housey house

Will's in California for an awesome two-week fellowship - so awesome that his hotel room has a view of both the ocean and the mountains. He showed them off when we were video chatting, and it reminded me of how nice it is to be able to picture specifically where someone is. This then reminded me that I...umm...still hadn't taken pictures of our "new" apartment.  Oops. It's pretty similar, but rest assured, I will painstakingly walk you through the most minute differences. So without further ado, the hallway:

The chalkboard on the right makes me especially happy, because my family has one right by the door at home too. And on the right we framed Will's map of Westport (where his grandpa lives and one of our favorite vacation spots) and pictures I've taken while we've been there:

Again, the kitchen's basically the same, with the addition of a bright, fun rug (and possibly more liquor):

I posted some pictures of the dining room during Easter, but here's another picture of our new table and chairs. Serious upgrade! The cool pendant light was also a crucial upgrade and necessitated some impressive electrical work on Will's part:

On the opposite wall is a mini-gallery wall - mostly scenes from Italy. On the far left is a vintage postcard I found in an antique store, I took the middle black and white in Florence, my uber-talented friend Jess took the Italian Vespa picture (I love the color pop!), Alice made the "D" painting for our wedding, and last picture is from approximately a million years ago (or 2007):

Our living room! I love this...the downstairs one was so cozy, but this one feels so fresh and clean with the grey paint and white linen curtains. I also like the bookshelves keeping each other company in the corner:

The bedroom is the final room that needs some work - specifically, a headboard of sorts. I'm planning on using this solo time to temporarily turn the apartment into a workroom and whip something up...we'll see if that happens. In the meantime, I like the lighter grey on the walls and the navy curtains that so effectively block out the sun so that we can sleep in on weekends. Very, very appreciated. And my solution to the bedding dilemma a while ago was to go with white sheets, duvet, etc., and buy an incredibly sweet quilt for a pop of color when we want it. Normally it's folded up across the foot, but here it is in all of its glory:

I love that a) it's not from Pottery Barn, b) it's bright and unique and less reserved than most of our things, c) it's the perfect texture and weight and makes Will happy, d) it's so pretty that I'll want to keep it forever. Seriously, I should take close-up pictures of it. It's a work of art.

Speaking of works of art, this is my little trunk/vanity/bedside table with my beautiful birthday present from my sister's new mother-in-law. She makes lovely icons from works of sacred art and adds ornaments and gilding to them before framing them. She's so talented - I wish you could see the little details on this one! My icon depicts the story of St. Mary and St. Elizabeth meeting when they're both expecting and Mary's face, though a bit worried, looks peaceful and strong at the same time. I'm so grateful to have this reminder of grace:

So that's the apartment. (For now! More fiddling to come, as always.)