While an unlimited flow of cash might be the ultimate pal of someone who recently purchased a house (like me!), a much more realistic and almost as helpful best bud is your local library. 

Buying a house is exciting, and if it's your first one like mine, even more so. But it can also be daunting and a bit overwhelming, particularly if you plan on doing any renovations to your new abode. While the Internet can be a great source of decoration inspiration (thank you, Pinterest), it's not always the most reliable or easy for getting reliable professional opinions – design or otherwise. And if you don't have wifi hooked up at your new house (also me, for the time being), having a physical copy of a book to look at could also be more beneficial than having YouTube tutorials eat up all your phone data.

Since my fiancé Taylor and I will have had just over a full month to work on house before we move in mid-September, we're making all (or at least most) of the cosmetic changes we want on the main floor while we are still living at our apartment. This means a couple coats of paint in every room, new hardwoods throughout, a facelift for our fireplace and a few other odds and ends ... like a new roof and new gutters, but those aren't nearly as fun or glamorous. Here are a couple of books available at my local library that I've already paged through for some design inspiration (If you belong to a public library in Kenosha, Racine or Walworth counties, just click on the book to reserve your copy today).

It just wouldn't be right if my new home did not include some built-in bookshelves, and those will be in the works soon enough. While I'm not so confident in my personal aptitude for doing the job and will be paying someone else to do it (see why the unlimited flow of cash would be nice?), if you feel handy enough to do some woodworking projects yourself, your local library also has materials that will have that covered. Looking for some landscaping ideas and tips? Your library has that too! Plumbing basics? Check. From books about being your own contractor to The Everything Guide to Flipping Houses, your library has your back. Not to mention most also have a subscription to HGTV Magazine!

So if you've recently relocated, decided to finally tackle that DIY project or are unable to suppress your HGTV obsession any longer, make sure you add a trip to your local library to your to-do list. You, your house and your wallet will be sure to thank me! ​

Halloween is almost here! With less just a few days left until my favorite holiday, I thought I'd share some literary inspiration with the procrastinators out there who still haven't chosen a costume. Already know what you're dressing up as? Here are some ideas for next year! They're fun, easy and great conversation starters for all your All Hallow's Eve extravaganzas. Like most people, I did not come up with the majority of these ideas but used this fancy thing called the World Wide Web to find some pretty neat costumes!.
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A great couple's costume for the super sleuths out there!

Endless pasta as a costume accessory? Sign me up!

Perfect for couples with a young child (or two - one can be the crayon)!

Who doesn't love this YA duo?

A good excuse to bust out that wedding dress in the back of your closet!

I wish I could take the credit for coming up with this punny one.

Bonus: You can be Ponyboy Curtis this year, and Danny Zuko the next!

My alter ego as a child and a very practical costume if rain is in your Halloween forecast!

Whether or not you have 12 little girls in two straight lines, this Madeline ​is adorable!

Ten points will be rewarded to the house of your choosing if you can recite all of Rowling's spells.

The smallest amount of effort is required for this one. 

From Thing 1 to Thing 2, the Cat in the Hat to Sam I Am - you're sure to start a heated debate about the best Dr. Seuss book at your Halloween celebration with one of these costumes!

Purrfect for the cat AND children's book lovers out there!

This one takes a little bit more effort. I think I'll save it until I have more costume prep time and
maybe a little wild thing of my own to take Trick-or-Treating!

"Having fun isn't hard when you've got a library card!"

Who wouldn't want to walk around in next to nothing besides giant underwear and a cape? 

Choose a hobbit, Gandalf, Legolas or Gollum if you're looking to find "your precious" on All Hallow's Eve. This makes for a great group costume in Middle Earth and beyond!

Bookworms are great at all ages - but this costume is particularly cute for the bookish babies out there.

This one would take a little bit more effort, but it's so adorable it just might be worth it.

"Butterfly in the sky, I can go twice as high!"

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I've found that there are few places I feel more comfortable than being surrounded books (topped only by being surrounded by – in no particular order – loved ones, Nature and live music). And while one of my favorite restoration projects I've done so far was refurbishing some old bookshelves, there are a lot of other unique ways to store and display your precious paperbacks at home. After all, nothing furnishes a room quite like books!

Here are a few of some of my favorite unique book displays that you could use in your own home. If you click any of the pictures below, you'll be redirected to websites where you can learn how to make or even buy these cool bookshelves. I'm all about up-cycling and repurposing old things you might have laying around the house, so I'm particularly fond of the old refrigerator and the baby grand. Looking for more inspiration? You can also find a lot of unique bookshelves ideas on Pinterest.

Have a creative bookshelf idea you'd like to share with me? Please tweet me @TessaFoxReads! 

'Tis the season for Christmas trees and this year I decided to do a little something new. In addition to setting up my regular tree, I also decided to make one. Not surprisingly – I made it out of books.

You've probably seen a few pictures of book trees floating around the Internet this time of year, and I have also been posting them on my Tumblr account. This weekend I decided it was finally time to take action and make my own. And it was actually a lot harder than you would think! Here's a look at the process:

My little book tree might not have turned out as beautiful as some of the photos I've seen online, but it was a fun thing to do to get excited for the holidays. Plus, I got to look through my personal collection of books and it reminded me of all the goodies I own but still haven't had a chance to read. As a bonus, this also means I will get to reorganize my bookshelves when I dismantle the tree after Christmas.

Have another book-related project you'd like to see me try out? Tweet me @TessaFoxReads.

I'm all about Halloween. The colors, the costumes, the candy ... all of it. And while there's no forgetting that this time of year is all about pumpkin spice any/everything, let's remember the power of the pumpkin –sans spice. Instead of spice, I prefer to pair my pumpkin with paint, glue, creativity and literary inspiration!

Here are some awesome book-inspired pumpkins, courtesy of – you guessed it – Pinterest!

Have a great All Hallows' Eve, everyone! Be safe, have fun and get spooky!

A few weeks ago my boyfriend and I moved into an apartment together. This meant spending lots of money buying stuff we needed for our new place. It also meant buying something I really needed that we wouldn't have by our move-in date: bookshelves!

Anyone who knows me knows that I'm all about the thrift, so instead of spending a few hundred dollars on a new shelf or two, I went hunting to find some new (read: used) bookshelves at antique stores and farm sales. I ended up finding a matching set of two bookshelves totaling me a whopping $60. The only catch – they were in major need of some TLC. Here's a look at the transformation process:

Next came the fun part: picking out a paint swatch! I planned to put these shelves in my home office at the new apartment, which at the time consisted of only white walls and beige carpeting. Sounds like the room could use some color, don't you think?

This wasn't my first time refurbishing furniture, and it definitely won't be my last. But it's definitely something that takes practice, patience and time to do, but it's all the more rewarding in the end. All that's left to do now is fill these bad boys up with my personal (and constantly growing) book collection!