When I started this post it originally read: I am going to lunch in 40 minutes so this is going to be a quick post today but by the time I actually post to my blog it's 9:30 at night.  I just had a 7 hour lunch which was amazing and makes me want to learn to speak Bulgarian that much more.  Anyhow, what follows is a list of my three favorite things in my apartment.  There are of course others things that I am happy about but these don't make the list because they aren't really things like the items that follow.

[caption id="attachment_65" align="alignleft" width="225" caption="Kafe Machine"]<a href="http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/coffee-machine.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-65" src="http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/coffee-machine.jpg?w=225" alt="Kafe Machine" width="225" height="300" /></a>[/caption]

1. The coffee machine in my kitchen which is actually larger than my stove/oven.  You'll see that the machine has options in Bulgarian.  They are all great.  For coffee, you can have espresso or a coffee with espresso and a little bit of water so that it's slightly larger than the espresso.  My landlord kept calling this "espresso normal" but the button on the machine says: "kafe delgo." I've had both and like them both.  I am not sure that I can tell the difference.  The most important thing is to use exact change which I think the sign says in Bulgarian and in English.  So being the coffee lover I am, I am keeping .20 lev on top of the coffee machine in a little dish so that I can drink coffee as necessary.  The best part is that the coffee is strong enough that I've only been drinking one cup.  This is pretty incredible for me. The machine also makes tea and steamed milk.  I am not sure how the steamed milk thing works or where the machine gets the water to make the espresso but it's delicious so I haven't spent much time worrying about it.

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2. This great square lamp on my bedside table.  At first when you

[caption id="attachment_66" align="alignleft" width="225" caption="Pink &amp; Yellow Lamp"]<a href="http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/lamp.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-66" src="http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/lamp.jpg?w=225" alt="Pink &amp; Yellow Lamp" width="225" height="300" /></a>[/caption]

turn it on, it looks like this big square that lets out a little bit of pink and yellow light.  Then after a little bit the inside part of the lamp starts turning and the room is lit up with pink and yellow light.  I don't think that it showed up very well in photo.  That and it's day time when I took the photo but my landlord was really excited to show me the lamp.  So I turn it on at night when I am turning off the lights in my apartment and making sure that the multiple locks on my front door are locked and that all the windows are closed and locked and by the time I am done brushing my teeth the lamp is spinning light all over my room.  The one down side of the lamp is that it's not bright enough to read by.  But I am not sure that I would actually want to read a book by pink-lamplight anyway so I guess it's not that big of a deal.  All of this said, it's pretty cool and very funny and wish I knew how old it was.

3.  My new pillow.  I am sure that you guys are all dying to see the pillow after my extensive post on it yesterday.  I know, I know, that post really had you on edge and you've been wondering since you read it: how is it? I am happy to report back--wonderful.  It was

[caption id="attachment_67" align="alignright" width="225" caption="Me &amp; My Pillow"]<a href="http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/carolyn-and-her-pillow.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-67" src="http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/carolyn-and-her-pillow.jpg?w=225" alt="Me &amp; My Pillow" width="225" height="300" /></a>[/caption]

everything I could hope for.  And now if I could only get over my jet lag and fall asleep at a normal hour that would be great.  At least now I can't blame my inability to fall asleep on my rock hard pillow.

So these are my three favorite things about my apartment.  Additionally, I have to say it's amazing to be able to open my refrigerator and look in and see everything easily.  After living in a large group house for the last five years of my life, I forgot that it's possible to think oh I want some juice, open the refrigerator door and, bam, there it is.  No hunting or searching required.  Also, there's no need to pull everything in the fridge out looking for leftovers.

I am also extremely grateful that my apartment came internet ready.  I am not sure that all of you are now that I am blogging obsessively about Sofia but that said, let me know if you have any requests or topics you would like me to write on in the future.  I can't promise anything but I'll try.  Oh and I am off to Tryavna for two weeks so I'll try to post but I am actually going to be more busy than I have this week.