There have been quite a few big events in my life since my last post, and while they have meant some exciting changes, they have unfortunately kept me away from the blog-o-sphere for quite some time. To make a long story short, after 7 months of intensive job searching I have now finally joined the world of the full-time employed. Yay! :] As a result, in the last couple months, my schedule has been pretty packed. Between apartment hunting, moving in, and adjusting to a new job, I guess I kinda sorta shirked my responsibility to my blog. Ooops... Now that I have a little more time though -- and a consistent internet connection (hooray!) I hope I won't be disappearing for so long again.
Although I have not been posting, this blog and the direction I would like to take with it has been something that I have done a lot of thinking about recently. When I started out last fall, I was hoping blogging would be another tool I could use to help me in my job search in addition to a place where I would write about topics I found interesting. As a result, I really struggled to develop a cohesive way to tie everything together. The intellectual side of me was telling me I should be talking about social media and interesting articles, while my creative side was wanting to complete DIY projects and share them. After a bit of soul searching, I think I will be heading back to my roots from here on out. What do I mean by that? Well back in the day when Xanga was cool, I didn't really worry about my intended purpose or who my audience was (aside from the fact that I wanted to impress my middle school friends). And although I did not consciously realize I was blogging at the time, essentially I was. But mostly, I was keeping an online journal and writing about whatever I wanted. Just being me. That is what I plan to do again.
So, who am I now? Well, now I am a young professional. I am out on my own for the first time, and I am learning the challenges that come with this new lifestyle. What I expect is that that means the content of this blog will shift. Not only will my future posts be more "journal-like" but they will also focus on topics such as apartment life and living on a budget.
I guess a good place to start would be to introduce you to my new place. At this point, it is far from perfect, but we're getting there. I still have boxes in the living room and in my bedroom, so to be honest, I am too embarrassed to post pictures of those spaces online. But we'll start with the kitchen. I have to admit that I do love my kitchen. I don't know many people my age who live in an apartment with granite counter-tops and literally brand new stainless steel appliances, but I do. I am a lucky girl. It was a pain that my first week here I had to wait for everything to be installed, but it was definitely worth the wait. The only thing I would change is the stove. If anyone ever tries to convince you to get one of those "easy to clean" stove tops that are basically a big plastic surface, don't listen. It is so much harder to control the temperature and I think it is actually harder to clean. Anytime any liquid spills, it instantly fuses to the top and leaves a permanent mark. Also, the black color shows every little bit of dust. I would much rather have a gas range. On a side note, if you noticed the glass jars on the counter-top, I picked those up from IKEA this past weekend and plan to turn those into one of my next projects, so keep an eye out for that blog post. But moving on...
We have the small dining area. I just bought the green place mats this past weekend, and I am even more happy with them than I thought I would be. They are pretty much perfect for this space because they really brighten up the room. Plus, you can't really tell from the picture, but they nicely tie in the bright green that is in both of the paintings I had already hung in the space.
Then last, but not least, we have the last room on our tour - the bathroom. There is really nothing too exciting about a bathroom. But, I do think I got extremely lucky when I found my bathmat. I knew I wanted to go with a white and light blue color scheme (I already had light blue towels and planned to get a white shower curtain) and then somehow I happened upon this rug that was not only the exact same hue of blue with white, but also tied in the tan tile on the floor and the counter top. That rug was meant for me. Which brings me to how I plan to wrap up this little (or I guess pretty long) entry.I will be the first person to admit that since I got an account in the fall, I have been addicted to Pinterest. I love finding new projects, recipes, and inspiration for how I want to style my home (and I guess also parts of my life). But if there is anything I have learned in the past few weeks, it is that sometimes keeping it simple is best. I don't need every item in my apartment to become a DIY project. Although those doily light fixtures and wine racks turned towel holders are pretty awesome, taking on too many cutesy projects is enough to make you crazy (especially when the money it takes to purchase supplies often is much more expensive than you might initially think). That is not to say that I plan to cut out all of the DIY pins I have been planning to create, but I have a better sense of what is practical to accomplish over a period of time and on a budget.
As I tackle this challenge of doing it on my own, one step at a time, my goal is that in the upcoming months, I will be able to show off a living room and a bedroom that I can be proud of. Then at that point, I will finally be able to have friends over and entertain. Yay! According to Cosmo, working towards a goal is often more fulfilling than achieving the goal itself... Well hopefully that is the case, because goodness knows, I have a lot of goals to accomplish to get this place in order!
I hope you'll check back later for more updates on my little journey of independence. Thanks for reading :]
Cheers!
Rachael-
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