Quick Hello!

Hello! I'm still alive! I am sorry it's been a long time between posts again. I have been very busy with things that I can't really show much of on this blog, unfortunately. I have been doing work experience in the interiors industry, along with my regular two jobs, and a new third job which I got in a local homewares and interior decorating store. Yes, that's three jobs and a work experience placement! So I've been pretty busy and feeling a bit exhausted.

Making decisions about where to go in life is difficult. My problem is I have a huge list of things I want to do, or feel like I have to do, and I often get overwhelmed and don't know which direction I really want to go in. I keep reminding myself to live in the moment more instead of worrying so much about the future. Having said that, I do want to work hard towards a better future - I really want to find a job which I love and which also gives me the ability to do all the things I want to do outside of work, like travel and experience new things. I guess that's pretty much all anyone wants, huh?
Do you have a dream job or career goal you're working towards? I'd love to hear about it.

Anyway, this is our bed currently! We got a new bed from Ikea a little while ago. The bed frame is white with four drawers underneath which is fantastically practical. The bedding is from Ikea as well and is reversible - I love having options! The gorgeous little fox cushion is actually from Adairs for kids, but I couldn't resist it. I kept walking past the store and it looked so adorable in the front window, so one day I went in to look at it, and it happened to be on sale! I had to get it.

Here is a quick little photo of some recent things I've gotten.

+ I absolutely love this super cool "Everyday I'm Hustlin" candle by Damselfly. The scent is burnt fig and cassis, which is beautiful and subtle, and I just love the look of it too. I got it from Jack Mitchell!

+ This is the last issue I got of Real Living Magazine - love, love, love this magazine, it's so great for inspiration. Can't wait to grab the latest issue!

+ I picked up this simple black organiser from Kmart really cheaply. I'm in the process of reorganising my desk/office space and coming up with new ideas for how to set it up. I'm sure I'll eventually show you the final result here ;)

+ Simple black pom pom garland from Typo. I love Typo. Who doesn't love Typo? I've used this garland for a few different things so far, I keep moving it around! I really like that pom poms and garlands are so popular right now! On that note, I'm really excited that black is so popular in interior styling right now too, I've always owned so many black things, it's definitely a favourite for me. 

I have lots of ideas for things I want to do with this blog and projects I want to complete! Can't wait! 

Nina xo

Morning Office: My Current Desk and Workspace

This is my current desk and workspace set-up! It's in our sunroom, which my bedroom leads into, so I absolutely love the amount of natural light in this space, especially in the morning. 

The desk is a small old writing desk - I'd like to get a large spacious one without the cubby-hole style storage built in. A clean empty tabletop would be really refreshing, but I do like this desk and I am sentimentally attached to it as a letter-writing desk.

The stool is actually from my drum kit! I had a proper office chair, but the cat always likes to steal it, so I started using this stool instead of disturbing her! Haha. Cat owners all know what I'm talking about. Anyway I ended up quite liking the stool, it's less in the way and still pretty comfortable.

I used to play the drums, and this is my beloved drum kit. Isn't she beautiful? I don't play anymore, but I haven't been able to bring myself to get rid of the kit. I guess I should at some point so she can be actually used by someone who would love and appreciate her.

Recently I got this old pin board out of our shed and spray-painted it white. It was a ugly grey. It's really nice to have a pin board above my desk to personalise my space more and add some inspiration and prettiness, since we can't hang pictures and put posters on the walls. I had a lot of fun making the bright pink washi tape diamond. My poor little skeleton guy fell over and I didn't even notice when I was taking these pictures! :P

The storage either side of my desk leaves a lot to be desired really. The rainbow drawer craft trolley thing on the right is on its last legs I think. I'd love to invest in some nicer office storage when I get the chance to. But it does the job alright for now. ;) What are your favourite office storage items or furniture pieces? I'm a big Ikea fan.

The chest on the right was given to me by my grandparents for my 21st. It's absolutely incredible! It's Chinese, and carved with ships and a garden/lake scene. It's one of my favourite things. It's filled with keepsakes at the moment.

What does your workspace look like? Do you have a small desk or a large one? Do you have a minimalistic approach to your desktop or do you like to have all your relevant items at hand on your desk?

I'm feeling positive and on track and excited for the future at the moment! I'm actively being productive, positive, healthy, and moving toward my goals! Hope I can pass on some positive vibes, and I hope that everyone is having an excellent week!

Nina xo

Styling Product Displays

Working in retail isn't my dream job. But I do enjoy a bit of visual merchandising, and at my job I've recently been lucky enough to be able to create product displays in our store. It's my favourite part of the job, and I was given free reign to make these tabletop displays my own. (Yay!) I love the challenge of using what you have at hand and working with whatever space you've got to make an effective display even when you can't open certain packaging, or the shelves above the table are very low, etc. Mostly I just love being creative with it and trying to think outside the box!

I apologise about the photo quality. I had to take these on my phone quickly on my breaks. It was hard to get a good picture because of the background and lighting etc., but I still wanted to share them. :)

This black, white and kraft brown stationery display is my favourite so far! I had so much fun setting it up, and it didn't take me long at all because I had a clear idea in my mind. My favourite part of this one is the skull, candle and fake pothos combo. I was so happy we had some fake pothos in stock (real live pothos is one of my favourite indoor plants!). And yes, I've always been pretty skull-obsessed, as you can probably tell.

Here are my first couple of displays. I had a lot of fun with this eclectic polka dot breakfast table setting! I love the cow salt and pepper shakers and the tomato jar. Although I think I tried to fit too much into it, because I was so excited about it. I was like a kid in a candy shop choosing everything to display.

Unfortunately, I didn't take a photo of the actual finished product of this desk space display. Everything was neatened up when it was finished, and the photo frame was propped up so you could see the whole picture. My favourite part of coming up with this one was the pretend pin board with the little memos and gold scarf thrown over the corner.

It was so much fun working on these, hope I can do something similar on a larger scale sometime in the future. ;) I love styling, decorating and interior design, so it's something I'm working towards!

I hope everyone has had an amazing start to their weeks!

Nina xo

Cupcake Bunting

I bought this cupcake bunting a long long time ago, and found it recently still in its packaging! I didn't know what I was going to do when I bought it, but I thought it was really cute.

I decided to hang it in my office/workspace next to my desk! I think it looks really nice in the sunlight that comes in through the windows.

My cat Stella didn't want to pose for this photo, and she nearly escaped! I love it when she comes to hang out with me in my office space (except when she sits on my keyboard!). :P 

I hope everyone is having a good week so far! It's my one day off today, but I'm feeling really deflated and flat. :( Hopefully I'll get my positivity and motivation back soon! What do you guys do to cheer yourself up when you're feeling down?

Nina xoxo

Terrarium, glasshouse

Hello! Life has still been super busy, and time has been flying by as usual! But I wanted to finally share these with you. I bought the little glasshouse and tiny fern for my Mum for Mother's Day, and we made these little 'terrariums' together! Hers is on the right, mine on the left.

I bought her some sea urchins to decorate inside, and I foraged some moss-covered rocks for us as well. Mum and I both love moss! 

Mum can't put indoor plants on her desk usually, because our cat Finn loves to play with them and knock them over or pull the plants out of their soil! So I thought the glass house was a cool idea.

My boyfriend brought home some little rocks too which Mum used as a base to set up her tiny cute garden.

I just bought a really cheap small fishbowl style glass bowl for my own. I just want moss in mine, so I've put in some soil and a couple of moss covered rocks. Plus a sea urchin to brighten it up a bit while I grow the moss!

I'm hoping to grow the moss across the top of the soil and have a little moss garden! There must have been some little seeds in the soil I used, and there have been some little green sprout popping up. Can you see them on the right there? I wonder what they are and if they will grow? We'll see!

Well wish me luck on my moss-growing adventure! Until next time...

Nina x

New

I finally got myself a little 'mail centre' type tray organiser. It's a gorgeous teal colour and has two trays or shelves. I'm going to use one for incoming and one for outgoing mail/documents. I also bought this super cute gold skull ornament!

I've been replying to some of my recent letters today. I love mail and pen palling so much, and hopefully this will help keep track of what I need to reply to!

The skull has little diamond eyes which I think is cool. Right now I'm using it as a paperweight, but it also has space in the top for a tea light candle!

I have it on top of my stack of drawers rather than my desk, which frees up desk space. I can't stand clutter on my desk when I'm trying to create something or write a letter. I got both the tray organiser and the skull from Daiso, where I work, so they were cheap too!

P.S. Currently reading Peppermint magazine! ;)

Little Pink Cactus xo