New year, new apartment, with some help from feng shui

Fresh flowers & new photo books that Santa brought me

^^ not really related but I love my cat 

I love this corner of my desk... yes whiskey helps me get my work done ;)

With the start of the new year came a desire to revamp my apartment a little bit.  I've now lived here for a year, which is the longest I've lived anywhere besides my childhood home!  When I first moved in, I didn't have a job, and my roommate was very frugal, so we relied on hand-me-downs from her parents and random Craigslist purchases for our furniture.  While certainly thrifty, this was also a little painful for me--I place very high value on the aesthetics of where I live since a clean, stylish home makes me happy to spend time there.  I know I'm only 24 and I don't need to worry about having a perfectly decorated home, but I struggle with having all ugly furniture!

Since I plan on staying in Santa Barbara for the time being, I decided a little bit of effort and money would be well worth the investment on making it a happier place for me to be.  While trying to save on the upgrades, however, I decided to look into other improvements without purchasing a whole new set of furniture.  I spent hours pouring over resources on the internet on feng shui, a Chinese school of thought that seeks to harmonize the relationship between humans and their environment.  The information was at times contradicting; many of the tips were randomly stated without reason.  Some seemed entirely hokey (how do certain crystals help your love life?).  I finally gave up and bought a book on the subject instead.  The recommendations come with explanations, each theory is clear and easy to follow, and the author dispels certain myths and silly superstitions that can turn off beginners.  After implementing a few (cheap) changes, I'm feeling much more excited about spending time at home.