Hello hello! I hope you’re having a good week so far! We spent last week moving both girls into new college apartments and Kenny and I are in full recovery mode over here. We might be recovering for a while.. ha! We kicked off the week with Kenny driving Ad’s car to Texas while Ad and I finished up last minute to-do’s. We both have a tendency to get car sick on road trips so we were grateful he took one for the team and drove her car for us. It was so nice being able to load the car with all of her things vs. flying with it all like we did last year!
A few days later we flew into Austin and he picked us up at the airport. Blurry plane pic of us just happy we were finally on the plane! Our flight was almost 3 hours delayed. By the time we met Kenny, picked up the rental car, got some food and drove to Waco it was late so our 2 day move in plan turned into a one day move in plan. We got a good nights sleep and hit it HARD the next day. Below are some pics of her new apartment!
Come on in! When you enter her bedroom door you are immediately greeted by Peppa.. ha. (a sorority thing!)
I hung this door hook on the other side of the door. We had it at the end of her dorm bed last year! Such a good option for storing purses and bags.
On the wall when you walk in we hung this cute rattan wall hanger for hats and keys and a pin board full of pictures of family and friends.
I have this in her bedroom at home too! Such a cute wall hanger. We used command hooks to hang everything!
This cute pink tool kit came in handy in so many ways too. I bought each of my girls one when they graduated high school. The pliers were in use when I took this pic. :)
Ad and I got to work unpacking and organizing her closet while Kenny moved items from a storage shed she was sharing with roommates. He hauled everything over to the apartment for Ad’s friends too and by the time he finished he was ready for a nap. We were like um.. nice try! We’re just getting started! We were all laughing at his nap attempt when I snapped this pic. Not in the cards today babe. :)
At the end of the day this is how things turned out! Ad wanted a beach vibe to bring a feeling of home to Texas. :) The prints are actually the same prints in El’s room. They are an Etsy download that I had printed and then I put the prints inside affordable wooden frames. We used velcro picture hanging strips to hang them!
The bedding is my favorite and I’m tempted to duplicate it on her bed at home too! A simple from Amazon and then this cute
We kept the nightstand by her bed empty (other than this cute shell tissue holder!) because she will use it for books and her phone and water, etc. One tip with dorm/apartment living.. space is tight so less really is more! It’s hard to keep small spaces organized with too much stuff.
Ad picked out this cute shell pillow and then I found the palm tree pillow to go with it.
The furniture all came with the room and I really want to switch out that chair.. ha! But she’s only here one year so I’m trying to move on. ;)
Desk details!
The apartment Ad is in has 4 bedrooms and two of the rooms are larger. Ad ended up with one of the smaller rooms after a random draw and if I would have known I would have ordered a smaller rug! This was 8×10 and too big for the space (it took up the whole room!) but we made it work.
It went right to the edges of her room but she likes being able to see so much of it! It’s such a cute rug. I loved the scallop detail on her quilt so much that I brought other scallop details in. :)
worked so well at the top of her closet. I was thrilled they fit because I wasn’t sure on closet measurements when I ordered them!
We added a rack for shoes and the white drawer organizers she used last year.
I hung this hanging storage organizer on the other side of her closet and let Ad organize her clothes inside because I want this to work for her! She isn’t a neat freak like me and anything I fold will be unfolded and messy in no time so I didn’t waste time on that. I just wanted things to be functional for her! I was bummed I forgot to bring my label maker this trip (rookie mistake!). When we go back in a few weeks for parent’s weekend I’ll take it and label all of her baskets and bins and clothes drawers/slots so that it’s easy for her to find what she needs.
An organized closet just makes me happy. :) So nice she has large mirrors on the doors too!
Ad loved and two looked so cute on her wall! But this spot was too narrow to fit both of them. We kept bumping into the lower shelf when we walked around the corner.. ha! So we just added one and put some cute shells on it.
I saved the bathroom for last and we were so tired by the end of the night when we finally got to this space!
We added these cute beach prints over the toilet and then I started organizing the cupboard above.
We needed some organizers so late night Walmart run! Ad snapped this pic and was laughing at me for bringing my tape measure into the store but I found the best option for what we needed!
Much better. Labels coming soon. :)
I bought my favorite steamer for both of my girls to take to college and we used it for the shower curtain and bedding. It’s lightweight, easy to use and gets the job done!
HORRIBLE lighting and we took a lot of these pics at night but the shower curtain is so cute in person!
So are these fun bath rugs!
This is a better pic of them. So cute and soft! I want to order them for my girls’ bathroom at home too.
We picked up some towels and a makeup organizer and trash can from Target.
I added one more beach print and some cute scallop hand towels next to the shower and then the bathroom was done! We were so happy we knocked it out in one day!
It’s simple but exactly what Ad wanted (she keeps texting me how much she loves it!) and perfect for Sophomore year of college.
Hard saying good-bye.. we had the best summer with her home with us again! But we talk every day and I know she’s exactly where she needs to be.
Kenny and I came home from Texas and started moving El into her new apartment. I’ll share some pics from it at some point too! So much easier having her closer to home so we didn’t have to do it all in one day. We are so happy to have both of the girls settled and ready for a new year! I’m excited for some time to focus on my boys now. Poor Kole has been fending for himself a lot lately. He might turn into a pack of Ramen Noodles at this point.. ha! He is missing his sisters too (the house feels quiet when they are gone!) so I’m going to be spending extra time with him. Transitions! They aren’t easy. But we are getting better at them. One day at a time. :)
So exciting for your girls. I love the decor you all chose for Addie’s room. It looks homey and comfy. Wishing you all a successful school year!
Thank you so much Jeanne! xo
Love Ad’s room! We moved our daughter into her dorm for her sophomore year 2 weeks ago, and our son left for his senior year today. Both are very far (plane rides) away. Like you we have 1 more left at home, and it is already so quiet. Best of luck to your girls this year!
Thank you so much Nadine! Sounds like we are living similar lives! It’s SO quiet when they leave isn’t it!? Definitely hard and an adjustment, but it’s also the best seeing them grow and experience so many new things. Wishing your college kids all the best this year too! Time for both of us to spend time with our last child at home.. we know it goes by in a blink! xo
Hi. Ad’s room is very cozy and seems to be comfortable! How do you plan to spend time with Kole? I have some problems with finding ideas for my boys as they become older..
Thank you so much Elena! That’s such a good question! I agree.. it does get harder (and especially with boys!). I always try to find things he likes to do and join when I can. Right now we play ping pong together, go on car rides to get an ice cream or a shake (and listen to his rap music on the way.. ha), watch movies together (we just finished a Stranger Things marathon before the girls came home!) and I’m trying to cook more meals so we can all sit down together and eat dinner in the evening. I hope those ideas help!
You and Kenny deserve some rest! We moved our 19 y/o daughter from her summer apartment back to a campus apartment a couple weekends ago, and lets just say I’m not sure we will be up for this stuff by the time our 12 y/o is out of high school! So glad we took our 16 y/o son with to provide some muscle! I went up (a 4 hr drive) a day early to help her pack up her summer apartment, the boys joined us that night so we could load and go first thing the next morning. It was 45 min from 1 apartment to the other and we ended up having to make 2 trips. I stayed the rest of the weekend to help her unpack and move in, while the boys came home. SO glad I planned to stay the extra days this year! It took the whole time (ok, we may have done a little extra shopping) and was so much work but also so much fun to have that time with her! Lots of trips to Walmart and Target. You are so right when you say less is more! Our daughter takes WAY too much stuff to fit in those tiny places. She doesn’t even have a closet this year (has a wardrobe with very little hanging space)! She’s just happy to have a private bedroom and laundry machines in her apartment. It’s a big step up from last year’s dorm room. We’re building character for sure! Ha!
Ha ha.. yes we are Libbe! Oh my word.. it’s so exhausting isn’t it!? And SO many Target/Walmart trips! :) Ad is so excited to have her own room and bathroom this year too! It’s so nice for them to still be with friends but also have a little privacy. And laundry machines! Wishing your kids the best school year and I hope some downtime is in our future! ;) XO