Sunday

In case you're wondering, I "lovingly ripped off" this little survey from Delightfully Tacky. It seemed like the perfect re-kick-start to my blogging adventures. I thought I would take a break for a couple of weeks and see if I was any better for it...but alas I am not. My creative outlets are few and far between, and eliminating the blog only added stress as opposed to decreasing it. I will try and remember this next time I decide to go blogger AWOL.

Reading...
Stuck on the last two chapters of Dresden File's Summer Knight. Once I'm finished I can't decide if I want to continue with the the series or take a little break with Diane Keaton's Then Again.


Watching...
Catching up on my Hulu queue. New Girl, Chicago Fire, Parks and Recreation, and I still have the last episode of 30 Rock there too. I can't bring myself to watch it! Need a new series to though...


Wishing...
I could get the remainder of my apartment put together. I moved in November and things are still in plastic boxes and art is still sitting on the floor. I need a plan of attack to organize and decorate this place on a limited budget. I would love it to feel more like my home than just a place to crash every night. I know these things take time, but I feel like I'm stalling by not doing the basic projects I've already set up for myself. Hopefully once those things are done I'll have a sense of direction in what I want to do next.


Proud of..
I started working out in my apartment four weeks ago and I'm still at it! I have yet to go outside for a run, but I can already feel a difference in my energy level just by doing plyometrics. I like the Bikini Body Workout from Self and the Get In Shape for Summer workout from Refinery29. I have also taken a greater interest in nutrition and cooking for myself, which isn't to say that I'm not having cereal for dinner every now and then, but I'm getting better!


Excited about...
Mama Morgan decided to come to Chicago for a few days at the end of March! Also the Atlanta trip and Color Run is fast approaching.


Impatiently awaiting...
Spring's arrival and the opportunity to wear all my sundresses and shorts again. I realize that I should be looking for on sale boots and winter coats, but I can't help but browse sandals, skirts, and swimwear for the upcoming Atlanta trip. As lovely as Chicago is in the winter, it's even better in the summer.

Nooks and Crannies

I would like to introduce you all to my lovely yet extremely awkward nook space. My neighbor tells me that everyone else has shelves in theirs, but not me. I have this adorable little nook.

Right now the nook houses my rocking chair and pseudo-end table/storage unit/bucket of summer clothes that I need to find new homes for. Plus my Christmas Tree, Albert. As happy as Albert is with his situation, I really think I need to spiff it up. I did a lot of soul searching and Pinteresting and decided that I wanted the nook to be...

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...and adorable nook office! Clean and simple. I love the one drawer writer's desk with a chair and a file cabinet for extra storage (for my endless amounts of notebooks) and the two or three wall shelves for my books and tchotchkes. Just a cozy little place to work and be inspired. Seems like the perfect place to set my laptop up and type or go to first thing in the morning and write. I'm glad I didn't just get boring old shelves in my nook!

The Grand Tour

Sine moving in last Monday I haven't had a ton of time in between work and theatre to find a place for everything. Bear with me here, it's not exactly Apartment Therapy Tour-ready!

 

When you walk in to my apartment this is your first view: my bed. Roommate, or should I say Prior Roommate has since installed my red curtains and helped me hang up my little round mirror. It was a little strange at first sleeping in the entry way. It's kind of like staying in a hotel actually.

 Obviously I have a long way to go, but at least I carved out a sleeping space!

 You walk down a little hallway, on the left hand side is the bathroom which had absolutely no storage outside of a small cabinet over the sink. The baby-duck-yellow tiles seem to be clashing with my deep purple shower curtain, but for now it'll do its job. On the right side of the hall is my walk in closet that I haven't been able to take a picture of yet...it is a hot mess. 

The hallway takes you to the breakfast nook where my futon and TV are currently stashed, it's a cozy little nook, and I'll most likely get a tension rod and curtain to block it off when guests come to stay so they have their own little place. As you can see the plant-babies are making themselves at home.

 

My kitchen is also a sad state of affairs as there is about a foot of counter space divided in half by an XL sink. and my microwave is still sitting on boxes...

 

Part of the struggle with studio living combined with quirky Chicago apartment architecture is that there isn't always a lot of storage. This kitchen has extra tall cabinets, but no drawers. The silverware is currently living on the futon until a microwave stand with drawers can make its way in to my apartment.

Despite its peculiarity, from the very beginning it's felt like my own, which I've never had before in an apartment. It's a point of pride that I'm doing it all on my own in Chicago...until the rent is due anyway. I'm more excited than ever to make this apartment my home.

Apt.

This Monday I became an official big girl. I sat through new hire orientation and an employee health care meeting and only laughed at the sexual harassment video once (I'm sorry, but those things are just so darn contrived). After that I hopped on the el, set foot on a new red line stop and signed my first solo lease. No co-signers, no roommates, just me and my little studio in Chicago!


I wish I had taken some pictures of it, but it opens up in to a bedroom with a hallway leading to a kitchen and breakfast nook and a giant walk-in closet. I can't wait to move in at the end of October and make it my own!

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Dahlias

If you will recall, back in winter I posted the five things I looking forward to in Chicago Spring. With only five official days left in Spring, Roommate and I payed a visit to the garden store in Andersonville to pick up an window box herb garden for him and some purdy flowers for myself. I chose Dahlias because I thought they'd get a lot of sun from my "patio" and they are so gosh-darn purdy! Besides which their little care tags said they'd be great for window boxes!

I came home to them the next day thrashing in the wind (didn't take the alley in to consideration) and dry as a bone. Five minutes of Google search proved to me that I was way out of my league. The soil needs to be kept damp but you can't over water them! One thorough watering a week and maybe little watering when it gets hot. Not only that but they're supposed to grow to be three or four feet tall! I crammed three of those suckers in to a planter box and now I'm starting to feel bad for them. I've stunted their growth!

I'm feeling pretty down on myself as a plant-mother, but I'll be even more upset if I kill $27 worth of flowers. I think the answer might be to prune them in to small window box-sized shrubs or move them to bigger pots. But until I make my final call about them...they sure are purdy.

Futon-Palooza

I know it's been quite some time, but I'm finally able to cross something off my 24 Before 24 list!

24. Buy a couch

 

 

Well, it's not technically a couch, but it is a darn comfy futon. My dress is from the Target Webster Collection and it too is one of the comfiest things I own.

 

And I didn't technically buy it, these folks did. When they came to visit they slept in my bed, and Viking and I re-located to the futon. I love walking in the door and seeing it there! I squeal at it like it's been waiting for me to come home and lay on it. His name is Ernie. Also, note my Dad...texting! He and Reid were text connected pretty much the entire time due to the lack of television in my apartment. Sorry Dad, maybe in the next apartment!

After the futon buying, breakfast eating, and general exploration, they had to leave. Mom will be back in a month, and when I hit Columbus in July I'll see Dad.

 

Thank you very much for visiting Mom & Dad! It helps take my mind off things and reminds me how strong I am.

 

 

Shopping My Closet

One of the perils of renting in Chicago (or in general) is the severe lack of storage space. My closet is more impressive than I expected, but with the addition of my Spring and Summer wardrobes space had become limited.

While I appreciate my closet for its high shelving and depth, it has a tiny door making parts of it very difficult to reach or see what I have back there.

But no more! For I have bought...a garment rack!

I got the idea while watching No Strings Attached...alone...the day before Valentine's thankyouverymuch (you can see it off to the right in this picture). It fits nicely in the nook between my closet and the door where I hang all my purses. Those bins are full of my winter clothes. Currently I have no place for them, so they will remain an end table/catchall.

It makes shopping my closet so much easier and adds some visually appealing "creative clutter" to my space. It's also going to make #22 on my 24 Before I'm 24 list a lot easier:

22. Shop my closet and wear all of my clothes. If I don’t, I have to donate it at the end of the season

I bought my garment rack at Target and it serves its purpose well enough for what it costs. Hopefully once my career becomes a little more lucrative I'll go for aesthetic and throw down the cash for the commercial grade version at the Container Store.

What do you think? Would you ever have a garment rack in your apartment?

Sunday

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! How beautifully desolate this picture looks. It's a little funny because I know exactly where this was taken; it's part of my morning commute. It reminds me that we only have a few more weeks until Spring arrives!

I went to a cast party last night and am still recovering (from lack of sleep and too many cupcakes...no really!) When I get home tonight I hope there's a Skype date with E and some productive cleaning. Apparently there is such a thing as Spring Nesting, and I'm just ahead of the curve. When my hours are consistently higher at work I have big plans for the nook between my bedroom door and the closet where I've been using plastic storage bins as an end table. I'll keep you posted!

-K.K.

P.S. Happy 175th Birthday Chicago!

Photo via

24 Before I'm 24

Has anyone kept their New Year's Resolution this far? I normally make small resolutions that will help me improve, but that aren't too hard to keep. One year it was to take better care of my teeth, another it was to not box dye my hair (I went through a different color every other month phase) and last year it was not to buy any new make-up or products until I'd finished the ones I already had. Want to guess how well that worked out? "Oh, but I don't have hot pink lipstick yet!" I'm still working on that.

This year I decided to go a different direction. Inspired by a post at Delightfully Tacky I decided to make a 24 things to do before I'm 24 list. It's perfect because they're all accomplish-able goals and since I turn 24 in six months it gives me a shorter deadline than say, a bucket list.

Here's the list:

1. Write a pitch for a travel book

2. Buy one investment piece I’ll have forever

3. Travel to one place I’ve never been before

4. Fill five notebooks with writing

5. Dye my hair

6. Buy a new camera

7. Be happy and self-sufficient with my employment

8. Find a work-out regiment that makes me happy

9. Complete a full length play and submit it

10. Save up enough money for a puppy

11. Take an improv class at Second City

12. Finish reading the books on my shelves

13. Go on a trip with Viking Boyfriend

14. Finish making the dress and skirt I started

15. Complete one application to Grad School

16. Start shopping vintage more often

17. Buy my brother a drink on his 21^st birthday

18. Buy a great format for my blog

19. Get a credit card

20. Promote myself without being embarrassed

21. Use all the old lip glosses in my make-up drawer

22. Shop my closet and wear all of my clothes. If I don’t, I have to donate it at the end of the season

23. Donate money or time to charity

24. Buy a couch

I'll keep you updated on my progress, but are there any you'd like to join me on?

Winterize

Here at the Macaque's Igloo (the decided name of our apartment) we have had the good fortune of never having to turn our heat on. We live on the second floor of a three story apartment building and I can only deduce that there is some kind of heat sandwich occurring. I have been going to bed with jersey sheets, a quilt, blanket, and comforter and a full set of sweatpants on, but still...

This morning I woke up shivering, despite my many layers and the cold proof curtain panels which were the BEST that $10 could buy. So I hoofed it down to the little corner hardware store and picked up some "saran wrap" and frost king tape and went on to winterize my windows; only to discover that the panels I bought were too short. Like, two inches too short.

Determined not to have to leave the apartment and face the cold again, I cut up one of the panels we used for the kitchen and made a "franken-panel" out of it. The seal: beautiful. I think I can take this skill straight to the bank.

So hopefully we can hold off on using the heat some more, you know, until it gets really really bad. Because there is no happiness in the world like receiving an electric bill for less than $25 dollars. Although I'm sure the pain of frostbite cancels that out.