apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I feel like I'm approximately a week behind, but still plugging away. Accomplishments:
My landing strip is done.
My hooks came and I put those up.
I fixed the loose hinge on my bathroom door.
Decluttered my books, and magazines! (no small task, I'm a magazine junkie.)
I fed the Outbox.
Tidied the TV stand.
I cook at home all the time, but last night I made apple butternut squash soup for the first time this season since it finally feels autumny. Something about chopping the bright orange veggie feels like a bit of communing with nature for this city dweller.

This weekend is going to be the home office, which is really just a tiny cabinet, that's just deep enough for my laptop. I'm terrified of this because it's the "junk closet." But I realize that once this is done, it will be amazing to have all my arts & crafts stuff easily accessible. During magazine purge, flipping thru old issues of MS Living reminded me of how much I used to enjoy it.

Seeing everyone's photo transformations and projects has been really motivating me to keep going.

I emptied the office walk-in closet (a total mess) into the office itself and now I'm stressing out because my dad and his wife are coming over and I need to deal with everything TONIGHT to make room for the bed they'll sleep in! Help!

The good news is that dad is coming with all of my paint and he's going to help me install some lighting fixtures. I also bought shelves for the bathroom vanity and cooked a lot. I'm starting to run low on funds so the curtains will have to wait. I'm not doing so good with the "going to bed early"part - that's always very hard for me.

A bunch of neighbours and I went to the opening of a show about the history of the building I live in: the old Viau cookie factory. It was amazing! There was a bunch of old dudes who worked there for 40-50 years making cookies and candies. I talked to one fo them, monsieur Larouche, and he explained what kind of candy used to be prepared in my loft unit, where he worked, what they did on their break. It's like I'm closer to my home now that I know a bit more about what it has seen it its 100 years history.

I took some pics of the expo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/allabouteve/sets/72157602357529292/

accomplishments:
cleaned the whole apartment, including washing floors & cleaning assorted other areas for the first time since I moved in 5 months ago
had yard sale & gave leftovers to good will, thereby clearing about 1/4 of my books, and 4 boxes of not-needed junk
cooked dinner at least once a week for 5 weeks now, even had people over twice for said dinners
landing strip is going to be completed this weekend
repaired closet door, 2 windows, and had landlord repair (by removing since they were unnecessary clutter) 2 add'l doors

Mostly, the big accomplishment was getting through the big, huge, painful, sweat-inducing amount of cleaning, and finding out that underneath all the clutter and junk and unnecessary items --- and dust and dust and dust!!! --- was a really nice space that I love. I'm actually taking this weekend off from the cure to just sit and enjoy what I've got - a home that is comfortable, a little bit stylish, and really really me. Well, mostly off, I do plan to finish the landing strip and investigate a wireless router & etc, oh and cook, hmm maybe I'm not actually taking the weekend off!

Little Opal - I totally want that chair - the price is great! But I'm in DC.

Yeah, I agree - that chair is a steal! Does it seem well-built? Any sense of shipping charges to the northeastern US?

I've only been home three days in the last month (and part of that was for a family emergency) so I am definitely feeling behind. I've also scaled down my ambition, realizing that I have neither the budget nor the time for a complete makeover. So I've decided to concentrate on the deep clean for this cure, as well as a few changes such as painting the floor.

WHAT I'VE ACCOMPLISHED SO FAR
BONES
- Swept and mopped the entire house twice
- Made my own earth-friendly cleaners (they work really well! Though know I'd like to find pretty spray bottles to put them in rather than the ones from the hardware store)
- Cleaned kitchen top to bottom, including deep cleaning oven & stove, ugh.
- “Repaired” slat on far wall (had been putting it off for weeks, because I needed a ladder and glue. It turned out I just needed to push it back in; it took about a second and a half of “work.”
- Cleaned windowsill, which also serves as my bedside table.
- Removed screens from windows, since it's now fall and having the windows open was starting to feel chilly.

BREATH
- Gone through a box I’d been storing since a work trip to Spain (I was writing a travel book... in 1990!) I found I’d been storing mostly promotional materials, although I found some great stuff including two old letters from my best friend, who passed away ten years ago. This alone made the whole cure priceless).
- Given away a TV, a record player, a printer, and three boxes of random goods
- Edited all books (I really need more bookshelves instead, though)
- Put aside a box of books to sell at the Strand
- Put aside a box of more expensive electronic/music equipment to sell on Craigslist or elsewhere
- Cleaned out my “landing strip” and added a mirror above it (street find!)
- Moved all electronic/soldering stuff on left side of desk to closet storage; replaced with books and dissertation piles
- Decided not to make any major changes while I am working on my dissertation

HEART
- Bought fresh flowers each week (that I’ve been home)
- Moved the blue vase to window
- Decided on a general color scheme (white/natural, teal, red-orange, grass green)

HEAD
- Chosen a date for my housewarming

Wow, that list is longer than I thought. Apologies... but it makes me feel a little better about my progress. I am also about to upload pictures of my landing strip.

At this point my “to-do” list is down to three items (not including the books and files mess). I still have to fix one of the floor lamps, change out the closet door handles, and get some more pegs and one additional shelf for my closet system.

There was another family emergency so all I did this week was to change the broken lampshade on the bedside light and get the “innards” for the sconce.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7340332@N05/

betsbillabong - you did all that in 3 days?

I'm going out of town through Monday, so no Curing this weekend, but then I'm back, baby!

East Village Amy -- I feel your pain. I'm a recovering magazine junkie myself.

Eve -- the history of older buildings can be fun. The one I live in started out life as a manufacturing building, but was converted to offices. It is said that one of the businesses here was a CIA front. Sometime in the 70s it became an apartment building.

Betsbillabong -- I'm impressed and depressed. I'll never get that much done even in three months.

We're a bit stalled out money- and time-wise, so we're focusing on small things and trying not to fall too far behind. We're still plugging away, though!

One major repair we're in the process of making is getting our defective mattress replaced. I delegated that one to my husband and he's been doing a great job of it. The warranty guy was out to our place the other day and said that it's definitely a defect and is covered (basically a random piece of wire is sticking out of the corner), so we should hear back from the manufacturer in a few weeks about a replacement. That may mean it gets replaced after the cure's over, but this gave us the incentive to do it!

I've also been doing some smaller repair and organizational stuff:

- Replaced the labels on my filing system, which for some reason were missing
- Bought new office supply boxes at Ikea that match the new color scheme in the study
- Attempted to buy the bowls I chose for kitchen counter storage, but they were out of stock, so when we get money I'll order from Amazon

- Bought a furniture pencil/crayon to repair both a scratch the cat made on a nice wooden bench and some streaky pine-colored lines that opened up on our dark brown West Elm bed frame last year just after we got it (wasn't happy about that!)
- Finalized paint color for the kitchen (Behr's Sea Sprite) and narrowed it to two for the study (Behr's Parsley and another one I don't remember the name of offhand)
- Received new towels and dishcloths in the mail for the kitchen and we're really happy with the color (red!)

Also finalized and purchased both curtain rods for the kitchen/study and picture frames for the study (still need to order prints). They're all ready to go up after we paint.

I'm totally impressed by everyone's work.

EastVillageAmy, maybe we're at more or less the same pace, behind everyone else but plugging away! Apple butternut squash soup sounds like the consummate fall dish. I'll have to look for a recipe.

Eve, I hope you got everything cleared out in time. I always feel like I am doing all that last minute stuff when my family shows up... I'm hoping this cure will cure me of that. I'm sure he was just happy to see you, though, no matter how clean or messy it was. Besides, your place looks amazing.

LizB, glad to hear that you love your place underneath everything. I'm still excavating but hoping to find that's the case with me, too.

Pixie, no, not in 3 days - that's what I've done since the Fall cure began. But a lot of the outbox stuff happened in the last few days (Spain box, electronic stuff, books). I'm a little scared about the inevitable closet cleanup that must be coming next.

Jonathan, I am amazed and impressed that you only have 3 things left. That's awesome.

And Pearlandopal, it sounds like you are totally cruising. I am just about to start the whole paint-color-selecting process and I'm a bit intimidated. I know there will be too many colors to choose from and I'm not good at decisions!

Anyhow, I think my list looks more impressive... I don't think I've actually done anything more than anyone else, since I'm just following the book... I just wrote down everything I could.

Happy curing. I'm scared of my files.

I toast all of you! I tackled my files tonight and have to organize tomorrow. My big project this weekend is either staining or pickling the wood on my built-in desk. I'm not handy at all and nervous about it but figure if I screw it up, it's my own place so I can deal with it!

grae-man: thank you.

betsbillabong: well, the overall list was shortened as a result of the organizer. I cut the list down to what was "doable" in the amount of time I had to do it. I like to think of it as the power of positive cheating.

Great job, everyone!!

I've gotten a lot done in my apartment!! I've been getting to know my neighbor directly across the hall, Elyse, a lot the last couple days. She's great, I can see us getting to be great friends! We went to the container store together on my day off and bought a bunch of stuff, and then motivated each other by checking to see how much we'd each gotten done.

I bought these paper blinds (at BBB) that you cut to the right width and paste into place for only $5, fantastic until I figure out what I finally want and find something I fit. I got a rod that you hang from the top rod in the closet so there's twice as much hanging space, and moved the drawers that were there around to maximize the closet space. I put together my shoe rack and crammed my shoes on it instead of all being in one big pile. I fixed my countertop which sagged so that the drawer wouldn't close by cramming a roll of pennies underneath it (took me a while to figure that one out!). I got an over the door triple towel rod for the bathroom, and a corner stand for the tub, and an over the door set of hooks for the coat closet. I also but a bunch of books and notes in one of the tall kitchen cabinets that I can't reach without a stepstool anyway.

So things are coming along! I will try to post some pictures this weekend.

Just had to pop in with a cheer for everyone! You're doing an awesome job, you guys!

And JonathanB -- I love the phrase (and the idea) "the power of positive cheating". Sounds right up my alley.

Smallcitybeth:

Thanks. It's also the title of the best-seller I'll never write.

Nice to see everyone is doing so good. I'm truly impressed when I see everyone's houses changing.

I haven't had the time to do a lot this week since and believe me... it was a LOOONG week... -->I was just offered to teach the two more french classes in the school which is unexpected and a lot more work but a very positive thing :)

I was kind of surprised and felt like a child who was caught when I read what Maxwell said about this week being the week when a lot a people drop off. I was just thinking about dropping off and putting all of that to later this year but you have me conviced and I'm rolling my sleeves up and tackling the office (which is in the worst shape and it might take me 2 weeks actually)

I'll try to post some pictures later on.

Here's what I haven't done yet:

Bones:
* Mop kitchen/bathroom
* Buy paper shredder (I have a HUGE pile to shred from my files)
* Get rid of old computer

Breath:
* Tackle the cord octopus
* 1 day media fast

Heart:
* Choose hard/soft items to add/subtract

Head:
* Eat at home Sunday through Monday (excuses, excuses: this is hard to schedule!)
* Get to bed early

To try and focus on what I have done, I'm most proud of my accomplishments in:
-Framed art for living room - finally! http://www.poweredbytofu.com/2007/10/07/apartment-therapy-week-4-recap/

-Cooking!
http://www.poweredbytofu.com/2007/10/13/ill-stir-fry-you-in-my-wok/

@betsbillabong: I know, it didn't seem like much, but when I wrote it all down I suddenly realized how much I /was/ accomplishing!

Re: the orange chair, there are more info here:

http://members.shaw.ca/lunarlounge/bokz%20arm%20chair.html

I found it on ebay, though I need brown and not orange, so I would have to order directly.

They claim handmade, so quality is probably pretty high. For the most part, their ebay feedback is extremely positive, and the negs are ones that make you shake your head.

but what is that in Krisalis903's vase?...

Congrats everyone on the great work...it's amazing to see everyones accomplishment lists...

I'll post mine tomorrow...after i actually accomplish something for the week...

This week we painted the dining room. Hooray! Many thanks to Jonathan B, Wende in Phoenix and Patrick (the other one) for input on selecting a colour. We just have to do the ceiling (stucco; shudder) and then reassemble the room.

I also washed down the back door entry way, including washing some very delicate hand printed curtains that hadn't been washed in, oh, 9 years. Yuck. Happy to say it washed up beautifully.

I applied a crackle finish to my large horizontal dresser--tried to make it look like barnboard. I succeeded: but I'm not sure I like it.

I hung drapes in the living room (finally) and decided not to hem them, even though they "puddle" by about 3 1/2 inches on the floor.

The husband reattached the hinges to the door frame of our son's room, so now the ten year old can actually close his door and keep his sister OUT of his room! (He's happy).

I vaccumed my stairwell and front and back entry way. (No small feat with the contents of the darn dining room lining the stairs and the hall....)

I can't think of anything else we got done this week (except also watching the entire second season of CSI:NY) but we're still plugging away....

(Aside to no one in particular and everyone in general -- Alana can't think of anything else she's accomplished this week, meantime she's accomplished more than I would even think of tackling... as usual...)

Way to go, Alana!

As for what's in that vase of Krisalis903's, I think it's a bulb (although my sugar deprived soul saw it as an icecream sundae at first...)

Now to the main purpose of my comment --

I'm very pleased with the way my Office/Study/Writing Room has turned out, and I'd like to invite all of you over to see it! 6 new pictures are on my Flickr, link in my profile (and oops, I forgot to add them to the Chicago Flickr group... must do that pronto!)

I haven't been able to Cure much over the last 2 weeks, but my husband likes our clean kitchen so much (from Week 2), that he's gotten more involved, which has been great.

Last weekend we reorganized our front entryway. It's more of an airport than a landing strip, but it's much more functional and spacious now. Plus, since he was involved in the design and planning, my husband is invested in the upkeep!

Yesterday we finally hung curtains in our LR and DR, a project that's been on our To Do list for 2 years. It didn't take nearly as long as I had feared...

We went apple/pumpkin picking yesterday, so we have a pumpkin in our entryway instead of flowers this week. We've got two sets of friends coming over for meals this week, so we will be doing a lot of cooking and cleaning.

When my husband is out of town next weekend, I'm hoping to do a lot of catch-up with the cure: especially emptying the Outbox (which has taken over my basement) and filing 3 months worth of personal papers. I'm also hoping to spend some time in my little garden, thinning out the daffodil bulbs and getting ready for the winter...

Just writing this, I feel less off-track than I'd thought. I'll get some In Progress pictures posted to the flickr group soon...

Great work, everyone. I'm certainly one of those people that could drop out (well, postpone the work) if it weren't for seeing how hard everyone else is working and how much you've all accomplished.

Last week was a bit of a washout for me and I didn't get the walls and ceilings painted due to dizziness. All I got around to doing was ordering a print for the kitchen and fiddly-faddling about with a few other minor things.

However, today I started attacking one of the last remaining outposts of grimness in my home - the understairs cupboard. This week will be spent saw in hand trying to make shelving / shoe racks / doors to fit the tiny space. I have identified 101 things that need to live there and am determined that each one will have a dedicated home.

I should also do all the painting I didn't do last week, but we'll see. I'm praying for rain, because if it rains heavily my builder friend won't be able to do the work he had lined up for this week and will be able to do my painting instead. Does anyone know a good rain dance?

Does anyone know of a good place to get candles? I'm really picky with candles (and I hate the smell of most candles), so I don't want to order online. Bath & Body Works used to have a line called Le Couvent des Minimes (a L'Occitane licensed brand), that was really great, but it looks like they've discontinued it :(

tofupower:

perhaps L'Occitane itself? It's a chain as well as a Web site and a catalogue, so there might be a shop near you.

I like the Ambre scent there myself, but that's just me.

Still not much improvement in the office - I can't do much more until I buy shelves for the walk-in closet and a filing cart for my papers. BUT I've already done the bathroom - I needed something to feel good about and this was not something I had to buy stuff to accomplish. It's all organized and clean!

I vaccumed but did not mop.

My dad brought my paint! He's coming over in 2 weeks to help me paint everything. What a nice dad I have. :)

We're slowing down, but we're still on track for a housewarming on November 10th.

And today...we begin painting. Rawr!

Well, the husband has finished the dining room ceiling. And apparently it really is done, 'cause we didn't buy enough paint to do two coats--even though the paint store lady said two quarts ought to be enough.

It took 1 quart and 1/2 to do one coat on 110 sq feet of a stucco ceiling: just in case you need to know how to calculate paint. Yikes, that's seems like a lot.

Oh well, HOORAY!! Now I can move all the stuff back into the room over the next few days (after I get some shelves up and the Expedit assembled, of course) and get it out of all the other rooms!

viaKendra--yes, it can be amazing what happens when the other half gets involved and invested in the project. Glad for you.

Zooza--I hope your dizziness has passed. That's worrisome. And 101 items? That's a lot of orphans.

Marcelo--what colour did you decide to go with?

This thread is much more sociable than the SF thread. I'm coming back.

There hasn't exactly been that much visual change - I posted new pics of my test rearrangement for my office, but I didn't take pictures of most everything else I've been doing. I'm pretty happy with the office right now, I'll post a pic of the new arrangement, I think it uses the space a bit better. I seem to be just trying to do the whole Cure and also cure the kitchen concurrently, but both are going pretty slow. But I'm pretty ok for office week, at least. Or I will be if I can get that closet a little better organized! It's the last office goal other than getting the new art framed because it's a major storage area for me and Matt keeps sneaking random stuff in there that throws me off.

What I have been doing is:
bought a new piece of art for the office,
rearranged a lot of other art in the house,
moved bookshelves,
cleaned out a batch of books and CDs to sell,
cleaned my desk and dusted the whole office area,
and cleaned the microwave (yuck).

But mostly, cooking, cooking, cooking! Roast chicken, chicken and mushroom curry, matzoh ball soup, fritatta, and next is squash soup! I am trying to think of what else to do in my attempted kitchen cure other than keep cooking and keep cleaning out bits, looks like the next bit to clean will be the freezer - somehow, something sticky spilled all over inside the door. Bleah.

every time there's a cure the lists of "things done" get longer. i think its connected to the drop off reason ... you feel you've done "a lot" but not enough, so you're either driven into overdrive, or "let me postpone". :-)

my bedroom is here: http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/post-your-baby/readers-bedrooms-olyas-gift-018679
;-)

while i am not really doing the cure in the past week i've done a mini cure. cleaned out fridge and pantry shelf, and pantry closet out of all old food. 2 black bags worth! yikes. makes me feel horrible for being so wasteful. at least we're on a healthier schedule now that i'm working 9-5 and can pack leftovers.

the office is the toughest area to tackle too... i keep delaying taking apart my plastic drawers full of randomness and buying a pretty set of nice drawers as a present for completing it.

ya'll who managed to beat the beast of the office/desk ROCK!

and the boyfriened is now husband - and that reno i have done in february was pretty much a deep cure singe room combined - so definitely worth doing either one! ;)

Ok, thankfully I got some stuff done this afternoon...I was worried I'd have nothing to post this week...

-I created a small bar in the previously unused corner of the living room...it includes two floating shelves and stemware racks that I installed under the bar to the kithchen

-Found and hung cool new art...they are basically squares of wood painted black and then carved in a graphic pattern, so that the images are in natural wood...this could be a good DIY project...
-Finished the hook project...these are decorative wood panels that I spray painted black and added crome hooks...I made 2.5 of these a while ago, now I have 6...They hold my hand towel, hair dryer, straightener, and head bands...very functional...
-Flowers...or um...goards and tiny pumpkins this week...they were too cute to pass up...
-Vaccumed
-Dusted
-Got rid of outbox items purged last week...

Pics are here: http://blackwhiteyellow.blogspot.com/

"And today...we begin painting. Rawr!"

Marcelo...I love the enthusiastic Rawr..

I tamed the Cord Octopus! This was my top accomplishment this week, and I'm really excited with how it has de-cluttered my living room.

BEFORE and AFTER pics are here:
http://www.poweredbytofu.com

Alana - we're leaning towards a red like the rug, but that's by no means finite. But the painting we did do today was chalkboard for the alcove/dining area. It looks hot. I'll take a picture when I have a chance.

thanks for posting the mug but
you got me wrong - my family hasn't got a long "mug tradition"

!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

i was just saying that this mug has survived several generations
and that the mug is 'located' in my family's weekend residence.


best wishes, Ram

I'm SO impressed with everyone's accomplishments and eager to start Curing again after I get back from my long weekend away visiting relatives!

Jess2nola - love that Lille shop site you posted on your blog.

poweredbytofu - Nice!

I didn't get to make too much progress this weekend... the most exciting thing I think was that a mirror I had bought on ebay finally arrived and I promptly hung it in our entry way. Boyfriend's grandmother visited on Sunday and brought with her two more painted dining room chairs, a bench, a painting of a butterfly, and 8 dresser drawers. The chairs look great except that the table is way too small for four chairs. Buying a new table was not something we planned to do anytime soon. The bench was supposed to go at the foot of our bed but its much too large. Its currently sitting in the entry way. It makes the entry way (not very big to begin with) even smaller so it might go. Its only Ikea though so I wouldn't feel terrible about it. The dresser drawers belong to the dresser she is apparently bringing up this coming Saturday. While I am excited to finally have a real dresser its pretty annoying to step over all these drawers for a week. I'm not sure why she brought them up this weekend... I do not like the painting she brought. I think it was done by boyfriend's great grandmother but it matches nothing in our apartment. I remember seeing it shoved into a corner last time we were there so I'm fairly certain she just wanted to get rid of it. I will try sending it back with her next weekend.

Does anyone else have the problem of family members cleaning out their own houses and cluttering up your house with furniture and knick knacks in the process? I am very thankful for all the furniture she's given us (student budget) but the lady doesn't take no for an answer.

Besides that, I ordered curtains and shades (not the ones I wanted but ones I could actually afford) for the living room. Lets hope the second time is the charm.

This weekend was a test for my family- my husband and I did a weekend long media fast. I was off the grid sat and sunday- my husband for sat and all of the day Sunday- but he had to log on to work Sun. night.
The grandparents watched my son so we could work this weekend. We cleaned out the basement family room (it was like a" before" on Clean House) waist high and full of boxes and extra assorted stuff. I threw out a ton-boxed up a lot for charity, and cleaned the basement so that we can use it as a tv room. It's still the 70's down there- but it's clean. Maybe next cure we will get to re do that area. I hate the paneling and the carpet so much that words fail me.
I didn't need to do my files- they are in good condition from last cure- but I re did my fabric supply and organized it by color and type, and cleaned and organized my sewing room.
We did find out to our horror that the furnace is broken. Yikes- it's getting cold here! But the repair dudes are coming soon and we have backup electric baseboard heat in two rooms that I didn't remove when we moved in, so we won't freeze.
Good luck to everyone this week!

AmandaC, luckily (and sometimes unfortunately) I live too far from all relatives to get hand me down furniture...while it's nice, don't feel bad if it doesn't work in your home. Are you close enough to take measurements while the furniture is still in her house before it actually enters your home? If so, if you got her involved in the process, it might make it easier to say no, if you know it won't work...Otherwise don't feel bad about getting rid of it, especially if it's Ikea and not a family heirloom...

Pixie: thanks...is it not one of the most amazing stores? I want one of everything...

Jess2Nola - you place is just lovely!

Jonathan B - Your new chandelier and sconce are perfect for your space. Love them!

Eve - that's so cool about to know your building's history, maybe you could get one of those old recipes for cookies and bake some for your productive papa. My building was actually the first orphanage or first boys orphanage in the city and then later became a Jewish school. I met one of the former students and apparently my apt was the girls locker room. I have the gossip apartment she told me!

Betsbillabong - the soup is super easy- sautee one chopped onion in about 2 tablespoons of butter, with about a 1/2 - 1 teaspoon of cumin, a little salt and pepper, 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne or crushed red pepper flakes if you like spicy food. add one chopped butternut squash, 6 small apples or 4 or 5 medium to large apples and 6 cups of chicken broth, though I'm pretty sure you could use veggie broth too. Let that all simmer until the squash is tender and put it in a blender or food processor and that's it. If you want a little more kick, it's great with fresh slices of jalepeno.

I feel behind, but I don't think I actually am yet. Likely because I've found/done things not for the week at hand while sorting out my big challenge--the living room.

Last weekend, I found a darling modern, white, iron 40's bed on Craigslist for only $40 and did the minor repairs needed. Then I U-Hauled it home, took my old bed to my parents' house along with the furniture I refinished this weekend. I hope to finish the refinishing this week since my arm gave out after two days of scraping and sanding!

I finally have a plan and color scheme down for rooms. My roommate is on-board and helping me out now, which is really nice. Most importantly, I've come to accept what can't be changed in a rental, and have found good solutions for what I can change. I'll put up pics in my Chicago group later this week when I finish up my refinished tables.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/40417709@N00/sets/72157601974945891/

Hi AT:NY,

I've been working on the Cure out in SF and mostly posting at AT:SF and on flickr.

As I've enjoyed your tasteful posts here, my question to you (which ties into this week's lighting assignment) is where do you shop for your favorite lighting of all varieties? I've been doing a fairly extensive search for all types...floor, pendant, table, exterior. I love David Weeks' work, but the prices are a bit more than I'd like to spend right now.

I love to support the smaller manufacturers. Most pressing for me is the choosing of a kitchen sink pendant that is no taller than 8" in height or diameter.

I've noticed that some amazing British and European designs can be fairly affordable as compared to American innovators. Does it cost a lot to rewire for USA AC?

The painted alcove wall!

Before:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mteson/1251970453/

After:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mteson/1584223333/

We're going to be adding some shelving and stuff to hang kitchen tools from, as well as a tall bar-height table and stools. We were going to attach something to the wall but we love using the entire wall to draw on too damn much.

We're so happy with it, and painting it took only a few hours! It's not the most perfect job in the world, but it'll definitely do. And it's inspired us to get cracking elsewhere!

Marcelo...it looks really good..congrats!

Jess, thanks for the advice. Boyfriend agreed that ugly butterfuly painting will be sent back w/ her this coming weekend. She's usually pretty good about asking us if we want something and then emailing us a picture. I think I got overwhelmed this time because it was a lot at once.... Also, we used to be able to say no to everything because our apartment was really tiny. Now that we've moved into a bigger space my biggest fear is that we'll fill it/junk it up with too much stuff. After this bureau I'm done with furniture. no more!

I also now have 10 chairs in my apartment. This includes LR chairs, a stool, a kitchen step stool/chair, office chair and kitchen chairs. Trust me though, its too many.

I've been traveling the last couple of weeks, but I'm back and ready to pick-up where I left off: Finishing the kitchen, measuring my hall closet to buy some shelves and get ready to to the hall & landing strip, and making space by getting rid of stuff in the outbox. Hopefully by the end of this week, I'll have made some more substantial progress (because I'm really feeling "behind" now).

Due to the huge storms yesterday we were on a media fast (again) no phone, no power. We live in the middle of nowhere- so no water either- we have a pump! It was a long Thursday. But, my 3 yr old helped clean the bathrooms with me ( I used a gallon of bottled water and method cleaner that doesn't require after rinsing) so we did get something done and he was amused for a few hours. ( he is in the "helping" stage)

I think it's important for even small children to know how to clean up after themselves. and thanks to this cure, he's beginning to get it. He even told me to give a way a few of his toys because he didn't "need "them anymore. I just put them in a basket in case he changes his mind in a few weeks, but if he hasn't- off to the goodwill they go!

This weekend we are pulling all our outdoor stuff in and taking care of leaves and mulch etc... that is, if it doesn't rain

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