Greening Our Apartment

J and I will be moving over the next few weeks , and I want to get more plants into our living space. I managed to kill many of the plants we had here, but mostly because...okay, I confess that there is probably nothing wrong with the sunlight, the placement or the hardiness of the plants I choose. I just forget to water them! But I want to resolve to be better about this in the new place. Things that might help are a balcony. And my being more responsible (ha!)

In addition to more greenery, I would like to have fresh cut flowers in the apartment more often, and I think there's a perfect spot for them, too, because there is a cutout between our kitchen and living room that has a groove where I would hope we can fit one of these planters from Urban Outfitters:



I also think that a hanging planter would be pretty great in the space next to the sliding glass door to the balcony:


I decided to take advantage of Amazon's universal wish list and set up my own New Apartment wish list. I hope this will help me budget for the new place, and maybe we can eventually get everything we need for our new space without breaking the bank.

Throw Out Fifty Things: Day Three

This week's things came from all over, again.

21. Florals from inside the centerpiece at a reception I went to.
22. The placeholder from another wedding J and I attended last summer.
23. A tank top that has always been too baggy for me
24. A shirt that is sadly a little bit too young on me
25. Some nail polish that I haven't really worn. These purchases can seem like such a good idea until I get them home!
26. Some computer mice that I don't use since I got my Mac, plus they are both missing the USB keys that make them work.
27. Sequined suspenders I bought for St. Paddy's day, then I didn't wear them PLUS I didn't make any money to pay for them. Fail, all around.
28. My old point and shoot which is outdated, cracked, and pretty much useless now that we have two other digital cameras and a bajillion analog cameras.
29. A candle holder that I've had for years, loved, and used, but it is now time to let it go, as it's been half hidden in the bathroom for two years, not doing much of anything—not even really being decor.
30. Scraps from the mesh earring hanger I made last year.
    

Things I Love Thursday

Feel Script from Veer, which I have been lusting after for so long I can't even remember. This font is not super cheap ($99), but I will be purchasing it at some point, when I feel it's necessary. Isn't it fabulous?



This cupcake kit from Meri Meri. Robots and Space! This has J written all over it. Hello, graduation party theme :)

This Flight of the Conchords poster by artist Dan Stiles. I would love to hang this on the walls of our new apartment, but sadly, it's sold out.

We got a new apartment! We signed the lease last night, and will get the keys April 1st! We're still hoping the stars will align and we will be able to work things out with our current place—the lease here doesn't expire until June 31st. For now we're just thrilled to know we have a top floor apartment that has a deck, a shared backyard, 2.5 bedrooms, and allows puppies waiting for us next week.

Throw out Fifty Things: Day Two

My next ten items came from all over the apartment. I was spot cleaning the apartment because we've been having prospective tenants come by to look around.

11. Books—I have a lot of books that I need to weed through, but these two aren't going to sell on half.com or swaptree.com, and they weren't even on the bookshelf. I have two or three cookbooks that I do use, but for the most part, I use allrecipes.com or google. I also don't have the same interest in architecture that I used to, and while I want to keep a few of my old textbooks, I see no reason to have multiple books on the subject.
12. AIA conference bag. There was a point in my life when I didn't think I could have enough bags. It turns out you can, and I do.
13. J's sister found a Kodak Pleaser Instant camera at a thrift store, complete in it's original packaging. I kept it because it was kind of cool, but then I realized that since the camera is for display, I would have already thrown away the box if it were new, so there's really no reason to keep a musty old box...
14. Yarn, and this is only the tip of the iceberg, because this was drifter yarn that had found its way into my closet. I actually have to tackle the collection of yarn at some point to see what I can do with it. Maybe some of it is sellable, but mostly it will probably go to goodwill (or knitting friends).
15. Some Old Spice body wash that was left when J's brother visited our apartment.
16. Old plastic pots that I picked up at the recycling center to plant some seeds last summer. Yeah, that never happened.
17. Big Black Notebook, because like bags, I have lots and lots of notebooks, and this one has been hanging out since college.
18. Some glittery eyeshadow that I have not worn since I bought it, in high school.
19. A paper take-out box that was handmade by a student in my typography class as her final project. We each got one that had candies and a little handmade paper fortune cookie inside. Each fortune was an inspirational quote by a designer/typographer. A cute idea, but also not something I need to hang onto forever and ever.
20. Old catalogs, one of them is the 2009 IKEA catalog, some of the Urban Outfitters catalogs were from around that time, too. Let it go, woman!
    

Things I Love Thursday

TeuxDuex.com, a great website I found recently that allows me to keep to-do lists accessible online, whenever I need them!

Paper Source, once again, where I found some awesome neon Bistro Chalkboard Markers, which I am using to style up the Tommy Doyle's Specials board something wicked.

Also, the fact that doing the Specials board is my "thing" during the week, now.

This blog, Mighty Cycle Media, which I found while searching for ampersand cookie cutters (I think. It was definitely an "ampersand" or "epershand" related query!)

Throw out Fifty Things: Day One

I need to get motivated to clean out the apartment for a few reasons. It started because some people came over to view the apartment—we're moving this summer. I feel way more comfortable when the apartment is presentable, and it also makes everything easier, like working, and finding things.

I also want to take some clothes to Poor Little Rich Girl or The Garment District, something I've been talking about since last summer, but have yet to do. I'm amassing quite the collection, which is why I thought I'd go to PLRG, instead. I think I might get more value for some of my nicer clothes there. The rest are just going to Goodwill.

So to get the ball rolling, I started the Throw Out Fifty Things challenge that I saw on Make Under My Life.

Here's what I've "thrown out" so far:

1. White House | Black Market pants (bought on sale, never really wore)
2. J. Crew jeans (don't fit, not my style)
3. Bakers silver sandals (that I never wear)
4. Lacy tube top from The Limited (worn and loved through college)
5. Black slacks from Forever 21 (these have seen better days. Ick.)
6. Some old Mudd jeans (never wear them anymore)
7. Pink picture frame (haven't used since college)
   
8. Vitamin E oil (I bought a new Sally Hansen cuticle pen which works much better)
   
9. Old phone charger (I guess I should find that old phone)
   
10. Masking tape (is old, is kind of gross, and doesn't stick to things anymore)
    

I'm going to be taking the first four items to Poor Little Rich Girl, the next two to Goodwill, and the last four to the recycling center (well...I might just throw out the masking tape, actually)

Things I Love Thursday

Mad Men, and dolls as Mad Men characters. So dapper!

Paper Source's new line of paper bag products. Hello my future Save the Dates, nice to meet you.

This T-shirt from Steadfast Brand. I have this t-shirt in black and purple, but I love it in white! Too bad I would spill something on that white t-shirt within eight nanoseconds of owning it...

This video from Cyriak.

♥ Lloyd Dobler

Things That I Would Like To Do In My Apartment

• Yoga, which does not require, but it helps to have, a quiet peaceful environment
• Working in peace, which does require a somewhat peaceful environment
• Being able to take a nap in the middle of the day when I'm working from home and/or am sick.

The tactics I have tried to counter the constant noise from our neighbors, the riffraff outside, the traffic, the super coming and going, the cleaning company, and the washing machine and dryer have included the following:

• ear plugs
• itunes
• breathing exercise
• yoga (yeah...)
• watching TV really loudly (which is counterproductive when I'm trying to work)

I really like people in two of the units next door, but they have been privy to some of my passive-aggressive, stupidly childish notes, that I fully admit are awful and whiny and should even be on the internet for everyone to see. This probably prevents them from actually wanting to be friends with me (and J, by default), which sucks.

We need to move. I don't think it's too much to ask for a top-story apartment in a house around here. Maybe even something with a balcony so I can knit and drink beer outside on a nice spring day. June 30th cannot come soon enough. Prospective tenants are coming to look at the place on Monday. I will do everything I can to make sure they're frightened as hell.

Neti Pot

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mybloodyself/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

I have been suffering from a head cold for the past three days, and I finally took the plunge and invested in a neti pot. I have been wanting to try this method of cleansing my sinuses for a long time, even though it looks pretty gross and unpleasant.

It is gross. And unpleasant. But my sinuses are now clear, and I'm really happy with this decision. With my asthma and hay fever season coming up, I'm pretty jazzed to make this part of my routine.

It hasn't really helped with the cold I have now, except to provide some temporary (as in five minute) relief, but maybe it will cut down on the time I spend being sick.

For anyone else who is curious or interested, Jala Neti is an old Hatha Yoga custom from India. The literal Sanskrit translation is "water cleansing," but it's basically nasal irrigation. You fill your neti pot with a warm saline solution, and you flush out your sinuses by putting the pot first in one nostril, letting the water flow out of the other nostril, then switching sides. You want to lean your head so that your forehead is level with your nose, so that none of the solution is coming out of your mouth. My pot came with pretty clear instructions, and after watching a few videos online, it came pretty naturally (I've been researching this for months, now, so I've seen my share of people demonstrating the neti pot).

This shouldn't burn and it shouldn't be completely unpleasant, although I don't think it's fun, nor does it feel very good the first few times, at least not while you're actually irrigating. And my nose is currently still running like crazy, but I'm not convinced that it's not just because of my cold.

Look for more on my neti pot and whether or not it makes allergy season remotely bearable.

Things I Love Thursday

Hipster Puppies . This tumblr blog about hipster puppies is...weird? Funny? Cute? I don't know, mostly I like looking at pictures of puppies, but these puppies are total hipsters! They're, like...cooler than me.

Speaking of Work Shoes

AE Soft Ballet Flat. $19.95


American Eagle Cutout Flats. $29.50
They don't look very sturdy or reliable, but hot damn are they cute.