Welcome to Thirty

Well, it's finally here. I am officially 30. So how did my 30 under 30 list go?


1. Visit at least one MLB stadium.

2. Binge watch a TV show. 

3. Visit a location made famous by moves or TV.

4. Learn how to change a tire. I haven't actually changed a tire by myself, so perhaps I should practice more before I can officially check this off. But I feel confident that if desperation was staring me in the face, I could do it. Hopefully.

5. Learn to sew a button on a shirt. I have finally learned how to hand sew things! Well, I hand sewed beads onto a vest for my DragonCon costume. I'm also in the process of making a skirt and beginning work on my costume for next year's DragonCon. I'm learning as I go.

6. Run/Walk a half marathon.

7. Eat dinner at one of the world's best restaurants.

8. Sing karaoke at a bar. 

9. Learn how to make a good cocktail. I feel like it's fair to mark this one off the list. I've made a couple of mixed drinks (sangria mostly) but they've all turned out pretty good. I'm not destined to be a bartender or anything but I can make a decent cocktail.

10. Volunteer. I'm not sure I deserve to mark this one off. I have done some work at my church, but I'd hoped to have time to do more.

11. Go skiing. Unfortunately, I was not able to complete this goal...largely because I have planned my next vacation and am saving up. Italy, here I come!!

12. Take a pottery class. This also did not happen. But I still want to try it someday.

13. See a Broadway play.  

14. Ride a bike. Ah, another goal not met. Maybe in 2018. I did look at bikes at Walmart, but haven't purchased one quite yet.

15. Re-purpose furniture. 

16. Finally finish that rough draft. I don't want to talk about it. :p

17. Craft more. I haven't exactly become a craft master but I still feel like I can mark this one off.

18. Clean up my mess. There's always more to do and more to clean, but I have managed to get mostly organized. 

19. Learn Spanish. I haven't, as you might suspect, learned to speak Spanish. I am however trying to learn a little Italian at the moment for my trip.

20. Get better at meal planning. Have I gotten any better at meal planning? Well...compared to the rest of my life, yes.

21. Develop a workout routine. Even though it gets off from time to time, I do have a somewhat established scheduled for working out. I haven't really been sticking to it the last two months, but, in my defense, I have been very busy.

22. Read at least one book per month. Do serial novels count? I have done quite a bit of reading this year, so this one is getting marked as completed.

23. Go to a sushi bar.

24. Buy a couch.

25. Scrapbook. Maybe next year. 

26. Get my photography certification.

27. Treat myself!  

28. Make jewelry. I actually made myself a Teen Witch necklace to wear for DragonCon this year. It wasn't perfect by any means but did turn out quite good I thought.

29. Complete a 30 day writing challenge. 

30. Finish old projects. I still have a lot of projects I haven't finished. Not sure I can mark this one off.


So...I didn't do too well. But I did do a lot over the past few years. I still feel accomplished! I'm excited to see what comes next for me. And I hope my 30th year is the best one yet.

Organizing My Refrigerator & Under My Kitchen Sink

A few months back, the need to organize struck me and I decided to roll with it. I started with two areas that seriously needed help: my fridge and under my kitchen sink.

The first area I tackled was under my sink. I purchased some cute bins from the Dollar Tree so I could group items together. And, a space always looks neater when you put your items in containers. I pulled everything out from under the sink, wiped it down (there may have been a few spiders living in there...eek...) and then lined the bottom with shelf liner from Walmart.

Before

After

Looks much better if I do say so myself. Now I'm not ashamed for people to look under my sink!

I tried to sort items by purpose and put the products I use least often in the back. I had a bad habit of keeping empty wine bottles for crafting purposes. I purged a lot of those and only kept the ones I'd already soaked the labels off of. I put those and my empty vases to the back since I don't need to access them on a regular basis. I moved some items to other places entirely (like the fire extinguisher).

On to the refrigerator!

If you read my 31 day blog challenges back in January, you may know what my refrigerator looked like before I went on a bin buying spree. But just in case, here it is:

Not too bad, but could be better. First off, I was keeping water bottles in my crisper drawer and my broccoli on a shelf. I let myself be inspired by other bloggers and YouTubers. I ordered plastic containers from Amazon (it was cheaper than buying them from Walmart) and set to work. It took all of 10 minutes and that is only because I had to peel labels off all of my containers.

(I did neglect to take a photo until weeks later so the contents of the refrigerator have changed slightly.)

I love the way it turned out. Still not incredibly fancy, but it looks neater and I can easily pull bins out to find the condiment I need as opposed to pushing everything around (because what you need is always in the back). My favorite part is the bin that holds my water bottles. My drawers are now freed up to put actual vegetables in!

Both processes were simple and affordable but made such a difference in my kitchen.

If you want to check out the bins I ordered, you can find them here:
Water Bottle Storage Container
Kitchen Organizer Bins- Set of 4
Refrigerator Bottle Rack

30 Under 30 Update

Spring has sprung and I am now 6 months away from the big 3-0. How its my progress coming along you ask? Read on to find out!


1. Visit at least one MLB stadium. I ventured off to Texas recently to visit Waco, Houston and Austin. Part of the trip was, of course, to watch the Braves play the Astros. Minute Maid Park was the first domed baseball stadium I have ever been to. I like the idea of it (no rain delays ever) but it was a bit odd watching baseball inside. The dome was open for one of the two games we attended so we got to experience it both ways. The park itself was really nice and I'm glad we got to go. Even if the Braves did lose both games.

2. Binge watch a TV show. 

3. Visit a location made famous by moves or TV. My friends and I took a trip to Vancouver in March and visited Steveston (aka Storybrooke and the town from the new Power Rangers movie). It was pretty cool to see all of the buildings even though they weren't filming at the time. Just an FYI about Steveston, it is not that close to the SkyTrain station in Richmond and you have to take a bus. There was no one working at the train station when we visited so we had to figure it out ourselves. Also FYI, the zone tickets for the train expire in an hour and a half. :/ Buy a day pass, it saves money. Trust me.

I was also able to visit the Magnolia Market while I was in Waco. I love Fixer Upper so this was a highlight of the Texas trip. The cupcakes and cookies at the bakery are delicious.

4. Learn how to change a tire.

5. Learn to sew a button on a shirt.

6. Run/Walk a half marathon.

7. Eat dinner at one of the world's best restaurants.

8. Sing karaoke at a bar. 

9. Learn how to make a good cocktail.

10. Volunteer.

11. Go skiing.

12. Take a pottery class.

13. See a Broadway play.  

14. Ride a bike.

15. Re-purpose furniture. 

16. Finally finish that rough draft.

17. Craft more.

18. Clean up my mess. I am actively working on this!

19. Learn Spanish.

20. Get better at meal planning.

21. Develop a workout routine.

22. Read at least one book per month. Read at least half of the books I own and have never read.   I have come to realize that this is one goal that just will not happen. I am constantly buying books (paper and digital) and I just simply do not have time to read 50 books in 6 months. So instead I have changed my goal to read at least one book per month, which I have definitely been doing this year.

23. Go to a sushi bar. While in Vancouver, we ate dinner at an authentic Sushi restaurant called Miko Sushi. It was a small place across from our hotel and the food was really good. 

24. Buy a couch. I finally took the plunge and bought a couch! In fact, I wrote a blog post about it so check that out if you haven't.  

25. Scrapbook.

26. Get my photography certification.

27. Treat myself!  

28. Make jewelry.

29. Complete a 30 day writing challenge. 

30. Finish old projects.

May Favorites

1. A Hot Glue Gun Mess by Mr. Kate- As you may know, I've been watching a lot of Mr. Kate's YouTube channel recently and I love it. When I found out Mr. Kate also wrote a book with personal stories and DIY projects, I had to buy it. It's odd, funny, gross and most definitely entertaining. If you love DIYs and don't mind hearing a few stories about feminine hygiene and plastic surgery, check this book out. You probably won't regret it.

2. Yellow Box Flip Flops- I can remember being a pre-teen and being irked by the idea of wearing shoes that fit in between my toes. Little did I know these would soon become my preferred footwear. I own A LOT of flip flops but my Yellow Box are some of my favorites. They are comfy and stylish and come in various colors and patterns. I think I'm up to 5 pairs now but I can't help but browse through them every time I go to Belk.

3. Benchcraft Zeb Queen Sleeper Sofa- I know, I know. We're tired of hearing about your couch! I just can't help but be proud of it.

4. Burt's Bees Lip Balm- I've used quite a few different chapsticks  lip balms over the years and Burt's Bees is probably my favorite. It keeps my lips moist and is made with all natural ingredients, which is a plus. It's normally the only lip product I use. Some people will do anything for beeswax (inside joke).

5. Cookie Jar Gift- This year for Mother's Day, I wanted to think of a clever gift for my mom & two grandmothers. The idea of making a gift basket entered my mind but then I saw this idea online. I bought cookie jars at Walmart and filled them with candy, lotion, nail polish and even quinoa. Each was personalized and they all loved their gifts. This could also work for birthdays and Christmas.

Basement Apartment Makeover- Part 2: I Bought a Couch!

So it only took 8 years but it finally happened. I bought a couch!

I've had this purchase on my list for a while now but just never followed through. About two years ago I went into a Rooms To Go to look at options (and prices). That was the last time I actively searched for a sofa. Until recently.

Getting inspired to re-decorate my living/dining room was just the push I needed to finally get serious about having legit living room furniture. Now, I didn't buy a whole matching set or anything. I'm not that much of an adult yet. Baby steps. Besides, right now I am basically living in an apartment that I (hopefully) will not live in forever. When I buy my own house, then we'll talk about matching furniture.

In the meantime, I am very happy with my purchase. After shopping online for several days, I decided on the Benchcraft Zeb Queen Sleeper Sofa I found on Wayfair. I've never used Wayfair before but everything went great. They offer payment plans for large purchases which enabled me to go ahead and buy the couch now instead of waiting a few months. The couch was delivered in about two weeks. It is firm but not hard and is plenty big enough for me to lay on without falling off, which is a plus. 

I wanted a sleeper sofa for one main reason: so people could sleep on it! No way, right? But seriously, there are no other places for guests to sleep and I knew a regular couch would probably not suffice. Especially if more than one person stays over at a time. I haven't opened up the sofa bed part yet (because I haven't managed to get rid of my old couch bed and there is no space) but so far I love it.

My main concern now is storage. I used the trundle from my old couch to store games, yoga mats, weights, my lawn chair, etc. The bed has now been gifted to my dad for the guest room/his man cave so I'm hopeful he will let me to continue to store some of my things in it. Dads don't have stuff right?

In order to motivate myself to use them, I am going to leave my weights and yoga mats downstairs. I am supposed to be developing a new workout routine this month (per my 12 Months to a Healthier Life plan) but I've been so busy I haven't gotten around to it yet.

Hopefully life will slow down a bit next month and I can make even more progress on my re-decorating project.

Creating a Vision Board

Lately, I've been binge watching Mr. Kate's OMG series and it has really made me think more about my style and how to incorporate that style into the decorating process.

Since I'm redecorating now, I thought it would be a good time to make the space fresh in a way that looks and feels like me. Time to design! The problem is, I have trouble envisioning how things will look in a space without actually seeing them in it.

So I decided to take a page out of Mr. Kate's handbook and make a vision board. I browsed Pinterest and Google and compiled a few images I like to help me get ideas on how to decorate my space!

First off, I included a few items I already have: a red lamp and red vase similar to those above. I'd like to incorporate those into the design because I love them. Secondly, my walls have already been painted blue and the picture above was my inspiration for color. Now for the other elements:

Colorful rug- Since my walls are dark, and so are my floors, I would like to get a lighter rug. I shy away from whites because I know they will not stay that way and will show stains easily. I found the above rug on Wayfair and I think something like this would work great. It brings in the blue from the walls and the red from my lamp but also adds a little more color.

Photo Collage- Before I took everything down to paint, I had two photo collages on my walls. One I considered my wall of fame (where I kept photos of me with my favorite celebrities I've met at conventions) and one was supposed to be of family and friends. Problem is, I never filled most of those frames. I like the collage above, with various sizes and colors of frames. I'm thinking about painting some of the frames I have (they are all black currently) and trying to create something that looks good but isn't monochromatic.

An Organized Bookshelf- I moved my bookshelf from a dark corner to front and center so I want to make sure it looks organized and uncluttered. I want to incorporate not only books but picture frames and other cute objects or geometric shapes. It is the first thing you see when you come down the stairs so I want it to be appealing to the eye.

Rose gold- I love rose gold. It's probably my favorite metallic color but I do not have anything in that color aside from jewelry. I would love to find a small table or other accessories for the room in rose gold. My one fear is that it will clash with the reds I already have. Or maybe it's juxtaposition.

Plants- The only plant I have at the moment is a cactus and it is, believe it or not, kind of dead. I do not have a green thumb. But I love the way plants look in a space and I hear they also help improve air quality. I just need to find a plant that doesn't require a lot of care or sunlight.

Couch- Because everybody needs a legit couch in their living room. I'm leaning towards dark grey because I think it will go nicely with my blue walls.

Fangirl pillows- I have eight brown and red throw pillows on my current "couch". I wanted to find covers for them, something that would match a dark grey couch. Then one lovely afternoon, when I was browsing Etsy, I got really inspired. The perfect way to bring in a little more of my fangirl side (which is a huge part, let's be honest) was to find pillow covers from my favorite books, shows and movies! I am on the hunt for the perfect covers now. And even if they don't match each other, I still think they will fit in perfectly and will scream "Mallory lives here".


Making this inspiration board has really has given me a better visual of how I want to decorate. I would recommend trying this for your own space.

Basement Apartment Makeover- Part 1: Paint and Flooring

Well, it's official. I have the re-decorating fever. Every few years I need a change. Whether it be paint or flooring, furniture or accessories, I just want something different. About a year ago, I re-decorated my bedroom by purchasing a new desk, storage units from IKEA and Home Depot, new rugs and curtains. There are still a few projects left in this room (I have a new light fixture I need to hang and my blinds are falling apart!) but I've moved on to another major project: my living/dining room.

When I first moved into the basement "apartment" 7 years ago, I decided on a clay-brown paint for the majority of my walls, with a clam-shell peachy color for the accent walls. I'm not sure where the inspiration came from originally, but over the years I've grown tired of the brown.

Recently, I found a shade of blue that I absolutely love called Midnight Show. After very little debate, I purchased this paint color for my walls. My parents graciously painted them for me while I was in Canada a few weeks ago.


As for the floors... Carpet covered most of the living room space but a light hardwood sat under my dining room table. My original plan was to match the hardwood in the dining area and just replace the carpet. Unfortunately, this color has been discontinued and in order to avoid two shades of laminate, I just purchased flooring for the entire room. I opted for a darker color this time (Kingston Peak Hickory) and it looks good with the blue.

The next step is deciding which furniture to keep (and what to buy!) and determining the placement of my large pieces. Then comes accessorizing and styling, which will probably prove to be hardest part for me. I've been browsing Pinterest and watching a little too much HGTV and YouTube videos on home decor lately (check out Mr. Kate) so hopefully I will find my inspiration.

Updates to come!

P.S. Yes, that is a bed I am using as a couch. New couch is a must!