Monday, December 29, 2008

Sure the recession bites, but...


But that doesn't mean we can't enjoy something sweet. 

Some clever guys I know over at FRESHTHRILLS LLC (and this isn't a plug just because I happen to do a lot of work with them and may have been involved in the project), came up with a fun way to find some cheer during this time where it's lacking. 

And since the project is getting some props in some cool design blogs, I'd be rather amiss not to hype it up in my own. 

So please, take a moment and check it out. 
And who knows...maybe you can pick up some of your own in the very near future...


http://blog.freshthrills.com/

Mortgage Rates going down!

It's been a while, and not much exciting stuff to report. 
But got an interesting and exciting call from my mortgage broker on Friday. 

Looks like interest rates on mortgages are going down for people with good credit, so if you have a mortgage and are paying a higher rate, it might be worthwhile to talk to your guy (or girl) and see about getting a lower amount. We might be able to lower ours by over a point which can result in savings of over $4,000 a year!




Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Our first sleepover

Jackie and John stayed over last weekend, our first guests ever (staying over, not actually in the apartment).

They wanted to practice their salsa dancing, so we videotaped it. 

your welcome. 





Sunday, September 28, 2008

A bunch for Brunch

Amanda pointed out that just because we have finally moved in, doesn't mean the blog has to stop.
So with that, wanted to just post that we are getting settled in to the apartment, and it's slowly but surely coming together. As I've already said, we're completely out of our boxes, and now we're in the process of hanging up our artwork. Well, to clarify, we are waiting on Ronnie (our designer) to come and tell us where he thinks the artwork should go. (This basically means that once again I have no say in much).

However, my aeron chair came today so I'm a happy pappy.

We had friends over today, our first guests for Brunch. The Barishes brought Max, and the Gedans brought Ari, and we had bagels, lox, quinoa muffins, cake, coffee and enough stuff to make your stomach stuffed for a long time.

Later in the afternoon Amanda's brother came over with Gabey the baby and the rest of the family.

Here are some pics




Sunday, September 21, 2008

All moved in!

So...

After a year of planning, executing, renovating, fighting with the neighbors and god knows what else...I'm happy to report that Amanda and I are FINALLY all moved in.

It's pretty friggin wild.

And we don't really wait to get everything done. We're basically done. Seriously.
Here are about twenty pics of the apartment as it stands. Basically we have to throw out the broken down boxes and then hang up our artwork.

So check it out, and enjoy...there's still more to come. It's really really weird to be in new place.

Oh yeah, the move wasn't completely 'hitch-less.' they couldn't fit our box spring and headboard up the stairs, so we are currently sleeping on our mattress on the floor. It's cozy in a college dorm-room kind of way.

Luckily, we are taking tomorrow off so we can relax and recover, which is good b/c Amma has gotten a bit of a cold from all the dust. Oh...and we mustn't fortget that there is now photograph proof that I am capable of doing a few handy things, as evidenced by my putting a desk together, installing shelves into the cainets, and installing a garbage rack into the sink cabinet door. I know you are saying 'big deal, a 10 year old can do that Matt,' to which i have to say, 'eat it.'








Saturday, September 20, 2008

Countdown to Move day


So Quick update.

Amanda and I are getting all our furniture today and are currently awaiting the electrician to come and fix one final problem. Hopefully we'll be good after that.
Yesterday we unpacked a lot of stuff, got the cable set up, went to Fairway, (and spent a fortune) before heading back to the city broken down and battered.

Thought we'd share a picture of our 'picnic' lunch and a video of the apartment.

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Pictures!

As promised, the latest pictures from the home.

Final Kitchen images. You can now the final new wood panels with hardware, plus the newly installed wine fridge. (Nice!)


This is the 'chandelier' in the dining room plus shelving in the living room.


The fancy chandelier in the closet room and the french doors.



Our kick ass bathroom (a little different than how it used to look)



older bathroom:

Monday, September 15, 2008

Moving out (Redux)


Woke up this morning with extraordinarily sore muscles. The result of a weekend long full of moving stuff out of our current home (Amanda’s parents) and up three flights of stairs to our new one. Of course that’s three flights of stairs times 20, so it can tire a person out.

Luckily for us, we had some help on Saturday as our movers who were going to lend us a van (but the van had some faulty brakes so he wouldn’t let us drive it) offered to come down and help out, so luckily they did most of the heavy lifting. This is good, considering that just carrying up the 15 or so boxes from an SUV was exhausting enough and I can’t fathom what it would have been like to carry the 8 wardrobe boxes and other assorted things. The good news is that we didn’t break anything (and I’m referring to both any of our china dishes or body parts).

It’s been kind of weird to realize that we are just 5 days from moving for real and that it’s all-final. We’ve been working on this for months, and it’s actually been about a year since we went into contract. Amazing how long this process takes.

Sunday we had our first co-op meeting and I have to say it wasn’t that bad. All the bad blood with our neighbor has partially evaporated as we are now I think just all trying to ‘get along,’ and although I have no doubt the tension is still there and under the surface, we’re doing our best to just move forward and have a positive experience there. That and the man who’s a nightmare is sick, and it’s probably bad karma to fight with someone who is not healthy. Either way, I think we’re trying to put that chapter behind us and start to focus on the future. I will say though that I had no idea about how complicated being a homeowner really is.

Tonight I’ll post some more pictures of the final apartment (pre-furniture) and then next week we’ll post some pictures of the move and where we are at.

Until then…

Friday, September 12, 2008

Finally! A pot to...


Poor Amanda left our apartment at 6:45 am to meet the cleaning crew who was there to clean up in the wake of the cessation of construction work yesterday. But the good news is that our humble abode is clean, beautiful, and complete! (99% at least). 

While there have been some minor dust ups with our plumber, I'm proud to say that as of 3:34 pm, we officially have a working bathroom, complete with running water, and a toilet you can poop in! 

More pics of the final place to come, but here's a quick shot from her iPhone of the new toilet and sink. 

Awesome. 

Friday, September 5, 2008

15 days to go! (not that anyone's counting)

So a few more pictures to share from last night. Might be hard to see how much progress has been made in the bathroom but it's 95% done!

Also, the mirrored doors in the closet room went up.

These are the last pictures to see before the sink, toilet and shower head have been installed.
Enjoy. Amanda and I off to Boston for the weekend.