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Arlyn Hernandez

Writer, Designer, Your BFF

Hey, I'm Arlyn 👋. I'm a long-time design and lifestyle editor who has a lot to say on home things, food things, clothes things, beauty things, and all the things. My goal is always to make some little part of your life just a bit better or easier. The hope: leaving you {awkwardly} jumping for joy...just like me!

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Browsing Category

Life

Life

3 Years Down, Hopefully Forever to Go

Mushy love stuff alert: I dedicate this post to Charles.

Life

Please Standby

I'll be back after these messages...

Advice Life

What Advice Would You Give Your Younger Self?

Here's my top 3 (and maybe a bonus 4).

Life

Surprise Donuts, Internet Animal Videos, Air Conditioners: My Tuesday Gratitudes

Disco balls and donuts should always be paired together, I think.

Life

Life Comes At You Fast

A little story about the first—and last—beach sunrise I watched in Florida before moving…

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What’s Got You Talkin’
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    Homemade Pizza, Compression Socks, Beautiful Things: My Weekly Gratitudes

    • August 17, 2021
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    Old Friends, Turmeric, Perfume: My Weekly Gratitudes

    • March 2, 2021
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    Beach Picnics, CBD Oil, Socks: My Tuesday Gratitudes

    • April 6, 2021
ARLYN HERNANDEZ

Writer & Creator

Your bff when it comes to approachable but aspirational home decor, not-quite-plus fashion, products for body and home that actually work, recipes worth cooking, and general life musings.

It’s rare these days I bother posting anything a It’s rare these days I bother posting anything around here but celebrating my mama on her birthday is worth the trouble. I have 39 years of being loved by the most loving mom (sometimes a little too hard haha) and I know just how lucky that makes me. Now, my little girl is the benefactor of that love and it’s truly unending. Happy birthday, Yaya Babu. We love you to the moon and back and then another round trip on top of that. Thanks for showing me not to take life too seriously, to literally care nothing about what people think of you (in the best way), for all the laughs with and at you, and for being the wild, whacky, creative, passionate woman I get to call mommy. ❤️❤️❤️
My sweet, tender, eye-rolling, face-making, alphab My sweet, tender, eye-rolling, face-making, alphabet-loving, cream cheese-devoted, boots-wearing, ice-grabbing, fast-running, lizard-hunting, rock-collecting, Elmo-dancing, arm-swinging, park-hopping, fast-twirling, quesadilla-pounding, bubble-popping Evelyn. You are pure magic. May your hair keep growing as big as my love for you. Happy two years together!
That last slide though (what a difference if I say That last slide though (what a difference if I say so myself)… I couldn’t have transformed my parents’ home without the help and generosity of @article. The home brand has long been a favorite of mine both for their style and price point. I dare you to go check them out and not find something you want for yourself (and then be surprised at the price in a good way). My mom and dad love everything but especially the Burrard Sectional and the (actually good looking) Ellow Recliner. Can’t wait for the next home transformation…who’s next??? #ourarticle Design by me 📷 by @charlesdundasshaw
My favorite thing I did all last year?….. Give My favorite thing I did all last year?….. Give my parents a surprise makeover for their home. I did it start to finish, planning to final instal in two weeks over Christmas and I’ll probably never forget my mom’s reaction when my siblings and I told them on Christmas morning. Like ever. Thank you to @article in particularfor helping me make this possible in a crazy short time frame. Go see all the befores and afters over at @em_henderson. Design by me. Photos by @charlesdundasshaw
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The little rental kitchen that could. If you’v The little rental kitchen that could. If you’ve ever had a space, specifically a kitchen, you were bummed out by, never underestimate the power of some peel and stick wallpaper, backsplash, paint and some pretty finishes to really turn things around. 📷: @vnrcrawford_
I’ve never been much of an athlete. But my sport I’ve never been much of an athlete. But my sport of choice in my 30s is 100% landing a sick deal. The way my heart leaps into racing mode when I found that $2,000 GE fridge for $400 is near Olympian status. When I was finding new appliances, furniture and decor for my rental kitchen redo, my first stop was always FBM (Facebook Marketplace for those in the know). We saved over $4,000 just buying used. So yeah…don’t forget to start secondhand if you want to save money and also add less to the landfill eventually.
Swipe to see how far this little kitchen corner ha Swipe to see how far this little kitchen corner has come! Talk about a serious glow up! I’m obsessed with my new @allmodern cabinet. This now holds my pantry, which used to be in a slender, tall and very deep cabinet next to my fridge. Everything would get lost in the back and I needed a step stool to access half of it. And the wire shelves I put here “just for now” were essentially a vertical junk drawer. Let this be a reminder that just because you’ve done something the same way for a while, it doesn’t have to stay that way if it isn’t working for you! I challenge you to change something up at home that frustrates you functionally or even stylistically. What’s the worst that can happen? You change it back? DO IT! Design by me Photo by @vnrcrawford_ Styling by @emilyedithbowser
Rental kitchens can be bad. Like…really bad. I l Rental kitchens can be bad. Like…really bad. I luckily got a pretty decent one except that it felt a bit dated and was lacking a healthy dose of personality. So over the last five or six months, give or take, I added my designer touch in ways that weren’t permanent (again…rental). I’ve been documenting my progress and process over at @em_henderson and today, I’m revealing the finished space! There are DIYs, peel and stick moments, and creative budget-friendly solutions. It’s got it all, folks! Go pour over the images, read all my thoughts, and maybe even share it with a friend. Link in bio. 📷: @vnrcrawford_ Styling: @emilyedithbowser Design (and baby): me, @arlynhernandez
It’s finished!!!! My rental kitchen refresh was It’s finished!!!! My rental kitchen refresh was a labor of love and a testament to trying really hard not to spend all my money (and partially succeeding!). There were moments when I’d stand back and think “Is this even different?” But then I’d look back at the before photos and think “oh dang…it’s come along way.” Go see what I did to transform my cherry rental cabinets at the link in my bio, all of which is 100% reversible in the name of our security deposit. Now, excuse me while I spam my feed with more images. #soproud #rentalkitchen #renterdecor #wallpaper
I miss my old dining room gallery wall very much. I miss my old dining room gallery wall very much. The color of the paint, the sconces, the floor to ceiling salon wall of art. We have a super tall ceiling in our new living room so I took most of the pieces I had stacked in corners, and strong-armed my friend into helping me put this up today. I kept forgetting to walk back to take a photo of progress and this SUPER HIGH QUALITY video is what resulted. 🤷🏻‍♀️🫠😂 Still need to find a few pieces to fill in the right side, actually hang the TV, move around some things but it’s finally feeling more like home!
As a writer, I find that days like today, Father’s Day, is tough. Not tough in the way that I can’t find the words but in the way that I have too many and editing myself is just too dang hard. So I’ll keep it short and say this: On your second Father’s Day, our beloved “Dada”, what more could me or our funny girl Evelyn want? So many bedtime books read, so many animal sounds made, so many bowls of oatmeal fed, so many pacis replaced in the dark of the night. You’re the best dada for our girl and the best partner to me through this all. We love you.
Plug-in sconces are hard to find. Correction: real Plug-in sconces are hard to find. Correction: really good plug-in sconces are hard to find. I knew I wanted to go the wall light route when I was designing my old bedroom because I like to leave my nightstand surfaces open to collect all the cups, hair ties and random super-chic everyday gar-bawge that ends up there (kidding…but also not really). And being that this is a rental and we weren’t hard wiring anything, our only lane was plug-ins. For my living room a few years back, I worked with @hudsonvalleylighting for my sconces and they were my first stop when putting my efforts in my sleep space. As soon as I scrolled by the Curves No.1 design by #markdsikes, I was done. That was it. Boom, found. The aged brass is balanced so nicely with a wrapping of raffia, and the swing arm let’s us adjust it *just so*. Super high-quality, a seemingly unending offering of styles (so hard to pick one!) and plug-in options (thank goodness!) = 👩‍🍳💋 #hudsonvalleylighting #brandpartner Photo by @tramp.studio
Oh just me, posting more images of my bedroom reve Oh just me, posting more images of my bedroom reveal because I can and because I miss this room already so much. Head to @em_henderson and read all about it! 📸 @tramp.studio Styling @emilyedithbowser Design: me!
It took 3 years, and a move to finally finish my b It took 3 years, and a move to finally finish my bedroom design. I remember sharing all about it here a day before I fell and injured my back and legs. A misstep that changed my body and life for the foreseeable future. Then I started getting better. Then I got pregnant. Then I had a baby. Then I left my job. Then we moved. It’s been a wild three years. Heck. It’s been a wild three months. I chronicle it all plus show the photos of my bedroom I poured my heart into that we got to enjoy fully finished for…4 days before the movers came and stripped it all down. Life is funny in that it doesn’t care at all about things like that. Oh, you just wrapped up a project you started in 2020? How about you leave it all behind now? Anyhow, there’s plenty of time for sentimentality but hurry hurry and go see it all on @em_henderson today! 📷 by the incomparable @tramp.studio Styling by the genius @emilyedithbowser Design by me
As close to a decent photo of the two of us I get As close to a decent photo of the two of us I get these days. So utterly grateful for another year. Year 38. This one, I get start to finish with my girl. What a lucky life.
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