Tag: home

I wish I knew how to: Bloganuary Entry #4

Photo by Kaique Rocha on Pexels.com

Life is about constantly learning. I truly enjoy learning new things, and I seek knowledge, no matter how small. I love that there are so many ways to learn right at my fingertips, thanks to my friend the internet. Whether I’m learning a craft, a recipe, a computer trick, or a dance class, I feel like it’s good to be constantly open to learning.

I love finding random tutorials on pinterest, and I love taking advantage of online resources. I’m currently making my way through a Life Coaching course and hopefully I will finish that in the coming months *fingers crossed*, and I’ve done a few ecommerce courses over the past year that were really interesting.

But if I had to pick one thing that I wish I knew it would be that I wish I knew how to change a flat tire. Of course, there’s a million reasons why this is a good, practical, and important skill to have. I don’t like the idea of being stranded, vulnerable, or possibly in a dangerous situation over something that I could fix myself if I have to. Because tires rarely announce in advance that they plan to go flat, the sooner I know how to do this, the bigger relief this will be for me. So it’s on my 2022 learning list for sure.

But on a smaller scale, here three things I’ve learned to do recently by using online resources:

Fabric Stamping: I follow an artist on IG that uses random items to stamp fabric, and she then uses the fabrics to make bags. I have been mesmerized by her process and thought I could try something similar. So I looked around on pinterest for tutorials and tried my hand at it. Using some remnants from Joann’s, some fabric paint, a straw, and a plastic fork, I created these masterpieces. I thought this was fun, and it’s such an easy way to decorate a space. I also plan to try this on some tea towels. It could make a really cute gift idea, and there are so many different possibilities.






























Ceramics:  To stay sane during the pandemic, I definitely turned to crafts.  One thing I found cute and interesting was clay.  Trinket dishes, earrings, and wine charms…I tried them all.  I tried both air dry clay as well as clay that you bake in the oven.  Here’s one of the many tutorials  that I played around with and here are a few of my results.







































Beading:  I love making my own accessories, so when I stumbled across some posts for making beaded jewelry, I became obsessed!  And again, the pandemic caused lots and lots of time isolated in the house, so this was a wonderful creative outlet.  Several hundred dollars later (oy!), and I have bags and bags and bags of beaded bracelets to show for it.  Here’s one blogger that gives a good bracelet tutorial and below are a few of my results:







































What do you like learning?  What’s the last thing you learned or taught yourself to do?  







			

				

			
 justamarylandgirl10 Comments		

		


				
					


	


		
		
Airbnb Life:  What the CEO Says

	


	

		

Photo by cottonbro on Pexels.com





I guess there’s no denying that the workplace as we know it has likely been changed forever.  Most offices have been shut down for a year or more, and were forced to figure out how to do 100% remote work on the fly.  Some places were well-prepared, others weren’t.  And since the day that workers began this remote work over a year ago, many have not been back to their offices.  I have not been back to my office since March 2020, not even to so much as grab essentials or clear out food.





With remote work being my indefinite future, my boyfriend and I decided to Airbnb hop, which we have been doing for the last nine months (since December 2020).  And apparently we are not the only ones that had this idea.





According to Airbnb’s CEO Brian Chesky, half of Airbnb rentals these days are for one week or longer.  People are no longer rushing back to get home after they take vacations, because the main thing people typically return to is their job.  Their job that they can now do pretty much anywhere.  For most remote workers, that job is now wherever they want it to be as long as there is wifi.





Mr. Chesky also said that one-fifth of Airbnb rentals these days are for one month or longer.  So people REALLY are not rushing back home now.  They are renting homes and staying there as long as they feel like it, and taking their laptop along with them.  They are vacationing, seeing other cities, spending time with family and friends, and working all at the same time.





Mr. Chesky goes on to say, nowdays, after compensation, the next perk that employees are looking for is flexibility.  Everybody is realizing they don’t want to be stuck in the office or stuck in the same city.  Some employees feel like the uncertainty of the pandemic makes them want an employer that won’t send them back to the office before they are comfortable doing so.  In addition to a good salary, they want freedom and flexibility, they want to make their own decisions about when to be in the office.





This data syncs up perfectly with what we’ve been experiencing on our Airbnb journey.  When we first started on this lifestyle, we would go to the Airbnb website and see an abundance of rental options in pretty much any city we searched.  Nowdays we are seeing slim pickins.  Where we once saw homes with two and three bedrooms in our price range, we are now seeing basement apartments and one-bedroom condos.  It has gotten challenging to do our home search.  Every time we realize it’s time to look for our next location, we honestly hate it.  We used to love looking at homes and exploring our options, but now we just feel like the search will be so daunting that we’re no longer in the mood to do it.





I will be interested in seeing if this uptick will continue now that schools are being held in person and families with children have to go back to their home base.  And I definitely look forward to seeing whether this trend continues or whether rental options level off now that it’s fall and school is back in session.





Have you done a long-term Airbnb during the pandemic?  What workplace flexibilities would you like to see as a result of current events?





Let me know!





woman working from home


			

				

			
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Airbnb Journey:  The Alexandria VA Duplex

	


	

		






After spending a month in North Carolina, my boyfriend and I needed to return to the DC area due to appointments and family events coming up.  The search for a place in the DMV as we natives call it (DC/Maryland/Virginia area) that fit our requirements as well as our budget was quite difficult.  The area can be pretty expensive, and we wanted to make sure we were within a good distance to our appointment locations.





After extensive searching, we booked a duplex in Alexandria, Virginia.  Alexandria is a large city in Northern Virginia that borders the nation’s capital.  Like most places, the neighborhoods can range from older and more established to new and recently developed.  





As soon as we hit the reserve button, we immediately second guessed our decision.  It was a new listing, but the owners had several reviews for other properties.  So we weren’t concerned about them as hosts, but we realized we didn’t know much about the actual neighborhood, and we also realized we had not seen any pictures of the outside of the house.  After our NC bungalow, the visual bar for our homes was set pretty high.  





So of course, as soon as we received the address, we immediately did a google map search of the property.  And that did not help our concerns. But what’s done is done, we had paid our money, and that would be our home for a month… unless we wanted to cancel and lose our money.  Ummm no.





Unlike the first home, the check-in for the Alexandria duplex did not go smoothly.  With it being a newly listed property, the owners were working on final touches in the home up until and beyond our check-in time.  Our check-in time was delayed so we had to pass the time, which was hard to do when we were still in the midst of pandemic lock-down and stores are limiting entry.  But fast forward a couple hours, and we checked into the home.  





The home was located in a well-established aka older neighborhood as we suspected, and visually, the home was not as attractive as the NC bungalow.  Once inside, the furniture was older, and there were some areas of the home that weren’t completely finished (ie., blue tape on the walls, a chandelier that the owner had to come back and finish hanging, dust that they probably would have swiffered if they had a little extra time, etc.).  But…there was a homely charm about the home and I was determined to make the best of it.  





































































THE NOT SO GREAT:





I really gave the owners the benefit of the doubt–sometimes first rentings just don’t go as planned.  I know they wanted to have a guidebook prepared, and I’m sure they wanted the space to be Airbnb perfect.  Unfortunately it didn’t happen that way, and by the time we arrived and were able to check in, we just wanted to get unpacked and settled.  The moment for the cute arrival had passed, and it just wasn’t going to happen.  





Some of the things that made the stay less than perfect included the home not having central heating, so with it being the middle of winter, it was quite drafty sometimes.  There wasn’t a ton of space for our clothes, so it felt like we were always shuffling things around just to get things from our luggage.  There was only one bathroom, and after having two, it was difficult to adjust to one…though we did it, and it was fine. There was only one television in the house and that wasn’t ideal.










THE GOOD:





There were a lot of great things about the home and the location.  We were able to see family and friends since we were close to home, so that was really nice.  We were able to both have cars so that helped with getting to our appointments and such with no coordination efforts.  We took walks quite a bit even though it was snowing a lot of the time, so we were able to get out of the house and get fresh air.  The home had a dedicated workspace and multiple rooms to spread out, which we cannot say about some of the other places we’ve stayed.  The home had a lot of kitchen amenities so I cooked quite a bit, which was really nice.  I also stocked up on my craft supplies and started teaching myself ceramics, and there was enough space to spread out and craft.  The home had this really cute loft area, so we liked escaping to that space to think or just have some alone time. It was also perfect when we had meetings and needed personal space for those.  The home had some really cool decorative elements and pictures that I thought made such a nice touch. The neighborhood was so quiet, so we slept like babies.  And speaking of sleep, the bedding was so comfortable, I had to message the host to ask about the sheets and pillow cases, and I ordered my own!  



































































































AT THE END OF THE DAY we were looking for peace, safety, and a space to work, and this home provided just that.  We have been out of that home for about six months and I still have moments that I flash back or miss  something about it.  It really was a unique and cozy vibe, and sometimes you don’t find that in “perfect” homes, or homes that are staged immaculately.  Though it wasn’t the prettiest house on the prettiest street, the hosts were awesome, the space was quiet, the home was safe, and I would absolutely stay there again.





Here are some of the cute decorative touches that I really feel made the space unique and cute.






















































What if something makes a bad first impression for you?  How good are you at finding the good in situations?  I felt like a month was a long time to not love the space we chose, so I really focused on what I loved about the home.  And it turns out, this home actually had a lot to love!  












			

				

			
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Airbnb Life:  Discovering What I Don’t Need Helps With My Minimalism Goals

	


	

		






The thing I hate the most about airbnb hopping is definitely the packing.  It is SUCH a pain!  Packing up bags, loading up the car, just to go to another place and unload the car and unpack…just to pack and load…and then to unload and unpack…WHEW!  It gets to be a bit much.





It’s rough.  It’s mentally draining, and the physical toll of lugging, packing, unpacking, moving, dragging, lugging, and repacking…it’s just so exhausting.  





Every time my boyfriend and I move, we go through this round-robin conversation that goes a little like this:





ONE OF US:  We have too much stuff!!  Should we try to scale back??





THE OTHER:  YES! We should!





ONE OF US:  OK, we’ll go through our suitcases at the next home and figure out what we can donate or get rid of.  





**After looking through each bag and removing at best, two or three things**





ONE OF US:  WE HAVE TOO MUCH STUFF!!!!!  





But in all honesty, while I may have too much stuff for life on the road, I do live with far less stuff than what I ever had when I lived in a fixed location.  Far, far less.  For example…





HOODIES – I only have one hoodie with me.  I own…AT.LEAST.20. hoodies AND 10 pull-overs.  





JEANS – I have three pairs of jeans with me.  I own AT LEAST 30 pairs of jeans and 15 pairs of jean capris.  





MAKEUP – I have one eyeshadow, one eyeliner, one mascara…if I were home, I’d have several of each in multiple places throughout my home. And would probably still stock up when I went to stores.





ACCESSORIES – I travel with a small pouch of accessories.  At home, I have an entire cabinet devoted to jewelry.  





SHOES – I have five pairs of shoes with me, and they cross all seasons, and include my slippers.  At home I have shoe racks in multiple rooms AND shoes for other seasons stored in bins.  





HANDBAGS – I cannot even begin with my handbag collection.  I managed to narrow it down to a fanny pack, a sling bag, two small purses, and one large bag.  For me that’s a total success.  At home…the story is dramatically different.





So…am I like those people that backpack through Europe and wash out their three pairs of panties at every stop?  Ummm no.  But am I living with CONSIDERABLY LESS items than usual?  ABSOLUTELY!





And each day, it gets easier and easier to not have all of my possessions within reach.  





It has been interesting making decisions and figuring out which creature comforts I have to live without.  While I love having all of my “stuff”, there have been some positive outcomes from living with less of my things.





  • Less clothing choices means that figuring out what to wear each day becomes less daunting.  Less stress!





  • Online shopping is done on more of an as-needed basis, because I have no place to put anything new, and figuring out where to get things delivered can sometimes be logistically difficult.  Better for my wallet and no buyer’s remorse!





  • I rarely go shopping for anything in person unless I’ve identified a specific need.  More intentional purchasing, and also a wallet saver!





  • Living with less has prompted a lot of productive conversations with my boyfriend around the type of space we want to have when we return back to a fixed location.  Communication is key!





  • I have been rethinking some of the possessions that I have stored back at home.  If I haven’t used it in this long, do I actually need it.  Purging is therapeutic!





  • I have identified some shopping behaviors that I definitely feel like I would like to change.  Know better, do better!





  • Learning to make-do versus always feeling like I need to buy things.  Appreciate what you have, and problem solve! 





  • Living with minimal kitchen gadgets makes me realize I don’t need EVERY kitchen gizmo that I see.  Figure out what is needed to prepare meals.  You don’t need it just because it seems cool.





  • I have a better sense of what items I love versus things I buy on a whim and then don’t actually ever use.  Waste not, want not!





  • Starting with a blank slate in different homes each month makes me realize how much I love not having things cluttering up my space.  Cluttered space, cluttered life!





  • I feel like when it comes to decor, sometimes less is more.  When I return home, I will decide on a style and be mindful of purchasing excessive home items.  





  • I realize now that cluttered space is uncomfortable and mentally draining.  It is also the result of procrastination and unmade decisions.  Make timely and relevant decisions in order to keep areas clutter-free.





  • I have not thought about any home decor purchases.  I’d rather have blank walls than a slew of mismatched things I bought because they were cute.





SO WHAT’S MINIMALISM GOT TO DO WITH IT?





I had already started dabbling into the idea of minimalism.  I love the concept and I want to figure out what that means to me and how to apply it to my life.  Even before this journey, I felt like my personal possessions were weighing me down mentally, physically, and financially, and I do believe that “things” can totally impede happiness.  





The concept of minimalism is too deep to get into in this blog post, but at high level, it’s the concept of living with less so that you can live a more fulfilling, free and intentional life.  The concept can be applied to different people in different ways, but I have been intrigued by the idea.  I feel like this journey could help me kickstart my minimalism efforts.





I am already overwhelmed thinking about all of the items that await me when I return.  And I have already decided that I have no interest in returning to the clutter-filled life of excess that I had.  I hope that returning from this journey allows me to make some quick and easy decisions about which items I’d like to keep from my storage unit and which items I’d like to let go of.





Minimalism is a personal journey that means something different for each person.  My hope is that the experience of living with less and making do with what I do have helps to frame my thoughts around what is ultimately important in my life. 





Have you heard of minimalism?  Have you ever wondered about whether it was a good idea for you and your life?  I’d love to know your thoughts.







			

				

			
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DIY BUDGET SUNBURST MIRRORS

	


	

		






I am in love with the boho basket wall and  sunburst mirror trend.  It’s such a soothing and simple aesthetic, and even better, it’s quite budget friendly to create! 





You can easily find cute baskets in your local thrift store. You can incorporate some fun touches like paint or tassels and effortlessly design a personal piece that suits your specific space.





Due to COVID-19, shopping and browsing and thrifting has been off the table for me for the most part. I have allowed myself an occasional dash through the dollar store. And I have definitely placed SEVERAL curbside or delivery orders from Michael’s, Target, and Walmart over the past few months. 





So I decided to try my hand at creating sunburst mirrors to go with the existing rattan mirrors I had on my living room wall, and I love the way they turned out!





With a few clicks of the mouse, I had all of my materials acquired. And with a few squirts of the glue gun, my mirrors were all assembled. Here’s what I did!





I gathered my materials. 





For the small sunburst, I used two packs of wooden dowels from dollar tree and a 5″ mirror from Michael’s.










For the large sunburst, I used 1.25 packs of bamboo skewers from Walmart and a 10″ mirror from Michael’s.










Using my glue gun, I glued the sticks around the back of the mirrors. Space the sticks however you’d like. There’s really no wrong or right…it will all look cute! Notice that the glue job is not super perfect. Trust me, that’s ok. The impefections kinda just add to the boho aesthetic.















Then I cut a circle out of cardboard. I just used the box from some of the packages I’ve had delivered…use whatever you have lying around, and if you don’t have cardboard, improvise. I’m sure there are many things laying around the house that would work just as well. 





So…I adhered the cardboard to the back of the mirror with my glue gun. I layered additional smaller pieces of cardboard on top of each other to create a reinforced area to insert the hook that I’m going to use for hanging. Because these mirrors are so lightweight, even with the sticks, the backing doesn’t have to be super heavy duty. 




















Once the backing was glued on, I twisted my hook into the cardboard. No tools were required …I just twisted it by hand. Super simple! 





And then my mirrors were all ready to hang! Joila!

























Is this something you would try? Have you created any home decor pieces lately? I’d love to hear about them!







			

				

			
 justamarylandgirl