Living in 600 sq ft

Back when I lived on the mainland in Atlanta, it used to be considered an outing to go to IKEA. You knew you were committing to several hours of wandering through the superstore warehouse. One of my favorite parts was the apartment displays. They had incredibly small homes set up with everything you needed to live compliments of Swedish furniture designers. Each display was labeled with a little sign declaring its size..."Living in 600 sq ft".  

I now find myself living the dream and it's nothing like I expected. My small apt seems to magically change size. When I first moved in, it was terribly small. Then I got all my belongings settled and suddenly it felt "just right". A week ago mama came to visit and I swear the apartment shrunk a little bit right before my eyes. But now she's gone and it feels empty and large. Weird. Magical. Just one of the unexpected joys of moving to Honolulu. 

I've found a couple of ways of coping with my new home. First, everything needs to have a home. Each object needs a spot. And if anything is out of place, the place quickly looks cluttered. I can be an organized person, but my new apartment is making me take things to a new level. 

Next, I try to spend as much time outdoor as possible. I walk a mile to and from work each day. When home, I'm always sitting out on my lanai. I also found out that I'm a beach girl. Give me a  beautiful beach, a comfy chair and a good book and I'm set for the day. Who would have predicted 6 months ago I'd be getting so much use outta my bathing suit in January!!!

Here are some pictures of my place:

My huge lanai where I watch all my sunsets and drink my weekend coffees. 

My bedroom ... With the bed made!

My place comes with a 1/2 bedroom. They suggested it would make a good nursery or office...um, no. I use it as a large walk-in closet/dressing area. 

Tiny bathroom, but it works. 

Luckily my kitchen has tons of storage. Sadly, it does not have air conditioning. 

Dining nook... I have yet to eat at that table. 

Living room. With all the natural light I don't have to turn on lights until after 6p... Crazy!

Instead of sitting inside, this is where I'd rather be. 

While the polar vortex covers the mainland, I'm in my bathing suit. I'm not bragging... I'm baffled!

And now for the pic of the week:

Sunrise on the way to work. Simply. Stunning. 

Mahalo!