Showing posts with label home life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label home life. Show all posts

Wednesday, December 19

Five Years in Ornaments

On our very first holiday season together Jeffrey and I started a tradition. Each year we buy one ornament to represent that year of being together. The very first was an animal and we've kept the tradition going ever since, buying new animals each year. I thought I would share with you our five years of ornaments as they sit prettily on our first real Christmas tree!


1st year: a penguin from Happy Feet 
(Hallmark)


2nd year: a frog prince/fairy 
(Target)


3rd year: a glass bird with gold and feather detailing 
(Pier One)


4th year: an owl made of twigs and branches
(Target)


5th year: a red knitted fox
(Target)

Friday, November 30

Favorites: November 2012

Can you believe we're nearly all the way through November already? The holidays are fast approaching! This is a new feature to Apartment 54, and one that I happen to really like when I subscribe to a beauty guru channel on YouTube.

The premise is simple: At the end of each month I'll post what my favorite products for both the home and beauty are so you can see what I loved that month and maybe get a few ideas about things you can incorporate into your life.

November 2012 favorites
Loreal Power Volume Collagen mascara in black/noir 
Jordana FabuLiner Liquid Eye Liner in 01 Black ($1.99-2.99 at Walgreens)


Smith's Rosebud Salve ($6 at Sephora)
bioinfusion Hydrating Conditioning Balm ($6.99 at Walgreens)


Loreal Paris Magic Lumi Concealer ($12.99 at Walgreens and also CVS)


Suave Kids Detangling Spray in Double Dutch Apple ($1.88 at WalMart)
CVS Purifying Mint Masque 


Turkish Peach candle ($5.99 at World Market)
Mirror Mosaic Pillar Platters Collection ($2.99-6.99 at World Market)


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Tuesday, November 13

Television Shuffle

A short time ago we somewhat impetuously purchased a new television. The TV we've had for a long time is the one Jeff bought off of Craigslist in undergrad, and it's a 55" rear projector that was a near disaster to move into our upstairs apartment. It's held up great over time but we were starting to notice some digital wear and tear. So I randomly spotted a sale for a TV in Target for a really great price, and when we went to one of our Targets that night we found another TV that was also a great deal but on a better TV. It had a better refresh rate, was LED instead of LCD, was slightly bigger, and originally much more expensive. Even with the sale price it was more than we had anticipated purchasing. So we signed up for a Target Red Card to take off an additional 5% and bit the bullet.

And then we came home and realized we had nowhere to put it.

Since the weather started cooling down, and because I tend to need more space than my desk has, I'd been using the dining room table as my work station/office. However that afternoon I had cleaned the desk up and was preparing to move back to it so I could have some peace and quiet again.

Well, plans change. The new TV went on my desk in the bedroom and when we realized how stunning the picture on it was, we started to forget about the old clunker sitting in our living room. Soon we came to realize that we were using one more than the other and that it was more difficult to sit and watch movies/shows on our bed than it was on our couch, and so began the great TV migration.

Yes, this was actually my idea. And to be honest, I didn't really think Jef would go for it. But he did.


Thankfully the TV is on wheels so it was easier to slide it into the other room. There was a tough corner to navigate but that went surprisingly smooth. 


The couch became the temporary home of everything in the living room. I have never appreciated that sometimes you have to make a mess before you can clean. 


The new TV in the old place. Once we got the big one out we saw just how spacious our living room is. When this TV (which is 40") was in the bedroom we were so close to it that it seemed huge. Now in the living room, with us sitting on the couch several feet away, it seems really small. But now it has the Bose sound system installed with it, and it's pretty kick ass.

Trust me, you don't want to see what the big TV looks like in our bedroom. It's a black hole that sucks all the light out of the room. And I don't even think it is plugged in right now. We're discussing ways to get rid of it so that we don't have to move it ourselves once we move next summer. It was a ridiculous feat to get it upstairs in the first place and short of taking it out piece-by-piece, we have no idea how it's going to move out. I'm thinking a piano moving service, or selling it on Craigslist with the caveat that the buy has to move it him/herself. We shall see.

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Monday, October 29

Haul: Zara, Ulta & B&BW

I had quite a bit of fun shopping around online last night and picked up a few things for a great price. For a long time now I've been searching for the perfect handbag. The last one I bought is having some issues with stitching, and while it's been hanging up in the closet waiting to be repaired I've been using one of my nicer stand-bys, a BSBGeneration red leather clutch that unzips to almost double in size. But it's not a practical bag for every day use and I wanted something nice for winter.

One of my favorite celebrities, Olivia Palermo, frequently rocks a purse from Zara, and until last night I thought for sure a Zara bag would be out of my price range. I was wrong, and that's when I found the Zara City Bag with Chains. For just under $50! (And. Free. Shipping.)

$49.90 at Zara.com 
But before purchasing I made sure to check out some images online and even watched a couple videos from YouTube beauty gurus to make sure the purse was as fabulous as it looked. I'm really looking forward to getting this in the mail. And free shipping!!!

One of the beauty gurus on YouTube with the Zara bag also had a video where she used the Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette, which at $50 is a little out of my price range. I found a great alternative from NYX in the Nude on Nude Palette for half the price.

$24.99 at Ulta.com
Also recommended by the same beauty guru was the Real Techniques makeup brushes, and I found a sort of starter kit at Ulta for just $17.99. Best of all I was able to use a 20% off code and got $5 off the price of the palette.

Real Techniques Core Collection Brush Set from Ulta.com
Finally, I checked out Bath and Body Works to see if any sales were happening, and was delightfully happy to see mini candles were just 2 for $5. So I picked up a few.  Well, actually nine.

Fireside, Eucalyptus Mint, Chestnut and Clove,  Marshmallow Fireside, Tis the Season, Leaves, Frosted Cranberry, Autumn Day, and Winter
 I also picked up some bath gels that were on sale. I love me some watermelon scented beauty products!




I used a coupon code to receive 20% off my entire order and receive a free candle. So all nine candles and the two bath gels came out to just over $27 after tax and shipping. At the end of the online shopping day I spent just under $130. For everything. Pretty good (if I do say so myself)!!

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Tuesday, October 9

DIY To Try: Fabric Stool

Another one of Lauren Conrad's "Crafty Creations" here. I've seen these plain wooden stools at Target and Wal Mart but I've always disliked them. They look uncomfortable, and no matter how much I wish I had stools for the one area of my counter that they would work at, I just can't use these... until now. And it seems relatively easy! Granted I don't have an industrial strength stapler, but I'm certain I could convince Jeff to get one... maybe his dad already has one? Men have things like industrial strength staplers, don't they?



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Wednesday, June 13

Clutter, Clutter Everywhere!

If my bedroom looked like this I'd probably keep it clean!
I recently moved my desk into the bedroom so that we could have a bit more room in the living room for our chairs. It's worked out really well so far because I can stay in the smaller bedroom with just a portable air conditioner and not have to turn on the central air, which would cool every room in the house (including the ones I'm not in). Plus, it's nice to have a separate study space from Jeff so that we don't both each other.

The problem with it is that our bedroom is always the least organized room in the apartment. There are always clothes everywhere and our closet is packed beyond belief. I can barely even walk to my side of the bed because there is just so much stuff in the way! I really need to do something about it.

The thing is... I can never throw stuff away. And even when I've put together bags or boxes of stuff to take to Goodwill, they never end up there because we always forget to take them when we go out.

Rather than tackling everything at once perhaps I should instead focus on cleaning one small area, like the walkway to my side of the bed. Then another time I can focus on a different area, while also trying to keep the first area clean. Good in theory? Yes. With summer upon us and the weather reaching up into the 100's every day, it would be nice to have a fresh, clean bedroom that I can look down in and not see piles of clothing.

And maybe one day I'll get to tackle the behemoth that is our closet!

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Monday, April 16

Spring Break/Cleaning

Another term has ended and I'm now officially on break. Because I attend graduate school year for three months at a time, I get one month off in between. This time around, I'm using my free time to clean up and better organize our apartment. The dishes have been piling up for some time now and because neither one of us wants to do them, naturally it falls to me.

So far I've gone one load of dishes washing and I've mopped the floors in both the kitchen and the bathroom. Cleaning in sessions is a lot easier (and less anxiety ridden) than spending an entire day devoted to cleaning, at least for me it is. So while I clean I'll also update my neglected Pinterest boards, blog, and try to organize to the best of my abilities. What a fun spring break this is going to be!


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