"IN OUR BEDROOM, AFTER THE WAR..."

The bedroom, whether it's a guest bedroom or master bedroom, is one of the most important rooms in a home. This is the place where you unwind, dream and as someone on a "Cribs" episode would say, "Where the magic happens!" Sure, maybe for some more than others, and I think that this is very influenced by your decor. Your bedroom should be a solace, a romantic and most personal of spaces which you do not share with guests. In our previous apartment, Matthew and I had to make the best of Ikea furniture (much to my chagrin), mainly because it was our first time leaving the nest and we had nothing but a bed. San Francisco's Craigslist furniture section is the best I have ever come by and within weeks we were able to furnish almost our entire apartment (some of the things we wanted to buy new). The gray, blue, black, white and turquoise went well with our black furniture flooring and patterned wallpaper, but when we moved we sold all of it and started fresh. I was so excited to start decorating our master bedroom because I had fallen in love with a color scheme in a magazine that made me resent ever decorating in cold colors. It is all slowly coming together and I think that I might be finished by this summer so that I can move on to the guest bedroom. I was able to find inspiration in the bedding I bought at Marshalls. Marshalls is my absolute favorite store to shop for bedding because I think the quality is very acceptable and the styles are pretty contemporary considering the price. I was instantly drawn to the bedding you see in the photo below and pulled as many other colors together that I could to compliment the mauve comforter. I have narrowed it down to a color palette that I am intent on sticking with; a combination of beiges, tans, mauves and even some pink like you see in the make-up compact below. I usually try to stay away from pink because I don't want to overly feminize the bedroom since Matt sleeps there too (there's always a male to consider!) I'm going to incorporate a lot of distressed wood, antiqued frames, silver and white to make the bedroom feel light and airy. I might even splurge on some gorgeous oil-rubbed bronze switch plates to match our new door hardware and ceiling fan. My to-do list when it comes to this room is endless, but as soon as I'm done with school it should free up my schedule so that I can continue my hunt.

"I AM A WRITER, WRITER OF FICTIONS. I AM THE HEART THAT YOU CALL HOME."

There is nothing that I like more than a bookcase beautifully coordinated by color. Although I've had to fight for this right after every move, I've managed to win Matt over by organizing our countless hardcovers and paperbacks in shades of turquoises and lavenders until he can't deny that it looks spectacular. This is a painstaking process of matching and grouping each book into its appropriate color group. At the very end, it's truly rewarding to stand back and take it all in. The varying shades of intensity breathe new life into the books, and all the sudden you take note again of all the books you devoured (voluntarily or forcefully) during your college years and the ones you have yet to read. The only color that never fails to look lonely is the long section of plain, white paperback spines that stare back at you blankly.

Collecting books is a habit that has been instilled in me from birth, thanks to my bookworm mother who never misses an opportunity to read just about anything. From serial killers to post-war literature, my mother has read more books than most scholars I know and its partly her fault that I am not unable to pass a bookshelf or bookstore by without at least taking a second glance. It's extremely difficult for me to give up books simply to gain more storage space, especially since I know they are so irreplaceable. I've been frequenting my favorite hole-in-the-wall thrift store in my home town for a few years now and just about always walk out with at least 3-8 books. For a whopping dollar you can buy 8 paperbacks, a bargain that one would have to be a fool to pass up. Now that my Ikea Expedit bookcase is full, it looks like I'll have to find either A) another bookcase or B) downsize. I'll let you guess which of the two it'll come down to.