what makes a house a home?

Well, Carlos Rossi, of course.



Food to come later. Hopefully.

on second thought

I'm taking the Marines and engaging a stealth mission: We're going to the bins on Thursday and packing my stuff up and bringing it home!

MOVING DAY IS ON!!!!

EFF!

I'm so mad. I didn't call the storage company until this weekend to arrange for them to drop off my bins on Thursday, which was to be MOVING DAY!!!! and they are booked until August 10, which means I can't move in until August 11. DAMMIT!!!!

To cheer myself up I am posting some before pictures so I can post some after pictures later this week. There's been granite drama and pendant light chaos, so I'll update on that stuff later, when I've cooled off regarding the postponement of MOVING DAY!!!!

that's a nice broach you have there. I mean, pendant.

So now I'm on the hunt for pendant lights. Two. So far I like:

Kinda boring, but inexpensive, which is the key word:

This one doesn't work because I have to have two separate lights -- or at least two separate wires -- but I still like it.

And then there's simple. Classic. Refined. Restoration Hardware.

And, of course, Expo brings the heat:

And now I bring you: pure bliss.

25 and so on top of things

This is mostly for my mother's benefit, but I would just like to brag that it is only July 17 and I have already paid my mortgage. Woohoo!

Mostly I did it to get it out of my account so I wouldn't spend it on shoes.

Shower power!

So I have a shower! Which is nice. Long story short, we decided to forgo the bath and just install a shower. I'm very happy with this choice, because I love nice showers. He tiled the floor and the walls and added some corner ledges:





I know it doesn't look amazing, but he hasn't grouted it yet, so I know it will by tomorrow. And it will look especially amazing once I pick out a fantabulous shower door. Woot!!!

My new dilemma is this: My contractor bought the lighting for over the breakfast bar, and I'm not happy with it. It's track lighting, and I prefer pendant.



Here's a closer look.



So I think I'll be calling him tomorrow to tell him to return that, and leave the buying of all things pretty to the expert: me.

MS Paint did a pretty good likeness, doncha think?

The tile turned out so pretty. I love it!

Perez Hilton meets Flip This House

Renovation on my place started yesterday, so I was there today to see the progress and sign for the appliances. I took some pictures and then had some fun with MS Paint.

Here's my kitchen, sans appliances and cabinets.

And here it is with a little help from the MS Paint interior designer, Dr. Rothchild, complete with ceramic tiles on the floor, "clean steel" appliances and cabinets.

(BTW, here's all those old cabinets in the back of my contractor's trailer:

Here's the view of the apartment from the kitchen. (There used to be a wall there.)

And here's the granite countertop and pendant lights (like my color choice?) that are soon to come.



Here's the living room, which is actually the kitchen (for now), as it is filled with the appliances and an old tub.

The bathroom, as you can see, requires some work:

But here's the MS Paint version, to give you a better idea. (Thank your lucky stars I'm not REALLY P. Hilton, or I would have drawn a little present in that potty.)

Oh, and I saved the best for last: my rat. Yes, I have a rat. Or, had rats. At one time. My contractor found two medium-size ones, a baby one, and this one (another baby). All dead from lack of food, and while I mourn their loss, let me just say that there is NO WAY IN FUCKING HELL I am living with rats. NO. No no NO. My contractor assures me the new drywall and patches will keep them out, but as you can imagine, I'm still having little spasms and frantic shaking episodes when I think about it. How quaint that I have rats, though. At least I know I'm moving up in the world. First a mouse, now a rat. Maybe my next house will have a possum under the sink.

So, without further ado, meet my rat:

Can't see it? Here's a closer look:



So as you can see, I'm very close. I just need a big WELCOME mat that says, "Except you, nasty rats."