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 :)

An apartment update May 20, 2009

Hey guys,

I really, desperately want to post pictures of the new place and all the fabulous decorating I've done, but to be honest, I haven't even finished unpacking yet! My tiny room is a mess- all of the extra storage containers I used in my dorm room are unnecessary in the new apartment, because it has built in storage. Everywhere. Who would have thought?

Also, I haven't found the memory card reader I use to post photos, so I couldn't show you pictures even if I wanted to.

In other news, Rach, Arielle and I made our first apartment dinner last night: vegetarian chicken parm on whole wheat spaghetti with a side of broccoli. It was delicious and only took about 30 minutes. Rachel attempted to take some photos, but the lighting in our kitchen is horrendous. We're going to have to work on that because I would love to start food blogging.... we'll see.

Oh, and somehow I managed to burn three of my fingers last night, without even touching anything. I was minding my own business, taking a break from cooking and watching the broccoli spin around in the microwave. All of a sudden, the saran wrap covering the broccoli bowl started bubbling up (someone, I won't mention names....wrapped it around too tightly, which is one of the reasons I prefer to use wax paper...), so I, being the spontaneous person who wants to fix everything, promptly opened the microwave and attempted to remove the saran wrap.

Suddenly, hot steam enveloped my fingers and I screamed. Yup, I managed to burn myself without even touching anything. FML.

I think there's a life lesson here:

If something is in the microwave, it is most likely hot and you shouldn't touch it. Ever. Your fingers will thank you.

Movin' Out May 17, 2009

Photo-Op: Bu Admissions Office

Isn't this a beautiful scene? I had to stop and snap a photo on my way home. To be honest, I took it a few weeks ago when the flower petals were still pink and fresh. So why show you this photo today? Because it reminds me of BU...

I have one semester left here (I'm doing my last semester in England). BU is such a wonderful place. I've made so many great friends [hi Riki! (she's sitting right next to me)] and have learned so much. I've been presented with tons of opportunities...

Keeping all of this in mind, I will say that I'm extremely excited to finally be moving out. I can't wait to have my own bathroom and not have to clean up other people's hair; I can't wait to have a real sink in which to wash my dishes; I can't wait to have an oven where I can bake cupcakes!

I turned in my keys yesterday after schleping all of my stuff over to the new apartment with the help of Pinkey and her mini van. Though I lived on the first floor of a BU brownstone, the new apartment is on the 3rd floor. Yeah, there were a lot of stairs. We were extremely proud of ourselves- two tiny girls, both under 4'11", managed to move practically my entire dorm room.*

We actually decided to start our own moving company, complete with catchy slogan:

Midget Movers: There's nothing we can't move (except for elephants)

So yeah, give us a call and we'll haul your stuff! In other news, I haven't officially moved into the apartment, so I'm currently crashing with a friend. But...I'm moving in tomorrow morning and I am super psyched. So psyched, that I think the excitement might keep me up tonight :)

* Ok, Chris helped us move the last two boxes, but we did everything else.

I Think I Accidentally Hit on my Boss May 13, 2009

Depending on when you first met me, you'll either think of me as a complete slob or an anal neat freak. The truth is, though I used to let the clothing pile up on my floor and allowed clutter to take over my desk, I've recently become sort of crazy when it comes to cleaning.  I like to refer to myself as a "reluctant slob," because I feel guilty whenever I let my room get messy. As a result, I try to stay organized.

My pink skillet April 23, 2009

Happy Pink Thursday everyone! I thought I'd show you this great new skillet I bought for my future apartment. Technically, I didn't buy it on Pink Thursday- I actually got it this weekend, but I waited until today to show it to you. Trust me, it's been hard.

How cute is this skillet?
Now the only question is- should I christen it with pancakes or stir fry?

Passover comes to an end...and I can finally eat! April 16, 2009

Hooray, I made it!

It's been a long 8 days, folks. As much as I love Passover, I also kind of hate it. It's like every year, I get so excited for Passover to begin, all the while forgetting how hard it is to be leaven-free for 8 days. It's been especially difficult this Passover because I've been doing food blog research for my internship. That means, I spend HOURS looking at beautiful food photography. I've salivating right now just thinking about some of the forbidden foods I discovered.

Instead of keeping all of these drool-worthy recipes to myself, I thought I'd share with you a few of my favorites:

• Churros from Dinner with Julie
• Creme Brulee French Toast from Sarah's Cucina Bella
• Crispy Parmesan Onion Rings from Life's Ambrosia
• Spinach Artichoke Dip from The Arugula Files
• Lime Tea Cakes with Raspberries from 17 and Baking

Hopefully, I'll  be able to recreate these amazing recipes  this summer...I'm subletting an apartment with friends and staying in Boston. I'm extremely excited. More about this later.

PS- Happy Pink Thursday! I wore an adorable pink and purple sundress toay, complete with matching pink cardigan and purple tights. I was so color coordinated that people complimented me on my matching skills. This is strange, because usually my little sister has to help me match. Who would've thunk it? I guess I'm finally growing up :)

Listed: My week March 27, 2009

 
{Bye snow! It's almost April and I am sooo ready to whip out my favorite sundress and peep-toe heels. PS- this picture is from my birthday weekend. Thank goodness the snow has since melted.}

What a busy week! If you've noticed, I haven't really written that much about my personal life this week. Well, that's because A LOT of stuff has been going on. While I have enough blog fodder for at least 10 different posts, I think I should boil it all down to a 10-part list.

1) Things on the boy front: bad.

2) My teacher loved my Audrey Hepburn project and is putting it on display!

3) I had my much anticipated housing appointment yesterday and will be living in a brand spanking new apartment next year. I'll have my own room, a beautiful view and most importantly, a kitchen. I can't wait to start using my old recipe notebook again. It's currently somewhere at home, its chocolate spattered pages just waiting to be opened. The last time I used it was back in Israel.

4) Megan's mom gave me a box of pizzelle cookies :)

5) I met made friends with a pseudo-celebrity yesterday in class. Normally, I sit next to a really sweet girl named Tina, but yesterday there was a guy in her normal seat. I of course struck up conversation. I then found out that this kid is not only a sports model, but also spent some time on the set of  Scrubs with my favorite Jewish boy- Zach Braff! Ok, so he's probably not my favorite Jewish boy, but he is pretty funny. Oh, and I saw pictures.

6) I had a really annoying test today. I'm just glad it's over.

7) I received two packages in the mail, the first from my old high school ( a Passover survival kit) and another from TBS...as in the TV station. More on that later :)

8) My room is a mess. This only happens when I'm a) super stressed or b) super busy. This week, I was both.

9) The girl getting my coffee this morning at Starbucks greeted me by saying "Hello sir. What can I get you." I was only slightly offended. I'm pretty sure I don't look like a boy. At all. Maybe it was because I wasn't facing her, but still. Curious.

10) I learned about rosary beads from a cute Catholic boy. He also shared with me his vast knowledge of Judaism: "Wait, so on Saturday, Jews can't drive cars or watch sports, right?" Haha. Whatever, he's hot.

Reason #1 why I MUST have an apartment next year: I have a hair phobia February 02, 2009

This morning I went to take a shower in one of the second floor bathrooms. They were both occupied, so I went up to the third floor. Luckily, the bathroom was available, so I brought in my shower caddy, closed the door and glanced at the combination shower/bath.

I scanned the tub until my eyes narrowed in on the drain and the ball of hair that blocked it.  Now, if you know me at all, you know I absolutely hate hair. I'm ok with the hair on my head, but I hate body hair, I hate stubble, and most of all, I hate cleaning hair out of bathtub drains. Now, I'm pretty grossed out by my own hair remnants in the shower, but hair from a stranger- that's just gross. Staring at the disgusting brown mass, I knew I had to make a decision: do nothing and be forced to look at the hair/think about it throughout my shower or tear off a piece of toilet paper, grab the hair and throw it away.

I decided on the second option. As I neared the tub to remove the soggy, brown hairball, I felt something in my throat. Oh my god, I was literally going to throw up. I quickly grabbed the hair, tried not to look and threw it away. Great, there was more. The more I thought about the hair, the more my gag reflex kicked in. Thankfully, I successfully disposed of the remainder of the hair and didn't end up puking. Even still, that's something I never want to have to do again.

Now, if I live in an apartment with my close friends next year, I'm almost positive that I will NEVER have to remove unfamiliar hair from the drain again. And honestly, if it does becomes a problem, we can just have an apartment meeting.

Eww. I'm so glad I'm not a guy- they have so much body hair. It's really rather gross...Hooray for being a soft skinned, delicate girl!