Forever and a Day...

I'm a bad blogger, I know, as it's been forever and a day since I last blogged, but I haven't been all that inspired to post anything of substance until now.

Long story short, I got a new job in the spring in the 'burbs and decided to sell my place and move back in with my mom to a) cut my work commute because it was kinda sucking and b) save money because my new place is, in hindsight, quite a bit larger and I'll need all my pennies to i) pay it down and ii) furnish and decorate it when it's finally ready.

On that note...I've been thinking about the new master bedroom:

New Master Bedroom by phoenixc on Polyvore

I actually have most of the elements here save for the bed and the night tables, which I think will be this Ikea hack...I intend to re-purpose the purple rug that used to anchor my living area, the vintage dressers I picked up for a song and had painted white, the MOP lamps from Homesense, a more recently purchased birdcage chandelier from Homesav and depending on the season, there are the two blankets I picked up in Morocco a few years ago - the vintage wedding blanket direct from the mountain tribes and a brilliant turquoise blanket made out of cactus silk.  I'm thinking the walls will be a soft grey with maybe a hint of lavender....

As always, I can't wait! Last word on occupancy was May 2013, but I drove by a few weeks ago and it's currently just a hole in the ground.  It's a pretty big hole and relatively deep, but a hole nonetheless.  The development is a small, mid-rise building though with just 23 lofts and 5 townhouses so I suppose it could conceivably be ready for occupancy by next winter...fingers crossed! :)

Moving on up!

Hallo!!! It's been literally ages since I last blogged because I've started up the practice of keeping a (mostly) daily journal again, and with this new routine, I find I'm less inclined to blog online with everything else that's been going on in my life.

I do want to share some big news though!  I bought a new place!! Which is CRAZY because I was thinking this would be something I'd start looking into maybe next summer...but then I sort of by accident found the perfect place and everything just came together and now I'm looking forward to moving as early as next summer!

So, let's rewind, shall we?

This is my place now:

I moved in August 13, 2008 and it has been the best first home ever: I have a group of great neighbours I can party up with on occasion, the neighbourhood's ideal and chockablock with street level retail, restaurants and hot yoga studios, and I'm walking distance to work.  What more could a girl ask for, right?

Well...maybe more space.  I've been thinking for awhile that if my place were just a little bigger, it'd be PERFECT.  I didn't think such a thing were possible though, so I had resigned myself to moving into a house at some point.  I'd always figured that a house was something I'd move into when I grew up, i.e. got married.  But, since I'm not married, and I don't believe in waiting around for my soulmate to show up so I can live the life I want to live, I started flirting with the idea of moving, and dipped my toes into the pool by just, you know, checking to see what was out there in the market.

A house is a lot of work for a couple, never mind a single woman who isn't particularly handy, so I thought, maybe a townhouse....one thing led to another while I was searching online and that's when I came across this new boutique development about 10 minutes west of where I am now.  And I was immediately smitten, and, if you ask my sister, obsessed.  I mean, LOOK:

This is basically my place now, with an extra bed and bath.  Too good to be true.  So I got excited but not too excited because I didn't want to be disappointed and I didn't know if I would be able to afford it.

So here's how it all went down:

Sat, Jan 28: I found the floorplan online late in the evening.
Sun, Jan 29: I called the sales centre to get some more details like pricing (not as expensive as I thought it would be with some help from Mom - check!), expected occupancy (Summer 2013 - check!)
Mon, Jan 30: visited the sales centre after work to find out more
Tues, Jan 31: took the day off and called the bank to get the ball rolling on pre-approval
Wed, Feb 1: got the call just before noon that I was pre-approved for a mortgage on the new place and went back to the sales centre that night to sign the purchase agreement - 10 day cooling off period starts
Fri, Feb 3: met with my lawyer to review the agreement and discuss amendments
Mon, Feb 6: met with the sales agent to drop off the amendments to the agreement for the developer
Thurs, Feb 9: got an email from the sales agent late in the evening to say that the developer had agreed to just about all the amendments I wanted, including the larger kitchen at NO ADDITIONAL COST!!
Fri, Feb 10:  stopped by the sales agent's office to sign the amended purchase agreement
Wed, Feb 15: 10 day cooling off period ends and I'm firm and committed!

Insane, right?  It all happened ridiculously fast but I never really doubted that this place was meant to be mine.  It just felt incredibly right.  I could not have imagined a better place - how many lofts have floor to ceiling windows with both the north and south exposure? And all the space is functional - there aren't any useless hallways, weird curved walls, or columns, which I love.

So!  Now the fun begins!  I have a new place to look forward to decorating and I can't wait to share with you all the things I've been dreaming up!!! :)

Coolest Teeny-Tiny Flat EVAR

Gary Chang, an architect in Hong Kong has designed the coolest multi-room flat ever with 24 rooms in all of 344 sq. ft!

Library District

For a bibliophile, Library District Condos, much like Library Hotel in Manhattan, has got to be the place to be, right?


You can bet your clothbound Penguin Classics that I registered to check it out! :)

White Box Condos

It's a bit slow at work today with the execs away on business through to the end of the week so I had time to catch up on my news and came across this article in the Star about "white box condos" in some US cities. The concept of buying an unfinished condo - the white box - which buyers can then outfit with paint, appliances and other finishes as they see fit is not a new idea. This is how developments are sold in Amsterdam (and possibly other European cities). I first found out about this through my cousins who both bought new condos in the last few years. D laid his own hardwood floors, picked out his own bathroom fixtures and is still undecided about his kitchen backsplash. While I love the convenience of having things edited by a designer so decisions are fairly easy to make come design time, there's a part of me - the part that watches too much HGTV - that relishes the idea of starting with a completely blank slate. Maybe this will hit Toronto when I'm ready to move onto my next home...and if that new home happens to be a condo, well, fun fun fun!

In need of some ME time

It was a long weekend here and as it happened, it turned out to be far busier than I had planned. I kicked it off with dinner and a movie with the neighbour, let's call him P. We went to see Wolverine which was what you would expect of an action film - plus Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds were yummy.

I hosted a brunch on Saturday with a group of friends, some of whom I haven't seen in almost a year! There were 8 of us crowded around my Ikea Docksta(!), catching up over waffles with blueberry syrup and the tastiest egg strada made by G's wife, E. I had a few hours to chill before heading over to my neighbour's 3 doors down for a BBQ (incidentally, in the 9 months I've lived here, I've never met him...I think I might have bumped into him once when I took my garbage out).

P had invited me to the BBQ Wednesday night and I was a little uneasy about going, not knowing what he had said so I was non-commital. When he asked me again on our way out for dinner Friday, I joked about how I grew up in the suburbs where we don't talk to our neighbours, to which he replied that he grew up in the 'burbs too and knowing your neighbours isn't so bad. When I finally asked how the invitation played out, he said he hadn't told him anything, so I decided maybe it wouldn't be so bad after all. I'm glad I went. I have some really cool neighbours - some really good looking neighbours. :) P came by to pick me up around 6 and we walked over together. The food was fantastic and the alcohol was flowing. I did not get home until 3:30 and took a drunken shower before falling into bed around 4.

I had promised to meet my mother for dim sum Sunday so got up around 9. I had stupidly not taken any preventative measures like drinking tons of water or taking a few ibuprofens before bed so had a terrible headache and still felt drunk. Dumb dumb dumb. I had to take a nap at my mom's before coming back downtown and after my bath, napped some more, before P called to confirm that I was going to our other neighbour's BBQ. I didn't stay as late this time - I was done by midnight but it was still a great time.

I will admit that I'm very glad that I've gotten to know my neighbours...but at the same time, I'm mentally exhausted. Today, I just wanted to stay home and not talk to anyone or see anyone. But I had committed to meeting R today at his place to see the walls he'd painted in the colours I had helped him pick out (they looked great!) and then to see Star Trek on IMAX. So off I went.

This weekend's flurry of social activity and my subsequent fatigue reminded me an article I'd come across awhile back called Caring for Your Introvert. Some of it is rather tongue-in-cheek but I totally identified with the idea of needing to recharge "after an hour or two of being socially "on," ...This isn't antisocial. It isn't a sign of depression. It does not call for medication. For introverts, to be alone with our thoughts is as restorative as sleeping, as nourishing as eating." In a related aside, I re-took the MBTI here and after being resolutely ISTJ for as long as I can remember, I was surprised to discover last week that I am now an ISFJ! Granted, the F is only mildly expressed but still! How and when did that happen!? I'm going to sign off now and ponder it for a bit.

Good night!

Really?

I've been consumed with my current project at work, so much so that it feels like I've been back at the office for 2 months instead of 2 weeks. The last few days have been all about last minute conference calls and impromptu meetings and I'm so glad that it's Friday tomorrow because it's exhausting to be go-go-go all the time.

On a more personal note, my condo closed on Wednesday and I have joined the mortgaged. The last week and a half was made more stressful by the surprise levy the developer decided to tack onto my closing costs, in addition to the payment in advance of 2009 property taxes which, apparently, is not unusual. I was just shocked by the amount. My words to my lawyer: "They're robbing me. I feel like I'm being robbed." Anyway, long story short, I'll likely get some of that tax payment in advance back once my building is assessed (likely in 2010) and I disputed the levy which they agreed to remove 1.5 hours before I was due at the law offices. It was rather anti-climatic, actually. No bells and whistles or balloons or anything. Just a bunch of documents that needed my signature and then I was done.

It doesn't feel so different...except when I log into my banking online and see the 6 figure sum in my mortgage account. Talk about a shock. Such is life.

Close

It's official.

I have a closing date for my condo and it's January 14th! So in lieu of "occupancy fees" I'll be making mortgage payments! Yay!!

Seriously though. This is me, all grown up. For reals. Yikes!

WIP: Study

This is what my den/study looks like right now:

As you can see from the paint chips on the wall, I haven't quite settled on the shade of green I want to paint with, which is why the space still looks like a storage area. I didn't see the point in getting all organized if I'm just going to have to pack stuff up to paint.

This is the first time I've actually sat at my desk to work....I really like the feeling of being tucked away in my little corner office....no windows though. :)

Study in Green+Orange

I've been thinking about my den since before I left for China and was going back and forth on whether or not it should be a guest room or a study. I was leaning towards the former but on my last trip to Ikea, my mother convinced me that it should be a study...so I came home with the 5x5 Expedit and the accompanying desk.

And while browsing online for art today, I came across the 2 for 1 sale over at Blue Ant Studio. I've had my eye on their Alphabet of Design Classics for the last year and finally pulled the trigger on my purchase. My second poster is the Side Eames LCW.

I think I may spend the holidays painting... :)

Study by phoenixc

Guest Quarters

My cousin M and his girlfriend I are FINALLY coming for a visit next month and will be staying with me so I have been thinking a lot about my den and how I'm going to furnish it. This will be I's first visit to Canada so I'd love for it to be lots of fun. Granted, they're only going to be here for 4 days, but you can pack a lot into 4 days!!

I've been browsing daybed options for awhile now and am thinking West Elm's circle-cutout daybed would be alright, although the overlapping squares daybed would have been better to go with with Ikea's Expedit which is what I had planned for the adjacent elevation. Or would that be too many squares?? Anyway, it's moot anyway since I'm thinking a scheme in red and black for this room and that particular daybed is only available in white....


According to their website, the Toronto store is opening on the 16th!!! I will have to check it out as soon as I'm back!

Knickers on the Wall

The original ink and acrylic prints I picked up a few weekends ago are finally framed and hung in my bathroom thanks to my friend, N, who's moved back for good after living 9+ years in the US. They're so adorable I can't help but stand and stare at them with a silly grin on my face. :)

I would have had these cuties up sooner but because they were already matted in 8x8 white, I had to order the size especially online through Frames-Direct.com - my Ikea stand-by, Ribba, was the wrong dimension and I wasn't about to pay to have them matted again when the quality of the existing matte was so good.

CARPET!

I'm happy to report that it's dust pan alley no more!!!!!! Yes, that sentence warrants 6 exclamation points because carpet in the hall = less dust in my suite! :)

For the record, these are Flor carpet tiles (I saw the boxes as the installers were laying them on my way out this weekend):

Dust Pan Alley

Here's a view of my hall - throughout the week I've seen them prep the walls - a couple days ago a guy was sanding them down and as a result, there was a lovely cloud of dust that accompanied me into my suite. The one noticable addition was that the plates with our suite numbers were installed yesterday!

Mi Casa

I've spent the weekend labouring away, shopping for things on my never-ending list of things to buy (it just occured to me yesterday that I need a can opener!), packing stuff up at mom's to unpack and organizing them in mine. It's still rather a bit of a mess as you can see from the lovely vignette below:

Despite the disorder, the mirror and lamps make me happy just looking at them - imagine the disorder away.

My comfy couch dressed with the bed pillows I picked up in Vancouver is an island oasis in my space:

All that's missing are the end tables and lamps...which I've yet to set up. I've got a few other ideas in mind, like Ikea's Andrea rug in purple, and maybe a clear glass coffee table like Structube's Visio coffee table...but I think I'll wait until after I'm back from China because hopefully by then construction inside the building will be complete and the dustbin that is the interior will be a distant memory.

And here's the bathroom, mostly organized:


I'm thinking about colour on the walls because it seems really white...but that's way down on the priority list behind my Tulip table and dining chairs.

Finally, the dressers

My dressers were delivered this evening and I was so looking forward to spending the night unpacking my clothes and feeling more settled but it wasn't to be. The paint job still isn't as perfect as I would like it to be and I can accept the explanation about the pores of the wood being very open and the curves of the drawers making it difficult to paint with the spray gun. But what's unacceptable is the mess of paint specks and drips that is the inside of the drawers because they obviously didn't cover the open drawers. GRRR!

Instead of just lining the drawers, as I had originally intended, I now have to thoroughly clean them...From the looks of some of the drawers, I may have to scour some of them. Double GRRRRR!

Converted

I'm not a bath person but after taking a shower last night and making an awful mess because I don't yet have a shower curtain rod and therefore no shower curtain, I decided tonight was the perfect time to give my deep soaker tub a try....and you know what? I think I may just be a convert to baths...maybe at least once a week - particularly after I get myself one of those little bath pillows to rest my head against!

Still feeling warm and perhaps a little drowsy...time for bed!

Feels like home

I don't know what I would do without my family. Despite the grumbling from my siblings - actually, just my brother - and a bit of stress and frustration on my part and my Uncle's because I didn't have everything on hand for installation this afternoon (he's the tool guy with the mad skillz) everyone pulled together: My sister and brother put together the last couple Malms which are now lined up across from my bookcases, my mother finished putting my kitchen in order and saw to organizing the cardboard and packing materials, and I helped my Uncle install the hotel towel rack in my bathroom and one of the Rubbermaid Customizable Closet kits (the pre-installed hardware in the closet is beyond crappy.)

What's missing now are my dressers. I moved my summer wardrobe down today and until my dressers arrive (hopefully tomorrow!) I will be living out of bags.

Pictures to come...

Connected!

I'm getting settled in very slowly. My couch was delivered Thursday and it's so comfortable! I spent much of that day cleaning - lined my cupboards and put away my dishes and swept and mopped. With construction still ongoing through to October, I suspect I'll be cleaning just about every day if I want to avoid dust building up.

My appointment to hook-up my cable, phone and internet was early yesterday morning so I slept in my place for the first time Thursday night. I overlook a gas station (for now anyway) that fronts onto a busy street and could hear the sounds of the city all around, which is something I'll have to get used to again after living in the quiet suburbs the last 20+ years.

Now that I'm connected again, I feel less isolated. I'm presently sitting on my couch half-watching the US play Spain in Olympic basketball thinking I should head out to pick up some lunch since my fridge is depressingly empty...

Moving Day

Today was the day and we got off to a late start. I was still packing this morning since Piglet and watching the Olympics last night were quite the distraction. We picked up the truck around 10:30 and headed back home to pack some more. After a quick lunch, we began loading up the truck which only took an hour - good thing since we had to make a stop to pick up my dressers at the refinishers, which didn't move in with me today because the paint job wasn't acceptable.

There were obvious drip spots and I was given a reasonable explanation about the fact that the dressers were going from a dark finish with a reddish undertone to the extreme of a stark white, so, as a result they had to put multiple layers on because the red bled through, blah blah blah. Keeping my fingers crossed that when next I see them, they'll be as near perfect as possible.

We got to my place around 3pm and the building manager who had my key was nowhere to be found. We waited around for at least half an hour before he decided to show himself so by the time we moved everything in, it was nearly dinner time. None of the items identified on my pre-delivery inspection were attended to and I wonder if they will be within the 30 days since 11 of the 14 units on my floor appear to be incomplete.

The one bright spot is that I met the neighbour to my right and he is cute! AND he has an accent. :)