two fifty: life in a tiny apartment.

Everything seems terrible at first glance.

Oh? You need a pep talk? Me too.

Here's the thing about moving into a tiny apartment: On the day that you move in, you will open the door to your apartment with your shiny brass keys that almost stick in the door because they are freshly cut and just for you. You open the door and experience a sharp intake of breath and a sudden urge to boot your boxes to the curb.

"Looks like there's only room enough for a mattress on the floor," you will say. "Everything has to go."

And then you will come to your senses, prodded gently, if you're lucky, by a supportive partner. You will realize that 3/4 of your boxes contain kitchen junk. You will begin to unpack those boxes, carefully unwrapping everything from newspaper. You will curse yourself for using newspaper in the first place. You will put dishes into cabinets covered in black smudges because you need them to be put away and this is not the time to be testing the plumbing.

You will realize there is just one way that the furniture fits into the space. You will slide it into place. You will split up your bedroom set, you will shove one chair into the closet and your kitchen table to the curb. You will find a new kitchen table on some other curb. You will carry it home. You will make yourself a cup of tea and realize that you're home.

Until that happens, the hunt will feel overwhelming.

We're in it now, friends: desperately seeking a moderately less tiny apartment. We are toying with the idea of moving away from our idyllic neighborhood to be closer to family and work. We are scanning endless apartment listings and meeting with smug brokers who tell us that our price range is impossible. They remind us that we're looking for an apartment in New York, as if that means that magically means we have money oozing from our ears. And suggest preposterous things like "maybe you could raise your budget and go out to dinner several fewer times each month." Ah yes, we've been meaning to kick that Per Se habit.

But we're holding on. Because one day soon, we'll find another tiny apartment that's just the right size for us. We'll unpack our dishes and rearrange the furniture and everything will fall into place, just like it did before. Same goes for you.

Photo found here, of course.

Tiny Apartment Survival Tips 1-82. (And some practical advice if that's what you're after.)

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tradlands.

I've worn this shirt every weekend, all weekend, for the past three weeks. It's a shirt for living in. It's thick and sturdy and loose enough under the arms that it doesn't feel constrictive and it doesn't make me sweaty and uncomfortable. But it's not so loose that it's frumpy or boxy. Being able to unbutton the top buttons ups the sex appeal, in case that's something you're after.
If I sound fussy about t-shirts, that's because I am. And this one fit the bill.

I don't regularly post sponsored content, but this shirt is made by a company that I'm proud to align myself with. Based in San Francisco and run by husband and wife team, Jeremy and Sadie, Tradlands is committed to making women's clothing inspired by designs typically found in the men's section. All of their shirts are designed and sewn right in San Francisco. And while I haven't held their line of button-ups in my own hands, I can vouch that the henley they sent my way is pretty near perfect.

Made from 55% hemp and 45% organic cotton sourced in the USA, the shirt isn't fabric-softener soft, which endeared it to me all the more. It feels like something that will actually last through the wash. And it has.

For the next week, Tradlands has been kind enough to offer Reading My Tea Leaves readers a 15% discount on their orders. Enter the code tealeaves15 when you make your purchase. Xo.

PS. In case it helps, I'm wearing a size XS in these photos.

PPS. James Casey was the patient photographer/huzband.

PPPS. As always, thanks so much for supporting the companies that keep this space afloat (More of them over on that sidebar-->).

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my week in objects (mostly).

five little things that made my week.

1. these acorns.

{for adding to a wall of fallish things.}

2. these flannel pajamas.

{for coming back into the rotation.}

3. this postcard.

{by anne mourier.}

4. this window garden.

{because there are just a few more weeks until it moves inside}

5. this pumpkin.

{because.}

other things:
i want to go here.
en plein air.
might need. in grey.
memory extended.

things by me in other places:
roasted pumpkin seeds.
a milky way pumpkin.
brown is a color.

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roosevelt island.

Like anything in dwindling supply, each sunlit hour of an October day is more precious than the one before it.

Relatedly, James and I finally made it to Roosevelt Island a few weeks ago. We stood face to face with the smallpox hospital I've only wondered at from a distance and explored the new FDR memorial. But my very favorite part was a wander through the golden last chapter of the wildflower meadow where curled up cocoons of Queen Anne's Lace and echinacea and black-eyed susans and golden rod have put on their fall colors and the wild aster is still cloaked in purple.

You know it's been too long since you've spent a proper fall day outside when you can't remember the last time you pulled burrs from your hair and coat lining.

Here, encouragement to log as many burr-pulling days as possible. When the germy side of October shows its face—and it will—you can embrace the longer nights with big bowls of chili and flickering candles, and flannel pajamas and use your stored up blue-sky days for dreaming.

You have read this article fall / life / new york / roosevelt island / wildflowers with the title October 2013. You can bookmark this page URL http://newbieny.blogspot.com/2013/10/roosevelt-island.html. Thanks!

my week in objects (mostly).

five little things that made my week.

1. this curlicue pumpkin.
{because it's just enough for getting in the spirit.}

2. this dried echinacea pod.
{taken home from a little wildflower adventure last weekend.}

3. this tea tree oil.

{for steams. head cold, be gone.}

4. this kale.

{for brightening up my window box.}

5. these brussels sprouts.

{for being so falls'.}

other things:
bonbons.
vessels.
pancakes.
comfort.

things by me in other places:
the great debate.
coddled houseplants.
spooky.
root basket.
pumpkin soup.

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two fifty: life in a tiny apartment.

Choose white sheets.

Not all tiny apartments have tiny sleeping lofts, but some do, and even if yours doesn't, unless you sleep on a futon or a murphy bed, there's no way that your bed doesn't loom large in your space. How's that for double negatives? Keeping your bed neat and tidy goes almost without saying (though of course, I do say it in Tip #24); but a recent switch to white bed sheets has been the real game changer in our tiny nook.

I've been putting off buying new sheets because I hold out hope against hope that one day we might one day soon live in a space large enough to host a queen-sized bed. But now that it's going on 2.5 years in this tiny apartment, I broke down and bought an inexpensive set of whites to serve in the interim.

And, "Ahhhhhh!" The angels are singing.

Background: We started out with a set of bright yellows, but they didn't really match anything else and the bottom sheet ripped down the middle rendering them useless. Then came a set of baby blues. The bottom sheet of this duo turned a mysterious three shades lighter than the top sheet in the wash, and I felt like I was walking into a college boy's dorm room every time I scrambled to the top of the ladder. Not good. Finally, there were dark greys. An apparent run-in with bleach turned those into a set of Halloween-inspired sheets, all flecked in orange. Festive!

So: white. Surely I'll complain about James's drool rings before too long, but for now, white's the clear winner.

What about you? What's dressing your beds lately?

Tiny Apartment Survival Tips #1 - 81.

PS. More on that bit of greenery, right here.

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my week in objects (mostly).

five little things that made my week.

1. these tights.

{because they're a bit of a splurge but they're really the best.}

2. this jacket.

{same one as last year, just as perfect this time around.}

3. this apple peeler.
{because of apple sauce (and hand pies).}

4. this gratin.

{with a side of garlicky kale.}

5. this photo.

{because shooting with someone else in the room makes things considerably easier.}

other things:
this good news.
a time for sweaters.
two tones.
pants like these.

things by me in other places:
cheesy comfort food.
an orchid pot for style mavens.

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secret: i never take medicine.

Well, sometimes I do. But not usually. I don't know why, really. Stubbornness, probably. An overblown belief in willpower, definitely. But even if I can be reluctant to pop Tylenol for a headache, I'm a big proponent of embracing natural remedies. Medicine of my own making.

Last week, I brewed a big batch of elderberry syrup to get me through flu season. I've sworn by the immunity-boosting concoction for the past three winters and this year, I made more than ever. Germs, you don't stand a chance. I've got spoonfuls of sweet, elderberry goodness to keep the doctor away all season long. Not to knock my own Fire Cider recipe, but elderberry syrup laps that spicy concoction in the flavor department. No need to hold your nose while downing this stuff. If you're like me, you'll have to stop yourself from drizzling the whole bottle onto a sundae. Mmmm.

If you'd like to make your own, the full recipe is on Gardenista.

And as always, I'm curious. What are you favorite immunity-boosters during flu season? Any fellow elderberry devotees out there?

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neighborhood musings.

It was a weekend for long walks around the neighborhood and Sunday afternoon movies and making salsa verde with last week's tomatillos. Last weekend we searched for bits of autumn, and this weekend it hit us smack in the nose. I've photographed this brownstone for each of the three falls that we've lived here, but I think that this instagram that I snapped yesterday might be my favorite photograph of it yet.

In case you missed it, more musings on the neighborhood right here.

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my week in objects (lately).

five little things that made my week.

1. this big leaf.

{because it's not precisely my style, but it's kept good company.}

2. this paperclip.

{perfect for hanging a print.}

3. this diamond mist euphorbia.

{for making a fall comeback.}

4. this sack of apples.

{because you can never have too many.}

5. this bowl of tomatillos.

{because of course i haven't gotten to cooking them yet, but they're still hanging on.}


other things:
sweet words.
collections.
field art.
for a bigger space, one day.
yikes.

things by me in other places:
thoughts on aspirational living.
elderberry syrup for flu-prevention.
class notes.
a perfect potting shed.
my temporary houseplant.
big trees, inside.

ps. we're running a reader survey on gardenista. if any of you guys are readers, i'd love to hear your thoughts.

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two fifty: life in a tiny apartment.

How to host a baby in a tiny apartment.

First of all: this post is not be confused with the one-day post of how to have a baby in a tiny apartment. Hold your horses, etc. But as a relatively newly minted aunt, I've had to think a bit about making the old apartment just a touch baby friendly. When babies are tiny things themselves, small apartments don't much matter. But with smiles and laughs and other signs of adorable life, there comes scooting and crawling and a perpetual need to stand up. Ah, mobility.

There's no room for baby corralling equipment within these four walls, so we've needed to be more inventive. Three tips:

1. Provide plenty of "toys."No need to stock the apartment with a set of baby toys: honey sticks, wooden spoons, and rubber spatulas provide whole minutes of distraction.

2. Pad the floor. Woolly blankets spread on the floor make for cozy spots for wriggling and bouncing and otherwise being "on-the-go." Bonus points for being "water" resistant.

3. Embrace the hallway. If bébé gets a little restless, the hallway offers a nice break. Who knew that banisters could be so mesmerizing?

For more bright ideas: Tiny Apartment Survival Tips 1-80.

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