-Hi, I'm Alexa. Welcome to my sweet digs.
Alright, come on in.
I live in a one-bedroom, one-bath apartment
in Long Beach, California --
more specifically, the Retro Row area.
I live here with my four cats,
and I pay $1,695 in rent.
I live about a 15-minute walk
from my favorite coffee shop, Portfolio,
about a mile away from my favorite restaurant,
called Seabirds.
And I also live about a mile from the beach,
which is really nice.
This is my living space.
I currently work full time as a speech language pathologist,
and on the side, I work as a designer
for a home staging company.
I actually just graduated with my Master's
in speech language pathology,
and I've found a job in Houston, Texas.
So, unfortunately, I will be leaving this space in a month.
I honestly wouldn't change much in my apartment.
I absolutely love it the way it is.
I would take this entire apartment with me,
if I could, everywhere I go.
To the left of my door is this pink bookshelf.
This is where I have all my collectible knick knacks,
my crystals, my elephants.
I have a huge elephant collection.
I would describe my home style
as a vintage grandma, quirky chic.
I like to collect things, and put them everywhere.
I don't think I have one solid style.
I just like things from antique stores and thrift stores.
Pretty much anything pink.
My biggest home pet peeve is wearing shoes in the house.
It actually makes me feel physically ill.
I wanted to make the fireplace, specifically, in my living room,
the star of the show.
So, I laid out all of my sitting furniture around it.
So, that was the main focal point.
When I came in, it was just all white.
So, I decided to add some peel-and-stick tile to it
that I got from Etsy.
I absolutely love candlesticks.
And so, I like to have this here.
I don't usually put them all on.
Rarely, do I.
But I'll light them every so often,
so it gives it the melted look.
And I also have this really cute embroidered picture
of my cats that my sister made.
She actually has a business called Posh Threads.
I do the drawings for her, and she embroiders them.
So, the worst part of my home is the outlet situation.
There's only two in my living room,
so I have had to run extension cords
all the way around, and get pretty creative.
So, I got this little cover,
this satin cover, on Etsy, to cover it up.
And I think it does it justice.
I'd have to say my best home find for this apartment
is my pink fainting couch or chase lounge.
I found it on OfferUp.
I love laying here, and reading a book,
or just sitting with my cats, and petting them,
maybe watching some TV.
I actually dreamt of it one time.
I thought of this velvet pink lounge with gold detail.
And the next day, I went on OfferUp, and there it was.
So, my biggest splurge in this apartment
would have to be this couch.
I bought it full price. I actually hate it.
My cats have ripped it to shreds.
And unfortunately, it's the thing
I spent the most money on.
What sold me on the place, actually, is I saw
my little castle stained-glass window,
and I was like, "Yep. This is it.
Done. Sold."
Over here, in this nook, is my office area,
where have all of my books
and kind of a makeshift workstation.
I sit here sometimes, but I'm usually on the couch.
And outside of that, I have a cute little balcony
where I keep all my plants.
Some are dying, though, so, don't tell anybody.
And this is my dining space.
It's quite small, but I've made it work for me.
In it, I've put my little table and this great little couch
that I found also at a thrift store, that's embroidered.
I also have this little cat climber
that they love to climb up on,
and watch the birds outside, especially in the morning.
We have a resident bird that likes to go
and flirt with them.
So, they like to sit there, and do the little meows at him.
My litter box is in here.
And they enter from the side, here, into the box.
And it kind of keeps all the smell
and the sand away, which is nice.
And then, off of that is the tiny little quaint kitchen,
which I absolutely adore.
The kitchen is kind of small, so it's kind of hard to cook in.
And I haven't been baking for a while
because I have no space to do it.
I love 1930s homes because of all the built-ins.
These are the old 1930s cabinets.
And the cats just go in here, and eat.
What's also kind of cute about this hallway
is the floorboards really creak when you walk through it.
So, you kind of get that old feel
that this house is literally almost 100 years old.
And down the hallway is a cute little telephone nook,
which I've used to kind of store
some of my little prized possessions.
And also, a built-in dresser.
Here on my dresser I keep my incense
and a few other things I've collected.
This is the embroidered piece that my grandmother gave to me.
This piece is super sentimental to me
because I always saw it in my grandmother's home growing up,
and it's kind of just been the inspiration for my entire home,
in terms of decorating.
This is my bedroom, my little sacred space.
My love for vintage and antique items
is what's really been influential in my style.
And also, I just love to be surrounded by color
every single day. It makes me super happy.
My bedroom is very pink, as you can see.
I wanted it to be a bit of a serene space,
although I am quite a maximalist.
I had to put a lot of things in it.
I love this great gold mirror that I have,
that I inherited, also, from my grandmother.
I've also used mirrors all over, and it kind of brightens up
the space, and reflects the windows.
Over here is my little mannequin.
Funny story about this -- a retail store was closing,
and I went there with my sister,
and we both decided to get a mannequin.
And I use it to display my beautiful coat quilt
that I got from Psychic Outlaw.
I found this quilt, and had them design a coat for me.
And I love it so much. I love to have it displayed.
Over here is my great little peacock mirror
that I got from a resale shop called Resonant Objects.
It's on Instagram.
What's really cool about it is, at nighttime,
it reflects the little castle window that's in my living room.
So, you can see that through this mirror.
And I think that's just so special.
For some reason, I've been really into antiques
that are golf or tennis related,
although I don't play either of those sports.
My bed, which I keep a pink and gold theme
with this vintage rattan headboard
that I also found on OfferUp.
I got really lucky when I found this.
I was looking for this almost exact piece for months,
I'd say six months.
And finally, one day, it showed up.
This piece is a beautiful golden mirror shelf.
I had been eyeing one of these.
And then, for my birthday this year,
my friend found one at a thrift store,
and gifted it to me,
with my cute little windup music box that I got in Paris.
This is my closet.
It's very small for the amount of clothes I have,
but I try to keep it as organized as possible.
I keep my shoes on this side, and then, I have all my sweaters
and blazers on this side.
I have some mementos from my friends,
and pictures with my friends over the years.
And then, on this side is where I keep all my jackets,
and the cat carriers,
and all those things that I need to hide.
This is my bathroom.
It's pretty small, but it works for me.
What I love about it is the black and white tile on the floor.
And also, on the mirror, I added a detail
that says, "You're doing amazing, sweetie."
The one thing I'm looking for in my next dream apartment
would be a vintage tiled bathroom,
specifically in a pastel pink or purple.
I just love the old styles of bathrooms,
and I hope I do find one.
This apartment has brought me so many things,
especially finding out my aesthetic.
I've lived in many other apartments before this,
and always kind of knew how to decorate them.
But here just really inspired me,
with all the vintage details.
And working from that, I've found my niche.
I'm super sad to be leaving this space
because it's become such, like, a treasure to me,
and something that I've worked really hard on.
But I am excited to move on to bigger and better things,
and decorate my new space just like this.
Thanks so much for stopping by, and checking out my sweet digs.
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