First days of Decorating

November 1, 2013

As you saw in my last post - I finally have my very own home!  Since it has been a month in works I have had a lot of time to plan the interior decor.  The only issue for me going forward is budget - between the down payment, closing costs, property tax (which will be coming up soon), insurance and all of the minor fixes I need to make my budget is tight.

With that said - I have been keeping an eye on my favorite items waiting for a sale to snatch them up.  :)  I'm thinking the Black Friday sale will be the best - so I am trying to hold out!

1.  Paint - Currently the house is full of Greens.  The colors are nice - however a little dark for my taste.  I am obsessed with everything gray - so I have been in search of the perfect palette to match the greens and grays.  Here is an example of the paint colors I will be looking to implement in my new house: link.  I am obsessed - and will add a few touches of burnt orange or red to the mix with a throw or pillow here and there.

2.  Rugs -  Obsessed.  Obsessed.  Obsessed.  I am head over heals for Lulu and Georgia Rugs. This company offer the cutest rugs - in so many different colors and at a reasonable price. Below are two of my favorites - but I need to get all my furniture in and check out the space before deciding on one.  

3.  Tables -  What is a home without a nice big dining room table?  Esp for a family like mine where food and conversations all happen around the table.  The only issue is - tables are expensive...and so are chairs!  Eek.  I am willing to spend a pretty penny on a wooden table because I see the importance of it.  It only means I wont be able to get one in my house right away.  I have been eyeing the West Elm dining room furniture.  Specifically these two rustic yet classic tables:

West Elm is a great place to shop for classic, quality pieces at a reasonable price.  I have a feeling over half of my house will be West Elm.  :)

4.  Prints -  Lets be real for a minute - does it get any better than SS Print Shop?  I dont think so.  I am obsessed with the prints she makes and I just bought 2 for my home!  My first decorating piece for my new house.  I can't wait to take pictures of them in the new house!!!  :)  I am thinking of getting some frames form Ikea or Aaron Brother and doing some DYI tricks to them to save a little money on the decor but still make it fab.  Stay tuned!  PS dont forget to snatch up some of the SS Holiday Prints which brings me to my final favs:

5.  Holiday Cheer -  As mentioned previously I am very fond of West Elm and I cant wait to pick up some of their holiday pieces.  This is just the start.  I got an email from Crate and Barrel today saying their holiday stuff is out!  So I cant wait to see what they have this year and Pottery Barn!  Eek.  I love the holiday season!  

  

After months of searching...

November 1, 2013

After months of searching and multiple rejections - I finally have my very first house!

I have always been eager to get a place of my own - however - as I get older my 'want list' has changed dramatically.  The past year and a half it has stayed the same and I have been and I was watching Zillow and Redfin like a hawk!  About 2 months ago a house went on the market that I fell in love with.  It was a smaller house on a nice size lot (for the bay area) and it was a 3 bed 1.5 bath house.  It need cosmetic work but overall was livable.  It was in a great school district, near to where I grew up and it had the cutest red door!  Although the market was slowing down - the house was on the market for 3 days and it already had 8 offers.  Unfortunately I didn't know what pre-qualifications were needed prior to even making an offer on the house - so I was not able to put an offer in before the owners were going to make their decision.  A month later I found the house sold for $150,000+ dollars over asking.

Although I didn't get the house - or even have the opportunity to get the house - it really got my butt into gear.

A couple of weeks later, with all the prerequisites in place.  I started to look at additionally houses.  One was the most charming house - however it needed alot of work inside.  It was a 3 bed 1 bath - with alot of water and termite damage.  As I learned about what it would take to fix that (tenting a house is at least 3000 dollars if not more) it became less realistic.  I saw another house which was also 3 bed 1 bath - much more livable than the previous one but still needed work and appliances.  The backyard is what sold me to this house - it was huge and had alot of potential.  It was on the market at pending - the loan fell through and I jumped at the chance to see it (3 days later).  Well 3 days was too late - the night I put in my offer someone else came back and put in an all cash offer.  I counter offered for the house - as did the cash buyer and like any seller would - they went with the cash offer.  I started to feel slightly bummed out however the search went on.

The next day I was on Zillow and looked at a house a little above my price range.  I made plans with the agent to see it that night and to look into all of the disclosures.  It turns out my agent knew the seller - unfortunately the sellers were going through a divorce and were making a decision on the buyer the next day.  The house is 3 bed 2 bath and on a huge lot (perfect for Ryu).  That night I put an offer in on the house.  My agent hand delivered it the next day and I waited.  I waited till 8pm that night and then I got the call from my agent.  My offer was the 3rd highest - my heart SUNK!  Then in the next breathe she told me - I was the only person getting a counter offer.  Although there were other offers higher than the counter offer - the couple wanted to give me a chance to get the house.  They liked the idea of keeping it local - I grew up in the area and went to the same school their son did just a couple years before.  I called my parents - and they said they do it!  I signed the counter offer and entered into contract the next!

Entering contract on a house - and trying to close in a short amount of time - esp when you don't know what you are doing.  After lots of research into loans and going back and forth with the loan company - it was finally complete! (Look for tips on that in an upcoming post).

On October 31, 2013 I received the keys to my own very first house!  I feel so lucky and blessed to have an amazing agent, to be given a huge break when the housing market was hot, and to have parents who have helped me so much along the way!

Formal Ryu

July 2013

As mentioned in my Taiwan post (http://goshrooney.blogspot.com/2013/09/round-2-taipei-taiwan.html) I got Ryu a bow tie at the Shilin Night market.  Here is the picture I took after him in his bow tie.  

Can he get any cuter?

Review: Honest Company

August 2013

Honest Pet - Ryu the Pup. 

Earlier this month I got an email from the Honest Co with $10 free dollars to spend - on top of that it was free shipping over $50 dollars.  After debating if I should use this opportunity to try the Honest products - I finally decided to go for it.  

Now before I get to my review of the products - let me explain my hesitation.  

1.  Shipping:  I dont know how I feel about paying $8 - $10 dollars on top of my bill to ship products to my home when I can get similar products at Whole Foods/Target.  Granted with this free shipping over $50 dollars - I wouldn't have to pay for it - but I was not sure I would get over $50 dollars.   

2.  Quality:  Since I had never used this brand before - I wasn't sure if the products would be any good?  There is a trial pack that you get from the Honest Co - and even though that is free - you still have to pay 6.95 for standard shipping.  Now for me that isn't worth it to get trial size products.  

3.  Monthly packages:  Since there are only 2 people (including me) and a dog in my household - I really don't have a need for the bundle packages yet and most of the deals they come out from the Honest Co are bundle related which makes sense when you have a family - I am just not there yet.

After looking at the website for over 30 minutes trying to decide what to order I picked the following:

• Floor Cleaner
• Laundry Detergent  x2
• Dryer Cloths x2
• Conditioning Mist

With this line up I was able to get to free shipping by spending over $50 dollars and I used my 10 dollars off making my purchase around 48.00 dollars.  Within minutes my order was processed and by the next day I got a notification saying it shipped.  Shortly after it was on my door step.  

Now for my review of the products:

Floor Cleaner:  This stuff is magical!!!  I have a 4 month old pup (which you should know by now I am obsessed with) and although he is potty trained - on occasion he will miss the potty pad by a few centimeters or it will leak through the pad (if it was a big pee).  This not only causes the whole apartment to smell but the hardwood floor in the kitchen had a permanent discoloration and smell to it - even when I would clean it daily using everything from green generation wipes to Clorox bleach wipes to home made recipes of baking powered and vinegar.  I bought the floor cleaner with the intent to use it on the floor in this area and to sub in for my Swiffer wet wipes.  When I got the package I immediately ripped it open and sprayed the floor cleaner on/around the potty area.  Not only does this product not have any toxic chemicals - it has a wonderful smell to it.  I left the spray on the area for about 3 - 5 minutes and then wiped it up with a paper towel.  The pee smell was 75% gone and so was the discoloration to our floor!  As I continue to use it daily to clean our hardwood floors - the smell is 100% gone and I can say this item is critical in getting my deposit back when I decide to move out.  Because I use this item so much - I am looking for a Swiffer like item to help wipe up the area.  Currently I am using paper towels but ideally I would like to use something a little more eco friendly going forward.  

Laundry Detergent:  I have not used this yet as I am just finishing my Ecos detergent up. 

Dryer Cloths:  Similar to my take on the floor cleaner - this is magical!!!  Not only does it not have a strong scent or irritate my skin (like other brands do) these dryer cloths actually work!  They make my clothes very fluffy!  And as odd as it sounds - the lint that comes out of my dryer is fluffier and thicker than before - so I know its working!

Conditioning Mist:  Now I am a girl that uses expensive shampoo and buys expensive hair products - with that said - my previous detangler was made by Bumble and Bumble which I loved however it is hard to justify the price tag on a detangler...  Now knowing the quality of my standard products - I have to admit the Honest Co product works just as well and smells better!  I am not sure how long the bottle will last me - as it is semi small.  But I will def be ordering this again - probably along with the shampoo to try!  

Overall I am extremely happy that I ordered these products from the Honest Company and I cant wait to try more of the line.  In regards to my hesitations - 1.  you really cant help the shipping cost unless you find a deal the website - so keep your eye out!  2.  The quality of the products are top notch and justify spending the extra money to have the items shipped to you.  You really cant find many other products on the market like this.  3.  I would use this when I have a family - but for me it is not practical at this time.  

Love Love Love.  I rate this a must try!  

Glass @ the Taipei 101!

June 26, 2013

Today I took my Glass down to the Taipei 101 building.  I saw some great views and meet a lot of extremely nice people.  Glass hasn't been released in Taiwan so I got a lot of ooohs and ahhhs from the locals + tourists.

My awkward self picture of me + Glass + the 101 building.
(This is what happens when you travel alone - hehe).

Stay tune to my travel blog for an update on my trip and what I did with Glass in Taipei!

Pick up and goooo...

7/21/2013

Hello from Taiwan!  

After booking my flight on Friday - My Glass and I headed out to Taipei, Taiwan on Saturday. 

I am here in Taiwan for a week and have a couple items of sight seeing plans scheduled for non work hours.  So stay tuned to my blog in about a week or two to check out the sights and sounds of Taiwan!

Recent weeks in Pictures

July 13, 2013

Unfortunately I have been so busy recently I haven't been able to post so I figured I would post my past weeks via pictures so you can see what I have been up to.  So here it goes (mostly puppy related):

Random:

Ryu!

After a nice long walk - tyty Ry!  

Fourth of July:

Happy Fourth of July!

Making Red, White and Blue cupcakes -- They taste better than they look.  :)

Ready to set sail on the SF bay for fireworks...
shortly after this picture I put on sweats cause it was so cold!

Coming out of the Richmond port and heading towards the Golden Gate Bridge and Sausalito.  

Amazing views of the Golden Gate. 

SF fireworks from the water are the best!  (Bay Bridge in the background). 

Lake Tahoe:

First time in a hotel.

Loving Tahoe. 

Kiva Beach, Lake Tahoe.

Kiva Beach, Lake Tahoe.