One of the most nerve-wracking parts of moving to a new place, in my opinion, is choosing an area to live in. When I was getting ready to move to North Carolina over a year and a half ago, I was totally overwhelmed by the options (especially when my top living preference, smack dab in the middle of a big city, was not really an option), and ended up in a suburb of Chapel Hill within walking distance to work. What a blessing it was in my first year of adjusting to a new state/job/life after college to not have to worry about commuting or driving in very un-Texas-like winter weather! I admit, I got pretty restless living out in the country, but I loved my apartment and had so much fun making it feel like home for the 15 months I lived in it. I had a sneaking suspicion that this apartment might be the last one I lived in on my own, so I decided to go all-out girly and make it my “bachelorette pad.” :)

Everything in my apartment either came with me in my Honda Accord when I moved or was purchased over the last year. Since that meant a handful of big purchases (namely a couch and a mattress), and I didn’t want to make too many big furniture decisions for a temporary apartment, I kept other furniture to the bare minimum. That also meant I went 15 months with an overturned box as a bedside table…whoops :) My favorite things in my bedroom were my striped curtain (this West Elm fabric shower curtain that I cut in half) and the Rifle Paper Co. wrapping paper I put up above my bed–the next best thing to a floral headboard, perhaps?

The main attraction of the dining room/office, between the kitchen and living room, was my mini gallery wall–from left to right, the prints are from Oh My Deer Handmades, the Southern Wedding Shop, Emily Ley, the Lara Casey Shop, and the Southern Weddings Shop. Since I was not prepared to invest anything in dining furniture, but I needed a place to eat, I bought a cheap card table, a sparkly tablecloth, and the cutest turquoise folding chairs, all from Target. It cost about $50 and was the perfect solution for what I needed. Keeping flowers on that table as often as I could didn’t hurt either!

Finally, the pièce de résistance of my bachelorette pad: the peachy pink accent wall in the living room! Honestly, I got tired of it pretty quickly (especially around Christmas, when it clashed with my decorations!), but it was fun while it lasted, and I’m glad I had at least one pink living room in my life :) I followed this tutorial from Mint Love Social Club to make that gold confetti canvas back in college. The coffee table was another Target score that I scooped up because it reminded me of my favorite Ballard Designs style–except this one was $40!

My apartment never felt “finished” before I moved to my current place, but I was happy that I took my time and (for the most part) resisted the urge to fill space with things I didn’t absolutely love or need. It’s so much fun to now choose things with Dave that we both love for our soon-to-be newlywed home!