Sleep and the City

Everyone wants to know how things are going in the new apartment, right? Yes! You do!

So it's a great location -- right off a main street, so when I walk to the train in the morning or walk home from the train at night, there are always cars and streetcars and people around. We're tucked away in the back, so we're not on that main street, but we are right by an onramp onto a busy bridge that, um, is under construction. And will be until January.

It also gets a lot of sun in the mornings, which makes it totally adorable on the weekend because that's the only time I spend mornings in my apartment. (This was also an excuse I gave to my grandma over Thanksgiving weekend -- "Oh no, no, you should see my apartment tomorrow morning because it's so much prettier in the morning." Then I hustled home and cleaned.) My bedroom window faces east, so I definitely get some morning sun, especially now that we've had Daylight Savings going and I don't have to get up and walk in the sunrise hours.

And then there's the part about apartment living that we all love: the neighbors. My first apartment in college, we had an upstairs neighbor who probably wore concrete shoes around the house. Just 'cause. And in my second apartment, I shared a wall with a guy whose alarm, without fail, went off ten to fifteen minutes before mine. And by alarm, I mean iTunes. And his morning routine was to crank that baby up and sing along with it, off-key, in the shower. Again, ten minutes before my alarm.

This time, it's even better: I share a wall with a two-year-old who can't sleep through the night yet. Awe.some. for. real.

So obviously I am thinking I might need some help. Some ridiculously cute help.

- This rainbow seersucker sleep mask from miandai.etsy.com is so darling and stripey, I love it.
- There are a ton of awesome sleep masks at BibBon.etsy.com, including superhero ones and pirate ones. Fun! (Also, how much do I need A BAT TOWEL? SO MUCH YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW.)
- Of course, there's always the classic Holly Golightly sleep mask from Fred Flare for all you very stylish girls out there.
- Speaking of Miss Holly, I was trying to google fancy ear plugs and I thought, "hmm, haven't I seen them with tassels?" And sure enough, it was Holly again who wore blue tasseled earplugs along with her mask. There are some other lovely choices available at the JenGen ear plugs shop, including jeweled (pretty!!) and butterflies. (These might also be a good present for all of your show-going or DJ friends...)

Me, I've been trying to get to bed earlier and when I hear that toddler starting to wail on the other side of the wall, I've been sticking my head under my pillow. They did warn me, though, and asked me if I had ear plugs. I said yes, but I didn't. Maybe I should fix that...

Got any hilarious apartment-living stories? I'd love to hear 'em. (Tonight's adventure? The washing machine oversudsing. AWESOME.)

images from fredflare.com and earplugs.ecrater.com