It's so PINK!

This image is a bit washed out... Id say the pink is more like the image below... can't count on a phone camera to take stellar photos.

Sparkly!

And then the lights come on... WOW!

Pretty In Pink

Pretty In Pink is the name of the Christmas tree I ordered today!  I was hunting around the internet for white and black Christmas tree inspiration and I stumbled upon this pink tree from Treetopia

You may ask, with a touch of horror, "A pink Christmas tree!!??!!"  I know it's a lot of pink and a bit over the top even for me and my love of pink, but as much as I tried to put it out of my mind, it would just not stop whispering "me, me, meeee!  It's meeee!  You know you want meeee"

In the end I thought that we only have our trees up for a month or two and they are suppose to make us happy and feel joy, so I gave in and ordered it.  I think it is going to look amazing in my apartment and I can not wait to start gathering up the ornaments!

Curtains!

I finally worked up the guts to drill holes into the wall to install the curtain rod.  I need to hem the curtains before the heat is turned on.  This photo was taken at night, the parking lot lights cast a warm orangish glow to the room, not unlike candle light... or at least that is what I tell myself. 

Post move in photos

Finally, sorry for the wait!

Cats and bookcases

It's been a week since I moved in and things are going well!  The small size of the apartment isn't even a tiny issue, in fact I think it's just about perfect!  Don't get me wrong, a bedroom would be great but I am not feeling cramped in any way.  The cats even save seemed to settled in.  In the entire time I have had these two boys, they have never slept together.... ever!  So imagine my surprise when I found them like this.

I am still unpacking and may take some "in progress" photos tomorrow.  I am struggling with places to put my books and the bookcases that will be perfect will have to be made and wont be cheap, but I did go shopping today at some second hand shops and look at this awesome book case I found!  That is one book case down... two more to go!

Sore

That is all - I am sore. very very sore.

Move Day - Monday August 5th

Well the actual move went very smoothly and rather quickly!  The cat sedatives worked like magic and the furry little beasts were very nearly silent the entire drive.  About an hour away from home we stopped for gas and to use the facilities and check on the cats.  When I opened the little hatch to reach in and make sure he was still breathing, Grendal thought it would be a great time to try and get out of his cage.  Even drugged he is a strong little monster!  His attempted jail brake was unsuccessful, but I did get a cute photo of his stoned little face.

20 days and counting!

I just got an update from my mother who was able to get into the apartment today!  Every surface that could be painted has been, new kitchen counter top (yeah, there is just one of em), the tub and sink of the bathroom have been refinished so they are sparkly white instead of dull almost white and the carpets will be yanked out and the terrazzo floors underneath will be refinished this week!

 Turns out that I missed something when I saw the apartment - there is a cupboard at the end of the tub, opposite the shower head - I do believe I will be painting in there to freshen it up.

 Freshly painted plaster walls - good looking plaster for being 86 years old!

Sparkly sink and tub!
 

Mini Road Trip!

I have been following a antiques shop called Vintage Barn Market on my FaceBook page for a while now and I finally had the time and money to drive down and see it in person!

I have to say that I have a bit of experience with antique shops and this one is about as charming as you can find.  If you like the shabby chic look, this is your place and you should make plans to visit the shop at 219 Main, Delta, Ohio 43515 ASAP!  I wish I would have taken more photos, but you can see lots of them on their FaceBook page (link above).  The owners, Marian and Rick, were delightful, genuine, helpful and so very sweet.  I hope to get down to see them once more before I move.

I got a small table to use as my dining room table - it is 42 x 28 inches. I think the size will be great in my tiny 8 x 8 dining room.  If it ends up being too small, I can use it as a desk.  

32 more days

I have put the breaks on the shopping, which is why I haven't had much to post about.  I have however sold more of my things.  The TV and the radio are gone,  I never really used them much anyways.  With all my viewing and listening needs handled by my computer 99% of the time and living in a tiny apartment, there will wont be much need to these duplications in electronics.

My mother is coming to visit for a long weekend and we will be cleaning out and packing up more - it is my full intention to have as much as humanly possible packed up, even if that means that I will be living out of boxes until the 5th of August.

Happy 4th of July to you all, I hope you have a chance to spend some time with family and friends!

Another Shopping Saturday

I had to get up early to meet the cable guy so he could fix our modem and shocker of all shockers ... he was ON TIME!  It was 8:30 am when he left (modem fixed, thank you very much) and I didn't feel like going back to bed so I decided to hit up some garage sales.  They were a complete let down.  I didn't find a single worthy item.  Not to be dissuaded from my shopping mission I headed to the three discount stores of choice: Home Goods, TJMaxx and Marshall's.  I also stopped at an antique shop on the way home.... that is where I got the little amethyst gravy boat and the pink glass hand.  I don't believe I will use the gravy boat as such because the thought of brown gravy in purple glass is just repulsive.  The pink hand will be given to my mother, she likes pretty glass things as much as I do.

Today's Bounty - all for $84 (including lunch):

Garage Sale Find

I got a chance to go around to garage sales on Saturday - not much luck at all, but I did find two chairs for the dining room for $25 for the pair.  I am thinking of stripping them and painting them white and reupholstering them with a pretty fabric. I love how the back slats look like mustaches.

I heard you gasp at the "paint" part, shhh, it will be fine.

Online Shopping for the WIN

I am not good with patience.  I still have two and a half months (OMG ! ! !) til I move and I am obsessing over floor plans, furniture, decorating and kicking myself for not getting some obscure measurement in the apartment.  So I have been entertaining myself with daydreaming and online shopping.  I now troll Craigs list, My Habit, Joss and Main, Pier 1, World Market and Amazon on a daily basis.

 Last week I found this beautiful rug for $159.00 and free shipping on My Habit - Festival Rug, Graphite/Silver, 5' x 7' 3"made from Favriel modified acrylic yarns, featuring carving details and a plush 3/4" pile; wear, fade, stain and mildew resistant.  My best friend is allergic to wool so I am not even looking at wool rugs, can you imagine your best friend not being able to visit?  NO WAY

Then a few days later I found these little gems for $15 on My Habit as well - Global Views Set of 3 Pompeii Urns, Stone Color - High-gloss ceramic glazed urns; set includes 3.25" H x 2" Diameter small urn, 4.75" H x 3" Diameter medium urn, 6.25" H x 4" Diameter large (large, relatively speaking)urn.  They aren't as green as they seem here in this photo... I'd say they are more putty grey.

 And today, I found this, normally $199, chair from Ikea for $20 bucks on Craigs List

 All in all I am thrilled with my finds so far.  This weekend I am going to wander around some rummage sales looking for a small dining room table and some chairs... WISH ME LUCK!

Apartment Floorplan and 3D Model

I have spent a lot of time in a virtual environment called Second Life where I make 3D landscapes, houses and furniture.  Because I am not one to just wait and see how my furniture works in a space, I have been working on this 3D model of the apartment and building recreations of my existing furniture and pieces I have been thinking would work for me. 

Here is the over head view of the model - to give you an idea of scale, the room on the left is the living room and that white block in the middle of the room is a twin sized bed.  For now I only have the bed shown as the day bed model is turning out to be a bit harder to build than I thought it would be.

This is a view of the living room from the enterance door looking north east.

This is a view of the living room from the bathroom door looking south east.  The wall unit is the Hemnes system by Ikea.  I have my heart set on having this. I am so relieved it will fit on either of the two full walls I have to work with.



This is the view of the dining room looking from the doorway of the kitchen.  I had considered having my bed in the dining room but I enjoy cooking and baking too much to give up the space needed for prep and having people over for dinner.  The purple things are chairs, the photo perspective make them look a little like abstract blobs.

Official Apartment Measurements and Photos

I finally got a chance to visit the apartment and get photos and measurements.

Click here to see a slideshow of the photos

Living room is 14x13
Dining room is 8.5x7
Kitchen is 8x7
I didn't measure the bathroom but its about 6x6
There is about 10 feet long of closet space plus a linen closet next to the bathroom.  I have lived four years with out any closet space at all, I think this will be the one thing that will make living in such a small space do-able!

I am optimistic that I can make it work!

The reality of things

I started a 3D model of the apartment based off the guesstimate measurements given to me by my mom and had a small moment of panic.  When I placed a full sized bed into the space and got a feel for the kind of space I will have to work with I thought "What have I done?  This is going to be impossible!". 

Before I had this 3D view, I had imagined Id have room for a little sleeping area and a little living room area and a dining area.  In my imagination, "little" was on the side of tiny and tight, so I was expecting very small spaces.  I imagined my bed in a little nook made of book cases and the rest of the room devoted to living room type stuff.  Nope.  This is very much not the case.

I hadn't imagined that a full size (not queen, mind you) bed would take up one quarter of the floor space and reside on the one and only corner of full wall space. 

I need to look at this as a game.  A game I can win if I really put my mind to it and commit myself to paring down years worth of collected junk and useless possessions.  Good thing I was really good at Tetris!!!

I will post images of the 3D model tonight.

It Begins Again

A few years ago I moved away from Milwaukee, Wisconsin to give living in Ann Arbor, Michigan a try.  Despite Ann Arbor being a perfectly lovely town that reminds me so much of where I grew up, I have never fully gotten over missing Milwaukee.  So after four years away, I am moving back. 

I considered moving into a one bedroom in a near by city, but after a few weeks of careful consideration I came to the conclusion that this was the time to do what I always dreamt of doing... living on my own in the city.  So with the help of my mother, dear friend that she is, and the wonders of email I have a studio apartment on the lower east side that I move into in August of this year.

I have not seen this apartment yet, but she tells me it is cute.  The main room is 10x14 feet with a separate dining room and kitchen that measure about 8x14 feet that is divided by tall built in cabinets that are original to the building (random guess is it was built in the early 1900's), a bathroom and a wall of closets. One wall is all windows which I hope will make the space seem more spacious.  These measurements are approximate and I will post photos and actual dimensions as soon I have them

I am very excited about this move and I can't wait for August to get here!