Can a dream home and a dream apartment be the same thing?

It all started with two little words, "pre-approved" (is that two words, or one word and a prefix?). My husband and I had gotten the news that we had been waiting and working oh so hard for. We were finally pre-approved for a home loan! This was not just any pre-approval letter, this was work! Back in April 2012, we were living in an older apartment and struggling to pay the close to $2,000 rent per month, when I got the brilliant idea to move my husband and three not so small children into an extended stay hotel for one year in order to get completely out of debt and save for a down-payment. My "plan" was brilliant...or so I thought.

Picture it, the five of us in one not so big hotel room, did I mention that I planned to do this for an entire year? Crazy, I know that now. So, we (mainly I) packed all our belongings, and arranged to put everything we own- minus clothes, into storage. And off we rode into the sunset to our extended stay hotel.

Fast forward a VERY hard year, lots of nights were I cried myself to sleep (not as easy as it sounds people, not as easy), and there you have me and my husband holding this pre-approval letter ever so tightly.

Now what?

We went out a few times to look at houses with our Realtor. I have one word for you: bad (the homes, not the realtor) very, very bad. Every single one we saw, in our price range was horrific. I thought to myself, is finding a nice four bedroom, two bath, home with an eat-in kitchen and a basement unrealistic? Well, apparently it was. Afterwards my husband and I decided the smart decision was to look at three bedroom homes (which was do-able because my boys have always shared a bedroom). After looking at the only two homes on the market (both equally terrible), my wonderful realtor suggested that we should consider two bedroom condos. I quickly extended my arm, as if to shake her hand, and said, "Hi, my name is Jennifer and I have THREE children". She didn't think it was funny, me on the other hand I thought it was hilarious; just as hilarious as her suggesting two bedrooms. Needless to say, we parted ways after that.

That, in a nutshell is how I came to live in my dream apartment home. We got super lucky and found a beautiful apartment community that was under construction. An affordable, luxury (home?) that was brand spankin' new, Yes please! We applied. We got it. We moved in. We are happy! Did I mention it is NOT  a two bedroom (3 kids, follow me?).

So, now that I’m in my dream apartment home- it’s time to decorate it! As you probably already know, an empty apartment is a totally blank slate. White walls, standard carpeting, cheap lighting fixtures; No personality whatsoever. That’s where pinterest comes into the picture! On the off chance you don’t know what pintrest is, I’ll explain: it’s your new obsession! Search for photos, pin them to your boards. It’s that simple. Only I do have one warning for you: prepare to become addicted. Not addicted like, “I can’t believe I pinned for a solid thirty minutes to day.”, I’m talking addicted like- dinner is late (really late) and your kids are doing whatever the heck they want at 9:00pm on a school night because you’re on a roll pinning vegetarian, gluten free, vegan, high protein, low fat dinners. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!

Okay, back to decorating… I have a very open floor plan, so wall space is limited. Here’s what I’m working with: 

 

 

With school starting, I am in desperate need for somewhere for all the backpacks, lunchboxes and important papers. Off to pinterest I go (I told you I was addicted)!

Project one: Command Center.