5 mistakes to avoid when living in a small space

1. Clutter- Just because you don't have a lot of space to work with doesn't give you the right to leave your crap everywhere. Take a day to organize and give all of your things a home.


2. 3's a party...4's a crowd- When you're working with a small space, keep it simple and dial down on the furniture, there's no need to fit all your hand-me-down college furniture just because it was free. If its not in great condition or a family keepsake...donate it. 
3. Not Cleaning- This shouldn't even be one of the 5, but everyone lets this one slip every once and a while. But keeping a space clean is vital to having a relaxing, calm environment. Not to mention coming up with excuses of why your place smells so bad is NOT chic or sexy.

  
4. Forgetting flowers- Nothing beats the aroma and allured of fresh flowers waiting on you when you return to your humble little abode. and according to studies is proved to improve your mood and energy.

5. Not letting the light in- This should be a mistake to avoid in any home, but this especially applies to small spaces! Like flowers, light is a mood enhancer and there is NOTHING better than drawing the curtains in the morning and letting your living space flood with natural light. Yum! Leave the curtains for nighttime privacy. 

My First Place

Although I'm in Melbourne, the fashion capital of Australia, I've restrained from shopping and loading up on too many things. Due to the fact my suitcases already been stuffed on the way HERE. So instead I'm virtually shopping for all the things I'm going to get for my hypothetical apartment I'll be finding once I'm back in the states. It will finally be my own little place and I can't wait till fill it with beautiful, stylish things.
If I had my way...it may look similar to this...gold couch and all. 

A Zebra rug somewhere the abode will do just fine.

Shoes deserve a special home too, even in a cramped apartment.

I'm just filled with giddy anticipation to finally get to design my place to a T. Exactly how I want it designed and furnished. I can't wait. I'm full of so many good design ideas and I can't wait to unleash my passion in my first little place. There will be many, many posts after I get home and settled in April. There will also be job hunting occurring, which is a whole other can of worms.

Shameless plug for Young Sexy Rich

Hello ladies. I have begun a new chapter in not only the blogging world, but my life. I am determined to move quickly towards financial success and I'm documenting that in a blog. Its called Young Sexy and Rich.
I am really passionate about personal finance and investing and I feel women as a population don't care enough about our finances. I love to shop and splurge just as much as the next female, but I'm learning how to splurge on buying stock options and diversifying my portfolio. (which is Way more fun than buying things that only depreciate in value instead of adding value)

Young Sexy and Rich

Its in its early stages and many changes are still to come, but I would love some support, feedback or anything else you may want to suggest. I have a dream of every women in the world to feel happy, confident and secure about not only their looks and body, but finances as well.
xoxo
Hope you'll stop by!

Mapping Melbourne

Melbourne and I have become friends. I find it very similar to San Fran in a variety of ways. From the laid back vibe of the city-dwellers, to the random streets and rather grungy look of a well-loved city. I have now been here 3 months and have had the pleasure to experience some greats things/places during my time here. Having a job in the city certainly allowed me to meet more people and experience a little more than I may have had I have been stuck out in the western suburbs.
There are a few things and places I have discovered with the help of some locals and new friends that will remain in my heart well after I have left (the places and the friends that is):

1. Madame Brussels. A jug of Pimms, or Gin with a refreshing blend of citrus's, cucumbers and elderflowers...did I mention each jug is only $30? AND you get to pretend you drinking with Alice and the Mad Hatter?!


2. Grind in the City. Take a stroll down Centre Place adjacent to DeGraves (second favorite street after Centre Place for coffee/lunch) and find my fav "local" coffee (My local friend banned me from Starbucks, I didn't complain too much after I found this place) $2.50 gets you a latte, with soy....for no extra cost..I was sold.

While I'm on the subject, Cafe N0.5 makes the most mean panini with pumpkin, feta, pesto and rocket leaves. $6.50. Makes my heart skip a beat just thinking about it.

3. Bookbinders Design on Elizabeth and Bourke. Purely heaven for anyone who loves organizing and color as much as I do. And a fresh notebook. I got my boyfriend's Christmas gift from here.

The craftsmanship and quality of these books are just incredible.


4. Boost Smoothies and Lord of the Fries (the whole city). Both Australian-owned chains and both extremely popular around Melbourne and I know exactly why. I have filled up my Boost card with my fair share of Banana Buzz Smoothies with soy and indulged in 1 too many mini burgers on the train ride home from work. At $6 a smoothie and $2.95 a mini burger I can't really complain. Especially since Lord of the Fries is a completely vegetarian/vegan burger joint with locations in the most convenient of locations. And their burgers are truly to die for.


Those are some of my favorite and top choices for Melbourne so far. I will definitely be adding more to my list. And I have many places to post about outside of just the CBD. I only have 3 months left so stay updated for many more travel posts and more designs posts to be coming soon!
Happy 2010!

I Resolve...

*to post much more regularly and get back into blogging mode. I miss all my fellow bloggers and I'm SO excited to have a fabulous 2010. I believe this will be a truly fantastic year.

*to continue my education and further improving myself through reading, knowledge and experience.

*to find a worthy and charitable cause to donate my time and money to. And I must believe in its mission statement %100.

*take more time in the day to slow down, enjoy what I'm doing and savor everything.

*to travel. Much, much more.. (this trip to Australia has opened me and my boyfriends world to such a large variety of cultures and people. We can't wait to start planning our next trip!)

*to continue saving and developing a plan to make my future bright and fabulous.


Hope everyone had a beautiful Christmas and have a prosperous New Year! Lets here it for 2010! Should be a good one!