to-do list

My parents will be visiting us in a little over two weeks and they will also bring my sister and her boyfriend with them. Meaning we will need a second (makeshift) guestroom. Which means it's time to say goodbye to our "dump room" where we stored the remaining unpacked boxes (yes, there are still some after a year) and some leftover furniture and doors.

My to-do list before the family arrives is:

-clear out dump room ✓
-spackle walls ✓
-sand walls ✓
-prep room for painting
-paint walls
-paint trims and window frames
-clean ceiling fan
-sell/give away unwanted stuff on craigslist - last piece has been picked up a little over an hour ago ✓
-make room look nice for my sister and her boyfriend
-upholster Plycraft chair

I just love to cross stuff off my to-do list!

While clearing out the room I found a bag that had Stolmen written on it. Stolmen is a wardrobe system from Ikea in case you're wondering. Turns out it's the long missing mounting fixtures for our wardrobe which we already replaced with new ones. But unfortunately we had to replace them with white pieces because they had discontinued the silver hardware. Now we can make it all match again. Yay!

rainy sunday

Yesterday we had torrential downpours all day long. It was crazy.

We have had problems with water in the basement before but this time was the worst, usually we get a little puddle of water in a corner that dries up in no time. Big contribution to our water problem is that the concrete slab in the basement is sloped away from the pump and in the concrete in the backyard is sloped towards the house. Who would plan something like this? *%@$#!

I took the Sunday picture in the afternoon but by late evening it was even worse but since I was frantically trying to push water towards the sump pump with a broom I totally forgot to take a picture. To cheer me up while working to save the basement from drowning in water I wore my yellow wellies ;)

We are going to work on the back yard next spring and having proper drainage that leads the water away from the house is one item on the list. Hopefully after that we don't have to deal with floods in the basement anymore.

Today you can already see a little dry spot by the mop sink. The dehumidifier is running 24/7 and the basement should be dry again soon.

i want to be a rock star

We hung out at the Williamsburg Waterfront Friday night. First we watched the sunset and then Sonic Youth in concert. Great show with three encores. The photos are not the best, it was way too dark but love the moon peeking out above the stage...

I wish I could sing and play the guitar/bass and have my own band. Unfortunately I can only play the flute which is not the coolest instrument ;)

monday, monday

So good to me...

I found this awesome desk on the street while walking from the subway to my office. First I tried to carry it by myself but that didn't work so I rushed to the office to make one of my coworkers help me. I got lucky and the desk was still on the curb when we got back.

I have been searching for a nice desk for myself on craigslist for a couple of weeks now and boom there it was on the side of the street. And for free!

While searching for a desk on craigslist I came across this Eero Saarinen Executive Chair and bought it. Will look nice once it will be reupholstered. Not so sure if I can tackle that as a diy project.

This is how it could look when finished.

via Knoll

life's a beach

Sunday I hung out at the Jersey Shore, mostly under my umbrella because it was too hot otherwise.

Did try out a new summery nail polish, it's Mellow Yellow by Sally Hansen. First I wasn't sure about the color but it's growing on me and the tootsies look pretty happy.