color me anxious

the painters started today.

the two bedrooms should be done by today.

master bedroom=quiet moments

second room=sea urchin

i really hope i don't regret those decisions.

i'm so anxious.

the loo part 4: this frame of mine

There were two things i fell in love with when looking for ideas for the apartment.

1. a photo of a bathroom mirror framed by mosaic tile

2. brown & black mosaic tile from selective stone.

when i saw the photo in the magazine it was love at first sight. if only i could have a mirror like that, it would be lovely. i clipped it out and stuck it in my apartment binder. then while shopping for flooring tile i found the most beautiful mosaic tile that i just had to have. it had to go somewhere. but where?!? A TILE FRAME!!!
i really wanted it to happen but everyone was telling me it could get pricey so then it became a "if we have $$ in the end we'll do it" then it got bumped down to "maybe we can do it later, when we do the other bathroom" i was pretty bummed. but i kept thinking about it. i started thinking up ways to get the money to make the frame. i even wondered if i could make it myself. hahaha. i think nolan eventually saw just how much i wanted it we worked it in and here it is!!!

(i have to add though, that the pictures don't do the frame justice. it is so much prettier in person!)

it's the colors of ollie!

this was ollie's first visit to his future new home.

he was pretty scared. i don't blame him...it looks nothing like a home at the moment.

don't forget to check out more ollie adventures on his own blog.

quantity thirty-eight

Guess what's in the bag?

i'll give you some hints:

1. it's from lowes

2. the bag is *kinda* heavy

3. there are 38 of the same items in the bag

if you guessed cabinet pulls, you are correct!!!
since our cabinets have been ordered we went out to lowes to buy the handles because it's so much cheaper than buying it from thomasville or kraftmaid. who wants to pay $15 for ONE handle when you gotta buy thirtysomething?!?! not us, that's for sure! i swear those cabinet buggers just look for ways to rip you off left & right.
we were going to go w/our initial decision of these $4 handles...but then nolan saw a thinner version for about $8....we took a chance on those. AND we had a $100 pre paid credit card as a rebate from all our samsung kitchen appliances that we used towards the cost.
yay for rebates!

the sixthfloorapartment just got a new resident!

Hi! my name is ollie!

(pronounced oh-lee)ollie was a surprise birthday gift to me from nolan.
he's currently living with his foster family (read their blogs here & here) until we can move in.

i'm debating an ollie-blog.
hmmm....

it's all a waiting game now...

Yesterday we had our final meeting with our cabinet designer (Steve) at Home Depot.
We discussed the outrageous installation labor quote we recieved, and he told us it's all coming from the company they outsource with...and that he's tried to tell management about the ridiculous prices, but no one listens to the little guy. i really wish i could remember the name of the company they use...

So our cabinets are ordered. we changed the cabinet style to save some money...every little bit helps right? the contractor that comes to verify that the design will work in the kitchen suggested smaller cabinets about the stove, so that saved us a little more. AND it was the last day for a free sink base, so even more money saved!!! then they have some promotion, spend so much, get so much off. save even more money!!!
i'm all about saving money these days. haaha.

so now we wait. wait for the cabinets, wait for the floors.
while we wait we need to find a sink for the kitchen (bye bye kohler cast iron sink, we're giving you up in the name of saving more money---funny thing: the only 2 things we actually loved and agreed on were the cabinet styles and sink, and those two are no longer being picked.), two sinks for the bathroom, and faucets all around.

and again, not wanting a picture-less blog post (because who really likes those?)
here's a picture of us on new years eve.
and a shameless plug:

you like my dress? it's JEWEL NUMKKI.
designed and handmade by my bestie, cece.
Check out her blog, where's she's been posting about her new spring collection.
and her etsy page where you can purchase her cute things.

dear home depot, you must be taking crazy pills!!!

we wanted to get a quote for cabinet installation from home depot after hearing that they were somewhat reasonable, and your cabinets have a lifetime guarantee if it's installed by their people. We already had another quote from another contractor, but we just wanted to compare...if we can get the lifetime guarantee, that would be best right?

we made the appointment to have someone come look at our kitchen & give us an estimate. we made the appointment the same day we made the appointment for our flooring order & installation estimate. flooring people called, came, measured....everything went pretty smoothly and floors were ordered and everything was all good.

where oh where are the cabinet guys?!?

where oh where can they be???

we wait almost an entire week to finally call to see what was the hold up. they told us to call the guy directly (i guess he's outsourced...sorta). it takes another week for him to come and look at the kitchen, then another week for him to turn in the labor quote.
seriously?!?!

apparently there were 5 other clients also waiting for quotes getting mighty angry as well.

we FINALLY got our quote today.
what.a.waste.of.time!

they quoted us $12,000 to install!!!!!!

heck no! what crazy person would actually pay that?

even the cabinet design guy laughed when he told us the price.

--------

completely unrelated, but we can't have a post without visual interest right?
do you know who also has blue interior walls?
Minnie Mouse!

Here i am in her living room:
i don't think it's quite our style.
:)

easter sunday, easter funday

just taking a quick break from apartment reno-blogging to share our easter sunday with you all!

Hope you all had a great Easter as well!

we spent the afternoon coloring easter eggs w/my nephew, Chase.

the loo part three: shower area is almost finished!

it's been one month, two weeks, and one day since we closed on this sixthfloorapartment.

and what do we have to show for it??? a shower and toilet.

woop woop!

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Hello toto toilet. i didn't want to take off the protective wrapping in case the workers had to clean up or do last minute stuff in there, but this room is pretty much finished! we just need to add towel bars, toilet paper holders, and paint the room!

i sat on the toilet just to see how cramped the room is.
it still feels like a coffin to me.

oh well. whatcha gonna do?

hello hans grohe showerhead. i think i love you already!

nolan is almost too tall for the showerhead!!!
yikes. he just clears it.

Next up: working on the outer portion of the bathroom area.

-installation of pocket door to separate bathroom from bedroom

-my mirror. i fought for this. i hope it comes out nice.

"you buy now? you pay today?"

last saturday we went to the marble & granite warehouse to place an order and get installation quotes....we were greeted with a very friendly, "you buy now? you pay today?" talk about straight to the point! hahaha.

turns out we did buy now and pay today.

first up--another feng shui bad boy:

this guy is HUGE! almost as tall as me, and weighs a ton.
he's going to live on our balcony next to my chinese pot thing. He's supposed to protect us from bad chi (qi? <---my favorite scrabble/wordwithfriends word) flowing in from the street below. if nolan refuses to let me have a puppy, i guess this guy will do. i think i'll name him "Long Duck Dong" after my favorite 16 Candles character:

oh yah, by the way, APRIL FOOLS! did i fool any of you? i hope so. i mean, all the feng shui stuff is pretty crazy anyway, i wouldn't put it past people to have those things....
anyway, we did order the granite for the kitchen counters, here's nolan talking to the saleslady/owner (i think?) about buying the slabs to make sure no one else will buy it. she later asked nolan if he was chinese. then she asked me if i was filipino. (really?!?)
ummmm....i can honestly say i've NEVER heard that before!