My Ballard apartment is coming together bit by bit and I couldn't be happier. Right now I can't get enough of color, patterns and textures.
<a title="pillows in detail by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/12309282176/"><img alt="pillows in detail" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7299/12309282176_78c78cdb6b_z.jpg" width="640" height="427" /></a>
<a title="My pillows by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/12308820593/"><img alt="My pillows" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5539/12308820593_4258766636_z.jpg" width="640" height="427" /></a>
Living abroad one of the sacrifices you often make is living in a space that is not your own and which has been decorated and furnished by other people. You give the space a little of your own personality with a new duvet cover and pillowcases, framed photos, art you've snapped up by local artists, postcards hung on your refrigerator and maybe a few dishes that you love and the perfect coffee mug.
<a title="Pillows by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/12309110444/"><img alt="Pillows" src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2827/12309110444_f7110f188c_z.jpg" width="640" height="427" /></a>
<a title="Turkish pillow in red and pink by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/12308802793/"><img alt="Turkish pillow in red and pink" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3681/12308802793_04fc53f183_z.jpg" width="640" height="427" /></a>
It works. It's easier than buying all of your own things--you can move in right away and when you leave you can move out without the hassle of figuring out how to sell/give away all of your things. Okay, you'll still have things to give away and you'll worry about how you'll ever fit everything in your suitcases but you'll make it work.

When I moved into my apartment in Seattle, I hadn't lived in the States for five years and I'd spent the five before that living in Washington DC.  I no furniture, no dishes, no sheets. I had nothing of substance. What I had in spades were treasures that I'd picked up on my travels--artwork, tea towels, pottery, pillowcases and scarves. Tons of scarves. I came home with more scarves than there are days in a month. <em>Ops/Awesome!</em>
<a title="Pillows by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/12309110444/"><img alt="Pillows" src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2827/12309110444_f7110f188c_z.jpg" width="640" height="427" /></a>
<a title="Blue detail Turkish pillow by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/12309092944/"><img alt="Blue detail Turkish pillow" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3723/12309092944_473916853c_z.jpg" width="640" height="427" /></a>
I found these Turkish pillowcases last spring in the town of Kaş on the Lycian Coast.  I'd gone for spring break with friends. H. and I went out to poke around in the shops in town on a grey, blustery and rainy day.

Kaş was a very sleepy town when we were there. It was early April and the tourist season hadn't kicked off yet. We had the town to ourselves and we loved it. Kaş is a much more civilized town to shop in than say Istanbul and any of the markets/bazaars there. The salesmen were polite and never pushy and the prices were much, much lower than in Istanbul.

H. and I shopped, wandered, drank coffee, ate lunch whiling away the day. I spotted these pillowcases in a shop at the end of the day. I thought they were charming but what really drew us in was the large collection of lamps. H. bought one for her mother and then I bought three pillowcases. We made this man's day. But it's the vibrant colors of these pillows that make me smile these days in our grey Seattle winter.