I rose early, drank my coffee, took a shower and then started packing up anything I hadn’t already packed. Then the loading of the car. Believe me when I say that every available space is taken by the time I head out the driveway!
The usual construction delays on I-84, with a stop at Trader Joe’s for fresh flowers – a must when I’m headed to Hartford.
I arrived around 12:40 and it took precisely one hour to unload the car. This involves me grabbing what I can carry, walking across the parking lot, entering the code for the building, going up the elevator, walking to the apartment, dumping the boxes/bags and then doing it all over again. About 15 times. That’s part of the reason I leave as early as I can. I just know that it will take time.
And, being who I am, I have to arrange everything and get settled before I can relax.
I took photos of the empty apartment but for some reason, they never registered on my iPhone. Hmmm. Anyway, here are photos of the apartment with everything I added to make it like a home.
As always, I bring two quilts that I made and hang them on opposite walls. You might remember there are two bizarre small, square canvases hanging on the wall just above the quilt. Rather than stare at them and contemplate ripping them from the wall (can’t do that) I hang the quilt as a distraction. It works.
I also bring lamps from home because the lighting is never enough for me and lighting is everything. The gray lamp on the table is from our office at home. The lamp at the far end of the sofa is one I’ve had for ages (originally from IKEA).
Fresh flowers in a mason jar on the coffee table, along with some books and magazines.
The basket is also from home. It’s holding my glasses, Carmex, and some chargers.
This time, I brought along a houseplant from home. I have these great window sills that are very deep, so why not put a plant there?
The desk. I brought that lamp along with me as well. Also added from MHC, framed photos, a piece of Roseville pottery, various notebooks and agendas.
The piece of painted wood is something I bought when we were in Cambria, CA. It’s from the oldest house in Cambria and the lovely junkers that owned a shop there added the vintage ladle. I think we’ll eventually hang it in our kitchen but it provides a nice splash of weathered color here. The copper mug is engraved with ‘Anastasia’ and was a gift from Christy (our very own Anastasia.)
The photo is of Don and me on the beach in CA celebrating our anniversary.
What’s the only item currently on the bulletin board?
A photo of our stove! I like to remind myself of its beauty.
I brought along the McCoy pot that was a gift from Tina and Noble. While at Trader Joe’s buying flowers, I noticed this plant. Hmmm. As I thought it might, the plant pot fit perfectly inside the McCoy. And now it’s in the other window.
This yellow lamp has been here as long I’ve been using this particular apartment, which is the one I always request. When I arrive, I find it in various places. This time it was on the desk. I promptly move it to the kitchen counter.
There’s the other quilt, currently covering up some mirrored squares that are inexplicably about 4 feet apart. This looks much better!
More flowers from Trader Joe’s in a vase I brought from home. And I always throw some fabric scraps in my suitcase – usually vintage barkcloth. I like this particular pattern here on the table.
In the morning and evening, I plop myself on the sofa and man the remote and/or read.
There you have it! I have a full day of rehearsal today and I’ve got to start getting ready.
I really like these apartments which are, to me, really high up there on the company housing scale. Tall, tall ceilings, a loft-like feel and shiny laminate floors, plus a very nice kitchen. It feels like home away from home. By the way, I also did an Instagram Stories last night which shows much the same thing you’re seeing here, only with my voice added.
(Don and I have already face-timed twice and I’ve been gone less than 24 hours.)
Happy Friday.
I love how you cozy up the generic space and make it your own. The quilts add just the pop of color it needed. So pretty.
Also—the bark cloth!
xo
Thank goodness for those quilts. I made them, yet I have no spare wall space to hang them at home, so they get to shine here in Hartford.
Your apartment is so inviting! It has such a cozy, happy feel! Good luck with the play, and have a great day at work! Becky in rainy OK
Thank you, Becky! It’s a nice little haven while I’m working here in Hartford.
It’s Claudia perfection! Looks like you’ve been there far longer than 24 hrs. Enjoy your day! ;)
I’m getting pretty efficient at this moving in thing!
Love the way you set up the apartment Claudia. So homey and comfortable feeling. Hope the good mattress was still there from last time.
It is! The sofa and the mattress are both here.
I love that you make the apartment “home”.
Thank you, Trina. I have to! I have no choice!
Welcome back to Hartford. Your apartment looks great with all the touches from home. Wishing you a great stay while you are here.
Thank you, Karen!
You are the expert at making this apt feel like home. I spotted the plant in the windowsill immediately! I also like the plant you added to the McCoy pot. Color, texture, photos, plants and suddenly It’s home away from home. I saw the new Michael Connelly book on your coffee table, I can’t wait to read that also. I had a big smile on my face at the photo of the stove! Wishing you a good day at rehearsals! Hugs!
Exactly. All of those things are needed and once they’re in place, it feels like a second home.
I’m going to start the Michael Connelly tonight, Linda!
Do you gussy up the bedroom and bathroom also, Claudia? The personal additions really elevate a commercial space with personality.
The bedroom has a quilt I made on the bed. It’s too dark in there to get a good picture. The bathroom is just the bathroom.
I instantly recognized those living room chairs so thought, “Is that the same apartment?” Indeed! As usual, you’ve made everything lovely and colorful and cozy for your long stay.
(By the way, from yesterday’s post, good to know you’ve contacted the stove people to make sure the stove arrives before Don departs!)
When you hang the quilts, do you use existing holes/hangers? How do you do that without otherwise leaving new holes on the wall after you’re gone; just curious…what can I say; I get hung up on the small details (probably to get my mind off being nuked as I sit here on the West Coast for what could be a direct hit; it’s not a joke; after I watched a few of the news programs on TV last night, I realized more than ever that it’s a sobering situation and I felt sick).
I use thumbtacks and I made sure it was okay with the company manager first. I’ve been doing it for three years now!
I’m very frightened by this nuclear brinksmanship.
I always think of your pretty quilts with that yellow lamp where you put it. It pulls out the yellow in the quilts. Looks so bright! So glad the couch and bed were the “right ones” set up and waiting for you on this stay. I know your days will be so busy and that helps the time go by more quickly. Hope you are reunited with some familiar cast members, too.
It is a cool and misty morning here, but the sun looks like it may be pushing its way out. Supposed to be sunny and upper 70’s this weekend. Sounds perfect!! Have a great Friday.
Thank you, Chris. It was a long day and another one is on the way for tomorrow. Good group of people in the cast.
You have certainly done a superb job making the apartment your own! I love it; you seem to know instinctively what to bring from home! But I know you miss your cottage and Don.
I do. But I’m hanging in there! Thanks, Dottie!
I always like what you do with your apartments. You make them look like home. It must be fun to see where “yellow lamp” ends up with each new occupant. Still loving the stove!
Me too! Thanks, Mary!
Thinking of you making 10-15 trips back and forth, up and down, made me think… do you have one of those ‘granny carts’? You could load that, holds quite abit depending on the kind you buy, and goes easily into an elevator too. I use it to tote groceries in for my handicapped foster son; he likes to do his grocery shopping once a month and even though he has a curb ramp and threshold ramp and we park right in front of his apartment, I would be exhausted lugging all the bags in for him (as he is wheelchair bound). That granny cart is a LIFE saver!!! Your home-away-from-home is lovely and I know you will be excited to finally have your new stove when you get back!
GADawn57
It wouldn’t hold enough. I can do it more efficiently myself. Rolling across the parking lot, up the steps, into the building would be harder to do. I used to have one of them when I was living in Cambridge and didn’t have a car.
Thanks, Dawn!
You always do such a wonderful job of “nesting” wherever you are. It looks so homey!
Thank you, Denise!
Your little “theater apartment” in Hartford – which is how I think of it – is so darn cute. I wouldn’t mind having it for my own – even permanently. The older I get, the more I downsize – and I’m just about at the point where it looks like it would hold me and most of my stuff. There’s a lot to be said for living simply. I just wish it was a little less difficult to get to that point. It’s sometimes really hard to part with the accumulation of one’s life. I have to keep telling myself that I rarely if ever have missed anything that I’ve sold-donated-tossed-or-given away. That DOES help. Have a great weekend & get lots of rest! 🌺
I often think that if I was single, I could live here. it’s very nice, it’s a fairly quiet building, though I can hear someone’s stereo at the moment. We need to shed some things at our house, too!
Maybe that’s why I’m fascinated with the tiny house movement. I could never live in one, but the extreme downsizing intrigues me!
Those quilts are lovely. Glad you arrived safely and are settled in.
Marilyn
Thank you, Marilyn. All settled in!
That looks like a home lived in by Claudia: beautifully done
Enjoy your time there and hope rehearsals are a blast
Siobhan
Thank you, Siobhan! I met the cast today and they’re really lovely.
Yup…that’s Claudia’s apartment all right!…Make the best of it while you are there as we know you always do!
No other choice, Nancy!
I love how you make your home away from home so “homey.” Did you get the mounted ladle from JunkGirls? It’s a favorite shop when I’m in Cambria, and being adjacent to Grow is perfect. I have been enjoying your stories about your vintage stove, and I can’t wait to see it when it’s in its new spot in your kitchen!
Yes, I did! In fact, I have one of their t-shirts on right now! I loved that shop and Grow, as well. My favorites, too.