Tag Archives: home

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!

You Might Also Like

Default ThumbnailTired Of Online Shopping (or There Aren’t A Ton Of Great Options For Me) Default ThumbnailThis Weekend’s Shopping Adventure (or Still Trying to Find Some More Cute Dresses) Default ThumbnailAnother Unexpected Part Of Moving (or I Don’t Know Why I Didn’t Plan Better For This) Default ThumbnailA Busy Family Visit (or Making Some Choices For My New Home) Default ThumbnailMaking My House Look Fancy (or Doing Some Upgrades For The New Year) Default ThumbnailMaking Condo Hunting More Fun (or Taking Advantage Of Ways To Be Social)

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

Posted in Fun Stuff, Shopping

Tagged , , ,

One More Step Closer To Being Done (or I Can Finally Add In More Furniture)

Posted on June 29, 2022 | Comments Off on One More Step Closer To Being Done (or I Can Finally Add In More Furniture)

While the bulk of the renovation on my condo was done before I moved in, there have been a few things that needed to be completed after I moved. Most of these things are things that we noticed after I moved in such as a cabinet handle needing to be adjusted or other minor things like that. I’ve been told over and over that having a punch-up list after a renovation is normal, so I had expected this. It did feel sometimes like I had a really long list of things to have done, but most of them were very small things I wanted to be corrected so they weren’t a huge deal.

But there was one thing that needed to be fixed that was a bigger deal than others. My floors had to be redone due to an error with the installation. It wasn’t something that made my floors too horrible while I lived with them before they were fixed, but if they weren’t redone they would have had much bigger issues in the near future. So there was no other option than to have them done again. And my contractor agreed, so he ordered the new floors and we had to wait for them to arrive since they were being shipped from overseas.

The arrival date of the floors was up in the air since there were so many travel factors to consider, so I had no idea when the floors would be done until a few days ahead of time. And because I am living here now and I wasn’t going to stay at a hotel or anything else, I knew I would be living through it.

Fortunately, the contractor brought in a very big crew to work on the floors so they were able to do the majority of the intense work within one day. They had to remove my floors, sand down the concrete because there was glue on them, get the new floors, plan out the pattern, lay them down, and put my baseboards back on. There were other things that would need to be done after that, but they were able to get all of that done within a single day so I wasn’t living without floors for a few days or anything like that.

It was weird seeing the concrete after they sanded down the glue. I had seen the concrete plenty of times during the renovation, but this was with my paint on the walls, and my furniture and other decor. Things were moved around so they could work on the floors, so that was a bit odd too. When you are used to something being in one place and it’s in another, you just feel turned around. But I’m glad the floors were fixed and I have the exact same floors as I had before, just now the issues that were happening are gone.

There are still a few more things to fix around the condo, but nothing is as big as getting the floors done. So I can finally start working on getting even more set up in here. I have put off getting some new furniture or delaying the delivery of things I have ordered while I waited for the floors. But now they are done, I can finally work on getting my new stuff here. And it does feel like there is an endless supply of new things I am getting. I am learning more and more that some of the furniture I have had for a while doesn’t really work in the new space. I don’t have to replace everything right away and I am going to live with some things for a while until I replace them, but I am shopping and looking around. If I find a good deal, now I know I can order something and have it come because I don’t have to wait for the floors to be done again.

I’m hoping the rest of the punch-up list gets done soon because I am really ready for everything to be done. It feels like I’m so close to having it done, but I also know that as a homeowner there will always be an endless list of things to do, fix, change, or plan out.

You Might Also Like

Default ThumbnailOne Step Closer To Moving (or My First HOA Meeting) Default ThumbnailHaving Issues At Both Places (or I Know These Are Small Problems, But They Add Up) Default ThumbnailA Transition Of What Feels Like Home (or Getting Even Closer To Moving) Default ThumbnailIt Doesn’t Take Much To Upgrade A Space (or A Multi-Day Furniture Build) Default ThumbnailNot Fully Able To Unpack (or I Think The Move Prepared Me For This) Default ThumbnailAnother Sunday Of Condo Hunting (or Being A Bit Clueless For The Next Step)

Comments Off on One More Step Closer To Being Done (or I Can Finally Add In More Furniture)

Posted in Fun Stuff

Tagged ,

The Projects Might Never End (or I Will Always Be Doing New Things)

Posted on June 14, 2022 | Comments Off on The Projects Might Never End (or I Will Always Be Doing New Things)

Obviously, most of the work on my condo is done. And most of the work was not done by me, but that was also the major work. I never expected that I would be installing flooring or tiles or doing electrical work. The work the contractor did helped to put my place at almost a clean slate (although a lot of things were done because the design was a part of the big work). So ever since I moved in, I have been doing lots of little things.

For the first month, most of the work was about getting moved in and getting things out of boxes and into where I wanted them. I also went through a lot of the stuff I moved and continued to decide if I really wanted those things or if I wanted to get rid of them. I really felt like I had done a good job with getting rid of stuff before the move, and I did. But there was a lot more that I could have gone through. But maybe I needed to see some of my things in a new space to understand that I didn’t want or need them anymore. And I do still have some boxes to work through, but I’m almost done with that work.

So now, I’m in the phase where I’m starting to really organize my things and see how I can make my space the most efficient it can be. I am a bit limited in what I can do since things will be moved when my floors are fixed, but I’ve been working on what I can do now. And this has been a series of interesting projects for me.

For so long, things had to fit a very specific way in my home. I only could fit some things in certain ways and there wasn’t really a way to change that up. But now, I have so much more space and I don’t have to keep myself as limited in how I have my things. A good example is a project I worked on this past weekend: organizing my tools.

I’m lucky that my dad has gotten me some great tools so I have a lot of what I might need to fix things or put things together. I’m sure I had some tools when I lived in the dorms, but I really started getting a good tool collection when I moved into my first apartment when I was 20. I had a toolbox that I tried to keep as organized as possible. And not too long ago, my dad got me a tool bag to keep all my things organized. This took up less space than the toolbox but had more room inside. But it also made it so most of my things were just in the middle of this bag because the pockets on the outside and inside were small and only fit a few things.

I moved with the tool bag to the condo and have kept my tools in there, except my collection has grown so I also had things in a few other random bags. Everything was still in my living room since I have been working on random projects, so I decided to plan out something better for myself because I didn’t have to keep everything together the same way.

I will be getting a skinny storage cabinet for my coat closet soon (I just need to order it), and my plan is to use it for a few things including all my tools. And I realized that because I will have a bunch of shelves, I can group my tools together and make it a lot easier for me to find something when I need to grab some tape or a screwdriver. I had also recently gotten more plastic organizers that I use for my desk, and because they came in a giant set I had a lot of extras. So I got all my tools and put things into categories that made sense to me. I don’t have everything put away just yet, but I’m very happy with how things look before I get the storage cabinet.

I know everyone says that when you own a place you will always have house projects to do. So far, that’s been very true for me, although most of these projects have been about moving in. But know that I will have a lot of projects going forward and having my tools easier to find like this should make those projects a bit easier on me.

You Might Also Like

Default ThumbnailA New Reason To Do Big Cleaning Projects (or Putting Other Projects On Hold For Now) Default ThumbnailA Few More Projects At My New Place (or These Might Be The Last Little Projects I Do For A While) Default ThumbnailCleaning Up And Giving Things Away (or Finding More Space In My House) Default ThumbnailStill Doing More House Projects (or Just Trying To Find Busy Work) Default ThumbnailGetting Rid Of Extras (or Cleaning House) Default ThumbnailA Bookcase Makeover (or A Free Upgrade To My Space)

Comments Off on The Projects Might Never End (or I Will Always Be Doing New Things)

Posted in Fun Stuff

Tagged ,

One More Design Choice (or I’m Ready To Be Done With The Renovation)

Posted on June 9, 2022 | Comments Off on One More Design Choice (or I’m Ready To Be Done With The Renovation)

There have been so many decisions I’ve had to make regarding the renovation. It has been stressful, but it’s also been really amazing to see my place come together. And all the fear I had that the choices I was making would clash were unfounded because things really did look good. I still think it’s a bit of a miracle that I didn’t end up with things that looked mismatched, but since so much of what I picked were neutrals in the same color tones, I guess I set myself up to have that happen.

I do still have to buy a few more things for my place, but for the most part, the design work has been done for a while. Most of the design choices I made were actually before the renovation started, so it was done a while ago. But there have been a few things I’ve still had to figure out. I’m still planning a bit of a design for my living room, but I know that will happen once I get my new couch delivered. And once I buy some of the display cabinets I want to get, I will need to style those, but that feels less like design since I’m going to be using things I already own.

But one thing that I have been needing to do but have been waiting on was getting curtains for my slider door in my living room. I put shutters on my windows, but to do shutters on the sliding door would have been really expensive so I didn’t do that. I knew I wanted to at least have sheer curtains there since that’s what I had when I got my place. But getting regular curtains too would be nice in case I wanted to make my living room a bit more private.

When my parents have been in town during the renovation, they helped me out by meeting with some companies that could do curtains. But they were either too expensive or didn’t have fabrics we liked. I didn’t want anything too crazy for curtains, just something basic that went along with everything else that I had in the room. And even though I wanted to have some more privacy, I didn’t feel like I needed to rush to get more appointments set up. But I realized that I just needed to make a plan and go for it, so I scheduled an appointment with a company that could come to my place with samples and helps me decide on a design.

I had the appointment the other day, and I went into it thinking I might not find what I want. But I lucked out and I think I found something that will look nice. For the sheers, I went with the most basic white ones they had. I didn’t want them to be ivory or to have a design. I just wanted something simple and bright to go along with some of the accent paint in my living room. But picking out regular curtains was a bit harder. I didn’t want a big design, and a lot of the samples seemed to be too bold for me. But I think I found something that will go nicely with my paint as well as the new couch when it’s here.

It’s nothing crazy or fancy, but it will add a bit of texture and color to the room. And since they will mainly be off to the side because I’ll only have the sheers closed, they will not be a huge focal point in the room. I think it will look nice when they will be installed!

I got everything ordered during the appointment and the installation will hopefully be sometime next month. But since I wasn’t in a rush to get it done, I’m ok if it takes longer to get them. I just want to keep moving forward with getting my place finished and feeling like I’m really living in here and not just still moving in.

I know that there will always be more projects to work on, but at least for now, I think I’m done making big design decisions and can focus on the smaller things I need to get and style.

You Might Also Like

Default ThumbnailInto The Next Stage Of The Renovation (or Seeing Things Come Back Into My Place) Default ThumbnailSeeing My New Home Come Together (or This Feels Like We Are Starting The Last Renovation Stage) Default ThumbnailMaking More Decisions For My New Place (or I Didn’t Realize Paint Was This Hard) Default Thumbnail2 Busy LA Days (or Getting More Renovation Planning Done) Default ThumbnailA Transition Of What Feels Like Home (or Getting Even Closer To Moving) Default ThumbnailFeeling A Bit Unsettled (or I’ve Written About This A Lot)

Comments Off on One More Design Choice (or I’m Ready To Be Done With The Renovation)

Posted in Fun Stuff

Tagged ,

A Bit More Technology In My Home (or Continuing To Upgrade)

Posted on June 3, 2022 | Comments Off on A Bit More Technology In My Home (or Continuing To Upgrade)

I do consider myself a pretty techie person. I don’t have a ton of technology that some people have, but I do like having things that run smoothly and can make my life easier. I don’t always have the latest and greatest things, but having different devices that work together is really convenient for me and I have always tried to make my home as efficient as possible.

In my last place, I was limited in what I could do but I did try my best. I had my different devices connected so I could do things on any of them. I had my streaming services linked up so it would be easier to see what I have watched or to pick up on a show that I might have started on one device to another. But because it was a rental, I couldn’t make a lot of changes that I wanted to make.

For example, I wanted to be able to control my heat and air conditioner more. My air conditioner was a bit easier to manage since it was something I bought to put into the window, so I did have ways to set it. But because it was a standalone device, I only had the controls on the actual unit to change the temperature. Plus, since it was not really able to cool my entire place, when I used it it was always just running at full blast and never would shut off because it never got cool enough. And my heater was really simple and not able to have much control. It was a gas-powered wall unit and even though there was a temperature control for it, it only worked as an on or off switch. I couldn’t set the heat to be for a specific temperature, so I just had it on until I wanted it off. For that reason, I never could sleep with my heat on and it got extremely cold in my bedroom in the winter (I know people make fun of me for saying it was cold, but my bedroom would often be 50 degrees or colder).

Moving into a new place also meant I had an upgrade with my heating and cooling. I now have a central heat/air unit, but I haven’t had to use it because of how insulated my condo is. We have had some warm days, but I’m sure when it’s really hot it will be nice to have. But the control for my central heat/air was a very old-fashioned control that had mercury in it. So of course, I wanted to upgrade it. So I purchased a Nest control.

Getting the Nest installed ended up being a bigger ordeal than I expected. I paid for the installation when I bought it, but the technician they sent couldn’t do the work. Then they scheduled and canceled about a dozen appointments due to a lack of availability with their workers before saying they would not schedule a new one. I had to fight for my refund, but I finally got that settled. So I asked my contractor if he knew anyone who could help me, and he did!

It’s probably better that I had someone who was referred to me because the actual installation also was more complicated than the technician expected. But after a few hours, it was done. It is a bit low on my wall because we had to use the space where the old control was and my unit was designed for wheelchair accessibility, but I don’t mind it too much.

And another techie thing I added to my house was something I had at the old place too. I liked having a little temperature monitor that showed the indoor and outdoor temperatures. I had the one in my old place for such a long time and it ended up dying right before I moved. So I knew I would just be buying a new one and that worked out fine with me. I got a much nicer one that is easier to read. I still need to hang the outdoor monitor outside, but I’ll be doing that this weekend. And then I’ll be able to easily check the temperature before I head out. It’s a small thing, but it’s nice to have so I’m not just always looking on my phone.

There are a few other techie things I would like to add, such as automating my outdoor light, but I haven’t gotten to those projects just yet. There’s no rush for me to do it, but it’s on my list. And when I upgrade my tv and other things, I know I’ll be setting up more to go along with that.

I know I’ve said this over and over again, but I’m just enjoying getting settled into a home that is truly mine and I don’t have to worry about what is or isn’t allowed to be done. And I’m sure that making my home feel like mine will be something I always am working on as I get new things and continue to make upgrades.

You Might Also Like

Default ThumbnailA Busy Family Weekend (or Continuing To Set Up My Home) Default ThumbnailAnother Small Upgrade (or Making Things Easier To Watch) Default ThumbnailLetting Go (or Technology Really Is Important In My Life) Default ThumbnailStill Enjoying Some Silly Little Things (or Getting Used To An Upgraded Home) Default ThumbnailFinally A Good Workout Week (or Continuing To Build My Home Gym) Default ThumbnailStill Waiting To Get Things Started (or Continuing To Work On Patience)

Comments Off on A Bit More Technology In My Home (or Continuing To Upgrade)

Posted in Fun Stuff

Tagged , ,

Not Fully Able To Unpack (or I Think The Move Prepared Me For This)

Posted on May 20, 2022 | Comments Off on Not Fully Able To Unpack (or I Think The Move Prepared Me For This)

It’s been about a month since I really moved into my new place. I had a few things I moved after I moved in before I turned in my keys to my old house, but almost all my things were here when I had the moving truck. And I have gotten a lot of things settled and unpacked in the time that I’ve been here. I know there isn’t necessarily a timeline to be fully moved in, but I think I assumed I would be much more moved in by this point.

There have been a few unexpected things, such as changing up furniture, so I haven’t fully planned out things I need or where I want to put things I already have. I also haven’t bought a few things that I know I need that will help with my organization. Some of the things I will be buying will be bought pretty soon. I should have them within a month or so. But for my office, the main storage piece that I want to have will have to wait because it is a combination sliding bookcase and murphy bed and I need to work on saving up money for that.

I can recap more about this at the end of the month when I go over the monthly challenge I set, but I have been working hard on getting most of my stuff out of boxes. I only have a fraction of the boxes before, and I’m so glad that it feels less like a transitional area. But in my office, I have all the boxes I have left with the things in them. And those won’t be moving for a bit.

A few things still have to be done around my new place. The biggest of which is repairing my floors. I got all new floors when we remodeled, but unfortunately, the floors were not installed correctly and they have to be redone. While this isn’t what we would have liked, the company that did them realized the error and will be doing all the repairs for us. We need to wait on the new floors to get here since they were ordered and have to ship to LA, and we don’t have the exact timeline of how long that will be. But because everything I have will have to be moved when the floors are fixed, I’m not taking the rest of my things out of boxes. Keeping them in the boxes will make them easier to move.

I’ve been living with boxes for longer than I would like to remember. I started packing up my old place really early because I was hoping my new place would be done sooner than it was. At least this time, the things in the boxes tend to be things I don’t really use that often. A lot of what is boxed up are different decorative items, so while I would like to have them out and in view, they aren’t necessary. And if there is something that I need, because the boxes are all open and in one place, it’s easy enough for me to find what I need.

I’m ready to not live with boxes, but I know it will take a bit longer until I get to that point. But at least I’m finally at the tail end of this time and I can just focus on unpacking and not also packing and moving.

You Might Also Like

Default ThumbnailI Really Did Give Myself An Easy Monthly Challenge (or This Month Will Possibly Be Easy As Well) Default ThumbnailA Few Delays With My Monthly Challenge (or This Month, I Will Be Moving) Default ThumbnailStarting To Move In (or Taking The Roadrunner To The Condo) Default ThumbnailStill Preparing To Move (or Getting Rid Of Some Things And Buying Others) Default ThumbnailHaving Things Organized And Clean (or Not Slacking Off Because Of My Upcoming Move) Default ThumbnailSome Positives About My Move (or Not Just Focusing On The Stress)

Comments Off on Not Fully Able To Unpack (or I Think The Move Prepared Me For This)

Posted in Fun Stuff

Tagged ,

A Busy Family Weekend (or Continuing To Set Up My Home)

Posted on May 17, 2022 | Comments Off on A Busy Family Weekend (or Continuing To Set Up My Home)

This past weekend, my parents were in LA to see me. This was their first time here in a while and they hadn’t seen almost any of the work done to the condo in person. They had seen plenty of videos and photos, but the last time they were here things were still pretty much in the demolition and rebuilding stage. They saw the new opening in the kitchen, but the kitchen was a blank space with nothing there. They saw the bathroom torn down, but the walls only had the first moisture barrier on them and there was no tile or anything else. This was really their first chance to see what it’s going to look like when everything is all done.

There are still a few things that are being redone or worked on, but the current look is basically what it will be. So I was excited for them to finally get to see my new home. Plus, we had a bunch of different random things we wanted to get done while they were here.

My parents got here after I was done with work on Friday, so that day was just to give them a tour of the condo, for them to give me a few things, and for us to have dinner. Our busiest day was on Saturday. After my dad and I had our workout, we got to work at my place. My parents took a few notes of things we want to tell the contractor about to add to their touchup list first, but there are only a few little things that just need to be fixed (like tightening a fixture or fixing the slide on a drawer). Then, we did the big project which was hanging up the artwork that I have.

I don’t have a ton of artwork, but I do have a few pieces I love. I didn’t know exactly where I wanted to put everything, so we only worked on the ones I was sure about. So that was a painting in the hallway, another painting in the dining room, a mirror in the entryway that my parents brought for me so it was new to me, and a painting over my fireplace.

My dad is a perfectionist with all this so we were measuring and using my laser level to make sure everything was hung up perfectly, but we wanted to only have to do it once and then be done so I was ok with that. And even though some of my things aren’t on the walls yet since I still am unsure of where to put them, I am so much happier with the things I have up now. And it makes it feel even more like my place since these pieces are on the walls and not just leaning on the ground.

They also brought me a few other things for me to put around the place, such as the vase that I put on my fireplace. I have a lot of things I want to display, but I think I’ll be buying some display cabinets soon for my living room so those things are staying in boxes for now. But I like that I have more things that give my place some personality and it’s not quite as plain.

After the art was done, we had another mission. Originally, my plan was to keep my couch and get a new chair for my living room since my couch looks so tiny in the new space. I love that couch so much, but it’s really not right for me anymore. The color looks off with everything we designed, and even if I added a chair to the living room the couch would still probably look small and weird. So we decided to go to a furniture store near my place just to look around and see if we get any ideas.

Originally, I was thinking if I got a new couch I would want one that has the pullout that is under the seats to make it almost like a bed so you can stretch out more. But the store we went to only had one of those and I really didn’t like the way it looked and it wasn’t the right dimensions. So we kept looking around and we found a modular sofa that we could buy additional pieces for so it could be the right size for the space. And if I wanted a slightly smaller couch, one of the couch pieces could be moved to the side to be a chair. And while it doesn’t have a pullout to make it feel like a bed, the ottoman it comes with fits in nicely to make it have a bit of that feeling.

We didn’t want to make any rash decisions and we hadn’t really done all the measuring we needed to do at my place to make sure this was right, so we said we’d be back the next day if it would all work out. And when we measured, it would be perfect! So we went back on Sunday to order it!

The couch is going to be held for me until we are ready, and we aren’t exactly sure when that will be since we are waiting on the contractor to get back to us with some timelines for the work. But hopefully, that will be done soon and I can get the couch delivered (after I sell my old one).

I know I’m trying to not spend as much on new things, but the more I looked at my current couch, the more I knew I needed an upgrade to make my place what I wanted it to be. I’m still waiting on buying a lot of things that are on my list, such as the bookcase murphy bed I want to put in my office. And soon, I’ll work on some budgeting stuff to be able to figure out how long I will need to save until I can get that. But it is exciting to have some more new furniture coming soon!

The only negative part of our full weekend was that I was feeling really awful on Sunday. My pain and anti-nausea meds really weren’t working and I was having moments where I was in so much pain that I was in tears. So we had planned on spending more time together on Sunday before they left, but by the afternoon I knew I just needed to sleep off the rest of the day and hope things would stop hurting for me. So we had to say goodbye without getting to have dinner together on Sunday.

I’m not sure when my parents will be back in LA, but it probably won’t be for a little while. By the time they are back, I should hopefully have everything done here and my new couch! And maybe even more new things that I find to keep making this place feel like mine! But for now, I’m so glad we got the things done that we did and it’s coming together even more.

You Might Also Like

Default ThumbnailA Busy Family Visit (or Making Some Choices For My New Home) Default Thumbnail2 Busy LA Days (or Getting More Renovation Planning Done) Default ThumbnailThe Roadrunner (or More Memories In My House) Default ThumbnailMinor Remodeling (or Putting My Parents To Work On Their Vacation) Default ThumbnailAnother Busy Condo Weekend (or A Working Visit For My Parents) Default ThumbnailGetting More Settled In (or Really Feeling Home)

Comments Off on A Busy Family Weekend (or Continuing To Set Up My Home)

Posted in Family, Fun Stuff, Shopping

Tagged ,

Still Enjoying Some Silly Little Things (or Getting Used To An Upgraded Home)

Posted on May 12, 2022 | Comments Off on Still Enjoying Some Silly Little Things (or Getting Used To An Upgraded Home)

Ever since the first time I saw this condo, I knew it would make an amazing home for me. For a bit, I tried not to get my hopes up because I knew it wasn’t a guarantee that it would be ours. When we put in an offer, we knew there were multiple people offering similar amounts to us. I still think I’m so lucky that this became my home and I didn’t have to keep searching for a place. I really think I couldn’t have found a better place for what we were looking for (the only thing I’m not 100% happy with is having people who share walls with me, but I’m getting used to that).

And it seems like I find the silliest little things to be excited about. Before the condo was officially ours but when we were in escrow, I made a comment to my mom that I’ve never really lived somewhere that had a hallway besides the house I lived in growing up. When I lived in the dorms, those were basically single rooms with a door. The hallway that everyone shared didn’t really count. My first apartment didn’t have a hallway. My second apartment, which was a 2 bedroom that I shared with roommates, had almost all the rooms off of the entryway so there wasn’t a hallway. And my last place pretty much flowed from one room to another without a hallway. Now, I have a little hallway off of my living room that leads to the bedrooms and bathrooms. It’s a weird thing to be excited about, but I am. It makes it feel more like a home and less like an apartment, which I know some condos can really feel like.

I also still get a kick out of having a little yard in the back. It’s not private, but it’s still green space when I look out of my living room. While I would have loved to be on the top floor (and I think about that as I hear my neighbor upstairs sometimes), those units only have balconies and not yards. I get so much more space and I don’t have to look onto rooftops or powerlines. That’s something else that makes it feel like a home. And I was thinking the other day of the condo we looked at about 5 years ago that I loved. And something I loved about that unit was that it overlooked some grass and trees. It didn’t click with me until the other day that I got something that I loved so much at that other place I looked at.

And of course, having significantly better appliances is nice, but having appliances that I didn’t have before makes me smile all the time. Having water in my fridge instead of using a purifier pitcher makes my life so much easier and I never realized how much that difference would affect me. I lived without a dishwasher for 12 years and I wasn’t sure how much of a difference it would be to have one. But doing dishes after meals is so much easier since I just have to rinse them off instead of spending time doing dishes. And of course, having my own washer and dryer is one of the biggest game-changers for me. I don’t have to worry about getting quarters, I never have to wait for a machine, and I don’t have to worry about how I’m dressed while doing laundry since nobody else will see me.

I think that most of these things will keep bringing me joy since I’ve seen how I haven’t taken things for granted in other places I’ve lived. And it’s only going to continue to get better as I get myself settled in and finish creating the space I’ve been wanting to have since the first day I saw this condo. It’s getting closer and closer every day, but I’m at a bit of a standstill now because there is a chance that all my floors will need to be redone (I’ll write more about that when I know what’s happening). So I’m not getting more furniture that I’ve been planning on just yet. But I can still enjoy all these little things that make me happy and be so grateful for the joy that this home brings me.

You Might Also Like

Default ThumbnailGetting More Settled In (or Really Feeling Home) Default Thumbnail12 Years At One Place (or My Last Anniversary At My Current Place) Default ThumbnailSeeing My New Home Come Together (or This Feels Like We Are Starting The Last Renovation Stage) Default ThumbnailA Transition Of What Feels Like Home (or Getting Even Closer To Moving) Default ThumbnailI’ll Have A New Home Soon (or The End Of The Condo Hunt) Default ThumbnailIt’s Finally Goodbye To My House (or Closing This Chapter)

Comments Off on Still Enjoying Some Silly Little Things (or Getting Used To An Upgraded Home)

Posted in Fun Stuff

Tagged ,

Getting More Settled In (or Really Feeling Home)

Posted on May 6, 2022 | Comments Off on Getting More Settled In (or Really Feeling Home)

I’ve been living in the condo for a few weeks now. Even though it was only a week ago that I turned in my keys for my old place, I was sleeping and working from the condo for the last 2 weeks I had my lease. And most of the things I needed to move were moved by that point as well. I did have some things I needed to move in those last 2 weeks, but most of it was stuff that needed to be sold so I have felt that most of my things have been with me since I started living here.

Because it had been so long since my last move, I wasn’t sure how long it would take me to feel settled. I also knew going into this move that things wouldn’t be totally done and set up right away. There are quite a few things I want or need to get to complete my space. But I’m working on being more mindful and not buying things until I find something I really want to get. And I did feel pretty out of sorts for a bit after starting to sleep at the condo. Things have been all over the place for me and I didn’t know where everything I wanted to find was. I was still going over to the old place to work on things so I felt like I was living between 2 places. And I have had to adjust to different things living here versus living in the old place. For example, I haven’t had to worry about anyone living above me for 12 years. Now, I do and I’m adjusting to the noise from my neighbors. But the noise I hear is a lot quieter than the noise I dealt with at the old place. It’s a different type of noise, so I’m sure that soon enough I won’t even notice it anymore.

I have hated feeling in transition and how it was affecting my life. So I have been working on feeling more at home and more settled. That’s a big part of the reason why I picked my monthly challenge this month. I still have to work on getting things out of boxes, but I’ve been making an effort at finding where I want to put things away too. Some of the setups I had before worked perfectly for the new place so that was easy. I think my desk might have been one of the easier things to get settled since almost everything just went back to where it was before. It’s not exactly the same and I still have to do some organizing, but I made my desk very usable for me quickly. And I needed to do that since I had to have everything I need to work ready to go right away.

I know that when I put things away I can change my mind later so I don’t need to stress too much about where I’m putting things for now. But I also want to pay attention to what I have and what things I might need for organization. I know I will need to do some things to create more usable storage space for me, but that also takes planning. Since I will be creating a little pantry-type storage inside of a closet from pieces from The Container Store (or somewhere like there), I have to do measurements and decide exactly how I want it to look. So I’ve been putting things on the ground and trying to imagine what I want to create.

But even with the things I don’t have settled yet and the fact that I’m living with a lot of boxes still, I do feel home. And I’m so glad that I feel that way already and I’m not having any anxiety about being in a new space. I don’t wake up confused or accidentally walk into a wall thinking I’m walking into my bathroom or anything like that. I didn’t think I would necessarily do that, but I did think about it. I also thought I might accidentally drive into my old driveway when coming home from things since I pass by my old place all the time. But that hasn’t happened once. In fact, when I was driving over to the old place to get more things or to clean, there were times I almost missed the driveway. The landlord drastically changed what the front of the driveway looks like, so it doesn’t look like the place I lived in for so long. Like I said before, in a way I don’t miss the old place since it hasn’t felt like my old place for the last few months I was living there.

I know that it will take some time before I feel like I’m fully moved in and settled here. I have so much I still want to do with getting some new furniture and really customizing my space. And there is so much more space I get to plan out, so it will not be done super quickly. But I’m in no rush. I do want to be out of boxes (or almost out of boxes) soon, but there is no deadline for feeling like I have finished turning this into my home. It will happen, and I know that because I’m not doing anything just to get it done, it will be worth it when I can sit back and admire where I am lucky enough to get to live.

You Might Also Like

Default ThumbnailA Transition Of What Feels Like Home (or Getting Even Closer To Moving) Default ThumbnailFeeling A Bit Unsettled (or I’ve Written About This A Lot) Default ThumbnailA Few Delays With My Monthly Challenge (or This Month, I Will Be Moving) Default ThumbnailSeeing My New Home Come Together (or This Feels Like We Are Starting The Last Renovation Stage) Default ThumbnailFeeling Like I’m Home (or My Return To Spinning) Default ThumbnailI Really Did Give Myself An Easy Monthly Challenge (or This Month Will Possibly Be Easy As Well)

Comments Off on Getting More Settled In (or Really Feeling Home)

Posted in Fun Stuff

Tagged ,

It’s Finally Goodbye To My House (or Closing This Chapter)

Posted on April 29, 2022 | Comments Off on It’s Finally Goodbye To My House (or Closing This Chapter)

Tomorrow, I turn in the keys to my house. I still think I can’t totally believe that because it feels like this move has taken forever. But it’s finally the end of the month and the end of my time renting this house. I’ve been sad about saying goodbye to this house for a while, but I think I’ve finally moved past that feeling and now I just feel like I’m leaving a space and not saying goodbye to my home. As things have been moved out of the space, it has felt less and less like it was mine, so that helps with the feelings.

I still can’t believe I lived there for over 12 years. Almost a third of my lifetime. The entire time I have written this blog has been while living there. I have had so many different jobs while living there, and working from home started for me there. I survived a pandemic in that tiny home. I have made some amazing memories and have had some really sad ones there. I am glad to be leaving behind some ghosts of sad memories there, but I also know that those sad moments have made me who I am today.

Finding that house was honestly such luck for me. Before moving there, I was living in a 2 bedroom apartment and had gone through multiple roommates. There were times I had no roommates and the apartment was so expensive to have just to myself. But I always ended up finding new roommates and making it work. But when another roommate told me they were moving out, I knew I needed to find a new place and couldn’t keep just finding new people every year or so. But it wasn’t easy to find a place in my budget in my preferred area. Or if I did find a place, there was something really wrong with it. But one day, I found my house and it was cheaper than anything else. It turned out they had a rent special for one amount for 6 months and a slightly higher amount (but still within my budget) for the next 6 months. I asked if we could split the difference and keep the rent the same for the year, but the landlord said no. But that worked to my advantage because he never raised the rent for the second 6 months.

And because it was a rent-stabilized building, my landlord was very restricted in how much he could raise the rent. He never raised it for the first few years I lived there. I don’t know if he didn’t bother or just forgot. But even when he was raising the rent each year, it could only go up 3%. The last month I paid rent was only $239 more than what I was paying when I moved in. I know that it was a cheap rental. Most places in my neighborhood went for 2 or 3 times the price. I always said I couldn’t afford to leave until I bought a place. And it’s crazy to think that is exactly how it happened even if the timing wasn’t exactly what I planned for.

I had been looking at condos casually for several years. But when we found out my landlord was selling, things went into high gear and we got serious about condo hunting. And I honestly feel like somehow this is exactly how it was supposed to happen. I don’t know if we would have looked at or considered this condo years ago. I was in a different place then and I was a different person. My condo might have been too overwhelming or too much for me before. And while I do feel a bit overwhelmed, I know I can turn this space into a home and I’m not worried about taking my time with it.

I feel ready now to be moving on from the house I loved so much. That place was where I grew so much and really came into my own. I wasn’t sure of who I was and I was a bit lost when I first moved in there. But I rebuilt my life while living there. My life isn’t perfect and not necessarily where I thought I would be now, but it’s my life and I’m happy with things. And I am so grateful that I have this amazing new home to continue to build my life and my future.

I will always be grateful for my tiny home for 12 years. I learned so much while living there. I learned how to be much more independent and that I could live alone and not feel lonely (this doesn’t count when I felt very lonely during the pandemic). I learned how to really create a home and a space that is mine and makes me happy. I built a life in LA that I didn’t have before and I didn’t let others hold me back or always allow fear to stop me from going for what I wanted or asking for what I deserved.

Thank you to my house for being a home for so long. The 12 years there have been amazing and I know that I will take the lessons I learned there for the rest of my life. I know that when they finally tear down the houses (which we know is the new landlord’s plan), I will be very upset to see that home gone forever. But I hope that someone else can live there before that happens so they can experience that magical place just like I did.

You Might Also Like

Default ThumbnailA House Anniversary (or A Decade In One Place) Default ThumbnailMore Empty Space In My House (The Cleaning And Organizing Continues) Default Thumbnail12 Years At One Place (or My Last Anniversary At My Current Place) Default ThumbnailDoing Even More Organizing and Redecorating (or Continuing To Change Things In My House) Default ThumbnailUpgrading My House (or Feeling Lucky) Default ThumbnailA Few Delays With My Monthly Challenge (or This Month, I Will Be Moving)

Comments Off on It’s Finally Goodbye To My House (or Closing This Chapter)

Posted in Fun Stuff, Tough Stuff

Tagged ,