Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Days 13 & 14: CRAZINESS...

Where do I begin... it's been quite a madhouse around here!  But, things are looking up, and the new place is starting to feel like home.

Friday night was a slow night, because after coming to Hoboken, changing clothes, and packing up our seemingly routine 1 carload to take to the Jersey City apartment, instead of going to Jersey City and working right away, we decided to take a small break for a drink and dinner at Zack's in Hoboken (and to watch Toledo get their butts kicked against Boise State).  After dinner we went to Jersey City, unpacked the car, and some other things that are slipping my mind right now because everything is starting to blur together.... 

Saturday we woke up early to be at the new apartment for when a guy came to turn on the heat in the basement and 1st floor.  Nobody lives on those floors, so if there was no heat, we would have pipes busting and our utility bills would be through the roof!  The movers were supposed to come between 2pm and 4pm, so Mr P went back to Hoboken to wait on them, and I stayed in JC to work on the apartment.  I successfully painted the pantry and the aquired pantry shelving unit and installed the shelving unit in the pantry so it's all ready when we move the rest of our kitchen things.  I painted the trim in the bathroom, and I moved everything out of the way so the movers could get the big things (i.e. couch) in the apartment.

Unfortunately, however, everything fit except the couch.  The 3 men from Alpha Moving we so nice and so helpful, and reeeaaallly tried to get the couch up the stairs, but it just wasn't happening.  It was pretty upsetting, considering we only bought the couch a year ago and it was the first real piece of furniture either of us have ever bought (besides crappy Ikea partical board stuff with laminate veneers on them).  Mr P and I went to Ikea after the movers to take back the cabinets and sink that didn't fit and to buy the new cabinets and sink.  While we were loading up the car, we began talking with a city commissioner who just happened to be walking by at the time.  When we planned to leave, Mr P let go of the sink (standing on end) to shake the commissioner's hand, and the sink fell crashing to the ground.  Luckily  it was only stainless steel, so it just dented and didn't shatter.... We got REALLY lucky that Ikea takes back practically anything, especially if it's still in the package!  Earlier when we had Plan A kitchen cabinets, we said to ourselves after packing up the car "Only at Ikea can you fit an entire kitchen cabinet and sink in a Yaris."  We totally beat that with our Plan B kitchen, and now we can say "Only at Ikea can you fit THREE kitchen cabinets and a farmhouse sink in a Yaris."


After returning home, our wonderful friend Nick came to help us put together the cabinets (who does that?  Nobody wants to put together Ikea stuff!!)  After putting together the center cabinet, however, we thought we had the wrong cabinet, so yet another trip to Ikea was planned for the morning.  We treated him to a pretty awesome Vietnamese restaurant, called Nha Trang, after helping... it was our first time there, and it was delicious!  Practically everything on the menu was $8 or less.  I knew I should have gotten something other than Pho, but I hadn't had it in a long time, so it was calling my name. 



Mr P and I went back to Hoboken to sleep since we didn't have a funtional shower at the new place, so we had to sleep on the floor in the living room (like the good ole days when we slept on the floor in the living room to keep cool by the AC!)

We tried to plan out Sunday so that we could get as much done as possible, and I deem it a success!  We got miscellaneous plumbing from Home Depot (thanks to our new Indian Home Depot worker friend who always seems to be in the plumbing isle when we go there everyday!), and then headed to Ikea.  After returning the assembled cabinet and ordering a new one, we realized we had the right one in the first place!!  The rest of the morning was spent assembling Round 2 of the same center sink cabinet (grrr!! at least we are good at assembling this stuff now!)

While I put together the cabinet, Nick came over again and he and Mr P strategically and successfully got the couch up the stairs!!  Though I wasn't happy with them trying to get it up there, afraid we would have a ripped up couch that we wouldn't be able to sell, I was ecstatic when they got it in the apartment!!



The rest of the day was spent installing the shower curtain rod, and installing the cabinets in the kitchen.  Thanks to Nick's expertise, we re-purposed our unused bed frame to make a bracket to attached the kitchen cabinets to the wall (we couldn't put them against the wall because all of our piping is outside the walls, and hence in the way).... then we had Nha Trang... again :D









We can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel!  The only things we have to do are install kitchen floors, paint the fridge, finish plumbing for the kitchen sink, hang kitchen shelves, and install all the light fixtures.  It doesn't seem that bad anymore!!  ...doesn't seem like a lot, but the kitchen is still a disaster zone!!


We are both really looking forward to having a nice place in the end :D

Cheesy quote of the weekend:
(as we are walking to the escalator from the parking garage at Home Depot)
Me: I heart you.
Mr P: I know.  It's because I'm so awesome.
Me: This is one of those times, when you are supposed to say something different back to me.
Mr P: (silence)....  You're going to put this on the blog aren't you....

Toodles.
J&H

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