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Blogmas { Day 6 }: Room Redecoration

December 7, 2013August 25, 2015 Crystal // Dreams, etc. Post a comment
Blogmas { Day 6 }: Room Redecoration

Hello, everyone! Guess what I have for you today? That’s right! I finally pulled out my camera and took pictures for my room redecoration post! Mina wasn’t sure why I was walking around taking pictures of the room, but she watched me every step along the way.

Before I repainted, my room was two shades of green. I’m not sure why I went with the green in the first place–the colors that I have now are more me. One nice thing about switching out the green for blue is that it has lightened up my room. I don’t like to use the overhead light so I use lamps to light my room and it would get a little dark at night, but now with the blue colors my room is much lighter. I went with two different shades of blue. I like having a little variety, which is why I always pick out two shades. In a smaller room I pick similar shades, but in a larger room I like to go with a bold, accent color for one wall. I can’t remember the brand of paint that I went with, but I bought it at Menards and the colors are Sea Cave Blue and Poolside. I used the lighter of the two shades, Poolside, along one wall. It’s in a part of my room that has a lower hanging ceiling and I feel like putting the lighter shade there opens it up a bit.

When I decided to paint my room blue I also decided that it would be the perfect time to bring a little bit of the ocean to me. You all know that I love the ocean, but I live in the frozen tundra of Minnesota. We’re the land of 10,000 lakes, but if I want to see the ocean I need to travel to one. So I decided to include little reminders of the ocean around my room.

First, a couple of things that you should know:

1. If I really, really like something I will put it up in my room, even if it doesn’t match my color scheme 100%.

2. I had to carefully take these pictures so that I didn’t get a couple piles of stuff that I need to put away. While I try to be organized, it doesn’t always happen…


After repainting I looked for ways to decorate that would bring the ocean to me.

I love sea shells and have always had a few around my room so I decided to bring more in. I filled this vase with shells. (Sorry about the glass rings on top of the dresser, I just noticed them! I put glasses of water there if I’m doing things around the room and don’t always pull out a coaster.)

Next to the shells I have a couple of beach-scented candles.

I had a couple of shells left over, so I slipped them into another vase and placed them on top of the rocks that I used to have in a candle garden.


I knew that I wanted something that I could hang necklaces on and I was also thinking about putting a sea shell bouquet someplace in my room, so when I heard about this wall hanging rack found on Etsy  I knew it would be perfect.

Initially I planned to make a sea shell bouquet myself but I’m not a DIYer and it sounded like a lot of work. I also knew that I’d be able to find someone who would be able to make one better than I would be able to, so once again I turned to Etsy. A lot of the bouquets that were available looked like they’d be too big and heavy for the little mason jar. I absolutely loved the bouquets that I found from one seller so I contacted her and explained what I was looking for and what my concern was about the bouquets that she already had available. Marie was wonderful to work with! I sent her a link to the the jewelry rack and she agreed that the bouquets would be too big but told me that she could make something that would fit into the mason jar. She described what she had in mind and after she made it she sent me a picture to see if I liked it. And I did! This is one of my favorite decorations and I am so pleased with it.

Originally I wanted to wrap a sea shell garland around my headboard but decided not to because I thought it would be too tempting for a certain puppy and that she was bound to chew it. When I saw these fish nets and starfish in Marie’s Etsy shop I thought they would be perfect and I absolutely love it. They were definitely the right choice and Little One hasn’t tried to chew on the nets. She has barked at the starfish, though. Yeah, I don’t know why either…

I have always had these shells on my vanity but now they actually fit in with the other decorations in my room!

Even thought I had a theme in mind as I decorated my room, I have other things that don’t fit into it. The glass rabbit in this picture was a gift from someone. I honestly can’t remember who, but I think it was my mom, one of my sister’s or an aunt. I used to have a bunny so I used to receive bunny-related gifts. I also have this little Eiffel Tower, which matches a few other French-themed items. I have little pieces like these spread throughout the room to add a little variety.

Usually I have a couple of personal photos, but right now this is the only one. This is a picture of my friend Satoko and me from when I was younger and she stayed with my family. We lost touch when I was in high school but I still think about her and hope that she’s doing well, so I’ve had this photo tucked into the mirror of my vanity for awhile. I’m sure in no time I will have pictures of my niece and nephew out again, I just need to figure out where they’ll fit best.

I also bought a couple of prints for my room, but instead of taking picture of them I thought that I would direct you to the artist’s websites to look at them:

1. Luna the Moon Goddess by Leilani Joy. I discovered this artist through her YouTube channel, where she walks you through her process for each painting. This is her video for Luna. I put this print in a white frame, like she has in the picture.

2. Tempest the Mermaid Girl by Leilani Joy. I also put this in a white frame and I have them next to each other. These were the two prints I was most interested in because I thought they’d fit in my room well and she was also selling them as a pair so I picked them up that way. Here’s her video for Tempest.

3. Mermaid Heart by Leigh at Curly Girl Design. I love, love, love Curly Girl and I love, love, love this design. I snatched up the framed wall art when it was first released and finally have the perfect place to put it in.

4. Hide Me in the Shadow of Your Wings by Noah Fine Art (in collaboration with Charisma Star). This isn’t mermaid or ocean-related, but I loved the print and the message behind it so I picked one up. I have it in a black frame. I also bought a print for my niece for her birthday.

So that’s how I decorated my room. During this redecoration I also did some reorganization, so I will share some of the tips that have been helpful for me next week. Right now I’m planning to have that post up on Thursday, so keep an eye out for that.

About Crystal

About Crystal

Hi! I'm Crystal, a millennial learning how to live slowly and sustainably, while still seeking adventure and following my dreams, etc.

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hi!

I'm Crystal, the storyteller behind Dreams, etc. I'm all about learning how to live slowly & sustainably, while also seeking adventure as we follow our dreams, etc.

If only we always remembered to be in touch with o If only we always remembered to be in touch with our loved ones regularly; to tell them that we love them.

This thought has been on my mind the last few weeks as I’ve been in touch with one of my best friends almost daily. They’ve been navigating a scary situation.

But that’s what everyone says, isn’t it? Reach out to those you love. Tell them you love them. Don’t let a lot of time pass.

We all know that. We think about it sometimes. We hear about it when others are in crisis. We’re thankful that we aren’t the ones in crisis and we can remember this lesson through someone else.

But eventually we get caught up in life. Our daily “I love you’s” are reserved for those we live with and sometimes we forget to text someone back… or it takes a few days to do so.

This week as I wondered why we don’t remember this more often I realized it’s probably a good thing. It’s a good thing that we can live life without worrying that tragedy is right around the corner. That would be an exhausting way to live.

It’s also good that we can get little reminders, sometimes not from our own life. So from someone who spent one week numb, another week weepy, and this week sad, remember to send your friends a text. Tell them you love them.
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And this year might just be the year we find out. I’m kidding, of course, but at this point I feel like we’ve been buried in snow. We’re even on track to beat some snow records I think (the amount of snow and the number of consecutive days with snow on the ground.

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Hello, friends! 👋🏼 Swipe through for a few g Hello, friends! 👋🏼 Swipe through for a few glimpses from January. As 2022 came to an end I had this feeling that I was preparing to hibernate and I guess, in a way, I have. I’ve been slowly easing into the new year, focused on getting back into a few routines after Iceland and the holidays. And it’s been a great month. I can’t believe it’s almost over. What have your favorite moments of January been?
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Between Iceland and the below zero, windy, and snowy weather we had last week (which came with requests from my parents not to go) it’s been a few weeks since I’ve been to the dam and I miss it!
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Reykjavik, I hope to see you again one day. Soon. Probably not in December, but I’m glad I got to see you in December once.
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It was completely different in Reykjavik this year. You actually had a chance to skate on the ice rink if you wanted (and I never did the conversation, but I think it’s cheaper) and you could actually walk up to the Christmas tree. Two very different Christmas in the city experiences.
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