Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Our First Piece of Furniture
Today, Katie and I headed down to the condo together. We had to make use of the light we had, since the power doesn't actually get turned on until tomorrow. I took my Lil' Giant Ladder and the bar stools my parents bought us. We got in and Katie started washing the walls while I built the two bar stools that will probably double as a step stool and our only place to sit down for the next few weeks. After the project was complete I realized, as small as it was, that these were the first two pieces of furniture that Katie and I brought into our new home.
Since the walls were done and the stools were built Katie and I began taping off the floors, the fireplace and anything else we didn't want to paint. She did a great job and I followed her up by carefully laying out tarps to cover the floors. I have a newly found appreciation for the work that Dexter puts into his murders. Carefully laying down tarps and taping them perfectly really takes a lot out of someone. Every time I mentioned Dexter, Katie got creeped out and told me to stop. After the tarps were up, Katie started painting primer on all the baseboards and corners. We worked until we ran out of light and met went to meet my mom for dinner.
It was a great afternoon. I got to spend it with the girl I love, we got a ton of work done, we have something to show for it and I think I got my first glimpse of what a part of married life will be like. Something about the music streaming from Pandora, the warm weather and the work we got done together really made the afternoon a memorable experience.
THE POWERS OFF ALREADY!
Today I had work from 8am until 8pm. I drove from Glendora to Culver City, from Culver City to Huntington Beach, and from Huntington Beach to San Fernando Valley, only to leave around 8 and head back to Glendora. Thankfully, my wonderful fiance volunteered to go to the condo and wash the walls and clean the place so that everything would be ready to paint. Just as I'm going into my meeting I get a call from Katie and she tells me that her garage door isn't working and I must have broken it when I was trying to program my cars built-in garage door opener, clicker, thingy (cuz thats the technical term). There wasn't any work that she could do, she didn't have a front door key and the only way she had to get into the house was through the garage. Needless to say, all the work Katie planned on doing was put on hold until I got home with the other garage door opener.
I got back to Glendora, picked up Katie and we went to the condo only to find that the power had been shut off. I know, I know, I should have already put it in our name. But, in my defense, remember it was a rental property in the past and I've been able to successfully go days without a notice from the electric company and even then, the notice says they are going to turn stuff off in a few days. I thought no notice, no problem. I WAS WRONG. We left defeated, although I must admit I was relieved that I didn't actually break Katie's garage door opener. We went back to her house and spend the rest of the night setting up our utilities. We set up our power and gas so we wouldn't get caught in anymore problems. The next issue presented itself when we found out that Verizon had not set up FIOS in same area as the condo. My family has Time Warner and Katie's family, FIOS and after using and looking at both, we thought we would go with FIOS. We liked that it had a multi-room DVR and that it had a bunch of channels my family didn't have such as DIY (very important when setting up a new home) and Katie enjoys History International. We called Time Warner to see what they could offer us and if they had any substitutes for our concerns. It turns out Time Warner has both the multi-room DVR and a channel package that gives us exactly what we want. We have power, gas, internet, phone, and cable. I would still say its a productive day.
I got back to Glendora, picked up Katie and we went to the condo only to find that the power had been shut off. I know, I know, I should have already put it in our name. But, in my defense, remember it was a rental property in the past and I've been able to successfully go days without a notice from the electric company and even then, the notice says they are going to turn stuff off in a few days. I thought no notice, no problem. I WAS WRONG. We left defeated, although I must admit I was relieved that I didn't actually break Katie's garage door opener. We went back to her house and spend the rest of the night setting up our utilities. We set up our power and gas so we wouldn't get caught in anymore problems. The next issue presented itself when we found out that Verizon had not set up FIOS in same area as the condo. My family has Time Warner and Katie's family, FIOS and after using and looking at both, we thought we would go with FIOS. We liked that it had a multi-room DVR and that it had a bunch of channels my family didn't have such as DIY (very important when setting up a new home) and Katie enjoys History International. We called Time Warner to see what they could offer us and if they had any substitutes for our concerns. It turns out Time Warner has both the multi-room DVR and a channel package that gives us exactly what we want. We have power, gas, internet, phone, and cable. I would still say its a productive day.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Peanut Butter Vs. Toasted Wheat
This morning I woke up to Katie calling me and telling me she was on the way over to my parents house to drop off the paint swatches of the colors we had discussed and chosen for the room possibilities. I showed her all the work I had done the night before as far as finding different lighting fixtures and different things that we would be needing for the condo. A while back we had discussed how cool it would be to have a zebra rug in our house, so while I had Katie over and thinking about all the necessities required to move the furniture in once the painting is done I asked, if we should buy the rug. We ended up purchasing a 8'X11' rug from ebay that was a bit cheaper than anywhere else. I have to say I'm pretty excited about the zebra rug, its not quite the full sized stuffed bear I was shooting for in the living room, but its an offshoot of it...right?
Katie had to get back to work and I thought I better get a jump on the day, so after taking a shower, getting dressed, and having breakfast with my mom... I went to Home Depot and bought three samples of paint, a brush, and some painters tape. The lucky colors chosen were Peanut Butter, Toasted Wheat, and Burnt Almond (or some other variation that is supposed to make people feel happy when they get to say the name). I took them back to the condo, put up some tape (because, thats how Jeff Lewis would do it) and painted the first square with the Toasted Wheat color. I loved it... I was shocked because I hated the swatch. Then I thought I would just clean the ONE brush that I bought, the one brush that after being washed out, couldn't be dried by any paper towels. All the things that we take for granted in a house, paper towels, toilet paper and all that stuff is gone, nowhere to be found amongst the dust bunnies, cobwebs and loose screws. Sadly, I then remembered it was trash night tomorrow night and I went to the dumpster, scrounged around and found some old newspapers that at least looked clean. The brush got dried and I moved on to the next color.
I followed the afternoon up with a trip to Remart and Lowes and found some great stuff. I bought two lighting fixtures we needed for the downstairs and guest bathrooms from Remart because they were only $30 a piece and they look amazing. When I got home, I took a minute to eat some dinner and waited for Katie to get back from work. When she arrived we went to the condo, chose our favorite color of the three and went to Home Depot to buy our supplies.
We got, brushes, trays, rollers, paint, primer, more tape, and some sand paper and hole filler for the walls. As we check out a man in a thick accent comes up to me and asks what we are painting. The paint color winner you ask?.... TOASTED WHEAT! We tell him we are basically painting the whole house and while Katie waits for the paint to finish mixing I am taken hostage by some eastern european man who takes all the rollers off the shelf, lays them out on the floor and tells me I need to squeeze them to determine their density. I was blown away. He made a grab bag of items we SHOULD use and ran off as soon as his paint was finished mixing. Random, I know, but it's probably a sign for the way the rest of this is going to go.
Katie and I ended up at the condo, filling walls, which started with a debate as to the best way to do things. I have limited experience and should have just let Katie take care of it, but I ran my mouth and did the very thing I hate when others do it to me. I thought I could do it better and realized Katie was doing everything right all along. We finished the night, removing all the outlets and switch covers, sanding, listening to Pandora and making a game plan for the next few days. All in all it was a great day, but I was happy to end the day working on the condo next to my fiance.
Katie had to get back to work and I thought I better get a jump on the day, so after taking a shower, getting dressed, and having breakfast with my mom... I went to Home Depot and bought three samples of paint, a brush, and some painters tape. The lucky colors chosen were Peanut Butter, Toasted Wheat, and Burnt Almond (or some other variation that is supposed to make people feel happy when they get to say the name). I took them back to the condo, put up some tape (because, thats how Jeff Lewis would do it) and painted the first square with the Toasted Wheat color. I loved it... I was shocked because I hated the swatch. Then I thought I would just clean the ONE brush that I bought, the one brush that after being washed out, couldn't be dried by any paper towels. All the things that we take for granted in a house, paper towels, toilet paper and all that stuff is gone, nowhere to be found amongst the dust bunnies, cobwebs and loose screws. Sadly, I then remembered it was trash night tomorrow night and I went to the dumpster, scrounged around and found some old newspapers that at least looked clean. The brush got dried and I moved on to the next color.
I followed the afternoon up with a trip to Remart and Lowes and found some great stuff. I bought two lighting fixtures we needed for the downstairs and guest bathrooms from Remart because they were only $30 a piece and they look amazing. When I got home, I took a minute to eat some dinner and waited for Katie to get back from work. When she arrived we went to the condo, chose our favorite color of the three and went to Home Depot to buy our supplies.
We got, brushes, trays, rollers, paint, primer, more tape, and some sand paper and hole filler for the walls. As we check out a man in a thick accent comes up to me and asks what we are painting. The paint color winner you ask?.... TOASTED WHEAT! We tell him we are basically painting the whole house and while Katie waits for the paint to finish mixing I am taken hostage by some eastern european man who takes all the rollers off the shelf, lays them out on the floor and tells me I need to squeeze them to determine their density. I was blown away. He made a grab bag of items we SHOULD use and ran off as soon as his paint was finished mixing. Random, I know, but it's probably a sign for the way the rest of this is going to go.
Katie and I ended up at the condo, filling walls, which started with a debate as to the best way to do things. I have limited experience and should have just let Katie take care of it, but I ran my mouth and did the very thing I hate when others do it to me. I thought I could do it better and realized Katie was doing everything right all along. We finished the night, removing all the outlets and switch covers, sanding, listening to Pandora and making a game plan for the next few days. All in all it was a great day, but I was happy to end the day working on the condo next to my fiance.
Monday, March 28, 2011
We Finally Got It!
A friend of mine started an engagement blog and I thought to myself, "what a great idea." Its not everyday that a couple can share the process of something that is so special and memorable with those they care about and love. I was inspired to write this in an attempt to keep a record of the things we did together, the fights we had, and all the new experience Katie and I shared while setting up our first home.
So it finally happened... After 3 years of paying the mortgage, Katie and I got the keys back from the last set of renters and we get to start setting up what will become our first home. The renters left the place in good shape, the rooms smelled nice, the carpet was clean and the back patio still had a working pump in the Koi pond and was void of an excess amount of leaves. I was so excited to pull my car into the garage that I would be parking in as I home from work. This is the same garage that would make the sound Katie or I would hear when the other got home. Its finally MY GARAGE!
The flurry of ideas and the long list of things we still need to buy immediately started. I ended up staying up late and researching light fixtures, paint supplies, granite suppliers and "how-to" websites. By the end of the night, it was decided that it would be my job to go to Home Depot in the morning and buy the paint samples, put them up in various places and later that night Katie and I would decide which to choose. I know there is a lot of work ahead of us, but I have to admit I'm excited and really happy that soon, I'll be living in this place with my wife.
So it finally happened... After 3 years of paying the mortgage, Katie and I got the keys back from the last set of renters and we get to start setting up what will become our first home. The renters left the place in good shape, the rooms smelled nice, the carpet was clean and the back patio still had a working pump in the Koi pond and was void of an excess amount of leaves. I was so excited to pull my car into the garage that I would be parking in as I home from work. This is the same garage that would make the sound Katie or I would hear when the other got home. Its finally MY GARAGE!
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