one year at home: wearing my journey on my walls.

skateboard deck from the skateshop where i worked for three years in new zealand - a little fish fossil that was sent to me from a dear friend as a reminder of faith - a camera salvaged by my brother for me from my great uncle's home - skull mask & bird whistle that my man's mom brought me from guatemala -

this week marks one year since i moved into my sweet little apartment. in the past decade, i have lived in a grand total of three homes for more than one year. including this one. because i had a hunch that this one would be a long-term castle, at least by stacey standards, i have put a lot of love and thought into adorning my walls. as a celebration of my one year anniversary with my apartment, and to welcome new readers (heyo tattoo talk friends!) i thought i'd give a little virtual tour of my girl-pad.

come on in!

one time i came home from an adventure, and my mom had hung this sparkly banner of my name across the kitchen. i kinda love it, and i added a little sparkly buddy that matched... 

my walls are covered in special things that i've collected throughout my travels, and i love that when i look around my house i see bits of my story all nestled together. this is also the first time in nine years that i have had all my belongings under one roof (my posessions were split between canada and new zealand until just this january), and i am such a sentimental person that it means a lot to me that things handed down from family members, which i could never have with me in new zealand, are right beside bits of my stories from around the world. 

a teacup from my grandmother's collection with a little sugar skull that was a gift from my sister and brother-in-law.

it's pretty apparent in these photos that i have a fondness for a couple specific things. i don't intentionally collect things... but um... almost every picture in this post has either a skeleton or a teacup (or both). also: the colour pink. a lot of my friends are surprised to see how girly my home is - i don't really come off as a 'girly-girl', and i wear all-black outfits waaaaay too often... but those who know me well know the truth. my aesthetic is a mix of ultra-feminine, retro, and a splash of punk rock. 

seriously. teacups everywhere. i use them for everything - candles, laundry token-holders, candy dishes... this one was a gift from a dear friend when we moved in, and the pink doily belonged to my great grandmother.

seashells that i brought home from my adventure living on a boat in the fiji islands. (yes, i know now that it's naughty to take shells home... i was younger and ignorant-er at the time.)

ahhhh, my photo walls. these are a labor of love, and will remain a work in progress as i frame and hang tidbits that are particularly meaningful to me. i had so much fun picking out photos and song lyrics for the black frames...

clockwise from left: - ace ventura mental institution scene. yes. - 'til i come marching home' (lyrics from one of my favourite war-time swing songs) - two old friends & coworkers wrestling on the floor of our store's office - me lined up after a long day of snowboarding with a bunch of the teenagers that became my family in new zealand - freddie mercury and roger taylor in sombreros - the pick that lars frederiksen handed me after the rancid concert last year - the lyrics to hollaback girl - a man i met on the streets of st petersburg who sold me the three most precious pieces of art from my europe adventure - splash mountain with dear girlfriends - one of my best girls and i having fun on a weekend getaway - 

clockwise-ish from top left: - a print by one of my favourite artists, lora zombie - a skateboard that was a gift from the king of kings skate ministry family after a two week skatepark tour together around new zealand - the t-shirt i bought the first time i saw my all-time favourite band - broken skateboard artwork made just for me - my name patch from the days i was a roller derby referee - a poster from the aforementioned favourite band's concert - the movie poster from a dear friend's premiere and farewell - a print from my friend and tattooist antony von ratcorpse - 

and now, the pièce de résistance: my princess bed. i'm a bed person. i've always been more of a bedroom-dweller - i have to remind myself that i now have a living room, and i can hang out there too. i put a lot of time into creating my canopy out of tulle and organza, weaving in three strings of fairy lights, and hanging the perfect white floral pomander just so.... and i am so happy with the result. my parents gave me the bed frame for christmas, and with my box spring it's high enough off the ground that i actually have to climb up into it. i am happy to report that my bed haven has been tested and approved for one of my favourite pastimes: bed pizza. 

that concludes the virtual tour... come on over in real life next time :) you're always welcome!