I wasn't sure what to expect when I got here and figured I'd be in a small "apartment" all the while expecting something along the lines of a hotel room with a kitchenette. I was surprised when I got here and saw the size of my living room, full kitchen and two decent sized bedrooms.
At first I was thinking traditional of having the rooms as you'd expect them, i.e. walking into the living room and having the office/craft room tucked away in one of the bedrooms. However, once I started getting things moved in and realized the amount of things I had to go into the office/craft room I remembered something a friend suggested before I left, "switch the living room and craft room." After all, she reminded me, I will be spending more time in my craft room.
Thankfully I still had Greg here to help me move the two couches from my old living room to my new living room. I'm sure you would have loved being a fly on the wall watching Greg lift the couches with one hand... probably with only one finger at that... and me on the other end making all these crazy noises as I took everything inside of me to lift with two hands, arms, shoulders, legs, feet, back, hips... all the while stopping every few feet or so for me to "take a break and catch my breath." In the end we were able to do it and I can't explain the amount of success I felt as I accomplished my goal. I got the new living room settled and realized how cozy it felt compared to being in the bigger room where everything was far away from each other and cold feeling.
The other thing is the bedrooms have carpet and the rest of the apartment has tile. The other deciding factor was how the craft room will be on tile and easy to sweep up when crafting. The next thing was how I was going to arrange the craft room to be the most efficient use of space. I think I've come up with a good lay out, but who knows, I may move ti as I get working and finish going through all the drawers.
After getting most things put away I made a video of my apartment. It was late at night and I realize I look a mess, but in my defense I had been working all day and I'm still adjusting to the Arizona heat.
Click HERE to go to a video of my apartment.
So far, I like my lay out. I love going into my new living room and watching a movie (no TV channels for two reasons, one, the satellite cable is now in my craft room and, two, I'm okay without having TV to distract me from my work). It's so cozy in there and truly gives me a break from what's going on outside. My craft room/office is FANTASTIC and quite possibly one of the best decisions I've made thus far. I was cutting poster board and as it was falling to the ground I thought, "Shoot, that's going to be a pain to clean up later," but then looked down at the tile and thought, "Actually, it's not going to because I have a broom!" By having the second desk and chair it is easy for people to come in and take a seat while I'm working. I love it! I'm excited to craft with others in my HUGE craft room.
The only downside to my apartment is the proximity to the field and the critters and bugs that seek a nice place to escape. I've been a feeding ground to the bugs and the other dorm mom has been catching mice more than we'd like to admit (after she caught a few I decided against paying for the traps because it's a fruitless effort). We have strict rules with food and storage. This is something we're going to have to live with and it's better we have a plan to live with them because there really is no way we're going to be able to exterminate the critters and bugs - even though we'd like a way to exterminate them.
The plus side to having a field outside my kitchen and new living room window is the view. I see a barn with llamas and sheep the school owns and miles and miles of beautiful creation God has given me to appreciate.
This is one of the llamas outside my kitchen window.
I like to call her Sally (I hope if it's a boy he doesn't mind being called Sally).
So, this is my new home and I'm excited to call this home - critters and bugs and all.
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