Three Favorite Candles

I love having a few things around the apartment to make it feel a bit more feminine and "homey" and two of my favorites are candles and flowers. Both scented items- which with a new puppy who tends to smell like a salmon some days (its amazing how dirty they can get in the city!), helps mitigate some of the dog smells. While I understand that the expensive candles like dyptyque and other high end candles burn long and having some amazing scents- I am bit more about the affordable and somewhat long lasting candles. Here are three of my favorites:

1) Anemone by Illume (purchased via Furbish)

Illume doesn't carry the exact candle I bought two of (since I loved the smell and ceramic container so much) but the new enameled tumbler is beautiful and I can't wait to get my hands on it! This candle has quite a lengthy burning time and the scent is glorious and really permeates a room. A bit earthly but still light and reminds me of something I'd smell in a very soothing spa. One of my more expensive candles, but the size and burning time make it worth it.

2) White Tea by Lit and Co.

I've written about this candle and Lit & Co. before, but I can't get enough. I just can't. I have to ration my candles since I purchase in bulk and then drag them back to DC with me. And yes, while I know I can order online and have it shipped- I love the experience of going into their amazing downtown store when I am home and smelling things for myself before purchasing. My ultimate favorite still is the White Tea Scent. It is light, airy and makes your room smell refreshed and inviting. It isn't overpowering either; so I feel like it is something you could burn with guests over without the risk of turning off some one's nose. For the price, these are amazing candles. Other recommended scents: abalone, cabin in the woods, garden rose, and cotton tree. 

image via 

3) Pink Magnolia for Target ( by Illume)

Target. I mean. Target. There are always great things at Target and the candle isle is no exception. They have tons of great scents, but this one seems to win me over. Light, floral, and in a wonderful jar that when you are done with, can be turned into a lovely vase for roses and flowers. I've turned many a friends onto this scent because for the price (and with a coupon!) is so affordable and so lovely as an everyday candle. This one burns a little bit faster- but for the price point, you can't complain.

Does anyone have any favorite candles/scents I have to try? I am always looking for a new favorite and seasonal options!

Working From Home: Awkward Moment

Working from home certainly has it benefits.Like the best commute in the world. The dress code that consists of whatever comfortable items I want. A fridge, Brita, and snacks I don't have to worry about being clean or eaten by someone else. No shoes required. Multiple work spaces. And simple pleasures like a candle on a desk.

One of the drawbacks...the comforts of home and all the things that come with it. 

Let me explain. I am on the phone for approximately 3-6 hours a day depending on the day of the week.

My job is basically this and this mushed together...I kid you not. 3-6 hours a day of that. Yup. 

So I am on one of my many phone calls and out of the corner of my eye I spy a wiggly, creepy, crawly, icky thing scurrying across my wall. Ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Now normally, you tolerate it, keep one eye on it and then wait for an appropriate time to kill the sucker. 

Except this foul creature was looking awfully close to scuttling down the wall and IN TO MY BED.

Yup. Nope. Not Ok.

So I asked if I could put the call on hold for one moment. Pilfer through my closet and find a shoe, drag my night stand over to give me a leg up to the height of the scum sucked and then beat the crap out of the wall and the bug. 

There may or may not been a few $!#*&! going on as well, because that guy was BIG! and FAST! Yikes.

After rendering him immobile and deader than a doornail. I go back to my desk pick up my headset...flip the phone back on, and resume the call. 

The other end of the line.....was silent. Until..."Are you ok?"

oooooohhhhhhhhh no. 

"Oh my, you could hear that."

"Ummm, yes."

"Oh goodness, yes I am fine, there was errrrrr a.....well there was a bug...and I errrrr.... killed it"

Unstoppable laughter. 

So we all had a good laugh. I hung my head in embarrassment and cringed as I knew the bottom of my shoe would need to be cleaned. 

Working from home>Working from an office (even if there are bugs)

Office Inspiration

Awhile back I mentioned how I was a bit stuck when it came to decorating my "office". It has been a slow progression to come up with something that is "speaking" to me from a color standpoint, but I recently purchased this lamp and shade from Target, and it finally made some things come together in my head. Keeping teals in mind, but not straying from my love of a neutral grey, I am looking at the following bits on inspiration to see what I can come up with.

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Using Fabric as Wallpaper

I have doing some more research on temporary decorating options for apartment dwellers. I really love the idea of temporary wallpaper or renters wallpaper, that I wrote about earlier this month, but as I mentioned in the post there are a few drawbacks 1) cost and 2) unknowns of how clean it actually removes. While white walls can be crisp and provide a modern background for an apartment, the option to personalize a space with paint or wallpaper is a great option to add a design element. Lately, I have been hearing about another alternative that seems to be the most affordable and easiest to remove option! Enter...

Fabric!

As wallpaper!!

The options are greatly expanded, as my reading seems to suggest that a medium, to heavy weight cotton fabric and some liquid cornstarch will transform a wall. With places like IKEA even selling bold printed fabrics for purchase by the yard, this can be a cost- effective and low-commitment project. 

Some great posts that I found on how this works and what the expected outcome can be are here, here and here. 

Seems simple, but I am sure there is some time (and a buddy) needed to get it up on the wall. I also think being smart about the design is key here. Lining up repeating patterns can be tricky! I also read some comments about the fabric shrinking once it was wet, so the panels would pull away from each other, and also that some fabrics would bleed the color onto the wall. Perhaps prewashing your fabric would be smart.

Via Number Street Designs

I am impressed by how permanent the results look and the fact that it really does sound like there is very little residue or issue with removing it when it is time to pack up and move. 

Has anyone tried this? Would anyone try this DIY?

As another option, albeit a very temporary one, wrapping paper seems to also get the same affect but with very little permanence. A quick and easy solution which you can read about here.  

Read about my original ideas of using temporary or renters wallpaper here. 

A Modern Christmas

I am attracted to pretty much all things Christmas when it comes to decorating. Growing up, and even now, our house was always decorated very well. My mom always has the inside feeling festive with the main floor of our house full of centerpieces, garlands, nutcrackers and all sorts of festive decor. My dad takes on the outside, and always has one of the classiest and most attractive light displays in the neighborhood. 

See? Classy, AmIright? (This also makes me really miss Theo as he would pee on the reindeer and sometimes almost electrocute himself by aiming for one of the electrical plugs...such a crazy dog)

I don't buy a tree out here in DC. Mainly because I don't stick around for much of the holiday season, and I am sure like anything else here, they are crazy expensive (I also don't do fake trees...I just don't). I do try to bring some festive to my apartment regardless of being sans tree.

Last year I did some ghetto-esque decorations, that certainly not up to standard of my childhood roots, but I guess that is what you get living on a budget in an apartment (and last year I lived in a room, not an apartment, just a single room that functioned as my entire apartment). 

This year, I got a jump start on a few ideas I had for holiday decor. I am currently on the hunt for some sticks so I can attempt to make something similar to this.

Source: Anthro? But Unknown

I also wanted to do something a bit more more visually attractive than the tiny handing ornaments I did last year. After thinking it over for awhile, I decided to try to make some of my own. They are a work in progress, but I have big plans for these.

Stay tuned for the final product!

Temporary Wallpaper

After starting to set up my new "office" I quickly learned how hard it was to redecorate when you have a very bland canvas to work off of. It is almost like all those off white walls are too limitless. I remember when I was picking paint for my studio, how overwhelmed I was with options, and the idea that I had to live with my decision. Well....at least for awhile.

Now, I am finding myself in an opposite situation. Knowing that I've made the decision for my time in DC to be winding down, I don't want to do anything too permanent or two expensive since I am doing everything in my power to uproot myself out of DC and don't want to set any roots in, even if just decorating roots.

Paint is too much work, as I can attest from having to prime back the studio when I moved out (I even had to take an unexpected day off work to finish it was such a big job!), and as much as I would love to have a stripped wall again...

I had to think if some other options. Enter temporary wallpaper. Or renters wallpaper. There are some really amazing versions out there that are like big stickers, and can even be removed and relocated, which is amazing. These are certainly not cheap, but truly are the renters dream.

Some of my favorite options that I found: 

• Tempaper
• Hygge & West
  
• Swag Paper
• Chasing Paper
  

The antler paper by chasing paper is hands down my favorite, I would do a wall, room, hallway, ANYTHING, in a heartbeat with that pattern!

These all seem to be some of the easiest to apply and remove, but there is a more mainstream product that seems to get some recognition as well.

Sherwin Williams has a line of " easy change" papers that aren't supposed to destroy your walls when it is time to take it down. Curious to see some of their patterns available (their website really sucks) I headed to a local SW to see what I could find out.
They do have a decent selection of prints. I liked some, but was turned off by most of them. I also found out that there seems to be some water involved in removing the paper...makes me a tad wary. Also, after hearing about the "reasonable" cost, I was a bit surprised to find that they really are not much more affordable in comparison to some more niche brands. Since I went and pilfered through about 20 books of wallpaper designs, I'll share with you some of my favorite so you can decide if it is an option without having to trek out to your own SW.

Loved this one. Simple silver pattern.

This one also really spoke to me. Feminine  but not girls so I think you could get a dude to sign up for it in a bedroom.

Love the color and a geometric. The print was pretty small, so might be best on a smaller wall surface.

This one would was the perfect size for a larger wall, without being too busy.

So if your looking for a [temporary] change in your apartment, these wallpaper options may be just what you need! I am for sure going to be trying this once I am westward and settled into someplace that I really want to be a home.

Has anyone found any other vendors or options for similar products? Or has anyone tried the SW option? I couldn't find a lot of info on anyone who has used it before!

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Decorating a Home Office

After week one of working in my new "office"- or better known as the guest bedroom, I was pretty quick to realize that the set-up I had on hand wasn't going to cut it for a full-time office set-up. When I moved back in May, (not sure if I really mentioned that on here- but yes, I moved. Cohabn' it!) I was lucky that almost my entire apartment fit into the guest bedroom in the new place. What this resulted in was my dining room table that was used for everything in my studio became a full fledged dedicated desk. Granted I didn't plan on having it turn into my full-time work space, so the fact that it wasn't exactly comfortable was ok. 

So it isn't big, that chair clearly wasn't going to cut it and it was just the perfect height to make you look down at your screen all day which was not too comfy. Luckily I remembered that the legs on the table are adjustable and we battled IKEA to find a new padded and backed bar chair. 

Naturally, none of the cover options (and there really aren't many) were not appealing, but on the fly we remember that we had heard a lot about custom slip covers that a lot of online stores were doing for IKEA furniture. So my chair is just the gauze right now while I debate what fabric and vendor to order from. 

The bigger issue is picking a design plan for the entire room since we have a bed and other items in the room. I am leaning towards a purple and teal motif, but have yet to see it all come together in my head. If that panned out, I think a chevron cover in grey and white for the chair would be perfect. I have some shelves to hang, some accessories to buy (lamp, storage pins and such), and some brainstorming on printer location. 

At any rate, it is coming together and I now have a higher more comfortable work surface, coupled with a much more comfortable chair. (We also finally replaced that sad excuse of lamp for something a bit more...oh not torn and falling apart!). So if anyone is bored and wants to help me pull together my thoughts on decorating...let me know!

Keepin' in Clean

My apartment has been driving me nuts lately. I just want to hire one of those cleaning services to come in just once to get it back under control. It isn't dirty, it is just...lived in at this point. 2.5 years (!!!) in one place will do that. As I looked around my room tonight, I picked a few things up, dusted some nooks and crannys and then finally resigned to catching up on some tv to decompress after yet another really trying day at work. I was thinking about how have come pretty far (as I am sure my parents will vouch) in regards to my organizational capacity from childhood to now.

Alright I wasn't exactly the kind growing up who had the spotless room. In fact we can probably go as far as to say I was a slob. An organizational disaster. How I managed to dress myself, keep track of my belongings, and not get eaten alive by something hiding under the piles that accumulated in my room is beyond me. Oddly, among all of this mess my dad used to point out to people that I did have an outstanding memory as we would be playing with Playmobile (anyone? Playmobile? Only the greatest childhood toy along with American Girl Dolls to ever grace my little hands. Wyatt & Ava...get ready.) Back to the story. So we would be playing Playmobile and there are like 143,563,863,097,001 pieces that you end up owning with Playmobile. So my dad and I will be playing with the skiers and he would be like "Andrea- where is the other little green ski". Ok, we are talking about a tiny little plastic ski that was no more than an inch long. Well I would truck off and bring it back to him just like that. I have a memory for where I last saw things in my space. (well I used to- old age is taking its toll).

Well the days of clothing piles, disorganized Playmobile, ski, dance, violin stuff strewn about, and an accumulation of drinking glasses has come to end. (Much to my parents delight).

I won't go as far as to say I am super clean or even organized. But I definitely have learned the value of keeping things a bit tidier as I have grown up. I guess that is what 415 sq. feet of living space will do to you.

Basically this post is a Thank You to my parents. I honestly have no idea how you two didn't completely loose it with me as a child. Unbelievable amounts of patience. Now you have a daughter who color codes just about every file in her office and has corresponding pens to match the file system. Oh how one grows up.

Where you a messy or overly clean child? I can only hope that my desire for organization just continues to grow!

I Wish I Had A Mouse in my Brain

Or a mini monkey. Perhaps a possum? (No those are gross looking) Small bunny perhaps. I guess anything that could take notes on my thoughts when I am walking to work and could then send me a memo later in the day so I could remember all those brilliant, hilarious and perfectly worded blog ideas I had.

I had inspiration hit for a post today when I was like 2 blocks away from work. I kept chanting the post title as I walked into the building, rode the elevator and walked to my office. Then I was bombarded. When I finally could sit down with a notepad to document the inspiration. Poooof! Gone. Like a fart in the breeze. No way to recover it. (Unlike the fart, I wanted to hold on to this thought). All I remember is something to do with the idea of when do you fully commit to a relationship. I mean obviously, no one puts all their cards on the table (or rather shows their partner all their cards) before they are sure that they want them to be involved in their game of poker. That moment. When is it? When is it appropriate? When is it way past the point when both parties should be doing that. (Ahhh, yes. It is all coming back to me now). I'll get this into another post for another day. Meanwhile, if anyone knows were I can buy a small animal to put in my head that will help me remember all these brilliant thoughts, let me know. I am in the market to purchase one.

In other remember news. I dug out my few Christmas decorations I have ( a few more purchased this year from trusty ol' IKEA) and spent a few hours last night hanging garlands, lights and ornaments around my room (remember I only have 415 sq feet) to ringing in my favorite time of year. I resurrected my Christmas Camel I bought last year at Mount Vernon, put out my sequined squirrel my sister bought me a few years ago. I named him Nibblet. I woke up this morning, and was so thrilled to see all the festivity going on in my small space. I can't tell you how excited I am to get home this year (and never ever come back...ok not really, but one could wish) and get my Christmas on.

Perhaps someone will buy me my mini head bunny that I need this year!

How does everyone else stay organized and on top of making sure their blogspiration doesn't just slip on out of their heads?

You Won't Find this on WedMD

When I get really fired up, or really upset I sink into this almost sub-human, not-natural, overly cordial and appropriate human who goes through some coping stages to gain "control". Now, this isn't common, but just sometimes I go through what I like to call the 4 phases of freak out.  

Phase 1: Detached and Cordial Hear me Roar

Not much to see here folks. I pretty much become the fake sorority version of myself that got me through rush pulled together power house of a woman I can be, sans the "err, umm" ness that typically accompanies my personality. If you don't spend a lot of time around me, I probably just come off as distracted. BEWARE: Deep down it is like a really tired three year old who is all fun and games until they trip and fall.

This gives away to my need to see results...

Phase 2: Baking to Cope

Cookies typically. Chocolate chip is usually the for sure sign I have moved into phase two (or if one missed phase 1- this is a pretty apparent sign). Sometimes I will go for something really complicated. Seven layer cake. Baked Alaska. Truffles. Usually I go with something that is quick, comes with clear direction and I know the outcome. I like the feeling of pulling out a sheet of cookies and knowing that I followed the directions and therefore got exactly what was expected and predicted. No back talking, no behavior that makes me want to bang my head against a wall. Just pure, delightful cookies that I can eat to distract myself.

Phase 3: Cleaning

If the cookies don't make me feel better, or don't give me time to sort through my frustration (or I realized I made my tush bigger and didn't solve anything).  I move on to cleaning. Deep cleaning. Refrigerators, nooks and crannys, drawers that I usually just pretend don't exist, closets, and under furniture. Luckily, for me this usually results in a pretty clean apartment. You can get out a lot of frustration scrubbing, scrapping, pushing and pulling cleaning products around. You also can run through a few rolls of paper towels. Your skin can also get so dry it hurts the next day. Oh, but it feels so good?

This is the phase that usually breaks me. I can't say I have hit the cleaning phase and not finally, completely and totally lost my ish and finally just cried, and finally verbally diarrheaed on someone. That isn't to say there isn't a Phase 4....

Phase 4: ???

I hope that this could potentially be excessive working out and healthy eating habits...but let's be real, this is me we are talking about. I am thinking it is something more like excessive poodle purchasing. I'd probably have 8-10 poodles in this phase and would start wearing knit sweaters with poodles on them (oh wait....I already do that). You get the point. I don't think I or anyone every wants to see Phase 4.

Let's add some real life examples to this, shall we?

This weekend. I baked. I baked brown butter, nutella stuffed sea salt cookies. I also bought everything to make chewy pumpkin cookies. After the baking? Well I just finished a marathon 5 hours deep scrub of the main room of my apartment. Oh! You are going to open that drawer in my tv stand? Oh! It is perfectly organized and clean? Yea, that is right. I went a little nuts. My hands hurt. I am down one roll of paper towels and my apartment smells like synthetic lemon. I also didn't stop because I felt better. No. Instead I stopped so I could take a shower and put some real clothes on. Pretty sure I have another few days of the Phase 3ness. Unless I lose my ish. Which I might. Never can tell when I am going to hit that point.

For now, I am going to ride out this cleaning craze. Hope I make it to my closet and then I will just anticipate the need to eat all those cookies I made....

Teeny Tiny Apartments and Metro Buses

DC. DC. DC. I loathe you right now.

A little story that happened this week: 

A childhood friend of mine who happened to end up in DC invites me over frequently for crock pot dinners and wine (just like how our mom's hang out back home...maybe sans the crock pot). It had been awhile since we had seen each other (we had TONS to catch up on) and he invited me over for Wednesday dinner. It ended up that his place with a bit chaotic to have dinner that night so I offered to host since I never host.

I mean let's be real, I eat lucky charms and frozen burritos for dinner when I am at my place.  I am just a serious disaster in the kitchen when it comes to cooking. I do know how to bake. Baking and cooking are NOT the same thing. You can see this story is not going to end well.

All bright-eyed-and-busy-tailed to put on the bestdinneryouhaveevereatandohandreadidyoulearntocook?, I left work headed to the grocery store and even managed to remember to buy an appetizer. At home I quickly shove things in my closet, picked up the bathroom and made sure to have the table set complete with entertaining candles. Cheese platter out, bottle of pumpkin beer cracked, I slice, dice, stir and prep for a meal of brussel sprouts with bacon and shallots, creamy parmesan polenta, and grilled petite fillet steaks. B arrives, we crack the wine, are swapping work horror stories, and I finally get the steaks on the grill pan. Smoke starts to accumulate despite my fan and open window efforts. My teeny tiny apartment doesn't come with a hood fan, so naturally it just gets worse and worse.

Logical option: open the front door so I am getting cross ventilation from the hallway.

The part I didn't think about with opening that door. Central fire alarm system. BEEEEEEEEEEP!!!BEEEEEPPPP BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!

Oh that's right. I set off the BUILDING's fire alarm. First instinct was to flee the scene of the crime, but logic took over and I knew it was best to fess up so they didn't end up searching the entire building and getting the fire department all up in arms. After 7 painful minutes with the entire building standing outside, the building manager arrived and I fessed up to my stupid cooking mishap. Luckily, she was INCREDIBLY understanding. She probably knew the humiliation of having everyone in the building know it was me was enough punishment. We avoided having the fire department show up, but it was bad. Really bad. B did his best to make sure we ate our cold meal and finished that bottle of wine, but I won't lie... the minute he left and I was alone, I burst into tears. 

This wasn't even an incident where I burnt something, or things were going to end up tasting bad. This was my teeny tiny apartment, not having the shit that an apartment at the price I pay would have anywhere else. I start to over think that "why am I doing this anymore? what am I getting out of being here anymore?" and it became way more than a stupid fire alarm and cold steak dinner. It was a "I am really tired of all of this" cry.

Then there has been the buses. Last night, making me late to meet friends by almost 30 minutes. This morning I waited 20 minutes for a single bus to show up. Overall commute took 45 minutes when I could have (and should have) just walked.

So DC, you and your over priced, teeny tiny, pathetic excuses for apartments can just leave me alone for awhile. I am tired of your public transportation that just makes me claustrophobic and antsy, and I will say it...I will trade in my metrocard for a new car and a commute any day at this point. Just show me where to sign.

Around the House

I was home today trying to rest, work and ignore the construction noise and potent cleaning smells from the hallway while they ripped up the god awful carpet in my apartment's hallways. Luckily the hallways look much better with the old tile exposed now. While it is just the hallways, it does make a difference!

Today allowed a lot of time to appreciate some of the small things that make me happy.

These little pups are my favorite salt and pepper shakers. If you tip them when you are setting them down the somtimes "sneeze" salt or pepper on the counters, but other than that, they are well beahaved!

 

Wyatt made this sequined masterpiece for me, and I just adore it. I love any piece of artwork he sends me, but this one always looks particularly stunning on my book shelf. I love coming home from work and seeing this everyday.

 

 

My recent sore throat had me combing my cabinents for any tea I had on hand. Not wanting to take my caffeine intake over the top, I found this apple tea that I brought back from our trip to Turkey last year. While it didn't end up being the same tea that I had in all the cafes in Turkey, it is very tasty and reminds me of fall. When it brews it changes color from green to red, just like apples! With a little sprinkle of brown sugar, it makes me very happy.

 

To drink my tea, I grabbed this mug my mom bought me when we were driving through Kansas.  Complete with pictures of some of my favorite people in the background.

 

While I am a bit stuffed up, the smell from the cleaners in the hallway was overwhelming. I was relieved to remember I purchased a new candle at target the last time I was there. I am love with the scent and am thinking that I'll have to add the bigger version soon since it makes me apartment smell so fresh!

 

 

What are some of the favorite things around your home? It is the small things huh?





Domination in an Evening

I've had back to back to back of really awful work days. Outside of my co-workers who know what is going on, I haven't really been able to talk to anyone about it. Well it is catching up with me. Monday night I baked brownies in an attempt to BTC ( bake to cope). Last night I watched 1.5 hours of mind numbing trash tv ( whoo teen mom finale!). Then tonight....we cleaned. When I clean past the normal wipe, dust, vacuum, pick-up, you know I am in a bad place. Mentally it makes me feel like I have control over at least the task at hand. Well tonight....I dominated.

Tonight I have:

• finished and cleaned up after an art project ( this may be the first art project I have completed in years!)
• Did my laundry
• Changed the sheets on my bed
• Vacuumed
• Picked up the main room
• Sorted through old magazines
• Organized all my paperwork for things I need to take care of
• Laid out my lunch for tomorrow

AND! When I was doing my laundry there was a pile of things someone was getting rid of and there was a little organizer. I hauled it up to my apartment and organized the space under my sink. It went from a dreaded niche of my apartment to organized and pulled together.

The pull out drawer is perfect to store all the things I need periodically.

I also had another IKEA storage bar that I bought months ago to try to reclaim 8 inches of precious counter space. Well BAM! Finally hung and reclaimed counter space is mine!

I'm feeling pretty good about the evening. I also feel a bit better. That control...never fails.

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Marshmallows & Mice

I leave for Seattle in less three days. THREE days. I have SO much to do. Personally. Work-wise. Christmas shopping wise. It is a bit overwhelming. But we are pushing through and working as much as possible so I can disconnect as much as possible for the Seattle/Idaho extravaganza!


Well tonight as a break from work (and since I have been telling the bf I would) I made marshmallows. Let's just say I didn't exactly execute them very well. Right now I have a giant puddle of marshmallow fluff "firming" in my kitchen. Let's be clear. I don't think this firming that the recipe speaks of is going to happen. Sigh. So maybe I feed it him with spoons? Ugh. Well I tried right?

At least it looks pretty. Just sitting on my counter. All stuck to the pan and not firming.

I will do as the recipe says, and let them sit over night. And maybe, just maybe, with a bit of magic they will set-up and be awesome. Or I will scrape it into the trash.

There are some new additions to my kitchen. They were an acquisition from IKEA. I find them adorable and once I got them home I knew they needed to live in the kitchen.

I need some name ideas if people are feeling creative this evening.

Well keep your fingers crossed for my baking disaster. Let's hope it surprises me in the morning!


_________________________________________________

As I went to finish this post the mice made me think of a story that was told all the time about my sister and my grandma ( on my dad's side). My Grandma Tory never liked mice. In fact she hated them. Down right couldn't stand them. Well my sister made her a little cloth mouse one year. I am not sure if it was for Christmas or what. But it was in a little box and my grandma opened it and if I remember correctly- screamed and didn't want a lot to do with the little cloth mouse. I don't know why this so vividly sticks out in my head, but I always remember that story.

I was also thinking today that I remember her wearing this beautiful necklace. It was on a gold chain and it was like a glass bubble (flatish- kind of like a locket that doesn't open) but it was filled with gold dust. I used to sit with her and constantly turn it over and over in my hands. It was a beautiful necklace and now that I think about it...have no idea where it ended up.

Well officially off to bed! 'Night blog world!

Moments By iPhone

Christmas Ornament Diplay Rack @ IKEA--Purple Wall in My Apartment with Tiny Ornaments--Chicken on a Chain, My Office Bull--A Cup Of Tea in My Turkish Tea Glass--The DC Inspection Station, felt like just yesterday I did that--Jay-Z being Dramatic-- Idaho State Society's STOMP--Christmas Lights in My Window with Nibblet

99 Problems and the Chicken Isn't One of Them

Everyone meet Jay-Z:

He is MY metal chicken. And yes those are forks that are making his wings. I adore each little yellow toe that he had.

I am thinking about photographing him sitting outside on people's doormats. But then I would be worried that he would get chickennaped. And we don't want that.

Jay-Z is the mini boyfriend of Beyonce. He traveled many miles to come live with me and we already have bonded as he sits right by my bed so I wake up to that darling little beak of his.

I know...you love him too.

He's kind of awesome.


I am about to be gone for awhile. Just a little while I say. But I will be back with tale galore and will be excited to catch up in the blog world! In the meantime Jay-Z will be my watchchicken and will hold down the fort around here.

Getting Acquainted

Tonight I had a quick ADPi event and then was home earlier than I have been most of the week. This week seemed brutal for some reason. Lots of stress. To-do lists that never ended (and still never end). Topped off with a Friday of being thrown into something totally out of my comfort zone. Needless to say, my plans to just relax and enjoy my weekend with very few commitments, plans or aspirations was set forth this evening. A lovely co-worker of mine loaned me her Harry Potter: Deathly Hallows part 1 DVD which I watched to brush up on my HP in anticipation for my date with “Samley” on Sunday. (Does anyone remember combining Sean and Alli’s names? Going down memory lane over here). Back on track.

After some HP I was watching Confessions of a Shopaholic on TV and reading up on some blogs I have been behind on for awhile. I started reading the Pioneer Woman’s posts on photography and I got all into working with my Nikon and getting to know her a little bit more.

We have been together for over a month now and our relationship has been slower than I had hoped. I just haven’t had time to really get my hands on her and see how she works. The Pioneer Woman has done a great job writing about the “S” and “A” settings. So tonight just because I had some extra time I tried playing around with some random things that are in my 415 glorious sq. feet. What I came up with is no doubt amateur, but better than with just my little point and shoot. This is what we captured lately:

These were taken home from the store a few weeks back because I love them and also had an occasion to have flowers on my table for dinner.

Oh goodness did I forgot to share what came in that perfect teal box right there?? Well I will show that off later, but it makes my heart flutter just thinking about it.

This use to be the bar that all my pots and pans hung from in my Alexandria apartment. Not that I have the better hanger set-up I use this one just for the lids and other misc. kitchen things that I need at the ready when I am in there.

So there it is. A slow progression but I guarantee it is leaps and bounds from where I was when I first opened that birthday present!

Anyone else have any easy to follow photography tips, how-tos, beginners guides that they would like to share so I can become a pro photographer in no time?

Still in the Box Straight from IKEA

I have a theory that IKEA furniture, *most* furniture, is good for three moves. At that point for some reason those little special screws, wooden pegs and pesky turn-and-lock-devices get tired of doing their job and it becomes only a matter of time until you piece of furniture decides it is the end of its lifespan. Now to clarify—I adore IKEA. Like could work there. Live there (yes just play “house” in one of those “Look!! This is 216 sq feet and we put EVERYTHING you could possibly need in it!” displays. But we have to be realistic here. Anything that you put together with a little tool that comes in the box can’t last forever.

Well as you all saw. My trusty dresser, which has survived the following moves:
1) Shifts around the Alexandria Apartment
2)Alexandria Apartment into T Street Apartment
3) T Street Apartment to Current 415 Abode

It was also the $70 dresser. I shouldn’t be horribly surprised that when I tried to fix the collapsed drawer I showed awhile back, the whole drawer just went caput. (PS have I really  been living with a collapsed drawer in my dresser for over a month!!???!! Can anyone say living the bachelorette lifestyle and loving it?) Luckily I have been hankering for a trip to IKEA. Luckily I was able to swindle A1-1-1 to go with me to go pick out a new dresser and purchase some other unnecessarybutimusthavethisorIwon’tliveacompletelifeandIwillfeeldevoidandempty items.

We settled on this:




I wanted the version that was taller and had a few more drawers but since my spacious closet is quickly growing increasingly crowded and stress-inducing we decided a looming dresser would only make it feel smaller. This one is only a few inches in each direction bigger than what I have now. The major point is that is has new drawer construction which will hopefully prohibit the same drawer problem to happen again.
I also got a bundt pan/spring form round cake pan that I can’t wait to use. I may be baking myself a cake. And then while I stady for the the GMATs end up eating it Miranda style out of the trash can in my kitchen.
This is why I am not sure why they let me have a ticket to being an adult.
Speaking of GMATs. This stuff is getting serious. I need to get my act together and take this thing before my level of stupid gets any worse! I swear! I also have the chance to take my PHR coming up very soon and I don’t think I can manage my  work, ADPi volunteering, running, social/dating life with studying for not one but TWO tests.
Anyone with studying techniques when you feel like you have been out of school forever and have no idea how to retain standardize testing knowledge---let me know.
Did I mention the dresser is still in its box? Off to the side of my TV- just so I can watch TV. Still a little put off that IKEA directions indicate you need a friend to put their stuff together. It would be nice if they included that second person in the box with all the other parts in that nice little plastic bag of do-dads. Maybe this weekend we will drag out the rejected dresser and get the new one all set-up.

Apartment SOS

Ok so me and the apartment are in a little tiff at the moment. Usually I love every nook, cranny, quark, chipped tile, broken floor board in my 415 sq. feet apartment.

This weekend....


is.

just.

not.

one.

of.

those.

times.



The apartment is acting like rebellious 13 year old. Every time I turn around there is something else going wrong!


Let me count the ways that the apartment is really pissing me off right now:

1) It all started with the air conditioner. It was supposed to be moved weeks and weeks ago. It never happened. Finally,  anemail somehow got the message across....or so I thought. The good: I ended up with a new air conditioner that has a remote. Ok.Great. But. It is still in the same window that is was. Something or rather about it needing its own circuit. Well...let me tell you a bit about my experience with the circuits and outlets in my apartment since they put in the new air conditioner. So in the morning like a normal person I wake up, turn on the light in the main room, walk to the bathroom, turn on bathroom light, get in the shower (oh lord the shower--i'll get to that story soon), get out of shower, walk to closet, turn on light in closet, put on clothes, walk back to bathroom, do make-up, turn on hair-dryer, dry hair.....stop. I don't dry my hair...silly me...because all my lights and air turn off now. EVERY SINGLE DAY. Now I have tried fewer lights, less charging cell phones, no computer plugged in, and I still trip a fuse every single time. Sigh.

2) Woe numero dos. The bathtub has been draining slower and slllooowweerrr and s.l.o.w.e.r. Finally after Sara left this past week it was something I couldn't avoid confronting any longer. Bring on the Drano---two rounds (I am sorry environment!). So then we tired the good ole' bent metal hanger trick. Nada. Zilch. So we walked to Target and bought a plunger (Good investment right?) And we plunged. And Plunged. And watched grime and filth come up. Thinking we were making progress..... oh how wrong I was. Instead of slowly draining the tub decides to stop draining all together. I mean we are talking still standing water here. You could have kept a goldfish alive in the tub for weeks!! I seriously was in tears on my bathroom floor tonight since maintenance was doubtfully going to come take care of this for me on a Saturday evening. So we picked up the plunger....and I worked away until my back hurt and I had successfully ruined a kitchen hand towel by stopping up my overflow drain. But then...like a hark the hearald angels singing... I heard the slurping noise and the water started moving! Amen. I have never felt so accomplished. So we now have a working tub. Phew.

3) So I get a little OCD after the tub, and decide that while I am in the bathroom I might as well deep clean. The bathroom turns into the main room, which turns into the kitchen and the closet, and the entryway. I am just putting the Shark into her resting place in the kitchen (steam mop/vac how I adore you) and I hear it.


Beep.


A few moments pass.



Beep.


Beep.


Beep.


#%$%&*!@^&#@*&!!!!

It is midnight. You have to be KIDDING me. After all that cleaning and not studying I had planned, I just wanted to curl into bed. So naturally the smoke alarm would decide to crap out tonight. Well I take my 5 ft self and perch on a kitchen table chair and take the battery out. Only that sends the alarm into full chaotic BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Ok fine.


I call maintenance. Luckily I think I sounded crabby enough that they sent someone out. They just left and amen...now all I hear is the jet-engine like whirl of my air conditioner that is undoubtedly going to cause my power to turn off any moment now.


This is what my Saturday night looked like:

I am so done with your right now apartment.

Life Sights

I saw this guy the other day when I was walking home from Jazzercise.

That dog has to be at least 120 pounds and he was seriously over half way out the window! I started to walk away after a did a double take but I back tracked to creepily take a picture because I knew it was just too good to walk away from.

On an unrelated note I was trying to get my closet under control. (It really is amazing how messy I can make that small little room--I am debating showing you all a picture but I am going to decide against it so there can be no hating on me). Anyways, I m going through my middle dresser drawer to see if there is anything I can part with and to fold my plethora of T-shirts that after months just get tossed around and jumbled. But I pull out ALL the clothes in the drawer, get to the bottom, and discover this appalling sight:

Yes that is the bottom of the drawer that has collapsed. This is just a documented proof that IKEA furniture (especially the really really cheap stuff) has a total of three moves in it before it just loses its ability to function.

So now we are on the hunt for a new (but very affordable dresser) or a role of duct tape to put this baby back together. (Right now I am leaning towards the role of duct tape!).