I’ve always wanted a garden …. When I was younger, my parents let me plant seeds and set aside a little plot in the backyard.
But, I think maybe that’s a post for another day.
Right now, Andrew and I are just trying not to kill 2 plants out on our balcony that gets almost ZERO direct sunlight. Both these plants live on the half-wall of our patio. The patio faces almost exactly true north, so the only direct sunlight we get is REALLY EARLY in the morning and all the way …

I don’t drink. I just don’t like the taste of alcohol (and I can taste it in anything I’ve ever had) …. but Andrew likes to experiment and try new mixed drinks, so we kind of have a lot of alcohol in the house. He went through a ‘White Russian‘ phase … and now he’s on ‘Old Fashioned‘ (a la Don Draper). ….
So, we thought it would be fun to get a bar/buffet for our dining room ….
And look at the super amazing 196s vintage bar we found!!!

As it is …

Our couch is super fantastic.

It’s solid. Not IKEA. I expect the frame to last us forever.
It’s local. Look at us being all green and eco-friendly and responsible to our community (totally on accident, by the way. We found a couch we loved and were pleasantly surprised that the manufacturer was in L.A. so it’d only take 2 weeks to receive).
killer warranty. By this awesome local furniture business that we will gladly buy from again.
Very mid-century modern style. Straight lines. not over stuffed. visible legs (none of those ‘skirts’ that our …

We have a ghost.
Ok, we *may* have a ghost. The evidence is still a bit thin. But we’ve only lived here for a month, so maybe the ghost is just getting used to us.
The first week we had the keys to this new apartment, Andrew made a couple small trips during the week to drop off some boxes. On one of those visits, he ran into one of our new neighbors who told him a little bit about the complex.
I guess this place has a LOT of older people. So …

I know I haven’t done a really big post on our new apartment – do you still want to see pics of moving and a tour?
As an interim, I now present the first in a series:
Top 5 favorites
To start – my top 5 favorite things in our new apartment (in no particular order)

Balcony – Our balcony is HUGE. It’s actually a lot bigger than many of the other units in our complex. I don’t know why that would be or how we got so lucky, but it is BIG. Honestly, …

A SERIOUS appliance. Not like a toaster or a blender.
We BOUGHT A NEW REFRIGERATOR.
This is huge, guys.
We are FULLY COMMITTED to this marriage now.
When we first went apartment hunting, we realized we were going to need to buy a refrigerator. For the first time in our 4.5 year marriage. For the first time in the almost 8 years since I first moved out of my parents house.
Luckily, now that we’re grown-ups, we have a friend who works for Pacific Sales and knows more about home appliances than we do.
The actual …

I want to buy flowers.
I want to wear skirts.
I want to go on a bike ride.
I want to read Anne of Green Gables (all 8 books in one sitting, please).
I want to sleep with just a light quilt over me.

I want to eat fruit sorbet.
I want to grill fresh fish out on our patio.
I want to put my coats in storage.
I want to take a nap in a park.
I want iced coffee.

What do you want to do in springtime?

So. It turns out we have to buy a fridge.
Wait. Let me back up.
With the last ‘Schuberts go house hunting‘ installment, I talked about how with the current house market, we had decided NOT to buy a house this spring, but instead move into a larger apartment for at least a year. Continue to save money, but have a bit more space.
The same day (or maybe the day after) I posted that, we went and looked about about 6 different apartment units (in 4 different buildings).
And it turns out we …

“Hoooooooooo. Hoo Hoo.     Hoooooooooo . … Hoo. Hoo.”
Do owls know morse code? How come they tend to hoot one-long-two-short? What are they trying to tell me?
This is what I was thinking our 2nd morning in our new apartment. (The first morning, Andrew and I had to get up before sunrise to take the moving truck back. Not *exactly* relaxing). Not “I wonder if there is still hot water.” Not “wow that car drove by really fast.” Not “I thought Ben was 3 years old. How can he run so heavily.”  …

This is our 3rd move in 2 years.
Seriously.
I packed books and art supplies and cooking utensils away 24 MONTHS ago that I haven’t seen at all.
But thought of wistfully.
If I HAD to find a particular book, there isn’t any possible way I could without opening SEVERAL boxes. SEVERAL.
I’m really hoping that with this new (bigger) apartment we are able to find the room and make a place for many of our things that I have been missing. I want to be able to COOK and bake again. I want to …

In preparation for our upcoming move (details to come) I have been doing a little spring cleaning …
What is it about the weather this time of year that makes me want to throw out everything I own in the name of minimalism and simplicity?
I don’t know, but it certainly feels really good to fill up a box this size with clothes to get rid of …. (picture large enough to hold 12 rolls of paper towels)
note: about 1/3 of the box is skirts that are too big for me since …

We’re signing a new lease on Friday.
More about that later.
But before we head out, I thought we could take a minute and look at the pros and cons of living in this tiny apartment.

PRO: Very low rent. Very. As in, we would be OK even if one of us lost our job.
CON: Rent has dropped even more since we moved in, so we’ve pretty much been paying more than market price the last few months.
PRO: Close to Andrew’s work
CON: Also very close to the main house and landlord. Where a …

I bet you’re all wondering what we’re still doing in this tiny apartment and when we’re going to be tired of it.
Done. Tired of it.
Here’s the latest update in our house-hunting adventure.
As of June 14 when we moved into our current place we had about enough for a decent downpayment (about 10%) in savings for the house.
My grand plan was to spend the next 6-9months furiously saving $$ so we had another several thousand.
Using the base as a down payment and also having enough saved for closing costs and some …

I woke up this morning and cursed the heavens.
I was supposed to do a super fun (Amy-styled) photo shoot with Angela. Wednesday night we looked at the forecast and there was an 80% chance of rain on Saturday.
Sad, but I needed to postpone the photo shoot.
It involved several factors that just would NOT work in the rain. Can’t tell you more just yet.
And then today, Saturday, I woke up and it was sunny! SUNNY!
It’s not supposed to be SUNNY! I canceled my photos!!!! Curses!
Luckily (or not, depending on your p.o.v.) …

We visited our friends in Oakland for a weekend ….. and I couldn’t stop taking pictures of their insanely cute apartment. It makes my heart hurt how much I love their little home ….
Take a look …
(I want a big big resting on the floor mirror like this, please)

And I need a cute little reading corner like this. I love the way the perfectly-placed mirror actually creates more light for this spot. Love!

Also, I love that they only have plain white mugs. Andrew and I love our coffee mugs, so …