The New Apartment!!

   Finding this apartment in Costa del Este has been my saving grace by far. It is only an 8 minute walk to EM's school which means I don't have to take a $25 Uber ride from El Congrejo and be in the rush hour traffic with a toddler for over an hour. Traffic in Panama city is really unbelievable, but I can't even get into that right now... We have only been caught in the rain twice. The good news is the rainy season is over, at least for now. The first thing I did was paint EM's room pink of course!

   I love the layout and the open plan. When I am in the kitchen I can now keep my eye on EM's shenanigans. Her room is also front and center through that far door. There is even a dining room which I shall turn into my craft room.

  It also comes furnished which is great. The furniture is a little worse for wear, but to me it is wonderful. In the divorce I get nothing, so basically I can start from scratch. And look at that view!!!

  When most of the sanding, cleaning, and arranging was done I was very pleased with the outcome. I really do love my home in the sky. It is perfect for me and EM.

The only problem is that her toys end up taking over the entire space.

  I bought a lamp from a local store and tweaked the layout a little. My landlord Breyda was nice enough to give me a futon which will be perfect for when my family comes to visit from Florida. You can see it backed up to the love seat. I covered it in a blanket I found in a drawer. Now Elizabeth has the entire back area to do as she pleases. I will straighten that up later.

  I really don't like white walls. When I sit on the couch I see the kitchen and it just looked so blank and unfinished. I decided I needed to paint it a nice happy acid yellow. If I am going to paint one wall, I might as well paint two, so I added some cool purple to the media wall.

  The new layout and colors really do break up the long space. It feels a little more cozy now. I get EM today at noon. I know she will love the purple!!! And I got her a pink chair to go with her art table...

  I took a quilt I had made years ago and covered up the UGLY coffee table. It is a little low for the spot so I propped up the lamp on some books. EM will not like me putting objects onto her trampoline. Oh well...

  Here and there I made little areas to display some of my treasures. The walls are solid cement so nails are out of the question. I hung this poster with some non-damage sticky clips I found made by Command brand products. I was so happy to find them because I do not like bare walls, but it is a rental so I didn't want to ruin the walls with permanent sticky hooks. I don't think Breyda would like that.

  I stuck some of my art on the wall above the dining table and put a bowl I had in the centre. I bought all those bouncy balls for EM, but they are so pretty I thought they would make a nice display. Now I don't like for her to mess with them ;)

My creative space to take my mind off of the turmoil. This new apartment is my happy place and I am so grateful.