Living Spaces

I have a hard time spending money. Even when money is staring at me just like this, saying:

Spend me, Carrie.

This is not necessarily a bad thing, but for a long time it prevented me from having any sort of decency in my living space. In fact, had you stopped by at any point during the last year I would have confined you to our kitchen lest you see the dirty couch and tropical beach chairs that I called a living room. 

I had looked for furniture for a long time, visited countless stores, getting the hopes of many a salesperson high, and finding, well, squat. Then about a year ago, I found a couch and a chair that I loved. They were on a great sale, they were neutral and they had a bit of a quirky style.

Did I buy them? No. I chickened out. But this year when that same sale rolled around (about three weeks ago) I did not chicken out. Would you like to know my reasoning? 

Katie Holmes, one of my favorite actresses, decided to marry Tom Cruise when she was 26. Thus, I reasoned, I could make the decidedly less life-altering decision to buy some measly furniture at the age of 26. 

Sad, but true.

The room is nowhere near perfect, but it’s certainly evolving. Here are some of my favorite elements:

Big, comfortable couch.

A recliner that doesn't look like a recliner!
Plus, some lovely Target curtains.

A framed photograph taken by my talented brother-in-law, Matt.
I am sort of envisioning the room around this lovely piece of art!

My favorite chair that I was lucky enough to get from my Nanny's house. 

I enjoy my coffee in it every morning :)

Patterned pillows.

The duck pot! Another great item from my grandmother's house. He stores granola bars.

And just because, here are some room elements that I am still considering....

 A coffee table with storage. I have this idea in my head of just having to pull a blanket and pillow out of the coffee table for overnight company (not that we have any!).

Pops of yellow.

Cream area rugs over wood flooring.

Luckily for me I have spotted all three of the above items at my local Target. You might see me there, staring intently at the home section for an hour, then leaving empty-handed. I give you permission to roll your eyes.

Money with Eyes Image here.

Tom and Katie Image here.