2.27.2010
2.24.2010
menagerie
animals desired:
- worms, for composting
- chickens, for eggs and entertainment, general adorable sand dusting
- goat, for lawn care and possible milking entertainment and chevre; also, cute
- bats in a bat house (with a mini belfry!) for mosquito eatin'
- falcon, just because
2.21.2010
quite possibly, the worst
sunday, i had a delicious brunch with a library school friend at ceviche. such a good place to eat. such a hipster yuppie place to eat. i love it and at the same time am astounded at how the people who eat there dress. it's like they're out in force during fashion week. who has time for such things?! certainly not myself. if i can get both socks matching, i'm golden.
we had mimosas and fruit and curried potatoes and smoked salmon (2 kinds!). the weather was gorgeous and almost too hot at one point. once the sun passed by, it got a little more bearable. my fault for sitting in the sun.
but the real reason for the post was the server. he took forever to take our order, which, really, i was willing to overlook. ceviche is not known for its prompt service; thankfully the food and sangria often make up for that fact. the fun started when he brought out our check.
first, it had 2 extra desserts listed. we informed him and he brought it back to us.
and.... it wasn't our check at all. so he took it back.
and... finally it was right! so we handed over our 2 cards, wanting to split it down the middle.
and... he brought us someone else's bill with their 3 cards. wtf?! we couldn't get a hold of him, but we correctly surmised that it was a little switchup with the table next to us. appropriate handovers were exchanged, we got our bill with our cards back.
and... he charged my card twice.
seriously?!
it still makes me chuckle at the incompetence. i mean.... really?!!
we were able to get another server to help us and he canceled out one of my transactions and fixed the bill.
let's hope he was one of a kind!
we had mimosas and fruit and curried potatoes and smoked salmon (2 kinds!). the weather was gorgeous and almost too hot at one point. once the sun passed by, it got a little more bearable. my fault for sitting in the sun.
but the real reason for the post was the server. he took forever to take our order, which, really, i was willing to overlook. ceviche is not known for its prompt service; thankfully the food and sangria often make up for that fact. the fun started when he brought out our check.
first, it had 2 extra desserts listed. we informed him and he brought it back to us.
and.... it wasn't our check at all. so he took it back.
and... finally it was right! so we handed over our 2 cards, wanting to split it down the middle.
and... he brought us someone else's bill with their 3 cards. wtf?! we couldn't get a hold of him, but we correctly surmised that it was a little switchup with the table next to us. appropriate handovers were exchanged, we got our bill with our cards back.
and... he charged my card twice.
seriously?!
it still makes me chuckle at the incompetence. i mean.... really?!!
we were able to get another server to help us and he canceled out one of my transactions and fixed the bill.
let's hope he was one of a kind!
2.18.2010
anyone?
can anyone identify this plant for me?
i'm thinking........... a species of yucca or agave. i'm at a loss.
i'm thinking........... a species of yucca or agave. i'm at a loss.
2.17.2010
it's humid!
when i got my new digs and desk at work, i found a humidity meter in one of the drawers. it's come in super handy when we're all freezing in the office and need to confirm that, yes, it's 61 degrees in the office - which is highly unacceptable. it basically gives us reason and justification to complain all the more.
so i brought it home to check out the humidity levels, which, i had felt, were way off the charts. a half ream of copy paper in the dining room had started to warp along the edges and you can't blame cardboard boxes when they're all gone.
the humidity is at 65%!!
68% in the bathroom 5 hours after a shower.
and, if you can believe it, it's actually better than it was - once anthony cracked and put on the heat (to about 65 degrees at the most), what i felt to be "a lot" of the humidity went away. but... i mean, what IS a normal humidity level?
according to wiki.answers, "a humidity level of 35-40 percent is considered best".
well, fuck.
looks like we'll definitely be getting a dehumidifier.
so i brought it home to check out the humidity levels, which, i had felt, were way off the charts. a half ream of copy paper in the dining room had started to warp along the edges and you can't blame cardboard boxes when they're all gone.
the humidity is at 65%!!
68% in the bathroom 5 hours after a shower.
and, if you can believe it, it's actually better than it was - once anthony cracked and put on the heat (to about 65 degrees at the most), what i felt to be "a lot" of the humidity went away. but... i mean, what IS a normal humidity level?
according to wiki.answers, "a humidity level of 35-40 percent is considered best".
well, fuck.
looks like we'll definitely be getting a dehumidifier.
2.16.2010
ca' d'intrigo
i took some crappy house photos at something like 1600 iso - whoops! remembering to change that on a digital camera is irritating as heck. i uploaded them with some preset or other from lightroom - i didn't have time to really mess with them. automated preset uploads ftw late on a sunday night!
{most likely you'll have to view on a browser to see the tour}
{most likely you'll have to view on a browser to see the tour}
Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer
2.15.2010
happy chinese new year!
the mantle of lai see envelope receiving has been fully passed down to the next generation.
*sigh*
2.14.2010
more cheap house goods than you can shake a stick at
last monday, anthony and i had taken a day off work to get our house in order. granted, it's still super wonky, but it's getting there. for instance, i can't wait to paint it all primer white and then pick NEW colors! we already have the 5 gallon bucket o' primer, paintbrushes, rollers and canvas drop cloth. just waiting for the time to get it going!
in any case, we also took some advice from a friend and headed out to st. pete to the habitat for humanity restore (sorry lila!! i promise to call next time in advance!). we also attempted to go to layman's used merchandise, a salvage store, but it was closed on monday. curses!
the restore was amazing. we visited the one in tampa as well and we are stoked to visit again. all sorts of doors and tile and light fixtures and furniture!! it was like a crafter's paradise.
$65 for this HUGE light fixture! i added my foot for size reference.
and if we had a master bath big enough for 2 sinks - wouldn't 2 different color sinks be so rad?! just the thought of it makes me giddy. sinks without faucets? $10. if there was a faucet attached - $15. bloody hell, people!!
also available were doors. lots and lots of doors. which is great, because we need a super heavy thick one for the band room and we'll most likely move the old ("old") band room door to the garage for added security. so we can eventually get some rad front loaders for laundry. *le sigh*
both locations had a plethora of these soap and toilet paper roll holders.
who uses soap like this anymore? i kind of like bar soap and occasionally use it (assuming it's not at someone else's house and is all tiny and hard and dry and gross). seeing all this waste just makes me try and think of ways to use it up - BUT HOW? maybe some kind of ceramic walkway? a mosaic of baby pastels?
also loving all the chandelier sconces.
and one last excitement - unintentional goatse!
in any case, we also took some advice from a friend and headed out to st. pete to the habitat for humanity restore (sorry lila!! i promise to call next time in advance!). we also attempted to go to layman's used merchandise, a salvage store, but it was closed on monday. curses!
the restore was amazing. we visited the one in tampa as well and we are stoked to visit again. all sorts of doors and tile and light fixtures and furniture!! it was like a crafter's paradise.
$65 for this HUGE light fixture! i added my foot for size reference.
and if we had a master bath big enough for 2 sinks - wouldn't 2 different color sinks be so rad?! just the thought of it makes me giddy. sinks without faucets? $10. if there was a faucet attached - $15. bloody hell, people!!
also available were doors. lots and lots of doors. which is great, because we need a super heavy thick one for the band room and we'll most likely move the old ("old") band room door to the garage for added security. so we can eventually get some rad front loaders for laundry. *le sigh*
both locations had a plethora of these soap and toilet paper roll holders.
who uses soap like this anymore? i kind of like bar soap and occasionally use it (assuming it's not at someone else's house and is all tiny and hard and dry and gross). seeing all this waste just makes me try and think of ways to use it up - BUT HOW? maybe some kind of ceramic walkway? a mosaic of baby pastels?
also loving all the chandelier sconces.
and one last excitement - unintentional goatse!
2.12.2010
the great twittering machine
part of our yard in the sunset one evening while doing laundry. you can't even see the 20 billion other birds eating on the ground - it was so perfect out.
2.11.2010
kitchen plumbing = disgusting
la, la, la...
unpacking boxes....
doing some dishes...
la, la, la....
oh, what's this?
why is that ring thing sticking up?
pick pick pick
RIP.
ummm............ whoops!
my hulk-like strength got the best of me - granted, whatever was under there was kind of gross and moldy. fixin' time!!
with the help of the trusty library, i found out that this was a simple sink drain replacement needing plumber's putty and a spud wrench. in lieu of a spud wrench, one could use a channellock wrench, but c'mon! the opportunity to use a tool called a spud wrench? not passing that one up.
i was going to be in charge of this fixer-upper, but anthony ended up taking charge - i think he needed to feel manly spud wrench tools in his hands. i don't blame him. of course, it meant that i got to gag twenty billion times while attempting to clean out the sink pipe. the smell was utterly revolting and the second sink drain pipe seemed to have accumulated some sort of super greasy, yet crumbly, white, fatty deposit inside. again, i cannot stress the nasty funk smell enough.
here's a little of the stuff in the bathroom sink. oh. god. *shudder*
don't worry, we threw the chopstick away.
but see! it was worth it! now both sinks look like this:
beautiful, no?
turns out that the previous sink drains were actually installed incorrectly. only plumber's putty is between the sink drain and the sink - the old ones had the big washers installed on top, which caused them to get nasty and gross. not my fault!
plumber's putty - $2
spud wrench - $3
2 sink drains - $11
total cost = $16 + major gag action
not too shabby!
unpacking boxes....
doing some dishes...
la, la, la....
oh, what's this?
why is that ring thing sticking up?
pick pick pick
RIP.
ummm............ whoops!
my hulk-like strength got the best of me - granted, whatever was under there was kind of gross and moldy. fixin' time!!
with the help of the trusty library, i found out that this was a simple sink drain replacement needing plumber's putty and a spud wrench. in lieu of a spud wrench, one could use a channellock wrench, but c'mon! the opportunity to use a tool called a spud wrench? not passing that one up.
i was going to be in charge of this fixer-upper, but anthony ended up taking charge - i think he needed to feel manly spud wrench tools in his hands. i don't blame him. of course, it meant that i got to gag twenty billion times while attempting to clean out the sink pipe. the smell was utterly revolting and the second sink drain pipe seemed to have accumulated some sort of super greasy, yet crumbly, white, fatty deposit inside. again, i cannot stress the nasty funk smell enough.
here's a little of the stuff in the bathroom sink. oh. god. *shudder*
don't worry, we threw the chopstick away.
but see! it was worth it! now both sinks look like this:
beautiful, no?
turns out that the previous sink drains were actually installed incorrectly. only plumber's putty is between the sink drain and the sink - the old ones had the big washers installed on top, which caused them to get nasty and gross. not my fault!
plumber's putty - $2
spud wrench - $3
2 sink drains - $11
total cost = $16 + major gag action
not too shabby!
2.10.2010
fixin's!
this past weekend we got SO much accomplished. of course, there's so much still yet to be done.
here's one of the simple things that made us super happy.
our toilet previously looked like a duckbill:
i mean, really?! beige toilet, white lid. white lid that doesn't even fit! no way this is going to fly in MY house, no sir. ugly toilet lid, BEGONE!!
also, we got this rad water-saving low-flow rainfall style shower head. it's amazing. *insert choir of angels*
here's one of the simple things that made us super happy.
our toilet previously looked like a duckbill:
 |  |
i mean, really?! beige toilet, white lid. white lid that doesn't even fit! no way this is going to fly in MY house, no sir. ugly toilet lid, BEGONE!!
 |  |
also, we got this rad water-saving low-flow rainfall style shower head. it's amazing. *insert choir of angels*
 |  |
2.06.2010
delicious cheap chocolately goodness
ahh... memories of world's finest...
we used to sell this for band; i remember the huge deliveries of boxes upon boxes of chocolate, stacked high in our band room. it would permeate the pores and you'd leave smelling chocolate in your nostrils.
almond is my favorite, although the caramel is pretty tasty as well. i eat whole bars for breakfast (thanks to my co-worker...). not really recommended, as one sugar crashes super fast!
girl scout cookies? out.
world's finest? in!
2.05.2010
bring on the spring and summer!
right now i am missing the hot hot heat of summer and the florida sun. i want to be warm and and cozy to my bones, not chilled with frozen fingers all the time - in the car, at work, in the house. a few nights ago i fell asleep under our electric blanket set to high, then lowered to 7. it was like a cozy womb of heat.
thankfully for anthony, there are separate controls for each side of the bed.
thankfully for anthony, there are separate controls for each side of the bed.
2.04.2010
this is quickly becoming a renovation blog, i fear
here's a view of our totally rockin' mini courtyard! to the right is the house (the "breezeway") and to the left is the band room. i took the photo from our kitchen extension and the opposite doorway leads to the 1 car garage (aka storage central).
unfortunately, the garage is missing a back door, which means no fancy front loading washing machine for a while! also, i saw a rat or something up in the rafters. do they damage a house? i really don't want to have to kill them...
anyways, the picture makes the ground look dirtier than it really is - though it could do with a good scrubbing. anthony made a comment that's stuck with me and now all i want are cafe lights strung between the buildings. hopefully i can find some sort of LED cafe lights, to keep down replacement bulb costs, but also having them solar powered would be RAD.
2.02.2010
overwhelmed!
i cannot believe we own a home!!
all of it is still sinking in. sometimes i feel like i'm on vacation - for instance, the bathroom is completely tiled in beige, including the ceiling. brushing my teeth, i had the distinct feeling that i could be in china from the insane chlorinated water smells of tampa city water and the intense tile action. they love their tile in china! (you'd think that all the tile would make it super easy to say, spray down disgusting bathrooms with pure bleach, but nope; it seems that would be too difficult.)
we've also been really holed up inside, still unpacking, and haven't gotten a chance to truly enjoy the outdoors. every time i walk around our backyard, i'm just floored with all the space we have. i'm already a little overwhelmed with all i want to do inside (paint everything, including ceilings, because they're kind of wonky) and then i see the yard and i'm overwhelmed again. even more.
since it's an old house, the trim is a little gunky and built up, so i'd love to stip it down and repaint it. along with the doors. and then my list gets all out of whack - what do i do first?!
i suppose the first thing to do is get the old apartment completely empty and clean first.
there. i feel better already.
then get the kitchen/pantry in order.
order estimates for a privacy fence and gutters.
then either paint or de-gunk-ify trim & doors. maybe the de-gunking first.
all of it is still sinking in. sometimes i feel like i'm on vacation - for instance, the bathroom is completely tiled in beige, including the ceiling. brushing my teeth, i had the distinct feeling that i could be in china from the insane chlorinated water smells of tampa city water and the intense tile action. they love their tile in china! (you'd think that all the tile would make it super easy to say, spray down disgusting bathrooms with pure bleach, but nope; it seems that would be too difficult.)
we've also been really holed up inside, still unpacking, and haven't gotten a chance to truly enjoy the outdoors. every time i walk around our backyard, i'm just floored with all the space we have. i'm already a little overwhelmed with all i want to do inside (paint everything, including ceilings, because they're kind of wonky) and then i see the yard and i'm overwhelmed again. even more.
since it's an old house, the trim is a little gunky and built up, so i'd love to stip it down and repaint it. along with the doors. and then my list gets all out of whack - what do i do first?!
i suppose the first thing to do is get the old apartment completely empty and clean first.
there. i feel better already.
then get the kitchen/pantry in order.
order estimates for a privacy fence and gutters.
then either paint or de-gunk-ify trim & doors. maybe the de-gunking first.
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