Apartment tour: Family Room

This is our everything room.

We used to have a white couch.  Just a week ago, we drove to Ikea and got the gray covers (on mega sale!) because we just couldn't handle the white.  I was washing/bleaching one or two of the cushion covers almost weekly and it didn't stay as clean as we would like.  One of us and our OCD nature (I'll leave you to guess who) couldn't handle the toddler hands all over the couch when covered in blueberries or chips or you name it which is a daily occurrence.  The gray feels so much more comfortable.  The material is slightly different, not just 100% cotton, which makes it more durable.

To those of you who have white couches with toddlers, hats off to you.

We are trying to minimize the amount of holes we'll need to fill later.  The walls are all concrete so that's different.  None of the windows have screens, but in the summer, Bryce put screens on a couple that we open the most.

Here's the kid corner, but who are we kidding, there are toys everywhere.  Most days, we have that green mat out on the floor with Carter rolling around on it.  We are trying to organize our arts/crafts things (in the plastic bins).  We color/cut/glue almost every day.

Apartment tour: Outside

Moving across the ocean to a country with an entirely different culture and lifestyle than what you've lived for almost 30 years is pretty difficult.  But I have to say, so many of our prayers have been answered.  Even the little things.  Our apartment was a huge answer to prayer.  

Back home, the places that we lived, the majority live in houses with yards whether the house is owned or rented.  Here, it seems that the majority (even in small suburban towns) live in apartments.  

Let me tell you more about our home (again).  It's 3 bed, 2 bath.  It's less than a 2 minute walk from our door to the door of Bryce's office door.  It's on the first floor.  The FIRST FLOOR!  That means it feels like we have our own yard even though it's not mowed by us and it's shared space.   

She loves being outside.  We really took advantage of the nice weather right when we moved here.

There's a law about 10+ apartments requiring a play structure.  Our area is pretty simple with a swing, a balance beam, bars, a sand box and a table.  We do have a hobby of visiting other nearby apartment play grounds on a regular basis. 

This gives you an idea of what our space looks like--that's our place on the left.  The greenhouse looking thing is a covered bike area.

Apartment tour: Madison's room

To start our home tour...just as with the last house, Maddie's room was the first to be figured out and finished.

To save time and money, we decided to take nothing to Switzerland aside from kids toys, kids books, clothes, shoes, and other small necessities on the plane with us.  Remember how ridiculous we looked?

We furnished our entire apartment with Ikea.  It's simple, clean, and everything has a purpose.  I love it.  It's funny, really, that our house in Portland was twice the size.  This apartment is exactly how much space we need, no more, no less, no frills, and we love it.  We really love it.  The simplicity that comes with living in a small space is refreshing.  We don't feel like we have to buy more stuff to fill it up.  We can only have so many toys sitting around.  We only have so much closet/fridge/freezer/storage space.  

 Not much explaining here.  Just thought I'd invite you into our space.

See that stoplight alarm clock?  We're working on it.  Red means "stay in bed! (or in your room)" and green means "wake up!"  Thank you, Amazon.

 She wanted to show you how she sleeps in her big girl bed.

Then jump and say "Ta da!"

Here's my 2 year old going on 18 years old.

Baby Girl Nursery - Coral and yellow

We have not come close to getting the nursery together.  It is our junk room right now that happens to have a crib and a glider in it. 

I love home design.  A lot of blogs that I love to look at are interior design blogs.  They have great talent putting fabrics and pieces of furniture together to create a collage for room inspiration.  Here's my attempt.  We'll see if it turns out anything like this :-)

I found that Virginia map above on etsy, and after playing around with Photoshop on Bryce's computer, we actually created one just like it, with the heart on Blacksburg.  I really want to get it printed and framed for the nursery.  We don't have anything else but the finished crib and a glider.  My incredibly talented sister is making Madison's bedding and I CANNOT WAIT to see it finished and put on the crib!!!!  A lot of things on the crafting to-do list for me (curtains, Virginia map print, recover glider cushion, stuffed owl, even a baby quilt at some point, washing her clothes, and organizing all the baby stuff), but I am more than fine with things not being "ready" before she comes.  I also love crafting so I'm excited to do those things.  I'm getting SO excited for my baby shower that is coming up soon...it's like I'm waiting for Christmas day.  The nursery is a work in progress and besides, she doesn't need anything more than a car seat and a place to sleep which I've been told can be as simple as a laundry basket (and maybe some diapers).