's the evenings themselves. Having roommates who are around a lot has been great - we genuinely enjoy each other's company, and choose to spend time together after work almost every day (which is really fun). What it isn't, though, is super productive - maybe someday I'll tell you about the week we watched Disney movies every night, or the time when Dave and I binge-watched Emily's vintage season of "The Bachelor" (to prep for Arie's return this January, duh) in about five days...

Goal: Work out after work, before even coming home or sitting down. Use evenings to write more, or to get out and do things instead of parking in front of Netflix. Swap evening wine/beer/cocktails for water and tea a few times a week (at least!). And actually start going to bed at a normal hour instead of using my 8:30 arrival time at work to justify hitting snooze so many times the next day! 

 

Just a quick brain-dump to get something, anything, down on digital paper today - but happy Monday, campers, and hope you're all kicking ass! 

Lately I'm Loving

Things making me smile/on my mind/causing distraction these days: 

-Caribou's salted caramel creamy cold press. The salt-to-caramel ratio is pretty spot-on, and they froth it in the blender. The best is waiting for the ice and foam to melt in the bottom...I'm utterly smitten. Looks like I won't be checking off #12 on my 101 in 1001 list this summer...

-I'm working to start getting things ready for "Lizzie Moves Back Downtown," and one of the major hurdles I have yet to get figured out is a bed/bedding. I ordered two quilts from Anthropologie and can't decide which I love more...but I do know for sure that I can't wait to get to redesign a girly, all-me bedroom again!

-When I think burgers, I think beef, turkey, or veggie. There was a disastrous attempt at trying quinoa burgers last winter (which always makes me think of the Bud Light commercial), but apart from that I've never ventured out of the trifecta above. We tried these Spicy Hawaiian Chicken Burgers over Memorial Day, and it opened my eyes to a whole new world of (moderately) healthy summer grill options. 

-Last week the book club I'm part of met at the Lake Harriet Bandshell, and I found out that every night this summer the Bandshell is hosting live music! That night's show was a kind of odd techno-folk-fusion thing, but I looked over the lineup and there are several I'm really excited for, including Dustin Hatzenbuhler on 6/27 and Cantus on 6/15. 

-On a more serious note, I've been reading a lot of the coverage of the 70th anniversary of D-Day, which was celebrated yesterday. Seeing the photography from the invasion juxtaposed with yesterday's photography and footage of the veterans fascinates me. I highly recommend this compilation of invasion photos by the Huffington Post, as well as coverage by the Wall Street Journal and The Guardian of yesterday's events. 

Lately I'm Loving

Things making me smile/on my mind/causing distraction these days: 

-The DIY "messy French twist." I've had this pin sitting on my (so-totally-aspirational-and-unrealistic) hairstyle Pinterest board for months, and finally attempted it this morning with day-old hair, a lot of Dove volumizing dry shampoo (it's lifechanging I tell you!), a little patience and a lot of I-don't-give-a-damn. It only took six bobby pins and it held up all day...which may or may not be due to the insane amount of care I took to NOT touch my head every 30 seconds and marvel at my amazing hair skillzzz. 

The original/my attempt. I have clothes on, so clearly I didn't replicate exaaaactly...

The original/my attempt. I have clothes on, so clearly I didn't replicate exaaaactly...

-Twin Cities girls: who's heard of the Garden of Eden? Not the sweet real estate in Genesis, the precious little shop on Grand Avenue in St. Paul. It sits right across from the J.Crew, which naturally means I...just pass through...the neighborhood way more than necessary. They sell a ton of great bath and body products from really reputable brands, but I have a particular love for the custom scent-blending bar they have. There are dozens of different essential oils to choose from, and a customer can pick one or pair several to create a custom fragrance. One of my all-time favorite combos: grapefruit and pink jasmine, which I just switched over to in hopes of speeding along spring. It's lovely and really affordable! Check it out!

-Target's patio furniture is out and making my heart go pitter-patter all over the place. As if that store wasn't tempting or dangerous enough on a regular basis, Jon and I have this great, giant and semi-private patio at our apartment that's just begging to be turned into a fabulous outdoor entertaining space. I'm scoping out this set in a neutral color, and dreaming of jazzing up the space with some fun throw pillows, oversized lanterns, a couple potted plants, and a to-die-for ottoman (for real, this is the cutest thing ever). Spring, come quick!

-Another Pinterest find: this whole smoothie thing is all the rage but I have some kind of a mental block that keeps me from finding any of the green smoothies swallow-able, let alone appetizing. With a tender and sore ankle holding me back a bit (a lot) at the gym, I'm trying to focus on eating extra-mindfully, and a smoothie sounds light and refreshing. This "pink" smoothie is a nice change-up from the green ones and looks super-easy...I have everything but the almond milk in my fridge already. 

-I love internet quizzes. Who doesn't? With Buzzfeed blowing up my Facebook every day, I've found myself spending a lot of time finding out what 90's boy band member is my soulmate, what sandwich embodies my personality, and which Full House character I should be. For those craving something a little more cerebral, though, I stumbled on this Positivity Ratio quiz. Sounds like it's meant to accompany a book, but I've been taking it toward the end of every day for a couple days now and I think it's really interesting...if not quite as fun as "Which Rapper Are You!"