9.29.2009

Shelving Brings out The Robot in Him



We have been mulling over what to do in the two nooks next to the faux fireplace. We needed to find a solution to store components, dvd's, cd's, etc. We contemplated built-in's but that would be an arm and a leg. My friend "S" had a good point. We would be dropping a lot of cash for something we can't take with us the day we move out. Good way of looking at it. On the other hand, it could add value. Built-in's are cherished in this town. People go nuts over them.

We went to IKEA. Three times. We looked at the Billy Bookcase with doors. Each of the three times we kept leaving empty handed because we weren't convinced. The Billy Bookcase had the exact measurements we were looking for. The width was off by an inch but that wasn't a big deal because the height and depth were perfect. It had glass doors and it would have been flush with the mantel giving it a finished look. So basically it would have looked like built in cabinets. But the bookcase was not going to be able to hold all of The Mister's components.

The problem with the components? Well some would have to stick out further than the mantel. So that axed the built-in's because they would have looked funny sticking out further than the fireplace. The IKEA bookcases were also out of the question because the depth was 11 inches and we needed way more depth than that.

We looked at the space again and we realized how much we loved the blue on the wall. And then in clicked. Shelves. Stark white shelves! But since the shelves would have to be deep to hold the various components, we knew we couldn't let them be the width of the nook or they would look like incomplete built-in's. The width of the nook was 32 inches so we kept the width of the shelves at 24 inches.

We installed the shelving and The Mister organized all his components/toys. He spoke like a robot the whole time he put his stuff away. It is safe to say that I was more scared than annoyed. It looked liked he was handling premature babies the way he held all of those things. He cradled the X-Box onto the shelf talking to it and putting it down oh so gently as to not wake it. When he got to the last shelf I went over to hand him our DVD player. He started blinking rapidly which can only mean one thing. He's up to no good. He then told me he could put it in as a place holder. "Place holder for what?", I asked. "Well the DVD player doesn't have an HDMI output so if I do connect it you're going to see the cables." He knows one of my peeves is exposed cables! I asked him if there was a way around it. His answer? A PS3. It would have no cables showing because it has an HDMI output and it has a Blue Ray player. Sneaky Snake.



Love in The Closet

I've grown up and my taste has changed. I no longer want the dirty grungy messy musician. I want the nice neat guy that smells good. And in this case, the nice guy's first name is Container and last name is Store. Sorry Mister but you have to take a step aside. I have found a new lover.

The Container Store, is having a sale. And I bought into it. And I am so glad I did.

We have one tiny closet but it needed to be finished out. The Mister and I tackled this closet like full on warriors. It took a total of one week. Yes you heard right. One week on 6 square feet.

We had to finish out the closet before we could outfit it. I primed and painted the closet four separate times. Not by choice. The paint was not sticking to the drywall and was peeling so I kept having to prime and paint all over again.

It didn't help that I wanted to stencil a design in there so each time I did it I had to re-stencil. The Mister only allowed me to do one strip because if I had done the whole thing, I would have taken another week. He however made me trade my stencil paint for a can of spray paint. I kicked and screamed and he took the spray can away and did it himself. I have to admit, it turned out great! Who knew The Mister had tagger skills. I should drop him off at the LA River so he can really go at it. The Mister also decided to put some carpet down on the floor and it left us with a closet begging for shelving. And we gave it just that.

The Container Store in Pasadena helped us figure out what we needed and we ended it up with great storage. Pics from start to finish.

p.s. the pink hue is from a covering that we have on our windows. The room is not pink and neither is the closet.

p.p.s. We unpacked 8 boxes and we still have room in that closet for all the linens that need to go in there. Great investment.




Journal Entry 1- September, Drowning, and Checklists



Dear Diary,

Yes we are alive. But barely. This has been the most challenging month to date. We have had great moments and not so great moments. The great moments? Our anniversary which we almost forgot and getting the kitchen almost finished. The not so great moments? Re-doing things that were supposedly finished and having unexpected costs come to light.

This September last year we began our house hunting. Can you believe we have been at this for a year? We've been climbing our version of Mt. Everest for a whole year and counting. Buying a house in LA has been quite a journey. Don't get me wrong, I have no regrets and I would never take it back. I am very proud that we own a home here. And I LOVE the home we ended up with. We have accomplished a huge feat and to those who have purchased in Los Angeles, you understand completely what I mean by that. However, we are ready to get back to life.

This month has been hard. We are still not unpacked. It's one thing to have books and knick knacks in boxes. But when you have clothes and shoes still in bags it creates chaos. It's hard to concentrate when your stuff is in disarray. We don't have closets in our bedroom and won't for a while and that is proving to be difficult. I never realized the little things I have taken for granted. Imagine all your clothes, shoes, undergarments, in plastic bags surrounded by the unpacked boxes of knick knacks and you will have a peek into our lives. Anyone feel like they are choking yet just thinking about it?

We made a checklist of things that have to get done. And they will get done in due time. We were putting so much pressure on ourselves to get everything finished that we felt like we were drowning. I still feel incredibly overwhelmed. And I have come to terms with the fact that I will continue to feel like that for a while. But we have prioritized. It's one thing at a time from now on.

Checklist
  1. ORGANIZE OFFICE CLOSET
  2. ORGANIZE ALL OF THE COMPONENTS IN THE LIVING ROOM
  3. GET CLOSETS IN OUR BEDROOM BUT ONLY AFTER WE PAY OUR TAXES IN OCTOBER.
  4. PUT CLOTHES IN CLOSETS SO WE CAN CLEAR THE OFFICE
  5. PAINT THE OFFICE
  6. SET UP THE OFFICE
  7. PURCHASE MISSING CROWN MOLDING THAT OUR FIRST CONTRACTOR THREW OUT.
  8. GET BLINDS AND CURTAINS
  9. FENCE (OH THOSE PESKY NEIGHBORS)
  10. PUT IN A WORKING FIREPLACE
  11. GET A PROPER BED
  12. SET UP DINING ROOM
  13. PAINT THE HOUSE EVENTUALLY...
  14. LANDSCAPING EVENTUALLY...
  15. SELL THE HOUSE... MAYBE?