Life has been slowing down more lately. It's interesting how I wanted to be home more and now that I am I get bored so easily. My home is full of lots of peace right now, it helps when Bubby is napping and the washing machine isn't running.
I had several houses that I usually cleaned for fall through this month and I am left with being at home more. I'm not complaining, but when the bed is made, laundry is done, dishes all clean, and the house in general is picked up I find it hard to find things to do. I can see why stay at home mom's go to so many play groups, they need the social time! So, here's what I've been filling my time with:
1. Organizing
*I've managed to get Bubby's room, the living room, the kitchen and the bathroom organized!
2. Trying New Recipes
*Zesty Italian Cream Cheese Chicken
*Tex Mex Roll-Ups
*Baked Oatmeal
*One Pot Goulash
*Pumpkin Oatmeal
3. Reading lots of books to Bubby
*He's in this new phase of wanting to read the same books over and over again. It's starting to bother me a little so after reading one book 10 times I casually slip it behind the couch so he can't find it. Don't worry...I pull them out for the next day!
4. Running errands during the day
*It's AMAZING how quickly you can grocery shop at 10 a.m. compared to 4 p.m.! Smaller lines, less people, and more variety!
5. Watching more TV
*This probably isn't the best thing. I'm in the middle of reading The Fellowship of the Ring but I am a super slow reader and usually only read 2-3 pages a day (on average!). Days when I am home I like to watch Rachael Ray and sometimes Dr. Oz. With Bubby, I like to watch The Cat in the Hat, Arthur, and Martha Speaks (super cute!). We also watch Wheel of Fortune just about every evening. Plus, Hubby is taking me through the seasons of LOST and I am really getting into it. It's hard to not watch an episode during the day. There are so many other shows I would watch regularly but since we don't have cable I have to load them on Hulu, like Project Runway All Stars, Last Man Standing, Once Upon A Time, and I would really like to start watching Downton Abbey. You're probably thinking "wow...that's a lot of TV" but really I don't watch all of that every day.
6. Home Business
*I'm also busy working on my home business and trying to expand my network of people. I have a feeling God has a lot in store for me and I'm really excited to see where this business takes me. It's also a blessing to be able to work from home the majority of the time.
We will see what God does in the next few months. I am praying and relying on God that he will sustain us and help us to flourish like the olive trees he talks about in Psalms. I read them almost daily and it is a constant reminder that God is on my side!
Showing posts with label Apartment Living. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Apartment Living. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
A Series On Apartment Living
Welcome to our bathroom!
Our bathrooms is very much updated compared to what it was before we moved in. The mirror on the wall used to be about a foot to the right (not even above the sink), the drywall was falling off, there was no shower-just a floor with a hose coming out the wall and plastic to create a shower, and the floor...I don't even remember what the floor was. So before we moved in our landlords put up some new drywall, painted, moved the mirror OVER the sink, put in a new shower, and new linoleum. Personally, I like this bathroom better than our previous home.
What I like about this bathroom:
1. Lots of light!
2. Mostly updated and fresh feeling
3. Easy to clean (with no tub, little counter space and a small amount of space it doesn't take long)
What I don't like about this bathroom:
1. No bath tub. I really enjoy baths! Growing up I would take a bath every night and then shower every morning. Not having a bath tub is really a downer for me. It also makes giving Bubby a bath somewhat difficult. Instead we have to set him in the bottom of the shower and spray him with the shower hose. We asked our landlords to put in a shower hose specifically for this purpose. Bubby doesn't seem to mind as long as we keep the water on him so he doesn't get cold.
2. Little storage space. As in any small apartment with a child, you really are limited on storage space. Literally the only closet in our apartment is our bedroom closet (which you will see how bad it is when that room comes) so here's my solution: dresser in the hallway full of towels and washcloths, hair supplies under the sink, toothbrushes/toothpaste and daily meds in cabinet above the sink, make-up and extra items on shelf next the sink, and baskets of brushes and more hair supplies on the shelving over toilet. I also have rods hanging on the doors for our towels. It makes for a not so nice looking bathroom, but it works!
3. Size. I dream of having a bathroom with tiled floor, a walk in shower with glass doors, a jacuzzi tub as well as 2 sinks and plenty of storage space. I'll be honest...I don't know when that day will come, so for now I'll just have to deal.
4. Old Door. The bathroom door does not lock. So when you come to my house: Door open=free for all! Door closed=do not enter! note: Bubby likes to sneak in the bathroom to unroll the toilet paper, flush the toilet, and pull my feminine products out of the cupboard to throw all over the place.
5. The only outlet is the one that is attached to the light fixture above the mirror.
6. The shower door doesn't always close all the way which means if I don't pull really hard so that it latches I get water dripping onto the floor.
In my opinion, this bathroom works. It has all the essentials and I'm VERY happy that I don't have a "hole in the wall" shower like it was before.
Just a few fun facts about our bathroom:
1. When you come over put down the toilet seat before you flush. I learned on Dr. Oz that feces go flying everywhere when you flush with the lid up! Seriously!
2. Bubby will gladly come and unroll your toilet paper for you, or flush the toilet. Just please wash his hands afterward. Again...I don't need feces anywhere, especially on my child!
3. Don't be fooled by the Bath and Body Works Foam Soap Bottle, I make my own soap and use the recycled foam bottles.
4. There is some room spray on the shelf above the toilet.
5. The seashells in the basket and picture on the shelf are from our first trip to the ocean at Myrtle Beach, NC.
6. The drawing above the mirror is hand drawn by my Hubby, and the wooden turtle is from our trip the Isle of Palms in South Carolina.
Our bathrooms is very much updated compared to what it was before we moved in. The mirror on the wall used to be about a foot to the right (not even above the sink), the drywall was falling off, there was no shower-just a floor with a hose coming out the wall and plastic to create a shower, and the floor...I don't even remember what the floor was. So before we moved in our landlords put up some new drywall, painted, moved the mirror OVER the sink, put in a new shower, and new linoleum. Personally, I like this bathroom better than our previous home.What I like about this bathroom:
1. Lots of light!
2. Mostly updated and fresh feeling
3. Easy to clean (with no tub, little counter space and a small amount of space it doesn't take long)
What I don't like about this bathroom:
1. No bath tub. I really enjoy baths! Growing up I would take a bath every night and then shower every morning. Not having a bath tub is really a downer for me. It also makes giving Bubby a bath somewhat difficult. Instead we have to set him in the bottom of the shower and spray him with the shower hose. We asked our landlords to put in a shower hose specifically for this purpose. Bubby doesn't seem to mind as long as we keep the water on him so he doesn't get cold.
2. Little storage space. As in any small apartment with a child, you really are limited on storage space. Literally the only closet in our apartment is our bedroom closet (which you will see how bad it is when that room comes) so here's my solution: dresser in the hallway full of towels and washcloths, hair supplies under the sink, toothbrushes/toothpaste and daily meds in cabinet above the sink, make-up and extra items on shelf next the sink, and baskets of brushes and more hair supplies on the shelving over toilet. I also have rods hanging on the doors for our towels. It makes for a not so nice looking bathroom, but it works!
3. Size. I dream of having a bathroom with tiled floor, a walk in shower with glass doors, a jacuzzi tub as well as 2 sinks and plenty of storage space. I'll be honest...I don't know when that day will come, so for now I'll just have to deal.
4. Old Door. The bathroom door does not lock. So when you come to my house: Door open=free for all! Door closed=do not enter! note: Bubby likes to sneak in the bathroom to unroll the toilet paper, flush the toilet, and pull my feminine products out of the cupboard to throw all over the place.
5. The only outlet is the one that is attached to the light fixture above the mirror.
6. The shower door doesn't always close all the way which means if I don't pull really hard so that it latches I get water dripping onto the floor.
In my opinion, this bathroom works. It has all the essentials and I'm VERY happy that I don't have a "hole in the wall" shower like it was before.
Just a few fun facts about our bathroom:
1. When you come over put down the toilet seat before you flush. I learned on Dr. Oz that feces go flying everywhere when you flush with the lid up! Seriously!
2. Bubby will gladly come and unroll your toilet paper for you, or flush the toilet. Just please wash his hands afterward. Again...I don't need feces anywhere, especially on my child!
3. Don't be fooled by the Bath and Body Works Foam Soap Bottle, I make my own soap and use the recycled foam bottles.
4. There is some room spray on the shelf above the toilet.
5. The seashells in the basket and picture on the shelf are from our first trip to the ocean at Myrtle Beach, NC.
6. The drawing above the mirror is hand drawn by my Hubby, and the wooden turtle is from our trip the Isle of Palms in South Carolina.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
A Series on Apartment Living
I thought I should finally give you the official tour of our apartment. I'll take is slow so you can really grasp how much we have learned about living in a small apartment with a child, so I'll share about each room in separate posts through "A Series on Apartment Living."
Welcome to my kitchen! I tried to get pictures from all angles.
The back door leads into our storage room and the other leads to our hallway/entry way.
This doorway and window open to the living room.
Yes, the washer and dryer are in my kitchen.
This is the only counter space we have in our kitchen, very limited!
Our kitchen is actually quite large compared to our previous home. What I really enjoy about this kitchen is that we have enough room for the dining room table. It's really easy to put Bubby in his chair and leave him to eat while I do other things, like doing dishes, putting away groceries, or cooking. I also like how much space there is to get around. In our previous home there was a huge wall between our dining room and kitchen which would have made it challenging to get anything done while Bubby was eating.
If you can tell in the pictures, our floor is brand new linoleum that our Landlords put in right before we moved in. If you had seen the rotting wood floors that were here beforehand you probably would have thought I was nuts for moving in here. The cabinets were also freshly painted.
Some people are very particular about the location of their washer and dryer and you would think that the last place you would want them is in your kitchen. However, I actually really like having the washer and dryer in our kitchen. It's so easy to toss in a load when it's location is so easily accessible. When our washer and dryer were in the basement at our old house I would have to haul a load down the stairs, but now it is so convenient! I get a whole lot more laundry done now than I used to!
The kitchen is located in the center of our apartment which I love because I can easily do dishes or cook while Bubby is playing the living room. I also have a window that opens into the living room which really opens the kitchen up and allows for some natural light from the few windows that are in our apartment.
Even though there are many things I do like about our kitchen, there are LOTS of things I absolutely despise:
1) Our stove is awful. We were spoiled with a gas stove before we moved and now we are back to uneven coils and a slow cooking oven. I feel like I have to cook everything twice as long.
2) Our cabinet doors/drawers stick horribly! Sometimes I have to fetch my Hubby to get them open! The plus side to this is that I don't have to child proof my kitchen, the only doors that have a latch are the middle ones because they don't close.
3) Our freezer runs constantly and I can't figure out how to adjust the temp. So whenever I want ice cream I have to defrost it first. The door also doesn't close all the way which allows moisture in and creates a frozen seal which means I have to pull really hard to even get my freezer door open.
4) Old counter tops that stain. Hopefully some day these will get replaced. They are nasty and hard to clean!
5) No storage space. I am very limited on the amount of space to put things. Half of our old kitchen is now packed in our storage unit because we don't have room for it all here. I also have a cart in our storage room here with all of our appliances on it because we have no other place for them in the kitchen.
6) NO DISHWASHER! If you know me at all you know I absolutely despise doing dishes and now I have to handwash EVERYTHING! I think I do dishes about 6 times a day and they take up a lot of the limited counter space that I have available. This makes cooking difficult too because when your counters are covered in dishes you have no room to do anything. Can I just put the dirty dishes in the washer and turn it on "delicate wash"???? This is why I invented paper plate weekends and why when you come over for dinner we will serve you on paper plates rather than our fine china.
Welcome to my kitchen! I tried to get pictures from all angles.
The back door leads into our storage room and the other leads to our hallway/entry way. 
This doorway and window open to the living room. 
Yes, the washer and dryer are in my kitchen.
This is the only counter space we have in our kitchen, very limited!Our kitchen is actually quite large compared to our previous home. What I really enjoy about this kitchen is that we have enough room for the dining room table. It's really easy to put Bubby in his chair and leave him to eat while I do other things, like doing dishes, putting away groceries, or cooking. I also like how much space there is to get around. In our previous home there was a huge wall between our dining room and kitchen which would have made it challenging to get anything done while Bubby was eating.
If you can tell in the pictures, our floor is brand new linoleum that our Landlords put in right before we moved in. If you had seen the rotting wood floors that were here beforehand you probably would have thought I was nuts for moving in here. The cabinets were also freshly painted.
Some people are very particular about the location of their washer and dryer and you would think that the last place you would want them is in your kitchen. However, I actually really like having the washer and dryer in our kitchen. It's so easy to toss in a load when it's location is so easily accessible. When our washer and dryer were in the basement at our old house I would have to haul a load down the stairs, but now it is so convenient! I get a whole lot more laundry done now than I used to!
The kitchen is located in the center of our apartment which I love because I can easily do dishes or cook while Bubby is playing the living room. I also have a window that opens into the living room which really opens the kitchen up and allows for some natural light from the few windows that are in our apartment.
Even though there are many things I do like about our kitchen, there are LOTS of things I absolutely despise:
1) Our stove is awful. We were spoiled with a gas stove before we moved and now we are back to uneven coils and a slow cooking oven. I feel like I have to cook everything twice as long.
2) Our cabinet doors/drawers stick horribly! Sometimes I have to fetch my Hubby to get them open! The plus side to this is that I don't have to child proof my kitchen, the only doors that have a latch are the middle ones because they don't close.
3) Our freezer runs constantly and I can't figure out how to adjust the temp. So whenever I want ice cream I have to defrost it first. The door also doesn't close all the way which allows moisture in and creates a frozen seal which means I have to pull really hard to even get my freezer door open.
4) Old counter tops that stain. Hopefully some day these will get replaced. They are nasty and hard to clean!
5) No storage space. I am very limited on the amount of space to put things. Half of our old kitchen is now packed in our storage unit because we don't have room for it all here. I also have a cart in our storage room here with all of our appliances on it because we have no other place for them in the kitchen.
6) NO DISHWASHER! If you know me at all you know I absolutely despise doing dishes and now I have to handwash EVERYTHING! I think I do dishes about 6 times a day and they take up a lot of the limited counter space that I have available. This makes cooking difficult too because when your counters are covered in dishes you have no room to do anything. Can I just put the dirty dishes in the washer and turn it on "delicate wash"???? This is why I invented paper plate weekends and why when you come over for dinner we will serve you on paper plates rather than our fine china.
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