Gotta Find New Digs

Kevin and I moved into our apartment in July 2009. It's a house split into 2 units - we occupy the top floor and my landlord (a guy in his mid-thirties) occupies the first. A few months back I asked him a few questions about the house - how long have you lived here? how long will you live here? - stuff like that. He told me he listed the house on Craigslist a few months back just to see if there would be any takers at his price point. There weren't. But this had me worried that he might try to jump ship (aka sell the house) before we move into the condo. I asked Kevin that night what he would like to do if our landlord sold the house before the condo is built and he said, "If we have more than a year, rent another apartment. If we have less than a year, move to our parents' houses."

I love my family, but I definitely fall into the distance-makes-the-heart-grow-fonder category.

A couple weeks ago, I got this text from my landlord:

I just wanted to let you know first that I’ll be meeting with a realtor to discuss plans about putting my house on the market. I will keep u posted with any decision I make so as to not leave you guys in limbo.

Mother Ducker! (that was not a typo - I'm just trying to keep this PG)

We'd just paid our July rent a bit over a week before and our last month was paid when we moved in. So even if we moved out as soon as possible - August 31st - it gives us less than a year before we move into the condo, which means...

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Uhm...

we're moving to our respective parents' houses for the next 10-ish months (depending on when the occupancy date is finalized for our condo)

Our landlord was very surprised when we gave him our (almost) 60 day notice the same day he sent the text because he hadn't even met with the realtor yet and it could be months before the house sells. I figured if we have to find interim housing anyway, we might as well do it sooner to save the rent money and to avoid doing a move in the winter months (less than ideal in Canada). 

I want our move to be little less this and this:

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and a little more this :-)

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So, to end this very wordy post, I'll let you know that I'll be posting some unDIY (undo it yourself!) projects in the next few weeks to restore everything back to how it was when we moved in :-(

Do you all hate moving as much as I do? What would you do if you were me? Rent again or live with the 'rents again??...

Goodwill Hunting

Gary and I came across some interesting finds when we went to the 3 Goodwill stores for Friday Fever. I saw some great furniture, but it was all either sold already or way too big to fit into the car. I also ran into my cousin's wife, Annafel, who just recently started a blog called The Lewis Family Values. Check it out! She actually reads my blog, which makes me happy because I'm pretty sure my parents and siblings don't :P (Dear family, to prove me wrong, feel free to comment on this post!)

I looked at these lamps for long time and thought about spray painting them, but ultimately walked away because 1. I don't need any more lamps and 2. I don't want to buy lamp shades.

I was really drawn to this clay meat loaf pan. It says "Northern Clay Works" on it and it was WAY bigger than any pan I'd use to make meatloaf, but I thought it would make a super cute planter for herbs. I stared at this for a long time too, but it was more expensive than I'd like so I walked away. I'm sad I didn't get it, but Riley eats all of my plants anyway. Maybe I should've bought it and filled it with cat grass...

 

If cat grass gets cats high like catnip does, I need to get some for Riley! She's hilarious after eating the stuff. If you've never seen a cat eat catnap, watch this video - if you only have a couple seconds to watch, skip to 1:03 to see a super stoned cat lol

Now on to the (more) random sightings:

This was absolutely the weirdest mirror I've ever seen. So obviously we got a picture of Gary holding it while I'm being reflected back. We're dorks. I know.

 I burst out laughing when I saw this plate. Doesn't  it look like Lady Gaga!?

Now on to my actual purchases! 

I found these two frames and took home the one on the right. It is perfectly sized for my Ork poster of Toronto and it cost me...$5!

I also got this drying rack. Kevin does the dishes and has said several times he'd like a 2-level drying rack. I've seen them in stores before, but they're around $50! Madness!! I picked up this rusty bad-boy for $3 - gave him a good scrub with soap, and then wiped down the rusty areas with some CLR and now it's good as new :-)

This was our old drying rack, which I accidentally melted when I had the two stove burners closest to it on high :-(   Syonara! 

Last but not least, I bought this cake stand...for $3!! I keep reading tutorials for making cake stands (plate+candlestick+epoxy glue), but while they're really cute, plates have lips and I wanted my cake stand to be flat. I was too cheap to buy a new one considering I'll probably only use it a couple times a year, so this GW find made me very happy! I'm hoping to make a bake this weekend so I can put it to use :-)

 

Have you scored any Goodwill deals lately? I love hearing about bargains!

Bedside Tables

I was searching through Craigslist when I came across these tables:

I think they're the same, except for some reason the hardware is different - maybe they were used in 2 different rooms...

I want them!! And I want to do this to them (à la Kerry) and add these Anthropologie knobs to them

Wish me luck that the seller didn't already get a million people emailing about them and I can buy them :-)

The price is only $10...for both!

My Weekend Follies

On Friday, my friend Gary and I went to not one...

Dufferin and 401

not two...

Thorncliff

 but three Goodwill stores for Friday Fever

Eglinton and Brimley

Unfortunately, Gary didn't find the kind of frames he was looking for, but I found a few great items. I'll post about those this week :-)

On Saturday, we went on a hike in Rouge Park. If you live in Toronto and you've never been, I highly suggest going! You can hike through it alone or tag along for the volunteer-run hikes they hold several times a week all-year long. One of the guys on this walk was a trained-ecologist and shared his cool ecological knowledge with us.

Kevin and I tried to get a nice photo of the two of us...I'd say the last one is ok, but he's fake-smiling grrrr! Also, I wear my painting jeans when I go hiking (I pretty much wear them when I do anything that might involve getting dirty and I have the foresight to put them on). I love those jeans. I wish I had another non-paint-covered pair...

 

After the hike I went to the Eaton Centre with Gary and Marcel and I bought a very well-fitting (but expensive!) bikini from Bikini Village. I wanted to go swimming last weekend, but the fabric from my favourite bikini had deteriorated in some spots and practically fossilized in others... I have other bikinis, but I don't like them as much - they don't fit as well. Don't get me wrong - I'm (mostly) happy with my body, but when I go swimming for the first time each season, I need to wear my best-fitting, most flattering bikini! The shape and pattern of it looks like this, but the colours on mine are different.

And as a random side note, I saw JP and Juan from One Girl Five Gays (best. show. ever!) while walking on King Street W on my way to MEC!! I really wanted to ask them to take a picture with me, but for some reason I can never bring myself to harass tv/movie people for photos/autographs. 

Case in point: My friend and I once had backstage passes at a Mariah Carey concert (don't judge me! She was awesome in the 90s!) and I was awkwardly standing beside her while a group of us were getting ready for a photo with her. I had my CD in hand ready to be signed and I couldn't bring myself to ask. But you know what? She asked me if I wanted her signature! Ha!

I know it's a little late in the game now considering it's Wednesday, but did you have a good weekend? Do anything fun?

Spotted at Utopia

I can't believe I forgot to post about this before now...


A couple weeks ago I was having dinner at Utopia with some friends when in walked a woman. She looked familiar, but it took me a moment to place her. Once her family walked in, the light bulb went off and I said to my friends, "That's Erin McLaughlin!"

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They both looked at me like this...

So I said, "Erin McLaughlin...The editor-in-chief of Style at Home magazine...?"


Continued stares


Oh well. When we got home I Googled the above picture of her and her hubby and they said, "Ohhh! Yeah, that was definitely her!" I think they thought I was loony in the restaurant, but I'm good with faces! It might take me a minute, but I can almost always place a face.


Have you ever spotted someone (a celebrity or someone quasi-famous) where it's taken you a minute to realize who you're looking at?