Our laundry nook

We were lucky in a way because our realtor bought us the washer & dryer from the previous owner. They didn’t want to take it with them, and we needed one. So our kind realtor bought from them as a gift to us. They were used but still in working condition. But hey, they were free, so we don’t mind. One less thing to buy. Beggars cannot be choosers. ;)

So before the laundry area didn’t really have any storage area. I didn’t know where to put the laundry baskets and detergent. So as a temporary solution we decided to get those white wire shelves, which works like a charm. We saw it at Lowes and they were on sale! Perfect! After some labor work from John (measuring, cutting and drilling), I can now put my laundry baskets, detergent and softener on the wire shelf.

It may not have been the best looking shelf, but it works and it is the fastest solution. There were some patches on the wall from before. So we are planning on painting the wall one day. Hopefully some time soon with all these other projects on the list.

Bike Rack

We spent less than $10 to get these bikes out of the way:

So now we have more space in the garage with these guys hanging from the ceiling rather than taking up our precious garage floor space. More room in the garage for other junk! ;)

Window solutions for the family room

It took me a while to finally be able to find the perfect window treatments to our family room.

We have a sliding door next to a window, about a foot and half away. I was wrecking my brain to find the perfect solution. Do we put 2 curtain rods next to one another? The rod ends will be touching one another since both windows are so close to one another. The other option is to put just one long rod across the whole wall, making it look like one big window? After a few trial and errors, we finally decided to get one long rod that goes across the wall. I bought and returned so many curtains before finally finding the perfect curtains. I wanted white curtains in 95” length and it needed to be able to block the lights since it’s the TV room. After searching high and low, I found the curtains that had everything that we needed at a reasonable price from JC Penney. They were on sale and there was a special going on where if you spend over $100, you get an extra $20 off. So the 4 panels ended costing me about $100 with tax. Not bad for the type of curtains we got. John found the rod from Bed, Bath and Beyond, it was on clearance and after 20% coupon off, it cost about $40. We had to go to Bed, Bath and Beyond, because most places doesn’t carry the 144” length curtain rods.  

The house is still in work, so don’t mind the funny stuff that are laying around. :-) I love the new curtains, it instantly makes the house look more homey and the white instantly brightens up the room.

We moved!

So we finally got our house after almost 8 painful months of serious house hunting. We got the keys on Feb 26th and moved on the same day, immediately. :) The escrow process was painful for us. It was the most stressful 45 days we had to go through especially the last 2 weeks. Everything went so wrong during our escrow. Even after signing the final papers, we were still not certain if we got the house. I kept thinking something is going to come up and screw this whole thing up. Not until we actually got the keys in our hand, were we are able to celebrate. It was such a relief when our realtor handed us the keys. I am so glad that it is all over now.

We had a cleaning crew come in to clean the whole house on the day we moved because we didn’t have time to clean the place before we moved in. That was the plan anyway because the house was filthy! It was a short sale, so we expected the house to not be in its tip top condition. So about 5 hours and $210 later, the house was sparkling clean. They cleaned every surface and nook pretty darn good. We wouldn’t have known how to begin. So we thought it was money well spent.

I’ve been in hiatus from my blog for awhile because we have been pretty busy settling down at our new place. I have slowly grown to love this place now! It’s been almost a month, the place is still far from being done. A friend told me, the list will never end. There are always projects that you want done. Coming from a 1 bedroom condo to a 3 bedroom house, the house is screaming for furniture! We bought a bed frame but it is not arriving till 3rd week of April. Bummer! I was so looking forward to it too. The next item, would be a dining table set for the casual dining area. We are on the scout for new furniture. 

To date, we have changed the locks of the house, replaced kitchen faucets, fixed the sprinklers, put up window treatments to our bare family room, and some minor stuff here and there. I will try to upload our in progress house pictures as much as I can.

Totally unrelated, here are some pictures of John preparing dinner. Rare scene! :D His parents came over for dinner and John made dinner. I helped here and there but he did most of the work. I am proud of my mister! 

Of course, we didn’t just have asparagus for dinner. We had garlic roasted chicken and roasted potatoes as well. Everything turned out well. His parents like it!

Ethan’s 1st Birthday Bash

Last month, we joined the fun in celebrating Ethan’s 1st birthday. What a great party with lots of great friends, kids and family! Ethan is one lucky kid! :) 

 

Adult food and drinks ;)

Now these are for the kids… :)

The party was held at the Preach Barn. Awesomeness…

What’s a kid’s party without this:and this…:   

McKenzie couldn’t get enough riding the pony.

 

Here’s the birthday boy! Daddy’s feeding little Ethan with some cake behind mommy’s back. :)))

Congratulations to Eng Jo & Chisho 2.10.10

Last Wednesday, Jocelyn and I took time off to attend one of our good friends civil ceremony at Laguna Hills. Marriage is beautiful and here I would like to wish them years and years of happiness!  

exchanging rings…  .

  exchanging vows… and lastly, exchanging kisses…! yay! we’re hitched!

 

 

Congrats Mr. and Mrs. Otsuka!

Happy Chinese New Year

Happy Chinese New Year everyone! I am disappointed I am not back home celebrating cny with family this year. :( Thanks to close friends who reside in the US, who were also unable to go home for cny, we were able to plan our own reunion dinner. :) Which.. sort of made up for it.

Sorry, I am fired from my job of taking pictures. When the food arrived, we all dove in. I was too hungry to take pictures of them. Here’s a group picture! Friday night, we had dinner with friends that live on the other side of town.

The following night, we had steamboat dinner over at Jocelyn’s… with more good food. :) And tonight, John and I continued with our weekend feast with lobster and filet mignon for our V Day dinner.