A Touch of Teal

10.23.23

The Gallery Wall in My Bedroom

I am really excited about today’s post because it was literally years in the making! In late August, my dad helped me hang the gallery wall in my bedroom that I have been dreaming about and scheming up since the day I moved into this apartment back in 2020.

While I’ve admired gallery walls for a long time, up until now, I’ve never curated or hung one in my own space. The way my bedroom is laid out is perfect for this kind of installation as there’s one long wall opposite my bed that’s not conducive to placing furniture against it. And, because I rent, I didn’t want to paint or hang wallpaper in my bedroom, so a gallery wall was a great option to bring in color and visual interest without making any permanent changes. (I’ve done temporary wallpaper before — but if I was going to do it in this room, I’d do the wall behind my bed — not opposite. So it wasn’t really a great option for this space!)

I am very picky about art — I like to buy pieces that really speak and are meaningful to me, so curating and framing everything (which can add up so quickly!) was a years-long process. I initially was going to do a mix of gold and white frames, but as I began to collect and frame everything, I realized I was gravitating towards gold frames — and so I made the decision to do only gold frames and love how it turned out. There are 18 pieces in the gallery wall — with space to add more as my collection continues to grows overtime.

I love, LOVE how it turned out, and below have shared how I created the layout, some tricks for hanging a gallery wall, and sources for all the art + frames.
Read more “The Gallery Wall in My Bedroom”

personal notes

10.15.23

Life Lately

What a heavy week it has been — before I dive in, my heart this past week has especially been with Israel and my Jewish friends. Reading the stories of what everyday, normal families had to endure during Hamas’ terrorist attack last weekend is terrifying and heartbreaking. There is no defense for terrorism. I’m also thinking of Palestinian civilians caught in the crossfire, with no stable humanitarian corridor to escape. Take care of yourself and those around you this week – it’s more important than ever.

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As I mentioned last month, I am usually more of a warm weather girlie, but I have really been enjoying fall this year. I especially am loving when the weather is in the high 60s/low 70s sans humidity — it’s truly the perfect weather. I have been loving working with my windows open during the week and rediscovering my favorite sweatshirts + comfy clothes. I know these temperatures are fleeting, so I am trying to soak it up as much as I can before the cold, dark days of winter are upon us. (I, for one, am so glad that my sisters and I already have a warm weather escape booked to Jamaica in February! Move over, seasonal depression.)

On My Nightstand: Summer 2023

Hi, friends! I’m back with the books I read in Q3 this year (July, August, September) and there were a lot of good ones that made their way to my nightstand. In Q1, I read 22 books, in Q2, I read 17 books, and in Q3, I read 26 books. The reading goal I set for myself at the start of the year was 75 books, and I’m well on my way with 65 books down! This past quarter, I had lots of vacation on my calendar — so between reading on airplanes and on the beach, I was able to enjoy so many good reads that I am excited to share with you today.

Before I recap all the books I read this summer, I wanted to remind you of my book rating system:

Five Stars: an amazing book I could not put down and/or stop thinking about once I finished it; would highly recommend reading it!
Four Stars: a great book that stands out above your average read that I would highly recommend reading.
Three Stars: an average book that I generally enjoyed, but if you asked me for a book recommendation, I’d probably recommend another title first.
Two Stars: a terrible book that was hard to finish; I would not recommend reading it.
One Star: a book that was among the worst I’ve ever read. You probably won’t see too many of these because I usually DNF (do not finish) these books and don’t count them towards my yearly reading goal.

I keep track of everything I read in real-time over on Goodreads and via my Instagram Stories if you don’t want to wait for these quarterly book roundups.

As is custom on these posts, I wanted to call out that I’m part of a program where Random House will send me some of their new titles each month. I’m under no obligation to post about any titles I receive, so I really can tell you my own opinion (good or bad!) about them. I’ve starred the books Random House sent me for free below. I’m so lucky to be sent books and am really grateful for the opportunity to partner with Random House in this way. And, as always, you can follow along with what I am reading in real time over on Goodreads.

Happy reading — and please let me know if there’s been anything good on your nightstand lately. Read more “On My Nightstand: Summer 2023”