New Place.

As many of you know, Mikey and I have been searching for a place to live back in the city. We've missed the hustle and bustle, and we're happy and excited to announce that we finally settled on a place - a small but lovely condo at State and Wacker. Many of you might be familiar with the actual building - it's Marina City and located directly next to the House of Blues.

The condo itself is a bit dated in its decoration, so we're looking forward to a month or so of painting and assorted projects before we move in July. I figured it might be fun to post some "Before and After" pictures on the bloggity blog. These are forthcoming.

We've started our search for paint colors, furniture, etc. - and we've found Apartment Therpay to be THE source of inspiration. And wouldn't you know - one of the "Small Cool" contest finalists happens to have a condo in the same building. While it's a studio and not a one-bedroom, I love the way she designed the balcony. Did I mention the views are AMAZING?

I love her use of bright, clean colors. In the third picture, you'll notice that the wall curves - this is a feature we have to work wtih as well. However, in our place, the wall is a mirror (I told you it was outdated). We're toying with several ideas that include curtains, paint, and the like.

I also love the fact that the balcony is spacious enough to include so much furniture. While my preliminary ideas include lots of white lights, I never thought about having a shelf of some sort.

If you have any fantastic ideas to contribute, let me know! Have a great weekend!