Yes. You are seeing things correctly.

That is a real life, 100% authentic, unadulterated, freshly built bed (with a mattress). And it's mine. ALL. MINE.

...OKAY, not completely mine. But the one below is:

 Y'all. I haven't had my own bed since May when I lived in a dorm on campus in college. It's September. This is really big.

I've slept in and on various places, including other people's beds, hotel rooms, AirBnB futons, the couch, my car, other peoples' car, and my bedroom floor. And I can actually say I've enjoyed each of them thoroughly - some more than others - but still, they all treated me and my 6 to 7 hours nicely. But let me tell you, nothing, and I mean nothing compares to being able to just crawl into a bed that is actually yours.

And yes, I have been in my new apartment for almost a month and a half and I'm just now getting a bed. And no, I don't hate myself - actually opposite. I love myself so much, I didn't allow myself to just settle and choose whatever just so I could have somewhere to sleep.

... and I'm also just super indecisive. And it doesn't help that I have such expensive taste that does not match what's in my wallet. It's like shopping at West Elm with a Walmart budget - impossible.

Therefore, it took me about 6 weeks to finally order a bed and mattress that I actually like - and let me tell you ladies and gentleman, it was definitely worth the wait.

So something I've definitely learned throughout this whole process: nobody gives you a roadmap to adulting. Nobody is like, "hey, here is a mattress and this is the difference between memory foam and spring." Nobody is like, "hey, you MIGHT want to check for that bed you love so much elsewhere because while you're sitting there pining after a bed you can't afford on Wayfair, you can get it for HALF the price on amazon.com"

Nobody is like, "hey, please don't pay for anyone to come assemble furniture for you because as intimidating as it may seem, I promise building furniture is actually 10,000x easier than it look. Especially when you have a friend helping you."

And lastly, nobody is like, "hey, it's okay if you need time to find the bed that you actually like. at the end of the day, you're the one sleeping in it - so it's important that it's comfortable to you and that you like it. Not anyone else."

So I'm here to tell you those things. If this is your first time moving into an apartment and buying a bed - girl, take a deep breath and follow these instructions.

 HOW TO BUY A MATTRESS ON AMAZON IN 10 EASY STEPS

1. Go to a physical Mattress Firm and let the salesman talk you through the beds. Listen to what he/she is saying an pay attention to the difference between the different features: such as regular spring and quality spring, or cheap foam and expensive foam. Make sure to try all of the beds - and take note of the ones you like and what makes you like them.

2. Find the one you like the best, take a picture of the name.

3. Go home and google the name, find the materials of the bed and what makes it "unique".  For example: I really liked this Black Hybrid bed at Mattress Firm that retailed for $1000+, but then I realized it's just spring and foam layered on top of each other and I could find that elsewhere

4. Go on Google or Amazon and search for a mattress by key materials. For example: "spring and foam hybrid mattress". When it pulls up your search results, find a mattress with similar materials but also a lot of reviews. 

5. Read the reviews. Don't spend too long on the bad reviews ones, but recognize that it's a possibility. Everyone is going to have a horror experience. It should only be a red flag if there are either more or an equal number of bad reviews to the good ones.

6. Choose your mattress and order it!

7. Get excited and wait by the door every morning in hopes of receiving your beautiful new bed. 

8. Get it delivered to your front door steps, take it to your room, and pop that baby open.

9. Enjoy. x

10. Or you can skip steps 1 - 5 and just order the bed I got. It's great - a hybrid bed (which is a layer of spring and foam) that is medium firmness but still plushy. 

HOW TO BUY A BED ON AMAZON

1. Figure out your bed frame style! Head over to westelm.com or wayfair.com and look for the ones you're drawn to or that are similar to what you may have pinned on Pinterest. 

2. Make sure to look at the dimensions of the bed frame. Hint: For high headboards on platform beds, you should be looking north of 45 inches in height.

3. Learn the difference between beds that don't need box springs (platform beds) and beds that do (panel beds) HERE, and then figure out which one you like.

4. After searching and finding the type and style of bed you want, it's time to start shopping. If you're hooked on a specific bed you found, try searching the name on Google to see if Amazon pops up as one of the carriers. If it doesn't - have no fear! You can go to amazon.com and look through their 100s of beds and find a similar style. I happened to find the exact bed I wanted on Wayfair underneath a different name. AND I was able to get it for half the price (truly a miracle).

5. Order your bed

6. Be happy.

7. Grab a friend and build it.

8. Place your mattress on top.

9. Get bomb sleep forever.

10. Or skip 1 - 4 and order my gorgeous platform bed here.

Now let's enjoy this real life picture of me enjoying my new bed.

I'm always happy to save the day and help my post-grad babes save a buck or two. Seeing that it's 1am in the morning, it's definitely time to catch up on my beauty sleep. :-)

Stay rested, queens.

- Corporate Queendom

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Proverbs 3:24

When you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.