The stoves have eyes

Good news on the landlord front. After a month and a half, my non-working outlet has been fixed. This just leaves the oven (fire hazard) and stove vent (non-existent, would be nice to have).

The landlord and I have a teensy communication issue. We use different words for things. So when the maintenance man came 'round to check out the stove, the landlord told me the issue was maybe with the stove's "eyes". Knobs? Burners? Turns out that he thought the issue was with the burners, when the issue was with a stain above the broiler. I drew him a map to the stain, so we'll see if it gets resolved.

Inspired by this progress, I decided to see what else *I* needed to do in the apartment.

Bedroom:
Hang photo above bed/sofa

Living room:
Hang small Chinese art (Fixed it! Now all I need is a nail)
Sell chairs
Install curtains (I really hate the vertical blinds, and the landlord gave me the ok)
Put Prince in a larger pot (It'll make sense when you see the photos)
"Restore" fake Eames lounger
Re-finish folding chair. (Paint?)
Figure out how to get a TV in here.

Kitchen:
Replace handles (en route)
Mount poster on fridge (just need some magnets)
Project to add some color to the space (planned, probably happening in a couple months)
Organize drawers

Dining room:
Get some flowers for the table
Hang up homemade pop art poster (again, it's the little things you don't realize you need until you don't have them. Like nails)
Hang up other planned poster (it's a secret!)(sort of)
Re-finish chairs

Bathroom:
Install handles (en route)
Art for back wall?

Closet:
More organization (tie rack, tidy things up a bit)

It's a pretty good-sized list for a small space. It's not like a lot of these are things that *need* to be done, it's just me wanting to take it to the next level.

Hope y'all are having a productive weekend too!

The vandals took the handles

I'd selected a winner for the kitchen handles, only to discover that the hardware store would have to re-order the ones I wanted. So in 'a few weeks', y'all will find out which one won. I know, the suspense is killing me too.

But I did take one major breakthrough.






























It opens all the way! Kudos to Amber Von Felts for giving me the idea. And all I had to do was turn the fridge sideways. This actually opened up a little more space in the kitchen, which I put to good use.






























A little more kitchen storage space. It's from Modernica and it's in quite good condition. Right now it's slated for cookbook storage, with maybe a wine rack on top. Because all the 2 buck chuck I drink deserves a wine rack.

But there it is. I'm... done buying furniture. It's all where it needs to be. It's nice to know I can actually focus on enjoying my apartment now.

The joys of apartment hunting

Now that I'm employed and graduated, I'm on that next great step: finding my own apartment. I'm taking y'all, my very very supportive readership along for the ride.

My needs are simple:
-Air conditioning
-Full kitchen
-Close to work
-Within my budget (not much)

I've found a handful of opportunities.
The two cheapest ones are a 20 minute commute to and from, and aren't in the greatest of neighborhoods. But they're full kitchens in historic buildings and are about 450 square feet each. Not a bad deal.

The middle option is a wild card. Not that much more per month, but it's only a 10 minute commute to and from, and its got a pool on the premises. The downside is that its a building from the early 60s, and again isn't in the best neighborhood. I also have no clue if its got hardwood floors. Not that those are essential, but they're a nice touch.

Option 4 is the one I'm touring Saturday. The most expensive, but its a mere ONE BLOCK from work. I don't mind commuting, but I'll take a five minute walk over a 10 minute drive any day. It's also in the nicest neighborhood, but I know there's going to be competition for it. The difference between these options is about 75 dollars from cheapest to most expensive, which isn't huge but every dollar helps. I'll have pictures up and ready to go soon, y'all.

...It's Aliiiive!

Greetings, fair readers. It's been ages since I last posted here, but we're in the midst of a big shake-up. The following is going to have to happen in the next month or so.

-Graduating college. That's right, no more resting on my laurels in a safe and sheltered bubble. (until law school, a second degree or some other craziness, that is) This means I'll have to...
-Get a job. I've sent in a couple resumés, and I have an interview Wednesday. It's not the same as having the job in hand, but I've got my confident boots on. This will let me...
-Get an apartment of my own. So I'll be able to have a whole apartment to decorate? You mean I won't be stuck with just stuff in a room? Yep. This 'adulthood' thing seems pretty sweet. Incidentally, anyone with a line on a 1-2 bedroom place in LA (as close to $700 per bedroom as possible) should give me a tip.

The big looming issue is getting furniture from one place to another. I drive a jetta, which means I can't exactly schlep around sofas in my spare time. Or anything larger than an end table, it turns out.

Ah, rain

Greetings again, occasional readers of this blog. Things have been quiet on my end, due mostly to a little thing called college. The problem with being a student is that you can't really show off pictures of what's been keeping you busy. Baby pictures? yes please. Puppy pictures? adorable. Pictures of 20 page papers on criminal law? er... not so exciting.

So where am I? In exchange for sunny skies and easy access to beaches, I'm living in a very large single room in a shared house (1 girl, 4 guys a cat and NONE of them wash their dishes), paying more to rent a single room than my parents pay for a mortgage. I have a desk chair held together with mailing tape and a desk, which is too short to be comfortable. I do have one luxury: a queen-size bed with 400 count sheets. And when I say 'bed' I mean 'air mattress resting on the floor'.

Nothing like college to keep things interesting. Look forward to seeing more posts soon.