Unfortunately, the photo is a bit dark since it's still a little dark out, but I wanted to share my little desk.
I needed a desk that would that was no wider than 33 inches and this is a perfect 31.5. I purchased the white legs to go along with it.
Among the little treasures on my desk is this owl.
…and my little custom knit cactus by Kaktusgarten:
and of course, my giant vintage metal gas station 8.
The apartment inches onward!!!
Oh my, It's warm. I have *I hope* a studio space. It is in desperate need of some TLC and that is what some of my spare time has been going to. I am keeping my fingers crossed that nothing falls through with it and I will be a very happy girl.
Today was really eaten by sleeping in, walking up to the hardware store, a good four hours (and more to come) of work on the studio, and making my way through the leftovers of the tremendous salad I made for dinner last night.
I used that funny cauliflower thing because it was pretty but it just tasted like prickly cauliflower. It was getting lots of oohs and aahs at the market and I am a sucker for pretty veggies.
OK, off to drink about a gallon of water and get back to work. I am also going to try to win an auction on eBay if it's still cheap!! I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend!
So after all my salad talk I tweaked some of the recipes and created my own salad.
Really it was the throw-together-what-we-had salad. Leaf and romaine lettuce, green and yellow onions (I love onions), celery, sliced almonds, croutons, and tofu "cutlets" with a basic dressing made of balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt, pepper, and sugar. It was deeeelicious. I am going to run to the Thursday market and pick up more lettuce.
We also finally made it over to Kinokuniya Bookstore. I knew it would be a problem for my pocketbook and although I controlled it this time… oh yes, I sense a new addiction. I limited myself to one magazine and these two books:
Perhaps my favorite photo in these books that so seemingly effortlessly mixes thrift store, IKEA, high end, makeshift, make do, handmade, found, original art, and a healthy dose of organized chaos is this photo of one of the studios in Paris:
The "fuck-it-I'm-using-a-cardboard-box-for-storage" photo.
Ahhh… the perfection of imperfection
The After:
The Before:
That was also before we painted, as you can see. I've had a jumbly refrigerator for far too long—silly magnets I made when I was 19, business cards, to-do stuff—and it just sort of ends up staying. In this place you can see the fridge from the living room, so when I saw these from Umbra (they are currently out of stock but you can still get them at Amazon) I knew it was time for a change. They are, in fact, substantial. I heart Umbra because in my experience they sell well-designed, well-made products that are pretty affordable. What I really, really want now are a few of these book shelves…
…for a few cookbooks in the kitchen or above my new little work desk (photos coming soon). At $14 the price is right!
They have the same shelves for towels too! OK, I'll get off my Umbra soap box now, but I like when I order something online and it's better than I expected. This doesn't change that our freezer is broken, BUT it does make the goofy little fridge quite cute!
And of course, happy belated Fourth! I was so close to fireworks I was covered in ash. :)
Hellooooo! Today I picked up the awesome fabric above for a little home improvement project that I wanted to do.
There is absolutely no spot for the cat box, so I decided to use a cabinet. I took off the cabinet door and put the covered cat box in, and put bags and other cat stuff on the shelf above. The cabinet is also lined under the cat box as a courtesy to future tenants. So far so great! And no stray kitty litter. It's all staying in her box.
I've also been working on some other home and craft odds and ends. This morning there was vegetarian biscuits and gravy (that the restaurant made, not me). I should do the dishes but I think I'm going to look at textiles online instead. : )
I got the fabric at Fabric Depot in Portland you can see it here.
On my morning walk to get a cup of coffee this little guy was walking through the neighborhood. He belongs to one of the homeowners and a little boy named Jake seemed to know the chicken very well.
And there was a tree to match the chicken.
We just got back from a little outdoor market that apparently happens every Thursday in the summer. We bought delicious strawberries, sugar snap peas, and a white chocolate lemon cookie. And the best part? A block from my apartment.
Speaking about apartments, thanks so much for the apartment love. Adjusting to a much smaller place, we're really having to put function above all else, so we didn't want to dive right in and buy stuff our first weekend. I'm trying to get a sense of how we will use the space since every square inch seems precious. Our old apartment was 1400 square feet and this one is somewhere in the 700's I believe. Two people, a cat, and a business. Currently, I'm in the midst of a catbox solution. : )
Good times! No, it is a challenge but a fun one.
Well, we can now safely say that in the last six weeks our apartment has come a loooooong way. We still have quite a bit to go. But I wanted to share part of our living room before and after.
BEFORE:
AFTER:
The room is of combination of IKEA, TJ Maxx, St. Louis thrift stores, and of course bits and pieces from artists I love.
We have more hanging to do and storage solutions to buy, but on a less-than-shoestring budget I'm very pleased with how it's coming along. My splurge was the big white lamp from CB2, but it's fantastic and hundreds to thousands of dollars cheaper than similar lamps. It makes the place feel very cozy at night hovering above us (perfect for reading or crafting).
Coming soon… the other corner!
Have a great day!!!!!!!!
Ever since finding a little green one a few years ago at an antique mall I have been in love with these miniature houses. These three mica putz houses came from efinegifts on Etsy. In our new apartment (which I desperately owe you pictures of) we have a built-in booth in the kitchen and these sit on the top ledge. If only I could find a real life version to live in. And I want the trees too.
In what has been an enormously busy week which was accompanied with a lack of posting and e-mailing we decided to take a computer break and sit under a canopy of trees in the park and read after brunch.
Drew even chased after the ice cream truck (not kidding) where a stylish young man in a captain's hat and bow tie served him his Sponge Bob Square Pants popsicle. The funniest part? There were only childless adults at that ice cream truck.
And my pretty coffee just 'cause.
I am also having an enormous problem with self restraint here. Everywhere I go there is a dog I want to steal and love and make my own. This one at the park today!?! Even Drew found him to irresistible (Drew's not quite as animal-crazy as me). Our apartment building does not allow dogs but otherwise I think my resolve would be weakening a great deal more. I don't know where animal shelters and the humane society are here and for now it's best if I don't. : )
And I don't even use those kind of paper clips. : (
Today we went to the Saturday Market and then to Cup and Saucer. (Soooo good) It's really hot so some of the various apartment fix ups we had planned are on hold for a few days. The apartment is getting painted this week. I've been waiting to post apartment pics when I have before and afters.
It still feels like we're moving in. Every day there is more to get rid of and reorganizing. I think we are going to get this couch after the place is painted.
It's deep and comfy (with the Resmo mattress), pretty affordable, and turns into a queen bed. You can also purchase arm rests (which we will). And you can buy other cover colors. This is the couch I really want but it's GIANT and pricey, since I KNOW the cat will destroy the sides and throw up on it. Which brings us back to the Beddinge. If anyone has any experience with this couch please let me know what you think : )
Happpppppppy weekend!
Goodbye old apartment
Goodbye friends and family who helped us on moving day. We had a little pizza party outside (OK, it was just lunch and the least we could do, but still fun) on moving day.
Hello giant 26-foot Penske, our home for three days (we thought it would be four).
Drive, drive, drive…
Arrive and unpack. My sister Autumn made the trek with us. After moving our stuff we went to put her stuff in storage in Vancouver, WA.
What about the police, you ask? Well, a 26-foot truck with a car dolly attached is HUGE, and our new apartment is on a fairly major intersection. We thought during morning rush hour we could parallel park the truck in the only spot available. Do you see where this is going? Surprise! That didn't happen, but what did happen is the car dolly jack knifed into the street and we could not move without hitting this one car that was parked illegally.
I tried desperately to find the owner of the car. There is tons of construction going on, and I knew it was a construction worker's car but going to several sites and apartment buildings, I could not locate the owner to pull his car back a bit.
So we could continue to block traffic, or we could hit this car, so I called the police. At that point I thought we were endangering people with the dolly, and I didn't want to cause anyone to get into an accident. The police were so nice and helpful even though it was totally mortifying. There was a squad car and a motorcycle. Jesus. A minor panic attack is a fantastic way to meet your new neighbors.
When they left, the police were laughing and laughing. Yeah, embarrassing. But no one was hurt. There was a teeny tiny mark on the car that the construction worker was totally cool with. He showed up about three minutes after the police left, and I have seen him everyday since.
And finally…
Hello new apartment.
We've gotten coffee, gone out to eat, gone to New Seasons, and a few other places. Today, IKEA. But really we've just been unpacking and unpacking and setting things up. After all, getting our business running is top priority. So, I am much more relaxed now that the computers are set up. We still have a loooong way to go, but I'm really enjoying it here so far. Truly. And I hope it's growing on Drew : )
The real star of the whole move? Isadora. She was so awesome in a cat carrier for three days. We followed the internet's and our vet's advice and kept her in her carrier with a pillow case over the top so she felt more secure. We fed her at night and left the cat box out from the moment we arrived at the motel until the moment we left, and she was accident free and not traumatized at all. I am so so so thankful we didn't have to drug her.
She kept packing herself : )
So, that's it for now. I hope to have more excitement to share soon now that THE MOVE is out of the way. I think the hardest part is the downsizing. This apartment is great (I think) but it's less than half the size of our old place. This is where we'll see just how creative we are.
) I knew it was time for a change. They are, in fact, substantial. I heart Umbra because in my experience they sell well-designed, well-made products that are pretty affordable. What I really, really want now are a few of 
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