Living in Vienna

For the past few months (after the Great Mold Escape when we moved across town) we've been living in a little condo in Vienna, Virginia (not to be confused with Vienna, Austria). We were fortunate to find this place and move in to it in less than 4 days! It was recently purchased and renovated to be a rental and we were tenants numero uno.

There were good and bad things about that. It's always nice living somewhere "new" and I especially loved the new kitchen and appliances, but it did come with its fair share of quirks! Like the water heater that needed to be flushed and the shower faucet that wouldn't let any hot water come out. We also had to clean up all the construction dust from the kitchen cabinets before using them and we vacuumed oodles of carpet fuzz up from the new carpet for months. Oh and lets not forget about the icicles on the INSIDE of our windows when the winter was so cold. So, ya win some and you loose some, but I think we came out on top here.

I loved that it was in our price range, had room for my extra freezer and food storage, was still in the same boundaries for our ward (church congregation), and still convenient for Trevor's commute to work. It's just what we needed for the time!

Of course there are tons of things I'd change about my decor in this place, but I at least snapped a few pictures before we started packing up to capture it as it was. We may never live somewhere long enough for me to unpack and save up and have the time to decorate to my liking, but I'm starting to be okay with that. So with no further ado, here's some pictures of the place.


Living/Dinning Room

I swear there must be some manual for new landlords that says to install light colored carpet especially in areas where dining tables go. I can't tell you how many places we've looked at that have carpeted dining areas and this one is no different! Somehow it survived a toddler eating spaghetti and soup there! If we weren't in the kitchen this is where we spent most of our time.

Print of Christ: Mark Mabry

Do you see what's hiding behind the couch? Trevor's other baby. He even commuted to work on that bike in 16 degree weather! 

Free-standing bike stand: amazon

In a perfect world I wouldn't have white frames on a nearly white wall, but we were short-term renters so I didn't do anything to change it. I did love this wall more once I used it to showcase some personal items in addition to the photos.

Frames: Thrifted and Michaels; spray painted white or green

Monogram F: Micheals; painted yellow

Medal: Trevor's first triathlon

BYU Tastle: Trevor's Graduation!

Stained Glass Art: original art by Trevor created in high school

Green Dresser: vintage (my childhood dresser); refinished by me

Table and Chairs: vintage; belonged to Trevor's grandparents

Dresser/Chest: vintage; belonged to my great-grandmother

Family Portrait: created by our amazing and talented friend Lizzy, owner of Stitch People

Bird: Michaels; on clearance for less than $5

Larger Mirror: Walmart; surprise purchase made by Trevor

Jeweled Box: Old Town Jerusalem; gift from Trevor during study abroad

Bike: Michaels

"This Is..." Books: we got our first in a cute boutique store in Cali, but they can also be found on amazon; tradition to purchase for places we've visited or lived

Kitchen

I think that every kitchen I live in I learn something about what I would (or wouldn't) do for my own kitchen if I were buying or remodeling my own home. The counters in this place look nice. It was tiled with the same slate tile as the floor which means it chips if you accidentally bump a pot on the corner of it. Oops! Aside from the tiled counter I think I loved this kitchen --TONS of storage and counter space, brand-new appliances (although there's off-gasing with brand-new ovens), and the open layout that connects it with living room. It was also a great place to keep Jeremy's high chair. I could feed him and work in the kitchen at the same time.

This drawer was my pride and joy. I was inspired by reading an article about organizing and de-cluttering when we first moved in. I got rid of kitchen tools I wasn't using and found a place for each one that I did use regularly. I knew it would be easier to put the puzzle together with ample options on hand so I bought a variety of drawer organizers at Bed Bath and Beyond and Marshalls (same brand as at BB&B but soooo much cheaper!), used what I needed, and returned the rest. 

Bathrooms

The bathrooms were kinda funny. You can see that there was a guest bath that has a door which opens up in to the master bath. Interesting layout, yet the perk is having a clean bathroom for guests even if my hair or makeup is scattered about our bathroom. A couple of my favorite things in these rooms are the wreath, house shaped kleenex cover, and the bowed out shower curtain rod.

Wreath: made by yours truly

Kleenex Cover: JC Penny; $5 

Trevor installed these toilet paper holders because when we moved in there weren't any. I'd say this style of holder has both pros and cons. Let's start with the con. The roll of toilet paper can slip off easily so the roll may come off when you're trying to get some squares. It didn't happen often, but still, it happens. As for the pro, the roll of toilet paper can slip off easily so the roll can be removed fast when a little toddler is trying to get some squares unravel the whole roll. It was generally in the off position pictured on the right.

Toilet Paper Holder: Home Depot (the same style from Ikea was cheaper, but too small for a costco-sized roll of TP)

Soap Dispenser: Ikea

Master Bedroom

Ah, there are so many things to change about this room. Like getting lampshades, updating the bedding, getting a bed-skirt to cover up the storage bins under the bed, painting my jewelry boxes, rearranging art to fit the space . . . the list could go on. Nevertheless this is what it was.

I think my favorite feature of this bedroom was how Trevor added pushpins to hold my phone cord up so it would stay on my nightstand and was always within arms reach to plug in. He's always coming up with great creative solutions!

Jeremy's Nursery

The nursery is actually half of the room. Our first place in Virginia had a REALLY small bedroom, so I figured if all his stuff could fit there it only needed that much space in this new place. I was able to squeeze it all in to leave room for my storage room.

Dresser/Changing Table: craigslist; refinished

Crib: craigslist; refinished 

Blue bin: Target 

Lamp: Target

Teddy Bear (D.W.): childhood treasure, in honor of a elementary schoolmate who died of Leukemia

Horse: vintage, from local antique store in Vienna

Crib Quilt: made with the help of my mom, best friend Annie, and her mom and sister

Banner:  supposedly useless scraps leftover from the quilt 

Red Bird: Joann's Fabric Store; originally in Luke's nursery

Mr. Monkey: Santa Clause, but could also be found at Pier 1 Imports (2012)

Mr. Pizza: online

Blankie: crocheted by my dear friend Ruth from Payson

"Craft/Storage Room" and "Office"

These rooms are kind of pretend. As I mentioned above Jeremy's room doubled as storage. You can see my "craft room" is stashed in the closet in bins and the paper and wrapping supplies are under the bed. The awesome shelves hold the rest of our food and other storage items. And of course there is the lovely freezer in there too (gonna miss that thing!). 

The "office" is really just all of our office supplies and file boxes that got shuffled from one location to another to keep it out of the toddler's reach. These locations included the kitchen counter, the bed, the dresser, and the corner of the room. By the time we were moving out it was mostly organized and contained, it just didn't have a good home. Hopefully we can find a home for these items in our new place in Cali!