a temporary home to love

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Hi guys, I hope you had a nice weekend! We spent ours doing a major Fall Cleaning in preparation for the move today. It went well - a little off schedule but everything is ready to go until we meet again.

But before we gave away the plants, removed art from the walls, and sorted everything for the movers to pack into boxes, I made sure to take a few snaps of the living area that we made home for one and a half years. Do you remember this post when we just moved in and this one with our decor plan? I hate to say it - because it's an annoying cliche - but it feels just like yesterday. I can still remember Joe saying "let's get stuff up on the walls, it won't feel like home until we do" and little by little we did. Little by little we filled our home with pieces that made us smile and gave us comfort. You really can create a home that you love wherever you are.

With just some light cleaning and the final walk-through to do tomorrow, we're almost home-free! Not homeless though as we're staying at a hotel in the city until we depart on Wednesday. It's already proving to be a great idea, having a 'break' from moving before the long flights home. A big pat on the back for that one ;)

Okay KL, last few nights -  let's make them ones to remember!

simple christmas touches

A few simple touches of gold and red around our home have really made it feel like Christmas. From framing wrapping paper to making a mock fireplace, I'm quite happy with what I put together with the little that we have and can commit to. I really thought that we'd go without a tree this year since very few natural ones are imported (and are crazy expensive) so I was happy to find a little felt one from MUJI. It may not be big enough to put presents underneath, or give off the lovely smell of pine, but I love it. And best of all, we can flatten it and take it with us wherever we go without taking up much space. Maybe one day we'll have dedicated garage space for holiday decor but for now, we've gotta stick to a large shoe box ;)

How do you decorate for the holidays? Do you deck the halls or just have a few favorite pieces?

like a pro

After nearly two months at sea, the three pieces of furniture that we shipped from London have arrived: our duck egg blue sofa, antique wood table, and bed frame + mattress (not pictured). They are home and we are now living more comfortably (yahooo!)

As soon as the movers left we began arranging, and then re-arranging, all of the pieces to see what worked best for our needs. If it weren't for the items that came with the apartment (dining table, chairs, white storage units, TV, table lamp, and lounge chair) then we'd be seriously furniture-poor in this space. And while the provided pieces wouldn't have been our first picks, they're at least simple and modern enough that they blend in nicely with our personal touches.

All that's left to buy are a few furnishings and accessories to make the living room really come together. I've been watching old episodes of the interior design show Candice Tells All on syndication and I love how she goes around with her drawing tablet, whipping up solutions to everyday design problems. Well, I have a drawing tablet, too, so I put that baby to work! We had written a list of what we'd like to buy but drawing everything onto the space was a really fun way to bring it all to life - I highly recommend it!

On our list:

• large area rug

• round coffee table to soften the straight edges of other items in the room

• tall plant next to the TV so that it's not the first thing we see when we walk through the

door

• canopy floor lamp for the corner reading/lounging nook with a round shade, again, to soften the hard edges already existing in the room

• cotton throw pillow covers. the ones from London are wool and don't work here for obvious reasons

• dining placemats - can't say that i love the sound of metal and ceramic hitting glass

• large canvas art - this might be the hardest part

• floor plant for the desk area

• fun graphic print above the desk

and last but not least, a comfortable desk chair so that I can work and blog all the better :)

Now, if only Craigslist were popular here. That was the thing to do in LA...buried treasures I'll tell ya...

Either way, I can't wait to start shopping around!

Do you have any methods you use for organizing your home-decor plan of action? Or do you just go for it as you come across pieces?

weekend...we have a new blog

Hi everyone! I hope you all had a fantastic weekend. As you can see, I've moved over to a new domain and have put some TLC into this little blog 'o mine - I hope you like! The bare bones are set but there are still minor adjustments I'd like to make as well as fixing some bugs...all in due time. After all, I did have to pick up my engagement ring and rock out at the Alexandra Palace this weekend, too!

I'm really excited to have a new space to share my world as well as "officially" launch my new blog for daily doses of inspiration, howdy day!.

A new photography gallery/shop and portfolio page are coming soon but in the meantime you can browse the featured categories in the new menu bar, jam to the new monthly mixtape, or peek at my instagram snaps.

If you subscribed to anamublog.wordpress.com (the old site) via rss or email, be sure to re-subscribe with this new URL. I'll eventually forward the old domain but in case that doesn't automate the feed, re-subscribing it is. Sorry and thank you!

Have a great start to your week!

image: what i see when i lay on our couch. cool, huh?

simple pleasures

Maybe its the colder weather but I've been all about nesting lately. I recently bought some flowers to brighten up our rooms and I've realized that I'm much more of a single stem (or bunches of three) kind of gal. It's a great way to indulge in pretty petals more often :)