This weekend, we finally FINALLY move into our own apartment here in Brisbane. Don’t get the wrong idea, the space we’ve been staying in is quite luxurious in terms of guest accommodation, but six weeks of couch surfing is still six weeks of couch surfing. No privacy, no space to spread out, no routines.
Some people thrive under such circumstances, I do ok, but not I’m not in top form. I am VERY excited to have my own kitchen to putter around in.
Everyone knows moving sucks, but the inverse of that agony is the fun of setting up a new place!
I like to wait until we’re fully in before I go hog wild, the gap between what you remember the place being like during your ten-minute inspection and the reality of the space is usually quite large. As such, I find it’s best to get in, look around and THEN start shelling out the dough for the bits and pieces.
In honor of our impeding home, I’ve been doing some home (window) shopping and a tiny bit of buying.
Here is what I’ve come across – forgive me for the iPhone photos, most of the places I went got weird when i pulled out the camera, so I had to be covert.
My first stop was a massive shopping complex on the border of Fortitude Valley and Newstead called ‘Homemaker City’ which was largely comprised of 15+ huge retailers selling the same exact slightly bulgy leather couches, $100+ duvet covers, and fake Eames eiffel base side chairs. I did find a couple of good things in one of the shops.
These white round baskets might be nice scarf storage. I have a massive selection of scarves and ribbons that I’m constantly using, it’s remained an unsolved challenge to store them in a way i can rummage through them easily, but they stay corralled. This basket just might do the job for twenty bucks.
I loved these stacking stools made with heavy woven leather strips, but should the legs be black or white instead of bare metal? I can’t decide.
I love these string shades (foot for scale) and forty bucks is an awesome price, alas my dear husband does not agree. Oh well.
Brushed aluminum shade with chipped nailpolish for scale, classy.
This one just might be a go. If I remember correctly, our apartment comes with three pendant bare lightbulbs. yikes. We’re going to need shades for all of them lest we feel like we live in an institution.
At fifty bucks, it’s a bit more than I was intending to spend, but the inside is gloss white, and wouldn’t the outside look amazing painted gloss black?
Look at that shape! me – ow.
Next up on the shopping expedition were the only two discount/dollar stores I have yet to locate in Brisbane, A&J Trading and the amazingly named Life Factory. Both shops are on Brunswick Street in Fortitude Valley and they flank a huge goth clothing store. (p.s. Brisbane has a shocking amount of goths for a city so tropical and sunny, what’s up with that? Do other tropical/sunny places have tons of goths?)
Moving along, the first thing I spotted in the cheap shops was this:
The most beautiful industrial-weight kitchen scale ever. That I have absolutely no use for as I’ve never weighed a single thing in the kitchen in my life. Hell, I don’t even own a regular scale. It’s a shame, really.
It was on clearance for FIFTEEN DOLLARS.
Next up was mini milk-bottle carafes and french cafe glasses for $1.99 and $1.25 respectively.
I will definitely be buying some glassware from this area.
These shiny silver pails looked pretty and classic and for $8 each, the deal is done.
Lastly, this wooden domino box was charming with it’s shaky stamping. It was, of course, filled with the most god-awful super cheap plastic dominos ever known to man, but I like the box and wouldn’t mind paying $2 to empty it out and fill it with hairpins or rings or whatever other small bits need wrangling.
