Photo: via The Millennium Kirby, IG

Our homes – whether you’re a homeowner or an apartment dweller, like me, are a big investment and say a lot about who we are. If you are someone who takes pride in your home and hosting guests (raises hand) and looking for tips to make and keep it beautiful, you’ve come to the right place! 

Start With The Floors

Gleaming hardwood floors that are kept in good shape add a touch of elegance to any home. They also enable you to put down beautiful throw rugs in different rooms, which is a huge design hack to making your space your very own and keeping it inviting. If you are renting, make sure you clean the floors properly and assess them before moving in (ask the complex to clean them, get out any scratches before moving in, etc.). 

Window Treatments Are a Necessity to Beautify Any Home

Elegant looking drapes, or wood or bamboo blinds are a fairly affordable way to lend a look of class to any home. Windows with no coverings or cheap looking drapes or metal blinds, on the other hand, stick out like a sore thumb. This is a simple thing to address that makes a big difference – even if you’re just renting, it’s worth the investment if your place comes with the cheaper stuff (luckily mine didn’t!). 

Keeping your windows and window treatments clean is essential to maintain the beauty and cleanliness of your home, not to mention your health. Dirty windows can introduce contaminants into the atmosphere and bring down the air quality indoors.

Take time to clean your windows and window treatments regularly. Consider investing in quality window-cleaning tools and products to tackle all kinds of dirt and stains and keep your windows and home looking and feeling fresh.

Having Nice Furniture Cannot Be Underestimated

Let’s face it; our homes are filled with furniture, so if this furniture is cheap or tacky looking, so is our home. It does not have to be expensive to have good looking furniture, but it should be versatile and easy to clean – especially if you have dogs, like me. 

Maximizing space is key to keeping an apartment feeling open and inviting, especially in smaller living areas. Investing in space-saving furniture can make a world of difference, both in function and aesthetics. A multifunctional sofa bed, for example, provides comfortable seating during the day and transforms into a cozy sleeping spot at night—perfect for guests or small-space living. Opting for sleek, dual-purpose furniture helps maintain a tidy, clutter-free environment while ensuring that your apartment remains both stylish and practical.

Keeping Your Home Uncluttered and Clean

This may seem like common sense, but it is important enough to mention (hire a cleaning service for some new year apartment cleaning if you can’t clean). You can spend a lot of money fixing up things in your home to make it look better in terms of nice furniture and expensive touches. However, if the place is a mess or if there are things strewn about, all of this hard work and investment can be effectively undone. Plus, an unclean home is a simple and icky way of spreading germs, etc. It’s just not a good look – literally. 

This blog post is part of my collaboration with The Millennium Kirby and how to grow up, get clean and start hosting friends and family. SPONSORED

Springbok Houston (top floor)

One of the best parts about living in Houston are all the date night options we’ve got, literally at our fingertips. It can be downright overwhelming to be honest, but here I’ve created this blog series to share some of my favorite Houston Date Nights.

We recently checked out Springbok Houston – a restaurant + bar + event space located in the heart of downtown Houston and just loved it. For starters, they had TV’s like a sports bar (yes, football was on!) but the food was so quality and not your typical greasy bar food.

The restaurant, which originated in Los Angeles, came to Houston and remained kind of a hidden gem. I can’t figure out why – maybe because downtown Houston has become so revitalized that there’s just too much to see and do in the area? Who knows? But I do know, this would be a fun date night spot for Houston lovers, especially if you’re looking for a different kind of sports bar.

When you think of appetizers at sports bars, now you can think Shrimp Ceviche, Deviled Eggs (with jalapenos and candied bacon!), Housemade Jerky or an Artisan Cheeseboard. I realize it sounds fancy, but it’s delicious – and affordable.

For your meal, try a traditional burger (but delicious!), Lamb Chops, Short Rib Curry, Wild Boar Sloppy Joe or a number of other colorful and meaty options. They even have various desserts to choose from (you know, besides stale cheesecake or a random nut brownie sundae like most places), and it’s big enough (there’s an upstairs and downstairs) for you and all your friends!

What other suggestions do you have for our Houston date night series? Would love to hear in the comment section below or email me: jayme @ theblondeside.com.

And speaking of date night – before every date night, I try my best to forgo the yoga pants and sweatshirts and try to dress up. Just before leaving the house, I do one final “full-length” glance in my Apt2B taft mirror. It’s my favorite area in the apartment – I call it my “selfie station.”

Ever since we moved back into “the city” from the burbs, I’ve been committed to learning how to love my city more, and that’s why I love living at the Millennium Kirby, because we are so close to so much! [SPONSORED]

Image: Chez CateyLou

Here is the original link I found these Candy Corn Donuts at (click it and you’ll see a ton of helpful tips).

I love following Chez CateyLou’s recipes and her blog and recently fell in love with her Candy Corn Donuts (they are way easier to make than you’d think).

Ingredients For the Donuts

• 1 cup flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• dash nutmeg
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup yogurt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 2-3 tablespoons heavy cream
• dash salt
• orange food coloring
• yellow food coloring

Instructions For the Donuts

1. Preheat oven to 325 degreesF. Grease two 6-cavity donut pans with nonstick cooking spray.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the oil, sugar, egg, milk, yogurt, and vanilla until very well combined.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined.
5. Spoon the batter into the donut cavities, filling each one just over half full (this makes about 10 donuts). Bake the donuts for 8 – 10 minutes. Allow them to cool in the pan for a minute, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

1. Whisk together powdered sugar, butter, cream, salt and 1 T heavy cream. Keep adding heavy cream until desired consistency is reached. Divide the glaze into three bowls. Keep one white, color one orange, and color one yellow.
2. Once the donuts are cooled, spread the icing on the donuts in three stripes – white on the top, orange in the middle, and yellow on the bottom. Allow the glaze to set, then serve.

Be sure to click on the links above for tips on perfecting this homemade donut recipe and to follow along with more of her great ideas for the holidays!

Ever since I moved into the Millennium Kirby I have had an even bigger craving to cook and bake more, and it’s super helpful that I live so close to multiple grocery stores. [SPONSORED]