Better Late Than Never

These are so long overdue it is embarrassing but here are some pictures of our apartment! They were taken at night and are admittedly poor quality so don't judge them too harshly!

This is our living room. Please note the TV is still on the floor. It will probably stay there.

A close- up of the mantle! This is before we decorated it for Christmas and then it caught on fire when our new Christmas candle got a little too....enthusiastic.

Our orange couch. I am always on a quest to find pillows but I haven't found the perfect set yet. The bench was supposed to stay in the kitchen but somehow it has found a permanent resting place as our 'coffee table'.  We still need a shallow shelf above the couch because the photos are too high. It bothers me every day.

This is our make-shift hallway table. It is missing several key components: a tray for keys, a mail organizer and an umbrella stand. I have also had 'paint the mirror' on my to-do list for the past 6 months.

                                       

This vase is made of paper! Cool!

                                     

This is our little tea shelf in the kitchen. Normally it also holds my brand-new tea cup as well but I guess I must've been using it when I took this.

That's it for now! More pictures of the kitchen and the bedrooms (well, only mine) to come!

Photos Courtesy of: Mia G for w*ink!

When life hands me lemons...

...I complain like hell, cry a little, and then order Indian food.

Monday morning I woke up in a great mood. It's my favorite time of year, this is a short work week, I get presents on Friday- how wonderful! Plus, Mariah Carey's Christmas Album was in my head. Score!

Hanna was not so happy. She had been up since 4am when our kitchen ceiling started leaking right outside her bedroom door. Though I called our landlord immediately, she failed to show up that day because she'd gone to a different apartment and, seeing no leak, left the building! I came home that night to find that the leak had caused the ceiling to collapse. There was a thick paste of plaster, dust, and rusty water all over the floor. I called my landlord again in a fit of rage and demanded that she come the next day.

By Tuesday morning, our floor had flooded and we now had 6 buckets quickly filling with dirty water. Our frigid apartment became truly freezing with the cold gusts of air that came in through the hole in the ceiling. Our landlord finally came to assess the situation. When Hanna arrived home that night, she found an even bigger hole- actually a 3x5 square- cut out of our ceiling, a pipe hanging down with one of our dishtowels used as a plug, sheet rock blocking our door, dust all over the kitchen, a giant dirty ladder in our kitchen and...a toilet that didn't work. Our landlord assured us it would all be fixed AFTER THE HOLIDAY.

Deep Breaths.

Hanna yelled. I cried. I yelled. Hanna cried. Lola got scared of the kitchen and hid under my bed.

Last night we bundled up in multiple layers, tried to ignore the party in the apartment above us even though the hole in our ceiling provided so little insulation it felt like we were hosting it ourselves, tried to clean and pack for the holidays and consoled ourselves with Indian food.

This morning I called our landlord again and demanded that someone come and complete all repairs before the end of the work day and she agreed to have someone there by 10:30am.

I am lucky enough to be heading home to CT after work today but poor Hanna must pick up her BF from the airport and then go home and face the prospect of yet another night of freezing temperatures and the threat of scary critters coming down from the ceiling.

Let's keep our fingers crossed that everything is good as new tonight, ok?

This has officially been the longest week ever and it is only Wednesday.

Old photo of Lola 'Loly' Die Katzen Courtesy of:   Hanna

UPDATE 12/31/09:   Here are some pictures of what our ceiling looked like so you all know the severity of our problem! Luckily, the ceiling was repaired by the time Hanna arrived home on Wednesday night- it was re-plastered but not repainted. Guess I'll take what I can get!

This is so happening.

Image: domesticity via  designworklife

HOWEVER

If I did continue making plans for the apartment, I would probably *swoon* over this rug and how it would look in our entryway.

Image: 2Modern

I tried!

I haven't been too inspired lately, especially when it comes to decorating our apartment. There are several reasons:  I've been busy at work, I've been focusing a lot of attention to making elaborate hand-made gifts for my friends and I haven't had the money to buy some of the larger pieces the place needs like a TV stand and a table for the kitchen.

I think it's also time to admit that my enthusiasm has waned over the last few months because Hanna announced that she will be moving out when our lease is up in April. We put a lot of plans on hold due to financial constraints while Hanna settled in and now it feels pointless to invest so much time and energy and money in a place we might both vacate in three months time. Of course, there is the chance I will stay and find another roommate and that's why I probably shouldn't give up. I just don't feel as excited anymore. I feel like I made so many plans and then never got to bring them to fruition. As a result, our apartment still feels unfinished.  Tear.

One thing I can do while I figure things out is focus on my bedroom because I own everything and will take it with me no matter where I go. This headboard, for example, is enough to occupy my mind grapes for quite some time. It's easy to make on my own, the materials are inexpensive and it goes with everything. Best of all, I could attach it to my current bed frame so I don't have to buy a new bed!

Image: Design Esquire via AT: NY