blog mondays: location and amenities

What are four things you love about where you live?

When Justin and I were apartment hunting in Ann Arbor last year before our wedding, we had pretty specific requirements for where we wanted to live. We knew it would be the first place we lived together as a married couple and we wanted it to be comfortable, convenient, charming, affordable and special. The place we ended up choosing was not really what I had been imagining for our first place together (we spent hours delibearting over what would be the best place), but our apartment has turned out to be just what we needed and what we didn't even know we wanted. We really love it and have almost no complaints. I am blessed to be able to say that I could list well over four things I love about our first, married home together.

Disclaimer: the first thing that comes to mind that I love about our current residence is our pool. However, because I've already written two blogs about the apartment pool, I figured I'd give you something new to read about (and obviously felt the need to still give it a little shout out to my beloved pool).

1. close to the architecture building: With Justin's long hours and late nights at school, being close to the architecture building on U of M's campus is a highly valued aspect of our apartment. It has allowed us to enjoy many dinners together, and makes for a quick walk home for him in the middle of the night after hours of working on a project. It also makes it convenient for me to pop in for a quick visit when I'm missing my husband.

2. no snow shoveling: Over the last couple of years, I've really started hating the winter season. I think this is mostly because driving in the snow stresses me out and the chore of shoveling snow is just that...a chore. Living in an apartment building erases all the stress of having to shovel my front steps or my driveway everytime I want to go someplace during the winter months. I actually found myself enjoying this past winter, not only because I now take the bus for a lot of my commutes (eliminating the stress of driving in inclement weather), but also because I am able to stay warm inside while our apartment's maintenance staff takes over the chore of snow shoveling.

3. patio/balcony: I can't write this post without mentioning our amazing patio. In the warmer months of the year, our patio space acts as a second living room. We've created an inviting little spot with comfy patio furniture, an awesome grill (courtesy of my husband's Dutch relatives who gave us money for our wedding to buy one),and lots of plants/flowers (courtesy of my very generous in-laws who work at a greenhouse). Another recent addition is a cool oak structure that my husband and his classmates put up for their summer class project. I really love it -- it adds a cozy feel to the cement nature of the patio and created a great place to hang our cute, little string of lantern lights (another wedding gift). The other amazing feature our patio offers is a five story view over Ann Arbor's arboritoreum which is home to beautiful trees making for a spectacular view of autumn leaves (we've also enjoyed some amazing lightning storm shows during the recent summer storms).

4. parking: This may seem minor, but free, convenient parking ranks pretty high in my book. It's just so nice to never have to hunt down a spot to park our car, not to mention it doesn't cost us a dime.

Home sweet home...

blog mondays:scents of life

This week's question: what are your four favorite smells?

1. banana nut bread candles: Several years ago my family and I discovered the banana nut bread scented Yankee Candle. For some reason this particular candle scent became a favorite of ours and often turned up under the Christmas tree or at a Birthday celebration as a beloved gift. I think the scent is so enticing because it creates a warm, welcoming aroma that I especially love to fill my living space

with on those cold, autumn days. We were all sorely disappointed when Yankee Candle Company discontinued the banana nut bread scent. We were forced to resort to other candle companies, none of which could quite replicate the Yankee Candle version of our beloeved candle. This past Christmas, one of the gifts I opened up from my Dad was...you guessed it... a banana nut bread Yankee Candle!!! I shrieked with excitement wondering aloud how he would've gotten his hands on this discontinued candle. Appartently, the Niedenthals weren't the only lovers of the banana nut bread candle -- Yankee Candle Company had so many requests for this scent that they decided to bring it back for a limited time for all its fans. When Justin and I unpacked all our new Christmas gifst into our apartment, the Yanke Candle was immediately put out and lit, filling out apartment with its delightful banana nut bread scent.

2. ocean air: It's that wet, salty air that always makes me close my eyes, breathe in deep and sigh when I approach the beach. I am usually

approaching it upon arriving somewhere for a long-awaited vacation. "Relax," the scent tells me, "you're on vacation." There is something magnificent about the ocean. It's vastness is compelling and staring out at it seems to wash away life's worries. The waves swell and my feet sink into the sand as the water rolls over them. These are some of my favorite moments.

3. freshly showered: I love the crisp, clean smell of being freshly showered. The strong scent of shampoo and body wash wafts through the air as it rushes out of the steam-filled bathroom. This smell is often associated with the beginning of a new day, a fresh start.

4. food on the grill: The smoky, barbecue smell that drifts from hot dogs and hamburgers cooking on the grill never fails to bring a little smile to my mouth. That's because it usually means summer.

Those long, summer nights when the sun sets late, the fireflies are lighting up in the yard and I'm still in my bathing suit from a day at the pool are some of the best nights of the year. They usually leave me feeling carefree and relaxed...and full of food fresh

off the grill.

the little flower dress

This past weekend I was in Chicago for Meredith's (my sister-in-law) bridal shower. At Meredith's apartment on Saturday morning we were getting ready for the bridal shower with her roommates. Meredith and her roommate, Amanda (Meredith's maid of honor), were dressed in cute little dresses to which my immediate reaction was "I wanna cute little dress too!" Amanda was immediately willing to share one of her dresses with me. As we searched through her closet to find a dress, she pulled out a cute little flower dress and said "Actually, if this one fits you, you can just have it!" It fit! And now I have a "new" cute little dress with flowers on it. The reason this small little act of Amanda's generosity makes me so grateful is because I have literally been wanting a dress just like this one for the past year, but I've avoided buying one in order to save my money instead. When I got home I hung the dress in my closet and smiled. In fact, every time I walk by the closet I smile because I feel blessed. It makes me feel like God knew just what I wanted and even though it's just a silly little dress, it somehow makes me feel very known and loved by God -- it's like an extra little treat from Him just to say "I love you." Today I am grateful for the little flower dress.

bike rides and patio gardens

On Sunday evening, after a weekend in Chicago, Justin and decided we needed a little exercise and a healthy dinner. The two of us hopped on our bikes (both of which Justin fixed up himself this summer for us to enjoy rides together) and headed north to Plymouth road for a trip to the grocery store. The 3.4 mile ride (round-trip) was really refreshing. Justin and I have discovered that we really enjoy biking together. I like that it's a fun way to exercise and spend time together while enjoying a route to whatever our destination may be that gives a new view of our current residence, Ann Arbor. There are so many things that I don't pay as much attention to while driving the same exact route -- the beautiful flowers and landscaping along the roadside, the smell of cut grass and growing plants, the little quirks in the sidewalks, and the other people enjoying their own bike ride or stroll.

When we arrived back at our apartment, we made a delicious dinner together which put our patio garden to good use. We harvested some lettuce and arugula from our newly planted garden and mixed those with some fresh veggies from our bike trip to the grocery store. The salad was undeniably delicious (we each had two big helpings) and I must admit that I feel quite proud of, what I like to call, "our very urban experience."

Today I am grateful for bike rides and patio gardens.

blog mondays: before friday

Four things I'd like to do by Friday:

1. Send a few snail mail notes: I try really hard to send thank you notes and "thinking about you" notes when I've received a gift or when I know someone needs a little extra love or encouragement. There have been a few of these floating around in my mind and they are definitely on my to do list for the week. I love receiving snail mail and like to think that when I send a note, someone I love is opening their mailbox to find a hand-written, personal letter amidst all those daily junk mailings and bills.

2. Go to our apartment pool: I have a pool date on my calendar for Thursday evening after work with Emily(and hopefully Audry and Kristen!?). Weather.com says it's supposed to be 81 degrees and mostly sunny so I imagine jumping in the pool will be a great way to spend the evening. Maybe we'll finish off the evening by heading to our local brewery to enjoy a nice, cold, summer-night brew.

3. Make a hair appointment: So I don't know if you've heard about Groupon, but it's this awesome website where you sign up to get emails with their daily deal for your city. Every morning I look forward to opening my Groupon email to see what the next deal will be. If you like the dail of the day, you can buy the Groupon and as long as a certain number of people buy the Groupon, you get the deal! I've already benefited a few times from Groupon -- a date night with Justin at a B&B and fancy restaurant at a little town just north of us, a birthday gift for my father-in-law, more than 50% off for a bike tour in Detroit, and $125 worth of services for $45 at a salon nearby. My hair is getting to that point where it's all grown out and styling it every morning is becoming more and more difficult. Time to use my Groupon! I'm looking forward to trying out a new salon, using one of my Groupons, and getting a new do.

4. Write two more blog posts: I have a few little things I want to share with all of you that have recently filled my heart with gratefulness.

I hope you add "read Krista's blog" to your list of things to do before Friday :)

the apartment pool

Today I am grateful for our apartment pool. It's a great little spot behind our building, tucked away next to the Huron River. It's surrounded by vibrant flowers and the view across the river is of the beautiful arboretum. On the hot and sunny nights, I've made it part of my weekly routine to sit out by the pool right after work until the sun goes down behind the trees. I like it because the sun isn't too strong since it's the end of the day and it's a nice way to wind down after work before enjoying dinner with Justin. It makes me feel like I'm on vacation and gives me time to read the latest book I'm into. Yesterday, my friend Rachel joined me. I enjoyed her company while catching a few of the 6pm rays of sunshine. Sigh. I love summer.

blog mondays: smile

(A fresh fruit bowl filled with purchases from Monday night's grocery shopping trip)

Well, despite the fact that my "Blog Mondays" entry has turned into what would be better labeled as "Blog Wednesdays", I'm still going to share with you the answer to this week's "Blog Mondays" question:

What are 4 things that made you smile today?

1. Subway: Due to my recent grocery shopping habits (or lack there of) Justin and I went grocery-less for about a week. The one benefit of my wifely-slacking was that I was forced to eat out for lunches (which I usually try to avoid in an effort to be nice to our bank account). On Monday, I got out of the office and walked across South State Street to Subway where I ordered a five dollar foot long Spicy Italian with tons of veggie toppings. My genius plan was to buy one $5 sub and eat one half on Monday and the other on Tuesday. It was an excuse to get out of the office and walk in the sun, a considerably cheap lunch, it prevented me from having to pack a lunch on Monday night, and it gave me a lunch to look forward to on Tuesday. All-in-all...definitely something to smile about.

2. Walking to My Favorite Beats: On my walk home from the bus stop on Monday I cranked up the volume on my iPhone to listen to my "Summer 2010" playlist (a compilation of all my new favorite radio hits from the past month). It was one of those times when I got really into the songs. I was really appreciating the lyrics and felt myself almost dancing home instead of walking. As I write this now, it still makes me smile.

3. Phone Date: Monday night I had a phone date with a dear old friend, Lindsay, whom I went to high school with and then lived with a few years in college. She and I hadn't really caught up since Christmas and our planned phone date was just the right way to fix that. We filled each other in on life's ups and downs and reminisced about old times which definitely had me smiling.

4. Fridge of Fresh Groceries: Justin and I finally went grocey shopping on Monday night (which in it of itself makes me smile since being done with the semester means Justin has more time to do things like join me to pick up groceries). We planned out recipes for the next five dinners and picked out some yummy snacks for this week's lunches. It felt so good to go to bed that night knowing that our fridge was full of fresh new groceries. First on the list of dinner recipes: blue cheese and chives rolled in grilled flank steaks with potato salad on the side. Yum...smile.

blog mondays: weekend snapshots

Because Monday was Memorial Day this week, we've temporarily moved blog mondays to tuesday.

This week's topic: If you had a camera at your side 24/7 this weekend (Friday night through Monday night), constantly taking pictures of your every moment, what were your four most favorite "snapshots"?

In no particular order...

1. Swimming in the rain (don't worry, we got out when the lightning started).: On Monday we were at my in-laws house planting an abundance of flower pots to take back with us for our patio in Ann Arbor. As we planted in the backyard we were covered in potting soil and sweat which made a dip in the pool, after completing our planting tasks, quite refreshing. While we were swimming it started pouring rain. Justin and I took turns jumping off the diving board and racing around the pool while huge rain drops fell all around us. The dark clouds and the loud noise of rain created a moment that felt like something out of the movies.

2. Late night beers by the river.: On Sunday night we went over to my Dad's house to grill a yummy steak dinner and enjoy our favorite summer beverage...Oberon. After our tummies were full and the dishes were cleaned up, we walked down to the river that our neighborhood accesses and sat on a little bench in the marina, under the stars, sipping our Oberons and chatting about life. It was one of those moments when you think, "ahhh, this is summer...."

3. A nap in the sunshine: On Sunday after church, we had dinner at the Mast household with my brother-in-law's fiance, Nicole, and Justin's parents. After enjoying a delicious summer meal, we all headed to the backyard pool for some relaxing in the sun. Nicole and I staked our spots in the poolside lounge chairs where I lathered on sunscreen to catch some rays. I fell asleep reading one of my new favorite books, An Embarrassment of Mangoes, with the sun shining down. I've always loved falling asleep in the sun on vacation -- it's so warm and cozy and the only thing on your to-do list is to reapply sunscreen. When I woke up sweating from the almost 90 degree weather, I took a quick jump in the pool to cool off. Summer bliss.

4. A cruise around the lake: On Saturday we attended a going away party for our friends Todd and Kate who are leaving to do work in Costa Rica for the summer. The party took place on a beautiful lake. I made sure to take a few boat rides around the lake whenever they were offered. I really loved cruising around the lake on the pontoon boat filled with friends, laughter and music. The weather was PERFECT and the best part was knowing that this was only the first day of our three day weekend!

(The above picture is a true snapshot of Justin and me on the pontoon boat)