Make it Work

As of tomorrow, I have one month left at my job. Naturally, that kind of foreseeable end date leads to daydreaming. Lots of daydreaming. To dissuade myself from the morose "but I don't want a new goldfish" outlook moving is bringing out in me, I'm trying to get excited about pairing down what I own and decorating a new space.

Gorgeous gothic/Victorian-inspired armoire I spotted here on Apartment Therapy.

What does this mean for me? Spending more time on Apartment Therapy than any normal person cares to, field trips to Ikea, and possibly a major garage sale (for which I don't have a personal garage and would gladly accept any offers). I'm especially interested in small space storage solutions because I'll only be allotted one coat closet in my new sublet. For my clothes, I'd like to fit everything into a wardrobe or underneath my bed. I don't have any ideas for non-clothing items, but my goal is to have a living space that doesn't look like a cluttered dorm room.

Some make it work with even less than what I'll have though. I'll leave you with this awesome food for thought in the form of a simply chic 125 square ft studio I found on Apartment Therapy.


Action Jackson out.

Minimalist Me

Above is a photograph I came across while perusing The Everyday Minimalist. It's a snap of Steve Jobs at home in 1982, presumably pictured with most or all of his possessions at the time. TEM paired it with the tagline quote from SJ, "All you needed was a cup of tea, a light, and your stereo, you know, and that's what I had."

So, why am I suddenly turning my attention to minimalism? I'm fairly certain this isn't new knowledge to anyone who reads this blog regularly/knows me in real life, but if it is, I'm moving to NYC in August for grad school. And while I have moved within Austin every year for the past seven years, I've never made a cross-country move.

It should come as no surprise that moving hundreds/thousands of miles alone is not glamorous (yes, even to NYC) and is instead incredibly laborious. However, I genuinely had not thought about how I would move my cat, desktop and laptop, jewelry supplies, musical instruments, and any essential odds and ends until I visited the City last weekend. The reality of the move didn't sink in until it came time to find a place to live in a city I've only visited a few times.

For the fall semester, I'll be living in a furnished sublet that's a 20 minute walk from NYU. And while the unit itself is nothing to sneeze at (silestone counters, hardwood floors, and a clean bathroom and kitchen), it isn't my gorgeous, spacious, brand spankin new Austin apartment. Oh, and I'll be sharing one bathroom with three other girls in the sublet. If that's not a premise for a sitcom, I don't know what is.

As inane and superficial as it sounds, I'm pretty broken up about the prospect of leaving behind a lovely home I share with my boyfriend and most of my possessions (leaving behind my friends has not set in and I'm convinced that when it does, I will have a meltdown, guaranteed). I am by no means a minimalist, I hoard more than I care to admit, and until airlines started charging for checked baggage, I did not pack lightly.

This all leads me to the question, how will I make it work? I've considered shipping everything ground and taking the delicates with me on the plane (including a sedated cat), renting a car in Austin and packing up the essentials, and my dad's favorite solution (which I consider a horrible idea bound to be laden with problems) of hiring movers.

Currently, everything is up in the air except my last day at work and the date I need to be in New York. I have a little over seven weeks to figure everything out and determine what I really truly NEED to bring with me. If you happen to see me in the meantime, any advice is much appreciated.

Action Jackson out.

In Love with Lucite

Because I am a self proclaimed magpie, it may or may not come as a surprise to you that I love all things lucite in decor and design. I can't articulate what this stems from, but I'd be willing to guess that my lucite love is a kind of evolution/adult version of my 13-year old self that wanted to have a house filled with nothing but inflatable furniture (and who wouldn't? Think how easy moving would be).
Though this multipurpose material was first produced in the 1930s and first used for mass production for machinery components in World War II, lucite wasn't incorporated into design until the 1960s when the space age aesthetic was all the rage (personally, I can't blame them). Luckily for me, this trend hasn't died off, and Apartment Therapy's frequent posts and pics (the top three shown here) on the subject are proof of just that.
If money was no object, I would go crazy decorating my apartment with the pristine plastic. However, the lucite decor that's out there (a la Philippe Starck ghost chairs, above, that are a heartbreaker to yours truly) tends to be on the pricey side. So, if you're like me and love lucite and pinch pennies, have no fear, Apartment Therapy is here. Last September, they posted this DIY project on how to make your own lucite chandelier.
The flawlessly elegant aesthetic that lucite achieves in interior design is maintained in its translation in jewelry, whether through faceted gem-like beads or carved nouveau pieces. Tarina Tarantino is no stranger to this medium and typically incorporates it into over-the-top pieces like her Over the Rainbow Necklace (shown above) from the My Pretty Collection. Personally, I love working lucite filigree into my jewelry, but I haven't explored all the beading possibilities. So, what do you think about this pretty plastic? Would you take the plunge like me and decorate a room completely in lucite?

Action Jackson out.

Currently Listening: Let Love In by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds