Interior Design 101

So as I mention in my bio, I've been tinkering around renovating and rehabbing homes. Truth is though, no one will care if the walls are new, if the roof is new, if the plumbing is good or the electrical works..if the house has no real design or is designed poorly.

In my business, I come across a lot of people who think if they buy a bunch of stuff and throw it in a room, they've made a home. Tsk, tsk, tsk...what a shame. People see me doing what I do, and always ask for advice. However, I make my LIVING giving my advice and even going so far as to put the space together, so I can't assess your space for free. I'd love to, but...if I did, I'd be broke, and me being broke...is not cool on so many levels. So instead, I've decided to occasionally address random questions I get on a general basis. If you want me to look at your space and give you my opinion or even redesign your space, email me here and we can work something out.

Rule 1- A space should make a statement about its owner.
Often, I meet people who have mismatched furniture, some that is either a hand-me-down or old, some inexpensive and screams cheap and the more current items clash with the old. The only impression someone coming into it can leave with is that the owner doesn't care about what their place looks like, is too cheap to invest in some better quality furnishings, or just has bad taste. If that is the impression you wish to make, feel free. But, it won't help you if you're someone who likes to entertain. Believe me, you and your place are being teased.

Rule 2- Never expect to fully put a room together in a short amount of time.
When people tell me that they have a tight budget, and don't want to hire someone to decorate, I always ask them how quickly they expect to have a cohesive scheme in that area. As a designer, it's my job to work fully on creating a complete space from four raw walls. This can include painting, refinishing floors, laying down carpets, finding area rugs, etc...and all that is timely. The average person works full time, wants some aspect of a social life or time to relax and may even have some time commitments outside of that. The last thing they want to do is try to decorate. So, if you decide to tackle a room, don't expect to have it be exactly as you imagine in the span of a day or two. Some people are lucky, they can go to one store and just get everything and be satisfied, but in my opinion, it's best to take your time. You might get all the furniture from Store A, but Stores B-R might have the accessories that really bring it to life. It may take a while to get it complete, be patient. Otherwise, hire someone and they can have it done much quicker.

Rule 3- Windows need something at them other than paper shades.
Paper shades are for when a site is under construction, not for once you've moved in and living there. They tatter, they lose their adhesive ability to the wall and bottom line, they are ugly. Please, please, please...if you've been living at your place for over two months, BUY SOME CURTAINS! JC Penney and IKEA sell sizes for all range of windows very inexpensively. I see them all over the place and it just irritates me....beyond all reason.

More rules/guidelines to come in further blogs...
Ashley

Hard Times

Hi,

I decided to change up the way my blog looks and restart it, simply because I'm restarting myself. Life is nothing but challenging and engaging, and I've decided that I need a new perspective to match the way I'm going to see things. All that black and dark...wasn't it.

I have been given some big hurdles in my life, moreso than the average twenty-something, and I've done my best to overcome them. Sometimes I've failed, most times I've won or learned how to deal, and the lessons I've learned along the way have helped form me. I've been cynical, naive, angry, frustrated and impractical. But despite it all, I've had big laughs and big tears and can say now that I'd not have wanted it any other way. Each time I get knocked down or kicked in the gut, I've taken in the pain and moved along, chugging to my destination. I've screamed at people I love, kicked holes in walls, stood in the rain until I could feel the water saturating my bones, and I've managed to come up stronger.

This new perspective is going to be shared on this blog, which I will be using as my outlet to whomever wants to read it. I start it out as a woman who has no responsibility to anyone to censor myself, just me and my mind.

With that, I present....me.

Ashley

Where have all the bloggers gone?

Hey,

As you know I went on hiatus. I hadn't planned on it, but I wasn't really in the state of mind to write much of anything. I got a better grip on what I was dealing with and decided to return to my blog as my life is evolving quite nicely, and I wanted a way to record it while still asking aloud, "Is this normal?" Meanwhile, I look up and a lot of the bloggers I interact with...are gone.

Some may have changed their blog names, but others are just MIA completely. Did everyone abandon blogging for Twitter and Facebook? Too much online and social networking caused the blogs to overload completely....

Something to think about. Meanwhile, I'm here and I'm gonna write, to my heart's content.

-A.

Common Questions I'm Asked About Europe

When I tell most people I've gone to Europe, there are usually a range of questions that come with that topic of conversation. So much so, I find that I know what questions people are going to ask...well before they even ask them. Even though my trip is a year old as of May 16th of 2010, I'm still regularly asked questions...and so I've decided to put them here, and answer them, in the effort to help others plan their own trips, not to just Europe, but anywhere they can imagine.

Did I feel safe? Was it scary to travel alone? Did I worry about getting lost? How did I keep my belongings safe?

Well, isn't it always a little weird to walk around in a city that you've never been to before, and do so alone? Doesn't matter if it's in another country or state. Crime happens. People get robbed, mugged, beat up, or worse everyday in areas where there are lots of people. But, if you worry about what will happen, you'll never do anything. If I had that attitude, I never would have gotten on that plane, went to the airport or even bought the ticket in the first place. The same rules apply as to when you're alone in any city, like not advertising or allowing people to think you have a lot of cash on you, don't walk down any dark alleys late at night, etc. Follow your gut. And don't let anybody outside the Sacre Coeur in Paris put a bracelet on your arm. Traveling alone wasn't as scary as it was sometimes a little awkward. But after you've managed one meal in a restaurant alone as well as a canal ride, the next ten or so are a breeze. I downloaded apps that featured city metro bus and train maps to my iPhone, and I found I used that more than a city map. I didn't worry about getting lost, for some reason, I had an innate sense of direction. I kept my belongings locked up in a locker at the hostel, and I was the only one who had a key. My mother had a key here in Chicago, and best believe, if I'd lost mine, she'd have been fedex'ing that key overnight.

What's the best ways you saved money on the trip? How did you get from each city (London to Rome, Rome to Paris and Paris back to London)?

The best ways I saved money was to pack effectively. I traveled on a small airline that went from region to region, but they were big on baggage fees. I was gone for three weeks, but I only packed a week and a half of clothes, knowing ahead of time that I'd have to do laundry. I also made sure that I kept a daily budget and stuck to it fairly religiously. I bought an Oystercard in London that I still have as an souvenir. It saved me a lot of money on the train. I also took advantage of the duty free (tax free) shops in the airports, buying whatever toiletries I needed there instead of in the cities, where the prices would be much more expensive. There are many airlines that fly to many different regions in Europe, RyanAir, AerLingus and EasyJet are three I can think of, offering fares as low as $20-$60 per trip. Realize though, each airline has STRICT rules, and if you don't follow them you will have major headaches. Make sure you know and understand them all before you even think about booking a ticket, which you need to do pretty much as soon as you know your itinerary.

What is the biggest culture shock you received overseas? What are things Americans who've never been overseas would be surprised to see or experience? Any stereotypes that are true or false?

In Rome, there is a lot of ease and slow pace. But the cab drivers are CRAZY. I thought New York cab drivers were bad...the ones in Rome put them to shame. Also, the poverty in certain places is a little off putting. However, the biggest culture shock I received was shopping for deodorant. It was EXTREMELY difficult to find some in smaller neighborhood stores. I luckily found a trial size in the bottom of my bag and that was able to last for the duration of my trip. As a result of the deodorant shortage, there was a lot of FUNKY encounters. Even now, I can close my eyes and that pungent, wet and onion-y smell comes wafting back into my nose. The stereotype that Parisian women are any more fashionable than American women is also not as prevalent as one would think. Plus, people are a lot more affectionate. You go to the bars and it's normal to see everyone in the bar making out with each other, whether they know each other or not. I saw it in London at the IceBar (a bar built solely of ice, and you wear these massive coats), in Paris (even on the streets, lol) and in Rome (everywhere also).

Were there any weirdness with the different kinds of food that they eat versus what is normal American fare, even if it might be Italian, French, etc?

The food itself is smaller portions. However, Europeans eat more often than we Americans do, so if you keep that in mind, you won't go hungry. As a result of the portion size being smaller, flavors are richer and more...luxurious. People aren't as worried about fat content as they are in the States. Going to a Starbucks and getting a low-fat macchiato might get you some weird looks. Also, it was hard as hell to find soy milk. So much that I skipped eating cereal and drinking coffee, etc during my trip. It wasn't worth the headache. Europeans have really cornered the farmer's market concept, and some of the best fruit I've ever been fortunate enough to taste was the fruit I bought in Rome outside the Coliseum. Some people may hesitate to try outdoor food sold like that, but it's well worth the risk. It's also easy to eat well and inexpensively while in Europe. Just be sure to try the croissants in Paris, the espresso in Rome and the hamburgers in London...and be sure to do plenty of walking! I did and ironically, I LOST weight.

So, you stayed in hotels or motels or hostels? What was that like? Are they like the ones in that horror movie?

In order to save money, I stayed in hostels, which are like dorms. Most rooms are shared, with bunk beds, and like hotels, each person has a key or keycard. The cheaper the room rate, the more roommates you'll have. The ones I stayed in were all recognized by Hostelling International, the biggest group behind hostelling travel in the world. Not all hostels get their stamp of approval, and each place has to not only maintain their facilities, but also their safety guidelines to meet their criteria, which is audited by them officially every year. They also will revoke a hostel's inclusion on their material if they get enough complaints from guests. The one I stayed in Paris was the nicest, the most modern, with a full restaurant and bar in the lobby. The floors were female, male and co-ed, and bathrooms were filled with stall showers. Everyone got a large bin to put their belongings and lock it, and it was fine. The London hostel had a bathroom right in the room, with laundry, a kitchen if you wanted to cook, as well as a bar in the lobby. The Rome one was the least modern, with no elevator (and I had to climb five flights to get to my room..imagine doing that twice drunk), but had the best bar and the hottest bartender. No psycho killers wanting to sell my body to an illegal hunting group. I had one stalker, who actually followed me from Rome to Paris and stayed in the same hostels as me, but he was a sweet stalker and left after he realized I wasn't interested.

These are just some of my questions I get. If you have any additional, hit me!

She's BAAAAACKKKKKKK!!!!!

Hey,

So circumstances in my life have kept me from blogging for a while. I wasn't really in the right mind to write and then edit it, I honestly don't think I'd have been able to edit it, and anyone reading it would have wanted to find a nice white room with padded walls for me. Anyway, I made an executive decision to leave the blog alone, and to resume it when I was in a better emotional space.

Well, that time has now come. I'm back. Expect postings from me at least once a week, and feel free to leave me questions/comments and even inspiration for future posts. You'll see that during the hiatus, my life has changed and as a result, this blog will begin to reflect that. It's still my misadventures, still told in the same way...just more.

Enjoy.