Category Archives: Shopping

Finding The Perfect Piece (or I’m Glad I Didn’t Buy Just Anything)

Posted on April 26, 2023 | Comments Off on Finding The Perfect Piece (or I’m Glad I Didn’t Buy Just Anything)

As I’ve said multiple times about getting everything set up in my home, I have a lot of things I still want to get but I’m not rushing into buying things. I want to find the right things and not just get something to have a new item. I’m also more willing to spend a bit more on things since I want to get nice pieces and something that will last. I have been lucky with a few of the things I have gotten that were cheap, but I know that’s not always the case.

I have a few different websites that I look at from time to time to search for what I still want to find. I know things online don’t change that often, but you never know when they will update what they carry and when you might find exactly what you want. It is a bit hard since I don’t know what I want for everything, but it’s usually pretty clear whether something has potential.

One of the categories I’ve been looking at online has been outdoor furniture. I have an outdoor table because it is made from extra material from my kitchen counters placed on top of 2 cheap tables. It’s a nice piece and probably fancier than what I would have bought if I was looking in a store, but I like it. But besides from broken plastic chairs that came with my condo, I didn’t have any seating for my patio. So when I wanted to sit outside, I had to bring a towel with me and sit on top of that. It’s not the worst option, and it’s better than having no outdoor space, but I knew I wanted to find some seating. I had an idea of what I would want, but I also knew that would depend on what I found and the sizes of those pieces.

I was looking at the IKEA website recently and noticed they added a few new outdoor couches and chairs. And I found a set that looked like it could be perfect! It came as a loveseat as well as a chair, and I thought that those 2 could be exactly what I’ve been looking for. A lot of outdoor furniture is wood, and I had been warned that there could be a lot of maintenance with wood and needing to stain it every year. But this set was a metal mesh, so it wouldn’t have that same concern. It was more expensive than the wooden pieces, but not too unreasonable compared to what I had been looking at online.

But I wanted to make sure they were comfortable before buying, even though I knew I could always return it. So I went to the big IKEA with my friend Robert this past weekend to check them out and see if these were what I wanted. And he also had some things he wanted to look at, so it was perfect for us to go together.

We found the loveseat and chair pretty quickly and tested them out. And they were so comfortable! They are very deep, but I have the space on my patio for them (which is one of the advantages of having a patio versus a balcony). I had shown my parents these pieces before I went, and I wanted to send them a photo of how nice they were, but I only got one of the chair. But you can tell how big the chair is and can imagine what two of those side by side would be for the loveseat.

I wanted to measure my patio again before ordering, so I knew that I would be ordering them online when I got home. But I was glad that I confirmed that they were comfortable and I liked how they looked. Robert and I continued with our shopping, but I didn’t get anything other than an Icee when we were done. But he found what he needed so I considered it a very successful outing.

When I got home, I realized that I probably wouldn’t have the space to do both the loveseat and chair. I talked to my parents some more, and we figured that I should just get the loveseat and see how things look. I can always buy the chair another time if I think it would be right. And my parents said that they would buy the loveseat as an early birthday present for me!

I’m so excited to be able to use my patio more this summer. I really didn’t get much use out of it last year, but once I can build the loveseat I can enjoy my evenings and weekends out there just reading and relaxing. And I still want to probably get a few more things for my patio, but just having somewhere to sit other than on the ground is a great start!

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Default ThumbnailFinding The Perfect Gifts (or A Gift A Year In The Making) Default ThumbnailMaking My Friend Try On Wedding Dresses (or I’m So Glad She Found The Perfect Dress!) Default ThumbnailI Feel Like I’m Always Buying Stuff (or Some Small And Big Upgrades) Default ThumbnailReally Seeing What I Need To Buy Now (or I Need To Cut Back On Spending Again) Default ThumbnailStill Finding Little Ways To Upgrade (or Figuring Out What I Want To Save For) Default ThumbnailA Birthday Present For Me And My House (or Thank You Mom And Dad!)

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Reorganizing My Space (or Enjoying The Possibilities I Have)

Posted on February 17, 2023 | Comments Off on Reorganizing My Space (or Enjoying The Possibilities I Have)

When I was living at my old place, I felt like I didn’t change my furniture that often because most of the things I owned fit a very specific space and I couldn’t imagine anything else fitting there. The only real changes I can remember making were getting a new couch and tv stand. But for both of those things, I was replacing something from my place before that didn’t really fit into the tiny house I was living in at that point. But when I was moving out of that place and into my condo, I did end up getting rid of quite a few things, and many of them I had for over a decade.

I’ve slowly been upgrading things in my current place. Some of the new things I got were things I had when I moved, like my new bed. Others were things that took a bit of time to find, like my couch. And there are also some things that I am saving up for and will eventually get but I’m not in a rush to buy them. I want to make sure that I get the right things and not waste my money, so it’s taken time to find the things I want.

One of my more recent upgrades was to get a new tv and tv stand. I first set up my new tv on my old tv stand since that was the easier project. And over this past weekend, my friend Pamela came over to help me build the tv stand. I was excited to build it since the box was huge and heavy and it was taking up a lot of room in my entryway. The project ended up being harder than expected and there were a few steps that we just couldn’t figure out how to make work. So my dad is going to help me when my parents are here soon. But at least I got most of it built and it’s looking pretty good so far. The cables are a mess for now since I’m waiting until it’s done being built before organizing it, but it’s so much better than my old setup.

But after building it, I had to find a place to put my old tv stand while I work on selling it. I also need to sell my old tv but that is easier to store away for now. I had a few options for where I can put stuff, but I ended up putting the old tv stand in my office for now since the wall where I will eventually have a bookcase murphy bed is still empty. And since I put that in that room a few days ago, it’s made me wonder if I should keep it there for a while since I won’t be getting the murphy bed any time soon. I probably won’t do that since I want to sell things while I can, but it’s interesting to plan for different options that I hadn’t considered before. I’m not used to being able to have multiple options for furniture and it’s kind of fun to imagine what I can do with different things.

I’ve been so used to having to be set into a specific layout and now I feel like my mind has been opened a bit more to what I can pick with the other things I want to buy. I have been looking for new nightstands and a dresser for my room, but I’ve been looking at a lot of the same things over and over again. And now I’m expanding my search a bit more and have had some more interesting and creative ideas of what I could do. Since I don’t need to buy new things immediately and can just keep using what I have for now, I have the freedom to consider more options and I think my search might take a bit longer now that I have started looking at some different possibilities for how I can reorganize my room with new things.

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Default ThumbnailCleaning Up And Giving Things Away (or Finding More Space In My House) Default ThumbnailRecognizing Some Weird Habits (or Continuing To Work On Being Used To My New Space) Default ThumbnailBusy Building New Things (or At Least Some Of This Was Easy) Default ThumbnailTaking Advantage Of Having Extra Space (or My First Overnight Guest In My Condo) Default ThumbnailIt Doesn’t Take Much To Upgrade A Space (or A Multi-Day Furniture Build) Default ThumbnailA Bookcase Makeover (or A Free Upgrade To My Space)

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More Proof Of My Strength (or I Love Seeing Results Of My Workouts In Real Life)

Posted on February 3, 2023 | 1 comment

I know that I do the best I can in my workouts each week. Sometimes that means I’m working harder and sometimes that means I’m going a bit easier. But I always make my best effort and try because I do want to see results. Seeing results hasn’t been the easiest thing for me and that can be very frustrating. I feel like for the work that I do, I should be seeing more changes in my body. And I know that there are probably some changes that are happening that I can’t see, but I wish that there were some visible results from time to time to encourage me to keep going.

I’ve had a few moments since starting at Orangetheory that I have seen my strength and it’s surprised me. I know that I’m strong, but when 20-pound weights seem heavy in a workout it’s crazy to think that I can lift several times that if I’m doing something in my regular life. And maybe the real-world experiences have to do with being stubborn and not just my strength. And I had an example of that this week.

I have been looking for a new tv stand pretty much since I moved into my condo. When I saw how tiny my current one looked, I knew I needed to upgrade. But I didn’t want to just spend my money on anything so I took my time looking for the right one. It was nice to not need to rush to buy something, but I also realized after looking at them for a while that I needed to make a choice because any of the ones I was looking at could work. So I picked one that felt the most unique and visually interesting and had it shipped to my house.

At my old place, deliveries were always right in front of my front door. At my current place, sometimes they bring things right to my door and sometimes they are left by the mailboxes. Our mailboxes aren’t that far from my door, I just have to go across the courtyard. And it’s never really been an issue since I haven’t ordered anything that was too heavy before. But that was until my new tv stand arrived.

I knew that I ordered something big because I was very specific in my search for the right one and I knew I needed something much bigger than what I had. But I guess I didn’t think about it too much until the box was sitting by the mailboxes and it was taller than me. And not only was it a huge box, but it also weighed over 120 pounds (at least according to the side of the box). I went to my neighbor’s door to see if maybe they could help me, but they weren’t available. And I didn’t want to leave it by the mailboxes since it could possibly be in someone’s way. So I had to figure out how to get it across the courtyard to my place.

It took a few minutes for me to safely lay the box down so it was on the side and then I worked on pushing it in small bursts. It was like how people in workouts push those weighted sleds, but it was a very awkward thing to move since it was a skinny box and I had to navigate multiple turns. Nobody was in the courtyard while I was doing this, so I didn’t have a chance to ask anyone for help. But also nobody saw how long this took me to accomplish. It felt like a second workout for the day since I had already worked out that morning. But after some time, I finally got the huge box inside my house and I could relax.

I’ll work on building the tv stand soon, but since I can open the box and take out what I need I don’t need to worry about pushing the heavy box again. But knowing that I was able to do that on my own when I thought I would need help just proved to me how strong I really am. I don’t think this means I should lift heavier weights all the time since this was a very different thing from what I do in my workouts. But it was nice to see how strong I’ve gotten and how there are results in my body even if I can’t see them when I look in the mirror.

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Default ThumbnailMy Strength In Real Life (or Helping A Friend Gave Me Some New Confidence) Default ThumbnailSome Real World Results From My Workouts (or Only Moving A Few Heavy Things) Default ThumbnailMore Proof I Need To Plan My Workouts (or Wasting More Workout Time Than I’d Like) Default ThumbnailWorkouts Feeling Familiar And Strange (or Still Adjusting To Using Real Weights) Default ThumbnailThe Motivation Struggle Is Real (or Nausea Really Kicked My Butt) Default ThumbnailTough Workout Week (or I Made It Through My 4 Workouts)

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Finding Fun In Regular Errands (or Having A Friend Tag Along Makes Things More Interesting)

Posted on December 6, 2022 | Comments Off on Finding Fun In Regular Errands (or Having A Friend Tag Along Makes Things More Interesting)

I saw something on social media a few months ago about how someone was going to start suggesting doing mundane errands with friends as hangouts instead of going to do something like get dinner or drinks. I didn’t think too much about it at the time. Still, I did remember seeing how many people commented about being single and missing the companionship of a significant other when doing things like grocery shopping and how they used to feel more like outings than errands. Because I usually do my errands at random times or without much planning ahead of time, I didn’t think about trying to do something like that.

But a friend of mine had mentioned wanting to go to Costco and they didn’t have a Costco card. I have one and I go every few months or so. I don’t usually get food items at Costco unless I’m getting something special, but I like to see what other goods they have there. I have gotten a lot of random and cool things for my place like storage baskets, dishes, and kitchen gadgets. So I made sure that I let my friend know when I was planning on going to Costco again so they could come with me.

We ended up going this past weekend after I was done with work, and I have to admit that the idea on social media about having friends come to do errands was right. It was one of the more fun times I’ve gone to Costco. I had a few things on my list, but I usually also make a loop through the store to see if there is anything else that I like because there are always new items in stock. I normally go through the store the same way each time, just because it makes sense for me to go in that order. And my friend and I were just having fun looking at all the random stuff we kept finding.

I was showing them some things that I had purchased before, like my new dishes since they were still selling those. And in the cookware area, we saw they were selling a set of dutch ovens for a pretty good price. I did need a dutch oven, but I didn’t need two. So my friend suggested we buy the set and we could each take one. That was perfect and I never would have been able to do that if I had gone shopping alone. We also ended up splitting up some food things that we saw since neither of us needed the full amount and things had individual servings.

And it was nice to have someone to show things I was looking at and get a second opinion. There was a blanket I had seen online that I thought would be nice for my couch, and I was able to show them and they helped me decide what color would be best. When I saw something I wasn’t expecting to find, like some really nice fleece PJs, they also could give an opinion on the impulse purchases.

And since they hadn’t been to Costco before, it was fun showing them around and having them be excited about what we found. We found a really cool Harry Potter cookbook in the book section and a Lego advent calendar in the holiday section. Both of those were things they wouldn’t have found at other stores but they were perfect things to get on their shopping outing with me.

Even though I was going through the store with a friend, I wasn’t there much longer than when I go alone. I think that normally, I spend a lot of time looking at stuff and trying to decide if I want them since I don’t have a friend there as a sounding board. So the extra time we spend having fun was balanced with the time I saved not having to make decisions on my own. And it was seriously so much more fun than when I go alone.

I know that I can’t do this with all my boring errands since I can’t plan when I might have to do them, but it did remind me that I could spend time with my friends doing things that don’t feel as extravagant. And that there are ways to have more fun with the things I have to do when I have the opportunity. And I think unless going to Costco in the future is a spur-of-the-moment decision, I’m going to keep trying to find friends to go with me to make it more of an adventure than an errand.

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Default ThumbnailFinding Little Things To Make Me Happy (or Shopping And Text Groups) Default ThumbnailStill Finding Little Ways To Upgrade (or Figuring Out What I Want To Save For) Default ThumbnailSuch An LA Night (or Just Having Some Fun With A Friend) Default ThumbnailA Fun Union Hangout (or Hopefully This Is The Start Of A New Regular Thing) Default ThumbnailA Free Weekday (or Planning Ahead For Fun Things) Default ThumbnailHaving Some Fun With Setting Up My Place (or Now I Can Plan Out More)

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A Busy Building Weekend (or Having My Parents Help Me Continue To Put My Place Together)

Posted on October 26, 2022 | Comments Off on A Busy Building Weekend (or Having My Parents Help Me Continue To Put My Place Together)

My parents have been able to come to LA a couple of times since we bought the condo. They hadn’t seen it before it was officially ours, which was a little odd, but they had been on Facetime with me a lot so they had an idea of what it looked like. Plus they trusted the realtor we used and looked into all the inspection details so things weren’t a big surprise for them. They also were here before the remodel started so we could finalize details such as the stone and tile we would use. They came down during the remodel to ensure things were working the way they should. And then they were here when things were technically done and I had moved in, but that was before the floors had to be redone. So they have seen my home in all different stages.

As I have gotten new things, I have shared photos or videos with them so they have been aware of the changes I’ve continued to make. But they hadn’t been able to see the place in person since right after I moved in (which was the time we found my new couch). They usually have planned their visits down here around the time they would be seeing my brother, but they had a trip to Santa Barbara earlier this where it didn’t make sense for my parents to see me because they could only be here on weekdays. I work all day, so I knew if I really wanted to see them it would have to be a weekend. So they planned a weekend in LA and then planned to see my brother around that. And we had a pretty busy weekend.

My parents brought some stuff down for me this time, including a new bark planter for me to put in my backyard.

I had bark planters at my old place, but they were really old and brittle so it was time for an upgrade. And my dad was able to make me this one and then they found a little stand with wheels so I can move it around (it’s too heavy to really lift and move). My dad also helped me out and planted the new plants I bought in it, so hopefully, I will be able to keep those plants alive.

We also had a trip to Ikea. My parents hadn’t been to Ikea before, so I figured it would be fun to go in person instead of me just ordering some things I was looking at online and having them shipped. Plus, there were a few things I was undecided on and wanted to see in person before I decided what to buy. On my list for this trip was a new vanity for my room, some storage for my bathroom, and a big full-length mirror.

I was successful in finding a new vanity, but it actually wasn’t the one I expected to get. When we looked at them in person, I found one that I liked more and that I think fit into my room better. The storage thing I was looking at for my bathroom was the right thing so I got that too. But the mirrors just weren’t the right thing for what I needed, so I’ll have to find something at another store.

Because of how Ikea is set up, we spent a while walking around and looking at the different areas and what things might work for me or inspire an idea. And while we were walking around, I found a cabinet that I had been looking at for a while but hadn’t gotten. I wanted some more shoe storage and something near my entryway to have a place to display things and just to ground the space. So I showed my parents what I had been looking at and they agreed it would be perfect as well. I wasn’t sure about the color since I had originally looked at the white one, but we decided something a little darker would be nice and a good contrast against the paint color.

When we got home from Ikea, we had a list of things to get through. There were a few other tasks I wanted some help with, like hanging some art that I hadn’t put up yet. But most of our afternoon and evening was filled with building the new cabinet and vanity. And I have to say after the cabinet was done that it was exactly the right thing to put in that space.

I haven’t put all my shoes away yet and I might use one of the drawers for something else, but it really fills in the space that you see when you walk in the door and I love that it’s really shallow so it doesn’t block my hallway too much. It really was the perfect thing for that space and I’m so glad that I got it!

Because my parents were only here for the weekend and we had a lot of things to get done, we didn’t do much else while they were here. But that’s ok since I knew this visit would be one that was spent doing a lot of random work. We didn’t get everything done that we wanted to, but a lot was accomplished. And I know the next time that they are here, I’ll have more things for us to put together and to make my home feel even more complete.

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Default ThumbnailAnother Busy Condo Weekend (or A Working Visit For My Parents) Default ThumbnailA Busy Family Weekend (or Continuing To Set Up My Home) Default ThumbnailBusy Building New Things (or At Least Some Of This Was Easy) Default ThumbnailSaturday Evening With My Parents (or I’m Posting A Little Out Of Order About My Weekend) Default ThumbnailMinor Remodeling (or Putting My Parents To Work On Their Vacation) Default ThumbnailEnjoying A Family Weekend (or Adventuring Around LA)

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This Is A Lot Of Stuff Coming Together (or Another Post About Budgeting And Spending)

Posted on October 21, 2022 | Comments Off on This Is A Lot Of Stuff Coming Together (or Another Post About Budgeting And Spending)

I just wrote about how there are things I’ve been buying for my new place and how I need to make sure I don’t buy too much. I did mention how I wanted to be careful about what I spend because I could see how things could get out of control. And because I’m trying to buy quality products, those tend to be more expensive. I know that buying something that costs a bit more will be worth it in the long run because things will last longer, but it’s tempting to buy something cheaper just to save some money.

I also have written quite a bit about budgeting and how I’ve gotten out of my habit of using different budgeting apps. I do still need to figure out what will work for me because I’m not sure if any apps I’ve used before will be the right thing. I might just have to do something really basic like using a spreadsheet or even handwriting stuff. I just haven’t felt as motivated because I’ve been in a better financial spot than I was in the past and I haven’t had to worry about affording things the way I have in the past.

But I think those things combined have really come to a head this month. I have had some new recurring expenses to deal with that I think I’m still getting used to. I also had to pay my property taxes and I decided to pay for the full year at once instead of splitting it into 2 payments. I also have a few other big expenses this month such as my homeowner insurance that I haven’t paid for. All of that plus my shopping has made my expenses this month significantly higher than normal. But because I’m not doing my usual budgeting work, I don’t think I was aware of how much higher it was until I had to log into my bank and I saw the numbers in front of me.

I’m fine and I have the money to cover what I need to cover, but I’ve realized that what I felt like I had saved up wasn’t as high as it used to be. I know that paying the property taxes was a lot of this (which is almost like paying a year of rent at one time), but it was also some of the things I bought this month that I might not have thought as much about. I used to be a lot better about comparing prices for things that I buy and being willing to buy from different places if it will save me enough. I don’t drive around and waste gas to buy stuff, but if something is cheaper at CVS than on Amazon, I would drive those few minutes to get it even though ordering from Amazon is easier. I’ve gotten lazy with buying stuff and just buying things wherever it’s convenient. I know that saving a few dollars here and there won’t make a huge difference, but it will make some difference.

I think this was the reality check that I needed. Even though I knew my expenses were higher than normal, I don’t think I knew exactly how much more it was. And it really made me start thinking about what I really need versus what I want and can wait for. And I want to be more aware of the random things I get because $20 might not seem like a lot but if I have 5 random $20 purchases a month, that’s $100. I don’t think I’m buying frivolous stuff that I didn’t need, but I do know that I have been buying stuff that I could have waited a bit longer for.

Of course, I’m saying all this before I do some furniture shopping with my parents. I know there’s a good chance I’ll be spending more than I would like this weekend because we are looking for some bigger items that I haven’t been able to get yet. But I’m also really thinking about what I really need at this time and what I might be able to spread out purchases over time. For example, I know we will be looking at patio furniture, but maybe I could just get one thing that I want, and then at a later date, I can buy something else to go with it. I’m not sure if that will end up happening, especially since I’m looking at sets of things. But at least I can be a bit more mindful of what I’m getting.

And as I’ve said multiple times already, I need to find a new way to do some budget planning and this was another gut check that I really need to start trying new systems even if they only last a month or two because I don’t want to be this unaware of my spending again. I’m lucky now that it’s not going to cause me any issues, but if this happens again I don’t know if my financial situation will be the same. And I know what it was like before and I don’t want to repeat that situation.

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Default ThumbnailBudgeting and Spending (or Sharing YNAB With A Cashier) Default ThumbnailWorking on Budgeting (or Spending Money To Save Money) Default ThumbnailReally Seeing What I Need To Buy Now (or I Need To Cut Back On Spending Again) Default ThumbnailGoing Back To An Old Habit (or Finding Control With Budgeting) Default ThumbnailFinding New Money Issues (or Looking At Doing A Fresh Budget) Default ThumbnailGetting Back On Track (or Happiness and Budgeting)

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I Feel Like I’m Always Buying Stuff (or Some Small And Big Upgrades)

Posted on October 20, 2022 | Comments Off on I Feel Like I’m Always Buying Stuff (or Some Small And Big Upgrades)

When I moved, there were obviously a lot of things I needed to buy. I tried to limit what I bought and wanted to find ways to repurpose what I already owned, but I found out that wasn’t always working for me. I would have loved to have not bought as much as I did, but also I know that the things I got made my place feel more like home and less like an unsettled space. For example, I loved my old couch but it felt so weird in my new living room and it always made it feel unfinished because there was so much extra space. Getting a couch that fits the space really made a difference. And even though there are other things I would like to upgrade, if they are usable and fit the space, I’m trying to wait to get them unless I find an amazing deal. I know I have spent a lot of money in the past few months, and I need to slow that down.

But there are 2 categories of things that I feel like I’m still buying a bit of. First are things that I didn’t have in the old place that I wanted for the new one. And the other are things that are cheap improvements or upgrades (although those can add up and be a lot of money if I get too many of them). I’m still not trying to rush into any purchases, even if they are cheap ones, because I know that’s a waste. But I’ve gotten a few more new things this past week that are helping to bring my place even more together.

There are a lot of things I have wanted to get for my guest room/office. The biggest one will be the bookcase murphy bed that I will get eventually. I thought I would get that before the end of this year, but I think it will be pushed back until next year. I have decided to hire someone to put it together, and I need to find a good handyman who will do that and make sure I budget for that as well. I also think that I would like to get a new desk eventually, but I’m in no rush to replace the one I have now. It’s just something on my mind whenever I’m looking online or at different stores to get ideas. But one thing I knew I wanted to try to find soon for that room was some additional seating. I like the idea of also making the room feel like a den or reading area since the bed I will put in there will mainly be a bookcase and only rarely used as a bed. I found a style of chair that I liked, but the chairs were pretty pricey so I wasn’t sure when I would get them. And I wanted to get two chairs just to make things look balanced, so that added to the cost.

When I was doing some online searching the other day, I was looking at the chair I was thinking I would get and decided to try to see what else was recommended if I was considering that chair. And the store suggested almost the same chair, but this one came as a pair. It was the same price as the single chair I had been looking at, so basically, each chair was half the cost. I decided that was worth it and I didn’t mind the differences, so I ordered them. And I got them and put them together the other day.

They weren’t as easy to put together as I thought they would be because the instructions were missing some steps. So when I put the first one together, it took a few tries to get everything right. But the second chair was much easier to do and now I have some nice seating that I can use in that room or in my living room if I need more chairs. And I think once I get more stuff in that room, it won’t look as stark and bare. But that will come in time.

I’m also getting ready for my family to visit me this weekend and part of what we will be doing is working on my backyard. I needed to go get some plants for a planter my dad is bringing for me, and I decided to get that plus see what other plants looked interesting. I don’t have the best track record of keeping plants alive, but at least they aren’t too expensive so if they don’t make it I didn’t waste too much money. But I only wanted to get one additional plant since I wanted to see how I did with taking care of it. I looked around the garden area of Home Depot and ended up finding these peppers that looked cool. I won’t eat these peppers, but at least I think they will add some color to my patio.

I hope I can keep these alive, but if I can’t, at least they will be nice for a month or so. But I’m really going to try to take care of them and I did get some of those watering globes so I can make sure that they are getting the right amount of water. I know that I probably over or underwater plants I have, so regulating that should help me not kill them.

I’m sure there will be more things and upgrades I buy in the near future. I know I’ll be doing some shopping when my parents are here, and those are things I have planned for. But I also know that if there are inexpensive things that I see that I know will improve my space, I will probably also be getting unplanned things too.

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Still Finding Little Ways To Upgrade (or Figuring Out What I Want To Save For)

Posted on August 26, 2022 | Comments Off on Still Finding Little Ways To Upgrade (or Figuring Out What I Want To Save For)

At the start of the pandemic, I bought a lot of new things. I think a lot of people did that, probably because there wasn’t a lot to do when everyone was staying home and a lot of people were out of work. Some of the things I bought were things I needed because I was staying home, such as stuff to work out at home. And some things I bought because I wanted to upgrade the place I was living in. I got things to organize my kitchen better, new decorations because I was bored looking at the same walls all the time, and other little upgrades of things that I didn’t need but wanted.

And when I moved, I didn’t take all of those upgraded things with me since many things were bought specifically for my old place. I didn’t need any of the kitchen organizers I got because I have 4 or 5 times the storage space in my kitchen and the organizers I’m looking at are different dimensions. I upgraded my curtains and bedding, and those wouldn’t fit into my new room. I did bring all my workout stuff with me, but they are currently in my closet since I’m not using them.

But there have been some things on my list that I wanted to upgrade for a while that I never got around to at the beginning of the pandemic. And when I found out about a year ago that I would need to find a new place, I stopped focusing on finding those things since I wanted to see what my living situation would be like. Most of these things I put on hold were for my kitchen. I’ve been wanting to get new dishes and new pots and pans for quite a while. But I also didn’t want to just get anything and not make sure it was the right thing or something I loved. I also had wanted to get new silverware, but I lucked out and found a new set that I loved right when I was planning on moving, so I didn’t bring my old ones with me in the move and just had the new ones. But I haven’t been as lucky with everything I wanted to find.

And now, I’m feeling much more settled and I have a better idea of the things I need and want. It’s probably better that I didn’t get things before I moved because I can plan out better. For example, there are some baking pans and dishes I was looking at before, and I found a new set just the other day that would fit in much better into my space that I never would have gotten at my old place because there would have been no room to store them. If I’m looking at pots and pans, I can take the measurements of my drawers and find a set that will fit in perfectly. For the dishes I will eventually buy, I can find a set that goes along with the colors of my condo instead of what colors I had at my old place. I think when I finally get some of these new things, it will feel like a big refresh of the space and I know it will be a huge upgrade since some of the things I have now aren’t in the best condition.

Of course, everything costs money, and if I’m going to invest in nice things that will cost more than if I just got something cheap that I didn’t care about. But I don’t want just buy whatever I can find on sale or for cheap. Even though some of the things I have now aren’t perfect, I can manage. Some of my dishes are chipped and can’t go through the dishwasher, so I just handwash those items and put the rest in the dishwasher. It’s not perfect, but it works. And it is giving me time to save up so I can get some very nice things and continue to upgrade my amazing home.

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Repeat Birthday Presents (or This Really Makes A Big Difference In My New Home)

Posted on July 19, 2022 | Comments Off on Repeat Birthday Presents (or This Really Makes A Big Difference In My New Home)

Now that the renovation on my new place is finally done, the work I have left is the fun stuff like decorating and getting new furniture. I put off getting quite a few things since I didn’t want to have stuff in boxes all over my place while work was still happening. But I have been doing a lot of browsing online and saving links for things that I wanted to get. There are a few things that I will have to wait to get because I need to save up for them, but it’s been fun to plan things out.

One of the few things that I ordered ahead of time was a new couch. This was something that I wasn’t originally planning on getting. I thought I might add an armchair or something else to my living room, but when my parents saw how my old couch didn’t fit well into my new living room, they said we should at least go and look at new ones while they were visiting me. And we found something we could customize a bit so it would be perfect for my new living room.

My old couch was a birthday present from my parents back in 2014. It was really the perfect couch for me when I was living at my old place. Since it was such a small space, I had to be very careful with how things were set up and the size of anything I put in my home. I was very lucky to find such a perfect couch that fit everything that I needed and I loved how my living room looked in my old place.

But my new living room is several times larger than my old one, so when I had the movers move my couch, it really didn’t fit well. Even with the original plan to add an armchair, it just didn’t seem right. I couldn’t figure out why until someone pointed out that the color seemed off now. In my old place, the walls were a yellow-based white and my couch looked gray. In my new place, the walls are a blue-based white and the couch almost looked brown. It just didn’t fit and I figured I would just keep my old couch until I found something I liked. I didn’t think I’d find one while shopping with my parents, but that’s how it all turned out. I put the purchase on a store credit card because they had an offer for a gas card with the purchase, plus there would be no interest for a year so I would have more time to pay it off without having extra charges. But after I got that all set up, my parents said that they would like to help me pay for the couch for my birthday present this year. I think that is so generous of them and I love that I will still have a couch that is a birthday present!

Since I was going to have to delay the delivery of my new couch, I had some time to find a buyer for my old one. I posted about it online and a friend of a friend needed a new couch and was willing to pay close to what I was asking. I wasn’t trying to make a lot of money off of it, but I did want to get something for it. So taking a little less than asking was fine with me. The old couch was supposed to be picked up a few weeks ago. Originally, it wasn’t going to be here when my floors were redone. But the person buying it off of me was delayed, so it was here until this past weekend. I think that worked out perfectly because I was able to arrange for the delivery of the new one to also be this past weekend. And that way, I was only without a couch for 1 day instead of several weeks.

It was sad to see my old couch go since I did love it for so long. But I know that it wasn’t going to be the right thing to have in my living room to have the look I wanted. And I only had to be sad for a day before the new one was delivered. When we ordered the couch, they had a deal going on for the delivery to be white glove service, so they would set up everything and take away all packing material. So I didn’t have to worry about all the plastic and boxes that the different pieces came in. And the delivery people were very nice and willing to let me try out 2 different combinations since this sectional and be adjusted however I’d like. But I went with the original layout that we were thinking and I think that it looks perfect.

I think everyone who has seen this photo agrees that the new couch fits in so much better than the old one.

It was only delivered on Sunday and I haven’t had much time to sit on it, but it is very comfortable. And I can move the ottoman around so I can extend the couch wherever I’m sitting. It’s much better than the little square ottoman I’ve been using that is just big enough for my feet. And if I decide to make the couch a different shape, it’s pretty easy to move the different pieces around. I haven’t really lived somewhere I could do that before since at my old place, everything pretty much only had one way that it would fit into the room. Now, I have so much more space to play with and I’ve been loving it!

Just like I’ve said so many times in recent months, this is helping to make my place feel more like my home. There is still stuff to get and different decor that I want to get up, but at least now I have a couch that really fits the space and makes my living room look so comfortable and inviting.

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Having Some Fun With Setting Up My Place (or Now I Can Plan Out More)

Posted on June 30, 2022 | Comments Off on Having Some Fun With Setting Up My Place (or Now I Can Plan Out More)

A lot of getting my new place set up was put on hold until my floors were redone.  And as I wrote yesterday, I finally can get some furniture things delivered or planned out now that the floors are done. And this part of moving and living in a new place is definitely much more fun than the stress I was having with the move back in April. Of course, I am still finding more and more things that either I need to get or want to replace, so I’ll be working on this phase of my new place for a while. I lived in my old place for 12 years and I felt like I was always making changes or upgrades. And now that I have more space, that means there are more opportunities to decorate and make the space my own.

But because I can finally start getting more things bought and planned out, I knew I needed to really figure out what I want and which stores I would be ordering things from. I did order a lot online, but there have been some things that were at stores and I do like to see things in person before buying if I can. So when I was looking for a bench for my entryway, when I found a very basic and simple one at IKEA I knew I would want to go to the store to see it in person. The store isn’t super close to me, but it’s not unreasonably far either. And my friend Robert came with me so he could help me make decisions and we could have some fun wandering around the store.

The IKEA in Burbank is the largest one in the US. I had been to the old Burbank location, but this one is about twice the size. So I knew we would be there for a while and that there would be a lot of walking. But we were both prepared for that and we knew we might find some really cool random things.

We spent a lot of time just looking around at the different display rooms they have set up even though we didn’t need anything from most of them. One of the things I did want to look at besides an entryway bench was a display cabinet I was thinking about getting for next to my tv. I’m glad I did look at them in person because I realized they would not be the right thing for me and they wouldn’t go with what I already own. I realized after leaving the store that it might actually be cheaper for me to just get a new tv stand, so I’m now shopping around for those. But I didn’t think about that when we were in the store.

We did find the bench that I had been looking at online, and it seemed like it would be a good fit for what I need. I don’t need anything crazy, just something to sit on to put on shoes or for me to put my purse down. And after we found that and noted the item number for later, we started looking around at more random fun things.

I wanted to make sure I didn’t go too crazy with buying stuff, so I tried to limit what I considered. I did get some new organizers for my kitchen plus a few fun little decor items, but there were other things I was looking at, like new food storage containers, that I decided to wait on getting until I was sure I wanted something new.

We ended up being at the store for a few hours, and I was getting tired as we were leaving. We did make one quick stop at the little cafe to get slushies since it was a really hot day and I figured that would be a good treat to have on my drive home. And I’m glad I didn’t get anything too big since the box for my bench just fit into my car and I don’t know if I could have made a bigger box fit.

As soon as I got home, I built the bench. It wasn’t too hard to put together, even with the minimal instructions that you get. And while I need to organize the shoes I have there so it’s not as cluttered, I think it looks pretty nice.

I also got the organizers in my kitchen drawers, and I’m glad they fit because I forgot to measure the drawers before we went. But they ended up being perfect! I haven’t taken the decor things out of their boxes yet since I still need a place to put them, but I’m still happy with what I got because they were not expensive at all.

It was a very successful outing to get things for my condo. I got some things I needed and some things I just wanted. But they all are making my place feel more like my style and I know that as I add some more of the bigger items I’m looking at it will just continue to get better!

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