Lately and More Apartment Pictures

Welp - it's been quite a while since my last post.. 2 months to be exact! Yikes!

What can I say, things have been busy and there were a few unexpected circumstances (just that hurricane that came through). October was a very busy month at work, and just as things began to slow a little we got struck by Sandy. Thankfully we were only without power for about 4.5 days, because I know many others that have been without power for over 4 weeks! Although we got through pretty well during the storm we have had issues with our Internet ever since, so that's made posting a little difficult as well.

All of that being said, I wanted to go ahead and put up some more pictures of our new apartment! These are just of the bedroom, and this is probably the room that changed the least when we moved from the studio. My favorite part of our whole apartment is my small vanity/desk that actually used to be our kitchen table. It's the one space that contains so many of my favorite things: my favorite framed quote, a picture of Tatum, and a tray of my favorite perfume and nail polish. I've also grown to love collecting vintage brooches, so I think the little display box that I found is so pretty!

One of the things that I was most excited about by having a larger bedroom: his and hers dressers! It's been so nice not to cram everything into one dresser... although I have taken over one full drawer of the "his" dresser. Vlady knows that sharing is caring, so thankfully he's nice enough to share his space with my stuff. :)

And on another note: these pictures are pretty terrible (they were taken with my iPhone). I think it's time for a real camera.

My favorite spot: my vanity!

"Hers" dresser

A few of my favorite things: picture of my niece, my vintage brooches, favorite perfume and nail polishes and the best smelling candle EVER.

Looking in from the door

Looking into the room from the window

"His" dresser

Favorite quote and cute owl

Another shot of the dressers

One Fine Day

I know that I still owe a couple more apartment pictures, but those haven't been snapped yet (I know, I know..), and I wanted to talk about what we did last Sunday instead. Maybe it's not quite as exciting, but it was one of my favorite days in a long time!


We started the morning by having one of our good friends come over to do a fitness/posture/muscle alignment assessment on us to help us determine what corrections we may need to make while working out. It was very informative, and I was actually sore the next day from one of the moves we had to do (Judy: don't judge).

By about 2:00pm we had not eaten and were STARVING; so naturally we went and got chicken and waffles. Not exactly the most healthy meal, but when you're about to eat your own arm off sometimes that can be over looked a tad (or a lot). Although the service in the restaurant was sub-par (at one point the waitress walked away in the middle of taking my order!), the food itself hit the spot perfectly.

After our late lunch we headed up to the Museum of Natural History to wander around and check out the new exhibit on bioluminescence called "Creatures of Light". I had been looking forward to this exhibit since it opened at the beginning of the year, and although we learned a lot and enjoyed it quite a bit I was a little disappointed at how small the whole thing was. We checked out some of the other parts of the museum as well before heading for a stroll through Central Park.

A 40x actual size portrayal of a bioluminescent mushroom in the "Creatures of Light" exhibit.

An Angler fish display

Now, the main reason I even suggested we go to the museum and park that day was because the weather was absolutely gorgeous. Slightly cool, no humidity and lots of sunshine made for a perfect day to be outside. We sat by one of the lakes and watched the boats paddle by for a while, and then we walked in the direction of the Boathouse to grab a drink and watch the sun go down.

Watching boats in Central Park

After our rest stop and cocktails at the bar we decided we were hungry again (which I didn't think was possible after the late lunch we had), and I made a last minute reservation at a restaurant called Jo Jo on the Upper East Side. I had heard good things about it, and the reviews on Yelp were good.. plus it's a Jean-Georges spot so that was enticing as well.

Oh my word was it ever delicious! We split 4 appetizers and I had a dessert, and I think it just might be one of my favorite meals ever. To start we had the tuna roll which was rare tuna wrapped in crispy pastry with a wasabi sauce, edamame and ginger. We also had the cheese ravioli with very, very fresh crushed tomatoes and Parmesan and a crab meat salad with mango and cumin crisps. After that we were still hungry and decided to get the crispy salmon "sushi" roll with a soy spread.

Tuna roll at Jo Jo

All of the ingredients were minimal and simple, but everything was so fresh and delicious that I was in heaven the whole time. Especially once the dessert came along. I know that I've talked before about what I thought was the best dessert ever, but I believe that has been trumped. The dessert I had at Jo Jo was a passion fruit pavlova that had a passion fruit filling, was topped with passion fruit seeds, and sat on a bed of fresh whipped cream. I died. I also asked the hostess if this was a seasonal dessert or one they had all the time, and she (thankfully!) told me that it is Jean-Georges favorite dessert and they have it year round.

Jean-Georges has good taste, I see.

So that was our fun day, and I enjoyed getting to have so much fun and experience so many new things with Vlady! Looks like this weekend will be beautiful as well, perhaps I shall have another fine day again.

New Apartment: After - Living/Dining Room

I feel bad. I promised to post these pictures about 3 weeks ago.. Oops! Well I'm happy to finally share some "after" pictures of our place, and I'm going to start out with my favorite room in the house: the living room.

Our living room is a combined living and dining space, and after having lived in a 1 room studio for a year I was so excited to finally have enough room to entertain. Our last place had a 2 seater table and the couch, so we sometimes had to sit on the floor to eat when we had guests! Now we have the 4-seater table plus some ottomans to provide extra seating, as well as more than enough standing space.

 (Sofa, Pillows)

 My favorite part about the "dining room" space: the artwork! We found the vendor in Union Square, and while we admired their work we never really found any that we loved enough to buy. That is until we went to their website and found this series with the wine glasses and bottle! It's hard to tell, but the color of the glasses and bottle are actually a bright citrine, and we loved that with the other citrine accents in the room.

(Dining Set, Pictures)



 That's our "bar". The plan is to keep the wine fully stocked at all times! (Also, I'm beginning to realize that my iPhone doesn't take as good of pictures as I'd like. This one is slightly tilted also, which is human error..)

(Vases)

 Looking into the living/dining space from the entry way.

(Coffee table/end table set)

 You can tell where the cat's been on the couch! We love that print of the city from Ikea.

 We have two of these, flanking the TV. There was a long discussion about what to do with that space (leaning bookshelves, floating bookshelves..), but I love the end result!

(bookshelf, bird, ottoman, wine cork cage)

 The other book shelf and ottoman.

View from the "dining room" looking into the living room.

Slutty Brownies

You read that title correctly: slutty brownies.

Now I know that I promised an "after" post of our apartment as my next entry, but I'm going to be honest about why that isn't happening today. Although our place was in tip-top shape for our housewarming party, and while this would have been a prime time to snap some photos, I was too busy getting ready and making slutty brownies to take any.

Seeing as how the party was on Saturday and it is now a Tuesday the only other excuse I have is: I've been sucked into the Hunger Games trilogy. No seriously, that's the second reason I haven't taken pictures of our decorated place yet... because I can't put down those books! I also had to watch the first movie.. so..

Anyways, back to slutty brownies. Although I still can't get over the name of the recipe, I did in fact make a batch for the housewarming party after a friend recommended them over plain ol' brownies. They're called "slutty" brownies because they're "super easy, and more than a little bit filthy".. he he. Or at least that's what this blog says, which is where I was directed to retrieve the recipe (also: if you're looking for photos of the brownies, check out that girls post.. because I didn't take any. Oops).

Although these brownies are not my typical recipe (re: they are not good for you in any way, shape or form), they were simply to die for! There was not a single piece left after Saturday night, and I'm secretly grateful for that because that means no temptations sitting on my kitchen counter!

This recipe literally takes 45 minutes (including baking time) to make, so the easiness factor was a huge draw for me. I might make it my new mission to make this recipe in a reduced fat version. Could it be possible? Perhaps if I make my own batters instead of using mixes..

Hmmm..

Slutty Brownies

Ingredients

• 1 box of chocolate chip cookie mix (and the ingredients the mix calls for: ex, oil, eggs, water, etc)
• 1 box of brownie mix  (and the ingredients the mix calls for: ex, oil, eggs, water, etc)
• 16-20 Oreos (double stuffed, preferably)

That's it!

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9"x13" baking dish with cooking spray, or line the edges with parchment paper (I didn't have any parchment paper on hand, and a good coat of Pam worked just fine). Follow the directions on the cookie mix box, mix cookie dough batter. 

Spread cookie dough evenly on the bottom of the pan (hands work best for that one) until it covers the bottom. Top with as many Oreos as you can fit (I fit 20). 

Follow the directions on the brownie mix box and pour over the Oreos. Bake for 30-40 minutes until done (note: when inserting a toothpick to check if it's done, it might come out looking underdone..but the melted chocolate chips and Oreos will do that). 

Let cool until just barely warm, cut into even pieces and serve. Watch as they are devoured!

New Apartment- Before

As I alluded to in this post, it's taken us quite a while to get settled in to our new place. We are finally (officially) set-up, and we're having some folks over this weekend to celebrate! Below are the "before" pictures of the space.. basically, this is what our apartment looks like completely empty. I will post the "after" pictures of how we've decorated this weekend.

This is the first apartment that I've lived in since college that has felt the most like "home". I put "home" in parenthesis because my mom likes to remind me that my real home is in fact down south, with my family. I have to agree with her, but to me this apartment feels way more comfortable and home-like than our studio ever did.

Maybe it's because it is a true 1-bedroom and I don't feel like I'm living in a hotel (as I sometimes did with our one room studio). Or maybe it's because we've really put in the time and effort to make this place exaclty how we want it. Either way, I'm very happy with our decision to move into this apartment, and I can't wait to show the finished product!




Bedroom, looking in from the door



Bedroom (and closet) looking down towards the living room





Living Room view from the front hallway



Living room view looking towards the bedroom



Bathroom



Kitchen, one side





Kitchen, the other side





Balcony



Lately

I feel like this summer has flown by. Wasn't it just yesterday that I was enjoying my Memorial Day? How is it already just a few short weeks until the end of summer?

Yikes!

The main reason time has been slipping by so quickly though is due to the fact that I've been traveling a lot. Quite a bit more than usual, actually. We spent some time at the beach, both in the Hamptons and in Cape Cod, and we celebrated Tatum's first birthday in Raleigh at the end of July. Also, we both had our own birthdays at the beginning of July and extended the celebrations out through the end of the month!

On top of all of the traveling we also moved into a larger apartment, and I began a new role at work. I'm feeling the urge to slow down for a little while.. it's time to catch my breath!

All of that being said, the last few months have been really great and full of memories that will last me a lifetime. So I guess I shouldn't be complaining too much :) 

Below are a few snapshots from our summer:

 My birthday celebration

 Tatum's First Birthday! Best "Smash Cake" ever :)

Photo courtesy of my dad

My sister reading one of Tatum's cards to her

Hanging with my girl!

 A lighthouse in Cap Cod

Truro Vineyard in Cape Cod

I guess that it's only fitting that I will be spending my last weekend of the summer (Labor day weekend) traveling back home again! I'm OK with summer coming to a close though.. Fall is my favorite season, by far, so bring on the pretty leaves, comfy clothes, pumpkin flavored anything, and football!

How to Build a Dresser

We moved in to our new apartment on June 30, and here it is August 12 and we're still not completely settled in. This is to be expected when you move from a teeny little studio apartment to a one bedroom (lots of furniture to buy!), but there are some things that should not take quite so long.

Like building a dresser.

However, if you would like to follow the Leah and Vlad rules to assembling a dresser, please keep reading:

Step 1: Purchase dresser relatively soon after you move in (even take it home in boxes on the same day as purchasing, if possible)

Step 2: Remark on how you're too tired to build the dresser on the day you get it, but promise to assemble it that week

Step 3: Repeat step 2

Step 4: Repeat step 3

Step 5: Turn boxes that dresser comes in into clothes drying space, seeing as how they have become a useful piece of furniture (see example below). Bright pink pajama shorts with hearts optional.

Step 6: Finally decide to tackle the challenge and assemble the dresser

Step 7: Get all the way done, but save the very last drawer to be completed

Step 8: Repeat second half of step 2

Step 9: Finally finish building last drawer and start using the dresser (example below)

Step 10: Repeat with all other un-built furniture