A Little Bit of Shelf Love

Hi, my name is Carla de Guzman, and I post home decor and lifestyle content here on my channel!

CHOS.

But I really have been loving home decor channels on YouTube lately. There’s just something so satisfying about seeing a room come together with things that mean something to you, that feeling of being surrounded by things that (say it with me) spark joy. Lord only knows we could use all the joy nowadays!!!

This shelf is only a little part of my current desk setup, a shelf in a whole desk full of stuff that I can talk about if you want, but I was looking at it the other day and thinking that it really is nice to look at, and I thought I would share what the things were, and what they meant to me. With links, when links are available.

The Lightcatcher by @mishofosho
My sister Michelle recently started selling these acrylic stands with different charms to catch light, and I thought they were so lovely! Mine has a Capricorn constellation, for obvious reasons, and is the hanging version of the light catcher. It makes the shelf feel a little more…magical, if that makes sense? I like it.

Boy Smells Candle in Petal
Was a birthday gift from another sister! It smells like sampaguita in candle form, which is my favorite scent. Also odd that i remember sampaguita when the notes are of rose, sage and patchouli. I am being very precious and refusing to light it until I run out of all my other candles, but I thought having it out would encourage me to light it…someday.

Rose Quartz
I recently started getting into Oracle readings, but crystals are new, and I’m not sure how to feel about them yet. But this rose quartz is supposedly for love, and I love having it here, with its gorgeous purple hues inside. Maybe it’s helping my writing, maybe not, but it’s a little comforting to have it there.

Vivi Figurine
Another birthday present, this time from my brother, Ram, who 3D-printed this for me! Not a lot of people know (or maybe they do) that I’m a huge fan of the Final Fantasy games (please don’t talk about FFXV to me, my heart still hurts) and Vivi is our favorite black mage from FF XI, the game that started it all for me. Ram promised to paint Vivi one day, but we’ll see.

Kurama Funko Pop
KURAMA FUNKO POP! A Christmas present from another brother (yes I have a LOT of siblings) who I haven’t dared taken out of the box yet because Kurama’s hair is so pretty and hard to clean.

Cloud and Tifa Figurines
Another gift from Ram, also of Final Fantasy characters. I will not accept any anti-Cloti sentiments in this house, thank you, because these two are MY OTP, okay.

Prince Philip Penguin
In a Time Before COVID, my friends and I went to Melbourne and we got to see the penguins rise from the ocean and go to their burrows (caves? houses?) on Philips Island. It was a literal parade of penguins against a pink and purple sky, and it was freaking adorable.

Portucala grandiflora in a BBW Aromatherapy Candle (Comfort)
I have so many candles I keep running out of things to do with the jars, and this was something the Internet suggested. Portucalas are part succulent, so they can survive without water for a while, and I’m trying to see if it will survive in an environment like this? We’ll see. I’ve been very careful watering it, adding just enough, and used a very loose, almost fibery soil, which I think is helping it not die.

The candle is from Bath and Bodyworks, and ugh it was musty??? because of the patchouli, which is why the Boy Smells candle is surprising to me because it also has patchouli in it.

Pothos in a bottle
This leaf was curling when I underwatered my pothos, so I stuck it in an old bottle of ink I had since transferred to somewhere else. I added tape to the top of the bottle to prevent mosquitoes.

String of dolphins
Okay this succulent is interesting! It’s supposed to grow into a large trailing plant, but for now it’s still a baby, which is fine. Funny lang that little…cotton like fluffball of a flower closes and reopens every few days, and I don’t know how? Because it’s literally hanging on a thin stem? Anway, I’m excited to let this guy grow and grow, and grow. And I would love to go back to QC Circle to buy more pots (because this one is gorgeous, and it was only Php 100!) and plans, but noooo :(

Fran’s Books
Technically I share this shelf. Technically.