keep it/switch it (living room!)

what's the best part about moving? well, for me, it's the chance to find a brand new, totally blank canvas to decorate and make our own. to be totally honest, when we moved into this apartment two years ago, i really thought we'd be staying for much longer than two years. so we put quite a bit of effort into making it feel like a home, and did the big adult furniture upgrade (so long ikea, hello west elm!).

so lately, i've been thinking a lot about what i love about this place and what i'm excited to do over. let's start with the living room!

keep it

• i really, really love our gallery wall! will definitely be redoing it in the new place.
• the paint color is coventry gray by benjamin moore, and it's just the right kind of gray - not too blue, not too brown.

switch it

• our couch is the blake sectional from west elm (yep, guess who picked it out?) in stone, and it is incredibly comfortable and resilient. but it's going to cost $500 to move just that one piece of furniture, and then it'll start to add up in storage. i think we're going to go ahead and sell it and just get a new one in LA. i kind of like the idea of getting a different color, as this one is a little more beige-y than gray. maybe something a little darker, since i hope we'll be getting a pup once we're settled! anyone in the market for a couch?
• the coffee table situation is pretty terrible. we've had this old leather ottoman as a placeholder for, oh, two years now? would love to upgrade to something wooden and industrial, like this one or this cool tufted one (love me some tufting!). 
• the throw pillows i can take or leave. i am thinking we'll move away from all of the color we have and go a little more neutral, so maybe replace those with less bright patterns. we'll see. 
• the rug is this west elm dhurrie, and i love the color and pattern, but think we can use it somewhere else. it's always been a little too small for this space. 

keep it

• um, this whole tv situation is kind of sad. 

switch it

• how about a new tv that we could mount to the wall? 
• this poor little ikea bookcase is ever so durable and flexible, but i'd love to get an actual media console. and maybe one that isn't smaller than the tv? sigh. 
• yep, let's just switch all of it.

keep it

• directly across from the sofa are our bookshelves. we have managed to amass quite a collection of objets (i believe that's french for 'stuff') to display on our bookcases. our white porcelain animals are 100% making the move with us. 

switch it

• i was really going through a colorful phase when we moved in. the green is a little much, so i'm thinking we will probably keep these guys (they will pack flat once we disassemble them), but i'd love to get either some white or wood shelves in the new place. 

what do you wish you could re-do in your apartment or house? 

our weekend was: the beygency edition

productive!
from 10am to 5pm today, we did nothing but purge crap from closets, dressers, shelves, and anywhere else it was hiding. with the movers arriving in just under a month, it was a very good use of our time. we donated about 6 garbage bags worth of clothes, shoes, and stuff to goodwill (including some snow boots and heavy coats... see ya later winter! on to year-round summer!), and threw out probably another dozen bags of who knows what. pretty amazing to see how much stuff just piles up around you. it was very satisfying, and i highly recommend it, moving or not!

funny
blake had a class show for his level 3 sketch comedy class on saturday night. there were 7 people in the class and they all wrote and acted in 11 sketches, most of which were pretty hilarious. i'm so proud of him, and considering our whole plan in LA is for him to chase his comedy writing dream, it's always so fun to know how good he actually is (otherwise, it sure wouldn't be as easy to uproot everything in pursuit of it!).

the beards were hands-down best part of this sketch.

delicious
we finished up with a family sunday suppa with our best buds out in brooklyn. the last few weeks, we've been trying to squeeze in as much time as possible with our people here, and we had so much fun eating homemade indian food and drinking wine to cap off the weekend. only four more sundays in nyc, which is pretty hard to believe.

this week...
heading down to DC for a few meetings, then blake's parents are visiting from seattle from thursday to tuesday, so we'll have a jam-packed weekend! always fun to have them around.

finally, please tell me you saw the beygency on SNL this weekend. if not, stop what you're doing and watch immediately. that is all. #bowdown

how was your weekend?

five on friday: european travel extravaganza!

linking up with april and friends for a little five on friday action!

for most people, moving across the country is enough of an adventure for one summer.

apparently, we are not most people.

when a family friend posted on facebook about needing a house- and dog-sitter for six weeks in a small town in burgundy (yes, as in burgundy, france), we realized we had a pretty near once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. with no apartment lease holding us down (it's remarkable how freeing not paying new york city rent can be!), our belongings in storage for a surprisingly fair monthly fee, and my ability to work remotely from anywhere, we jumped at the chance.

but why just go to burgundy when you can also spend two weeks flitting about the continent? yes, we added even more, because why not? (if i was still allowed to say #yolo, i think it would fit quite perfectly here, but i'm really trying hard to move away from that). so for the first two weeks of our trip, here's where we're off to!

stop 1: london

staying with some friends in friggin notting hill... could it be any more perfect? we'll ease ourselves into our european summer by hanging out here for about three days, just enough to find a favorite pub and of course swing by for tea with wills, kate, and george. 

stop 2: ohringen, germany

my step-dad is german, and he, my mom, and my little brother spend a few weeks visiting his family each summer. we're going to hang out with oma and take advantage of more free lodging. i expect to gain at least 15 lbs in the few days we're staying with oma... she is famous for ensuring that you're stuffed to the brim at every meal.

stop 3: heidelberg, germany

as a proud graduate of heidelberg american high school (which has now since closed!), i spent my senior year here, and considered it home while i was in college. i haven't been back in about six years, so i'm excited revisit my old stomping grounds and show blake around! and yes, that's the castle at which our prom was held. no, i'm not joking.

stop 4: paris

the last time i was in paris, i was 16, and though shopping at the gap on the champs elysees was the height of sophistication. this time around, we're staying in an airbnb and can pretend we're real parisians. the only thing on my agenda is strolling around and sitting in outdoor cafes, people-watching with a glass of cotes-du-rhone. 

stop 5: semur-en-auxois

our home base for the rest of the summer is this tiny town about two hours from paris. here's hoping my high school and college french comes back (it's a wee bit rusty...). we'll happen to be here during the world cup too, so i'm pumped to root for france from the village brasserie! it'll be slight change of pace from nyc, but i'm excited to check out the great wines and beautiful countryside. 

so yeah, not much going on this summer. once we're back stateside at the end of july, we'll hang out in seattle for a bit (because why not?), and finally make our way down to LA to start our new life at the end of august. i honestly can't decide what part i'm most excited about... but not paying rent for a good three months is definitely up there. 

happy friday!

rain, rain, go away!

it's been raining in nyc for the past, oh, 36 hours or so. not a drizzly, foggy rain, but a freezing, drenching, depressing, steady rain. ugh. thanks for nothing, april!

to combat the season-skipping blues (did we just blow straight through spring and summer and back into fall?), i'm daydreaming about the perennial sunshine and blue skies that await us on the other coast. of course, such a major climate transition means i need a whole new LA wardrobe, right? pretty sure my dark, heavy sweaters and closet full of boots ain't gonna cut it in the city of angels.

i'm thinking a shopping spree at madewell would be a great start! here's a few of my favorite pieces to get started. i'm thinking cute, patterned dresses, the perfect pair of jean shorts, and a comfy pair of sandals are the perfect place to begin.

nomad paisley dress

afternoon dress in saltwater stripe

zipline mini dress in sidestripe

campground shorts

braided sightseer sandal

PS: everything on sale at madewell is an extra 40% off!