Shadowing Practice: aesthetic desk makeover PART 2 ✍🏻🌿🎨 adding more to my desk space! - Learn English Speaking with Video

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My desk went from this to this and it definitely took a lot of organizing, but we are not done yet.

Today, we're going to be making my desk space even better by adding more to the space.

My husband doesn't know that I got this.

So many people recommended that I get a bookshelf to put next to my desk and I finally decided to do it.

It's so heavy and also way taller than I thought.

It's only supposed to be like six feet tall.

This box definitely seems like, I don't know, it's really tall.

Maybe like eight feet.

I'm hoping it's just the weird distribution of the wooden slabs, but I guess we'll find out.

It's so ridiculously heavy.

Like, what the heck?

How is it this tall?

This is me with my head lined up at the top of the box.

Look how much space anyway let's get to opening okay what this is

so tall i could have swore this was supposed to be like six feet tall

there's no way this is six feet what hmm is

that too tall i was just wanting like a cute little bookcase like right here

i feel like it's kind of too late like how would i even get this back to return it

if i wanted to the box is already open

and this is heavy as heck okay this is a foot long ruler i guess maybe it is six

and a half feet and i'm just really short and i

underestimated what six

and a half feet is huh anyway i thought

i would put the bookshelf like right here guys

i feel like it's gonna look bad

i feel like it's gonna look too tall

i love the color though the color is very beautiful maybe maybe I just commit like is

that too tall that's so tall um I don't know how I feel about

that there's my desk there's our couch

I feel like it's just gonna look very random I was thinking it would be like

that tall you're not off to a great start but maybe I should just commit

hi mom can I ask your opinion do you think

that this is way too tall yeah it's a bookcase okay it says it's six

and a half feet which maybe I just understood how tall

that is and you can tell I mean it's just tall I guess

that makes sense

because he's like probably I could probably reach the top of his head

I mainly just don't want to have to figure out having to return it and getting it back because it was heavy. And I'm surprising him.

I know, well that's like kind of the whole point.

And because I'm surprising him with it,

I can't even ask for his help because the idea is to have it fully set up when he gets home.

And it would be like not as good of a surprise to have a half put together bookshelf

and be like, hey, surprise.

Let's see how to put this thing together.

Hmm, apparently it's a two -person job.

Is it really though?

I feel like I can do it myself.

My mother -in -law got us a tool kit for Christmas

because she saw in my original desk setting up video that we didn't have any good tools to use.

So now I get to try it out. That is so cool.

I need to shark it.

No. In the meantime, we'll do this the old -fashioned way.

I need to spin it around.

that was so satisfying now i need to stand it up somehow this is probably why it's a two -person drop

Ah, tada!

Wow, this is really tall.

But it looks so cute.

I do have to scoot my desk over just a little bit.

Ta -da!

It looks so good!

I'm proud of myself.

And that was pretty easy to put together too.

Hi.

Can we put it together?

Yeah, do you want to see?

Yeah.

Oh, it's great.

Thank you.

It's definitely very tall.

Now I don't know what to put on it.

I didn't think that far.

I'm going to put a little plant on it.

Oh, it looks so good.

Maybe I should go on the top one.

Right here.

I love it.

Mmm.

It's perfect.

It doesn't need anything else.

I'm just kidding

Um, hmm, maybe I should wait for my husband to get to like mix and match the bookshelf

But i'm so excited

One of the reasons I wanted to get a bookshelf is

because i'm trying to read more and I feel like

if books are out in the open I'm more likely to read

I also just think it's a good use of space because we live in a one bedroom one bathroom

So I just want to make sure we're using up as much space as we can

and this just adds a whole bunch of storage space I could also put my journals on it.

I'm debating.

I don't know.

It would be nice to free up a little bit of desk space.

However, I do like my journals on my desk.

I just like how it looks as a little inspirational journal stack,

as well as it's kind of like a film space set piece for the background of my videos.

And I kind of don't love the idea of moving it from a bookshelf to my desk whenever I'm filming.

Also, my husband reads a lot.

He has a lot of books.

So this would be perfect for that.

And I think it would be super fun to set it up together over the weekend

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and figure out how I want to set it up

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You would not believe how long it has been since I filmed

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that last clip long enough for my hair to get noticeably longer

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Here I thought that we were going to decorate the bookshelf as a fun little weekend activity

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and then that definitely did not happen I kid you not it has been

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Months since I filmed that last clip probably over six months.

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It definitely was at the start of the year I think.

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I don't think it was last year, but it's been a hot minute.

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It's been a while.

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So much has happened since then and other things have just been our focus, our priority.

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I actually started working as a nurse since I filmed the last clip.

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I don't even know if I had my job lined up yet when I started filming this, so it must be longer than six months.

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I don't know.

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I don't remember.

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And in that time, the bookshelf has definitely become just like a little storage space dumping ground, which is less than ideal.

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Obviously we want to use it as some sort of storage space, that's the point of a bookshelf,

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but it would be nice if it looked kind of nice

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and organized and not just had our unopened mail sitting on here and other random things.

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So let's clear it off and then I think I'm going to go around to Marshall's, maybe see if I can find anything cute for it.

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Let's play a game and see what is actually currently on here as we clear it out.

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Other than this beautiful plant

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And here we have some literature.

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These are various journal articles on obstetric information.

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Just some light reading.

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These are different cards that patients have given me.

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How sweet is that?

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And would you look at that?

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We actually have some books.

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I'm going to put this up here for now because those do belong on a bookshelf.

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And we will get back to that when we actually figure out the arrangement of everything.

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We have yet another really nice plant.

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Fake plant, might I add devotional in the journal this fuel keep

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so far that's i like that i like

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that there oh gosh this is a stack of stuff

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that doesn't need to be there lots of old mail some labor delivery stuff this beautiful birthday card

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that my mother -in -law gave me back in march

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when it was my birthday this i'll have to go through this is a labor

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and delivery notebook that someone gave me when i got my job

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when i first got hired so i think that answers

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that question that i started filming this video before i got the job

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so it really has been a long time it's maybe been like eight nine months

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or so since i started filming this that's actually horrible

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but isn't this

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so cute look how sweet this is it says

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it's a good day to bring a baby into the world labor

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and delivery look on the inside isn't that

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so sweet you can pause it if you want to read it

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but i just think that is the cutest thing ever we have more mail

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and whatnot honestly a lot of this can be thrown away this is doing

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so much for my soul right now to just declutter

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this already it's looking nicer this this is actually a picture frame

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that i got

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and on top of this picture frame i have a couple different things there's the daisy nomination

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that i got i wanted to frame it

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and put it up on the bookshelf somewhere

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and then also there's a few different patient shout outs as well

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that patients wrote up for me which is just so sweet

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and thoughtful and i thought i would put

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that in the back of the picture frame just as a place to keep them all

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because i don't want to display all of those.

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I'm excited for this.

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It's really sweet.

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Random things here.

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Badge cards and then there's a little bucket.

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A little, I don't know.

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It's like a little accordion organizer.

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Documents I got when I got hired.

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Random things.

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Okay, look at how cool this thing is.

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Is that not so awesome?

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This is a 3D printed little spinny spiky thing.

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If you've ever heard about holding onto combs during labor and squeezing them, this is for that same reason.

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It's a spiky thing that you can like grip onto and I think it's way better than a comb.

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And it spins and it has a little button on top.

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It's just so cool.

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And then also you can just like wear it so you don't lose it.

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Whenever I have a baby, I want to remember to use this thing because I just think it's so cool.

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And it's just really pretty.

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Like look at all these beautiful colors it has.

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But does it belong on the bookshelf?

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That's the question and moving down here we have some brown wrapping paper more little notebooks and things

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and then right here we have like some craft supplies some twine cement glue a ribbon little hole punchers

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and then this here we have a little woven basket

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which i actually think will be pretty nice

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so i'm gonna leave it here at the bottom of the bookshelf

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i don't know what i want to put in it yet maybe i should put all of our mail

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that we still haven't gone through into this basket so

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that even if it's piling up and at least it's going into one spot.

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I feel so much better already having that decluttered.

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It just looks nicer.

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For now I think I'm gonna run two commercials and see

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if I can find anything cute to put on here as decor.

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Maybe some other baskets for things and then we also gotta add all of our books.

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I think one of the reasons that I've been procrastinating this for

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so long is because I don't really feel like I have an interior decorating bone in my body.

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Some people are so good at these kinds of things

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but personally i just don't really feel like i have an eye for it it's not my strong suit

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i'm honestly a little bit intimidated by it just a little bit

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so i'm gonna just go in low pressure low stakes

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if anything jumps out at me or

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if i really like something then maybe i'll get it we're just gonna look around

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and i'm just proud of myself for finally doing something

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because again it's been on my to -do list for far too long

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this is what i got got this little basket

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and then three of these little plants i thought these were

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so cute all of this though was literally almost 40

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which is crazy for now i feel like this is a good start.

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My problem though when looking around was

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that all of the fall stuff is out

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and I don't really want to get stuff that is only specific to one season.

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I want it to be good for year round and there wasn't a lot of timeless options.

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It was a lot of pumpkins and things like that.

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I'm not at the level of seasonal decor yet.

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I just need some decor.

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I do want to go to HomeGoods

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because I feel like I've seen some cute faith -related decor there before

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but stores are closing right now so I'm gonna have to go on another day.

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Just got to HomeGoods and I am hoping that they have some good options.

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Hopefully it's not all just vault decor.

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Take three.

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We are at Hobby Lobby.

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Hopefully this is the one I feel like I was thinking of this store all along

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and I was just like getting them mixed up in my head.

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So hopefully we find some good stuff.

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it is a new day

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and i wanted to show you what i got from hobby lobby

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i am counting it as a huge success it definitely was a store

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that i was intending to go to all along

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now i feel like we have a lot more to work with for the bookshelf starting out

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we have this cross it says he who promised is faithful from hebrews 10

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and look at this beautiful painted design on it it also has this little beaded piece to it

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so you could hang it up somewhere if you wanted to

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but i think i'm just gonna have it sitting on the shelf maybe.

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I thought it was really pretty though.

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Next we have this.

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Love is patient, love is kind.

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First Corinthians 13 4.

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I got this one because this was one of the verses

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that we had read at our wedding so I thought it would be a cute sweet little reminder of that.

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And then we have this little frame.

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I thought it's so pretty.

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It just has this little flower design on it

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and then down here is the little word rejoice with a small little cross.

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And then the last thing that I got.

244

I actually wasn't sure about this at first just

245

because it doesn't really match the color scheme but this is what it is.

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It's similar to this little frame.

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I thought maybe it could go together but I just really loved the verses that it had.

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It's from Psalm 100 and I just think it's really beautiful.

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I love these verses. And

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when it comes to faith decor I don't want it to come off as this like surface level faith decor

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and a lot of it can be very me -centric

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and I want it to be more christ -centric and

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so i felt like this was something

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that was a bit more deep i guess you could say

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and of the decor options

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that i saw i felt like this was maybe the best at achieving what i had in mind

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i have no idea where each thing should go

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but i'm just going to start putting things in random places

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and hope that it comes together this is too tall for this shelf

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Maybe I'll put this one here.

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Maybe I'll do this one right here. Or not.

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Maybe I'll do this.

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I kind of like these little plants in the basket.

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I don't know if I want to put them all around or if I should keep them in this basket.

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This is looking really cute so far.

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I'm not even going to lie.

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I feel like the more I add stuff though,

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the more I feel the need to rearrange things also it's quickly becoming a decorative bookshelf and not an actual utilized

269

bookshelf for books.

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I also have this picture of me and my husband.

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This is from when we were dating though.

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I think it was like six months into our relationship.

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I'm like, that would be cute to put on here.

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How cute is that?

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Now I need to open this.

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Look at this frame!

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Look how cute!

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One of my patients had nominated me for a Daisy Award

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and so I thought it would be really sweet to get this framed.

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And then in the back I just put some additional thank -you notes that some other patients have given to me.

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I just thought it would be a sweet thing to add to our bookshelf to commemorate a huge, huge honor.

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This patient was so sweet.

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I think this middle shelf is the only one that it'll fit on.

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What do we think about that?

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Is that too much?

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Too busy?

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Now I'm like actually putting things on the bookshelf that make sense to put on the bookshelf.

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Firstly we have my husband's journals.

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He has the dates on the sides of them and then this is an empty one.

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Put some books in here.

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still a work in progress

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but I feel like it's looking really good

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I'm pretty impressed with myself as somebody who's not an interior decorator nor do I consider

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it one of my strengths

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I feel like it turned out pretty decently my husband has a lot of books too

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that can all go down on this bottom shelf

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and then I feel like the top shelf is maybe lacking a little bit

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I don't know I also don't know how I feel about

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this picture frame being right in the center like right in your line of vision

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but the other shelves aren't tall enough for it

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so I don't know I mean

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I could always try to rearrange some of the shelves like

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adjust the height of it what do we think does it look busy does it look cohesive

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I feel like it definitely makes the space feel homier I'm calling my mom to show her.

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Hey.

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Hi mom.

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Hey.

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Remember how I got a bookshelf a really long time ago?

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Oh yes, I do.

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I just decorated it.

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Do you want to see?

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Yes, I do.

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You have to give me your honest thoughts, okay?

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Okay.

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Oh, it looks fabulous, Carrie.

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You think so?

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Yeah, I love it.

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Fabulous, wow.

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Might need some more room for his own books.

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Yeah, that's what all bad hair is for.

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That's not so much.

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He might have hair too, couldn't he? just fabulous

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that was my ass opinion oh thanks mom do you think

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it looks too cluttered no i don't think it looks cluttered at all it looks organized as

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that my only thing was at the top i was just wondering about playing at the very top

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but i like it there too so you know it looks good

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so like up here but it might be too high i don't know i'm not the best at decorating so maybe not

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Yeah, I like it better than the other way.

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Yeah, I think it looks pretty caring.

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Thanks, Mom.

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It's later in the night.

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The bookshelf is growing on me.

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I really like it and love how it turned out.

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I might still rearrange some things here and there, but for the most part,

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I think it looks really cute and it really helps fill up the space.

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It kind of just completes the desk space a little bit more.

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But I do actually want your opinion on something regarding what to do with this wall.

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So here's a little overview of the actual desk space.

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You can see my desk and whatnot.

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Stuff underneath it kind of messy under there.

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I need to clean that up my stationery over here

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Lots of pens and then obviously the bookshelf, which we just did and then it goes right into our living room

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But the thing that I wanted to ask you is what to do with this wall

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because I feel like it looks really blank right now

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Especially with the bookshelf now nicely decorated and the stuff on the wall in the living room area

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Our little faith decor pieces here, which I love but i'm not really sure what to put up on the wall

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and what would make it look good without making it look too busy.

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Here's a picture of what my old desk space looked like

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when I lived in Virginia and I still have all of those decor pieces.

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The lights in the picture is actually out on our balcony

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but other than that I literally just have those decor pieces sitting in one of our closets

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and originally I didn't put it up here

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because I was thinking I would get some new stuff for the wall

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but it's been so long that realistically at this point I'm like am I even going to get something for the wall?

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I have thought about doing a floating shelf, but I'm not going to lie.

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That sounds really intimidating.

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And I don't even know how that works with like poking holes in the walls at apartments.

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I guess we'd have to like spackle it over and paint the walls if we ever leave, which also sounds like a lot of work,

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especially since the paint colors on our walls are not white, which I don't like, by the way.

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I wish they were white because it just makes it feel more like bright and alive in here.

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So my question to you is what should I put here?

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Should I use the decorations that we already have? and if so, in what arrangement should I do it in?

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Should I do the little leaf border around the desk area but then what should I put in the middle?

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Because if you look back at that picture, it was on a corner and I had the sun

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and the moon mirror on one side and then the other decor pieces right in the center, that pegboard and the pictures

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and I don't think I'd be able to fit all of it here and even if I could,

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I feel like that would maybe look a little too busy or should I get different things.

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I think I'm leaning towards reusing what I have just to save money, time, energy, all of that stuff.

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I just don't know exactly how I'd want the layout to be

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and then again I just don't want it to be too busy,

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too much going on on the walls because we live in a one bedroom, one bathroom.

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There's only so much you can do to make it feel like separate rooms

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and I just don't know if it would be like a lot to have this wall in the living room,

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this bookshelf, which already looks decently full

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and then a lot of stuff on the wall too like it might just be a lot

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but I'll step out of the way so

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that you can get a full look at what the wall looks like

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and then I'll just kind of pan it over here.

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This is what the entire wall looks like.

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I do really like how the bookshelf turned out but also

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if you have any input on how I can make it better please do let me know.

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Anyway I hope you enjoyed today's video.

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I really am loving how it's turning out.

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It's a good work in progress and please do let me know what your thoughts are.

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Perhaps I will be doing a part three at some point

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to figure out what the heck to do with this wall and I will see you all in my next video.

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Bye.

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This speaking lesson is built on the video “*aesthetic* desk makeover PART 2 ✍🏻🌿🎨 adding more to my desk space!”. This video has 387 sentences and 4096 words to shadow. The speech runs for 22:07. The speaker talks fast, about 185 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. 84% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.

Key vocabulary in this video

15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
desk noun	/dɛsk/	A table, frame, or case, in past centuries usually with a sloping top but now usually with a flat top, for the use of writers and readers. It often has a…
decor noun	/deɪˈkoɹ/	The style of decoration of a room or building.
shelf noun	/ʃɛlf/	A flat, rigid structure, fixed at right angles to a wall or forming a part of a cabinet, desk, etc., and used to display, store, or support objects.
basket noun	/ˈbæskɪt/	A lightweight woven container, generally round, open at the top, and tapering toward the bottom.
clip noun	/klɪp/	Something which clips or grasps; a device for attaching one object to another.
verse noun	/ˈvɝs/	A poetic form with regular meter and a fixed rhyme scheme.
fabulous adjective	/ˈfæbjʊləs/	Of or relating to fable, myth or legend.
heck	/hɛk/	Hell.
organize verb	/ˈɔɹɡənaɪz/	To arrange in working order.
bedroom noun	/ˈbɛdˌɹum/	A room in a house, apartment, hotel, or other dwelling where a bed is kept for sleeping.
hire verb	/ˈhaɪɹ/	To obtain the services of in return for fixed payment.
belong verb	/bɪˈlɒŋ/	To have its proper place.
spin verb	/spɪn/	To rotate, revolve, gyrate (usually quickly); to partially or completely rotate to face another direction.
commit verb	/kəˈmɪt/	To give in trust; to put into charge or keeping; to entrust; to consign; used with to or formerly unto.
arrangement noun	/əˈɹeɪnd͡ʒmənt/	The act of arranging.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
figure out verb		To come to understand; to discover or find a solution; to deduce.
turn out verb		To end up; to result.
look around verb		To inspect a building or area.
put together verb		To assemble, construct, build, or formulate.
set up verb	/ˌsɛt ˈʌp/	To make ready for use.
come off verb		To become detached.
come together verb	/ˈkʌm tʊˈɡɛðɚ/	To assemble; to congregate; to combine.
fill up verb		To make (something) completely full.

Sentences worth repeating

Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:

My husband doesn't know that I got this.
Can we put it together?
What do we think about that?
Do you want to see?
Should I use the decorations that we already have?

Grammar in this video

The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:

Structure	In the video
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now	has been · it's been · has happened
Advice with “should” should + verb — saying what is a good idea	should just commit · should go · should wait
Past continuous was/were + -ing — an action in progress at a moment in the past	was just wanting · was thinking · was intending
Possibility with “might / may” might/may + verb — something that is possible but not certain	Might need · might have · might be

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 109 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, don't, gonna. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “th” sounds: faithful /ˈfeɪθ.fl̩/, underneath /ˌʌndɚˈniθ/, thoughtful /ˈθɔːtfəl/
The “sh” and “zh” sounds: shelf /ʃɛlf/, nomination /ˌnɑmɪˈneɪʃən/, shout /ʃaʊt/, gosh /ɡɑːʃ/, decoration /ˌdɛkəˈɹeɪʃən/
Long words — get the stress right: priority /pɹaɪˈɒɹɪti/, nomination /ˌnɑmɪˈneɪʃən/, decoration /ˌdɛkəˈɹeɪʃən/, decorative /ˈdɛk.ə.ɹə.tɪv/, inspirational /ˌɪnspəˈɹeɪʃənəl/

How to practise with this video

Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like desk, decor, shelf.

What is the Shadowing Technique?

Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →

Shadowing Practice: *aesthetic* desk makeover PART 2 ✍🏻🌿🎨 adding more to my desk space! - Learn English Speaking with Video

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

Key vocabulary in this video

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Sentences worth repeating

Grammar in this video

Pronunciation to watch

How to practise with this video

What is the Shadowing Technique?

Shadowing Practice: aesthetic desk makeover PART 2 ✍🏻🌿🎨 adding more to my desk space! - Learn English Speaking with Video