Recent purchases, rambling about the house

SHOPPING LIST

3 toilets

A bathtub

2 individual bathroom sinks, one for the powder room, one for the ¾ bath

A double vanity with two sinks for the main bathroom.

Faucets for each of the bathroom sinks

A shower base kit to put under the tiles in the ¾ bath

Two sets of shower heads / faucets

Tiles for everything

Door knobs

Kitchen cabinets

Cabinet hardware

Appliances

Kitchen counter – island

A kitchen sink

Kitchen faucets

A kitchen counter – alcove

Lighting for everything

Windows

Hardwood flooring

Hot water tank

Not on this list but we bought it anyway: the awesome 'eat' sign from Olde Good things. Total impulse purchase but so worth it. Don't look too closely at the price. We bargained for it.

TO DO LIST:

Figure out what to do about the facade.

Figure out what to do about the fence.

Check in on the renovation.

Take more pictures.

Get ready for out vacation next week!

Get the new hot water tank installed.

Remind electricians to put dimmers on the light switches.

Remind the contractor to do what I told him to do. Again.

We've had a pretty busy month - I must say there are way more details to think about that I had anticipated.  Also, some of my guesstimate budgets were way off - I had no idea what things like faucets, lighting and hardware cost -some of our faucets cost more than our sinks! And doorknobs! My parents were more serious about the doorknobs than they were about anything else in the house.  My mom was all "Oh honey, doorknobs are crazy. Their CRAZY." My dad told me, "You can't just get anything. There's NOTHING WORSE than entering a house with a flimsy doorknob. You have to go and try them all out before you chose." 

Who knew?

In the end we have decided to save on things like tiles, decor, and low traffic areas like the extra bathroom. For hardwood floors, despite our desire to get beautiful five inch planks, we are going with more classic, affordable 3 inch planks. We're splurging on appliances, faucets in high traffic areas like the kitchen and main bathroom.  As much as I would love crystal door knobs, I think we're going to have to settle for something more basic like oil rubbed bronze from a good quality name brand.

For lighting, Dave and I totally lucked out and found some great deals at the Design Within Reach outlet.  I was worried going there that the lights would be discounted from $3000 to $2800, as the sales on their website are really uninspiring. Instead, we got 5 lamps worth ~$2000 for $250! Sure they have some dings and scratches, but I am fairly certain that no one will ever notice them.  

We got 2 of these Titan 3 lights in black - originally $735 each for $75 each!! 3 of these FL/Y pendants in, originally $249 for $19!!! Finally, we got this barn light, originally $315 for $50! Pardon the exclamation points, but I am clearly pretty psyched.

More pictures will come soon, I promise. The truth is that they are just not that exciting. They are mainly of drywall old flooring, and the rooms are so dusty that they come out looking grainy.  But I am working on it.

Uncensored look at life at the new house

I've been asked to provide more pictures of the house. The thing is: they just don't do the place justice.  Here is what the new apartment looks like with my parents camping out in it. Apologies for the grainy iPhone pics. One major improvement that is particularly visible to me in these pictures is the white! Every picture that I took in this place before we painted came out looking yellow. What a difference paint makes.

Eating Pauline's meat balls! Amazing.

I know the sheet curtain looks kind of ghetto, but look at Lulu and the hardwood floors!

Syria and reading the news. Sometimes.

Image from the NY Times.

I have to say I have been a little obsessed with the renovation these days, and with planning the house.   So much so that when I wake up in the morning I have been reading decorating blogs instead of the news. Don't get me wrong: I love decorating and think it’s a healthy distraction from the more stressful things going on in my life, but I think it has slipped into the realm of avoidance these past few weeks. I have stopped reading the news because it’s so frustrating and my feeling of impotence can be so overwhelming.

I don’t want or need to be the one to change the world. I just want to take some comfort in knowing that I have done what I could to at least contribute to some positive change. I know this might sound like semantics, but really it’s not. All I want is to know that I am doing something helpful.  My problem is that I know no middle ground. I am not good at doing things halfway. I don’t know how to be helpful while keeping some balance in my life.

I am working on facing the things that I have been avoiding.  I started today by simply catching up on the news in Syria, without placing any expectations on myself beyond informing myself, and for today, sharing this information with you.

A really good source of information on world conflicts is the BBC Country Profiles. If there is ever a topic that you want to learn about, it’s a great place to start. This is where I start whenever I want to get up to date on recent events, whether it be in Congo, South Sudan, Somalia or Syria.  It’s an accessible, easy to read format that gives clear synopses of current events.  The facts sheet will give you an up to date bullet point summary, and the timeline explains just what happened and when.

The BBC also has a subject page on the conflict in Syria that explains the major issues that Syrians have faced including protests, bombardment, refugees and a discussion of the international reaction.

It's a Kitchen!

Dear Friends,

Join us in welcoming our new kitchen to the world!  It still needs some finishing touches (paint, shelves, a hood, etc.) so we will follow up with more pictures later, but couldn't wait to show you our new bundle of joy.