Apartment Living

So yesterday I was talking about how much I love my apartment, and my twitter sister, Nicole, said I should do a blog post (with pics of course) about it. Since she is the "Queen", and quite brilliant, I decided to heed her advice. So here it is.
A little over 3 years ago, when we moved back to Michigan from Texas, we decided to rent an apartment instead of buying or renting a house. We really liked our townhouse style apartment in TX, and had no complaints, so we opted to go that route again. We found our place via the internet and some suggestions from loved ones. They are considered condo style apartments, so it is a very small complex. Less than a 1/4 mile loop completes the entire thing. They are set in very natural surroundings, with tons of trees, water and pretty scenery. It is slightly off the beaten path, but conveniently located to highways and popular amenities. So we moved in. And ever since day one, we have been very happy. We have had the same wonderful neighbors, it is so quiet and peaceful, and very well maintained.
So, when people ask us (and it happens A LOT) why we choose to live in an apartment and not buy or rent a house, I feel like it is a silly question. Home is where you are happy and with those that you love, and this apartment is our home. (At least until we move again.) So when they ask that, I feel like I have a million great reasons. For starters, it is much cheaper than a house. If and when something major breaks (furnace, a/c, stove, etc) we make a call to maintenance and it gets fixed. At no cost to us. We don't have to have a lawn mower, weed whip, shovels, rakes, snow blower or any other yard care equipment (that cost money) because that is all done for us. In the summer, the grass is cut and cleaned up, and in the winter, the snow is plowed and sidewalks salted. All without us having to get a blister, or break a sweat. Or our backs. This means that when my husband gets home from work, we have that much more time together to do what we enjoy. I've been trying to convince him to get a dog, so we have something to play with. And if we do, we live in the perfect place. There is a "Bark Park" right in our complex. A fully fenced in play area for residents to bring their dogs to run around and socialize. Not to mention the several poopy stations throughout the complex with bags and a disposal for your little buddies messes. So if Fluffy makes a drop on your walk, you always have an accessible spot to take care of it. Brilliant, right? Oh and on that walk, you should stop by the office/clubhouse, since they always have doggie treats and love to say hi to the local furry residents. Oh yeah, that same clubhouse offers a full gym and a gorgeous pool. Very handy.
I'm sorry, what was I saying again?? Oh that's right. Why I love living in my apartment. My particular unit is a 2 bedroom, 2 full bath. It has a full laundry room, a garage, cathedral ceilings and plenty of room for activities. Don't believe me? Well let me just show you...

This is the view down to my front door. Each apartment has a private entrance, and since we are a second floor unit, we have this lovely space. (That is a little space heater built in also. These people thought of everything.) P.S- You know you dig the vintage gumball machine.

This is my surprisingly spacious kitchen. It has a full pantry, tons of cabinet and counter space and as of yesterday, brand new floors! (Yes, it is decorated in strawberries. Don't act shocked.)

This is my laundry room. It has plenty of space for storage, and it is where I keep all my Berry Favorite Things supplies. It also has brand new floors.

This is a view into my kitchen from the living room. I love the bar area. I sit there and do my crafts all the time. Great natural light throughout my entire place by the way, so sorry for all the glares. Above my bar is the giant cork board I made to go over the boring back of the cabinet space. I display photos of loved ones there. You'll notice all that floor space between the living and dining room as well. Yeah, we are far from cramped in here.

This is just some of my strawberry collection. Above my cabinets in the kitchen is the rest. But these are some of my fave pieces. To the left is my beautiful dart board and the creepy old ceramic cat that used to belong to my husband's grandparents. (I may or may not aim darts at it...)

This is the view into my living room. (The little bistro set is our mock cafe area. The faux window was created to hide the doors to the utility area.) Again, TONS of natural light, so sorry for the glares. But again... plenty of space.

This is the other side of the living room. This shelf is where we display all of our favorite Lego sets and that adorable little fireplace/stove is fake, but it looks great when lit up.

This is the second bedroom. It used to belong to our son, Zachary, but since his passing, we have attempted to turn it into a more functional guest room of sorts. We mostly use it to store his stuff and that futon faces a wall filled with photos and memories of his life. I like to sit there and read.

This is our bedroom. Or as my hubs refers to it, the Gypsy Room. I am NOT a morning person, so I created a space that is so filled with light and color, that is it difficult to not be happy when you wake up in there. It is a favorite room for many of my friends and loved ones.

This is the other side of the room. That door is to our bathroom. I didn't take pics of that room, since I still haven't done much to it. It's decorated in a sort of Americana theme at the moment and I'm not sure I love it.

This is the main bathroom. (also with new floors) and it has a pin-up type theme. It was hard to get a good pic, but the artwork in there is a mix of retro and modern pin-ups, all in black and white. The zebra curtain added a pop of wild fun. And it looked great against the bright red walls.

This is a different angle into the living room (the sliding doors are to the patio/balcony that overlook a pretty little wooded area) The shelves are my books, photos and assorted items that hold sentimental value to us. You'll notice the Curious George, Hello Kitty and stuffed chicken that are chilling on the sofa. Yeah, those are our favorite throw pillows. (I told you, our place is colorful and fun.)
So that's the tour. I could list a million reasons why I love our apartment, and have no desire to get back into the stress and hassle of home ownership, but the main reason is this. It's not only a lovely place, but living here saves us time, so we have more time to do the things we love. It allowed us so much extra time that we spent with our son the past few years, and we will forever be grateful for that time. We save money, so I can afford to stay home and we don't have to kill ourselves to pay for a mortgage, home repairs, energy bills and more. We save stress, not worrying about how much your home is worth, IF you can sell it if you need to, and how you will pay for a new roof, furnace, etc. is a huge weight off our shoulders. And right now, with everything we are already dealing with, that in and of itself is worth it. So, to those of you who think all apartments are tiny, ugly, noisy and cheap little holes, think again. Houses aren't a fit for everyone, so before you jump into one, consider your options and ask around. You'd be surprised what else is out there.