Deasy Kencanawati

Bare walls, builder-grade everything, and a landlord who won't let you paint — sound familiar? I spent two years staring at beige before I started hunting down craft kits that actually look expensive when they're done. If you rent, have zero art skills, and want guests to stop asking why your walls are so empty, this is the shortcut I wish I'd found on move-in day.

For the longest time I was the person who'd skip anything with a creepy cover and stick to safe literary fiction. Then one friend handed me a single book and something clicked — now I read horror at 2 AM like a maniac. If you've always been curious about horror but never knew where to start without feeling lost or grossed out, this is the exact path I took over two years. Steal my reading order before spooky season hits.

You just survived an 8-hour flight, your body thinks it's 3am, and you're standing outside Charles de Gaulle with a suitcase and a growling stomach. Every travel blog says ‘just find a cute bistro!’ but your brain is mush and you need someone to literally tell you where to go. Took me four trips to stop wasting that first meal — so here's exactly what worked.

Planning your first Austria trip and staring at Google Maps with 400 pins and zero clue where to actually eat? I spent two weeks wandering Vienna, Salzburg, and smaller towns — some meals were unforgettable, others were tourist-trap schnitzel that tasted like cardboard. This is the list I wish someone had texted me before I landed.

Staring at the same blank walls and mismatched furniture for three years straight finally broke me. If you're someone who wants their space to feel intentional but freezes up every time you try to pick something out — I spent months testing stuff so you can skip the overthinking phase entirely.

Your place looks fine but it doesn't look like YOU — and every time someone walks in, you wish it felt more pulled together. If you've been staring at the same bare walls and mismatched shelves for months, this is the stuff I grabbed that made people literally stop and ask if I hired a decorator. Spoiler: I spent one afternoon on eBay and did zero drilling.

Tired of ugly plastic bins ruining every room you just spent hours decorating? Same. I kept shoving storage into closets until I realized pink pieces actually double as decor. This list is for anyone who wants their apartment or house to look pulled together without sacrificing actual function — took me a solid year of trial and error so you can skip straight to the good stuff.

Every October I'd spend an entire Saturday dragging bins from the garage, untangling lights, and rage-quitting halfway through inflating a skeleton. If you're the person who wants the yard to look killer but dreads the actual setup process, this is everything I switched to. Took me three Halloweens of trial and error so you can skip straight to the good stuff.

Showing up with a bottle of wine felt lazy, but I had no clue what else to bring — until I started hunting down gifts that actually made people stop and say wait, where did you get this? If you're tired of giving the same candle-and-towel combo, steal this lineup before your next housewarming invite.

Every October I'd throw up a few fake cobwebs and a carved pumpkin and wonder why nobody stopped at my house. Meanwhile my neighbor had kids literally crossing the street to avoid his yard. This year I went all in and now parents text me asking how I did it — here's every piece before they sell out in September.

Movies stopped scaring me somewhere around age 25 — jump scares got predictable, CGI monsters looked silly, and I'd scroll my phone through the ‘scary’ parts. Then I picked up a few books that genuinely kept me awake at 2 AM, heart pounding, checking the closet like a kid again. If you're a horror fan who's bored by Hollywood but still craves that real dread, this list took me two years of reading to put together so you can skip the duds.

Planning your first trip to Germany and assuming it's all sausage and pretzels? Same — I flew into Munich expecting heavy food comas and nothing else. Turns out I was dead wrong, and it took me three trips and a lot of stumbling into random spots to figure out what's actually worth eating. If you're about to land in Germany for the first time and want to skip the tourist-trap schnitzel, this is the cheat sheet I wish someone had handed me at baggage claim.

Spent years buying finished products at full price before realizing I could make them myself for a fraction of the cost. If you're the type who watches craft videos at 2am thinking ‘I could do that’ but never pulls the trigger — these kits actually come with everything you need and clear instructions. Took me embarrassing amounts of money wasted on store-bought versions to finally figure this out.

Every trip to France I'd end up at some overpriced brasserie near the Eiffel Tower eating rubbery croque monsieurs surrounded by other confused Americans. After living there for a semester and dating a French guy whose mom cooked like a deity, I finally learned where actual French people eat. This is for anyone planning a France trip who refuses to waste another meal on a laminated menu with photos.

Every night was the same — lying in bed, thumb moving on autopilot through videos I wouldn't remember by morning. When I finally put the phone down and picked up actual materials, something clicked. This is for anyone who knows they need a creative outlet but has no idea where to start. Took me a year of trial and error so you can skip straight to the good stuff.

Every time someone came over they'd politely say ‘it looks nice’ while scanning my mismatched IKEA-meets-college-dorm situation. I spent two years slowly swapping things out, learning what actually makes a room look intentional versus thrown together. If your place feels like it's missing something but you can't figure out what — this is the list I wish someone handed me before I wasted money on five wrong throw pillows.

Watching horror movies at 11pm left me wide awake staring at shadows until 3am — but reading something creepy? I sleep like a rock after. If you want that same spine-tingling rush without the blue light insomnia spiral, this is the reading list that took me two years of trial and error to put together.

Every October I grab five or six horror books and most of them end up being atmospheric fluff with a creepy cover and zero payoff. If you're tired of finishing a supposedly terrifying novel and feeling absolutely nothing — I spent years sorting through the duds so you can skip straight to the ones that kept me up past 3 AM.

Every October I used to panic-buy overpriced costume stuff that fell apart by the second party. If you're tired of spending $80 on a Spirit Halloween outfit that screams ‘last minute,’ this is the lineup that fools everyone into thinking you dropped serious cash — all found for way less than you'd guess.

That one corner of your apartment — the one you keep ignoring because nothing looks right there — yeah, I had that too. Spent a year staring at a sad fiddle leaf in a brown plastic nursery pot before I grabbed a pink ceramic planter on impulse. Suddenly the whole space clicked. If you're someone who wants a pulled-together room but doesn't want to hire a decorator or spend rent money on furniture, start here. Took me way too many failed attempts to land on this combination.

Every October I tell myself I'll read one spooky book before bed, and every October I end up at 3am with all the lights on and my heart racing. If you're the type who says ‘just one more chapter’ and then suddenly it's dawn and you're afraid of your own hallway — I made this list so you can suffer with me.

If you've only ever known American craft breweries or English pubs, walking into a Czech hospoda for the first time is going to mess with your head — in the best way. Liter beers cheaper than water, food that tastes like your grandma cooked it (if your grandma was Czech), and a drinking culture that makes you wonder why we overcomplicate everything back home. Took me three trips to Prague and two to Brno before I stopped making rookie mistakes, so here's everything I figured out the hard way.

It started with one lamp. I bought a pink lamp because my bedroom felt like a sad beige box, and suddenly everything else looked wrong by comparison. Three months and way too many late-night scrolling sessions later, my room actually feels like somewhere I want to be — not just where I pass out. If your bedroom still looks like you moved in last week even though it's been four years, this is the exact list of stuff that fixed mine.

Every October I used to throw out some grocery store cobwebs and call it done — then one year I went overboard and a neighbor actually called to ask if everything was okay. If you're the type who wants trick-or-treaters too scared to ring the doorbell, this is the lineup that took me three Halloweens to perfect.

You know that feeling when you stumble into a tiny cafe on some random alley in Istanbul and eat the best thing of your life — then spend months back home trying to figure out what was even in it? That was me for two straight years. If you've traveled Turkey and came home heartbroken that your kitchen can't do it justice, this is the lineup that finally got me close.

First time in Spain I ended up at a restaurant near La Sagrada Familia paying 22 euros for paella that tasted like microwave rice. Never again. This is everything I figured out over three trips — the actual spots, the food worth waiting for, and the stuff locals told me about after I stopped looking like a lost American with a guidebook. If you're planning a Spain trip and don't want to waste a single meal, steal this list before you go.

Moved into a blank-wall apartment with zero budget and even less decorating sense — spent weeks scrolling before landing on pieces that actually made the place look intentional. If you just signed a lease and your rooms echo because there's nothing on the walls, this is the under-$100 lineup that made my friends ask if I hired someone.