Sometimes it's the little things

It's been a couple days since the hubs and I broke down our last U-Haul box and it's nice to be in a place that's organized. I wouldn't say that I'm crazy Type-A, I can handle a little clutter here and there, but this girl definitely does better when everything has a home.

While we don't know what life will bring us, the hubs and I don't plan on staying in this apartment for very long. That being said, I didn't really take the time to use the right side of my brain in decorating. So right now, the apartment is sporting a very practical, left-side-of-the-brain, this-is-what-we-need-it-to-be-right-now look (a.k.a  not decorated at all). Even so, there are a few things I love about where we're living for the time being.

The first is something I've never had before: an island in the kitchen. Can you really every have too much counter space? Um, no.

I stumbled upon this genius idea by Solana on Solo Thais and loved it!

See how she did it here.

Solana turned an old dresser into a kitchen island! Seriously? Yes, seriously. I don't even need to address how super cute it is.

Well, as the hubs and I were moving our home's-worth-of-stuff into our apartment's-worth-in-size, our little dresser-guy didn't quite have a wall to call his own. So I moved him into the kitchen and I LOVE it there.

While it's no where near as cute as Solana's, it's crazy practical and I used every ounce of space in the drawers. Two of the drawers being devoted solely to Abilene's baby food utensils (how in the world can items that are so itty-bitty take up so much space!). Maybe one day I'll have the opportunity to spiff it up with some paint, a new top, maybe some fancy feet and new drawer pulls but that's probably a project for our next living space.

Oh, and those gorgeous flowers on this island? They are from the sweetest family in the world (Ryan and Kathleen), given to us to add a little sunshine to the apartment. Mission accomplished.

The second thing I'm particularly fond of is the shoe organizer we have hanging behind the door of a storage closet in the kitchen. I used a shoe organizer to hold snacks and small pantry items in our Chambersburg house but, in the apartment, the door is right next to our Keurig so now it holds all of our K-Cups. So convenient!

This actually used to be our entertainment center. Our TV was where the Keurig is and our VCR (yep, don't judge) was where the microwave is. We are now both TV and VCR-less. The door to the storage closet is to the left of the entertainment-center-turned-coffee-station.

Open door to the storage closet. The entertainment center is behind the door.

I'm not sure what it is about the hubs and I but we seem to be the type of couple that people love giving their unwanted K-Cups to. Sometimes this works out in our favor but most times we just quickly find out exactly why they were giving the K-Cups away (bleh!). Nevertheless, we've acquired a lot and the shoe organizer is the perfect home for them. Each pouch or two is a different flavor and it's right beside the Keurig machine. Oh, the little things.

Lastly, I'm loving the mantel in living room. We've never had a mantel before and therefore, I've never had the opportunity to put anything on one. Since we're not painting or hanging pictures, the mantle is really the only spot I have in the apartment to make our own.

I know there are "rules" for decorating mantles and I probably broke every single one of them but it's full of things that mean a lot to me that I've never decorated with before.

The photo album was given to us by a dear friend before we left Chambersburg. It's filled with pictures of kids we've spent time with during the last 4 1/2 years. I love having that up as a part of our history.

The blue painting was a project I did in a general art class in college. It's an abstract of a photo of the hubs and I on top of Mt. Marcy in 2006 (the highest peak in the Adirondacks). Definitely not a Picasso but it was just one of those things I could never throw away.

The sign was used as a decoration at our wedding reception. Who doesn't want to be reminded to live "happily ever after" every day?

The mirror was given to us as a wedding gift from (Brad's now supervisor) Ken and his wife. Being in Pennsylvania, I never seemed to find a place that it worked in our house. Now that we're back in the ADK's, I love that I can pretty much put it anywhere and it "fits."

The black and white drawing was made for my by the hubs himself while we were dating - a pencil sketch of a picture of us one night by Saranac Lake. The drawing is so special to me because I know how much work he put into it. I love having it in a place where everyone can see it.

And the flowers are left over from the bouquet Ryan and Kathleen gave me because there were SO many!

Oh, what little joys we get to indulge in for however long we're in this apartment! So thankful that the Lord provided this home for us when He did. It's exactly what we need for the time that we need it for. He never fails.