Our Place, 3 Years Later

Here's our little place, after three years of settling in and slowly collecting stuff.  It's hard to not accumulate some things, when you live in the Land of Cute.

Lots of washi tape, original art (from friends, students, Ethan, etc.), and plants.  I take a lot of inspiration from Scandinavian homes and Japanese apartment blogs.  But Ethan's room is his own.  Gotta give a teenager free reign to decorate his own space.  I do sneak in there every once in a while!

 I like to surround myself and my family with items and pictures that make us happy and carry memories.  It's the best way to decorate, I think.

My Balcony Garden, Year 3

Another summer, another balcony garden.  I planted my usuals, and some more flowers this year, which did really nice.  I still had to battle the aphids this year, so I made a concoction of dish soap, tabasco, and vegetable oil which seemed to do the trick.

I love my little garden, and it's so nice to be able to go out there and pick some things to use in dinner that night.  But what I wouldn't give to have a nice, big garden, where I could grow lots of veggies, herbs, and flowers.

Perhaps someday...

Apartment Tour

I've been putting this off for a while, mainly because I kept telling myself the place is not quite finished yet. But I think it's about as finished as it's gonna be for a while. All the big furniture pieces were here when we arrived, and the only things I brought from the US was a calendar and my Camilla Engman canvas above our dining table. I wanted to keep things simple and basic, but still true to my design style. But I've been slowly accumulating cute home decor to liven to place up a bit. I have a feeling I'm going to be bring a lot more back with me to the States than when I got here!!

Our apartment complex. We live on the third floor.

It's been a fun challenge decorating this place. I made the garland above our bed and the yarn "art" above our "couch". You may have noticed the lack of bed in Ethan's room. Ethan sleeps on a Japanese futon, which we fold away in his closet during the day. It was supposed to be the alternative for him until we could buy him a bed, but he loves it. It's hard to believe that all my stuff is in a storage shed in Canyon, and how I really haven't missed all those things too much. It's actually been refreshing to live a little more simply.

With that said, these are things I still want to get: an afghan for our bed, some more potted plants, and a beanbag chair for Ethan's room.

And you know me, always keeping the place tidy, just in case company comes over!