Thursday, April 1, 2010

The joys of remodeling, pt.2

Turns out there's a lot more remodeling than we had hoped for. Actually, we're really "repairing" the damage from years of "stuff."  It seems the previous building owners have just painted or patched over the original walls, fixtures, and trim.

Before I make my FIL out to be a terrible person, I should point out that we do live at the apartment rent-free.  For the past 2 years, we have constantly tried to hire out these repairs, only to receive a liplash from FIL.  He doesn't want us to hire out something we can do ourselves.  I call bullshit.  For me, if it doesn't come with instructions, I don't want to touch it.  We don't really want risk any injuries for R, especially after 2 tours of worker's comp.  My FIL has a myriad of ideas, but he's just cheap and lazy (sorry for the crass description).  He kind of starts things and then stops.  It turns into a waiting game, because we never know if he'll come back like he says. 

But I digress.

After what seems like weeks of removing "stuff." This is how far we are in the kitchen remodeling process.


See that little electrical wire above the stove? My FIL put it there a while ago (It's one of his start-stop things).  It's for our future range hood he says.  We added new plank flooring from Ikea last week.  It'll never replace the original oak (?) like the rest of the apartment.  Apparently the previous owner ripped out the original wood floorboards and replaced it with linoleum.  Imagine old linoleum from the 50s with water and sun damage, that's what we had before.  It was really, really bad.

This is another one of my FIL's start-stop projects.  He did this more than 6 months ago and just left it. There used to be a wooden wall cabinet here with glass doors.  After trying (really hard!) to restore it, R and I decided there was just too many layers of paint and damage to restore.  We had to rip it out.

This is where the sink used to be.  With help from our friend G, we ripped out the sink.  That's an old window behind the pipes there.  It also can't be fixed, so we'll cover the bottom part of the window with the new backsplash.  I'm planning to cover the top part of the window with a curtain like a real window.


To date, we've spent about $500 on materials.  We're planning to dump another $500 on some more materials. Just for the kitchen.  Hopefully, I'll have some nicer pictures next post.

Monday, March 29, 2010

Murph!

OMG, I feel like I just got kicked in the ass by Murph.

We planned for the remodeling to start tomorrow and it's been delayed!  R and our friend G has to work tomorrow.  My dad won't attempt to repair anything here on his own here because this building is old.   My FIL is even worse.  We've been having issues with the bathroom sink since we moved in, the pipes are old and should have been replaced when he began the repairs.  Instead, he decided to leave the old 50+ year old pipes and patch what he could.  He knew it was a problem, he promised to come by and fix the bathroom sink yesterday. He didn't. 


rant>

DIY Fun!

I may have injured myself during this remodeling chaos.  I'm supposed to keep my foot elevated.  We shall see what the doc says later today. It's kind of disturbing, but I'm hoping to get a doctor's note so I can take off work. 

Lest you think I got lazy, I was up to some DIY no-good.  Here's what I did.

I rescued an old picture frame.
Then I broke out my tool box. I actually didn't wind up using any tools from the box, I was so excited I forgot to take a picture of the scissors, x-acto knife, tape, and a ruler.
I bought the corkboard from Daiso for $1.50.  Rip off! It's a piece of cardboard with cork particles stuck on it. I slid the board out of its frame.
I didn't have an extra pair of hands for the next few steps, so you'll have to trust me. I basically used a placemat to cover the board and fitted the whole thing within the frame.  The mat wouldn't stay taut, so I duct-taped it, the back looks very ghetto, so I will just leave you with the front of the finished product.  I'm not sure what I'm going to use it for yet.

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Love: Tea Party Donut Pendant

My sister and I share a lot of common loves.  Here's two of them.  Sparkly necklace and donuts? Yes please!
 

Weekday Grub: Leftovers

With impending kitchen repairs, we were pressed to finish most of our food.  Here leftover tofu cubes with bok choy and leftover steak.

R wanted me to let everyone know he made the root beer float for dessert.  Here it is in all its glory:
Oh, and we ripped out the sink.  R didn't think to wash the dishes before, so he left me a beautiful surprise.
Yeah, dirty dishes in a dirty tub.  Welcome to the married life. Grr.

Friday, March 26, 2010

The joys of remodeling.

I've been remodeling.  I'll have something to post about soon.

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Love: New bowls and apron!

I heart Anthro. It's one of those guilty pleasure types of love. Just wanted to get it out there. I just really hate their absurd prices and Richard Hayne. Unfortunately for me, those two can't prevent me from sauntering into the store like one of those "30- to 40-something affluent professional women with total family annual income above $200,000." I can only dream, right?

Anyway, I was in the store the other day while waiting for a meeting to start and I picked up three bowls.  I only shop in the clearance section and can't drop more than $20 on an item. The bowls were on sale for $3.95 each. Great, 3 more bowls to add to the already growing Anthro-clearance ceramics that I've accumulated, but can't justify using.  R just hung his head in defeat. At least I put back the measuring bowls I was thisclose to buying? Here's a picture of the loot:


I don't know what I'm going to do with these bowls.  They're pretty, but I really don't have a need for them.  I think they're going into storage. Bummer. 

My other Anthro pieces are in storage, maybe one day when I get a decent kitchen, I'll bring them out for a photoshoot, along with my Anthro apron, potholder, soap dishes...I'm also sad to report that I imposed an Anthro apron on my best friend for her birthday.

Oh, I took advantage of their free shipping for the month of March and got one of these:

I think I've inherited my mother's love of ceramics. R's worried.