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".