I will never be an art connoisseur, or one who is fully engrossed in a trip to an art museum (or any museum for that matter), but I do believe in surrounding myself with beautiful, inspiring things… and art is one of those things.   Because I am working on a budget these days, I am not commissioning pieces or shopping in fancy art districts for things to decorate my home, but i wanted to share some of my favorite places for “art on a budget.”

1. Minted.com – this site is amazing for numerous reasons.  First, they have gorgeous stationary (I did my wedding invites through them), but they also have beautiful prints as well as limited addition photographs, etc. I’m loving this, and ordered this and this. Check it out!

2. Etsy.com – Most of you know of this I’m sure… but I’m truly obsessed. For $30 I received a GORGEOUS painting of a lovebird from… ITALY! J wanted to know why i was receiving a package from Italy, only to open up this beautiful watercolor with a hand written thank you note. FOR $30!!! I still can’t get over it.  I also bought these adorable post cards to frame in my home… for $1.50 you can’t beat the price! They have great graphic prints as well… I’m currently lusting for this, this and this.

3. Paper Source – Online or in the store this place is a win.  I love to frame their gorgeous paper and for $2-7 each you can’t really beat it (plus there should be extra left over to wrap gifts). I recently just scored this one.

4. Papyrus – I love to frame cards as well, and Papyrus (and Paper Source) are great spots to score some inspiring/funny/stunning finds.

At the end of the day it’s your house/office/room and I feel anything goes as far as art is concerned.  My college roommate – Erin, framed a letter from her trip to Europe (long story), and I think it is the coolest thing ever! So get decorating!

Art (from left to right): Gilt/Paper Source/Etsy/Michaels/Minted

I am a clean freak.  I love everything to be organized and in it’s place. Unfortunately I sometimes forget I live with someone now, and he doesn’t always know where my secret hiding places are – cue the label maker.  This device has saved us from many a fight and I highly recommend you go to Costco and pick one up ASAP.

While you are there pick up some shoebox sized plastic containers and get to organizing! Our house is VERY tiny, so every space has to be smartly used. We have barely ANY closet space, so I turned our bathroom cabinets into a “storage home base.” 

I created the following containers for our bathroom, and then have made some (that we use more infrequently) to be stored in our garage:

• Shampoo/Conditioner (full and travel sized)
• Hair Products (gel, hair spray, volumizer)
• Soaps and Scrubs (hotel samples, scrubs)
• Lotions and Beauty Products (lotions, cleansers, deodorant)
• Medicine (Advil, Airborne, Band Aids)
• Nail Stuff (nail polish, polish remover, nail files)
• Sunscreen (sun screen, after sun care, lip sunscreen)
• Oral Care (toothbrushes, toothpaste, floss)
• Shaving Products (extra blades, razors, shaving cream)

I also bought a airline regulation sized clear plastic bag (thicker and more reusable than a Ziplock) and extra travel sized necessities to have on hand when we are carrying on.  It makes it a lot easier to pack when all you have to worry about is the “fun stuff” – ie clothes and jewelry.

Just a few ideas to get you started… it really helps to save space putting everything in it’s own container, opposed to standing everything up on shelf (plus it looks better – in my opinion).

Outside in the garage we have a few more containers:

• Vacuum (attachments for our Dyson)
• Party Supplies (extra straws, gift bags, candles, etc.)
• Light Bulbs
• Manuals (great to not have to search for them when you can’t figure out how to work something)