Rug In Its Natural Habitat

Here's the new rug in situ. I finally put some things on the wall as well!

This Rug Really Ties The Room Together

I took the plunge and bought myself a rug. A big commitment if there ever was one. After consulting several acquaintances with objectively good taste, I settled on this one:

So far, I'm very happy with my choice. I had a coupon because now when you set up mail forwarding with USPS, they give you the option to get all kinds of coupons for your new home. Great for saving money, bad for cutting down on ridiculous catalog infestation.

The rug is actually very soft despite being an outdoor rug. It went on sale right after I bought it (of course) but my deal hunter friend advised me to call the company, and they adjusted the price for me. Double YAY!

I also got a bunch of other previously-loved goodies for the apartment and hung up some stuff on the walls, so I will post more pictures soon.

Funny Things You Discover About Yourself When You Move, Part II

Apparently I collect leaf plates. And mortar and pestle sets.

Cherry Scones

This is my mom's recipe for scones, but I substituted dried cherries instead of the raisins she uses.
Easy, and so tasty! My grandmother tells me it's also possible to freeze the dough once it's mixed and shaped, so you can have fresh baked scones whenever you want.

Mom's Scones
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
4 tsp. baking powder*
3 tbsp. sugar
1/4 cup shortening
3/4 cup raisins
3/4 cup milk

Combine all dry ingredients. Cut in shortening with pastry blender (or a fork). Add milk and blend. Turn dough out onto floured board and knead lightly about 1/2 inch thick. Cut into 6 triangles. Brush with milk, sprinkle with sugar, and bake in 450 degree oven for 8-10 minutes until brown.

*If baking powder is older than 2 months, double the amount.

Girl Time!

I recently enjoyed a brief visit from Jana-rama, who is a hoot. About a week after she left I turned on my camera and found this:

Thanks, Jana! I love you! <3

Flip Flopper

As I previously mentioned, the layout of this new apartment is a bit odd. The front room, which has windows facing the street, also has a walk-in closet. As a result, I thought, "This must be the bedroom." The back room, which is smaller, and farther from the street noise, has no closet and is the connected to the kitchen, so I thought, "This must be the living room."

Unfortunately, using the rooms in this layout didn't really feel natural. The living room felt cramped and the front room was too noisy for sleeping (and I can sleep through a nuclear holocaust, so that's saying something). So, I decided to swap the purposes of the two rooms. It will be weird to walk through the bedroom to get to the kitchen, and to walk into the living room to get my clothes in the morning. But I decided if it's too weird, I'll just switch it back!

BEFORE: Front Room


BEFORE: Back Room

Do-It-Herself: I Built a Bookcase!

Technically I installed a shelf system, but I'm still proud. To make the very shallow, door-less closet in the back room useful, I got a custom shelving system from the Container Store and installed it myself. It was actually embarrassingly easy. I predict it will also be embarrassingly easy to fill with my junk.

Funny Things You Discover About Yourself When You Move, Part I

Apparently I collect ramekins.

Benvenuto ad Oakland

Last night as I was walking home, I saw a gondola on Lake Merritt. So bizarre!

photo by GenuinelyCurious

Heart Attack On A Plate

First weekend at home in the new place featured this aggressively meaty and delicious breakfast. Yes, you do see two kinds of meat on that plate: chorizo PLUS pepper bacon, plus cheesy eggs, plus ciabatta and avocado and coffee and a fruit salad. Do not try this at home.

I Heart My Neighborhood

I love cupcakes, and I love that some inspired artist is spreading the cupcake love.
J+C forever!

Farmers' Market

The first few weekends after I moved in, I was out of town so I missed the celebrated farmers' market that materializes every Saturday about half a mile from my apartment. A mistake never to be repeated!


This Saturday I had a lovely brunch with my dear friend (and neighbor!) Sarah and then we hit the market. In the future I must have a strategy because I was so excited and overwhelmed, I'm sure I missed some opportunities. I did manage to come home with some bok choy, italian beans, lettuce mix with edible flowers, apricots, nectarines, and these adorable and fragrant lilacs. I was in heaven!

Ikea Hack

My co-worker, Eden, just moved into a new apartment at the same time I did, so we hit the local disposable furniture purveyor and shopped with wild abandon. She couldn't find throw pillows that fit her ideal color scheme, but we found this dishtowels that coordinated perfectly. So I made them into pillow covers!

Before

After

I didn't want to cut the dishtowels, in case my friend didn't like the outcome or decided she'd rather have dishtowels than pillows, plus I didn't want to buy or fiddle with zippers, so I just made the closure a fold over, like those cheap sandwich bags. They turned out nicely, if I do say so myself! And Eden is happy. Yay!

Pics of the Place!

Here's some pics of the new place from the day of move-in! I tried to get crazy and make my own panoramas. I'll keep my day job.

Front room

This is the biggest room! There's a walk in closet behind the mirrored door, which is why it's the default bedroom. There's a busy street outside the front two windows. I'm on the top floor but it's still really loud.

Middle RoomThis middle room is smaller, and the kitchen is in the back, off this middle room. Also you'll note there's a nook that looks like a closet with the doors removed. What to do with it?

Teeny Bathroom

This room is pretty cramped and the plumbing is ancient. The shower head is at about 5 feet, so I have to bend to rinse my hair. The sink has two faucets, one for hot and one for cold, so in order to get warm water...well, I'll let you know when I figure it out.
These are the compromises that must be made for urban living.

So, I think there's lots of potential! But I'm biased. I live here!

I moved!

Hey friends!
I moved back to California, I got a new job, and I just moved into a cute new one-bedroom apartment -- my first time living alone!
Since so many of you, my friends, are far from me now, I thought I'd use this space to share some pictures as I get settled in, explore my new city, and pursue various exciting adventures.
Enjoy and let me know what you think!
Love,
Debbie O.