Apartment 104

(at one of my doors)

I am finally unpacked, settled, organized, and comfy in Apartment 104! Welcome to my new 1920's apartment nestled in downtown Chattanooga. It has changed my way of living. I walk to work, I walk everywhere in fact, I have to go home- parents home- to do laundry, I never have the same parking spot, I hear all the downtown parties, and dinner is always at my fingertips if there is nothing in my kitchen.

Life has been good in 104, minus the kitchen flooding. But all that is under control and I am back to living calmly.

My walls are white, which I hate. Mainly because I love color and because all of my main pieces of furniture are also white. Until I can get some things out to my dads to destress and add pops of color, that is. I really love little details and I feel that I have found a few within my 4 walls!

It is a very small place, for me the smaller the better. However, it was not so easy getting used to the bathroom and not having an outlet. That is until I thankfully stumbled across one....You will never guess where it is!

Here's the tour:

Table centerpeice
This basket is a secret hiding place for shoes. I am still deciding what to hang on the wall.....

This table was a yard sale find from a family of a girl I work with. I am going to destress it a little more and get the chairs out of storage one of these days....and yes, the walls will be covered and the heart bench will also be destressed and there will be no heart! It is from my parents house from way back in the day when hearts were all the southern rage!

View from the door.
This is a vintage trunk found at an Antique store. It has all the original hardware on it and it has become a great piece for such a small apartment.....it is great for storage.

This is the view from my couch. My bedroom is not complete, I haven't even really started on it. I just cannot decide what I want to do in here yet.....I can promise you the walls will have things on them!
This is what I like to call my locker room. I have hung pictures with twine and clothes pins to display all the trips we have been on. I didn't have a place for photo albums so I covered the wall with pictures! The hope chest my dad had made for me when I was in middle school. I love this piece and so thankful I have it. I love burlap, therefor a potato bag was needed as a pillow! The baskets hold everything a girl would need in the bathroom. There are no shelves or cabinets in the bathroom so I have to make my own. So far, it is working! The glass vases are for all the flowers I always have.

Teeny Tiny bathroom! Make shift basket for towels until I can find a small enough table to put in its place.
This is just another view of my room but really, I just wanted you to see the entry way to the kitchen. Yep, you gotta go through the bedroom! I am sure this was meant for the dining room back in the day but now, it is a bedroom.
Most of my books and a few of my favorite keepsakes......

Kitchen sink and spices.

Baskets have been the best for me when dealing with storage. In here you will find plastic cups and tupperware. The pug pic is out of a magazine, it looks just like a friends dog who I call baby seal! So it is there to give to her!

Kitchen cabinets....wine rack......coffee maker. These cabinets are kinda cruddy and appear to have been painted maybe 20 times. But they are doing their job!

View from my bedroom

This is the view from the door

Just a few little details I wanted to show....

My favorite succulent! And Carrie Bradshaw books.

What's on my nightstand.....well, minus my book!

Elephant measuring cups, what everyone needs in their kitchen!

Jewel's food and water bowls for when she comes to visit. Or when any dog comes to visit because I don't have my own at this place. It kinda just makes me feel better knowing they are there, I have never been without an animal.

My favorite childhood book that has so much meaning to me.

Old vintage suitcases. I cannot help but think that whoever lived here in the 20's had these stored in their closet. They are also an antique store find.

This is the shoe basket. I am not one of those that makes you take your shoes off when you come in. This is for me to grab and go...there will be snow boots in there soon enough. But I also keep my house shoes in there for the quickness of getting to them. But since I walk to work, these are mainly my weather or walking shoes.

Chattanooga book and succulents! Daniel gave me this little addition, it is perfect for out of town guest to look through. Especially since I live in the heart of downtown.

This little giraffe is a knob I added to a table. You can find him at anthropologie.

COW HIDE! I have been wanting one of these for a very long time. I saw one on a wall at a restaurant and fell in love with the idea, thankfully Daniel remembered and got me just what I had been looking for for my birthday!

This is a painting my best friends dad painted and gave to me. This was actually a scene from a trip we all went on together. The orchid is a house warming gift from Daniel's mom.

The staples:

This is my closet. I have to walk through the living room/dining room to get to it so yes, you can only imagine my hectic mornings and me running through with just panties and a bra : )
Every knob in the place is the old, charming, glass knob. I have falling in love with these!

As you can see, I love mason jars and books. I wanted to keep the apartment in it's year and bring lots of vintage pieces to it. I think it will be every changing and moving around but for now, it is where I want it to be. I still have a few things to do, but all in time. I will get there, I just hope it is not right before I leave : )

Adorable

Hope this little guy makes you smile on such a dreary day.

Pink Eye

Just when I thought my elementary school days had come to an end, I was wrong. I thought that getting chicken pox and pink eye was all over with until I realized that I have fallen victim to the dreaded pink eye. I didn't itch, but yet I have swollen up like I have been punched in the face or stung by a bee.

It all began when I woke up with red and swollen eyes. I figured I just slept hard and it would wear off through the morning. WRONG. After I left work, like normal, I took a nap. Waking up an hour later and feeling terrible, I rolled over and slept for another hour only to wake up with runny eyes, blurred vision, and more swelling. I accepted that I indeed had pink eye.

After crying over how bad and scary I looked, not only with my eye but my hair too.....this is the second time I have had to cancel a much needed hair appointment, I made my eye worse. Lovely.

Eye drops, ibuprofen, and heated wash clothes are my latest medicines. After all, there is no need to have it spread to the other eye too. I have washed my hands so many times they are cracking. I have Lysoled everything I have touched, changed all my towels and pillow cases daily.

It has been an experience, and let me just say, it is much better to have it in 3rd grade because you miss school, you have someone to take care of you, and you can complain about the eye drops. Now if I complain, I just make it harder on myself and there is no one there to help me out.

So, maybe I am not getting older but maybe the opposite? Could I really be getting younger? I think this might be a good thing after all : )

Don't worry, there will be no scary photos in this post of my eye. I am quite frightening to look at at the moment but I hope this medicine does the trick and I don't have to go into hiding any longer.

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico......what a beautiful place. We loved it and would recommend everyone to go. It's part of the Caribbean and you don't need a passport, or change money to go there. The water is so blue that is really just holds different shades of color. It's surrounded by mountains and big rocks in the water so it makes a great relaxing scene to read a book. We went to the Rain Forest, Bio Bay, The Famous Kiosks, and snorkeling. We spent our last night in Old San Juan and I just fell in love with the way of life there. If only I could afford to have a tiny apartment on the pebble stone roads........

There are some pretty interesting food choices when dinning out. I am a boring, bland eater but DJM is all about a new taste! Here is a red snapper, and the local dish Mofongo. It is made with plantains and any thing you want from chicken, fish, shrimp, beef, pork, stuffed in it with rice.

Our snorkeling trip:

While in Old San Juan, we visited the fortresses that Christopher Columbus fought in. This is the view from on battle place over the water.

Let's talk about humidity....I mean, really. Could I glisten any more and my hair be any closer to my brain?!?!?!

This bird was quite friendly for a while. Until he pretty much gocked my head off and I went jumping through my skin. Dang birds.

Beautiful view of the Rain Forest. The guy is pretty cute too : )

This is the court house and post office in Old San Juan. Daniel believes that no picture is good unless someone is in it. Therefore, the look on my face is hurry up and take the picture.

Our last night on vacation. We stayed in an amazing hotel for 1 night in Old San Juan, and this picture was taken on the roof where there is a hot tube, lounge chairs, and a great view of the city. Too bad it's so dark, it would have made you jump on the first plane out!

And last but no least, our awesome rental car for the week:

Take My Breath Away.....

This French Style Flower Market literally did just that! These Peonies are so lush I could just fall right into them. Talk about beautiful! And just a side note, this is my 100th post! Couldn't think of a better way to do it : )

Anything But Mine

The weather is warm, the sun has been shining, the flowers are blooming, flip flops are out and about, ice cream is sweeter, and the beach is in sight. Around this time every year, I can't help but think of my favorite summer anthem: "Anything But Mine." I have a secret dream of being a song writer, and if I could have written any song, it would have been this one....along with a few others of course. This song just screams summer and always brings a smile to my face.

I went to see Kenny Chesney's summer tour a few weeks back in Atlanta with some girlfriends in tow. Kenny is a wonderful kick off to summer and no show is complete for me without this song. Of course I feel that way about most of his songs : ) But this one holds a special place in my heart. It was one of the first songs Daniel and I ever danced to. We were at the beach and there was a cover band who played this song. It was about 3 years ago and it still feels like this summer.

The Year of 27

It's official, I am another year closer to 30. I am 27. I have decided that 27 should be a new experience, a new take on life. Lots of things will be happening in this year: I will be flying for the first time in my life (I know, shocking....I am quite embarrassed by this fact), I will be living by myself, (no roommate), I actually get to use my passport, and I will not be driving to work due to my new downtown home, just to name a few.

I am anxious to see what "The Year Of 27," will bring me. It's only the beginning and I am looking forward to the ride! Here's to climbing the hill to 30 (eek!).....slowly I hope : )

Here's to celebrating!

Cheers!