Bits and Pieces of My Home... still a work in progress!

I haven't blogged in a while. Going against my many steps to a better life, so here goes:

I haven't been all that happy with my new apartment. It's really small. I have really let it get me down. I miss my pets. They don't fit. This place is small... very small. I share it with an "oh so messy" five year old. It's very small. I have too much stuff. My stuff doesn't fit. It's very small. I still have boxes... five months later. I just have no idea where else to stash the stuff. I have already space bagged all I can. There is no storage in this place. UGH! It's very small!!!!

But I have finally settled with the fact that I am going to be here a while, so I better figure out how to make the most of it! So here is an inside look at My (and Kiddo's) Home. So I live in the tiniest of apartments (did I mention it's very small) and had to get rid of so much just to fit in this space.  tiny, tiny, tiny   Here are the things that mean the most to me! These keepers all have a little story, reminding me of some other time in my life.

 I have collected a few spiritual icons, which is maybe weird since I am really not all that spiritual. I try to learn about their meanings and pick the ones that mean something for me. I think I found that one in a gross repo'd trailer (storage) at one of the many trailer lots I used to decorate for. I am pretty sure it was laying on the floor, under a bunch of other rejected decor. I dusted it off and put it in my suitcase. Finders Keepers. There is actually a woven grass fan back there... given to Kiddo at a birthday party, where my ultra creative friend decorated one for each kid. It was summer. It was hot! What a neat idea. That black and white frame... same friend and I have matching ones :)

 So I collect elephants... can you tell? I couldn't even tell you which one was my first. But I have fallen in love with the various styles and designs. I also couldn't tell you much about the animal, besides I won't be adopting one anytime soon, they stink... oh yeah and not sure I could fit it in my very, very small apartment. Someone once told me, or somewhere I read, that if you face the elephant's trunks to the front door, it brings good luck or peace in your home. Geez, I should look that up again. So I try my best to stick with that rule, but design first. If it doesn't look good, it gets turned whichever way I want it. It's probably bad Feng Shui, but not something I really studied or cared much about. Maybe I should try. I could use some good vibes in this place.

 Ha, ha if you look close you will see those are pics of me at about four, 

dressed for my dance recital. I was cute, trust me! 

 The marigold art was my grandmother's, I was told was one of her favorites. I love the vintage look. The orange floral print... a paint ad, I cut it from a design magazine. The flowers are made from paint swatches. It takes me back to my days at Home Depot, mixing paint, I loved it and I just thought "fits a designer's home, and I need something to put in this frame"! Oh and my favorite color is orange, so I am sure that had something to do with it.

 This was Christmas 2010. Mine and Kiddo's first Christmas, just us.

 In the back there... a painting I actually did myself... and finished! Go me!

 More elephants!! And boxes... I have a thing for boxes, too.

 My favorite frame... in it a pic of me, my mom, and grandmother, when I moved into my first house. It wasn't the prettiest house in the Austin but it was cheap and HUGE! 

Awe, when rooms were huge :(

 Momma and me... at Little Bro's wedding. Man we look good! :P

It was a beautiful day and I am very proud of my Little Bro. He is very lucky he got the woman he did! Hope he can keep her.

 My grandparents. True Love! They knew how to make it work. They lived in a time when you just made it work. What happened to our society. In my generation, most of us are already divorced and all our parents were divorced, at least once. I wish my grandmother would have shared her secret with me. Unfortunately, I lost my grandmother (my best friend) a few years ago, but she is everywhere in my apartment. She had so much to teach me and I miss our long talks, while I sat in traffic. Now I call Mom, if she doesn't answer, then Little Bro, then Sis-in-Law, then, well then I just give up.

 Design books, of course!!! And these are just the ones I kept or have added recently. I am sure I will end up with a new collection soon enough.

 Kiddo's art :) Isn't she talented?!

 The only part of my kitchen I will share. 

Hey but there are no dishes in my sink! That's a miracle in this home.

 I love this batik stamp, I have a few more. I have found them at random garage sales, resale shops, etc. That tiny crown... One day this woman came in the store I work at and told me all about these dolls (saints) that, I think Catholics??, used to make dresses for, and then they put on these tiny crowns, which were usually made from real gold or silver and jeweled... this is a replica of course, not something I would typically buy, but I liked the story and that I had a bit of history behind it. Too bad I don't remember it so well. I guess another think I should look into.

 One of my stellar lamps that my boss gave to me because she thought they were ugly and would never sell. The art I got when I was decorating a model home in San Antonio... extra art,I am telling you, there was not a wall I could make it work on, freebie!

 I little for the Kiddo, brought from her old room at our big house.

 I totally did the bathroom for the Kiddo. I had to make it fun. The only way I could get her to bathe and brush her teeth. Still a little of a battle.

 Barbies... air drying, I just think it looks so funny! And everybody who goes in my bathroom comments on them.

The End! That's all I have completed for now, maybe more to come soon.