Domesticated in N.J.: Hello Hand-Me-Down!

Domesticated in N.J.: Hello Hand-Me-Down!: "This is a gorgeous piece I received from one of my fiance's relatives. We got a call saying that Aunt 'So-and-So' is getting rid of some of..."

Hello Hand-Me-Down!

This is a gorgeous piece I received from one of my fiance's relatives. We got a call saying that Aunt "So-and-So" is getting rid of some of her things because of renovation. I jumped on it the second I hear. Nick telling me, and I was already in car driving to her house. When family members are getting rid of furniture, I am on it! I looked at couple of beautiful pieces, but most didn't quite fit exactly with my apartment. However, this little piece here -- this beautiful French-looking TV stand/accent table --I knew would be perfect. Standing with curved hand-craved legs, with a gray marble top, it turned my living room from "nice" into "rich." The wood is hand-craved with a pretty flower design to tie in with my canvases over my TV. The legs flow down in a nice curved-shape with a French-curl foot.

I am in love with this accent table and it richened-up my living room. For absolutely zero dollars, I got a table I can enjoy for the rest of my life!

Happy me!

Mr. and Mrs. GreenThumb

Along with the beach, Nick and I plant a garden every year. Up top is our veggie garden. We have basil, tomatoes, yellow squash, zucchini, oregano, and parsley. Gardening is one of our favorite things about the summer. This year we put our garden in the first week of May. The earliest we have ever done it! Last year we unfortunately planted way too late (mid-June) and because of the extremely hot temps, our garden didn't produce as much as we wanted. So this year, we were definitely not going to make that mistake! 

As you all know, Nick is a chef. Having a garden outside, right at our fingertips is a fantastic way to save money and eat well. Some of our favorite dishes we make from our garden is homemade pizza with fresh tomatoes, basil and fresh mozzarella. Another is a caprese salad. Nick also loves to saute squash in a pan with salt, pepper and olive oil. All extremely easy dishes, but the taste is out of this world. There is nothing better than food you grow with our own love and care! 

Impatients. One of my all-time favorite flowers. They are simple and easy to grow, but most of all they remind me of my childhood. My mother would plant these along the entire house and by mid-July they were knee high and absolutely gorgeous! This is my FIRST attempt with growing flowers. And I am very excited about it! I hope they grow just as big as my mother's! I will sing to them and water them daily. My Grandma always told me, "You must talk to your babies (plants)." And I most definitely will!  (I will be the crazy lady in the backyard talking to herself. Ha!)

Beach Goers

 We don't waste a minute! Nick and I are HUGE beach fans. We took a hike to the beach to get our feet sandy, eat some clams and snow crab, and enjoy the beautiful spring weather.

Nick, my adorable fiance. 

Setting up wireless internet is hell

Last night wasn't fun. I finally got rid of my Verizon on-the-go internet, that I was paying a fortune for, and now I have Comcast wireless internet, which is great, until I decided to self-install. What was I thinking! I am not good at wiring, at all! When I ordered my new internet they asked me if I wanted it to get installed for $49.99 OR have the kit mailed to me for $9.99. After asking if it is easy to do (which the guy on the phone expressed it was VERY easy), I decided to go for DIY route. Wrong decision!

I stupidly, after a few Mike's Hard Limeades, decided to tackle my self-install wireless internet kit. And let me tell you, it was not easy! Unplug this, plug in this. Close your browser, unplug that, take out this, insert CD, answer the questions right. WHAT!? When I called Comcast, I was transfered three times until they got to someone who could help me. Was I the only brave soul to get the self-install kit? The first woman I spoke to was mean. She talked way too fast and gave me instructions too quickly (meanwhile I was trying to do everything she was saying at the speed of light), and then she asked me if I needed anything else and said, the rest should be really easy. So we ended up hanging up. WRONG decision! For anyone who is in my position at some point of their life, do not let the Comcast worker push you to hang up until your internet is working! Because the next steps were not easy.

When I called back again, I was transfered two times, waiting on hold each time, and finally the man I was talking to clicked back over and told me, "Miss, you may be charged for session." My answer, "YEAH RIGHT! GOOD BYE!"

I put everything away and went to bed.

Woke up this morning, feeling refreshed and ready to figure this thing out and now I am online! Blame it on the Mike's Hard, the very confusing self-installment kit, or the Comcast workers, but my God am I glad setting up wireless internet is over!

My newest Craigslist purchase

Craigslist is a FANTASTIC place to look for cheap, yet great pieces. These four chairs I bought for $70. The previous owner wasn't exactly sure where she got them, but when I walked into her condo a few blocks away from me, I knew she had expensive taste. 

This is my dining room. Originally, when Nick (my fiance) and I looked at our apartment, this room was a second bedroom. Since I have a small place, and didn't have an eat-in-kitchen, we transformed this room into a dining room. Took off the door, painted the walls, and created a beautiful eating space. I wanted our dining room to resemble a bistro. Fun, cute, and French-inspired. 

I mix-matched my light wood table with my black-wrought iron chairs and placed a center piece with some added color. I like to keep my rooms to three colors. More than three, it gets to be too much. My dining room colors: black, beige, and orange. The wall color is Ralph Lauren Tangier Island. A perfect color to blend with the orange. 

What's this blog about?

I have started blogs and then hated them. Finally, after brainstorming for weeks, I have come to the realization that I need to create a blog about something I truly love. And this something is my home. I am literally obsessed with my apartment. I live with my fiance and two cats in Montclair, New Jersey. We live on the second floor of a gorgeous Victorian house, with wood panelling and red shutters. One day, I hope to own my own in Montclair. Montclair is known for its beautiful Victorian homes. And my God does it have some breath-taking houses.

I have always been obsessed with home decorating and houses. When I was a young girl, playing with my doll house was one of my favorite activities. I can remember one Christmas, Santa got me a wooden Victorian doll house, fully furnished and I cried. Now that I am an adult, with my own place, I am in full focus of making my home the cleanest, comfiest, coziest, warmest, coolest, prettiest place I can! From my belief, your home should be a place where you feel clean, comfortable and calm. This is what I strive for everyday.

My blog is dedicated to my daily obsessions with my home. From gardening, to cleaning, to buying new furniture (at a bargain!), to decorating for the holidays or seasons, to football Sundays, to area rugs, to painting! My blog will give you ladies (and men) small hints and techniques of keeping a home that is beautiful and somewhere you will not want to leave!