Sometimes, a little space is just enough!

If you talked to Josh and I before we made the move, you know that our biggest (superficial) concern was that we were moving into an itty bitty apartment.  Nothing like going from a bachelor living in a two bedroom apartment to combining closets while downsizing to 600 square feet! 

And so, Josh and I left behind A LOT, loaded up a 16' truck, and crossed our fingers that it would all fit!  And as we moved the first boxes in, it looked like it was going to be a little close.  In fact, even the movers were laughing at the already lack of space as they carried in our over-sized bean bag (don't worry, I made sure it fit!).

A photo before we started bringing all the stuff in.

I'm standing at the front door - yes, that's the back wall. No, there's not another bedroom somewhere.

We arrived to Nashville on a Saturday evening; we moved into the apartment the following Sunday morning.  Josh started orientation at Vanderbilt on Monday morning.  So needless to say, my dad and I did most of the unpacking.  We were conservative about space and creative in some of our placement.  I'm still sometimes surprised when I find an appliance in an unexpected drawer!  All that hard work paid off, though.  We found a home for everything that came out of these boxes!

We celebrated when the box pile got this small!

So, now that we've had plenty of time to unpack, arrange, rearrange, clean, rearrange, and clean again, I thought we'd give you all a tour!

Real time side note:  I just asked Josh how he was doing (he's studying like crazy) and he responded by turning on some scary rap music.  Must be exam week in the Thompson house...

This is the outside of our building.  One of those little windows provides our only natural light (when I remember to open the curtain)!   We're a 5 minute walk from the edge of Vanderbilt's campus, and about a 20 minute walk to where Josh actually has class.

 Here's a peak in.  I'm standing at the front door again.  Now with furnishings you can see we have a small entryway, and a long living room-kitchen-bedroom.  Plenty of space :)  We were pleasantly surprised by how much we like the polished concrete floors.  So far, no need for socks as the floor hasn't been too cold!

I stood up on the entertainment center (aka dresser full of kitchen appliances, pots and pans, and tupperware) to get this photo of our living room.  We love our wedding photos featured on the wall like that, and the paintings on the right were done by yours truly.  Thank you Pinterest!  The giant bean bag makes its home on most of our floor space, but we do love it!

 Here's from the far end of the kitchen (just before the bedroom).  There is a small counter between the living room and kitchen.  We thought it might make a good study space for Josh.  It turns out it is easier for him and I to eat dinner on the couch and leave the entire table as a desk for him.  Beyond that, there is very little cabinet space, no silverware drawer, and no pantry.  Like I said, we got creative!

 A long, deliberative trip to the Container Store added significant shelving space to our kitchen cabinets.  We managed to save the space above the microwave to serve as our pantry.  Our other strategy - always have some dirty dishes.  That way, the dishwasher serves as storage, rather than wasted space ;)  My favorite part of the new apartment?  Unpacking our dishes we received at the wedding into the cabinet.  You can't tell from the picture, but they look beautiful up there!

The other side of the kitchen - or Josh's desk.  We found a great silverware caddy to use instead of a drawer, and anything that didn't fit in the cabinets made its way to our Ikea shelf we brought out last minute.

 With limited square footage, the bathroom is significant space!  We've adjusted now, but we were both shocked that showers could feel so small.  I think the shower head is just a touch low.  The tiles along the mirror (which goes all the way up to the twelve foot ceiling) are beautiful!

From the far corner of the bedroom, this is all I could get in the shot, but you're not missing much.  Just the closet (see below) and the window are to the right of here.  We haven't even hung the pictures sitting on our dresser yet.  Oh well.

 Our closet.  And no, there isn't more.  Josh very generously gave me more dresser space, so he uses most of the closet space.  I don't know what we'll do when winter comes (sweaters and jackets are all under the bed), but for now, we're actually doing really well fitting everything in!  Again, we always have some dirty laundry helping keep space in the closet :)

I had to show you my very early birthday present!  I guess being a real adult means getting important things a washer and dryer for your birthday.  Thanks Dad!  We love them!

Lastly, I thought I'd give you a good picture of our sliding barn doors (just for you, Kim).  We only really shut them if Josh is going to be up late studying, and even then, only part way.  But they do make the apartment pretty trendy and urban, right?

And now you've seen way more than you ever needed to of our beautiful home.  Everything fit, we love how it worked out, and we're glad for even this much space.  We've even said a couple of times, better to be in a small apartment where Josh's studying never leaves him too far from me, than spread out in a big house, right?

Thanks for reading!