Getting the 1960's/Bohemian Chic Look

I am absolutely in love with the 1960's/Hippy/Bohemian Chic decorating styles. I would like to (and already sort of have) add a little of this into my own decor for this apartment.

On to some inspirations:

http://vi.sualize.us/view/7c506fa876dc9d2ae7379dce31e34023/

Photo: Arcadian Home

Photo: designsourcect

While looking at these photos, I realized that the best way to pull this look off is artwork, perhaps blown glass pieces, colorful abstract paintings and pillows. The furniture also has a major part in this, but I just bought leather couches and that's not changing.  

Bold and Beautiful

Here are some super bold lamp shades to spark up your living room or bedroom. A great way to shine some light on your lives!

Photo: Anna Donahue

Photo: homes-house

Photo: beldankradcliffe

Photo: accentshade

Photo: Lamps Plus

When All Else Fails...

The other day our electricity went out at midnight because the hubby forgot to turn off the AC when he was using the microwave.  Of course, when he went to ring the super's bell, the super didn't answer, so we were had to worry about a) sleeping in this heat and b) the $150 worth of food that we just bought sitting in the fridge.  When things like this happen, the hubby gets really frustrated instantly, but I like to keep cool because getting angry about something that is out of your control only makes it worse.

Our solution: we went down to the gas station convenience store (thank goodness we live in a place that has stores open 24/7) and got several bags of ice to put in our fridge and freezer. and then we cracked all the windows so that we can sleep semi comfortably.  The first thing in the morning, we rang the super's bell again and we got our electricity back.  I am happy to say that none of our food spoiled and we even have tons of ice in the freezer that we can still use. We also had to do this very same thing when we lived in Connecticut and the whole town's electricity went out and didn't come back on until the very next day in the afternoon.

The point of this post: When electricity is down and all else fails, 24 hour gas stations and bags of ice are your friends...

Photo: White Oak Ice

A Delicious Summer Treat

Summer is on it's way and, for me, this means I get to break the summer dessert recipes.  In the summer I like to make light and tasty desserts, so jello recipes are among my favorites.  I especially love any jello recipes with fruit in them (they not only taste really yummy, but look really cool!).  So, in honor of my love for jello recipes, I figured I'd share with you one of the easiest.  I got this recipe from Babble (I did very slightly change it, but anybody should feel free to experiment with the fruit or juice however they choose).  This is a truly tasty and fun and easy to make summer treat.

Fruit Gelatin 
makes 12


Ingredients
3 1/2 cups grape juice
2 envelopes of unflavored gelatin
1 cup of grapes (sliced in halves)
1 cup of strawberries (sliced)
1 cup of mandarin oranges

• Pour grape juice into sauce pan.
• Sprinkle gelatin over and let it stand for 10 minutes.  Turn the heat on low and stir until gelatin is dissolved.
• Pour into individual ramekin bowls, muffin tins, or just use a glass dessert dish to eliminate the step of removing the gelatin later. 
• Add fruit to each individual dish.
• Chill in your refrigerator overnight or until set.
• Loosen the molds with warm water or with a knife.  Set a plate on top of the mold, holding both the mold and the place and flip upside down quickly to remove the mold. 
• Admire your hard work and enjoy this tasty and fruity treat!

Add Some Swag

Last summer I was helping my sister-in-law spruce up her apartment before she married my brother-in-law and became my sister-in-law. Besides all of the cleaning that we did to make their nest look amazing, she wanted to do the project of creating a swag lamp out of this awesome lamp shade she purchased at a garage sale. The project was a huge success and the space she wanted her swag lamp was the ultimate perfect space for it.  Looking back on this experience makes me totally want to put a swag lamp up myself.  I am not totally sure of that because there is absolutely no way that this space is as perfect for a swag lamp as her place is.  Either way, swag lamps are awesome...

Photo: justamodernguy

Photo: DaveysVintage

Purses!

It's that time of year where I usually swap my old purse for a new purse.  I like my purses to make a statement about myself and my life and also be something that I can live with for the next 6 months to a year.  These are some of the purses that I really like:

Not only are these Urthbags trendy now, they also happen to make a huge statement about what I do for a living to actually put money into my purse...

Photo: urthbags

Photo: Handbag Heaven

Photo: zappos

Betsey Johnson? For real? Send this way, please!

Photo: zappos

DIY Headboards

I've never had a real headboard before, so when I saw some of these DIY headboards, I was all about making one of my own.  I think this is an excellent way to make a statement and, if it's also functional, even better!

Photo: hgtv

I really love this led lights headboard, but since we have plenty of street lights shining into our room already, I decided against it.  It is a very great way to bring a romantic and warm feeling into your bedroom though.

Photo: Apartment Therapy

This is what I call a functional headboard!

Photo: Sunset

Photo: bhg

From Shanty Chic to NYC Chic

The kitchen is finally done and I couldn't be more ecstatic because now I can concentrate on making the rest of this place into a place we can call home.  We put a new floor down and it wasn't much trouble and it wasn't costly at all. We went to home depot and they luckily had one out on the floor that was the exact length and width of our kitchen. This only costs us about $40.00 and we put it down with glue tape which was also very cheap.  I am so happy I can actually walk around barefoot in my own place...yay!

In NYC, to make the most of your space, you stack up, and that's what we did with the coffee grinder and coffee machine.

We got this little guy from a little gift shop in Maine; we call him pick. We like odd things and piggies.

Spending Summers in Brooklyn

As I may have said in the past, I was born and raised in Queens in a town much closer to Long Island called Bellerose.  For anybody who is familiar with Bellerose, it was the Queens Village/Bellerose borderline.  I also spent a lot of summers as a child in my grandmother's apartment in Brooklyn.  Her apartment is what most New Yorkers would call huge.  I have vivid memories of my sister and I playing hide and seek in her apartment, which had tons of hiding space.  That's right, while my husband was spending summers in a cabin in the mountains of Maine, I was spending mine in Brooklyn, and I wouldn't change a thing about it.

I also remember her delicious Croatian cooking, going to Manhattan Beach and bringing a picnic and sitting on the picnic tables under the trees, going to the amusement parks, going to the park to play in the unbelievably huge sprinklers, buying fish at the pet store and just walking around aimlessly around the streets with my grandma who bought a change purse full of quarters so that my sister and I can ride the quarter pony rides and get prizes from the mystery clucking chickens (anybody remember them?!!!!).

Growing up in the city sure is an adventure. It encourages you to use your imagination to have fun and to make the best out of what you have.

Photo: beehivehairdresser

Photo: high street art

Photo: liveglamordie

The Pesky Fly

There was a small house fly living in here for about a week.  Try to open the window, it wouldn't go out.  Cat tries to catch it and wasn't successful.  I give the apartment a full cleaning, and then it decides to bite the hubby and I.  For a small fly, it sure was the most annoying fly I've ever seen.  So, we bring in the big guns, the fly zapper.  That pest deserved every last second of what he got!

Photo: indoorelectricbugzapper

Psssst....Best Bagels in NYC

As a NYC native, I feel obligated to tell anybody who is coming here to visit or lives here and hasn't discovered this gem yet about the best bagels ever in the NYC area.  Actually, they are in Long Island. A&S Bagels are the sh*t! Made on premises, crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, a large selection and absolutely fabulous!  They also have all different sorts of cream cheeses and cupcakes which are also really frickin awesome!

Photo: A & S Bagels

Photo: Yelp

Here's another little secret: if you just buy bagels from the grocery store, a real New Yorker uses Temptee Cream Cheese...

Can't Live Without...COFFEE!

Coming from a family who are huge coffee drinkers, I was never much of a coffee drinker. That is, until I met my husband.  Now we can't live without our coffee in the mornings.  Sometimes I can go 2 or 3 days without it, but it leads to a huge migraine and me half passing out at work.

Our favorite coffee comes from our own kitchen. That's right, we buy coffee beans, grind them and then brew our coffee and it is the best thing ever and I am drinking some as I write.  Sometimes if we are out and about at a restaurant or something, I'll order a coffee, but nothing compares to our freshly ground coffee. Even just looking at the picture below makes me want to go pour another cup.

Photo: That's Coffee

Now, I am not a huge fan of Starbucks.  As a matter of fact, I used to be the most anti-Starbucks person you would ever meet.  Although I am not a fan of their coffee because it makes me really jittery, I do absolutely love the green tea frappuccino and I will sneak into a Starbucks once in a blue moon and get one.  If anybody out there loves green tea ice cream, this is such a heavenly drink.

Life is About...Compromise

I saw this on Elle Decor and it really made me wish I was single.  You see, if it was up to me, this is what my place would look like.  Of course, that is just a dream because I am married to a man who loves to do science experiments and mess around with things, which leads to a huge mess.  Also he can't stand girly colors, like the color that is on the wall in the picture.  I prefer pink, he prefers blue, so I usually end up choosing a neutral color that we both can live with like green. I suppose I can't complain too much though because he did put in the new floor which saved us from the ugly rustic chic tiles in the kitchen.  Men...you can't live with them, you can't live without them.

So since the girly girl and the manly man are married and living together, the below picture would be my goal, which is fine, because it is equally as awesome. 

Photos: Elle Decor

Doorway Curtains

We have a doorway that goes into a small space that leads to the bathroom and a closet.  I totally want to put some sort of doorway curtain there.

Photo: wholesale-faucet

I am really in love with these awesome bamboo beaded curtains...

Photo: bamboobeadcurtain

DIY Manicure

Once in a while, I will go get a pedicure done.  It is very rare that I ever get a manicure because I do them myself.  The reason for this is because 1) it saves a lot of money and 2) I just love to be at the comfort of my own home and pamper myself.  I used to do this as a teenager a lot but, as time went by, I just stopped.  In the past year I found myself picking it up again and sticking to it so far.

 I think the reason I started again is because my best friend is a make-up artist and she got me lots of really cool and high end nail polish for a really awesome discount, so now I have a whole bathroom chest full of almost every single nail polish color you can imagine.

At first, I would get really frustrated because giving yourself a manicure/pedicure can be messy and, let's face it, just is anything but perfect.  If you stick to it though, it becomes a lot easier.  The key things that I use are 1) a good quality nail filer, 2) nail hardner, 3) base coat, 4) nail polish and 5) quick dry.  Also make sure that you shell out the money for a really good quality nail polish because it will last a lot longer than some cheap 99 cent nail polish (I use Essie).

In my opinion, unless you are a manicure pro, there is no reason to go all crazy designing your nails, just one solid color is good enough for me. The amount of money that I save doing this at home is well worth it.  Also, having a make-up artist friend who can get me discounts really helps too :)

Photo: luuux

Absolutely Necessary

So....I have come to terms that I will need to give in and buy one of these old lady shopping carts.  My grandma used them in the 60's when she lived in Williamsburg and my mom uses them and they both still use them to this day.  It will be much easier when I am trying to do laundry or bring my groceries up to the top of a 4th floor walk-up.

Photo: coreyandstacie (cute blog!)

Sheer Curtains: My Newest Obsession

Okay, so I was at the 99 cent store with the hubby and I wanted a long curtain to hang in the threshold leading to our linen closet and our bathroom. The hubby was rushing me (as he usually does when I'm looking for things) and I used my best judgment and got this sheer curtain. I figured it would be just okay, or at least for the time being since it is cheap.

Later on when I put this curtain up, it just absolutely fit the room perfectly.  I liked it so much that I got another sheer curtain to hang in the doorway between the living room and the kitchen.  It really gives this place a chic hippy vibe to it. And, for the price, I am thrilled about it.  Not only does it look really cool, but it also separates the rooms, which is a huge plus for us since we live in a railroad style apartment; but, at the same time it does not make our space seem like less.

Here are some rooms decorated with sheer curtains, which I am totally in love with:

Photo: mynottinghill

Photo: officeinteriordsgn

Photo: mysheercurtains

Photo: sweetydesign

My Humble View

My favorite time of day in this apartment is when the sun has set and I can look outside to see what color the Empire State building is that night. I also have some other pretty sweet views as well.  I cant see the whole Manhattan skyline by just looking straight out my window; instead, I have to look to my right.  I would call it a humble view.  And, yes, I know the quality of my pictures are awful because I use my camera phone. What can I say, I'm not a photographer.

The best view of this apartment would have to be the Citi building view.  You can see it just sitting down on the couch.  I think it looks pretty badass.

My favorite daytime view would have to be the Silver Cup view.

This is the Chase Clock Tower building, but we like to call it "Little Ben".