Personal Space

"I long, as does every human being, to be at home wherever I find myself."

(Maya Angelou)

Almost a year ago, I posted details and photos of our new apartment in "The Big Move", including the outside, the empty inside, and the furniture we purchased. As I had mentioned, I planned on sharing an update on our apartment life once we had settled in, but realized I never did. I thought about splitting it into a few separate updates, but I might as well fit everything into a super-long summary post. So here it is, an "after" from the "before".

Bedroom

The bedroom is small, with an even smaller closet and a single window, and fits a queen-sized bed, 2 complementary-but-not-exactly-the-same nightstands and lamps, and a corner and 2-door wardrobe to serve as extra closet space for yours truly. It's simple and quiet, and the only sounds we hear are church bells, or birdies outside when they sing with extra cheer.

Light, neutral tones are calming

Korean lacquered box with inlaid mother-of-pearl and my journal

Extra storage with full-length mirrored door

A look inside my wardrobe unit

Towels, handbags, jewelry, clothing, cosmetics, and a few friends

My mirrored corner wardrobe unit holds hanging blouses, cardigans, dresses, and skirts. Sam's clothing is in the regular bedroom closet, we keep our coats in the outside closet, and I store out-of-season apparel in zippered underbed boxes.

Bathroom

The bathroom is very basic, with a sink, mirrored medicine cabinet, toilet, and bathtub. We installed 3 floating wall shelves to hold bath products; a 2-door wall-mounted cabinet with shelf, since the medicine cabinet is very shallow and doesn't hold much; and a small towel rod for our watermelon-y coral Kate Spade Larabee Dot hand towels (the platinum grey bath towels hang on an over-the-door towel rack). A canvas print adds more color to room.

Basic sink and mirror as the starting point

Gifts of fragrance, lotions, and scrubs on added floating shelves

We needed additional storage options

Full view of our added cabinet and towel rod

Monet Nympheas canvas print and Hookless white waffle shower curtain

Hallway

Immediately inside our apartment is a wall-mounted shoe cabinet to maximize space (also holding our wedding cake topper, which I didn't know where else to place). A few steps down the narrow hallway towards the living room is a mini gallery wall of framed photos. I'll eventually add to it since right now most of the photos are wedding-related, which I know is a little lame but we don't have other nice photos yet.

Slim-profile wall-mounted shoe cabinet by the door

Hallway, facing out and facing in

Heading towards the living room

Mini gallery wall, a work-in-progress

Some family photos

Living Room

The hallway leads into the living room, which contains our TV, sofa, coffee table, and a few decorative elements. Before I got married, I lived a very low-tech home life, without cable, internet, even a smartphone, but those things were necessities for my husband. I still don't know how everything works -- TV, cable/Wi-Fi, Blu-ray player and Apple TV -- but I use my iPad every day (the latter 3 were gifts).

TV/media console against "Popsicle Sticks" wall art

Sofa with chaise lounge in front of windows

Living room with a glimpse of the kitchen

Colorful embroidered and canary yellow velvet throw pillows

Blooming calandiva, wedding photos, and abstract floral canvas

Dining Area

The living room has somewhat of a built-in room divider, which allows us to partition the space and have a slightly separate dining area, even though it's really the same room. We have an extendable dining table with chairs, a stacked set of folding bookcases for cookbooks and other items, and we bought a buffet with hutch top after moving in because we needed more storage than what the kitchen provided.

Dining area at end of living room

Decorative items on bookshelves

Shelf with wine bottle corks and books

Cooking and craft books

Dining table and chairs

Hutch and buffet (flanked by Cher and Dionne)

Nicer glassware, dinnerware, serving pieces, and my ceramics

Kitchen

Last but not least is the kitchen. It's small, with very limited counter space, so when prepping and cooking, I place cutting boards on the stove top for more surface area. We installed a wall-mounted pot rack and a microwave oven for convenience, and bought a dual trash/recycler can to make it easy to sort recyclables.

Where we whip up breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and desserts

Stovetop = Countertop in our kitchen

Nice to have a window, even if it faces a building

Requisite rice cooker, and an ultra compact dish rack

Cutting boards, utensils, spices, and at least 5 types of hot sauce at all times

Wall-mounted pot rack with shelf

So there you have our humble abode: simple and comfortable for this space and stage of our life together. What do you think? Next time, I'll share more close-ups of the kitchen -- or more accurately, of meals made in the kitchen -- in my spring food post!

We Are One

"As God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness,

humility, meekness, and patience.

Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other;

just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.

Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony."

(Colossians 3:12-14)

Scripture reading from our wedding program (Colossians 3:12-17)

 

I hope everyone enjoyed Memorial Day weekend! Our 1st wedding anniversary was on Sunday, and we spent it in Chicago, where we visited family and friends over the long weekend. Thank you to our wonderful hosts Grace and Tommy, as well as Vivien and Jace; we were so happy to spend time with our nephews and niece and celebrate my mother-in-law's birthday, and to meet baby James and play with Anna.
 

Of course we indulged in some great Chicago food during our trip: a late night dinner at GT Fish & Oyster, a drive-through lunch from Portillo's, a great selection of Do-Rite Donuts, Intelligentsia Coffee (which I found out just opened at The High Line Hotel in NYC), delicious croissants at Hendrickx Belgian Bread Crafter, and deep-dish pizza delivery from Giordano's. Today I emailed my friend Jee Young a list of foods and places she should try when she visits Chicago this summer, which included these and others from previous trips.

Our Anniversary Dinner

On Sunday evening, we checked into The Westin Lombard, a nice hotel outside of Chicago. For our anniversary dinner that night, we went to RPM Italian, a restaurant owned by Giuliana and Bill Rancic. The vibe was modern and trendy but the layout was smart and comfortable, and the food was great; if you go, try the lobster caprese and Mama DePandi's bucatini pomodoro. Our server recently moved to Chicago from the Chelsea neighborhood of NYC, and told me he loved my nails (I had tried lacquer strips for the first time that day, which I posted a photo of on Instagram), and at the end of our meal remarked on how very proud of us he was for how much we ate! I really wanted to order the tartufo at my sister-in-law's recommendation, but after a huge meal and a complimentary dessert, we decided to save that for next time. 

Just a few of many courses we consumed

My cherry print nails

 

Our Wedding Cake, One Year Later

Yes, we ate our one-year-old defrosted wedding cake, and surprisingly, it tasted pretty good! We only had a quarter of the top tier, since my father had cut and kept the rest to eat at home after the wedding. I decorated our cake -- vanilla with strawberries and cream -- with mini cake bunting that read "We Are One" in pastel pink and purple, printed from The TomKat Studio and strung on pink pastel baker's twine.

With pretty flowers Sam several days earlier

Get the double meaning? (I thought I was clever.)

This was crammed in the corner of our freezer for a year

Wedding Cake Recipe

4 lbs. love

1/2 lb. good looks

1 lb. sweet temper

1 lb. butter of youth

1 lb. blindness of faults

1 lb. wit

1 lb. good humor

2 tablespoons sweet argument

1 pint rippling laughter

1 wine glass of common sense

A dash of modesty
 

Put the love, good looks, and sweet temper into a well-furnished house. Beat the butter of youth to a cream, and mix well together with the blindness of faults. Stir the wit and good humor into the sweet argument, then add the rippling laughter and common sense. Work the whole together until everything is well-mixed, and bake gently forever. (Author Unknown)

To my dear husband: Happy 1st anniversary! I'm looking forward to continuing to experience life together and discovering what our future brings.

A Cherry Tree Grows in Brooklyn

"I'm fascinated by the Japanese fashion scene

Just an American girl, in the Tokyo streets"

(Gwen Stefani, "Harajuku Girls")

This past Saturday was a perfectly sunny and warm spring day. Sam had to work so I spent most of the day with my sister, brother-in-law, nephew and niece, brunching, strolling around Park Slope, and visiting the Brooklyn Botanic Garden for the annual cherry blossom festival, Sakura Matsuri. There were trees that hadn't reached peak bloom yet, so this weekend would be a nice time to visit the gardens as well, but they won't have any performances or activities featuring Japanese culture.

I previously posted about cherry blossom festivals in "Sakura" and "Spring 2011 Events", but it had been several years since I last went to the one in Brooklyn, and I was surprised to see how many young people came dressed up to show off their Japanese street style-inspired fashions; and I don't mean traditional kimonos or geishas, though I did see some of those. I'm talking about cosplayers, like Harajuku girls meets manga and anime and Sailor Moon, meets Goths and top hats and parasols. Not really my thing, but it was interesting to look at.

I snapped a quick photo of a mini fashion parade of people, but the sights for me were the lovely cherry blossoms.

We walked back to my apartment and ended the day by ordering Japanese food for dinner and watching Ice Age on the Blu-ray player. I've always liked Ice Age, and Peter wanted to watch it, but have you ever noticed that there are no female characters in the first film other than the baby's mother who just disappears? (I found an article that goes into more detail on The Hathor Legacy, a site that "searches for good female characters in TV, books, movies, comics and other media," called "Ice Age: setting female characters back a few millennia...".)

Spring It On

"sweet spring is your

time is my time is our

time for springtime is lovetime

and viva sweet love"

(e.e. cummings)

Congratulations to Grace and Tommy on having their 3rd baby this weekend! We're so happy for you, and excited for the new addition to our growing nephew and niece clan. We can't wait to meet baby Micah soon.

It finally feels like spring, and I just want to put away my winter coat with confidence and slip on some sandals. In the meantime, I'll enjoy the beautiful weather while it lasts. Below are some photos, mostly from my Instagram, from the start of this season.

Jennifer Chun Sample Sale

With my friends Leslie and Christine, I helped fashion designer Jennifer Chun plan and coordinate her sample sale 2 weeks ago. Jenny is so talented and her clothing is gorgeous, and I'm lucky that we're family now through marriage.

Preview SS 2013/shop FW 2012, flower arrangement of wrapped roses/tulips/greenery,
dessert, and labeled water bottles

Easter

I was sad not to spend Easter with my nephew and niece, but was happy to see them a few days earlier when we spent the day together at the American Museum of Natural History. We went to the Whales: Giants of the Deep exhibit, and of course saw the dinosaur bones and the Hall of Ocean Life. I gave Peter clear pastry bags full of Annie's Cheddar Bunnies, made to look like carrots, which were great museum snacks.

Cheddar bunny "carrots"

On Easter Sunday morning, Sam and I went to Grand Central Terminal to take the train to Westchester for church, but we just missed it by seconds. We took the subway up to Redeemer's East Side morning service to celebrate the day with Reverend Tim Keller instead, and enjoyed some of Handel's Messiah by the choir and orchestra. I also enjoyed a cup of coffee in the morning and a Bloody Mary in the afternoon, which was significant because I had fasted from coffee and alcohol during Lent. Later, we watched Michigan easily beat Florida to make it to the Final Four for the first time in 20 years.

Redeemer Easter bulletin, post-Lent drinks, and Michigan basketball

I Love Candy

Despite not spending Easter with the kiddies this year, I've been having my own fun with Easter sweets and treats! I would say that after Halloween, Easter is the holiday with the next best candy selection. I think I even prefer Easter candy, with its pretty pastel packaging and adorable bunnies and eggs.

Red velvet egg, Swedish Fish eggs, classic chocolate bunny, and marshmallow egg

Spring-Inspired Nails

In addition to Easter candy, I've also been entertaining myself by painting my nails with spring-inspired colors.

Loving the spring-y nail colors

{Clockwise from left: OPI Hawaiian Orchid with Sephora by OPI Only Gold For Me / Essie Cantaloupe / Essie Turquoise & Caicos / Sephora by OPI Iris I Was Thinner with Sephora by OPI Flurry Up!}

Flowers

Outside, the flowers have started blooming. The photo below is of a small bed of tulips on my street that are still pressing toward the sky.

Purple tulips coming up

I'm heading out now for dinner in the city and to watch some Final Four NCAA March/April Madness as Michigan hopefully defeats Syracuse. Have a great weekend!