First Apartment Tour

If I had really been thinking I would have started this blog back when we moved into our first place.  But, I really hadn't gotten into the whole decorating/crafting thing yet.


When we moved into our first apartment we had nothing.  I'm seriously not exaggerating.  We had just spent four days on the road from Arizona to Virginia following our wedding and we only had what we could fit into our PT Cruiser (hint: not much). 


This is pretty much the only picture I have of how crammed we were in that car...

I took this the day we left near New Mexico, it had taken that long for both of us to stop crying.  It was a very emotional and taxing day to say the least.  Leaving our families and friends behind to move across the country was very scary and sad.

That's clothes, game systems, books, random movies, suitcases, a lamp, some wedding mementos, and CDs for the drive.  No appliances, furniture, dishes... nothing. 

When we got to the apartment, the only thing we had in the entire place was an air mattress, comforter, pillows and sheets. 

It's amazing to me to look around now and remember how much we didn't have when we first got to Virginia and how many things we've accumulated over the year and a half we've been married. 

And I feel like throughout this year and a half my decorating style has developed, too. 

Here's the first apartment tour after living there for a year...

As we left our first apartment for the last time, I was upset.  It was the first home we'd lived in together, it was clean and cared for, and we loved it (well, except for the upstairs neighbors who STOMPED everywhere).   I was also emotional because we had left this for an apartment twenty miles closer to base that had the A/C go out on moving day and our oven broke the next day.

Yeah, apartment number two has been... so not fun. 

Chewy Chocolate Cookies

I came across this recipe while doing a simple Google search and since, it has become my favorite go-to easy cookie recipe.  The best thing about this recipe is that they're super simple and delicious.  Oh, and they're made out of items you most likely already have in your cupboard. :) 

Chewy Chocolate Cookies 

2 cups sugar

1 cup butter, room temperature

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups flour

1 ts baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup cocoa

In a large bowl cream butter and add sugar, beating well.  Add eggs one at a time, until well blended.  Mix in vanilla.  In a separate bowl combine flour, baking soda, salt and cocoa; add gradually to butter mixer.  (sometimes you have to add a bit of water).  Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes.

Elmer's Glue Art!

A couple of weekends ago I bought a 7 pack of 12" x 12" canvases at Michael's for $11.99.  After contemplating for days trying to figure out what my first project would be, I finally settled on Elmer's glue art.


I've seen this technique all over Pinterest and I was willing to give it a try.  After re-looking it up again I found out that the nice picture I'd seen many times over with the caption "Elmer's glue on a canvas" turned out to be puffy paint.  (I don't know how many times Pinterest pinners have put an incorrect and misleading description of a picture.  An example: a picture of matte nail polish that says, "broken eyeshadow + clear polish = matte polish!"  Wrong.  If anyone clicked on the source of the picture, that description was not accurate at all.  But, I digress...) 


I decided to go forward anyway because there were other projects that actually used glue and turned out fine.  But, I soon discovered that out of the two mediums, puffy paint would be infinitely easier to work with... So, if you want to try something like this, I would go with puffy paint.  Just a heads up. 

I started off just sketching after I decided I wanted to make a medallion shape and paint it over for the hallway.

After settling on a design it was time for the gluing!

Now, I have a very steady hand.  I could've been a surgeon, my hand is so steady.  Despite that fact, it didn't counteract the unpredictable nature of the glue.  I'd squeeze it out evenly and beautifully and move on to the next section.  I'd go back two minutes later and it globbed all over leaving some thin parts and some fatter parts.  It was extremely frustrating. 

After a significant amount of retouching and drying time (about an hour to two hours), I painted it over with leftover turquoise paint.

After that dried I took some of my Mocha Valspar Glaze...

From Lowes.com

and painted rough brush strokes and let it dry.  I think that once the glue is painted, it looked much better and the globs are less noticeable.

Ta da!  And here it is hanging on my hallway picture wall.

You'll also notice that the bottom left picture frame has been changed from the US Navy picture.  I just used this fabric scrap temporarily because it looks better than the sailor hanging the wrong way... like this: 

Oh, and I never got to mention my little beetle picture in the top right...

Yeah, I painted it.  Technically I copied it from another artist.  Which is fine, I'm not selling it and just using it for my own purposes.  I think he's adorable though. :)

The Project That Wasn't

Some projects may sound good in my head, but in application... they come out terribly.  Case in point... this project.


Self-adhesive rhinestones?  Check.  Nail polish to change their terrible pink color?  Check.  One uninspired Christmas ornament?  Check. 

Ahh... this is starting to look weird....

Hate it!  Yikes!  Buh-bye!

DIY's don't always work out and I can accept that. 

Your Apartment Isn't Perfect

Today has been a very busy day.  I've spent the last two to three hours cleaning up our two bedroom apartment.  Yes, it was THAT messy.  It's mostly from me though because Russ doesn't make too much of a mess (the only thing he really does is instead of scraping off plates or bowls, he puts it right in the sink where it can get soggy and covered in water... that grosses me out more than anything).  But yeah, I'm definitely the messy one.

But, even with a ton of cleaning there are a ton of things that I can't change in my apartment that are aesthetically displeasing.  


Now, this isn't a complaining post.  I'm grateful we have a decent place to live and as much as I miss my first apartment, we couldn't have pets.  I'm grateful that I live in a place that allows me to have the bestest pet in the world.  All in all it was better all around for us to move financially (and Russ doesn't have to drive nearly 50 miles round trip each day). 


This post is more along the lines of 'this is what you have to deal with when you live in an older apartment.'  There's things you're going to shake your head at and decide that you won't be there forever so... you just need to deal (and decorate nicely to hide the imperfections!). 

1.) Older Utilities:

Faceplate held on by tape.  I taped it because it kept falling off.  I don't care about that as long as it works...

2.) Older appliances.  They don't work that great, but I am SO SO grateful that I don't have to grace the laundromat!  My stove is also old and broke down within the first week of our move.

3.) Crazy-weird light fixtures. 

4.) Bathroom weirdness.  See the loveliness corroding the mirror? My only guess is that water has creeped up from the sink (have no idea what people were doing with water all over the wall...) and affected the mirror.  I made the mistake of sticking my finger up there one time out of curiosity (that sounds weird) and it was gooey and icky.  Rental bathrooms can be a strange place.

This is the craziest floor I've ever seen.  It's one pro: it's easy to clean.  (But also difficult to see if it's dirty!)


5.)  General 'what-the-hell?' weirdness and imperfections.  Our bathroom switch (pictured below) drives me crazy.  Also, all of our outlets are upside down.  They still work but it's just strange...

And look how crazy-rippled the wall is!

Our cabinets have tons of space... some don't close all the way...? 

Weirdo butcher block counter.  Nothing sounds more appetizing than cutting raw foods on a counter that was installed in the 80's and used by dozens of tenants.  Yum. 

This closet door may look innocent...

Surprise!  It is barely being held on as it has no floor tracks! 

I know we'll only have to live here for another year and then it'll be on to a new set of problems in another apartment.  I just thought it might be amusing to share the strange happenings of a twenty-five year old apartment!

My Weekend

I had meant to post but my weekend was pretty busy.  On Saturday we had a board game night at one of Russ' co-worker's house so I was busy making a full batch of Ande's Mint Brownies and knockoff Chili's Chili Queso Dip (both found on Pinterest!).  Both of which were a hit and we had a great time.

Sunday we braved Christmas shopping and shopping for nice apparel for the command Christmas party this week.  I picked up these awesome shoes at Payless...

And I'm not a shoe person but these. are. gorgeous.  I'm normally a converse sneaker person but I'm not taking these off at the party.  I don't care if they kill my feet.  Okay, maybe I do.  I hope they don't. :(


I also got around to adding a few more ornaments to our tree...

Russ' early Christmas present from my parents. 

Dwight! 

And Ian got around to snuggling under the tree like a present... 

Instead of sugarplums, I wonder if he's dreaming of catnip?


Or these goofy and hilarious cat toys we bought him for Christmas?

Pinterest Recipe: Andes Mint Brownies

I was originally going to wait until the weekend to try this new Pinterest recipe but, an open bag of Andes mints + being home all day equals... I better make these brownies before I don't have anymore mints! 


They turned out great.  Strangely they seemed better to me the day after baking them because the mints turned into a minty-type crust.  Delicious! :)

Andes Mint Brownies

1 cup butter (2 sticks)
2 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup cocoa
½ teaspoon salt
1 package Andes mints (24-28 mints)

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9X13-inch pan with foil and lightly grease with cooking spray. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cocoa and salt. Set aside.

Unwrap all the mints and coarsely chop. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan over low heat, melt the butter. Remove from the heat and add the sugar, stirring well to combine. Whisk in the vanilla and then the eggs. Blend well.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix well. Gently stir in the chopped Andes mints. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 32-35 minutes, until the brownies are set in the middle but not overbaked. Let cool completely, slice into squares and serve.

Hard to see the mints on the bottom but they become more visible as it cools off.

Definitely making these again... next time in a 9 x 13 because an 8 x 8 went too fast!