The Bachelorette Pad

Our new favorite show, ABC’s “Bachelor Pad,” is the inspiration behind the above title… Minus the blindfolds, bunkbed’s, and stereotyping (we have decided to stay classy & drama-free here in Apartment #2).

Anywho, you all asked for it. Pictures are here at last! We didn’t want to post any until it was presentable to our standards, but we are now very happy with how it all came together, and can’t wait to share with you the design inspirations behind many of the ideas we “DIY’d.” Once we get the hang of this whole “blogging” thing, we hope to be able to organize it well enough so that you all can easily find what you are looking for out of our site. So, you can for sure expect to see our version of a do-it-yourself section, as well as some of our favorite people, places, and things.

Below are photos of our apartment, and quick snapshots of the decorating we’ve done thus far.  Call us copycats if you choose, but we are proud of our execution of the arts & crafts we’ve done so far.

Before:

Craigslist posting that intrigued us and led us to our new home...

 After:

Living Room

View from Dining Room

Dining Room

With an old building comes the old charm. This built-in buffet is now completely full with Jess' 3+ sets of dishes (we even have Christmas dishes). However, I had to steal a drawer at the bottom to put all of my art supplies... this is about all the storage we get, with the exception of our small coat closet. Thanks to Hunt & Gather down the street, we found the perfect vases to complete the decorating.

Jess getting excited for our housewarming party!

View of Kitchen from hallway

Thank you Hobby Lobby for your $5 wall decor.

Hallway just off the kitchen that leads you to our bedrooms and bathroom. The door straight ahead is our other entrance that will take you out our back door near our garage/back parking lot. It is crazy how much bigger this hallway makes our place feel! We LOVE it and how it separates our living spaces. We have an idea for wall decor in the works right now, but won't post pics till it is fully complete... so keep checking back in with us to see the end result!

Jessica's Room is the first room off of the hallway. Please note our 1st complete art project... initials for our doors! We'll post our "how-to" tips soon!

Thanks to Peter, Jess' Parisian prints are perfectly level ;)

Around the corner from Jess' room is our quaint little bathroom. At first the clawfoot tub scared us a little (how were we gonna shave our legs?!) But we have come to love it!

Allie's room! Mine is in the very back of our apartment. Jess has the air conditioner in her room, I get the "bigger" closet. Special thanks goes out [again] to "Hunt & Gather" for my fabulous new $50 headboard!

The re-finished white vanity from DahlHouse Boutique (aka a woman's garage in White Bear Lake... another craigslist find) is probably my favorite purchase I've made so far. The vintage fabric on the stool is original to the set... I got very lucky as it needed zero recovering, and matched my comforter perfectly :) To the left is the medicine cabinet I turned into my jewelry case... directions for this to follow as well!

The sconces in here are another bonus to living in an older building... shades for these were found in the sale section at Anthropologie just down the street (this could possibly be our 'danger zone #4'). The artwork I made above my dresser used to be my "headboard" when I was living in Colorado. Another "DIY" project to post, I suppose?

Small town in the city.

I can't believe it was just over a month ago that Jess and I signed our lease on W 44th street, and we have finally moved in to what we think to be our *perfect” apartment. Nestled in the heart of the Linden Hills neighborhood, our new home is located between the South shores of Lake Calhoun and the West side of Lake Harriet, in Southwest Minneapolis. Not only does it offer the convenience of being within walking distance (less than a block!) to Lake Harriet, but we also happen to be in the backyard of the neighborhoods best boutiques, dining, and best of all, the Twin Cities premium choice of ice cream... Sebastian Joe's  (literally, we’re in the backyard. We share our back parking lot…can you say dangerous?)
Known to be the best “small town in the city,” Linden Hills is the answer to the urban living we desire, but within a quaint community that we know will be our new playground. So idyllic, even Mr. Rogers would be a little jealous.

Lake Harriet/Lake Calhoun Streetcar

The Lake Harriet Bandshell is home to outdoor concerts, as well as Church services every Sunday morning [through labor day]. What a perfect backdrop for a picnic or a wedding, as well! Our routine walk/runs around the lake are always a little easier, too, when we see this as our finish line.

Downtown Linden Hills "Upton Avenue"

Linden Hill's Florist...we know where we're getting our Mother's Day gifts next year!

The "Danger Zones" 

Danger Zone #1: Bibelot gift store. Jess and I timed how long it took me to leave my apartment, walk over there and buy candles for our housewarming party, and walk back... 4 MINUTES! Not only do we share our back parking lot with them, but sometimes we even use their garbage cans and get in trouble for it. I think we learned our lesson the first time we tried that...

Danger Zone #2: Great Harvest Bakery. Free bread slices daily & the best chocolate chip cookies you could ever have. Enough said.

Patio outside Sebastian Joe's. What a perfect place to enjoy a cup of coffee or scoop of ice cream.

Danger Zone #3: Sebastian Joe's. Pavarotti, Oreo, and Raspberry-Chocolate Chip are our top 3 favorite flavors. Hands down. Turns out they have great coffee & pastries in the morning as well. I suggest the Iced Vanilla Latte...

Other Neighborhood hangouts:

This store definitely brings back some childhood memories

This neighborhood hardware store has come in quite handy lately as we start to make our walls look pretty :)

People come from all over the Twin Cities to grab a sandwich {anyway you'd like it}, or their Thanksgiving turkey here. We are so lucky to have this community treasure so close.

"Thanks for calling Famous Dave's, this is Famous Allie". I have a deja vu back to my first job every time I come here. Cornbread muffins for dinner are definitely in the near future at apartment #2.

Dunn Bros Coffee. Nothing like perfectly roasted coffee beans and the best chocolate croissants in town.

Unfortunately this will be moving up the street this fall. It will still be close, but we may not be able to walk there when we need to quick grab a gallon of milk or loaf of bread anymore...

The Zumbro Cafe offers "fresh and healthy meals made from scratch from locally produced and organic ingredients." However if you are in the mood for a delicious lunch on a Monday afternoon, you're outta luck... this place is closed every Monday (and every day after 2:30), so plan your meal accordingly. I learned this last week when I tried to take a friend out to lunch in our new neighborhood. Thank goodness for Turtle Bread Bakery just down the street!

Allie would love to take some guitar lessons here... The Linden Hills house of Music has outdoor recitals showcasing the community's talent sporadically, as well. What a great way to get to know your neighbors!

About the "Authors"

 Meet Allie.

I’ll make this a brief introduction, as one of the main reasons I have held off on having a blog of my own is because I feel like many of the “bloggers” out there like to narrate as much about themselves/their personal lives as possible [before their computer battery dies], with hopes that every visitor willing to spend the time to read it is going to care about each and every word written. I go into our blog with the realization that the majority of you readers will probably only look at the pretty pictures we attach, and skim the paragraphs Jessica and I have written (maybe you already have, in which case, I still hope you get this message).
Anyway, maybe I already am being a bit hypocritical, as that was a longer intro to an intro paragraph than I had planned... But, about me. I am a twenty-something (i’ll be 24 on Sept. 25th...almost the golden bday!) I returned to the state of Minnesota this past June, after a spending my first year as a college grad living in Denver, CO. I took a job as an Assistant Manager at one of the Nordstrom stores in South Denver.  I had my adventure and was able to hike/ski/play outside as much as I wanted! However, it never really felt like home. Don't get me wrong, I will never get tired of looking at the view of the flatirons/rocky mountains in my backyard, but I missed my family and friends and LAKES from home immensely. To all the great friends I made while living in Boulder/ Denver: You know I miss you, so please come visit me asap. For now, I am back in "god's country" as some would say, and ready for another new beginning.  My friends would describe me as....

I’m going to stop here, as one of the things that makes this blog different from others, is that I will be a co-blogger with my roommate, Jessica. I feel it appropriate here for HER to describe ME. On you may go Jess...


How Jessica describes Allie:
Allie - a few of her nick names are Allie-kins (as my mom likes to call her), ABos, Bestie, Roomie. A few words I would describe Allie are honest, trusting, fun, creative, fashion-ista, full-hearted, and real.  I truly cherish our friendship because I am lucky to have her as MY best friend {forever}! She has been there for me in good times and in bad... we have had so many great memories together {iowa state & tonka times}however, we have been there for each other in some of the hardest times in our  lives, as well. However, one thing stands out to me the most and that is that I have had her by my side encouraging me:) Allie is also one of the funniest people that I know... we have a lot of "moments" together where we just sit and giggle for hours on end! Like I mentioned earlier, Miss Allie is the most creative person out there... not only does she come up with the ideas, she actually implements them. For example, look at the pictures in our apartment. I look forward to our friendship in the future as we continue to grow not only in our friendship, but as people. Allie will go far in life, and I can't wait to see what is in store for her! XOXO Allie :)

Meet Jessica.
Heyo! I never thought that I would do a blog... seriously! However, many of my friends have opened by eyes to their cool blogs and I have learned that it is such a great way to stay in touch with friends and hear their thoughts, views, updates, etc. So I hope that Allie & I can entertain you as well as update you on our lives!

A little bit about me - I am also in my twenty-somethings and LOVIN' it! I am working full time in a marketing department for a fishing tournament company... who would have thought?! I get to travel around the USA, meet new people, and work in a fast-paced marketing department right out of college... so I can't complain :) The most important things in my life are my family & friends. I would do anything for them, as they make me the person that I am today, so I thank them for that. Hope you enjoy the blog!

How Allie describes Jessica:

Jess, JessHuck, JAC!, ROOMIE. These are the names you will become familiar to reading when she is mentioned by me in our entries. I suppose the first thing that comes to mind, and that I feel is important for you all to know going into reading our blog from here on out, is that she WITHOUT A DOUBT is one of the best friends, sister, daughter, granddaughter, co-worker, you name it, that anyone could ask for. I mean this from the bottom of my heart. I don't know who would be on the top of my "favorites" list on my phone, or what I would do without you! I’ll try to make the rest of this short and sweet, so some words I would use to describe Jessica are: Caring, loyal, PUNCTUAL, and I’ll say it... a little sassy. After meeting Jessica once, I think it goes without saying that she is usually the life of a party, and you can hear her coming a mile away.
LOVE YA, Jess :)