So over the last couple weeks since being home from Puerto Rico, I have been working on making my desk area somewhere I wanted to be each day and be productive!

I wanted to share a couple of the cute things on my desk that help me stay motivated! I will also let you know where I got certain things (if I remember lol). Please leave a comment if you want to see more content like this, or have any questions!

One of my favorite pieces on this wall is this string frame that was gifted to me from my best friend Hallie. I used to have a bunch of polaroids on it, but then when cleaning out this old desk area, I found a bunch of adorable photos of my family and needed to display them!

You can also see 3 quotes that I found on GirlBoss that I felt really motivated me. These three quotes were above my desk in my past job and I felt the need to bring them into this space as well. Here are what the three quotes say and why I relate to them:

“What I do for my work is exactly what I would do if nobody paid me” - Gretchin Rubin

“Without leaps of imagination, or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities. Dreaming after all is a form of planning” - Gloria Steinem

“I always did something I was a little not ready to do. I think that’s how you grow. When there’s that moment of ‘Wow, I’m not really sure I can do this’ and you push through those moments, that’s when you have a breakthrough.” -Marissa Mayer (You’ll notice on this paper that there is some writing on it. Basically my ex co-worker, Chadd, and I had a very rough day at work one day and felt the need to “correct” this quote to better fit our current emotions. I think it still stands on most days lol)

Just below this frame, I have this ADORABLE gold “envelope” that holds all my incoming mail and things I need to sort through. I got this at Target for $12.99, here is the link for it because as of right now it is still available, Click Here. I love the juxtaposition of this gold envelope next to the rustic wood frame, it perfectly expressing my sense of style.

Next to that gold envelope is a hexagon shaped cork board. The pins I am currently using are rose gold and white marble pins. Again, from Target. I unfortunately was not able to find these online at Target, but I know they still sell them at select stores.

Above the cork board, I have two small gold frames. In one of the gold frames in a photo I printed of my 2 best friends and I at Disneyland in 2017. It’s one of my favorite images of us because we all look so happy in the picture, and Disneyland is definitely one of my happiest places on earth, besides Target lol.

Just below that frame is another which holds an adorable gift from one of my best friends, Charlotte. She got it personalized with my name! It has 10 quotes by Leslie Knope for Parks and Recreation to her best friend, Ann Perkins. Some of my fave are: “Opalescent tree shark”, “Rainbow-infused space unicorn”, and “beautiful, glowing, sun goddess”.

Just above those frames is a Los Angeles “street sign”. I have had this in my room for many years, and love that it reminds me of where my roots are.

Above that sign is a gold framed quote that reads “Good things take time”. I know that this quote is so true and reminds me that success isn’t going to come to me over time, and I will have to work my butt off to get it. My beautiful mother got me this from Forever 21, after I fought in the store that I didn’t need it lol, but she knew I really wanted it. I don’t believe they sell this online, or if they ever did at all.

This next wall art is actually a letter frame that I got during a white elephant gift exchange at my last Friendsmas party. I stole it from Hallie and would have been kind of upset if it got stolen from me lol. The current “quote” I have on it right now is “Ctl + Alt + Del”, which I saw on Twitter. It stands for: “Control yourself. Alter your thinking. Delete negativity”. I fell in love with those words and what they mean, and connected to them as I am currently am on a journey of self-care and need to continue to have thoughts like that.

Currently the frame is gray and teal, but I plan on painting it black and gold at some point!

Now, stepping away from the gallery wall. I have a rolling set of shelves that sits in front of the wall. A while ago I painted these white, and put a grey wood contact paper on the top. At some point during our house construction the paper got ripped, but I plan on getting marble contact paper to replace it.

Today I will only briefly go over some of the things on the top of these shelves.

First starting with my babies, my camera and lenses. I currently shoot with a Canon Rebel t6i. The three lenses I currently use are, 55-250mm (gifted to me by the amazing Bryan Carpender), 18-55mm, and 50mm. You may also notice the super cute gray camera strap that I bought instead of using the Canon strap that comes with the camera. I did this mostly because while I am traveling, or on long shoots, I need the camera to sit comfortably on my neck for many hours. I got it on amazon for only $9.95! Here is a link, they have many styles, Click Here.

Next to my camera are 3 super cute little notebooks that my mom bought me. They each have little quotes on them: “stay curious”, “take epic chances”, and “make it happen”. These are perfect to go in my purse or backpack if I know I will be somewhere where I might need to jot some things down, but don’t want to bring my big notebook with me.

Above that is just a little paper marble tray that holds some post it notes, paper clips, business cards, and extra push pins!

Next to that is a little fake succulent from Target, which I believe was $3. I have these all over the place. They’re an easy way to add greenery amongst the gold, white, and wood that is the rest of the space.

Next to that fake plant is a Polaroid post it note dispenser. Which I HAD to get obviously! And even more obviously, its from Target -_-. I couldn’t find this on the Target website, and I haven’t seen it in store for a while, but here is an Amazon link to the exact same one, Click Here.

Last but not least on this shelf is a wonderful smelling candle from….you guessed it….TARGET! Why am I not sponsored from them yet??? This candle was only $5! I don’t remember what the scent is, but it really does smell great!

Now on to a part of the desk that is still a work in progress, the printer area. This area is not where I want it to be, but I know if would in some of the images in this blog post, so I just thought I would talk about them!

First, just in front of the printer is another Target $3 fake plant. In front of that is a giant eraser that says “My Bad!” My mom bought me this because I say that phrase too much lol.

Below the printer is another shelf. Right now it just has a couple of things that I haven’t found a permanent home for. Such as a book that was gifted to me by our dear family friend, Linda, and I absolutely love it! The book is a series of photographs by Annie Leibovitz. As a portrait photographer, she is a great inspiration, and I plan on taking her MasterClass course! She has taken, and is still taking, some of the most iconic photos in modern history. In front of that is a tiny photo album made up of polaroids from my trip to Puerto Rico!

In this area you can also see a tiny stack of photos, with a very funny one on top, of my grandpa and I. I love this photo cause it shows our matching personalities and fun relationship!

And this is the end!

Thank you soooo much if you made it all the way through this post. I understand it was a long post, but I hope you enjoyed some of the stories and meanings behind why I included some of these in my space.

I will post updates as this area changes. So be on the look out for that!

Please let me know if you enjoyed this post, or if you didn’t! Let me know if theres something you would like to see from me.

Thanks!

-Ash

Mini Desk Tour! - Part One