A Day of Pictures

Since I uploaded pictures last night, I figured I'd share some of them with you today. I'm really enjoying Picasa2 and the ease of uploading to and using their web albums feature. I also just discovered you can embed slide shows. I feel all high tech.

These are some pictures of a walk in the woods at home that I took back in September. It's also how I got the 70 some bug bites I previously mentioned- probably chiggers. Yuck. But it was worth it!

Here a few more random pictures from October on.

Thanksgiving Update

Things have been moving along nicely here at the apartment. We have a few final things to do in terms of the setting up/unpacking/moving in and we're about to move in to the decorating phase this weekend. Life is starting to feel a bit more settled which is good since Kim started her job this Monday and I start this coming Monday. It's been a bit of a trial with getting paperwork sent where it needed to, but everything seems to have come through and I should have my practice permit on Saturday, just in the nick of time. We'll probably also be decorating for Christmas, which is always a highlight. I can't believe how quickly Christmas is coming up! It seems like only yesterday it was Thanksgiving.

This Thanksgiving, we had dinner at my parent's house. When I was younger, we had Thanksgiving at our house almost every year with both sets of grandparents. Then my mom's parents moved to Florida so it was just my dad's parents. Then my dad's parents got a new, bigger house and so my grandmother starting cooking dinner for the whole family again. Which was nice and all, but everyone besides us would already have eaten at their other in-laws house so then my grandmother would just complain about how no one ate her food. So since my grandfather has been sick this year, she threw in the towel and my mom and I got to make Thanksgiving. It was fun and with only minor arguments, my mom and I pulled off a fantastic dinner. My dad even pitched in by deep frying the turkey. And I am telling you it was to die for! Most of the family did get together the following Saturday for homemade pizza which was equally yummy in its own way. I'll leave you with a few selected shots of Thanksgiving at the Calimer's.

Thanksgiving

First Philly

Friday was a very successful day for me! I got a job offer (I'll give more details once it's official) and Kim and I signed the lease on our new apartment. It's official! We're beginning our lives in Philly! Click the picture below to enjoy the photos of our new apartment.

New Apartment

An Inside Look

I realized that I have lived in my apartment for over a year now and I have never really shared pictures! Last night, I straightened up a bit and took some. So now you can see where I've been living for the past year. I have to say, I'm generally pretty proud of it. It's decorated mostly with hand-me downs and bargains, but I think it turned out just right. I've tried really hard to include some sentimental things with things from my travels and all the things I need for everyday life. The result makes me happy and I think that's what really matters.

This is what it looks like when you walk in the front door. You can see our balcony through the sliding glass doors. The door to the left of the sliding glass doors is my bathroom.

This is the dining area and the window into the kitchen. Down the hallway is my roommate's bedroom.

This is our kitchen. The L-shape is great and gives us tons of counter space. We kind of went with a coffee theme.

This is my little area. The bathroom is just to the left. I used a curtain on a tension rod to create an attached bathroom/suite feeling to my room. It also adds some privacy when my roommate has friends over. The banner over the door is Indian and was purchased from Overstock.com's WorldStock store.

Here's the wide angle shot of my bedroom. I think you can definitely see the teal and brown theme I have going.

Here's a more up close shot of my bed. The bed platform, night table, and lamp are all from Walmart and the bedspread is IKEA. The artwork is from Tanzania and the Bahamas and the plant is an amaryllis.

I've had this dresser since I was a baby. My parent's bought it from my baby-sitter and refinished it. The orange jewelry stand cost me $1 at Goodwill and the small box/basket in the front was a gift from my friend Sharyn. Her parent's brought it back from Venezuela.

Here's my desk! It was also purchased from Walmart. The candle sticks are from Tanzania and the art on the wall is my name in Chinese, brought back from Hong Kong by Kim and Brandon.

This is my little reading corner. I don't really read here, but it looks nice. The art work is from Congo and Tanzania. The dolls are from Grand Cayman and Tanzania. I bought the stool before I went to college and my mom made that cover for it.

Finally, here's my bathroom. I carried over the teal and brown theme but brightened it and added some mod fun to it. The shower curtain, hooks, towels, and rug are all from ValueCity and the baskets are Longaberger baskets given to me by my mom and used for storage of make-up, hair accessories, and everyday essentials like toothpaste and face wash.


So there it is! My little house. I hope you liked the tour! The biggest lessons I learned from decorating my room where to not be afraid to use things that probably clash in style. I think if you use the things you love, it all comes together somehow. I also learned to re-purpose things. My curtains were intended to be panels on a canopy bed but work perfectly as regular curtains. Goodwill or your own closet are great resources for that. And the best thing? You don't have to spend a lot of money to get a great look! Nothing in this room (with the exception of books and electronics) cost more then $100 dollars. That includes the furniture, rug, lamps, and decor. All the art together didn't cost anymore then $30. It's all the framing. Never underestimate the power of a great professional frame! I'm so glad I was able to make my apartment, and more specifically my room, a place that is peaceful and makes me happy!