Wedding Wednesday Confessional

I’m keeping this post as a confessions because a) I’m still recuperating b) I have a lot to catch up and organize to post and c) I have a paper cut on my right index finger which makes typing painful!

ONE / /  I was not one bit nervous the entire day. After all the worrying and freaking out over the past few months, during the actual wedding day I was as calm as a cucumber (that’s a thing, right?)

TWO / / I danced! I HATE dancing, but my anxieties went out the window on Saturday and I danced the evening way.

THREE / / I also drank too much, probably by 2 drinks. I ended up bawling at the end of the night after throwing up in my in-laws bathroom. I was a mess.

FOUR / / I don’t remember too much of that evening after, like, 9pm. BUT my husband (!!!) still enjoyed himself that night *wink*

FIVE / / I was worried about the decorations on Friday, but they ended up being really nice and I let my aunt-in-law know my appreciation.

SIX / / At breakfast on Sunday morning the waitress called me “Mrs. Mahoney” and I did a double take looking for my mother-in-law. I played it cool, though.

SEVEN / / I forgot to bring my petticoat and bra so I was nude under the dress… which no one could notice but I could definitely feel. Lame. Also lame because my mom spent A LOT of money on those things! HOWEVER! I didn’t take the tags off so I can either get store credit OR try to sell them on CL!

EIGHT / / The taco guy I was worried about? Really F-ed us over. A whole post-section about that will be done. Made me soooo mad!

NINE / / Taco guy was the only bad vendor. Stone Fire Grill was amazing as expected, the cake was delicious (actually…. I’m going to eat some of that tonight!) and gorgeous! The DJ, although he tried to cut out early, was great and kept the party going and the photographers were with me from 9am until 9pm!

TEN / / I’ve NEVER EVER felt more beautiful in my life. It wasn’t even the dress, it was the hair and make-up. The make-up was amazing! I was worried that they would overdo it, but it was perfect. I felt like a princess. Even Thomas commented on it. I wish I knew how to do it like that.

Our entrance at the reception!

ELEVEN / / Thomas teared up. No tears actually fell, and he composed himself quickly, but I could see his lip quivering. My maid of honor also commented on it. So sweet!

TWELVE / / My nephew was great as ring bearer and declared the party the ”most awesome party ever”. On Monday when his teacher asked him if he danced at the wedding, he said “No! I danced at the party!!”.

THIRTEEN / / I would not have been able to get through the wedding without the help of several people…. A few include my maid of honor Lauren, my co-worker and friend Dante (who decorated the chapel), and my sister and brother in law who went above and beyond to make sure everything was ready for the reception.

My maid of honor, Lauren, and me!

Clockwise starting on the left - Lauren, Mike (bro-in-law), Mika, and Nikki (nieces).

FOURTEEN / / Because I can’t leave the list at 13… I broke down the next day. Since I drank so much I spent most of Sunday alternating between shivering and being sweaty. I didn’t sleep well the night before and I couldn’t rest. I finally cried and slept at around 3pm which was what I needed. I woke up refreshed and Thomas and I were able to finish out furniture shopping.

I want to add a very BIG THANKS to all of you who reached out and sent me messages and well wishes on my wedding day! You don’t know how much it means to me! I’m going to attempt to reply to you all this week (paper cut healing soon, I hope!) but just know that you are amazing!

I'm GETTING MARRIED!!!

As you read this…. I will either be hours away from becoming a Mrs. or already one!

FINALLY!

I’ll update you all on that later… when I get a chance to breathe!

I’ve asked the guests at my wedding to upload pictures to Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter using #TKWed. I don’t know if they will oblige, but just in case, hop on over to those sites and see if you can spot any pictures of my wedding day!

I hope everyone is having a great Saturday and WONDERFUL weekend!

PS. I'm sorry I'm not commenting, the internet at our new place won't be turned on until May 3rd so not sure how posting or commenting will be going until then!

Throwback Thursday: First Kiss

(and ON Thursday this time!)

While you are reading this… I’m getting ready for my wedding! (Have I spoken too much about my wedding?).

Today’s topic is First Kiss. I remember mine… and then being told how to be a better kisser. But it was done in a good way.

I didn’t go on my first date (and have my first kiss) until I was well past my 21^st birthday. I was the opposite of a social butterfly in high school (and now) mostly due to my social anxieties. But I finally got my courage up and began using dating sites (including Craigslist!). I met Aaron on the latter and after chatting online and over the phone for a while, we finally set a date to see a movie and walk around IKEA. (Yes, I know. Ikea. Don’t judge.)

I can’t quite remember the movie right now… I think it had Jim Carrey in it possibly. But it was in the midst of the movie that he leaned in for that first kiss. Not as romantic as some, I imagine. I’m not sure if I asked him how I did, but I’m pretty sure I had told him that I had never been on a date before or kissed anyone. He was great about all of it. He was sweet and gentle and very nice with me. I think he made my entering into the dating game much easier than if I had gone out with others (and I went on A LOT of dates in my lifetime, thank GOD that is over with!).

I’m glad my last kisses will be with Thomas, though. His still make my heart melt, especially when he initiates them.  

Wednesday Confessional

So it’s a hectic week. I’m getting married in just 3 days! Can you believe it? Well, I can’t… and it’s brought on these confessions:

// ONE Maybe I was a bit of a bridezilla. I was accused of it by my sister and my fiancée. I guess it depends on your definition of the term? If it means that I wanted my wedding to be the way I envisioned it and not the way my cousin or his sister or the neighbors aunt did, then I’m a bridezilla. If it means that I got upset when things got changed on me after they had been planned for a while, then yes, I am a bridezilla. However, I think that for the one day that is mine and his (and when he has no opinion) I should be able to have it the way I want it and not someone else’s vision. Bridezilla or not.

// TWO That said, I probably should have been more patient with the people I was dealing with. I lost my tempter often over the past few months, and if I could do it over again I would probably nod, smile, and then just do it my way.

// THREE I’m going slightly crazy these days. I know that I have just about everything under control. There are so many details that I have to remember. So many small things that have to be done in order for the whole thing to come together… and they are all freaking me out. My MOH asked me if I was nervous yet, I told her that I’m too busy to be nervous.

// FOUR I’m REALLY looking forward to my honeymoon and am so relieved to have the tickets purchased, even If we paid a lot more than I ever wanted to pay. I CANNOT wait to see my family – that I haven’t see in over 6 years. There will be a party/reception for them. We’ll see how comfortable Thomas feels at the party and around my family. He says I should be comfortable around his since we are now one family, so he better be comfortable around mine J.

// FIVE I probably spent too much money on getting my car washed, but now it is sparkly inside and out AND it all happened while I was at work and in the work parking lot. Time saver!

// SIX I’m going to have some drinks. I’m picking up my MOH at the airport tomorrow night and I cannot wait to go sit at a bar, have some appetizers and drink a couple of martini’s. As each day goes by I feel a bit more stressed out, so that will be a welcomed girl night.

// SEVEN I am bringing on more work on myself by deciding to make jello shots tomorrow night. I’m crazy, I know. The inspiration were the ones a friend made for my bridal shower at work (although those were non-alcoholic). So cute!

Wedding Wednesday - FREAK OUT edition!

Although I wrote this about a week in advance of the posting date everything I write is true about today and… well, today? You get my point!

I may be starting to really freak out about this whole Wedding thing. As of today (today as in the day this is being posted) I am THREE days away from my wedding. As in 72 hours! Ahh!

About a week ago I began to get worried. While I did get all the big things taken care of, I began to worry about the details. And it’s ALLLL in the details, right? Here is an example of my thought process..

• Where are we going to walk in from?
• Will there be room for all the tables?
• Where will the cake go? Will it melt? Can we move it without dropping it?
• WHO is going to put the tables together? (THIS WAS HUGE! Read below!)
• Will people find their seats? Will people care that there are assigned seats?
• Will I be making blue raspberry Jello shots (like these from my work bridal shower) the day before?
• Will the wax I get tonight make me red and ugly for the wedding? Should I skip it?

And on and on and on…

I had been under the impression that there was going to be someone there in the morning to set up the tables. Thomas had been telling me that we cannot set things up on Friday and they should be set up the day of.  By having things set up I mean all the linens/decorations/etc. The tables WILL be set up on Friday morning so I can make sure that all the chairs will fit and I don’t have to re-do the seating chart the same day.

The day I realized that the person who I thought was going to set it up wasn’t… well, it wasn’t a great night. It stressed me out because now I had to figure out how to get the tables set up with the tables clothes, diamonds, center pieces, etc, etc. After being more pissed off than I should have been, I decided that I would just ask my sister, brother-in-law and maid of honor to take care of it on Saturday morning. This works well, also, because it means that I can yell at them if it is not done the way I expect it to.  But I’m sure that they will do it perfectly. 

Part of my great worry about the tables and when they get set up is that I won’t get to see the tables until after people start… messing with them (ie: eating tacos and chips and salsa on them). I want to see the tables being beautiful and the only way will be through photographs, so the tables have to be set up early so that the photographer can take pictures in the morning prior to the reception. What I wanted was to rope off the tables so that I can see them as they were, but Thomas refuses to let this be because he wants to make sure everyone gets a place to sit if they want to. This, even as I write this, is giving me heartache. I just know that the tables will be messy, with dirty plates/cups before I get to see the way they look.

But… I’ll leave it to that because I don’t want to get into more detail about the arguments. Hopefully it will be perfect and I’ll see great looking tables when I arrive to the party. I am sad, though, because a coworker spent a lot of time making a rope to separate the tables which we now won’t be using.

I think I’ve done pretty well at figuring everything out and getting things where they are supposed to be… but I’m still afraid of things failing. I guess I’ll find out… in just THREEEEEE DAYS!!!!!

Throwback Thursday (on Friday) Easter Edition

I’m a couple of days late on this, but I wanted to join in the fun of Easter memories.

My parents never took me to church for Easter and I don’t remember ever going on egg hunts, although I have vague memories of coloring eggs at some point during my childhood. Still, I have fond memories of Easter.

My eldest sister is 15 years older than me and she married when I was 8. Her husband is a great guy and means as much to me as my blood siblings do. For spring break every year I would fly up to visit her and my brother in law on my own. Los Angeles Unified’s spring break is always the week prior to Easter, so my dad would pick me up from the airport on Easter Sunday.

In the back seat I would always find a chocolate bunny. He doesn’t remember that he did this, and he never told my mom (it was our secret!) but my memories of it are fond. Later, when I was older, he stopped so I always joke with him about it.

When my nieces were younger and I was single I would make hardboiled eggs and dye them. As they grew older and I got busier I stopped doing that. However, up until this year I’ve taken my niece and nephew Easter egg hunting at various locations near us. I would do so again this year, but they have been in Spain for 2 weeks AND I’m a tiny bit busy with house/wedding/honeymoon/sister in the hospital. Hopefully their parents will be up to taking them.

Linking Up with....

Pit & Peak

This week ended up being… okay, I guess.

PIT / /

/ / My sister is still in the hospital and in the ICU and there really doesn’t seem to be any progress – things are just the same.

/ / I broke my thumbnail! Usually this isn’t a big deal but since I’m getting married in 8 days…well, sort of a big deal! They’ll have to put an acrylic on it and I really didn’t want to. Oh well. Oh, and I have 2 pretty nasty hangnails.

/ / I’m still home alone. My mom has been at the hospital since Monday and I miss her. I know it is selfish, but I want my mommy with me. My last few days as a single woman living at home… well I’m living by myself. My brother and family come home tonight (I’ll be picking them up from LAX) so it won’t be so quiet anymore, but it is still not the same.

/ / With the stress and lack of sleeping well this past week, my ribs have been aching more than usual and there is no fix to that.

PEAKS / /

/ / I had an amazing bridal shower thrown for me at work! I’ll be posting about that in detail, but here is a preview:

/ / We were able to start moving things into our condo. Basically it’s very slow. We bought a used kitchen table for $150 off Craigslist and a couch, dining room table, and coffee table at Ashely’s Furniture.

/ / I was very excited to be able to start putting things around the house, even though it was just toilet paper and soap. It’s mine! (Okay, ours…)

/ / I got a lot done for the wedding this week: confirmed with the caterers, the make-up/hair people, sending off the check for the church, figuring out a final seating chart, and probably a lot more.

/ / We got windows! Actually, we met with one company on Tuesday and another on Wednesday and made a final decision. We should have windows installed before summer starts! Also… I think we got a pretty decent deal ($5k for 3 windows and a patio sliding door).

/ / I sent out my Thank You’s for my 1^st bridal shower! Only a couple of weeks later. That’s good, right? Hopefully I can do the same for my wedding, but I’m thinking that’ll wait until after the honeymoon. That’s okay, I think?

/ / It’s FRIDAY! My niece and nephew come home and get to check out my place!

Have a great weekend!

Once again again linking up with... 

and..

Thankful Thursday

I am thankful today and every day, but I feel more so these past couple of days.

/ / - While my sister is in the ICU at the moment, things are not looking terrible. In fact they have been looking better. While it sucks that she is there and going through this, she is now in a wonderful hospital that has amazing doctors and smart, caring nurses (and a bunch of others who I can’t even begin to name). The prognosis that we were given at the first hospital was very bleak, but the one we are being given at this one is amazing.

She is very sick, but she is doing better. She is healing as far as her kidney goes. While her kidney function was down a week ago it has now returned to almost normal. The doctors have been amazed at her recovery – as far as infection and the like. She is still in serious condition and still needs a lot of care and recuperation time, but from a week ago until now things have improved tenfold. I am immensely grateful for this.

/ /  - I am grateful that my mom has been able to be by my side in preparing for the wedding and the purchasing/moving into our new condo. My mom is amazing and she is so helpful. She knows what I need, what I should and shouldn’t get and how to fix and clean anything. I don’t know what I would do without her.

/ / - I am beyond grateful that we are done with our realtor. She was the biggest headache and was the reason for many arguments between Thomas and I over the course of the last 6 weeks. She did e-mail me again post-closing escrow and I happily put that message in the trash bin. Plus we have a condo!

/ / - I am also incredibly grateful for my fiancée. I have been a mess lately. Between a lack of sleep, stress about my sisters condition, finishing wedding details, and closing on the house… I have not been an easy person to be around. I recognize it and I’m sorry about my behavior but sometimes I can’t stop. Thomas is so patient with me and so giving to my needs, even if I might not recognize it at the moment. He may soon be listed as a saint, I think.

/ / - My coworkers. I am so thankful for the support they have provided me. They will ask me about what’s going on and listen to all of my life come spilling out. They also threw me a bridal shower on Tuesday.

/ / - I am so so thankful for you – my readers. I love getting your comments, I’m sorry I haven’t responded to all of them. I haven’t been on my computer a lot and I am a horrible e-mailer on my phone (I am very impatient with it!). Once things calm down I promise that I will be faster at replying and interacting in that way!

Hey! It's okay....

It’s okay….

… that I don’t do anything moving related Monday night and just go to sleep.

… that I’m a bit sad that my mom isn’t home, and in the hospital with my sister.

… that although we spent 3 hours looking at furniture with a sales lady and then only bought 4 things.

… that I bought a new car battery this weekend even though mine wasn’t completely dead.

… that I’m not trying to lose weight and instead just enjoying food and celebrations in the days leading up to my wedding.

… if I get sad and anxious about moving out. This will be my first time on my own and will be a challenge. I already miss my mom, and it doesn’t help that she’s not home now.

… that sometimes I take a lot of breaks at work and chit chat with coworkers (including my supervisor).

… that blogging (both reading and writing) have had to wait because searching for furniture and being with my sister have taken a front seat.

Monday Morning Rewind

Wow. It has been a weekend. Crazy busy. Let's recap!

FRIDAY / / 

Friday, as you may have read, was the day we got the keys to our new home. We were supposed to close a week earlier but because of loan issues we had to extend it a bit. I am SO happy that the whole process is over with. I learned a lot of about home buying AND I know what to do when we buy our next home in several years (after having kids). 

Thomas and I went to the agent's office during our lunch on Friday and got our keys and enjoyed a lunch out nearby. I had delicious ribs! Yum! Then after work we met at his house with my mom and his parents as well as the handy man that might be doing some work in our place. At one point my mom told me to move the fridge back to see how dirty it was underneath. my friend was going to come pick it up on Saturday and so we would be disconnecting it the next morning. I moved it, unplugged it, and the handyman tried to turn the water off so that we could disconnect the water for the fridge. The knob broke off in his hand! He was unable to fix it, so later that night I contacted a plumber who scheduled an appointment to come out on Saturday morning. 

Thomas' mom on the left, mine on the right.

After we were done doing some initial cleaning and the like, my mom and I headed out to do some shopping at Target for cleaning supplies we didn't yet have and other essentials. 

SATURDAY / / 

Our plumber had said he'd be at the condo by 9am on Saturday morning, so I woke up early to be there half an hour or more before then. My mom and I used the supplies we had purchased on Friday night to do some more cleaning. While the place was left in pretty decent shape, there are still dirty doors, shelves, counters, etc that need a once over to leave a bit better.

The plumber arrived around 9:15am, followed by the bed delivery people (Sleep Number is the way to go!) at 10am and minutes later by my friend who came to pick up the refrigerator that came with the unit. For about 30 minutes the house (I use the term "house" and "condo" interchangeably, it is not in fact a house, but a condo - but I can't help myself) was crazy! My friend brought her 5 year old son with her and he was a riot! I hadn't met him before (she is a work friend) and I just fell in love with him. 

The bed was set up quickly and were out within 20 minutes. It took longer for my friend to get the fridge out. While my mom and I stayed with her Thomas stayed with the plumber. Thankfully the plumber was able to fix the problem we called him about as well as a few other things that were on our inspection list. We have to schedule an appointment for them to come out again to finish working on things he wasn't able to get to that day. 

Once he was done and everyone else had finished, Thomas headed back to his parents place and my mom and I headed out to do some more shopping at the Dollar Tree for the house, and then use up $30 I had in coupons at JC Penney (I got an adorable iPad holder for the kitchen for when I'm cooking!). We had lunch at the mall and some Cinnabon (yum!) before heading to JoAnn's and Wal*Mart for wedding related shopping (I needed more tulle for pew bows as well as the cake topper, score on both ends - plus I got a sash that says Bride To Be!). As we were leaving Wal*Mart I got a call from Sears saying that they were running early and if they could come deliver the fridge right then. Yes! 

They had scheduled the delivery between 3:30pm and 5:30pm, but they got there before the beginning time! The same thing happened earlier in the day with the bed. Actually, the only person who was late was the plumber! I won't hold that against him, though. 

After the fridge was taken care of I took my mom home, fed my nieces hamster, and then went to pick Thomas up so we could take a look at furniture. We had gone a week or so prior, but now we actually could buy! We started with Macy's where we saw a couch we liked but we weren't sure about buying it just yet. It was different than what I was expecting to have. As we left we stopped at another store which was above our price range (and had nothing we liked) and then stopped at Jamba Juice. 

This is the bad part of the day. 

So that I could look up other furniture stores Thomas went into the store to get our drinks. I turned the car off but left the key turned so that I could keep my phone plugged in, since it was running in the yellow at this point in the afternoon. When he came back about 10 minutes later my car wouldn't start. You could hear it trying to but it just couldn't. I started to freak out because it didn't sound like it was a battery issue, and therefore sounded expensive. Luckily it was just a battery issue and $110 later I had a new battery and we were on our way. After another short stop at an overly price furniture store, we arrived at Ashley's Furniture. 

This is where we spent the next 2 1/2 hours. We went back and forth, back and forth on what we wanted. And to make this already long story not too much longer, we left without buying anything because I still had to drive to the hospital with my mom and it was already 8:30pm. 

My mom and I arrived at the hospital around 9:30pm. My sister looked very uncomfortable and unhappy. She cannot communicate well, if at all so it was hard to figure out what was going on. We were able to get them to give her some more pain medication as well as a sedative so that she could be more comfortable. Which seemed to help a bit. At least it helped enough so that my mom and I could go to the cafeteria (which is thankfully open until midnight) and get some dinner. 

I knew that I was going to stay at the hospital I just really underestimated how hard the floor actually was. I brought a blanket and pillow, but I think the blanket would have been better off under me and not over. My mom took a picture of me early on Sunday morning...

SUNDAY / / 

Since we were in the hospital my mom and I were up early (before 6!) and on our way to Starbucks (inside the hospital!) to have some breakfast. I began reading blogs/talking with Thomas while I drank my hot chocolate. I couldn't take my hot chocolate into the ICU room so I had to burn some time until I finished it. (Man, I need to work on summarizing!). 

The next few hours were spent with my sister, talking to the nurses and doctors that came into her room as well as blogging (some) and furniture searching (a lot). My dad finally arrived and my brother called me on Skype from Spain. Soon, after eating in the cafeteria again while my sister was being tested, my mom and I headed back home. Since Thomas and I had left the furniture store with items half purchased we had to go back. This is where LA sucks... middle of the day on a Sunday and the traffic was bumper to bumper. I get off the freeway to take the boulevard that runs alongside it (through the mountains) and it is jammed because they closed it for construction. What should have taken about 30-40 minutes, took over an hour. *sigh*

Can someone remind me I'm not writing a novel? Is anyone still reading this? I promise there isn't much left!

My mom and I stopped at the condo to measure before meeting Thomas at the furniture store. After more back and forth, me getting frustrated in part because of a lack of sleep, we came out with only purchasing a couch, coffee table, and dining room set. The rest will wait. Although, we had found a kitchen table for $150 on Craigslist, and Thomas snatched that up later on Sunday and it is now in our new home! 

My mom ran an errand to Kohl's and Target, but I was exhausted and my mom wasn't feeling well (she took her blood sugar and was at 49!) so we headed home soon afterward. I met Thomas at the condo late on Sunday to help him unload the table and then came home to go to sleep... where I wrote this post late into the night. Why is it not online until Monday night? Because I'm too tired to post the few pictures I actually have. 

Linking up with...

and...

Blog Tour: My Writing Process

A few weeks ago Amanda Nicole from Peaches in Missouri sent me an e-mail a few weeks ago asking if I would participate in a Blog Tour. I felt so excited in getting that e-mail! Amanda Nicole has been amazing in welcoming me into the blogging community we are all a part of. Let me take this moment to say THANK YOU! Also... CONGRATULATIONS!

You can go over to her blog, Peaches in Missouri, to read about her writing process. I'll wait for you to finish...

...

...

Okay, now you can read about mine:

What am I working on?

I am not as organized as many bloggers out there. I plan on being more organized after the wedding and we get settled into our new home. I don’t currently have a desk so adding that to my life will definitely help. All that to say that what I am working on will vary with where my mind is going. What I have been trying to get figured out lately is starting a new link-up about happiness. What are the positive things in my life? What is making me happy? I want it to be posts where people choose one broad idea/thing that makes them happy and really go into detail about the specific things that contributes to the happiness.

How does my work differ from others of its genre?

I have a genre? When I started my blog (this time around) and started to join link ups and other things I noticed all the options for different genres. I don’t know if I belong into one or another. I write what’s on my mind, what pops up, what inspires me, what saddens me, what excites me… anything. I think this is considered a Lifestyle blog, but I’m not sure – maybe you can tell me? I think all our blogs are different in some ways. We lead different lives and we have different opinions, experiences… and so no two blogs will be the same. I sort of feel like this is a cop-out answer, but it’s what you’re going to get!

Why do I write what I do?

To release stress. Writing has always been a way to get out any anxiety I have. I feel that when I don’t write, either here or in a written journal, I get angrier. Of course I want to write for others to enjoy it but my number one goal is for me to be able to express myself and release any stress or anxiety I have.

How does your writing process work?

Currently I do 90% of my blogging at work. I work in a customer service center and I have 3 minute breaks in between calls. I will use that time to write and then also during my breaks (25 min) and lunch. When I am too busy at work because of other things (wedding/house/fundraisers) I’ll catch up at night at home. This may change when I move and have a desk and space to organize myself. Currently I am using post-it’s to keep track of ideas and Link-Ups. It is not a hugely effective method. I won a calendar in a raffle a couple of weeks ago and hopefully that will help me in keeping track of everything.

Homeowners!!!!

Finally! FINALLY! We finally got the keys to our very own condo! The excitement is incredible, I wasn’t really expecting to be as excited as I am. Okay, maybe I was. I don’t know. I’m too excited to remember.

BUT with that excitement comes the stress of everything that we have to get taken care of now. While the house is in move in condition, there are things that we need to do to have it the way we want it. This includes, but is not limited to:

• Install new double or triple paned windows. All the windows in the home (except a tiny one in the bathroom and hallway) face the south. This means the HOT Southern California sun will be hitting us ALL day. Since in the summer many days surpass 100 degrees, this is probably going to be the first thing we take care of. It might cost a pretty penny, but it will save us in electricity bills.

• Replace the bathtub/update bathrooms. The condo has 2 bathrooms, the one in the master bedroom has a shower and the hallway one has a bathtub. The tub’s fiberglass is cracked and to prevent future leaks it needs to be replaced (the location of the crack prevents the fiberglass from being fixed). Since we will be changing the bathtub we might just re do the entire bathroom, BUT that hasn’t been decided yet. We might also do the shower…. But that may be a project for down the road.

• Paint! I am very excited about this! I thinking painting makes a home your own. It gives it your personality. Right now the walls are what I would consider “blah” (I’m so sorry if you like these colors). Thomas and I had a difficult time deciding on colors we both liked. He wanted light light light color (just about white), while I wanted pastel type colors that are springy. We were able to come to what seems to be a good compromise, but as of this writing we haven’t decided completely. We went to Lowe’s and bought 4 different colors in sample canisters ($3 each) and we will try them out and see what we think. The master bedroom has molding a quarter of the way up from the floor, so I think we might be doing a darker color (sky blue) below the molding and then a lighter color above it. The only real issue with painting is that we have vaulted 15 foot ceilings! I’m sure I’ll have blog posts about this!

• Cabinets. The kitchen, as well as bathrooms, have granite countertops, however the kitchen cabinets are white. They were painted white and look like the original ones (1980). Thomas greatly dislikes (read: hates) the cabinets. I am fine with them. There is a TON of storage now, but I suppose that remodeling it would be nice. We would be able to get a garbage compactor (which I can live without but apparently Thomas wants because he is used to having one at his parents’ house – mine don’t). This might be something we do fairly soon. After all if we are going to fix the house up we might as well do it now so that we can take advantage of it.

• Appliances. I wanted a fridge. Even though the condo comes with a fridge, oven, microwave. Washer and dryer – I wanted a new fridge. I’ve ALWAYS, since they came out, wanted a French Door fridge. Actually I remember a friend from when I was 7 who’s grandparents live a few doors down from me. They had a top fridge, bottom freezer back in the early to mid-90’s. I LOVED it then. The fridge in the condo is acceptable but I do not like it. It is side by side and is missing a shelf and…. I just wanted a new one. My mom gave me about $4k in savings bonds to cash to buy the fridge and anything else we might need. So far we’ve only purchased the fridge and I’m super excited about it.

• Miscellaneous. There are a lot of smaller fixes that have to get taken care of, some more serious than others. The carpet was professionally washed but there are a few stains we want to try to removed. The fireplace (I have a real wood burning fireplace, guys!!!)  has to be cleaned and chimney inspected. The toilet is loose and needs to be tightened, the sink is stained and should be worked on, there is an old leak that needs to be checked on in the 2^nd bathroom…things like that. Thomas’ parents have a trusty handyman whom we will be asking to look at the place and give us a quote on most of the things we can’t take care of easily ourselves. Oh! And we’re going to change the locks ASAP!

What have I already taken care of?

• Electricity. The realtors suggested we call the LADWP (Los Angeles Department of Water & Power) right away because they take a long time. I called Friday right after getting the keys and scheduled an appointment for Monday – pretty fast, I think.

• Gas. The gas was already turned on, but I got the account changed to my name.

• Fridge. The fridge was purchased weeks ago and I’ll have it delivered on Saturday (which is probably before I post this).

• Bed. We knew right away that Thomas and I would need a sleep number bed because he likes firm as cement beds and I like comfy, soft mattresses. The only way to resolve this (that was feasible, because we won’t have separate beds) was to buy a sleep-number bed. He can have his side as hard as he want, and I’ll have mine at a comfortable setting. This is also being delivered Saturday.

I am sure there is a TON of more things I have to get taken care (HOA stuff of course), but this is all I can think of for now.