The most obvious change to you all (aside from the fact that I'm getting MARRIED this weekend) is my new blog layout! This morning I realized that my Cutest Blog on the Block layout wasn't working properly, so I took a second to set up a new one that I really love.
{{If you're reading this on your Google Reader, now is the time to click over and ooh and ahh at the new layout!}}
It doesn't match my wedding color scheme anymore, but honestly...I'm getting so sick of navy and maroon, and I just needed a change. So green and maroon paisleys it is!
This post is going to be insanely long. But if you get to the second half you'll be rewarded with copious pictures of the apartment, as promised!
Getting married is a weird thing. It's like everything's about to change, but everything's staying the same too. I mean... Jeff and I have been committed to doing the whole "forever thing" for quite some time now, and that will stay the same. Promising to be faithful to each other till death does us part isn't really anything new. I honestly don't feel like the whole wedding thing is going to change that commitment. It'll have a new name, but it will be the same love, the same promises, the same trust. After the wedding is over, he'll still be Jeff and I'll still be Katie, and life will go on. We'll have the same families and the same values. We'll have the same plans and the same dreams.
But we'll be a Mr. and a Mrs. And we'll have new roles in life as "husband" and "wife." I'll finally move into the apartment, and I'll have to let go of my suburban comfort zone and adjust to life in the big city. My bank accounts, my insurance, my last name.... all of it will change. And then there's the whole realm of changes that come with moving in with a boy!! Haha. On top of all that, I'm starting law school two weeks after we get back from Jamaica. Change, change, change.
In preparation for that whole moving-in-with-a-boy thing we've been working like crazy to get the apartment put together. We've been doing is pretty low-budgetly, with lots of furniture my parents were getting rid of, lots of stuff we already owned, and lots of creativity. I promised pictures, and I have them! Keep in mind that this whole thing is a large work in progress. Let's go on a tour, shall we?
You enter the apartment here...
Barstools: From my parents. Repainted by Jeff and his Dad.
Let's take a look at the living room:
Couch: From my parents, Recovered by a decorator-friend as a wedding gift.
Rug: Jeff's graduation gift from same friend.
Chair and Ottoman: Ikea
Coffee Table: Overstock.com
Everything Else: Marshalls, TJ Maxx, and Ross. Yep.
Look! A pillow with our new monogram! (A shower gift from that same friend)
This might be my favorite part of the whole apartment. I looove this wall.
Mirrors: Ikea, painted and (painstakingly) hung by us. :o)
Sofa Table: From my parents
This is the one big piece of furniture we bought for the new apartment. We love love love it.
See all those DVDs? I'm marrying my own personal Blockbuster.
Let's see... next to the living room we have the kitchen table area...
Table & Chairs: From my parents, painted and spruced up by Jeff :o)
The piano was another big purchase. It was kind of like Jeff's graduation present to himself.
Paintings: Ebay. Seriously cheap.
Notice the didgeridoo in the right-hand corner? Jeff owns a didgeridoo. Weird, right?
Those two frames in the middle are vintage sheet music for the Texas A&M and USC fight songs (ebay as well!).
And now we'll go into...the kitchen!
I love the kitchen. Slate floors. Dark wood cabinets.
It's everything I ever wanted.
And on to.... the guest bathroom!
Did I mention that this is "my" bathroom? The master bath is teeny tiny compared to this one, so I went ahead and claimed it for myself, and Jeff's going to use the other one. I'm in love with this arrangement. :o)
You've seen this before - the recently painted red wall! That bed and nightstand are going to be swapped out for the black Ikea set super-soon!
Old USC band records... don't they match so well??
This is the one area we haven't tackled yet. But you better believe those boxes are going to be gone in time for the new black Ikea dresser!
Wanna know what we did with the guest room closet?
Meet "the office." Yes, it's technically a closet. But it has its own A/C vents and electrical outlets, and it's working quite well! we bought the desk at Wal-Mart. Super classy.
It even has shelves!
What's left... hmm... the balcony!
If you've been reading the blog for a while you'll recognize the patio set as our Valentine's Day gift to each other. We LOVE it. If only it weren't so hot and humid in Houston...
Alrighty, that brings us to the Master Bedroom, which oddly enough seems to be the room with the longest way to go for decorating.
We just painted it that brownish color. In person it's the exact same color as Bailey's. Which is probably why the color was called "cocoa rum." The bedroom furniture was from a family friend of Jeff's, and that's our new bedding from the registry!
See? Told you Jeff's bathroom is tiny!
What's that above the toilet? Oh...just the Texas Declaration of Independence!
We really like Texas.
And what's that?
It's the Texas capitol building!
This is the weird shower. I don't like it. It's shower head points directly down and it has no sort of door. Just another reason why I opted to use the other bathroom. :o)
And last but not least, my linen closet!
I just had to show this to you because it makes me feel so grown up and happy.
I think somewhere inside of me I've always wanted a linen closet, and now I feel complete.
I hope you enjoyed your tour around the new apartment!
Anyone have any good home decorating tips? Please tell me I'm not the only one that requests her own bathroom...
