Renovation Time

Everyone is so busy by this time preparing for Christmas, well I finished all the cooking already and we will just reheat most of the food by tomorrow. Gifts are also placed under the tree and I can't help but feel excited for my kids. But there's one thing that I am not excited about- not this time. It is the water leakage problem we have a t the bathroom. We found out about it just yesterday , and much as we wanted to have everything repaired, we can't find a repairman to do it now . So I told my husband to have a quick fix for now then we will have the repair right after Christmas.

In line with this, we have decided to Buy Toilets too because the flush system is not working properly already after a lot of repair. Oh yes, when it rains it pours. It applies on repairs around the house too. I also found out that one water pipe has a leak so I listed it with the things to change. Now I am looking online for the thins we need. I was lucky enough because the toilets section at betterbathrooms.com is complete. Everything i need is there at a really good price. Most of the items that I like are in stock so i think we will not have a hard time to order. I will finalize all of my orders tonight then process it. Hopefully it will be delivered here on Monday so we can start the repair. I am too afraid that the water pipe would leak more water. I also hope that our new toilet would last for years since it comes with a good price.

Sharing a small apartment

Have you ever experienced renting a small place , like when you were in college ? Before we move to this place , my husband was living before in a place near universities and there's a lot of small apartments out there for students. A group of 3 or more students would share in one unit in order to save on the lease and other household expenses. But sometimes you have to risk your own privacy when it comes to this. Since you are sharing with others , I know some would just have curtains to divide their place . But lately , I have seen some using Temporary Walls . These Temporary walls won't make your unit larger, but they help you maximize the space that you have. They use the pressurized wall technology that won't damage your interior at all. These procedure is now very popular with apartments at New York. We all know that apartments there are a bit expensive, and yet you are only getting a small space. So , what they do, they get services of CityWall NY for the installation of these walls. They maximize their space and still save on the rent. Most of all, they keep their spaces private.

Landscaping ideas

When my mother in law had her place re modelled, me and my husband took part in most of the layout since we have a background with architecture. Aside from the rooms, I got really excited with the layout of the garden area. They have lots of plants and flowers that were re planted in identical pots for uniformity. Then we have decided to have a part of it landscaped since we had an extra in the budget. I was looking then for some tips and information about landscaping , and i got most of what we used from massachusetts landscaping . I have learned from there that a landscape shouldn't only fit ones property, but it should fit the family's personality and lifestyle too. Then there is the planning, designing and implementing stage. I was amazed with their website, no wonder, they have so many great testimonials from their clients.

The next time we are doing some landscape here at our house, I will definitely get their services. For the meantime, I printed the brochure that's avaialable at their website. They actually have some free consultation, and i will definitely avail of that once we are set for some landscaping here.

Just around the house

The bathroom is one place in the house where I really put a lot of my attention. Of course, aside from being clean, I want it to look good, smell good and be equipped with anything that I may need while in there. But this doesn't mean that it should look like a jungle of mess, no. With the latest designs in bathroom furnitures, one can have his stuff and still save space inside. Most basin units now has a small cabinet underneath for storage, perfect for small bathrooms. Aside from furnitures , a modern toilet seat and bath panel can be added too.

Do you know that even when I go on vacation on hotels and resorts, I always check the bathrooms first. Im obsessed with bathroom suites and I always dream of having that elegant design in our house. Who knows, maybe soon, we will even have a his and hers basin and drawer , especially now that there's a lot of stores that offers great bargains for these furnitures without compromising the quality and style, its a sure steal. For now, all i can do is visit some online sites to get inspiration on designs, at the same time look for suppliers that will give me the best rates.

Baskets and More

We already had the house warming of my mother-in-law's place and it was a simple gathering too for the whole family. The house and the front area is finally finished, and we were so delighted to see the big space we have now. Before the house warming, we had several trips to the mall because we are sourcing furniture and decors. I actually thought that we are done, but just last week, I noticed that there's no laundry basket yet at the bathroom. Sso when we went to the mall the other day for our grocery, I stopped by the Home Section and grabbed two laundry baskets. Its a perfect one for me, because the outside material is all natural, and then there's a cloth lining inside. Its in color natural brown, and it's perfect for earth tone of the bathroom.

We were about to pay the items that I got, but I saw a beautiful lampshade that's on sale. I thought of putting it at the guest room because it is a little bit bare until now. I find lamp shades very useful so its not just a decor at all. With all the shapes and colors available, i really had a hard time deciding on which one to buy. Yes, I am only allowed to buy one because we only need it for the guestroom . Finally, I got a white one in oblong shape, classic and elegance combined together.

And since I was on a shopping mode that time, I got interested with the log basket displayed at the floor. It holds a few logs , and placed besides a replica of a fireplace. But even if my in law's place doesn't have a fireplace, i got 2 baskets to be placed at the living room. I dont know what to place there yet, but it will surely have its purpose in the days to come.

Buh Bye Dorothy

Joaqui initially had 5 fishes at his tank. Now its down to 2 !

A few weeks back , I posted that we lost one already.

Monday night, another one passed away. Our helper saw it somehow trapped near the filter. She even released the fish , but a few minutes later, I saw it floating.

Today (tuesday) , in the late afternoon, I saw another one floating. Goodness! what could be wrong? I am the one who is so affected here. Joaqui minimized his fish feeding already , but i think , overfed pa din sila. The one that died last monday night reallyt has a big tummy (looks like it will explode anytime, hahaha) .

I am changing the water filter tomorrow. Then I will ask the husband to get an angel fish this time. I think they can be mixed up with a gold fish inside one tank.

And there was light.

My friend who recently got married will soon be having a house warming. I am really excited to see her because we are both pregnant and we haven't seen each other after the wedding. I asked her for her wishlist of home needs, to be sure that I can give her something that she doesn't have for now. She just told me that a Vanity Lighting would be a perfect gift.

And so last weekend, while me and my family were at the mall , I checked at the lighting section to get her a gift. Wow! I was so impressed with the lights that I saw that I really wanted to get Chandeliers for our home, but we don't need one for now. Though I find it really appealing at the living room, we just had our new lights after the house was renovated, but still, who knows, we can get a chandelier and have it placed somewhere in the house. Outdoor Lighting Fixtures are also getting in the trend now. They offer not just the old traditional ones, and from what I've seen at the mall, some can even match up with the theme of your outdoors. I was able to get my friend a Vanity Lighting at a really good cost, and I got her a brand that I trust too. Now, I just can't wait to meet her at the house warming.

feeling warm.

I know that in this part of the world, where I am now, it's starting to hit the rainy season. It may seem really humid in the morning, but wait until the late afternoon and the sky will turn gray , followed by a heavy rainfall. This has been happening for days now, and I know it would be weird for me to say that we need a gas fire at home to keep us warm at night. Enjoying the coldness of the night is something to rare in a tropical country like what we have. I guess we are not really used to it. But my family who lives in a country , where it is cold the entire year , except for summer of course, they need something like gas fires . They currently have a heater at home and at their rooms, and during winter time, it is turned on almost the entire day. But since they are currently doing some renovations at the living room, they are considering getting a gas fire for additional decor inside the room.

My sister is not really familiar with this product since we don't have one here in Manila, so she first looked online for some nice and affordable gas or electric fires that they can buy for the living room. She never thought that there's a lot of modern and contemporary designs to choose from, and she got really excited to get one soon. She considers checking the mall too this weekend, and she sill just ask our dad to accompany her. I really can't contribute much info ih this product , since we don't need one, so all I did was help her look for sites that has a lot of designs with good prices. I cant wait to see what they will buy this weekend.

Lighting Needs

The house decorating procedure is almost done. I am just so thankful because I got too stressed with it recently. From furnitures, decors and wall colors and all. Now we are only short of one thing, and that is lighting . I made it a point to have it on mylist because I believe that lights createas an over-all impact at the house. It can actually make or break your furnitures and decors. Last weekend, I decided to check out some Indoor lighting materials that we can install at the living room, dinig area and bedroom of course. Corner halogen lamps are also a part of my list, but I think it is not energy efficient, and it might cost us a little higher than our usual electricity bill. But lets see, we wont be using it during daytime, at most, the halogens would only be used at night. I also checked on some Outdoor Lighting for the patio. We have a bigger patio now, than the previous layout , so i know, we will be needing more lights than before. I plan to get something that would perfectly blend at night, it doesn't need to be bright at all. Something that would complete the mood when you want to go star gazing, or if you wanna catch some fresh air before hitting the bed. This is definitely the last on my list, Im way over our budget now.