Sunday, October 22, 2006

blinded

So, I haven't had the time to actually get proper window dressing yet. I had taped up some packing paper that came in some with Ikea items. Go figure. Then, one day I was walking around in a store and came across these great items. They're Redi Shades. And, I remembered that my sister had these and remembered thinking that I should get them when I get a place....... So, here I am, I picked them up. They're great for temperary window shades. They have a clean look and are durable. Then, you can take your time finding ones that you'd really like without having to worry about a "unfinished" appearance. They offer the shades in a few materials. Paper, fabric, light blocking paper, and black out. I picked up the fabric. I went with that so that I could keep them for a while and they wouldn't rip easily. And, they let light through. They're cheap, have a nice clean appearance, and they're easy to install. Another item I was very pleased with. Well worth the money!

Sunday, October 15, 2006

Shaadoom

This is my latest addition to my apartment. A gift from my girlfriend. Yup! It's the original mushroom from Super Mario. The one the makes you grow big. Yay! I saw it in passing one day when we were on Elizabeth St. in Chinatown. I expressed my excitement, but we decided to come back for it at a later date. We came back and it was no where to be found. We never figured that they would be such a hot selling item. But, I was devastated....... okay, not really. More of a dissapointed. My girlfriend comforts me. :) So, we left the store a bit defeated. I looked it up online and couldn't really find it, so I sort of gave up on it. About a week later, my girlfriend surprises me with a box. It was open, so I just thought she was excited that she had recieved something she had ordered online and wanted to show me. As I got closer to opening the box, she got giddy. It was very cute. But, I still didn't know what she was getting excited about. Then, I opened the box to a little mushroom sitting in a bed of stuffing. I lept out of my seat and joined her in her giddiness. :) Shroomy(?) is still waiting for his final living space. But, for now he sits atop my left speaker. :)

Thursday, October 12, 2006

new view


I realized that I hadn't taken any pictures of my place as a whole for a while. So, this is the view that you get when you come in the door. It's a mess now. I actually transitioned from renting a larger place to owning a smaller place. So, I have a lot more things than I have space for. But, its good. It'll force me to get rid of things that I don't need. I'm a pack rat, so that's a good thing. Presently, as you can see, I'm using a Aero bed as my sofa. Nice....not really. Kind of ghetto, actually. But, I am in the process of saving up for my sofa. It's kind of pricey, but really quite comfortable. I think the sofa will be a big step to making my place feel more like home. And, it will help seperate the room into sections of defined spaces. So, here is my space as it is now. It's cluttered now, but hopefully it will clean up as I move farward.

Thursday, October 05, 2006

signs


I was really excited about this little item. I visited this hotel down in the lower east side. This really trendy spot. One of the coolest things that I saw was the "do not disturb" sign. Usually, its a flimsy piece of paper, or in the nicer hotels a flimsy piece of plastic, that you hang on the handle on the outside of your door. This place had these magnets. One side has the "do not disturb" and the other has the "please clean room" sign. I thought it was one of the neatest things about the place. Actually, it had a bed that I liked too. But, I couldn't just take a bed. But, these little signs, I'm sure everyone took theirs. So, now its found a new home on my refrigerator door. Reminding me not to disturb the food. :)

Tuesday, October 03, 2006

see the lights!

So, at the end of my construction, I needed to find kitchen light fixtures. I put this off thinking that I'd take my time picking one out after construction. But, my contractor told me that the installation was included in the renovation. So, now, I had to scramble around searching for fixtures that fit in my kitchen. I needed two. I went to every store in the lighting district right outside of Chinatown. Everything I liked was too expensive. They were all over $200. I was bummed. And, getting tired of my funds running low. Too much output and not enough input. I was tired and just wanting to give up and just leave the old fixtures with the bare bulbs where they were. Then, one evening, I ended up in Home Depot. One of my favorite stores these days. I found these lights. They worked really well for my kitchen. The polished silver and frosted glass combination matched the wall cabinets. The best thing of all, they were only $35 each. So, I figured why not. If I don't like them, I can take my time finding replacements. And, for the time being, I'll have these fixtures up and not unsightly old exposed bulb fixtures. But, I was pleasantly surprised. They actually work quite well with my kitchen. The frosted glass sides actually spread the light very nicely and eased the spotlight effect of these lights. And, here they are lit. Not too shabby for $35, eh? Yes, I know, the stickers are still on it. I tried taking them off, but they are leaving a residue. So, I have to find some time to take them off with a cleaner in hand that won't leave marks. All in due time.