House to home

In light of the last blog post I wrote, I have decided to start a new mini series. This isn't going to be one where I post about it each week, but rather, once a room is completely (or almost completely) finished. I shall call this new series 'house to home' - my quest to make my apartment and any place I live feel like home the instant you walk through the door.

While my home still feels relatively temporary, I have found some cheap pieces that are making it feel more welcoming and overall make my bare-ish apartment feel decorated to a certain degree. I bought the cute pillow above at Hobby Lobby - which is where I will be spending a chunk of my paycheck! Holy decorating heaven!! I also got some wicker storage baskets from Ikea (I live 5 minutes from Ikea - could be dangerous!) for Izzie's toys.

I'm so grateful that my dad helped purchase some of the furniture pieces I sold before leaving Virginia such as a dining room table + chairs, and a tv stand, amongst others. Without some of these things, my house would have looked completely empty!

I redid an old, ugly dresser from goodwill. I sanded and repainted it and LOVE the way it turned out. Since I got a feel for it, I have been looking for more pieces of furniture to redo - I'm currently hunting for a dresser for in my bedroom! I will be building a headboard this weekend, and am also searching pinterest to find a cool coffee table to make. How neat is it to have things in your house that you can say you made, or redid? I'm also in desperate need of a pallet...anyone know where I can get one free / relatively cheap in Phoenix?? Can't wait for all my projects to come to life!

 

{my mom made me aware that one of the pieces of hardware on the bottom drawer are upside down - no worries, it has since been fixed, I just haven't had a chance to take another picture!}

 

Throughout the series, I'll try to post some tutorials of the DIY (do it yourself) projects that I have tackled. I just finished a hand dyed, ombre, ruffle shower curtain that was a much bigger sewing project than I anticipated but I am so excited to share the final results with you!

So here we go...from house to home!! Follow me on Instagram @sprinklesontoast for the latest updates on my #housetohome adventure!

Home is...

Where the heart is? Where I live? Where my family lives?

I feel that with all this moving going on, I have lost my sense of where home is for me. Since I moved to the states in 2007, I have moved 9 times and have lived in 3 different states (fun fact: izzie has moved with me 8 of the 9 times!).

Home will probably always be the home I grew up in in the Netherlands, even though I am looking to create my own home. Some people just have that idea in their head that when they grow up, they want to live in the mountains, on a farm, or in New York City. I feel like the older I get, the more I am craving for that little space of this planet to call my home. Whether it is in the desert, mountains, the coast, the south - I have no idea. I'm absolutely in love with Phoenix and all that is has to offer, it doesn't feel like home. I just can't figure out if this is where I would want to raise a family or live long term.

In my head, I think I imagined a smaller town, near a big city to raise my family. What state or side of the country this big city is, Lord only knows! That is why I will leave it up to Him - He is the only one who knows where I will be settling, and His plan is better than anything I can come up with on my own. So here's to making my apartments as cozy, homey and inviting as I can! And lets be honest - my home is wherever Izzie is!!

I would love to know where your home is!

2500 miles, 7 states, 5 days & 3 time zones

When it became reality that I was actually making the cross country move to Arizona, I asked none other than my dad to drive with me. I knew I couldn't do it alone, and I knew that he would LOVE the road trip. We decided on May 13th, 3 days after my graduation. Since my dad was helping me, I left all the planning regarding the drive up to him.



The first day, we drove from Virginia and made it to the music city...Nashville, Tennessee! It took 8 hours to get there and it was a total of 493 miles. You can't drive very fast with a trailer and it really slowed us down.

 

On day 2, we left Nashville and drove to Fort Smith, Arkansas! On this day, we drove for 11 hours...it was a long day.

 

 

The third day is where it started to feel as if this trip was taking forever. It is hard to sit in the car for hours straight and the scenery barely changes. We drove from Fort Smith, Arkansas to Amarillo, Texas on day 3!

 

This is where we noticed that the landscape was starting to change



 Only in Texas do hotels serve Texas shaped waffles!

 

Day 4 started out freezing - it was a chilly 46 degrees! We knew it would warm up soon, because we were heading to spend the night in Holbrook, Arizona - my new home state.

 

really starting to look like a desert now!



5 days on the road leaves for little breakfast options

Day 5 was our last day on the road! We left Holbrook pretty early and made sure to be in Phoenix by about 2pm. Since it was Saturday, I wanted to make sure we got to the apartment on time before the office closed.

 

 



 spotted our first cactus on the I17 between Flagstaff and Phoenix

 

While most of our days were spent on Interstate 40 (from Nashville to Flagstaff), we made sure to make this a fun trip and stop for sights along the way, such as stopping at the Grand Ole Opry, drive on the historic route 66, drive through Santa Fe, New Mexico and visit Winslow Arizona (taking it easy..hint hint)  :)

 

 

"Well, I'm standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona

and such a fine sight to see

It's a girl, my Lord, in a flatbed Ford,

 slowin' down to take a look at me"



And especially for dad, or in case you didn't get my reference to Winslow, Arizona...





Be sure to follow @sprinklesontoast on Instagram for pictures of my Arizona adventure!

on my own

I often stop to think that most important decisions in life, such as where to go to school, what job to accept, or where to live, I make on my own. There is nothing wrong with living life alone, or as a couple. Sometimes it is easier to have help from a significant other (not that I would know, but I'm assuming it would be). I moved to Phoenix, found my apartment, make my own friends (I don't have a husband who can be my automatic best friend, and buddy to bring places so I don't have to be alone), explore my new city, apply and choose which job to pick on my own.

It is hard to know if I am making the right choices...for me. Moving 2500 miles away to a state where I don't know a single person hasn't been the easiest, but I know that I made the right decision...for me. My mom and sister bought me a card, and I think the card said it all:

 

"Life is hard sometimes - crazy, mixed-up, messed up.

And there you are, in the middle of it all, just doing your thing...being strong and brave and beautiful like it is no big deal.

But let me tell you girl, it is!

Not everyone can do what you do.

Not everyone can handle things the way you can.

While you wonder sometimes if you're doing ok...

the rest of us are just watching in wonder"

 

I forget sometimes that moving without anyone to guide you along the way is a big deal, and I should be proud of myself. For reaching for the stars; for wanting bigger and better things that I knew I wouldn't get had I stayed in Virginia. I am proud of myself for choosing me, and for doing things on my own.

 

{blessed & thankful that I at least have this little gal to keep me company!}

 





I've got a gypsy soul...

When I moved to Virginia last year right after graduation, I wasn't planning on staying there. I went down to visit Wilmington, NC - a place I thought I wanted to call home. The trip I went on with my sister was a complete bust and it left me feeling hopeless and lost. My sister and brother in law graciously offered me a place to stay until I figured things out - needless to say, neither myself nor Lynne and Justin expected that to last for 11 months!

After 10 long weeks of unemployment, I found a job I grew to love. But all the while, I felt stuck and out of place in small town VA. I looked for places that were warm, Georgia came up and so did Florida, but I had a hard time finding a job. All of the sudden, I thought of Phoenix, Arizona. It has everything I like - heat, heat, palm trees, big city, and more heat. I applied for hundreds of jobs and finally got word back for an interview. Lynne and I booked our tickets and were ready to head to the West Coast!

9 Days before my interview, I got an email stated it had gotten cancelled. Since I already booked my ticket and couldn't get my money back, Lynne and I decided to go anyway and apartment hunt in both Phoenix for me, and LA for her and Justin.

I fell in love with Phoenix and on a whim stopped by a retail clothing store and got a job! I planned to move out there right after graduation. I graduated on May 10th, and I moved May 13th! It was a hectic few days, and it took my dad and I almost 5 days to drive the 2500 miles to Arizona.

I have been here almost a month and I LOVE IT! I love where I live - near South Mountain. The heat can be a lot to handle and I may or may not have gotten dehydrated several times, but I am really enjoying all the aspects of Phoenix. I haven't made many friends yet, but that will come.

For the first time, I am living somewhere where I feel at home and I don't feel the need to move again (that has never happened before!). God really intended for me to live in Phoenix and I am so glad I finally found a place that I can call home - for now ;)

a year from now

Where will I be? What will I be doing? Who will I have met?

 

I have said it before and I will say it again. I believe 2014 is MY year! Even though I am not quite sure what that means, doesn't mean I can't believe it!!

 

 

Here I am...28 and still single. And being single isn't necessarily a bad thing. Whatever money I make is mine, I can do whatever I want to with it, I get plenty of alone time and don't have to watch sports! On the other hand, I get 
lonely and would love to watch sports with someone I care about.

 

So where will I be a year from now; June 10th 2015? Will I still live in Phoenix {yep, I moved across the country - more coming on that later} or will I have found another place to live? Will I still work for my current company or will I have moved on to bigger and better things? Will I have the great group of girlfriends I've always wanted? Will I have met 'the one'? Only time will tell where in life I will be one year from now. Regardless, I am ready for the journey!!

I get to look at this view everyday - the pool! So blessed to call this warm place, where the sun always shines and the pool is always open my home.

 

"Where you are right now is God's place for you. Live and obey and love and believe right there. God, not your marital status, defines your life."
-1 Corinthians 7:17

 

When your mom is right...

Which, granted, there are a LOT of times when your mom is right...at least my mom is!! 

Hello again lovelies!! Grad school and work have sucked up all my time, and then some, leaving nada for blogging. Sad times! However, I am 3 classes and 4 weeks away from being half way done with my master's degree & I love my job, so it's all good :)

About my mom being right though. I was telling her the other day how living paycheck to paycheck is no fun, and that it is always something. I got food poisoning and couldn't work for a day. And everyone knows that at most jobs, if you don't work, you don't get paid. A week later, Izzie appeared to have a UTI (who knew dogs could get those) and she was scheduled for an appointment. The appointment was cancelled because she is her happy, upbeat self and doesn't seem sick. I told my mom, what is next my car?? Be careful what you put into the universe. Those were her exact words. 

Fast forward to 2 days later. I'm on my way to court to observe a criminal proceeding for class. I stop at a stop sign. This lady is making a left turn. She turns, a little too tight. So tight, that SHE HIT MY CAR!!!! She hit me straight on, I tried honking but she didn't hear it, it was too late. The cops were called, my car got towed, and it might not be live to see another day. Luckily neither one of us were hurt, I have symptoms that everyone has that gets into a car accident, sore chest from the seat belt, a pounding headache that has lasted for over 24 hours, and pain in my neck and back. 

:( sad car

This is my first 'real' car accident, my first one was a tiny fender bender. I had no idea they were such a hassle! Phone call after phone call had to be made with no solutions being found.

The moral of the story is that my mom was SO right in this instance, it required a post. Mom, you were right, and I will NEVER put anything out in the universe.ever.again. Unless it is a happy thought off course! Has anything like this ever happened to you?