Project: Clean! Paint! Decorate!

I will preface this all with 

Don't worry...there will be many pictures to come.

Now on to the subject of the post...I have just signed a lease for my own apartment!!  

For the last year and a half, I have been living with a wonderful family...the Pastor that I also work with.  They have been such a blessing to life and my heart, allowing me to be a part of their family.  But the time has come to move out on my own.  

I am moving about halfway between their house and the church, which was only a 5-7 minute car commute anyway ;-)  I had made a list (surprise surprise!) of the things that I wanted to find in an apartment, making a distinction between necessity and perk.  This apartment not only has everything on the list, INCLUDING the perks, but has more that I never thought of put on there.  Like two bathrooms, coming with a refrigerator and having roof access!  It is also next door to a coffee shop that I enjoy sitting at to get my $0.50 iced coffees...I rather enjoy that unintentional perk, I might add.

It's in need of some love and a good ol' deep cleaning, so I have a crew of friends coming over to help on Saturday and hopefully start painting as well.  I love friend-labor for the payment of dinner!  Granted, I will have to purchase the food from outside since I won't have kitchen supplies yet (or the ability to cook Khmer food), but that's ok by me.  

Once we get it cleaned and painted, the decorating will begin.  That is where I get excited!  I have a few ideas...and I am grateful for my friend Eileen who jumped at the chance to forge one of the most overwhelming markets with me in order to help make my little apartment amazing.  

There are quite a few things that I will have to purchase, like a mattress, a washing machine and all the kitchen necessities.  I will be staying with the pastor for a few more weeks in order to get everything situated and not have to worry about being super rushed, which is always a plus, because anyone who has ever watched me pack knows that I am not the quickest.  I pack a box and then repack it, knowing that there is a better way to get stuff to fit.  Thankfully, I am just moving a few minutes away and can load up suitcases, take it over and unload.  And as I mentioned before, I don't really have that much house stuff anyway.

I will take pictures and post them here...so check back in a few days for the progress of Project: CPD!