I'm so excited to show you these photos and give you a little tour of our new place...and even more excited to show you it as we begin to get our hands on some paint, brushes and I did just buy a new ceiling rosette for the living room (this apartment bought to you by Pinterest...seriously).

Welcome! Front door into the entry way.

Opens up into the living room - those double doors lead to my office/studio.

My office/studio - going to be perfect with my desk overlooking the street and enough room for a chair, some equipment, even my one light setup for home shoots.

The office/studio is right off the living room and has double doors that lead into the guestroom/den (or Andrew's mancave).

This room is enormous...and in the shape of the state of Utah, except backwards. It'll be perfect for entertaining, maxing and relaxing, or a place for you to come visit for the weekend!

When you come out of the top of the Utah shaped bedroom, you're back at the beginning by the front door.

And the door on the right is going to (hopefully!) be our bedroom (if our bed fits).

It gets lots and lots of sunshine and looks over the Harriet Beatrice Stowe & Mark Twain Historical Homes across the street!

View from the bedroom back into the hallway, second doorway on the right is this nice bathroom. Definitely needs some sprucing (thinking about Martha Stewart's Bakery Box White, little hints of blue and white, to liven the place up!), but I am loving the floor tile pattern...just needs a good scrubbing.

Further down the hall is our dining room, which is much much larger than our dining room now, and includes a beautiful built in. And we got a new dining room table from Craigslist that has a leaf that can seat 10 people...can't wait to see faces of people I love around it for dinner! Also, check out those ceilings!

Walk in pantry off the dining room - say no more. Sold. A little creepy looking, but it's a walk in pantry.Big kitchen (well bigger than the two galley kitchen's I've had in Chicago and our current place).Window opens up to the large sunroom off the backdoor...perfect for early morning reading, a cup of coffee, cozy blanket, and Andrew is putting up bike racks for our new wheels to scoot around town on!

I think this is going to be a good place.

I have been reading the Young House Love & Alaina Kaczmarski's "Live Creating Yourself" blogs to gain home improvement/beautifying tips  - I love that they each show a before and after, and that they also are kind enough to give specific paint colors, tools, and furniture links that I have been using as inspiration. Do you have a favorite home improvement blog?

I remember the first time I met Ellen - well "met" her! She messaged me on Facebook before we moved out to Connecticut last year. I instantly realized she is a warm, friendly lady who is so in love with her family. So when she asked me to take some pictures for their holiday card - I instantly penciled it in my calendar and was so looking forward to photographing them in their home. Especially the two days before Christmas.What I didn't realize was that the Shea's love their family so much that their Christmas tree is a living display of tokens of their family life together. Kevin & Kelly's baby shoes, the box that held the ring Jim proposed to Ellen with, and handcrafted ornaments with their family Christmas pictures from the past 20-something years makes their Christmas tree like a living scrapbook.I so enjoyed photographing this family - and I know one of these images will be on their Christmas tree next year as well! And see the Shea's page for more photos at  -- thesheas.aliciasturdy.com So, what is your favorite ornament on your tree? Mine is my little Starbucks mug from 2009, my favorite holiday cup design they've had since I've been drinking Starbucks.Email me (hello@aliciasturdy.com), Facebook me (www.facebook.com/helloaliciasturdy) or check out my website (www.aliciasturdy.com) – and don’t forget to LIKE me on Facebook below!