apartment life

Hey guys- Melissa here! I moved into a new apartment about 2 months ago and thought that I should finally share a few pics of the place. Moving is such an interesting process. It takes a lot of work, time, love, effort, patience, planning, and investing. This move marked #4 in four years, in the same town. So yes, that is practically one move a year for the past four years- insane. As many of you know, I am based in Annapolis, MD and love it so much, but clearly I hadn’t found my sweet spot until now. Another fun fact, my boyfriend (Hamilton), lives about 40 minutes south of Annapolis, so that is where you can typically find me on the weekends. I will be sharing some pictures of that happy place here on the mag soon. This new apartment has really brought a lot of joy, rest, and peace in my life and I am so thankful to the Lord for guiding me here. Probably more than that though, I am thankful to Him for the journey of these four moves. I am where I am now (in life) because of all my moves, experiences, and lessons learned in the three previous Annapolis locations- good moments and not so good moments, because they all worked together in His way to make me who I am at this very moment . Not to be cliche, but the journey truly is where the growth happens. I so look forward to what the Lord has in store for me during my time here in this cute apartment! More details on the apartment- it’s located in a happening towne centre in Annapolis and the convenience is pretty unreal. My apartment is just steps away from Zoe’s Kitchen, Target, Whole Foods, LuluLemon, Anthropologie, a cute wine store, an organic dry cleaners (love the ladies there so much!), About Faces (Rachel is the best hair stylist), the bank I go to, and many more restaurants and shops. I have fallen in love with the ease of walking to places, but it’s also quite dangerous on my wallet. For example, last weekend I had a plan to walk to the bank, whole foods, and the dry cleaners. I never made it to the dry cleaners, but I somehow did make it to Anthropologie- see this insta for proof. I wish I could provide direct links to the items in the photos, but practically everything pictured above is from my local HomeGoods store. Here are the exceptions: pillows via joss & main (old), snake plant from home depot, and curtains from bed, bath & beyond (old). Yes, everything else is from HomeGoods! And by everything I mean the ceramic pot, the bench, both canvases, the hooks, the marble table, the chair, and the pillow are all treasures from HomeGoods. In listing those items however, I did realize I forgot a very important player in this game-- the hobo backpack hanging on the HomeGoods hooks.  I love the experience of going to HomeGoods and never knowing exactly what you might come away with. I like to think of the shopping experience as being similar to the experience of a vintage market or antique fair, minus the vintage/antique items! I adore vintage finds and antique pieces, and some can be quite affordable, but HomeGoods is rather tempting and accessible. I personally think that the best decorating trick is mixing new and old pieces in a home- that makes for a really beautiful, one-of-a-kind, curated vibe. Hamilton loves antiques and has really influenced my appreciation for them. His house is a wonderful example of mixing old and new and again, I will share photos soon! The similarity to me between HomeGoods and markets/fairs is the treasure hunt feeling that HomeGoods creates by having different items, limited quantities, and inventory that is fast moving and always changing.   One Kings Lane is another favorite place to browse for home items Their prices aren’t quite as good as HomeGoods, but they do have some pretty good deals. See picks under $200 below! They also have a vintage shop, which is very cool.