[ the new digs ]

Well, I finally feel settled enough (and organized enough!) to share some pictures of my new place!

This is the dining area. The table has two leaves, both of which I keep down when I'm not using it. It makes it more like a shelf and takes up practically no space. The half-wall hides the kitchen, which is a typical kitchen so no picture of that. The hexagon shelves on the wall above the half-wall hold a combo of my ampersand collection and my Buddha collection. The chairs were $4.99 each in the As-Is section of IKEA! That's my still-not-framed-nine-months-later diploma.


Backing up a little, you can see my slowly-coming-together office area. The built in shelves have my books and printer. It still needs a light, and I'm trying to figure out a way to hide the cords from view, because they are freakin' ugly under the desk. You can also see the front of my most triumphant purchase: my new couch. The pillows were on sale at Home Goods, and my big sister made me the blanket a few years ago for Christmas.


Turning around, you see the living area. I freakin' love the wall color, and luckily you can't see the splotchiness of the paint job. Basic living stuff... shelving unit hiding DVDs and showing off some old cameras, my favorite photography books (Individuals, Through The Lens, The Polaroid Book, and Portraits), and a bunch more Buddhas; awesome fantabulous couch; storage ottoman with wooden tray on top in place of a coffee table.


And to the left of the living area is my bed, with another awesome orange wall, and my kick-ass IKEA quilt cover.


Can you guess my favorite color? It ain't navy!

[ chrismukkah decorations ]

Yesterday, Jesse & I got a Chrismukkah cactus and some fun decorations for the apartment. The cactus is actually a Madagascar Palm, so it's kinda part-cactus, part-palm tree. It's very cute, maybe two feet high. I absolutely love it! And I had a blast decorating the living room!

Here are some (probably too many) shots of the living room, decked out in Chrismukkah glory!


Our "mantle," which is actually just a cleared off bookshelf in the built-in. But it works for me! In the bottom section, you can see the awesome Christmas card Sadira sent! Also, please note our 99-cent-store stockings and the boozing penguin candles I bought for Jesse last year!


Jesse's menorah from Israel. The candles are from Target, and are very colorful. Hanukkah starts tomorrow!


One of six penguin candles I bought for Jesse last year. If you look closely, you can see that this one, while rocking a red top hat, is also holding a martini shaker! Also, check out our awesome golden garland and colorful ball ornaments, all of which are from Target.


The Chrismukkah Cactus! It's so cute, and I'm so excited. Again, please note the 99-cent-store twinkle lights, and a lot more Target ornaments.


Almost the exact same shot. I couldn't decide which one I liked better.


A better view of both the scary spikes, and the pretty ornaments: red and blue garlands, covered in many, many globe ornaments.


The Chrismukkah Cactus, again.


The whole deal. I wrapped the table that the Chrismukkah Cactus is sitting on with lights too. We're going to put our presents under it, and it'll almost be like having presents under a tree!


The Happy Hanukkah sign that Jesse has had for three or four years. It used to have three P's in Happy, but I (finally) removed the extra P. No one noticed for the first two years that there was an extra one! Whoops!


And, cheesy as always, Jesse & I in front of the "mantle."


Happy Holidays!!!!!

[ apartment update ]

The day before Thanksgiving, I finally got around to hanging the fun shelves Jesse & I bought a couple weeks ago. I had fun playing with what I was going to put in them, and this is what I came up with:

Largest: leather Venetian Carnevale mask that I got in Italy about two and a half years ago; metal ampersand from my sister

Middle: Jesse's menorah that he bought in Israel over the summer; Buddha statuette from Connecticut

Smallest: Buddha statuette from Siena, Italy

Have I ever mentioned here that I collect Buddha statuettes? I probably have, but I can't remember. Those two are just a small, small taste of the entire collection.



TIATF:

HGTV decorating shows. I love watching them. They taught me to decorate in odd numbers. Three shelves with five decorative elements. Yay for HGTV. Love it. Especially Mission Organization, FreeStyle, and Design on a Dime.


[ps] I also posted over at the other blog. Check it out: 5GG Blog.

[pps] This is my 100th post! Never thought I'd reach that number! Wooooo!