If you know anything about NYC real estate, you know that finding the right apartment is kind of like winning the lottery. You’re going to be looking for the perfect mix of great lighting, in a good school zone, close to an express train, has a decent bodega nearby and isn’t completely over run with mice. Oh, and about 700 other people are looking for the same thing. I saw close to 20 apartments and was feeling rather hopeless until I stumbled across this one just by chance. It had everything I’ve ever wanted and we’ve only had to deal with one mouse (fingers crossed!) which I’d say is a win in any book.

It’s a small Brooklyn Brownstone apartment and it has it’s challenges but none that I can’t deal with for the next two years until we hopefully upgrade to something with two bathrooms and a second bedroom that can legitimately fit a twin bed and furniture for the girls (because they can’t sleep in toddler beds forever).

Glitter Guide has featured our entire home today, so over on this space I wanted to share something a little more personal. We don’t have room for that much seeing as our place is only about 850 sq. feet. but the things that we do have sure do mean a lot. Click through to read more about the 5 things I love most about our little Brooklyn Brownstone home.

1. The Brick Wall – Not going to lie, this is the thing that sold me on this apartment (that and the fact that our bedroom is enormous by New York standards). Nothing says Brooklyn Brownstone to me more than a brick wall. I know that white brick is all the trend right now, but something about this old original red brick just says “romantic, old New York” to me. So now I can check having a brick wall off my apartment bucket list.

2. This Little Rainbow Piggy Bank – So this candle is blocking the words but the piggy banks reads, “I left my heart in San Francisco”. There’s a sweet story about this little piggy bank. Aaron bought it at a shop in San Francisco when we were just dating. and he looked at me and said, “I’m going to fill this up with money so I can buy you a ring and marry you one day”. It was honestly the most romantic thing anyone had ever said to me and that’s exactly what he did. He came home from his job waiting tables and put some of his tip money in there every night until the day he emptied it and bought me my ring. It’s been with us in every apartment and when people ask me “if your house was burning down what’s the one thing you’d go back for?” and this little rainbow piggy bank would be it.

3. Family Photos – We live in this digital age and I take more pictures of my kids than my parents probably ever took of me, however, I know I have less printed and framed than my parents. So, in an effort to change that, every year I print and frame at least two of my favorite photos from the past year thanks to my friends at Framebridge. One is usually our Christmas card picture (because it’s not too often all four of us are in the frame) and I try and get one each of the kids solo. Plus this whole corner of my home just makes me really, really happy. 🙂

4. Souvenirs – See those little hearts above their bed? They are souvenirs from our trip to Sayulita. We have a dish full of shells in the living room from our trip to the Exumas. I have a candle from our hotel in Barcelona with the most amazing smell in the world. I hope that over time we can fill our entire home with items from our trips and be reminded of the experiences we’ve been fortunate enough to have together.

5. Our Gallery Wall – I get so many questions about this wall (so much so that you should stay tuned for a whole gallery wall post!) and the truth is, it’s the first time we’ve had a considerable amount of art in our home and I love the way it turned out (thanks to my friends at Minted!). It really made our house feel like home and has settled us in much more.

For more on my Brooklyn Brownstone Apartment, be sure to head to Glitter Guide for the full feature!

Photos by Heather Moore for Lucky Penny.