Monday, January 16, 2012

our apartment: a (super mega awesome) work in progress

Welcome to my crib. 

Technically, it's Matt's crib until I move in after the wedding this summer. But we've been doing quite a bit of nesting to get the place ready before then. There's still a lot more we want to do in terms of decorating and maximizing our storage, but here's where we've gotten so far.



Quite a transformation, if I do say so myself! The couch is a hand-me-down from my parents and the desk is from Matt's old bedroom -- oh, and that desk lamp is from my college years. The pendant lamp, curtains, and TV stand are all from Ikea. Can I *tell* you how happy I am to have a reason to buy things from Ikea now? If you love our end table as much as I do (that is, with the flames of a hundred fires), you might be interested to know that it came from Target, of all places!



The kitchen is teeny tiny, but it's fully loaded with updated appliances including A DISHWASHER ::triumphant fist pumping:: No hand-washing dishes for THIS domestic goddess, THANKS. Since Matt moved in we tried to soften the overwhelming whiteness of the kitchen with some of our tchotchkes -- but we have grand plans for this room, my friends. Grand plans indeed.



Not too big of a change here except the obvious addition of actual furniture. The dining set is another hand-me-down from my parents; in fact, this is the very table where I ate dinner as a child. My parents have seriously been amazing in the past few months -- they not only gave us a couch and a dining set, they bought a ridiculous amount of kitchen essentials off of our registry and just GAVE it to us, like "no biggie, just fully stocking your kitchen for you!" Oh, and Matt's parents bought us a TV and a Blu-Ray player for Christmas this year. Seriously, how do you even begin to say "thank you" for gestures like these? By giving them grandbabies, I guess. Eek.

Anyway, back to the room. We're planning on installing some vertical blinds that my dad has lying around (don't ask), and eventually I want to get some hanging plants to flank that big window. I'll keep you posted.


These two photos are from the kitchen. Every single thing pictured (except those awesome red gerbera daisies) is a gift from a friend. The Yoda lollipop and mug are from Matt's co-worker, the brain salt-and-pepper shakers are from our friend Dru, the bud vase is from Scotty and Jewel, and the R2D2 cross-stitch? A Christmas present from my BFF Lindsay. Proof that we have the best friends ever.


It's really the little things that make a place feel like home. Clockwise from top left:
  1. a stack of beloved books, watched over by a mini librarian (Matt got me a "librarian action figure" for Christmas one year)
  2. our brand new, dirt cheap entertainment stand from Ikea (ok, not "little" in size, but this thing makes us feel like Proper Adults and it cost us less than $100)
  3. the Pac Man chair! Which is actually an old butterfly chair (I got it from Delia's back in junior high) that I threw a Pac Man Snuggie over. Look how happy Matt looks sitting in it! 
  4. the key rack that we installed right when you walk in. Jayne Cobb (from Firefly, in case you live a tragic life and do not know what/who that is) guards the door for us. 
I planned to take pictures of the bathroom and bedroom too, but the daylight started fading and everything came out weirdly blue-tinted, like an episode of CSI. So you will just have to wait for part 2! I know you will be on the EDGE OF YOUR SEAT until then, readers.

Of course I'm omitting a lot of the less appealing qualities of the new place; for instance, how the outside stairwell always smells faintly of cigarettes and garbage, or how it's so small that when you pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees you're basically preheating THE APARTMENT to 400 degrees (not a problem in this sucky arctic NJ winter, but probably not gonna be awesome in August).... but overall? This is pretty freaking sweet, guys. 

16 comments:

  1. Eeee! Melissa, I effing LOVE THIS. Such a cute apartment, I'm totally jealous!!! I love all of the little details and how fitting your place is. Also, wedding?! Apartment?! Possible future grandbabies?! Holy hell, so much excitement. *huge hug* So glad you came back to the interwebs, we totes gotta become pen pals 'cause I don't wanna lose touch again - capisce?!

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    1. I knowww Angieee... things are all happening!! Babies are definitely still a few years off, but that fact that I'm even saying that sentence freaks me out a bit, haha! I think we need to make this pen pal thing happen cause I've missed you too! ::hug::

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  2. I love what you've done so far! I have planned trips around going to Ikea so I understand. Also, that end table is to die for!

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    1. Isn't it?? When I saw it at Target I knew we had to snatch it right up -- it was the only one left! OMG, Ikea. There's one 25 minutes from my house, do you understand how dangerous that is? Every weekend it's like "Goodbye, paycheck!" :(

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  3. Everything looks so great!! I love what you did with your kitchen.

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    1. Thank you so much! I'm actually hoping that in a few months I'll be able to show you all a kitchen that's unrecognizable from this one, haha! There are *so* many things we want to do to infuse color and maximize storage!

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  4. Cute! I love the little blue table with the books and flower vase on it. Sigh, I want a dishwasher so bad...when the boy and I move in together in a few months that place better have an effing dishwasher!! Speaking of bf, he would love that Pac Man chair - he's a video game fiend!

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    1. You're moving in with your man friend?! That's awesome! You know what else you need? A washer and dryer IN your apartment. That's one of the "cons" of this new place -- the only laundry options we have is this coin-operated washer-dryer located in the deeply creepy basement :(

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  5. Looks great! Totally giggled at the 'geek flag' :D

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    1. Thank you! Yeah, we're total nerds and our friends know it. Thanks for stopping by! Hopping over to your blog now :)

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  6. I LOVE YOUR APT I WISH I COULD LIVE THERE I WANT MY OWN APT SO BADDDD

    also, i've read this entry like 5 times even though i already saw all of it in person and i will prob look at it again tomorrow too. i love all your geek decossss

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    1. UM OK I have been looking at these pics obsessively and I practically LIVE there so I know how you feel. I can't believe this is real liiiiiiiife

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  7. I looooove your little place! THat's one thing that I want SO bad is somewhere to call my own. I can't WAIT to move out of my parents house. Blech. I'm jealous of your sweet little spot.

    And YAY to your blog comeback, I'm glad you found me again and that my trail of crumbs was not hard to follow. Haha. And YES, my cat's name is a pet name choice that I've been carrying with me for FOURTEEN YEARS. Finally, I had the chance to use it! :D

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    1. Yesss I knew it was Hanson-related! That song is one of my new-old faves: I'm just beginning to really appreciate it for the sweet, simple ballad it is. And can you BELIEVE that was written when they were like 9, 13, and 17??

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  8. Your place is so cute!! I'm loving all the details and touches you've put in, it looks fab already. Can't wait to see once it's all finished up!

    Also, that table really came from Target?! I love it!

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  9. Adorable! I've seen those brain salt and pepper shakers--love them. You've done a good job of actually decorating and getting the place together, super nice.

    I've had that oven problem in varying degrees. In the winter it's wonderful, and I'll bake instead of turning on heat. In the summer though, you can check out a slow cooker because they won't get the apartment as hot, and you can make lots of salads and sandwiches to avoid the oven. I also will prepare food late at night when it's cooler out and then will just microwave it the next day.

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