Decorating Decisions

he application for the new apartment (just 2 blocks from the metro!) has been approved and I can’t stop myself from planning out every minute decorating detail of every room of the new place. Yes, I'm letting my OCD tendencies (or as Elizabeth would say, "full blown case of OCD") get the best of me...

I will not bore you with EVERY detail I’ve planned out, but a couple won’t hurt. :)

Since most/all of the furniture in the new place will be what’s currently in Arya’s place, we will be sticking with a modern look to match what we have. Because so much is being used from his old place, but we still want a new feel, we will be changing all the details to make it feel fresh.

Overall layout of the cuteness that will be my new home!

FURNISHED! (it's not perfectly to scale and ignore the colors)

Now for the room by room breakdown!

Kitchen:

Nothing really exciting to say about this except that we will have Arya’s amazing spice collection. He is very proud about bringing that to the table, so we must give him some credit, or as he would say… “props.” No food that comes out of this kitchen will ever be bland thanks to my lovely SO.

The best part of the kitchen definitely has to be the big, open breakfast bar. It just opens the whole place up, lots of counter space for everything. It’s probably my favorite part of the whole apartment.

Oh and I will need something to help stop me from loosing my keys... maybe like this?
I'm probably one of the few people who is so awful about losing their keys that even when just looking for them inside my purse it takes me more than 10 mins to eventually find them...

Living/Dining Area:

We just ordered this huge, colorful, and happy painting to hang over the dark gray modern couch and white loveseat. 

Original Acrylic Painting, Size: 48" x 20" x 0.75" Three 16" x 20" canvases

Throw in some coordinating green, red, or yellow throw pillows on the couch and I think it will give the place a fun/cheerful vibe. 

Bedroom:

We already have black and white framed photographs to bring over to put on the walls to complete the overall black and white theme to this room. Then maybe some deep red curtains to add a little spice? That part is still up in the air, but very likely.

The real problem with the bedroom will be figuring out how to store all of our clothes/shoes. You would think that would just be a problem for the girl in the relationship, but sadly I think Arya might have me beat in the shoe department.

Bathroom:

We have the shower curtain pictured below. Maybe we'll add a couple more mustard yellow towels to bring it all together.

Don't worry, I haven't given away everything! There are still plenty of incentives for everyone to visit me and see it for themselves this December. Of course, the number one reason to see where I will be living is to see me too! Don't forget that. ;)

Oh yeah, and between now and the move-in date, I'm sure a lot of these decisions will have changed 400 times, at least. 

btw- Election Day!

I just wanted to let you know that I voted on Tuesday.

Proof:

But everyone else didn't vote the same way :(

Another move towards moving

ot official and booked the movers today... well, more like got my living social email today, saw that movers were the deal of the day, thought it was a good idea to take advantage of 51% off something I'll be buying in a little more than a month anyways. A little more than a month! That's when I'm finally moving out. :) Wow, it's about time.

My final destination for the next year is Arlington. Probably, more specifically, Ballston.

Now please watch following educational raps about Arlington.

Where I will be much more metro mobile. :)

I'll miss you Fairfax area.... but I'm long overdue for a change of scenery.

Swiss Chocolate

y mom just got back from her 10 day trip to visit family in Switzerland/Italy and I am, of course, totally jealous. Thankfully she didn't come back empty-handed. One of her suitcases was ONLY filled with delicious Swiss chocolates and that definitely helped ease my jealousy pains. Yum. Cuckoo Clocks and chocolate-- two things the Swiss definitely get right.

Ooh! A Cuckoo Clock made OUT OF chocolate!

After overdosing on chocolates we sat around talking about her adventures in Europe. I asked about what she thought the main difference between Swiss, Iranians, and Americans was. More specifically I wanted to know if she thought that the Swiss were generally unfriendly like Americans are (in comparison with Iranians). I don't think she ever got around to answering the question, but a good point was brought up by Arya about how Americans ARE very friendly, just more distant compared to so many other cultures. I never thought about it like that before but I feel that I should have as I am always trying to better understand my mixed heritage. People here are very nice but they do tend to back off and give everyone space, whether you want them to or not. 


So, to sum up: I ate a lot of chocolate, my wardrobe is filled with a lot more fashionable clothes from Switzerland and Italy, and now I have a slightly better understanding of the distant, yet very friendly environment I have been living in for the past 23 years. 


I'm going to leave you with pictures of when some of my cute half Swiss and half Iranian cousins came to visit the states in April. Of course I was sure to show them how colorful and young at heart us Americans really can be...

Unprepared for Halloween, as always

his season I've been so busy with applications, moving out, working, working out, etc, that I've been neglecting my yearly Halloween costume freak out.

Months before October rolls around I’ve usually already spent way too many hours researching what amazing costume I want to rock for my favorite holiday. Of course the criteria that I want my costume to meet is so impossible that I end up waiting until the late minute anyways. My final decision always ends up being disappointing and never as awesome as I set it out to be in the first place. Ah, the disappointments that come along with being so indecisive and picky. This year it’s almost Halloween weekend and I have NO idea what I want to be. So basically if I obsess and plan for months ahead of time or give it no thought until just days before, I still end up with the same outcome on October 30. So maybe I should just try this year’s method more often?

Conquering Sports

ll my life I have sat around bored and confused as guys obsess/gush about sports. Last year I finally decided to change things. As they say, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em... right? So instead of finding a way to completely eradicate professional sports from the planet I decided to just learn what the fuss is always about.

Since then I’ve taken on learning everything about football and basketball. Sorry to all you baseball/hockey/tennis/golf/curling fans out there. It’s impossible to master them all and I’d rather have depth in a couple sports than breadth of them all. Basketball and football made the cut only because they are the most popular around here, which means maximum potential to school obnoxious boys on their favorite sports. Mwahaha. :)

I made a lot of progress mastering basketball last season. My favorite player, Derek Fisher, finished the season with the championship, which was definitely lovely.

Side note: Utah fans suck.

This football season I am fast becoming the best Redskins/Bengals fan ever. And why are those two teams my favorite you might ask… well, they both have Simpson players of course! Jerome Simpson and Chad Simpson. Simpsons gotta stick together!

Unless the Simpson has been accused of killing another Simpson, then they might be exempt from my support.

Some other very important reasons why not being a Skins fan is not really an option for me:

• I grew up being taught that the Dallas Cowboys (along with Republican Party) are the enemy.
• They won the Super Bowl the year I was born.
• They won the Super Bowl the year my one and only sister was born. 
• Their colors are the same as my high school’s colors.
• I kind of have a weird thing for Native Americans.
• My 6th grade teacher was a retired Redskinette.
• I was born in DC and it also happens to be my favorite city. 

My new devotion for the Bengals on the other hand are a little harder to explain. But the main reason is because they have best uniforms everrrr. I mean, come on, who doesn't love large athletic men running around a field dressed as adorable kitty cats??

                            

Kind of reminds you of Tony the Tiger? That's why the Cincinnati Bengals are GRRREAT!!

Then after I started watching a little and learning more I really fell in love with Ochocinco and how he always keeps things funny and fresh. I mean what else could you expect from a guy who legally changed his name from Chad Johnson to Ochocinco in honor of his jersey number? (more reasons why I love him: ex #1, ex #2, ex #3) And on the Skins I love London Fletcher. Definitely the Derek Fisher of the Redskins. He's respectable, dependable, and classy-- all are my favorite qualities in a professional athlete! Fletcher has even achieved a perfect attendance record during his twelve year career. Seriously, how can  you not miss a single game in twelve years?

Ok, as you can see I have probably been focusing too much on personalities instead of the actual games, but I have to make it interesting somehow...

In the meantime I'm off to watch more football games, apply my knowledge of tight ends, 3-4 defenses, and the difference between a safety and a safety. Oh yeah and the the NBA season starts Tuesday! So much to watch and keep up with, but if silly/smelly boys can do it, so can I. Oh the lessons you learn from Gatorade commercials!

MUST SEE - Michael Jordan Mia Hamm "Michael vs Mia" Gatorade

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What I REALLY learned from the LSAT

ow, so my blogging experience didn't quite get off to the glorious start that I envisioned for it. Whoops!

I've been busy? Well, I don't know what my excuse from February to July was but for the past 2-3 months I’ve been working fulltime AND studying hardcore for the LSAT. Pretty stressful stuff. I don’t think I’ve ever spent so much of each day devoted towards one goal like that. I must say though, I was pretty impressed with myself and my ability to stay (relatively) on track. I have a tendency to get distracted from goals I set (this blog is a prime example of that). I finally took the LSAT on the 9th and I’m totally ok with the fact that I have to wait until November 1 to see my score. I don’t think I did horribly, but I definitely wasn’t at my absolute best that day. Game day jitters got the best of me. Hopefully I will be pleasantly surprised by my score? Keep your fingers crossed for me please! Then it’s law school application deadlines to meet. The fun never ends!

Anyways, so what did the LSAT end up teaching me? To REALLY appreciate my newfound freedom. I am just so motivated to enjoy every moment and improve myself in ways that having to study all the time didn't let me. I’ve come up with way too many goals that I might decide against in a week or I might actually go through with. If I do end up enrolling in a law school next August then I definitely won’t have time for any of this type of self improvement so now’s my chance so I will try my best to take full advantage of this low stress time in my life.

Here are some of the newest goals I’ve set for myself:

• Run a 5k race on Thanksgiving
• Take belly dancing classes
• Learn to play tennis/golf
• Move out in December
• Shoot a gun at a shooting range
• Learn to cook (at least one dish really well)
• Understand football better
• Read for fun again
• Travel more

The list is always changing and growing and shrinking, but for the moment, that’s what I want out of the next couple of months. Wish me luck! And thank you LSAT for showing me what it feels like not to have a life. I will never be unappreciative again.

Oh and maybe if you’re lucky I will keep up with the blog this time around. :)

My first post (creative title, I know)

Dear Blogiverse,

I guess this marks the official beginning of my blogging experience.

Today I’ve been snowed in, leading to a lot of just-for-fun reading that I’ve been meaning to get to. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, this has given me some new ideas, primarily blogging. And when I have a new idea to pursue, I usually go full force and get really into it, only to forget about it after a month. Maybe two? Unfortunate, I know.

Today's blogging obsession was inspired by my current book, The Happiness Project. The author was describing all the joys of blogging, which of course makes me jealous, which of course means I have to immediately start my own.

My Blogging Inspiration!
http://www.happiness-project.com/

We'll see if this actually sticks.

Wish me luck!

Sincerely,
Christina