Hullo World

So, thus begins the official countdown to my new apartment.  (Fateful move is scheduled to take place on August 15th.)  As a fourth year college student, I'm finally leaving the dorms behind and stepping out into the realm of having-a-kitchen-and-paying-electric-bills.  I'm also going to have my own room finally, which will be a welcome change.

The actual apartment my roommate and I chose is pretty much the itty-bittiest, cheapest thing on campus, but that's how we wanted it.  As my first year to go no-loans (thanks to scholarships and work study), my heart is glad, but my wallet's feeling a little light.  The plan at the first of the summer was to get a full-time job to save for food costs, but thanks to my part-time/odd-job reality and the ravages of monthly car payments, I've had to adjust plans a little bit.  Since I still have no desire to sleep on the floor and live on ramen, here's where the interesting part comes in.

First, I want to admit that I've been EXTREMELY blessed by a bunch of nice and generous people.  A sweet friend at school gave me her old sofa bed, entertainment center, and tv since she was graduating.  Both of my grandmothers have pitched in to fill my cabinets with their extra dishes and utensils.  My mom gave me an old set of silverware they had saved out in their camping supplies.  My grandparents gave me an old desk they had.  And my brother agreed to let me steal his old Ikea chair (that nobody loves anyway - one of my projects is going to be to make it more comfy and lovable).

But after that, comes the need for creativity.  And that's where this blog comes in.  As an avid pinterester (read: serious addict), I've run into a plethora of amazing decorating ideas, but my budget has forced me to narrow even these down to their cheapest possible elements.  As I was thinking about this the other day, I realized that, while buying lovely decor straight from the store would be easy and simple, it would really take the fun out of it.  I decided items in my apartment should have stories behind them, that half the fun of decorating is making do with what's available, and to keep this whole super-budget-life fun, I'd turn it into a blog.  And here we are.  Let the thrifty adventures begin.