Ever look back and wonder what you've been up to since high school? It's only been three years for me, but I still can't believe how fast time as flown by!   Here's a fun timeline:   TODAY... (July 2014) Live in Boston, work as a bartender and continue to work towards my BS in biology.  

 
1 YEAR AGO... (July 2013) Recently moved from Ohio to Maine, worked at Applebee's, and had recently graduated with an Associate in Science.  

  2 YEARS AGO... (July 2012)  Lived in Ohio, worked as a lifeguard and was finishing up my freshman year of college.  

3 YEARS AGO... (July 2011) Lived in Ohio, worked as a lifeguard and at Subway, and had just graduated from high school.  

 What have you been up to since high school?

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Friday Confessions

Mixing things up a bit today and linking up with Leslie to confess a few things!  

I confess...  

ONE// I'm inhaling a pack of graham crackers and frosting as I write this. My excuse? I have to clean out the pantry - moving in a month!

TWO// The wing back chair that I talked about painting last week? YUP, still working on it. In fact, here is a beautiful shot of how it looks right now. Slow and steady wins the race, I guess.

 

...and then I ran out of paint...

THREE// I'm on complete lazy mode this summer. I've planned 4 different week long vacations, and have only been working 2-4 days a week. Life. Is. Good.

FOUR// I'm addicted to Ikea. As soon as I get my Zip Card, I will be zipcar-ing it to Ikea to purchase all kinds of goodies from there! Like this and this.

FIVE// I butchered my cats hair cut. Yes, yes I know NOW that you should never attempt to shave a cat yourself. Get it done professionally! I was so fed up with all her long cat hair everywhere that I begged L to borrow his razor, and I took matters into my own hands. Long story short, I made a huge cat hairy mess in the apartment, and only managed to shave a little off of her. Oh, and I accidentally must have swiped her whiskers because she's missing them on one side. I'm so embarrassed. The even sadder part... I have to take her to the vet to get her shots updated again before I can take her to the groomers. SO.. we're both working up enough confidence to embark on that adventure. <-- this was definitely the most embarrassing confession!

It doesn't look that bad though! Does it?

 It sure felt good to get that stuff off my chest! Head on over to Leslie's page to join the link-up and confess to your own bad cat haircut stories.

 

All Aboard!

Recently I've been going to Salem for work, and had to jump outside of my transportation bubble (which consists of walking and taking the subway) to get there. I had to find my way to Salem either by train or boat, and being that the boat left Long Wharf less frequently, the commuter rail it was!    After getting a little taste of how easy and cheap it was to get outside of the city, I began exploring my options. Yesterday, while walking home from the gym, I started to crave a hike. But where does one hike in Boston?   I googled a few places, the closest being Middlesex Fells Reservation in Medford, MA - a short commute outside of the city. There were a few different ways to get there, one option involved taking the orange line to Oak Grove, catching a bus, and then walking the rest of the way. The other meant taking the commuter rail towards Lowell, getting off at the Winchester Center stop and walking 20 minutes to the trail head/parking area. L and I opted for the latter, and bought round trip tickets for only $11 a pop. Score!   

  Winchester is adorable! It has the small town, close knit feel with the cutest downtown shops and bistros. Every yard was trimmed to the T and looked perfect, and we were both in heaven smelling the freshly cut grass. Because we began our hike a little late in the day, we took the shorter trail around Long pond, which gave us enough time to go back to the downtown area and grab a bite to eat afterwards.   

  It was so nice to see the wildlife, and to be somewhere that was absolutely quiet. We were definitely enjoying ourselves. There were several other hikers and dogs which kept it fun, and they had a bench that overlooked the pond which was relaxing.   

(Okay, so this may have been the extent of the wildlife that we saw... but we heard frogs!)

 

L taking his own route.

 

Check out these wild, sugary berries we found!

When finished with our hike, we headed back towards the town, and feasted at a local pizza joint. Delicious. 

Boarded the inbound train around 9pm, and got back into the city 20 minutes later. Talk about convenience!

A New Look

After much thought concerning the layout of the blog, I decided to mix things up a bit, and download a new template. 
I went with a layout from Designer Blogs and couldn't be happier. I was looking for something simple, where I could add my own punch of color where I would like. Right now, I'm keeping most of the font black, however I can easily adjust that!
I went with the Lennon Template, however it was quite the toss up between this one, this one, and this one! Designer Blogs is great to work with. The link was emailed to me right away with step-by-step instructions as to how to install it into blogger.
Look at the difference between then and now!   [THEN]

[NOW]

  Doesn't it feel so much cleaner!? I think the chevron was really getting to me.

Etsy Lust List

I am slowly, but surely developing a white ceramic animal obsession and I don't know why.

I love the simple look against a painted wall or piece of furniture.

They're warm, they're welcoming, and they're animals!

Check out these beautiful Jonathan Adler pieces!

 I need this whale pitcher right now.

... or a penguin!

Such a pretty hippo!

Unfortunately, his art is a little out of my price rage, so I will be looking elsewhere...

With that said, I have been perusing Etsy, in hopes of falling in love with some ceramic pieces, and some other fun decor that I've been lusting over lately.

These adorable elephant book ends by playingdirtypottery are too cute! In the description it says that she pours clay into a vintage mold, and then fires it up in a kiln. Sign me up! I love them just plain white, but I'm kind of envisioning possibly painting them a bright yellow, or teal and setting them up on a white bookshelf. Oh, and did I mention they're only $16!?

Faux animal heads are definitely out and about these days, which is why I am hard core crushing on this polyresin moose head by WhiteFauxTaxidermy ($44.99). This guy measures 13.5" H 12.5" W 4.75" D, however you can easily order one that is larger at $89.99. Don't want him white? They have several painted versions on their site as well. In the future, I am definitely seeing this guy above my bed, planted between the framed ski mountain slopes that I put together!

Our new living room (come August) is very bright, which is why I want to do a navy blue/white/grey theme. I'm envisioning white furniture, a neutral rug, with a grey chair, white couch cover, and fun decorative spurts of navy! I have already picked up a few navy/white chevron pillows, and some navy/white vases, and was ecstatic when I can across this sweet herringbone fabric ($9.50/yard) by PinkDoorFabrics. I would like to cut 12" x 12" squares, and put them as a matte in these Ikea Ribba frames, with a 4" x 4" instagram picture or quote in the center of each one. 

 This isn't exactly "interior decor", but I'm crazy about these monogrammed initial necklaces by SwirlStudioDesigns.

Call me a crazy cat lady, but this painting (and several others) by WaterInMyPaint is too fun! I may just have to give in and frame this baby up on my wall.

What's on your Etsy lust list?

p.s. What color goes well with navy besides white and grey? I need more color in my living room!

p.s.s. If anyone finds a decorative, decent sized ceramic moose please let me know (:

Apartment Tour

I'm excited to share with you, the humble abode that I have been living in for the past 10 months! While I realize I probably should have shown you months ago (ya know, August.. when I move in), I figured it was better late than never.

I believe I had the "I'm not done cleaning/decorating to show the reveal" mentality, so it never happened. But then again, it's constantly changing, so it would really never be completely "done".

So here we go!

I'm going to start you off with a few fun facts!

1.

This was my first apartment! (Aside from the dorm life, and shacking up with the rents)

2.

We scored a killer deal for the area where we are, considering we didn't even sign a lease until June which is pretty late in the game for an August 1st move in for the North End!

3.

By killer deal I mean, it's not really a great deal, but it could have been way, WAY worse.

4.

The unit is maybe 400 square feet.

5.

We live on the top floor which has its benefits, and not so benefits. 

The pros: no loud stomping feet from above and an incredible leg workout more than twice a day.

The cons; heat rises! It's a "sweatfest" here, and I'm not too sure how productive our window unit is. 

6.

The fire department makes weekly trips to our building. There has never been a fire. The building had recently installed all new fire alarms and since the rooms are so small, they were too close to everything the stove, and would randomly go off and would not stop. 

One time, being the concerned tenants that we are, wanted to make sure it was just a faulty alarm, opposed to a carbon monoxide alarm or some other warning. SO L called the non emergency line, told them it was not an emergency, and that we just wanted to make sure everything was okay... and low and behold, two huge trucks came plowing down our street, sirens and all. Bless their hearts. We were a tad embarrassed to say the least, but no worries. Nothing was wrong, just another faulty alarm. Sigh.

7. 

We live down wind of the BEST pizzeria in all of Boston (I'm a little bias). Woot Woot Regina's Pizzeria! So on a warm day when my windows are cracked, the pizzeria serves as the most delectable air freshener a girl could ask for. 

8. 

Our bathroom is the size of a coat closet, maybe 12 square feet. We quickly had to adjust to sitting on the toilet seat sideways, and not being able to move when in the shower. However, it is the most temperature regulated room in the apartment. Cool in the summer, and warm in the winter.

9.

When I say the bathroom is warm in the winter, that's because it's the ONLY room that we heat. Unfortunately, heating that small bathroom in the winter puts our electric bill at about $150, while last month (May) it was $35. I don't even want to think about it. BUT, we do have to keep the area somewhat heated so our pipes don't freeze.

10.

Our fire escape gets us out of the building, but nowhere else. It's basically an extremely small and unsafe window balcony that goes to the neighbors. So I guess that if there was a fire, we would go out onto our "balcony", and wait for someone to air rescue us or come and get us with a cherry picker. Let's hope that never happens.

11.

Our fridge and stove are mini versions, so we had to haul up another mini fridge to hold just our beverages.

12.

We scored in the closet department! Our rooms may be 70 square feet, but we both have closets with sliding doors and added storage above the closet. That's RARE here.

13.

We also have light dimmers and ceiling fans! AND we have the most beautiful exposed brick wall that I am in LOVE with!

14.

My roommates room (bless her heart) looks directly into our neighbors living room. There's a big air chute that goes from the bottom all the way to the top of the building, and only the privileged get to be that close to their neighbor. Unfortunately for her, she does not have a pretty street view, or much air flow. She only has an ugly view of the exterior of a building and a view of Sam and Katy Ray's living room. 

15.

If we would have renewed our lease, rent only would have gone up $50/month. However, if we didn't, they would increase the rent 13% for the next tenant! How can they do that!? It's the North End... and people will pay an arm and a leg to live here. I really need to invest!

So without further adieu, I give you... our beloved North End Apartment!

 My bedroom - A little boring, I know! That big boring, blank wall is pure brick/cement/rock. I can't get a nail, a screw, anything in there. It's certainly tenant proof!

Also, you may notice my bed sits unusually low to the floor. Unfortunately, the hallways up 4 flights of stairs are not wide enough to fit a box spring. So, I have a frame, a bunch of wood slats, and then my mattress! Buying a split or fold-able box spring is certainly on my list! My bureau is the largest piece of furniture either of us own, and getting it up those stairs was a challenge!

 

Our bathroom - I'm beginning to feel claustrophobic just looking at this picture. That's the shower, I'm standing in the doorway, and the sink is right next to me. 

Our living room - Ideally, I would have loved to have put a white or grey cover on that futon, and purchased an accent rug, however that never happened. :( 

This area consists of our futon, a cube storage piece from Target that we use to put the TV on, and our additional beverage fridge.

The kitchenette - Small, but cute. The counters are pretty roughed up, but the white and grey tie into the brick and wood floors nicely so I'm happy! Yea, no dishwasher. Hand washing those dishes for days.

 

My roommates room! Check out that beautiful view!

So there you have it! The grand tour of our ginormous 400 square foot home. 

It's cozy, and it's homey.

Honestly, I really only use it to eat, sleep, shower and to store my stuff so I can't be too picky!

As much as we have loved living here for the past 10 months, we did not renew our lease and will be moving out in August. I shed a small tear, as this was my FIRST apartment, and was home to many great memories of my first year in Boston.

But no worries, I will still be in Boston, and I will still be in the North End. I will just be moving one street over to a much busier, more active street. The new street that I am moving to has a great view, killer roof deck, central AC, crown molding, a real bathroom with a real bathtub, a dishwasher, a full size fridge and stove, gorgeous hard wood floors, stainless steel and granite, and twice as much living space. Score! Can't complain about an upgrade, and extremely fortunate to have found this place.

I've very excited about the move, and have already begun thinking up interior design plans, and have picked up a few decorating accessories! 

Table Time

If you're in the furniture carpentry mood, then I insist you stop by Ana White's website. It is chock full of a variety of building plans that will leave you proud and feeling accomplished after you tackle your first project.

I had been hoping to build a table for some time now, but had been unable to find the time to get out of the city to take on this fun project. However, this weekend I was able to put aside a few hours where I had no work or class to get things started!

I had been eyeing barn wood dining room tables for awhile, and new I wanted to take a similar route that resembled that distressed look, however I wanted something that didn't involve a great deal of tools and equipment that was not available to me.

I found this cute coffee table on Anna White's site that looked sturdy and adjustable with an easy to work with plan. After making some minor tweaks to the measurements, I came up with some dimensions that fit my needs. A counter height table that had a decent tabletop surface.

First, I trekked it out to Lowe's and had some wood cut.

I designed my table to be approximately 32" high x 32" wide x 48" long

Cut List:

4 - 4x4 Posts @ 34.5" (Legs)

2 - 1x4 @ 28.5" (Leg Joiners)

2 - 1x4 @ 33" (Side Aprons)

2 - 2x6 @31.75" (Breadboard Ends)

9 - 2x4 @36" (Tabletop Slats)

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If you are comparing my dimensions to the one that Anna instructs you to use you will notice that I opted out from using the end apron spacers, and the tabletop supports. I honestly didn't think that I needed the 2x2 table supports because I wouldn't be supporting that much weight on the table, and it would still be very VERY sturdy without them. I also didn't use the end apron spacers because I cut them too short by accident. Oops! Oh well. I didn't need them and you can't even tell I didn't use them because the breadboard covers that area anyways.

Each of the 28.5" leg joiners were screwed (2.5" screws) to the posts leaving .75"of the post uncovered on either side.

The 33"side aprons were securely screwed into the sides of the leg joiners to create your square.

I used three cans of Rust-oleum American Accents in Satin Blossom White to paint the legs and sideboards of the table. Be sure not to let it drip and/or run and to cover the areas evenly.

Once the paint had dried I attached the 2x4 slats, and 2x6 breadboards to the top. I just used 2.5" screws.

Using wood filler, each of the screw holes were filled, and then quickly scrapped off with a putty knife and sanded down. Make sure to buy the stainable kind!

I used Minwax Dark Walnut to stain the top of the table. This stain goes on VERY dark. I covered the entire table with one coat, waited an hour (because I am super impatient), and then covered the entire table with another coat. About one hour later, I covered the table with a finishing coat by Minwax. Ideally, you should wait 12-24 hours between each layer of stain and finishing coat, however I am wicked impatient and was also on a time crunch to get it done before I had to head back into the city.

After letting it dry, the results turned out superb. I'm so glad I only put on one to two coats of stain. It made the texture of the wood significantly stand out against the dark walnut stain. Beautiful!

Sorry for the bland instagram picture. I wasn't able to snap an attractive staged picture of it in the house before I had to leave, however next time I'm in Maine, I'll be sure to spruce it up and take a picture of it!

Next project up would to be to build some benches to accommodate this beaut!