I spent almost the entire afternoon trying to organize my photos from my old computer”” almost 6,000 of them! I still have a ways to go, but it was fun looking through pics and reminiscing about old times, like when Mal and I lived in our first apartment.
In 2006, Mal and I moved in together after about three years of dating (for the second time). We lived in a 505-square-foot, one-bedroom apartment in Brighton, just a few miles outside of Boston. It was a cute little place, but, like many city apartments, we dealt with mice, cockroaches, and noisy neighbors, so we only lived there for a year. Even still, we both have great memories from it. Life seemed so simple back then!
Anyway, here's a quick tour of our first apartment together!
LIVING ROOM
We bought our couch and love seat for just $400 off Craigslist and they were only three months old! Score!
Like the artwork? I painted those babies all by myself!
When we moved out, I sold them on Craigslist for $50!
OFFICE
The office was just a small desk in the corner of the living room. Look how close it was to the couch!
KITCHEN
The kitchen was tiny, but cute. It had a stove, sink, and mini fridge. Nothing fancy about this one! But, we did have enough room for a kitchen table. We also had a small balcony off the kitchen that overlooked a concrete courtyard. It wasn't very pretty, but it was nice to have some useable outdoor space.
Also off the kitchen was a small pantry, which was a storage lifesaver. We stored so much crap stuff in it. We even brewed beer in there once!
BEDROOM
I wish I had taken a better photo of the bedroom. It was so small! The bed barely fit!
There was also only one small closet, which forced us to get creative with how we organized things.
Another storage lifesaver was the sweet floor-to-ceiling shelves that Mal and his dad built. They gave us tons of storage!
What's the smallest space you've ever lived in?
Dinner
I enjoyed a carb-tastic dinner tonight! 
I started with leftover Mac & Cheese Lite. I ended up just eating it cold from the Tupperware container (because I am wicked lazy).
Then, I had some homemade buffalo potato chips.
To make them, I thinly sliced a russet potato, coated the slices with buffalo sauce, added some sea salt, and baked them on 375*F for about 20-25 minutes until they started to brown. I added some ketchup for dipping.
After dinner, I enjoyed a beer and some a lot of butterscotch chips. Spicy beer + butterscotch = strangely delicious!
American Idol time! I am hooked this season!
Enjoy the evening, guys!
84 Comments
I LOVE your paintings! You`re so talented 😀
Oh my, you really have moved up!! The smallest space I’ve ever lived in was Freshman year of college. when I had to live in an extended stay hotel for 3 months. It wasn’t a nice extended stay, either!
Before Idol started I had it in my mind not to watch anymore – really loved Simon! Decided to give it a shot just to see how the newbies were doing. I am so in love with Steven Tyler now just from last weeks episode and how he spoke so lovingly to that young lady in the wheelchair who was with her boyfriend. I cried and had to rewind and watch many times and cried each and every time! I was so proud of her boyfriend (wish I could recall his name) the way he has stayed with her after the accident – I’m sure it can’t be easy.
How cute that you two were together in highschool!
when i first moved to nyc i lived in a closet. literally.
Smallest space was about 600 square feet, 2 bedroom apartment with no balcony. Then a 1200 square foot 3 bedroom house for 3 yrs and then now a 900 square foot townhouse… kind of sucks downsizing because i have so much stuff, but making it work. Love the look of your appartment..very space efficient and cute.
I snacked on some butterscotch chips today too! Yum 🙂
You should do an accent vlog!
What beautiful paintings!! The smallest David and I ever lived was about 550 sq ft. The living room, dining room and kitchen were all one space. We didn’t have much furniture so it was easy to organize.
The smallest space I ever lived in was 569 square feet. It was on Lake Shore Drive in Chicago, 14th floor of a highrise, so even though it was small, it had a killer view.
Prob the smallest space I’ve ever lived in is the apartment me and my husband live in right now…..but we still have a pretty big apartment! We’re blessed, that is for sure 🙂 I heart butterscotch chips also!!!
I AGREE! I was not sure how this season of Idol would without Simon, but I absolutely love it! As well as looking forward to see JLO’s attire! The mac n cheese lite looks yummy! 🙂
Spicy Beer & Butterscotch – I will have to give that combination a try!
440 sq ft apartment in NYC on the 6th floor with no elevator and no outdoor space, no storage space, no laundry in building, definitely no dishwasher. Me, my husband, our cat. 5 years. We are SO READY to move!! (oh I guess I should mention the price tag, 2 grand/month)
420 square foot apartment in London. Me, my husband, and NO SPACE TO MOVE!
Wow I can’t believe you painted those! They’re gorgeous!
The apartment I’m living in right now has a TINY kitchen and I hate it! Especially since I share it with 2 roommates. 😛
Goodness gracious! That place is tiny. I think living in an expensive city like Boston would do me in. I like my space. Kudos to you for being creative and making it work!
Those homemade buffalo chips look amazing! I am totally going to make these! Yummy!
I lived in the smallest of small apartments in North Quincy back about 4 years ago. The biggest room was the living room, which still only fit a loveseat and a chair…the kitchen literally was just a refrigerator, sink, and one 3X3 block of counter…and 3 cabinets. The bedroom fit only my bed and a dresser. I am still shocked and amazed that I was able to fit ALL of my stuff into that tiny little space.
I would have paid for those paintings too! They look so professional. Now I want to try to recreate. What type of paint did you use? Just art store acrylics?
I guess the smallest place I’ve lived are the dorm rooms I shared with roommates. Other than that, I thought my first apartment was small but compared to yours it was huge. The kitchen had a sweet pantry and a lot of storage space even if the bedroom closet was tiny.
Yep, acrylics and a couple of cheap canvases! They worked great!
When I first moved to Chicago my dog and I lived in a studio that, I believe, was under 300 square feet. It was very hard moving from my apartment in the county, which was over a 1000 square feet, to the Chicago closet sized apartment!
I love butterscotch chips !! They’re SO addicting 🙂
Hi Tina — How do you slice the potatoes so thinly? They look great, but I’d be worried I’d chop my fingers off trying to get the slices so thin! Appreciate any tips! 🙂
Good question! I use a sharp knife and cut them slowly and carefully.
Butterscotch chips are my nemesis. I could probably eat an entire bag in one sitting!
The smallest space I lived in was my dorm room, my freshman year of college. I thought they were kidding when I moved in on move in day. All fall I told my family that the room was small. When my family came to visit for Family Weekend my youngest sister (who was probably 10 at the time) said, “I thought you said this was small.” I looked at her and said “It is”. She said, “No, this is REALLY small.” So cute! Haha.
You were very creative with your small space. 🙂
[…] about back in 2006 when we first moved in together and bought a whole bunch of MALM furniture for our first apartment. My friend Jon was actually the first person to starting using “Malm” to refer to Mal (he […]
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