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| Image via Instagram // Pictured: Inkheart by Cornelia Funke |
Showing posts with label apartment therapy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label apartment therapy. Show all posts
Thursday, August 8, 2013
The Book Chat: Let's Catch Up!
Friday, April 13, 2012
On My Own: Work
So it's been 92 days since I moved into my studio, but hey, who's counting? I was doing some slight rearranging earlier this week and sat down at my table for the first time in probably two months or more. I decided I needed more surface space than my little television tray provides, so I finally turned my table from a storage surface back into a real, working desk. Now that I've finally done that, you get to enjoy the final installment of my On My Own series: Work.
The set-up is a little awkward with the chairs at opposite ends, I'll admit, but it works. (You have to get creative in a studio to maximize your floor space.) Also, some of the pictures were taken before the rearranging and some after, so bear with me:
1. This is what I see when I take a seat at the end of the table. All my necessities are within reach: my trusty MacBook, my phone, a good book and a steaming cup of tea.
2. My intense scrapbooking kit. You'll notice in pictures 3 & 4 that I've since rearranged the furniture, so the white shelves are at the foot of my bed and my scrapbooking supplies are neatly tucked under my desk.
3. The desk, in all its glory! I apologize for the messy piles at the end; I need to put some stuff in my car.
4. My white shelf unit from Staples. I have been wanting one of these for forever, but it was never practical in a dorm or sorority house room. It holds my copious amounts of stationery (see bottom center cube), various clothing items and my growing stack of unread magazines. I assembled it all by myself! Now I just need to figure out how to get it back to California with me this summer....
1. This is what I see when I take a seat at the end of the table. All my necessities are within reach: my trusty MacBook, my phone, a good book and a steaming cup of tea.
2. My intense scrapbooking kit. You'll notice in pictures 3 & 4 that I've since rearranged the furniture, so the white shelves are at the foot of my bed and my scrapbooking supplies are neatly tucked under my desk.
3. The desk, in all its glory! I apologize for the messy piles at the end; I need to put some stuff in my car.
4. My white shelf unit from Staples. I have been wanting one of these for forever, but it was never practical in a dorm or sorority house room. It holds my copious amounts of stationery (see bottom center cube), various clothing items and my growing stack of unread magazines. I assembled it all by myself! Now I just need to figure out how to get it back to California with me this summer....
Saturday, February 25, 2012
On My Own: Play
Welcome to the second-to-last installment of my "On My Own" series! I've already shown you my living necessities, my eating areas and my comfy bed. Now, it's time to share how I entertain myself:
1. I'm not sure what that strange circle of light is in the photograph, but here is my futon! I like to sit here to eat on my TV tray or read a book after work. It's also where I do most of my blogging and/or television watching. Which brings me to ...
2. My television! I haven't had a television with cable since the 7th grade, so this is pretty exciting. The only things I really watch on cable are college basketball and the new episodes of Law & Order: SVU on Wednesday evenings, but my Netflix account is also hooked up to the set, which is wonderful. Underneath the TV, you can see all my books (mostly writing books, but also a few novels I haven't gotten to yet) and my scrapbooks and photo boxes. I bought the lion bookends at T.J. Maxx my first weekend in Santa Fe for less than $20 (together). I think they're pretty nifty!
3. My apartment also came with this wicker chair (kind of random?), but I don't usually host company so I never use it. Instead, it has ended up being my storage chair for the few pieces of exercise equipment I bought at Target (and have since used approximately three times).
Stay tuned for the final installment in the series: Work!
1. I'm not sure what that strange circle of light is in the photograph, but here is my futon! I like to sit here to eat on my TV tray or read a book after work. It's also where I do most of my blogging and/or television watching. Which brings me to ...
2. My television! I haven't had a television with cable since the 7th grade, so this is pretty exciting. The only things I really watch on cable are college basketball and the new episodes of Law & Order: SVU on Wednesday evenings, but my Netflix account is also hooked up to the set, which is wonderful. Underneath the TV, you can see all my books (mostly writing books, but also a few novels I haven't gotten to yet) and my scrapbooks and photo boxes. I bought the lion bookends at T.J. Maxx my first weekend in Santa Fe for less than $20 (together). I think they're pretty nifty!
3. My apartment also came with this wicker chair (kind of random?), but I don't usually host company so I never use it. Instead, it has ended up being my storage chair for the few pieces of exercise equipment I bought at Target (and have since used approximately three times).
Stay tuned for the final installment in the series: Work!
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
On My Own: Sleep
I had the opportunity to catch up with some of my sorority sisters from Mizzou this past weekend, and one of them reminded me I still hadn't posted pictures of my apartment. (Well, not unless you count my uber-exciting bathroom and kitchen.) I took advantage of President's Day to catch up on some blogging, including two new posts in my "On My Own" series: Sleep and Play! (Play is scheduled to be posted on Saturday.)
1. After living in a twin bed for my entire life (and a bunk bed for the past several years), I am so excited to sleep in a queen bed now! It's quite funny, though, because I still only use about a third of the bed. The extra space is convenient to lay down my laptop or TV remotes, however, when I'm too lazy to get out of bed and put them away.
2. Although my apartment has an overhead light, it isn't close enough to my bed to provide ample reading light, and the switch is all the way across the room by the front door. I decided to build myself a makeshift nightstand by stacking up a few cardboard boxes from things I had bought for the apartment and covering them with this awesome fabric I bought at an open market in Kigali. Now I have a reading lamp and a nice little spot for my stuffed animals (I know, I'm basically a 5-year-old) and whatever book I happen to be reading before I turn out the light.
3. A close-up of the fabric I bought in Rwanda, which now covers my "nightstand."
P.S. - I'm planning on utilizing the blank wall above my headboard to hang this puppy when it arrives in the mail and finally fulfill No. 27 on my to-do list!
1. After living in a twin bed for my entire life (and a bunk bed for the past several years), I am so excited to sleep in a queen bed now! It's quite funny, though, because I still only use about a third of the bed. The extra space is convenient to lay down my laptop or TV remotes, however, when I'm too lazy to get out of bed and put them away.
2. Although my apartment has an overhead light, it isn't close enough to my bed to provide ample reading light, and the switch is all the way across the room by the front door. I decided to build myself a makeshift nightstand by stacking up a few cardboard boxes from things I had bought for the apartment and covering them with this awesome fabric I bought at an open market in Kigali. Now I have a reading lamp and a nice little spot for my stuffed animals (I know, I'm basically a 5-year-old) and whatever book I happen to be reading before I turn out the light.
3. A close-up of the fabric I bought in Rwanda, which now covers my "nightstand."
P.S. - I'm planning on utilizing the blank wall above my headboard to hang this puppy when it arrives in the mail and finally fulfill No. 27 on my to-do list!
Sunday, January 29, 2012
On My Own: Eat
It's been so long since I've posted in my "On My Own" series that you've probably either forgotten I moved into a new apartment or just don't care anymore. I've been a little distracted by some other blogging projects (mostly about books), but I haven't forgotten my promise to detail my new apartment for you! Today's focus is eat.
1. My "kitchen" is actually a bunch of cabinets and appliances against one wall of my studio. I don't have an oven, but I do have a four-burner cooktop and I bought a slow cooker, so I can still make pretty much anything except baked goods. I hung my study abroad photo contest prize on the wall, one of only two pieces of artwork I've actually hung so far. (The other is a zebra canvas, also from Rwanda.)
2. The mini-fridge makes storing a gallon of milk difficult, but other than that it is perfectly adequate for only one person. The apartment came with all the appliances shown here, including the microwave, toaster oven and coffeemaker (yay!). The only kitchen things I had to buy when I arrived were a kettle and a slow cooker. The cabinets were even fully stocked with dishes!
3. I keep my food organized with a cheap storage unit I got at Target a few summers ago on sale for about $15. The top left cube is for breakfast/beverages, the top right is for snacks, and the bottom cubes are for more substantial food items, including pasta, soup and canned vegetables.
4. I do have a large table that I can eat at, but I prefer to use this adorable little TV table that came with the studio. It folds up easily against the wall when I'm not using it, and it's the perfect size for my meal plus a book, laptop or TV remote. I also got an "energizing" three-wick candle at Bath and Body Works (limited-time only 2 for $20 promotion!) that I've been burning through pretty quickly. Being able to burn candles hasn't lost its novelty yet!
Stay tuned for the final three installments in this series: Sleep, Work and Play.
2. The mini-fridge makes storing a gallon of milk difficult, but other than that it is perfectly adequate for only one person. The apartment came with all the appliances shown here, including the microwave, toaster oven and coffeemaker (yay!). The only kitchen things I had to buy when I arrived were a kettle and a slow cooker. The cabinets were even fully stocked with dishes!
3. I keep my food organized with a cheap storage unit I got at Target a few summers ago on sale for about $15. The top left cube is for breakfast/beverages, the top right is for snacks, and the bottom cubes are for more substantial food items, including pasta, soup and canned vegetables.
4. I do have a large table that I can eat at, but I prefer to use this adorable little TV table that came with the studio. It folds up easily against the wall when I'm not using it, and it's the perfect size for my meal plus a book, laptop or TV remote. I also got an "energizing" three-wick candle at Bath and Body Works (limited-time only 2 for $20 promotion!) that I've been burning through pretty quickly. Being able to burn candles hasn't lost its novelty yet!
Stay tuned for the final three installments in this series: Sleep, Work and Play.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
On My Own: Live
Finally, I'm fulfilling my promise to show you some pictures of my new apartment! I've decided to start this series with "live" because I figure it's the least interesting. I could have started with the most interesting to suck you in, but I'd rather start you off with low expectations so you're not disappointed later. (It's a terrible strategy for life, but I think it will work here.)
So, today you get to see the less-glamorous parts of my studio life, including my dresser/closet area and bathroom. Enjoy!
In the top right image above, I wanted to focus on some of the wonderful graduation gifts I received from my friends at Mizzou. The black Mizzou frame in the top left is from my good friend and sorority sister Kiki, and the picture inside is from our Diamond Sister banquet after initiation. (Kiki is also my Diamond Sister, or what some chapters call "pledge mom.") Directly below that frame are two matching picture blocks that say "MIZ" and "ZOU" respectively, created by my beautiful friend Michelle! The MIZ picture is from our freshman year at the Big 12 Championship football game, and the ZOU picture is from my 21st birthday. We've been friends for a while. :) Finally, that wonderful bicycle helmet on the right is from Kaleigh, another good friend who I've been lucky to have in my life since freshman year. She made this helmet for "when things get tough" after graduation. Thanks so much for the gifts, girls! I love them!
So, today you get to see the less-glamorous parts of my studio life, including my dresser/closet area and bathroom. Enjoy!
In the top right image above, I wanted to focus on some of the wonderful graduation gifts I received from my friends at Mizzou. The black Mizzou frame in the top left is from my good friend and sorority sister Kiki, and the picture inside is from our Diamond Sister banquet after initiation. (Kiki is also my Diamond Sister, or what some chapters call "pledge mom.") Directly below that frame are two matching picture blocks that say "MIZ" and "ZOU" respectively, created by my beautiful friend Michelle! The MIZ picture is from our freshman year at the Big 12 Championship football game, and the ZOU picture is from my 21st birthday. We've been friends for a while. :) Finally, that wonderful bicycle helmet on the right is from Kaleigh, another good friend who I've been lucky to have in my life since freshman year. She made this helmet for "when things get tough" after graduation. Thanks so much for the gifts, girls! I love them!
Stay tuned for the next installment of the "On My Own" series!
Series title borrowed from Les Mis, naturally.
Sunday, January 15, 2012
On My Own: Overview
I promised you photos and more details about my new apartment, and they're coming soon! I've decided to split this up into a series, so stay tuned! (I'll add links to each heading as I write the corresponding posts.)
A tour of my kitchen - woot!
My cozy queen bed and surrounding area.
My desk/dining table. (It is a studio, after all.)
Fun stuff, including television, books, scrapbooking supplies, etc.
The less-exciting stuff, including my bathroom, laundry facilities and (psuedo-)closet!
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Things for my apartment.
Not my apartment - obviously - but it sure is cute, right?
You might remember my "Things for my apartment" posts (#1 and #2) when I was dreaming about the possibilities of living on my own. Well, that time is finally here, so here's an update on which of those dreams were realized (or not):
- Bigger bed: Check! I now have a queen-sized bed, and I honestly don't know quite what to do with it. I end up sleeping on one side the whole night anyway, but I use the other half as a place to store my television remotes, Kindle, etc. :)
- Candles: Check! I already have two candles (a small Glade candle in the bathroom and a decorative candle on my dresser) and am planning to get more soon!
- Kitchen: Semi-completed. I don't have an oven, but I do have a four-burner stove top and a slow cooker, so my cooking possibilities have vastly improved since living in the sorority house.
- Art: Semi-completed. I don't want to put too many holes in the wall, especially because I'll only be here for six months, but I have already hung my study abroad photo contest prize above my stove! (In addition to the $100 prize, I also received a framed, enlarged photo! That was almost better than the money.)
- Coffeemaker: Check! I already purchased some coffee and am experimenting with Coffeemate's White Chocolate Caramel Latte flavor. It's pretty good!
- Own bathroom: Check! It doesn't have a medicine cabinet, but it does have a nice glass shelving unit that provides more than enough room for my toiletries. And, I'm storing my toothbrush upright in an ADPi cup! Woot!
- Wine: Check! I bought two bottles on my first grocery shopping expedition: Barefoot's Moscato and Turning Leaf's Sweet Riesling. I've yet to buy a wine stopper, but I'm hoping to get one when I visit the Plaza.
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