New Refrigerator

My mom and my sister drove up from South Dakota this week to go school shopping. I love having them here. I don't like being so far away from home but I'm glad I made the decision to move to the big city. 

Back to my fridge.....

So like most renters we have a crappy white fridge that is falling apart. The previous renters broke of one of the bars on the door and the freezer leaks water into the fridge. Needless to say we need a new fridge. 

I don't know about other landlords but ours are never going to get us a new fridge unless this one breaks down. Since I'm not going to be getting a new one anytime soon I thought I would at least make it look prettier. But how to you make a renters fridge look pretty. I would love to paint it with chalk paint but I don't think the land lord would appreciate that, so.... Paint Fridge. 

While reading the many DIY blogs I follow, I saw this.

This is Aileen's fridge from At Home In Love. I just love it. She used gold contact paper for the dots. 

I didn't use contact paper but I did find some of those removable stickers that you can put on the wall. Well you can put them on the fridge too!! I put one on and peeled it off to make sure it wasn't permanent and they came off super easy. 

So now my fridge looks like this.....

I used a couple different colors of stickers on my fridge. The package of wall stickers that I bought came with a turquoise color but I didn't think would look right with the other decor I have in the kitchen. Plus I think it has enough stickers on it.

I really like the way it turned out. So much better then the blah crappy white fridge that it used to be.

Have you ever used something for other then its intended purpose? If so I would love to hear about it. Maybe even try it myself.

Under the Sink Organization

My poor cat got sick this weekend and I had to take her to the vet. The vet I usually take her to was closed on Sunday, so I had to find another vet that was open. 

I ended up taking her to Banfield Pet Hospital. While I was there I signed her up for the Banfield Wellness Plan. The savings from just the first visit were amazing. I saved over $300!! I mean holy buckets.

So she has been sick before so I was looking for the food that the vet gave me to get her re-hydrated. I thought it was under the sink, so I started moving bottles of window cleaner and bathtub cleaner out of the way trying to find this food I was so sure I had.

NOPE! I didn't have any left but I did get the sink somewhat organized, so that's a plus.

Sorry there was no before picture. I wasn't thinking I was going to organize under the sink when I started so I didn't get a picture taken.

It isn't perfect... I could probably throw away some of those old cans of bathroom cleaner. I mean I don't need three different cleaners for the tub.

Anyway it's nice to have the sink organized so when I need to find something it is within easy reach.

Next up organizing the cabinets!

What have you organized lately? Any tips?

Trip To The Library

I mentioned in a either post that the finance and I took a trip downtown to the public library and as promised here are some picture of the building. 

There were three different floors; two of books and one with the front desk. Each floor had a lobby and two sides. 

Each side had one of these above each door to specify what type of books were inside.

I just love it!

In the lobby were the elevators. The doors of the elevators were just spectacular! 

Even the stair rails leading up to each floor were beautiful.

Notice the Finance's legs.

Oh and did I mention that the stairs were marble!

I just love going into these old buildings and looking around. We didn't check out any books that day since we have a whole bookcase full to read, so we will be going back at some point to get a library card and start reading some books.

Do you have any old building in your neighborhood like this library? What type of books do you like to read? Let me know if you have any book recommendations. 

Beautiful Early Morning

This morning I work up at 5 AM for work! Some of you may  be thinking, "I wake up that early everyday.". Well not this gal. I wake up at 7:45 AM every morning, so 5 AM is early. I had to be to work by 6:30, for a developer's conference, and was done getting ready by 5:20 ( I can thank the sty in my eye for helping me get ready fast). I figured if I left early I could get to work and get something done before the conference started. On my way to my car I saw these pretty purple flowers growing in front of my car.

I'm not really sure what kind of flowers they are but it really made me wish I was renting. I want a yard to plant flowers in. I can't wait for the day when I'm outside watering my flowers. Someday it will happen......Someday. 

I do have a few plants scattered around the apartment but I have to keep them up high because my wonderful cat just loves to chew on flowers. She has already destroyed my aloe plant and almost killed my bamboo. I really have to pay attention to what plants are poisonous to cats because if she can find a way to get to it she will eat it. She is so mischievous, but I love her. 

Do you have a flower garden or even a vegetable garden? What kinds of plants are you growing? Do you know of any hardy plants that I can have around cats?

Old Stuff and New Stuff

Hey everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. Mine was exactly eventful (unlike most weekends). It rained pretty much all day  on Saturday but that didn't stop us from taking the new light rail to downtown Saint Paul to check out all the awesome old buildings. I'll show you some of my pictures tomorrow. Sunday was a day full of eating...... first we had a Mediterranean bunch at Santorini's  and then Famous Dave's for supper with some of my family. I was still full yesterday from all the food. Now on to the good stuff.

OLD STUFF

I know it has been awhile since I decided I was going to go through the stuff I have that I don't use anymore, well I have finally gotten around to taking picture of ALL the stuff I'm going to donate to Good Will. 

AND BEHOLD.........

All the clothes and random junk that I'm going to get rid of. There isn't as much as I was hoping there would be. Oh well if we move next year hopefully  I will get rid of more. For now I'm just happy that I was able to get rid of some of my stuff. 

NEW STUFF

Last week I was reading one of the blogs I follow and there was a post about Young Living. I figured I would check it out even though I wasn't really sure about essential oils but Emily at Decor Chick was really excited about them. I read the post and was hooked. I just had to try these oils out for myself. I have heard a lot of buzz out them but I just thought they were fragrances, but man was I wrong. So of the oils that I was really excited to try  were the ones that help with headaches and sleeplessness. I suffer from frequent sometimes debilitating headaches (I take almost 800mg everyday). I don't like taking a lot of medicine for them because of the side effects. When I saw that there was an essential oil to help relieve headache and sleepless I knew I had to try them. There are also essential oils to help with stress and relieve tension in muscles; something else I suffer from. 

Not only to Emily talk about how essential oils are helpful but about the benefits of joining Young Living. You can see her post here and her post about the Essential Rewards program that just adds to the awesomeness of being an Essential Rewards member here. 

I ordered the Premium Starter Kit with Aroma Diffuser. This is what I got.

11 Essential Oils, 2 samples each of Lavender, Lemon, Peace and Calming, Peppermint, and Thieves

. I can't wait to share the samples with friends or strangers. I also received  the new aroma diffuser. I had to put Purification in there right away to refresh the apartment. It smells so good. The diffuser has three different settings; Off, On 1HR, On 4HR. I like that I can just set it and it will shut off on its own. 

I have not started the Essentials Rewards yet but plan to shortly. I just got to figure out what I want to put in my first order. 

If you also want to join Young Living you can click here. If will take you to the sign up page. My member number is already plugged in for you. When you sign up it there will be a spot for you to sign up for Essential Rewards but you don't have to that right away, you can wait and do it anytime. 

By the way, please ignore the floral pattern in all the pictures. The pattern belongs to the couch I got for free from my Grandparents. I love the shape of the couch so I plan on adding a white slip cover at some point. I just have to get around to it. But that is a post for another day. 

Have you heard all the buzz about essential oils? How do you go about getting rid of unnecessary stuff? I would love some pointers.  

Work Is Taking Over

.... Super tired today. Worked last night until 9:45 and then had to go right to bed. I was really hoping to go through all my junk and get rid of some stuff so I can start organizing. My apartment always seems to look so messy with lots of stuff not having a home.

 I used to not want to get rid of anything but as I'm getting older I'm realizing that I can't keep everything. Since I came into work at 6:45 this morning I will have some time to go through all my stuff (or at least some of it, there is a ton). My man will also not be home tonight so I can go at my own pace. I'll post some pictures tomorrow of all the stuff that I have decided to get rid of. Be ready for a bunch of pictures!!!!

Big City Traffic

 It's actually looking like a really good day to stay inside and clean. According to Weather.com it is supposed to rain pretty much all afternoon. Not only does rain mean it's a good day to stay inside because there is nothing to do outside but people up here in the city can't seem to figure out how to drive in the rain. I don't know if that is the case everywhere but it certainly is here.

Well I hope everyone stays dry today. I'm going to try.

Have you never ran out of time to do something around that house that need to get done? How did you find the time?

Getting Back To Decorating

Okay so I know it has been a couple days...... So I'll fill you in on what has been going on.

I'm officially looking for a job again. I've gone on a couple interview so far and I'm really interested in one job in particular.

Anyway so I'm kinda in a stand still with my projects at work so I've been checking out some decorating blogs. I have always wanted to decorate my living space. My mom never decorated our house but the couple times I have gone to my aunt's house in Oregon I just loved how it felt. I loved how the house flowed. I've slowly been trying to decorate my apartment with a little success, but with a budget of almost nothing the progress is slow.

One the of blogs that has giving me a bunch of inspiration recently is  Myquillyn over at the Nesting Place. I just love her style.

Myquillyn's Office

 Every time I see a different photo of her gorgeous home I think that is exactly the kind of feeling I want my home to have. I just love all the pastel colors everywhere and since I'm also renting it is nice to see how she decorates (Even though she is now the owner of a beautiful house).

The weather is starting to get nice enough to go outside and gets some things painted that I have wanted to paint all winter.

I'll let you know if I make any progress in my decorating. All the successes and mistakes.

I should also mention that my creative abilities are pretty much non-existent so this whole decorating thing is going to be very trial and error.

Have you ever wanted to decorate but have no real creative abilities? I would love to hear how you started and how your place looks now.