Drumroll please... The Apartment Grand Tour

I cleaned my A/C this week.  That's a big accomplishment. :)

I'd heard horror stories from other expats about cleaning the A/C, cause they grow mold in them from disuse during the fall/winter/spring, apparently, and get nasty gross, meaning that you could get sick from turning it on before you clean it.  My A/C is positioned right above my bed, so I wasn't in a hurry to clean it.  It wasn't that hot out yet (and really it still isn't), and cleaning the A/C with bleach and stuff would mean moving my bed (so no bleach and/or grime drips on it), and there isn't any place to easily move my bed, so I just didn't do it for a long time.  I settled for an oscillating fan and a top sheet, rather than a comforter.  Summer weather, you say?  Bring it, July, this ain't nothin.  Back home they started having over-100-degree days back in June.  This Texan is happy as a clam with the humid 85-degree weather outside!  I wonder if I could have made it the whole summer without turning it on?  Oh well, now that it's clean it's not bad to have it on once in a while! 

I finally got around to cleaning the durn thing cause I invited people over for Small Group on Thursday night, and I figured that even though I'm fine with the glorious warm humidity, other people may not be, and I'd like to be a good hostess.  So, Wednesday night I buckled down, moved furniture around and out of the way, got my bleach and rubber gloves and sponges and paper towels and everything ready, and got to work.  What a let down!  There was hardly any dust on the filter!  I expected filth, the way other people talked about cleaning theirs.  Even still, I bleached it all down and rinsed the filter, then let it all dry out.  That first blast of cold air felt like such an accomplishment!  All my furniture's back in place and looking lovely again :) 

This is just another moment in a string of things that have made this little space feel cozy and, well, mine!  I started my personalization of the place when I bought two little clocks to keep track of both the time here and the time at home.  So simple; they look nice up on my wall.  I felt some ownership in this place once I finished tackling the dirty grime in the bathroom and kitchen back when I first moved in.  That's right, filthydirtynastyness, it is I who come at you with swiffer and sponge!  Take THAT!  Later, once all the floors and walls were clean, I replaced the nasty/old/broken toilet seat cover with a clean/new/cute one (zebra print!!) all by myself!  I guess I never changed a toilet seat cover at home, but it seemed like it screwed on a little differently.  It was such a simple fix, but one that *I* did, all by myself, to make my home have some personality.

The felt some more ownership when I bought my piano keyboard.  Before that, everything I had, furniture-wise, came with the place.  The keyboard made my little place more exciting to return to in the evenings!  I quickly also bought some kitchen-ey stuff, which added to the homey feel.  I also found a full-length mirror in an alley, waiting for trash pickup (along with a little framed print), cleaned it up and taped up the cracks to make it a good addition!  Five-finger discount, don't mind if I do!  I bought a cute set of drawers to get some more clothes storage and inherited some plastic drawers to give myself some extra pantry-type storage instead of the cardboard box I'd been using.  Just last week, I bought a few simple mats to place around my faux-wood floors.  They add a little somethin-somethin to the aesthetics of the space, and I really think it's a sign of maturity that I bought neutral colors!  "Beige?  Ivory?  They're classics!"  Just my thought process while shopping made me feel like I was channeling my mother! 

Each little task accomplished, each simple purchase makes me like this tiny space more and more.  I've made it quite a nice little home for myself!  I cherish these months that I get to live here, even as I look forward to late August, when I *hopefully* will get to upgrade to a larger apartment.  I'm enjoying this little space and all the cutesy adorable pinkness that it holds.  The ridiculous pink bedding and pink flowery wallpaper finally grew on me.  When else in my life is my bedroom going to be so... pink??  It's obnoxious.  And I love it.

The other night, before my friends came over, I couldn't resist snapping some pictures to share with yall.  I hope yall can see why I like it so much :)


 THE GRAND TOUR:

Entryway - you don't wear shoes in Korean homes, so the shoe pile is right there at the door

Turn right when you enter the apartment and you're immediately in the bathroom.  Notice the shower head, attached to the sink.  You have to turn the knob at the base of the faucet to switch the water back and forth.  The whole room is my shower.

You can see how cozy it gets :)

Over-the-door shoe holder converted to a catch-all for the bathroom, due to the limited storage options!  Very glad I brought this from home. 

Bed area of the main room!  This picture is from a few weeks ago, before I bought my rugs, but I like this pic cause my lamp is on, so it looks cozier than the next pic.

See the addition of the rugs?  Don't they look nice?

"Living Room" - sectioned couch and piano, with luggage hiding there in the corner

Living room, kitchen, closet, dining room, and desk, all together.  That blank space in the middle is completely taken over when I set up my drying rack when I do laundry.  Goodbye living room, hello wet clothes. 

Dining room/Desk - snacks ready for small group

Dining room/Desk, TV that I never turn on (cause I watch everything on my laptop)(you see I was watching So You Think You Can Dance!), and view of the entryway

Kitchen!  Here's my little drawers which double as counter space, and the trash bag (hanging, cause I don't have room for a trash can)

The fridge and washing machine (grey, to the right of the fridge) are BFF's

Sink and stove!  Isn't the stove interesting?  Just sits on its own, not built in or anything. 

And that's the grand tour!  It's really small, but I like it, and it's temporary.  Hopefully more temporary than the full one-year, but we'll see if I'm allowed to move in a couple of months.  There's usually a shuffle when the other foreign teachers leave, based on seniority, but they are always talking about changing the rules and not letting us move... Ideally I'd like more space to spread out my living areas, especially to dry my laundry, so I'd like to spend the next few months making another apartment feel this cute!

What do yall think of my diggs?