Bye-bye 405

I am both nervous and excited to move into my new apartment tomorrow, but before settling into my new place, I wanted to have one last look at the place I've called home for the past three years.  

My entrance around the back of the house

I found this converted basement apartment on Craigslist, and rented it based on photos before moving to Charlottesville to attend the University of Virginia in 2011.  A whole lot could have gone wrong by doing that, but I was extremely fortunate to find the space much like the photos and a friendly housemate who bequeathed me old furniture and took me around in her SUV to pick up more upon my arrival.  The house was located in a quiet residential neighborhood, about a 15-20 minute bike ride to both school and the Downtown Mall.  

In addition to the location, I also enjoyed the following (pros):

• Lots of space to myself
• Excellent natural light due to the slope of the lot
• Patio

However, as a basement in an older house, it also had some cons:

• Lots of noise from upstairs
• Occasional flooding from heavy rain
• Cold in the winter

The pros outweighed the cons, and wanting to avoid the hassle of moving, I stayed put for three years.  When I moved to Charlottesville, everything I brought with me fit in the trunk and backseat of my Corolla.  When I left last week, I had two van loads plus a full car!  What a difference some furniture and a well-stocked kitchen makes!

Kitchen; living room through door on left

Kitchen; the sink is on back wall of house

I spent a lot of time in the kitchen.  As you can see, it was large and had plenty of counter space for cooking.  I also found it easier to spread out on the kitchen table to study than to work at my desk when I was in school.

Door to bathroom

No photos of the bathroom; I took these right before I tore everything apart to pack and therefore hadn't cleaned the bathroom for a few weeks.  I will remember this bathroom for its lime green color scheme and efficient use of space.  No tub, just a shower, toilet with shelves above, and sink with storage below and a medicine cabinet above.  When it was time to finally clean it, the whole thing took about 20 minutes.

Looking into the living room from the kitchen

Living room from entryway

Bookcase in living room

Living room; door to entryway

View from living room window

The living room was also my bedroom.  When I moved in, I didn't really have the budget for a both a sofa and a bed, so the colorful sofa is a futon that I slept on every night.  I thought this might change over time, but I was never really sure how long I would be in Charlottesville, and didn't bother looking for more furniture.  Most weekdays the futon remained in bed form, but on weekends (and for these photos) I put away the sheets and blankets.  This arrangement certainly made it a bit easier to move out, but for my next place I will be looking for some dedicated living room furniture to add to the pink chair.  The pink chair may not be much to look at, but its quite comfortable and has made the trek with me.

Custom PVC wardrobe in the dressing room

The combined living room/bedroom arrangement left me with a lot of space.  Instead of using the nice-sized closets to store my clothes, I used a room most other people would have deemed a study.  It housed my dresser as well as some free standing clothing racks.  I made the PVC one above with some help from a Lowe's employee.  It did not make the trek with me; after doing some DC area apartment hunting online I realized there would be no room for it in any of the apartments I could afford.  It was disassembled and donated to the Habitat Re-Store.

Spare room/yoga studio

In addition to the dressing room, there was another room next to the kitchen that was used at different times for storage, hosting guests, and working out.  I will definitely miss this space when the weather prohibits running outside or I just want to follow along to an exercise DVD.

My next apartment is going to be completely different: its on the 8th floor, probably around half the size but with a big walk-in closet, balcony and full size tub!  I am looking forward to decorating and making it feel like home.  Let's hope I can learn to like city living!  

New Recipes: July

Hello August! (I started this post August 1st, but wonky internet and my brain going in a bajillion different directions turned it into a two-day affair.)

I have a crazy/fun month ahead with a move and a new job starting in early September.  This has all come together in the past 72 hours, so it's still very new and despite having to be out of my cozy basement abode by August 14th, I have barely started packing!  However, before finding out about my new job, I had already made the decision to end my work with the City of Charlottesville.  My last day was Thursday, so now only things like updating the blog, finding a new place to live, and enjoying the unseasonably cool weather, are keeping me from getting things into boxes.

July was a good month for new recipes, at least at the beginning.  I exceeded my goal of four new ones, but like the blogging, the new recipes have slipped during the final weeks of work (and general life uncertainty):

Recipe 1: S'mores Brownies

I mentioned these in a previous post; any problems with the recipe were likely my fault.  I am holding onto the recipe, but I am not in a rush to make it again.  There are too many other delicious desserts out there!


Recipe 2: Zucchini Fritters

While I was looking forward to this recipe, the fritters were not one of my favorite uses of zucchini this summer.  I don't think I got  enough moisture out of the zucchini shreds, so my fritters were a bit soggy in the middle.  I tried dressing them up with some plain Greek yogurt, but I found I liked them better plain.


Recipe 3: Summer Veggie Potato Salad

This is a different take on potato salad sans mayo, but don't worry, the olive oil/balsamic dressing has calories a plenty.  I found the dressing to potatoes ratio a bit high, and by the time I got through my leftovers, the last servings were pretty soggy.  Otherwise, this recipe is fresh and summery.


Recipe 4/5: Roasted Vegetable & Ricotta Pizza on Quick & Easy Pizza Crust

This pizza was delicious!  The dough was quite tasty and had good texture without much effort on my part; I am thinking of making it again this week to use up some flour and other ingredients I don't want to move.


Recipe 6: Mini-White Bean Burgers

These are the best veggie burgers I have ever made!  Granted, this is only the second time I can recall trying to make my own, but these didn't require a food processor, held together really well and were quite tasty. 

I am glad I got in so many new recipes in July.  For the next week, I am going to be cleaning out the pantry which doesn't bode well  for recipes requiring new ingredients, or complete meals for that matter.  It's also harder to cook with pots and pans in boxes.  The next "new recipes" post might have to wait until the end of September...