My daughter Emily’s apartment is so vintage punk. It is cozy, comfy and slightly crooked due to the floors being slanted. It looks so quintessentially her. She has a mannequin she refers to as “Lisa” who stands naked at the rear of her vintage bathtub. A cut-out of a red fox sits between the wall and the tub. Not many people I know have such an interesting bathroom. I mean Lisa and her red fox are quite striking. The walls in the bathroom have more vintage punk art on them. Emily has an assortment of collages she has made and her paint palette also hangs up with its dried paints displayed.

Emily’s assortments of cameras are sitting on top of a vintage old metal rack organizer. A “Ladies” sign is perched on top of a black case. Her little teddy bear “Teddy” sits to the side of the rack with his friend “Wolf”, both from her childhood.

My daughter told me with a look of sneaky delightful joy that she enjoys screwing screws into the wall. She is the daughter of a carpenter so that explains that. On these screws she has perched several drawers which hold a variety of items she likes to display, such as her Mary candle and a can of Heinz beans. Where we lived when Emily was a baby was a large Hispanic neighborhood and those candles were very popular, as were any items displaying pictures of Mary. Off to one corner she has a small altar area with several Mary items displayed. Another drawer holds an old typewriter. Emily is a big fan of typewriters. She values the occasion to sit and type a poem sometimes.

It snowed on Christmas Day, adding to the charm of the apartment, with its large windows creating a view of the snow flickering slowly down to the ground. Emily has a small collection of cactuses she is growing and a tiny fern in her kitchen; they are all growing out of old Café Bustelo cans.

She also has a drawer that she collaged in the inside sitting on the floor near her dining table. This also says “Coffee” since coffee is a big part of Emily’s life. She has been a barista most of the last eleven years.

I thoroughly enjoyed my visit in Denver and Boulder, Colorado. I also got a big kick out of she’s Emily’s first apartment that she has had on her own. The building is old and was damaged in a fire. Her landlord bought it for way below the going rate, fixed up the part that was destroyed and is making a nice profit on the place. She is lucky that she lives so close to her work place and a bus ride away from school.

Well I hope you all are enjoying the beginning of the New Year! I am hopeful this year will bring some steady, long-term employment for me and other good things.

All material written and photos taken by: © Marilyn Lavender, 2016.  All Rights Reserved.

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