One year later...

... and I finally have curtains.

I can't believe exactly one year ago, I moved into this oversized albeit under-insulated vintage apartment on Chicago's North Side. Decorating has been such a blast, and I'm grateful I've had all of you to share the process with. I am not sure if you remember my original plan for creating a casual, neutral living room, but it included white panel curtains. Well, one year has passed, and I now have them. Rejoice! Why the delay? Well, it turns out, curtains and hardware are a bit pricier than expected. So I waited, and searched for affordable options, then searched again, and waited some more. Finally, I had a plan. Instead of buying three sets of curtains, I simply bought one and hung a single panel on either side of the bay of windows in my living room. I believe The Dude said it best: "it really ties the room together." And bravo to those of you who noticed the new curtains in the photo I included in my Christmas Gram.

I went with West Elm's affordable cotton canvas panels, and they're hanging from the simple yet chic cylinder rods in a polished nickel finish.

In other news, I was extraordinarily fortunate to receive a new camera for Christmas. Dear Old Dad surprised me with the Nikon d60 I've been wanting, so I am hoping this generous gift improves the overall quality of eye candy I photograph for the blog. I don't really know how to use it yet aside from pointing and shooting sans flash, so if any of you have tricks up your sleeve that you'd like to share, well, I'd really like that.