The Good Girl Gone Blog

180 sq ft December 06, 2010

Today I'm signing a lease for my first real Boston apartment! Though I've loved staying with Eric for the past month and a half, the goal was always to have my own space. I've been looking for a while now, but the combination of bad timing, the expense of apartments and not really wanting to move in with a roommate has made things more difficult.

After weighing the pros and cons of different neighborhoods (further away has cheaper, bigger apartments, but requires a car or public transportation, closer to work/Eric is a lot more expensive), I've decided on a tiny garden level studio in the South End.

I'm currently doing marketing for a local real estate agency, so I'm surrounding by experts on apartment hunting. In fact, one of my coworkers in the marketing department (who used to be an agent) came with me to see the apartment and told me to go for it- I immediately filled out the application.

I can't wait to fill it up with my things, to find furniture that works and learn how to utilize a tiny space.In fact, Eric and I went to IKEA the other day and took some iphone pics of some of our favorite small bedroom/apartment layouts for inspiration. I even got rid of 5 small bags of clothing today at Buffalo Exchange and Goodwill in an effort to lessen the amount of stuff I'll be bringing with me.

Got an idea for decorating/furnishing a tiny apartment on a budget? I'm all ears.

Editor's note: there seems to have been some confusion regarding the photo above. It's not my actual apartment, it's just a set up room at IKEA. I'm not moving for a few weeks :)

Home is...where my shoes are June 01, 2010

When I first started moving things into my apartment, it was devoid of furniture and other large pieces, but the closets were quickly filled. Dresses were hung in one closet, separated by color and just itching to be worn. Skirts and shirts went into the other closet until it could hold no more.

But the closets were not complete until filled with my favorite things: shoes. Six shoe rack rows were filled and excess shoes were placed beneath the shoe racks and on shelves above the hanging clothes. Sure, I didn't have a bed or a dining room table yet, but my apartment felt like home. You see, to me, a home is where my shoes are.

Which got me thinking- yes, I have a ton of shoes. I've come to accept that I don't need to stop buying shoes simply because I have a lot. I'm a shoe collector, I've had some of my shoes since middle school, I've scored a bunch of great deals (usually at DSW) and I have hand-me-ups from my little sisters, whose shoe sizes have already surpassed mine.

Hi, my name is Alana and I own 68 pairs of shoes.

The good news is, my stepmom has over 75 pairs, so I don't feel too bad. (She says it's because she's older and has had more time to accumulate them. Sure, we can go with that.)

So now I'm wondering- how many pairs of shoes do you own?

When I made my final count, I included boots, slippers and even old dance shoes, so don't leave anything out.

Snaps of the apartment! May 30, 2010

It's official, Comcast has disappointed us once again and I STILL have no Internet. It's extremely frustrating and highly unprofessional. I was expecting my Internet to be installed between 12 and 3 yesterday, and then we got a call saying they'd come between 4 and 5. No one ever came, and I was forced to spend a good part of the day in the apartment when I could have been out having fun with Eric.

Fortunately, he's a good sport and we did have a lot of fun yesterday when we weren't sitting around waiting. Pictures to come!

Here are a few I took from around my house the other day:

Roses from my stepmom, cooking things and my dining room.

More to come when I get my own Internet.....

Milestones May 14, 2010

It's been all sorts of crazy over at the G3B residence. Lot of exciting stuff going on over here, folks. Because it's 12:00 and I have to leave my house in approximately six hours to catch a flight to Boston, I'm going to be especially brief.

Here's the deal:

1. At 4 pm this Sunday, my family and I will be attending my college graduation. Just two and a half hours later, I will be the proud owner of a diploma boasting my BS in Communication.
2. My apartment is on its way to becoming an amazing home. Though it's still missing most of my furniture, it is housing a majority of my shoes and clothing, as well as a two cute couches and a bunch of Cuisinart steals from Rue La La.
3. I got a job, at least for the summer. I start work on Wednesday and I'm going to get to do some really awesome stuff. Stay tuned.
4. My little sister comes home from Israel on June 3rd for the rest of the summer.
5. Thibault is coming to visit me for two weeks in June!

...and that's all for now. Hopefully all this excitement won't get in the way of me falling asleep tonight!

Operation Cute Apartment: that one key piece May 11, 2010

Yesterday, my stepmom and I attempted to find some rugs for my new apartment. Unfortunately, because I didn't know the color of my bedspread or my living room furniture, we ended up spending hours looking, but not finding anything. Additionally, we were trying to find a dresser that matched my current set, but Ikea apparently discontinued my furniture.

Now, I'm still without a dresser, BUT because my stepmom and I found a great bedspread  today, I was able to pick out a rug. Here's the duvet and pillow set we chose:

I like that it's mostly white with just a hint of girly purple. (We didn't get that cylinder shaped pillow- it looked weird in person!)  Plus, it matches my current curtains, so I'm all set in that department.

After picking this out, my stepmom and I headed to home depot and picked out a rug that will match perfectly with the light grey of my duvet. Now that I have a central piece for my room, I can start decorating.

Get excited guys, it's all starting to come together! 

Operation cute apartment: the perfect bedspread May 09, 2010

Hi everyone, I'm not sure I've told you yet, but I'm moving into a really awesome apartment very soon. I'm bringing in my bedroom furniture from my dad's house and have accumulated a bunch of other pieces from family members including a kitchen table, chairs and a couch. Basically, I have most of the big stuff but still need to find all the little things to jazz up the place.

First step: find a new bedspread. 

Although I love my current duvet cover (I bought it for college and it's made for a twin bed) it's really not large enough for my big bed at home. It technically covers my entire mattress, but doesn't spill over the side of my bed, leaving my untucked sheets exposed. It's a bit tacky.

Anyway, here are a few bedspreads and duvets I've found online. There are still a bunch more that I like, so my heart isn't set on any of these. Let me know if you like any of these, or leave links in the comments if you find anything else cool- I need to pick something out soon so I can plan out the rest of my room!

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