Back from Chicago

We're back!  We had a great week in Chicago site-seeing and looking for apartments.  Instead of staying in an expensive hotel, we rented an awesome apartment for the week in Ukranian Village a great neighborhood on the north side. The apartment is owned/designed by a Chicago artist.  He had great art, photography, and artifacts from his travels, not to mention a collection of awesome vintage finds.

View of the living room.

The kitchen was my favorite part of the apartment.  It was super unique!  Loved the cabinets and the cart he turned into an island.

Look at the shower...isn't that awesome!  The bathroom/shower floors were mosaic and the sink was replaced with the green tub.  I don't know if I could live with it all the time but it was awesome for the week!

We saw this car at a mechanic's shop by Wrigley Field. 

These awesome giant license plates were in the same garage.

One of the best things about Chicago is how varied the homes are.  Each house is completely different than the next.  On the block we stayed on, there were ultra modern glass and concrete buildings, Spanish-style ranches, elegant stucco buildings with Parisian balconies, and brick 3-stories.  It definitely keeps things interesting.

While we were in Chicago, we managed to find a great apartment.  I don't have pictures yet and we haven't officially got the apartment, but as soon as we do, I'll post pictures.  It's a BEAUTIFUL vintage apartment with the original woodwork on the windows and built-ins.  The living room is large enough to host a ball!  We'll hopefully hear back this week...I can't wait!

Oh, and if you're hungry, Chicago's the place to be.  The restaurants are to die for!  My favorite would have to be the smoked salmon club I had from Cafe Selmarie in Lincoln Square...it was simply divine!

Etsy Shop of the Week: Tracy Knits

Forget Father's Day?  Cousin getting married?  Friend's birthday coming up?  Like to golf?  Try Tracey Knits!  Tracey's shop has an awesome selection of golf club covers with options for everyone.  If you're not a golfer, check out the knit scarves/belts or buy the PDF instructions to make your own kid's knit football helmet. 

{all images via Tracey Knits}

Have an Etsy Shop you'd like to see featured?  Email us!

Apartment Wanted: Our Roslindale Pad

Our apartment is now up for rent! 

Beautiful backyard patio area great for grilling or growing your own plants/flowers.

We've had nothing but great times here in Roslindale.  I've spent the past two years painting, repainting, decorating, and rearranging rooms like a crazy person.  I've loved the place like it was my baby.  Now, it's time for someone else to take care of it!  If you live in Boston or know anyone who does, check out our place! If interested, contact our landlords.

Spiral staircase in dining room leading to 3rd floor master bedroom

White picket fence...does it get any better?!

DETAILS:

• Price: $1650
• Available: August 1
• Bedrooms: 2 (Master bedroom w/en suite bathroom takes up the WHOLE upstairs and has large closet.  2nd bedroom downstairs good for full/queen sized bed)
• Bathrooms: 2 full
• Office: Small w/built-in bookcase.  Can fit desk, bookcase, filing cabinet, etc. Four windows so the room's always bright! (see my office redo pics here)

Downstairs bathroom.  Built in shelves on back wall for storing all your stuff.

Master bath with walk-in double shower

• Kitchen: Stainless steel appliances, dishwasher, nice cabinets, pantry, windows overlooking beautiful backyard
• Laundry: Washer/Dryer hookups off of office area.  You can buy your own stackable set or buy ours from us so you don't have to carry one upstairs ($150).  Laundromat also within walking distance.
• Storage: 2 attic storage closets in the master bedroom, plus normal sized closets in the living room and 2nd bedroom.  Pantry off kitchen.  Possible storage space in shed and basement.
• Parking: Private driveway parking...can fit 3 cars
• Yard: GORGEOUS front and back yard maintained by landscapers.  Shared with the downstairs neighbors (awesome young couple). Stone patio for grilling, separate seating area w/fire pit.

Office space. Trap door in floor leading to backyard.

• Neighborhood: The neighborhood is full of young families and retirees so it's quiet, clean, and safe.  Everyone's super friendly and will help you if you lock your keys in your car (thanks guys!)  Walking distance to Roslindale Village which has delicious restaurants, a farmer's market, great thrift store, grocery store, bakery, salon, Family Dollar, library, and post office. 7 Eleven and gas station around the corner.  West Roxbury Center is close (20minute walk if not lazy or 5 minute drive/bus ride) with tons of restaurants and the Dedham Mall and Legacy Place shopping areas are just a quick 10-15 minute drive.
• Transportation: About an 8 minute walk to the commuter rail.  Commuter passes are a little more expensive than a regular train pass ($135) but it's worth it considering you're only two quick stops (12minutes) from Back Bay!  Unlike the T, you almost always get a seat on the commuter rail and it's mostly full of business people so there's free wi-fi and you don't have to worry about someone shaking you down for change.  If you want to save money, you can take the bus to the Orange Line and pay the regular T price ($59).  Buses available to take you around West Roxbury/Dedham as well.
• Landlords: Great!  This used to be their apartment so it's in great shape with everything updated.  They're super attentive and will fix any problems quickly. 

Great kitchen.

***RENTING YOUR PLACE OR SELLING FURNITURE?  EMAIL pics and a description to have it featured on the Apartment 528 Blog***

Home Security for $1

It'd be great if all rentals came with security systems but unfortunately they don't.  But for just $1 you can get the Intrud Alert from Dollar Tree.  The Intrud Alert comes in two pieces, one that attaches to your door and a smaller contact strip that attaches to your door jam.  When the door is opened, the Intrud Alert sounds a loud alarm letting you know the someone's breaking in and scaring off any would-be criminals.

We used the Intrud Alert at our apartment and it worked like a charm.  It comes with the batteries and mounting tape...everything you need to get started!  The on/off switch is on the side so you can easily control the alarm without having to remember codes everytime you come and go.  The best part is it's only ONE DOLLAR so you can buy one for all your entrances for just a few bucks.  If you don't have a Dollar Tree near you, you can buy the Intrud Alert online for $2.50.

While you're at Dollar Tree, make sure to check out the stationery section where I found gorgeous mini clipboards.  There are four different patterns to choose from but at just $1 a piece, you can buy all four like I did!

Apartment 528 CSN Giveaway!

UPDATE 6/23: This contest is now closed.  Congrats to JamericanSpice for winning the $60 gift card!

My mind is full of great decorating ideas that I can't wait to try in our new apartment. Everytime I watch TV or look through online stores and blogs I get inspired.  Of course, browsing through CSNStores.com hasn't helped my desire to buy things.  CSN has over 200 online stores dedicated to everything you could ever need for your home.  Need a bathroom vanity or snazzy new medicine cabinet?  They have dozens to choose from at JustVanities.com.  How about the awesome Blue Dot sofa that I'm pretty sure I can't live without?  Welp, they have that too.

No matter what you need or what your price range is, CSN has a store for you.  To help you get the item of your dreams, we're hosting a CSN giveaway.  Now through Tuesday, June 22nd, enter the Apartment 528 CSN Giveaway for your chance to win a $60 voucher to ANY of CSN's 200+ online stores (shipping not included).

To enter, chose one (or both!) of the options below:

1. Leave a comment below.  Tell us what you'd do with your $60 if you win.  Each comment counts as ONE entry.
2. Send @Apt528 a tweet on twitter.  Make sure to include the hashtag #Apt528Giveaway.  Each tweet counts as TWO entries.  

The contest ends Tuesday, June 22nd at 11:59p ET.  There's no limit to how many times you can enter so tweet and comment away!  The winner will be chosen at random (via random.org) on Wednesday, June 23rd.

Good luck!

Grammie's Gifts

Last Thursday, Grammie, my husband's grandmother, passed away.  She was 87.  My favorite memory of Grammie comes from our wedding.  We were taking group pictures and cameras were flashing all over the place when she said, "I feel like a celebrity!"  It was hilarious!

Grammie (2nd from right) feeling like a celebrity at our wedding!

This being a decorating blog, I feel it fitting to officially thank Grammie for the wonderful things we got from her home.  She had a house full of retro and mid-century furnishings.  Now they're a part of OUR home and are a constant reminder of the great woman they used to belong to.  Below are a few of our favorite items, not including the decanters, vases and other odds and ends we got.

The TV, cart, and VCR are from Grammie's house.

We have several of Grammie's books spread throughout the house.

The bookcase is our favorite piece in the house.  On it's own, it's worth a good amount of money but the fact that it comes from Grammie makes it priceless.  This is a family piece we'll ALWAYS have.  I can't wait to find a place for it in our new apartmnet!

Her awesome blender.  They don't make them as cool as this anymore!

This radio still works!

Thanks Grammie!

On the Dial: Blizten Trapper

Destroyer of the Void by Blitzen Trapper
By Mr. Design Girl

 
*email subscribers - head to the Apt528 blog to hear tracks from the album
If Bob Dylan's John Wesley Harding had babies with Electric Light Orchestra's music catalogue, Destroyer of the Void would be their middle child, never getting enough attention or recognition. 

Destroyer of the Void is like a trip back in time. The title track sets a mellow, folksy pace with acoustic guitars and keyboards playing a harpsichord melody. After listening to the song, it was hard to believe it was released in 2010 and not thirty-five or forty years ago.  That could be said for most of the album. "Dragon's Song" sounds like Creedance Clearwater Revival or the Allman Brothers Band with it's classic rock/Americana rhythms.  Johnny Cash would be proud of "The Tree", an excellent folk song featuring Alela Diane, a little known soloist with a pure classic folk sound that gives you a warm sunny feeling. Her voice hits you like streaks of sunlight coming through a willow tree on a hot summer day.

Bandleader and lead vocalist Eric Earley easily channeled classic rock and folk legends through his vocals. "The Tree" has him sounding almost precisely like Bob Dylan while "Laughing Lover" and "Below the Hurricane" could easily be mistaken for Tom Petty's crooning lyrics. "Love and Hate" could be sung by John Lennon OR Eric Earley and no one would be the wiser. By the way, the guitar and keyboard on "Love and Hate" are the best on the album so check that track out for sure!

Blitzen Trapper is quickly climbing the ranks of the indie scene. Not bad for a band that got their name from something printed on the side of a winnebago!


Sounds Like:
  Bob Dylan
  Johnny Cash
  Neil Young & Crazy Horse
  Creedance Clearwater Revival
  Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers

I Love Carrie Can

I'm in love with a woman and her name is Carrie.  I was browsing around Flickr to do a black and white post when I came across Carrie's gorgeous Flickr photos.  She's a vintage thrifter like myself who lives/lived in an AMAZINGLY AWESOME rental (she now lives in a new apartment but I love the old one pictured below!).  I love the architecture of her home and the wonderful way she displays her vintage treasures.  It just goes to show you don't have to live in a boring white box just because you're a renter!  If you're looking for a new blog to follow (in addition to mine of course!) Carrie's blog, Carrie Can, is a collection of her favorite interior decor ideas.

Gorgeous beams plus a raised area perfect for displaying her finds.

Carrie's vintage lamp collection plus art piece by her boyfriend.

I LOVE her stairs!

Super cute dining area.  Love the art on the ledge.

Black kitchen with retro pieces added in.

Tin garden on the ledge above her sink.  What a great idea!

{all images via Carrie Can}

Etch-a-Sketch

Wanted to share one of the awesome wedding gifts we got this weekend at our Ohio wedding party.  One of my cousins had a sketch made based off one of our group wedding pictures.  I hate getting my picture taken so we didn't have a photographer at our wedding.  With all the excitement going on, none of us at the wedding thought to get a picture of just the two of us, we just have group shots.  That makes this picture extra special...it's the only real picture of us.  I can't wait till we move so we can hang it in our new place.

We had such a great time in Ohio...I guess now that the wedding parties are over we can say we're officially married!  Yea :)

On the Dial: Cold War Kids

Loyalty to Loyalty - Cold War Kids
By Mr. Design Girl

I've been meaning to review the Cold War Kids ever since Mrs. Design Girl suprised me with tickets to their show at The Orpheum (the same spot we caught Mika) this past winter.  The band had tremendous energy and stage presence and the distinctive voice of lead singer Nathan Willett was just as amazing live as it is on the album.  

On Loyalty to Loyalty, the Cold War Kids go a little darker than their first album, Robbers & Cowards, and set a mood that's palpable and gritty, with raw emotion pouring out of every note.  In each song, you can feel the strain in Willett's voice, demading your attention as he spins you a story.  "Something Is Not Right with Me", the first song realeased off Loyalty, is amazing.  It's a high energy diatribe of personal problems and dilemmas. My favorite verse concerns our crooner trying to call his girlfriend with a less than desirable outcome: "I tried to call you collect, you said you would not accept. Your friends are laughing, 'cause nobody uses payphones."

 

I can't recommend Cold War Kids enough, I've seen them in concert twice now (I first saw them at the Bonnaroo Music Festival way back in 2007) and really look forward to them coming around again. Their music has a truly original vibe to it...I can't wait to see how it grows and changes on their third album due out later this year. If you're a fan of indie rock on any level whatsoever, Cold War Kids should be in your top ten.  A few songs you can't miss are: "Mexican Dogs", "Against Privacy", "Welcome to the Occupation", "Golden Gate Jumpers", and "Avalanche in B", just to name a bunch.

I guarantee you'll like the Cold War Kids or your money back! (No refunds of any kind.)

Sounds Like:
  Black Keys
  The Raconteurs
  Arctic Monkeys
  Modest Mouse
  The Fratellis