Ikea's got my back

Some small changes that are big. Actually, any extra space you can get in this tiny of an apartment (375sf) is really helpful.

Laura C. (the professional home organizer who recently visited us and did a consultation style appointment) isn't going to believe that I got my hhhhhuuuuggggeee 31" folding table into the utility closet! Woo hoo!
If we actually had to count points she shamed me on, the size of this table would qualify as something that bugged her out. I still maintaing that 1. I love this table and see it in our future and 2. This table still isn't very great for sewing & craft projects. And it's slotted.

And now it's in this closet! Out of sight!




It used to be back behind the microwave & dishwasher. Our dishwasher is portable and that means you pull out hoses and hook it up to the kitchen faucet.


So the Microwave got off the top of the dishwasher (since we got an almost full-size refrigerator the microwave could not longer fit on top of the fridge, so it had no other home but on the top surface of the dishwasher. It was so ugly and horrible, I don't think I ever took a photo) and moved to this little side table...
Ikea TRYTA Table $9.99

Here's a little IKEA tray to catch stuff on top of the microwave. A 2nd "landing area" If you will.


It's SO IMPORTANT to have every bit of surface area - we have no real counter tops - at all - it's OK to have the microwave in a semi-strange low place, so we can use the top of the dishwasher as a counter top.


We rolled without paint for about a week-


And Spray Painted Gloss Black:

Wardrobe Progress Update

Last weekend Matt worked super-duper hard and we slaved away in the apartment, so now he's super-duper PlayStation3, and I'm happy for him. Design note:  That column is the biggest dick in our apartment.


Matt got himself this big, white TV as his gift to himself for graduating from med-school a few years ago. Amen! He knew we would be moving to a large city and he would probably be spending his precious free time (He has more free time than he could have dreamed of) at home glued to it. A spread in Domino mag got be bent on white ones. So then I cared that our bedroom TV looked just like this one, because I love the look of the white tv's. So yes, we have 2 different white TV's.

So this is our smaller one in the bedroom that got thrown into my wardrobe. I kind of love how it's worked out, because I naturally put my jewelry in this spot when I'm about to fall asleep at night. I also love this Bows Mirrored Tray and am happy he has a great new home. And I'm going to try my very best to put my earrings back on the Pink Poodle earring tree.


Yeah, there are clothes hanging over it a little bit, but I look at it late at night from a low angle laying in the bed so seeing through the clothes isn't a problem at all.


So... I'm still conducting some business while standing on the bed. I stand on the bed to work out which belt I'm going to wear and I've got bags/purses hanging on hooks up and down this pole behind the belts.

I don't mind. I also run across the bed to flip the lights on b/c the switch is on the opposite end of the room.






I'm using this little kids' school chair as my step-stool to reach the things on the very top shelf.

I tried to move bonnie's Denim L.L. Bean (she's lesbian - j/k) dog bed to a different spot, but she would come over here looking for it and lay down right here anyway, so I got her a new fur chunk at Ikea and put it back where she likes it. The air conditioner blows her hair. It's cute.

Woe of Saturday

We took the subway down to Wall Street and boarded the Free Boat Taxi.

Going to IKEA you usually know you are about to fall-out with your partner. You are going to want to stab this person or yell at them in the textile area because times get really tough there. You definitely want to shove teetering old ladies out of your way and I definitely curse everyone who brings their little kids because who melts down in Ikea more than husbands? Children. Yep.

But we were super prepared with a diagram from Laura Cattano and a list with sick detail thanks to Mr. JPH. We got it done!


Things were super sweet until our TAXI GOT IN A CRASH WITH ANOTHER TAXI ON THE FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT EXPRESSWAY. We had to wait for the cops, clog-up traffic for everyone... talk to the cops...

But we recovered. We needed to rest up for a night on the town & B-I-N-G-O, but I did one tiny organizing thing...

BEFORE - Tiny tiled ledge in bathroom where my hair stuff lives.


And AFTER with a cheap little tray. So tidy.


The specific measurement of how much room was there aside from the pipes were drawn out in my little book where I've been writing all this stuff down.

I've got a page/s devoted to stuff needed from Ikea, Cb2 and West Elm. Ideas anyway. In my dreams I'm getting some table lamps from Jonathan Adler.

Goodbye, new & old friends

I got this thing from an apartment in Durham in 2002. Some Duke (university) girls moved out of an apartment and left some stuff and this is the last thing from the haul I got from that apartment.  I've loved this thing and held onto it through many apartments of my/our own. It just doesn't servie a good enough purpose to keep it anymore, and tonight I gave it away to a stranger who volunteered to come and get it through Craigslist. It needs a makeover. Bad.


I also just gave away the "cat box" through Craigslist. It got picked up this morning by a lady who said it's going to carry a dog who I believe is a Chinese something. Maybe one of those crazy little bald dogs!


Sunday I got a wild hair, maybe because the organizer is coming soon, and I moved this big cabinet-thing into the bedroom:


So now the area at the end of the couch near the window-exit for the terrace is much roomier. We had take-out sushi for dinner and I put out the folding table & chairs so we could eat dinner like normal people, and not on our couch.

I'm over these yellow folding chairs. They are also hard to hide being this dumb color. They too will be bartered, sold or handed off through Craigslist soon.