02 Mar
That Apartment #2
Way back in December of 2009 I posted a photo tour of our first married apartment (reading through the comments I was amazed to see how many of you have been reading regularly since that time!), and I’ve been wanting to do another tour since we moved, but I only wanted to do it on a day when I could clean the house first. Though both TH and I are relatively neat and clean, sometimes the clutter and dust builds up and we don’t make the time to get rid of it right away. What you’ll see below isn’t anything close to magazine worthy, but it’s wonderful to walk around the apartment on freshly vacuumed carpet and not see any clutter built up in random piles around the rooms. I learned a good lesson after cleaning this weekend though, pregnant women should not be cleaning the bathroom. The cleaners I used to make that room sparkle have left me feeling rather sick, and so bathroom duty is officially up to That Husband for a few weeks!
On to the tour of our second apartment!
The Living Room
I think we’re going to sell the bookcase/entertainment center when we (possibly) move this fall. I love it, but it’s not something I want to have with a toddler around.
Our couch recently broke, rendering the middle cushion unusable. TH and I don’t have a lot of time to just sit together and watch TV, but when we do I always feel a bit sad that we have to sit on opposite ends. 
This is my favorite part of the room. The assortment of frames along the fireplace are from Goodwill, as well as the silhouette diamonds in the center.
The kitchen/dining room.
We don’t have a lot of storage in this kitchen, but I love how open the space is.
Baby and I made an appearance in this shot!
The bare bones little office.
I see pictures of the office spaces some women have created but I’m just not sure where you keep all the cords and other necessities to make it look that way! I’ve always wanted to decorate it a bit more but the “household” portion of our budget never built up to the point where that was possible. By the time we move we’ll likely be done co-sleeping and we’ll have to give the second room up to baby.
See how bare it is? Blah!
The bathroom.
My favorite room, the bedroom.
As you can see this room has the most color, and the most decor. I’m going to work to always try to make our bedroom my favorite room in the house, as it helps me sleep better knowing I love the space I’m in.
The closet is so huge that we can’t even fill up the clothing racks with our wardrobes combined.
Someday I will get some yellow embellished froufy pillows for our bed. Someday.
My favorite decor int he whole house. A horseshoe from my grandma, my favorite childhood photo of TH, our wedding invite, a purse knit by my grandma, the flower I wore in my hair for our wedding, a family heirloom, and a painting of my wedding dress. I painted the trio of frames below the shelf myself and they are much too bright, but I can’t really see myself fixing that until we move into our next apartment. I don’t embark on craft projects very often.
As you can see, what little baby stuff we do have is still put away, and so I’m preparing myself for things to become nice and cluttered with the joys of parenthood very soon. We should find out within the next few weeks (months?) if we are moving away from Dallas or staying put for another year.
Also:
I'm a farm-raised almost-crunchy stroller-pushing picture-taking lifestyle-blog-writing gastronomy-obsessed divine-seeking thrift-store-combing cheese-inhaling pavement-pounding laughter-sprinkling lover of individuality and taking chances.
I love the canvas above your fireplace. Question in years to come would you change it and the one above your bed to a more recent picture or keep the engagement ones up?
It all looks great!!
Jenna Reply:
March 17th, 2010 at 8:22 pm
This is why I’m not sure if I’ll be buying any more canvas prints, as I think I’ll be wanting to switch things out too frequently to make the investment. I am glad I bought the wedding related ones though, as those are a big huge event that’s worth commemorating.
I love it above the bed and behind the couch too, the pictures are artistically displayed, it’s nice.
For the office, have you thought about a simple shelf on the wall with plants on it to brighten it up a bit? I don’t have green thumbs but some plants are easy to take care off.
I always heard that mirrors in front of the bed are not good, I think it comes from the feng shui philosophy, does it feel weird to you or do you like it there? I’m just curious.
Jenna Reply:
March 17th, 2010 at 8:23 pm
I wish I had more mirrors in the house because I like the way they reflect light. I’ve never heard that it isn’t good to have them in front of the bed!
You have so much open space!!!
I’m so jealous. I have given up on finding a city apartment that we can afford with that much free space.
The good thing about being in small city apartments is that you learn how to be an efficient organizer.
Are you and TH getting more excited about a potential move? Do you enjoy moving?
My family moved all over the world when I was growing up. Still though, I never get used to it and always dread it.
Jenna Reply:
March 17th, 2010 at 8:25 pm
I’m getting excited to *know* if we are moving or not. What a long process this has been! I don’t enjoy the act of packing up and moving, but I do enjoy settling in a new space and I’m excited to possibly experience a new city.
Your apartment living room looks almost exactly like my old apartment living room before I met the hubs. I wish I had had that cool bookshelf thingie around my TV; I love it!
Spinoff re: cleaning: I have gotten rid of almost all my chemical cleaners (I am waiting to finish up the last of my toilet bowl cleaner) and I have switched everything else to vinegar and baking soda. I scrubbed my (embarassingly neglected) tub a couple of weeks ago with vinegar and baking soda and it is STILL shining and looking amazing. I am a total convert. Bonus: no stinky chemical smells.
That said, I’d probably keep the all-natural cleaning ideas my own dirty little secret for now if it means that you can get out of bathroom scrubbing!
JessicaMayLords Reply:
March 3rd, 2010 at 11:14 am
I just tried the baking soda/vinegar thing for the first time last night, ridiculous how well it works! I added a bit of lemon juice for extra acidity and a pleasant smell. My husband wasn’t sure if it would work at all and was really surprised with the results! I find we still have to use a bleach-based cleaner for our kitchen sink, as it’s old and stains really easily, but I use the natural cleaner first, then thoroughly rinse, and then use the bleach-based cleaner. That way I don’t worry about toxic fumes.
Cécy Reply:
March 3rd, 2010 at 6:04 pm
What quantities of each product do you mix together for the vinegar baking soda mix?
JessicaMayLords Reply:
March 3rd, 2010 at 11:46 pm
Well, I think I was supposed to use 1/4 cup baking soda and 1/2 cup vinegar for every 2 liters of water. But I used about that much for a spray bottle since I had some serious nasty grime and wanted it really concentrated. And I squeeze some lemon juice to make it smell nicer. It worked well! I made some again today and added a squeeze of natural dish detergent and that worked well too.
phruphru Reply:
March 5th, 2010 at 9:43 am
You don’t have to worry about exact proportions. For everyday cleaning, like getting streaks out of my glass table or wiping down my countertops or bathroom sink, I have a spray bottle of about half water, half vinegar. No baking soda required.
When I’m tackling nasty, built-in grease on my stove burners, I add more vinegar to the same trusty spray bottle to make the mix a little more concentrated and spray the heck out of the grease. Then, take the box of baking soda and lightly sprinkle it over the vinegar so it sizzles and works its magic. Let it sit for a little bit (for cleaning the oven, I let it sit for like 30 minutes), then take your scrubbing tool of choice and work away. For really, really bad stains, I use a toothbrush. I keep a little mug of pure vinegar beside me and dip the toothbrush into the mug for reinforcement. Sprinkle on more baking soda and repeat if necessary.
I did the same recently for soap scum stains in my soap dish and in my bath tub. I had used bleach, 409, “green” cleaners but baking soda vinegar and elbow grease worked pure magic. I am a total convert.
Plus it’s incredibly cheap!
Cécy Reply:
March 7th, 2010 at 6:07 am
Thank you both for the information. We use 7th generation products at home, but I’d like to try something different too. I have vinegar at home, I guess all I need now is a new spray bottle and some baking powder.
i don’t know if you bought the bathroom rug before moving, but i love how it echos the bathroom floor.
5clutter is the bane of my housekeeping existence. my new goal is to keep the downstairs part of our house as clutter free as possible. that way our house (or at least the common areas) is company ready in just a few minutes.
I really like the wall that has the 3 teal frames. There is just a pretty balance and the pop of color. It’s so fun to get a “tour” of other people’s homes. I had have to clean up a bit before I did ours and maybe finally put something on our walls.
6This really makes me want to go and decorate. We are renting a house right now and are just starting to add some personal touches.
7Have you tried organic cleaners? One of the sponsors of my site sent me some, and I’ll never go back! No bad smells, no headaches. I’m giving away a $30 GC for organic cleaning supplies - come enter!
8Oh, the space, the space! I think your front room is the size of our whole studio. Not that I’m bitter or anything.
I love all the personal photographs you have throughout your home. They aren’t matchy match, but they flow nicely. I especially love how you have wedding pictures mixed in with other shots. For a while the only pictures we had hung were from our wedding, and it was a little shriney. Walls covered in family photos and mementos feel so homey to me.
9Now you have me wanting to ask my photographer about investing in a canvas print! I love the way they look in your apartment. LOVE!
I also envy the kitchen, I love how you can hang your pots & pans up.
10Love the personal touches! I’m paying a lot of attention to home decor these days as I’m getting ready to get my house - I love how open everything looks!
11Grandma would be very disappointed to see you calling this a horse shoe. Come on be a good farm girl! It is not for a horse, but the spur from a cowboy boot.
Jenna Reply:
March 17th, 2010 at 8:26 pm
Dang! I have got to start proof reading. You know I know the correct word, right? RIGHT?!?!?
So cute! Jenna, I remember you having some issues with the company you used for the canvas prints. I’m looking to make a big one from one of our wedding photos…can you recommend a company that does it well?
Jenna Reply:
March 17th, 2010 at 8:29 pm
I’ve never used them for large prints but you might try mpix.com? Mpix is owned by a well known pro company but markets to the “little people” as well.
Also if you don’t have your heart set on Gallery Wraps, I recently ordered a standout print from my printing lab and I’m really liking it (for prints I think I might want to switch out sooner than others). The price is less and the effect is pretty similar.
Loved the tour! And all your little personal touches
14I love seeing where people live.
15The apartment is super spacey! How nice! LURVE the canvases.
Also, just FYI-you can use cord covers and organizers to disguise cords. Like these: http://www.cabletiesandmore.com/cordcovers.php?gclid=CNfn8ruHm6ACFQsNDQodgEJvZQ
That’s what I do at least
16I love the canvas gallery wraps!!! I keep wanting to order them, but they are expensive, and indecision reigns and I never know which pictures to choose, or how big, or where to put them.
We’re deciding now whether or not to move before trying for a baby, and have two bedrooms currently filled with stuff. Where do you keep the baby stuff right now? I can’t even see it! That’s my fear.
Jenna Reply:
March 17th, 2010 at 8:30 pm
I think the secret to not having a house overrun with baby stuff is working hard not to buy very much in the first place.
Very cute. Very jealous of the kitchen and space. Do you know where you might be moving to?
Jenna Reply:
March 17th, 2010 at 8:31 pm
*If* we move, it will be to either Philly, Chicago, or NYC. That’s a big fat IF though.
Still love that canvas from your wedding. I so adore your wedding photos.
19Oh Jenna you did a lovely job! I really love the canvas print and all the frames on the mantle. That is my favorite spot in your whole place!!
We have old couches from Ikea that I absolutely HATE, and the middle of the big couch is busted too. I sit there anyway, just so I can snuggly with my husband, but it is really NOT comfortable!!!!
20Our little haus is pretty bare right now as well. I love the canvas and wall decal you have above your bed! What a great idea!
21Love it! Very nicely put together, and probably a good idea to change out the bookshelf entertainment center, I could see many fun moments with a climbing toddler!
Love your dining room shot with the special appearance of you and the little one!
22your place is beautiful.
23I love your entertainment center - I love the ladder bookshelf look. Also, your kitchen looks so warm and inviting, I could see myself happily cooking in there. Thanks for sharing your home with us.
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