1 Month In: The Entry

First I will start with the entryway. It is almost complete! Here is what it looked like before:

And here it is now:

Since I already had this Broadway picture, I figured I could match the theme I am using in the dining room. Read about that here.  I didn't want typical pictures of skylines that are obvious so I after some searching I came across these two. Broadway street is of course in New York. My Mom actually picked that up for me when I was still a teenager so I can't help you with where I got that one. The upper right one is of Toronto's flatiron building. The bottom right is from the top of Lombard st in San Francisco. I got the frames at Ikea. 

Boxes are still there! I am being honest about these pictures :) lol

The closet beside the bathroom. I used the boxes from my dinnerware set. They fit perfectly in there. As you can see I haven't quite gotten to organizing it yet.

Same with this one.... 

 

This is the door obviously... I got the mat from Ikea and the key/mail holder at Target. There is a little chalkboard space on it. We don't have a chalk pen yet though so nothing is written. Also, if you have noticed the mail slot in the door.... we do get mail right to our door! It is amazing. We also have a garbage chute on our floor which is also just amazing. 

And our coat closet. I don't like the look of having a shoe rack showing so I have it hidden in our closet. It impedes our coat space but that is OK with me as long as it is hidden! We also store the vacuum and steam mop to the side there. And the bag holder is from Ikea. Love that! Such a neat way to store the bags (excuse the pun). The only thing I need to add to the entry way is a little bench that will go underneath the art on the wall. I already have it picked out it is just a matter of buying it. We need somewhere to sit when putting our shoes on!

1 Month In: The Bathroom

Our bathroom hasn't really had much done to it. This is the before:

Here is what it looks like now:

 

The medicine cabinet is really helpful for storage. I love it. All I have in the bottom cupboard is cleaning supplies and women supplies that need to stay by the toilet :) lol

 

And for the most unsightly thing in our bathroom: the litter box. We unfortunately have no place else to put it. Can't wait to live in a house!

I still have a few more things I want to do with this room but it is mostly done. I mean... what more can you do right? I want to:

• Get some art for above the toilet 
• Get a matching towel set (in white) - this one isn't necessary to be done any time soon
• Get a little shelf for above the toilet
• Get some jars to put in cotton pads and q-tips for that shelf
• Also some little decorations like maybe a little plant for that shelf as well

Products you see in these pictures:

• Shower curtain: Target
• Over the door towel hanger: Homesense
• Litterbox and mat (if you would really love to know): any big box store

1 Month In: The Bedroom

As of tomorrow, we will have been in our new place for a month. Our place is far from finished and I have hardly even got started on some rooms but I am going to share with you what things are looking like now. I have 5 rooms to show you which I will space out over the week. Today, we start with the bedroom!

We started with this:

The blinds came with the apartment. I hate them but they will probably stay. Anyway... here is the now!

Brandyn's side of the bed. 

And my side... I couldn't get far enough away to get a picture of the bed in entirety lol. 

 

This is the closet. The bins on the top shelf hold my purses and Brandyn's work clothes. The blue bin holds seasonal decor (aka Christmas stuff). The drawers beside it hold my work stuff, bathing suits and winter accessories. There is a blanket on that blue bin because the cats like to go in there and sleep.

Here is a little basket. You may remember it from our last apartment. It was used to hold the toilet paper. It doesn't fit in the space between the cabinet and the toilet in this one so I re-purposed it. It now holds all of our slippers!

This is the view when you first walk into the room.

These drawers are the start of my dressing table. Each drawer holds something different.

... like my hair tools....

and hair products.... It also holds my make up, anything for the body like lotion or bath salts, and my makeup.

Gizmo was being extra photogenic :)

What we still need to do in this bedroom:

• Buy a dresser. While the nightstands are working for now, my clothes are busting out of there. There is no room for any wardrobe expansion which is just not acceptable.
• Buy my dressing table, mirror, chair and all other accessories to go with it.
• Get the little DIY magic I'm doing to my dressers done.
• Buy duvet, duvet cover and sheets (our mattress is very thick so we need deep pocket ones)
• Get art/pictures for above the bed 
• Do some DIY magic on the drawer system for my dressing table

Products that you see in this picture:

• Bed: Ikea (Svelvik)
• Sheets: Ikea
• Comforter and Pillow Shams: Home Outfitters (but I wouldn't reccomend buying these pintuck type ones because as you can see, a lot of it has already come undone and we have had it maybe a year?)
• Drawer system: Ikea (Alex)
• Nightstands: Ikea (Malm)
• Lamps: Homesense

Throwback Thursday

February 2008  

Celebrated my 16th Birthday :) 

Monthly Favourites

Hourglass Femme Nude Lip Stylo - Love this! It is like a lipstick but it is so creamy and smooth. It is a nude lipstick and it comes in many different shades so you know you will find one for your skin tone. I always had a problem finding a good nude shade because my lips are so pigmented that the true color would always just show through. This stuff is so great and it moisturizes your lips too. 

Lush Retread Conditioner - Last month I had mentioned this other conditioner from Lush that I didn't love but it did smell amazing. I found that the one I was previously using wasn't thick enough for my hair so once it was finished, I went back into Lush and asked them what was good for thick hair. She gave me this one to try. It definitely has a thicker consistency and is great for detangling.The jury is still out on if I will stick with this one long term though. 

Bath & Body Works My Favourite Lip Balm - I know this lip gloss is super popular. I used to use it but then stopped for some reason and I just started using it again and I actually love it more than the eos now. Granted, my hair does stick to my lips when its windy but it keeps my lips nice and moist as well so I am game for that!

Revlon Photoready Airbrush Foundation - I picked this one and loved it right away. You have to be careful when applying it because it tends to shoot out and you don't need a lot because it is really moussy so it spreads really nice. I apply it with my kabuki brush but you can also with a beauty blender. At first I was a little put off because when it first comes on it looks really caked on but after a little bit it makes your face look flawless and gets better and better throughout the day. That is the opposite of most foundation. I love it.

Wedding Transportation

So I have booked the wedding transportation which I think was one of the top things I was avoiding.  Mainly because my budget for it was not anywhere near what the going rate for a limo package is. 

Like $1000 for a day services.... our budget is more around $400.

So I did what needed to be done, I asked around. We also decided that we would probably not be able to get a limo and would probably get an old fashioned car to just drive Brandyn and myself around. My cousin told me about this company that she got her Rolls Royce with and so I called them.

Well it actually ended up working out because the 6 passenger limo was cheaper than the classic car.

Here is the services I booked:

• They will pick up Brandyn and his groomsmen and bring them to the church.
• Then they will pick up the bridesmaids and me of course and bring us to the church.
• Afterwards, they will take Brandyn and myself plus 2 other of our wedding party to the site of the pictures. It will be my brother and my bridesmaid Shaylynn who comes in because Carter can't drive and Shay is coming from out of town and won't be able to drive herself either. 
• Then they will drive us to the reception.
• Also champagne and red carpet with a just married sign will also be included

As far as I'm concerned a taxi taking Brandyn and I to the hotel will be just fine :) 

So it is about 4 and a half hours of services which we got for around $500. It is probably around the going rate of everyone else for that time period but my cousin has used them and recommended them so I went with them. 

This is the limo we will have looks very similar to this and also has a 6th door to get the bride (me!) in and out and not have everyone else trampling over my dress :)

So yea! All that is left to do by my next checkpoint is book the cake baker. I still have like a month to do this which is good because I have no idea where to start with this one. There are too many options!

Weekly Recap

So this past week I didn't do much at all. I kind of fell into a routine. I have also been trying to unpack the last of the boxes and bins that we have. I am happy to report I only have 2 boxes left to unpack and then a bunch of stuff that is still left at my Dad's that I am slowly bringing over.

Let me explain that one: When we moved into the apartment I got really sick so a lot of stuff that I had unpacked while staying at my Dad's did not get packed up. Brandyn packed the essential stuff that we needed.... well.. he needed apparently. See he brought all of his clothes but my clothes got left behind so for a week I had like 1 outfit. Mhm.. I see how it works over here. So anyway, when I go over there on the weekends I just pack up things here and here. So it is slowly coming over. 

Anyway.... after I rambled way longer then I expected to.... here is what things are looking like now:

It is driving me crazy. It gets worse before it gets better right??

So while I try to finish this stuff up this week, here is what you can look forward to in blog posts:

A wedding update

The monthly favourites post

and a special project I can now unveil