making it yours {2}

last week, i got to share with you a bit about decorating that usually messy, white bathroom counter we all have {see this post}. it wasn't until late on friday night that i figured out what i was going to be doing this week:

decorating a camera bag.

since i bought my sweet little canon rebel a couple of weeks ago, i've been cradling it like a small child and trying to keep it out of harms way while still camera bag-less. i checked etsy and amazon, chain stores and friendly recommendations for my "bag-mate." there simply wasn't anything that fit my flair for girly-vintage fun. since i was going to be carrying it around everywhere, i needed to make sure i wasn't cringing at the sight.

then came a fateful trip at the cusp of the weekend. we were hunting through mountains of old purses and totes when my best friend found an old camera bag. it was black and painfully beat up, with a wiry strap that bit deep into my shoulder. but with a little tender loving care? it became a home to my little camera. i might be a little {a lot} ecstatic. with a bit of paint+patience+broadway tunes, i've finally made this precious little bag my own.

{all crafting materials found at jo ann}

{before: wiry plastic strap and all}

{after}

the {im}perfect ponytail.

i am not very talented with my hair. up until high school, i would beg my mother to pull my scraggly blonde hair up into a ponytail, and curl it for my dances. i didn't buy a straightener until last month, and i can't use a curling iron for my life. yes, yes. you can laugh. how does a person {woman} get to the age of twenty without using those hot and scary styling tools?

honestly? i don't know.

i either didn't care, or was just too lazy. i would much rather sleep for another two hours then spend it on my bathroom counter singeing my bangs and scrubbing my face with powders. but then of course, every time i do it i have the time of my life. ;) Make-up is fun, and so is pretty/celebrityworthy hair. i just don't have it very often.

{this is how i should have spent all of my high school years. with my hand right...there ;) }

my battle {or lack thereof} with hair made me think about all my other +weirdo quirks, so here's a {baby} list:
1. i love plain celery. a lot. yes, you read that right. all. by. itself. {collective gasp}
2. i'm still scared when the closet door is left open at night.
3.  music is always playing when i take a shower. it's usually country, and then i commence to singing into my razor.
4. i only drink 2% milk out of a glass. {and usually a wine glass, at that...}
5. when i take my clothes out of the closet, i always bring the hanger, too. which is dumb because then it ends up on my floor for a week.
6. i find the counter to be a perfect place to sit, at any time. and much to the chagrin of my father.
7. i still hide a little bag of chocolate chips under my bed. {i'm still doin' it, mama!}
8. four is my favorite number {4}, so i like to make lists/live life in multiples of four. case in point.

my best friend had to help me make my  list, but i would absolutely love to hear from you. anything quirky/fun that you think needs a little airing out?

making it yours.

i am not a fan of ikea. i know that there are a million different men/women/children that will swear by it, but honestly? i just can't. i find the furniture is a bit too stark, and all of the rooms are based on organization rather than the idea of bringing your own personality out through design. sure, i'll buy a bed frame {guilty}. but then i painted it and strung fairy lights over it and made it my own. you don't have to spend a ton of money to make something drab cute, you just need to spend it wisely.

due to my utter disdain for ikea, i thought i would dedicate a couple of posts this week to the subject bringing a bit of you through your space.

first up?
the room everyone wants to forget about. {the bathroom}

i like to keep my counter clean and neat, with only a couple of little tchotchke's. make sure the necessities {makeup brushes/soap} make an appearance as well as those pretty perfume bottles, and you can add tiny touches like toothbrushes in a mason jar. functional+cute. even though you might not want to brag about your bathroom, i promise. fresh flowers and candles? make it so much nicer. {and better than ikea. i'm not biased! ;) }

 {homemade pamela soap, seen in this post}

 {the versatile mason jar}

 {perfume bottles}

 {makeup brushes in glass jars}

 {little french flowers}

{everything together: girly/neat}