Cute Stuff!

If you read this blog, follow me on Twitter, or know me personally, you’ll know that I recently moved. This is the first apartment that I have ever lived alone in.  (when I was 19, I moved from my parents, straight to an apartment with my boyfriend, who then became my husband,  who is now my ex-husband, etc.)

So long story short, I have been having a lot of fun picking stuff out, as I am the only decision maker. Here are a few of my favorite things in my new digs:

I kind of have a thing for chickens. There’s a joke to it… But I don’t know what your humor is or if you would get totally offended. If you want to know WHY I have pictures of chickens in my kitchen, email me at info[at]indiebizchicks[dot]com, DM me on Twitter, etc. But I love these chickens. That’s all I gotta say.

In addition to having chicken pictures, I also have a chicken paper towel holder and even chicken measuring cups. Not kidding. Here’s the proof.

I love coffee. A lot. In fact, I have three different types of coffee brewing devices in my home. When my sister visited Nashville recently, she saw this print and immediately thought “Crissy.” I love the vintage-y percolator image and font and I love red. (and yeah, I know I gotta work on that mat. But I gotta be ready and focused. I don’t cut the straightest lines so I gotta do it when I’m in the mood for concentration.)

Speaking of my love for coffee, you would be right to assume that I have a lot of mugs. I thought these initial ones from Anthropologie were so cute! Again, they have that vintage feel and as a big fan of traditional style tattooing, I love the sparrows!

I also thought these blue ones from Target were super cute. They go great with these green bowls I bought (but I didn’t take a picture of those … yet).

Speaking of Target, I found this dishtowel there last year and bought it. I fell in love with that vintage print! And there is some red on there, so it totally goes with my other kitchen stuff without looking too matchy-matchy.

I made these magnets. The lines are NOT straight. My lines will probably never be straight. But that’s okay. I like how I grouped them together because it reminds me of a crazy caterpillar.

I love me some Paula Deen, and I had to have her pots n’ pans! I love the curvy look and the red and black speckles. Oh, and by the way, the aforementioned chicken paper towel holder and measuring cups? Paula Deen! I don’t know if she gets my joke on them, though. Maybe I should write her and tell her…

Okay, so you know I like red stuff and vintage-y stuff. Well, aren’t these baking dishes just the cutest things you ever saw? And guess what? They were the Today’s Special Value on QVC, so I got them for a total steal. (yeah, make fun of The Q if you want, but if you’re not paying attention, you’re losing out on some bargains.)

Now, for me, this is where ‘the magic” happens. Of course, for some people, that’s the bedroom, but for me, it’s the kitchen table. This is where I make my magic. As in blog, create products, hold my conference calls, etc. It all happens right here, baby. (and oh, big shocker, my computer is … RED.)

I bought this picture at the 2008 Renegade Craft Fair in Chicago. The show is held in September each year, and I had just been talking to my friends about my idea for a Halloween costume for another friend’s wedding (which was of course, held on Halloween). My idea was “Trixie Lowenthall” – a 60s era housewife who tried to commit suicide and failed. It was a mix of Mad Men and that one scene in Beetlejuice… And then I saw this print and my friends and I all looked at each other and it was sold!

(oh, P.S., I did go as Trixie to the wedding. I got all dolled up in a 60s dress, bought some pearls, put bandages on my wrists, the whole 9 yards. And then I was the only one of my friends who actually wore a damn costume and everyone at the reception thought I really tried to kill myself. So go ahead – let my embarrassment be your laughter today. It’s okay. Really.)

I grew up in the country. I lived in Alaska. I like to see nature. And I get to see these trees from my balcony.

However, if I turn my head slightly, I get to see an expressway. And that’s totally cool because I’ll know what the roads are like in the winter before I get on ’em.

I’m not a total knick-knack fan, but I do have a few that are important to me.  The bell in this picture is probably the only thing I have that I remember in my parents’ house when they were still married. My grandma bought me that cup on my first birthday. When my oldest nephew was three, he picked that blue candle holder out for me, my sister gave me the small Buddha on my 21st birthday, and she also created that scratchboard drawing when she was in high school. The big Buddha and elephant I bought for myself because I liked ’em, and the pictures of those little boys are my nephews, of course!

When I saw this bird, it reminded me of Twitter. And yeah, I know the Twitter bird is blue and this is green, but I saw it and I thought “Twitter!” And you should all know by now that Twitter is practically my boyfriend, so I had to buy it!

So, by now, we all know that I like red. Well, I like other colors, too. I especially like green, blue, and brown together. Hence, this shower curtain. (big guess, I also like circle-ish things.)

I love how this shade of green and white go together… And I think the pattern looks very royal and regal — without being all uppity. I don’t know… I guess it is my take on The Tudors. However, let me stress that The Tudors are seeing waaaay more action than this bed is.

And that, kids, is a tour of my apartment. What do ya think?

(and oh, yeah, I know the formatting totally sucks but I was trying to squeeze all these pictures into one tiny post. Not an easy task. If you want great photos and design, go read Apartment Therapy. You’re reading my blog because you want business advice. Just saying.)