4 Ways to Make a Pit Stop a Home // Life's Little Layover

So Zach & I have been in this little pit stop we call Michigan for about a month, actually I am pretty sure it was a month ago today we pulled up into his parent's driveway.  Wow, time flies!  Any way...I wanted to share with you 4 things that have really helped me out in this little layover.

With all of Zach's things still in a POD & all of my things carefully stacked in the garage, there hasn't been much of making a home.  Since I am a homebody type person & love nesting it's been really weird using someone else's dishes & sitting on someone else's couch.  But we've made the best of it in all ways possible.  The lovely view & wonderful hospitality of his parents have more than made up for it.  Here are the 4 things that have made the one bedroom apartment with an old futon seem more like home:

Starbucks Via // Of course I'd put coffee first.  I love coffee & I love good coffee.  While sometimes I do opt for a Starbucks run in order to get a shot of caffeine & high speed internet, having good coffee at home was proving difficult as Zach's coffee pot is packed in a storage unit & only God knows where my has gone.  In swoops Starbucks Via, Italian Roast specifically.  It's the best instant coffee out there.  A small packet in a hot cup of water with cream & sugar has saved my mornings.  Really, I can't get through the day with out coffee.  It's the truth.  Starting the day off coffee in hand reminds me of home 

Schedule // I am a scheduler & with out one, my daily battle with my love of sleep over takes me.  I will stay in bed until noon if I don't have things to do.  Having a schedule & things that need to get done during the day has helped me a lot.  Just like getting up & going to a real job would interrupt my never ending battle with my love of sleep, so too does having a personal schedule.  Not to mention it's kept me on track & even put me ahead of the things I want to accomplish.  Oh yeah, I may not be making bank...but self employment has put me in front of my goals & not just working towards them!

Dinner Together // Zach & I ate together before, of course but part of it was waiting for the other to drive to the other's house and then decide what sort of groceries we had that we could throw something together.  Actively planning our meals, sharing cooking duties, & sitting down to eat together have really made it seem like home.  Even though I am not a good cook, this one means a lot.

dinner together

Creating Space to Create // I can't sit still.  I can't. I have to always be making, doing, creating something.  Having a space to create is very hard in a tiny apartment.  And accepting that yarn is going to be everywhere & there's nothing I can do about it is hard.  Creating a space in this tiny apartment gets frustrating.  I absolutely dispise having to move things to do other things & that's what I am doing nearly every time I need to make something, take a picture of something, etc.  It gets discouraging.  I know this is something I faced a long, long time ago when I first moved to Williamsburg.  Since I was sort of stuck between places I didn't have a space that was my own.  I've realized that if I want to create, I have to take charge & do it.  If it's a mess....it's a mess, but I can't sit around & wait.

Have you ever had an extended stay? How did you make it more like home?

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