Finding a painting or photograph that just speaks to your soul is something that is equally amazing as it is rare. Although I'm a creative at heart and have always loved art, the hunt for meaningful and affordable pieces is extremely difficult for me. My first real apartment offered a blank slate of walls begging to be adorned, but I had no idea where to begin and couldn't bear to cover it with run-of-the-mill, mass produced faux canvases from IKEA or Target. 

I remember wishing that there was a one-stop shop where I could discover up-and-coming artists and afford to buy their work. A few months ago, I finally found it: it's called Art Crate, a genius concept founded by veteran insiders of the art world to help connect potential budget-conscious (and overwhelmed) art buyers like me with premium quality print works of individual artists that we might otherwise not discover on our own.

When we first moved into our new apartment, I loved the exposed brick walls in our living room but quickly realized that it was going to take some extra effort to decorate them. Although the original brick is amazing, it needed something to lighten up the space. There's nothing quite like a huge frame with white matting and a serene vintage photograph to do that! This print is 24"x 24" vintage photograph from the 1940's called Weeki Wachi Springs that I purchased from art.com and framed myself by replacing the original print in a frame my dad's office was discarding.

Really, it's as easy as posting a black-and-white reminder in your living room so you see it every day. I just made this $30 investment at RowensCo on Etsy and am so excited for it to arrive! Although posting a reminder is one effective way to live in the present, there are some other amazing, thought-provoking tactics that I learned earlier this summer and have completely changed my perspective on how I thought about my life.