Tuesday, March 23, 2004
We had our housewarming party this weekend but it was disguised as Aileen's Birthday. Let me begin with the week prior.
I really wanted to buy a mirror to place above the fireplace so after work, I went to Crate & Barrel and Pottery Barn to see what they had. I was looking for something simple; no fancy border around the mirror, just a flat piece of wood. There were a couple I liked online at Crate And Barrel but they were too expensive... around $300. Then I saw a mirror at Pottery Barn in Stonestown which was displayed in a maple finish. The card attached to it stated it came in Black as well so I asked to purchase that one. It came out to about $175 which was pricey but a lot less than C&B. I didnt realize how big it was: 30" X 42"; it barely fit in my car. I knew mounting this thing was going to be a chore just from the sheer weight. That evening, I proceeded with the mounting. I drilled two holes, inserted the screws, and mounted the mirror. It wasn't as level as we had hoped so I drilled 2 more holes right above the first set. It was level but there was one problem. The mantle above our fireplace is about 4 feet off the ground. The mirror was mounted about 5 inches above the mantle. The mirror has a frame with a width of about 4 inches. Once the mirror was mounted, Aileen (due to her vertically challenged proportions) wasn't able to see herself. It was useless for her. We decided to mount the mirror on the back wall right above the IKEA shelf. It was perfect there but that left us 4 holes above our fireplace. Eventually, we decided on using frames to cover up the holes.
That weekend and the following Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, Ai and I were in the mountains Snowboarding. But we knew once we got back, it was all business since the party was approaching. On Thursday, Ai worked on the photo album that chronicled how our condo evolved. I cleaned up the place a bit making sure everything was sparkling, especially the bathrooms. Later that evening, we went to IKEA and purchased some presentation platters and six 9"x9" frames to hang over the fireplace. When we got home, I mounted the picture-less frames and Ai continued to work on the phot album. On Friday, we visited a bunch of craft stores to purchase fake flowers, marbles and rocks. We also stopped by a lighting store and purchased a new pendant light that would replace the ugly 80's style chandelier that was hanging in our dining room. That evening, I installed the lighting and Ai prepared some of the food. I ordered chicken from a Chinese restaurant and picked it up before it closed. We then started to work on the fireplace project. Initially, I had hoped to have our faces in the frames, each one posing differently or looking at another frame.. kinda like Brady Bunch style. After we mounted them, it was obvious to see, that it looked horrible. We were stumped and tired so we went to bed trying to think of what to put in the frames.
Saturday.... judgement day. Ai woke up around 7AM and started working with the frames again. She had some left over art paper she used for a book-arts class. The colors went well with the rest of our furniture so we decided to place them inside the frames. It was hot that morning. The sun was out and all the windows were open but no breeze was coming in. We vaccuumed the carpet and swiffer'd the kitchen floor. We started to prepare the food and then Marlene called us up. She asked if she could come early so she could help and we accepted her offer. We then showered and ran more errands. Ai had to pick up the Lumpias and I had to go to Home Depot to buy bulbs for our new pendant lights. By the time I got back, Marlene was at our doorstep; it was about 1:30PM. Shortly after she arrived, Scott, Dina, Micaela and Jordan showed up. The party was in full swing. People slowly trickled through the door. We placed the food on the dining table and watched the horde of hungry friends grab their dishes.
We think the party was a success.. for the most part. It was a big surprise how many people we were able to fit in such a small space. Close to 40 people showed up. We had purchased folding chairs from Bed Bath & Beyond just for this event and I don't think I ever saw all the chairs being used at once. And Ai thought we should've had more.. like 20!! 10 was more than enough since people used our carpet as seating. A lot of people just stood. We were scared parking was going to be a problem but everyone appeared to find a spot.. no matter how near or far it was. At about 11:30PM, the last of the guests vacated our premises and we commenced with Operation Sleep. We appreciated all the positive comments we received about our home cuz for a while, Ai and I were butting heads in regards to the look of the place. The comment we seem to be getting a lot is... "You have a beautiful home" It feels good to hear stuff like that. Now begins phase 2... more redecorating and remodeling. You'll find me at home watching more HGTV and Queer Eye...
I really wanted to buy a mirror to place above the fireplace so after work, I went to Crate & Barrel and Pottery Barn to see what they had. I was looking for something simple; no fancy border around the mirror, just a flat piece of wood. There were a couple I liked online at Crate And Barrel but they were too expensive... around $300. Then I saw a mirror at Pottery Barn in Stonestown which was displayed in a maple finish. The card attached to it stated it came in Black as well so I asked to purchase that one. It came out to about $175 which was pricey but a lot less than C&B. I didnt realize how big it was: 30" X 42"; it barely fit in my car. I knew mounting this thing was going to be a chore just from the sheer weight. That evening, I proceeded with the mounting. I drilled two holes, inserted the screws, and mounted the mirror. It wasn't as level as we had hoped so I drilled 2 more holes right above the first set. It was level but there was one problem. The mantle above our fireplace is about 4 feet off the ground. The mirror was mounted about 5 inches above the mantle. The mirror has a frame with a width of about 4 inches. Once the mirror was mounted, Aileen (due to her vertically challenged proportions) wasn't able to see herself. It was useless for her. We decided to mount the mirror on the back wall right above the IKEA shelf. It was perfect there but that left us 4 holes above our fireplace. Eventually, we decided on using frames to cover up the holes.
That weekend and the following Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, Ai and I were in the mountains Snowboarding. But we knew once we got back, it was all business since the party was approaching. On Thursday, Ai worked on the photo album that chronicled how our condo evolved. I cleaned up the place a bit making sure everything was sparkling, especially the bathrooms. Later that evening, we went to IKEA and purchased some presentation platters and six 9"x9" frames to hang over the fireplace. When we got home, I mounted the picture-less frames and Ai continued to work on the phot album. On Friday, we visited a bunch of craft stores to purchase fake flowers, marbles and rocks. We also stopped by a lighting store and purchased a new pendant light that would replace the ugly 80's style chandelier that was hanging in our dining room. That evening, I installed the lighting and Ai prepared some of the food. I ordered chicken from a Chinese restaurant and picked it up before it closed. We then started to work on the fireplace project. Initially, I had hoped to have our faces in the frames, each one posing differently or looking at another frame.. kinda like Brady Bunch style. After we mounted them, it was obvious to see, that it looked horrible. We were stumped and tired so we went to bed trying to think of what to put in the frames.
Saturday.... judgement day. Ai woke up around 7AM and started working with the frames again. She had some left over art paper she used for a book-arts class. The colors went well with the rest of our furniture so we decided to place them inside the frames. It was hot that morning. The sun was out and all the windows were open but no breeze was coming in. We vaccuumed the carpet and swiffer'd the kitchen floor. We started to prepare the food and then Marlene called us up. She asked if she could come early so she could help and we accepted her offer. We then showered and ran more errands. Ai had to pick up the Lumpias and I had to go to Home Depot to buy bulbs for our new pendant lights. By the time I got back, Marlene was at our doorstep; it was about 1:30PM. Shortly after she arrived, Scott, Dina, Micaela and Jordan showed up. The party was in full swing. People slowly trickled through the door. We placed the food on the dining table and watched the horde of hungry friends grab their dishes.
We think the party was a success.. for the most part. It was a big surprise how many people we were able to fit in such a small space. Close to 40 people showed up. We had purchased folding chairs from Bed Bath & Beyond just for this event and I don't think I ever saw all the chairs being used at once. And Ai thought we should've had more.. like 20!! 10 was more than enough since people used our carpet as seating. A lot of people just stood. We were scared parking was going to be a problem but everyone appeared to find a spot.. no matter how near or far it was. At about 11:30PM, the last of the guests vacated our premises and we commenced with Operation Sleep. We appreciated all the positive comments we received about our home cuz for a while, Ai and I were butting heads in regards to the look of the place. The comment we seem to be getting a lot is... "You have a beautiful home" It feels good to hear stuff like that. Now begins phase 2... more redecorating and remodeling. You'll find me at home watching more HGTV and Queer Eye...
Monday, March 01, 2004
It's been a long time.. I should've left you... without a dope beat to step too.
Furniture wise, we haven't purchased anything major. We're trying to dress up our walls with some artwork but not sure what kind of artwork we'd agree on. We definitely want a mirror above the fireplace but the search for mirrors hasn't been very intense. We finished a very artistic puzzle depicting characters from The Simpsons but we have yet to frame it. I purchased some block shelving from West Elm which I setup in the dining room. It's about 5 feet from the ground just so we can possibly put a buffet underneath in the future. We're in the watch for accessories nowadays.. vases, candles, flowers, etc.
To do list:
-tile the master bathroom floor
-change curtains in bedroom
-change curtains in living and dining room (Ai's project)
-change flooring in kitchen
-change microwave in kitchen
-change kitchen countertop
Furniture wise, we haven't purchased anything major. We're trying to dress up our walls with some artwork but not sure what kind of artwork we'd agree on. We definitely want a mirror above the fireplace but the search for mirrors hasn't been very intense. We finished a very artistic puzzle depicting characters from The Simpsons but we have yet to frame it. I purchased some block shelving from West Elm which I setup in the dining room. It's about 5 feet from the ground just so we can possibly put a buffet underneath in the future. We're in the watch for accessories nowadays.. vases, candles, flowers, etc.
To do list:
-tile the master bathroom floor
-change curtains in bedroom
-change curtains in living and dining room (Ai's project)
-change flooring in kitchen
-change microwave in kitchen
-change kitchen countertop
