HAPPY BIRTHDAY IAIN!

Much to my dismay, Iain doesn't like to make a big deal out of his birthday. Out of respect, instead of a celebratory picture of Iain or the cats, I've chosen a photo of a sink we were looking at a few weeks ago. It's a beauty!

Beaches, mussel fritters, and appliance garages

As I've said before, constant appointments and phone calls with builders, kitchen designers, draftsmen, screen installers, plumbers, and lawyers while also trying to work full time (Iain) and freelance (me) has had one major effect: we have NO interest in cooking and only want to go out, have a beer, and EAT. The result isn't pretty. The guy at the local Indian takeaway recognizes Iain's voice ("Good evening Mr. Iain!"), and the woman who runs the local beer shop now gives me sideways glances as I enter her store for the second or third time in a week.

But it could be worse, and we've been really good at time management, making sure we have one afternoon each weekend to forget the house stuff and jobs and just enjoy ourselves. At the end of the day, it's just a house and I'm doing my best not to obsess over it! (ok, there've been a few restless nights spent mulling over sinks and carpet and windows) Here are some pictures we took this weekend at Muriwai Beach (for those of you on Facebook, my apologies for the repetition). We went for a quick hike along the beach, but it was really windy so we headed back, stopping at a local café on the way home for some mussel fritters and a glass of wine. The café had an amazing view, and was adjacent to an old-fashioned campground with vintage-style campers and wooden cabins. There was a local cat who hung out while we ate who reminded me of Blue.

Employment

The contract and benefits package for my new job was couriered over last week. Good god! I've never had this much paperwork for a job in my entire life.

Perks include discounts for family and friends, cheap parking, and a staff cafeteria. The last time I ate in a staff cafeteria was back in 1995 when I was working for Wolf Advertising and would sneak into the Marine Midland staff cafeteria with my coworkers.

The one benefit I won't get anymore is having a small kitty next to me as I work. Oh well.

First Setback!

There are some things you never want to hear a builder (or mechanic, or doctor...) say. At the top of that list is, "Wow - I've never seen anything like this before!"

But that's exactly what we heard last week when Stan the builder informed us of some pretty awful water and borer damage along the base of the house.

He took great delight in poking at the damage with a crowbar, exclaiming over and over, "Look at that! That's just powder. It's dust. Never seen anything like it. Hey Johnny -- ya gotta take a look at this!!" We just stood there and cringed.

We knew there would be a few nasty surprises once they started opening up the walls, and we weren't disappointed. We immediately wanted to blame someone, and Iain was all fired up and ready to call the dude who did the house inspection, but it's the type of damage you just can't see until you start hacking away at the walls. The builders are now working raising up the house so they can get in there and fix it.

DEMOLITION!

We've started gutting!

In truth, this is about as far as the workmen can go -- now we need to submit the architectural plans to the local council for approval. In the meantime, the guys can clear all of this away and get started on outside repairs to the roof, etc.

Balance

Last weekend we did house stuff for most of Saturday, and then went for a long walk. It's nice to realize that even though it's the middle of winter over here and a bit chilly, we can still walk along the beach!

Thanks to diligent research and random polling of friends and family, we've finally settled on a decent kitchen design. I'm gathering quotes now, and we just need to finalize some details. It's amazing how much second-guessing is involved with everything. We bought a beautiful dark brown vanity for the bathroom and all I've been doing is wondering if we should've gone with a lighter color. Then I'll see a dark colored one in a magazine and think, "That looks good -- we did the right thing." But then I'll see a light colored one and the obsessing starts all over again.



I'm sure not having a job has contributed to this constant mental back-and-forth. I don't see Iain freaking out over faucets and tile selections and kitchen door handles. Once I begin working, I won't have time to obsess over this kind of thing. Hopefully.

HIRED!

I got a job!

Buy! Buy! Buy!

There was a huge appliance sale all over Auckland this weekend so we hit the stores, along with what seemed like half the population of New Zealand. Everyone was out. It's always a nerve wracking experience buying appliances because they're something you use almost every day so you want to get it just right, and they're also really expensive.

For example, we drove to one store, saw a stove we liked (last year's model on sale) then drove to two other stores to see if we could find a better deal. At one of the other stores, we found the same stove at around the same price, bu noticed a major design flaw we hadn't seen before. We ended up back at the original store to haggle with the salesguy, who acknowledged the design flaw and offered us a newer model at $400 off. Not bad. So sometimes all of the running around really pays off.

All told, we purchased a stove, dishwasher, toilet, vanity, and walk-in shower. It was a very productive and very expensive day. But it feels like we've finally accomplished something -- after weeks of pouring over websites and brochures and visiting stores, I think we've made some really informed choices.

As an added bonus, I'm finally starting to think in metric measurements, which is rather important. I'm excited by our 1200mmX915mm shower and think our 1200mm vanity will be really swank. And we're very pleased that we realized that we only need a 600mm stove, not a 900mm.

Now we just need to buy fixtures (shower head, faucet, etc.). Note: The vanity and shower pictured here are similar but not identical to the ones we purchased.

We got home around 5pm and stopped off for some bottles of strong beer and tandoori chicken!

Today we're taking a day off from house stuff and going for a nice long walk followed by brunch.

Kitchen Fun

While waiting for our builders to submit their estimates and the draftsperson to update his plans of the house, we've started looking at kitchens. I've learned some valuable lessons already:

Rule #1: Not surprising, kitchens can be insanely expensive. But still a major reality check.

Rule #2: Just because it looks cool doesn't mean it will actually BE cool, or useful, or remotely practical.

Rule #3: Work with the space you have. Huge island? No room. Major shelf action next to loads of full length pantries? Maybe in the next house.

Rule #4: It's just a kitchen. If we don't get it perfectly right, the world will not end.

Rule #5: When all else fails, design conservatively. The next owners may not appreciate your awesome orange Corian countertop.

Welcome to the Jungle

Iain is downstairs making dinner with Guns 'n Roses blasting on the stereo, so I decided to take this opportunity to update the blog. I don't think Tama likes Axl Rose -- he's sitting in the middle of the hallway howling. Or maybe that means he likes it?

Well, Tama managed to bust through the electric fence again. It's been a few months since the last time and it's still a mystery how he does this. At 7:30am, Tama didn't appear for his breakfast. Weird. Around 3pm he'd been gone approximately 8 hours and mild panic had begun to set in. It started raining and I thought, "Good -- he'll come home now!" but he didn't. I increased my checks to every hour, walking in my raincoat through the bush behind our house shaking a bag of treats like a total idiot. By 4pm I could barely hold it together. Worst case scenarios started creeping in, including a scene from The Orphanage which makes zero sense for a cat. I realize how lame this all sounds for people with outdoor cats, or children.

Finally both Iain and I went out and started calling, and that's when I heard the faint reply of a small kitty. I turned towards the sound, and standing next to our neighbor's house was Tama. I also saw the neighbor's huge grey cat race away. The neighbor's cellar door was open, which is obviously where both cats had been hanging out all day, no doubt smoking and playing cards. I picked him up and brought him inside, where Blue sniffed him all over (then hissed) while Tama inhaled an entire bowl of cat food.

We took a trip to the pet store to pick up a new collar - we presume the one he's wearing has loosened to the point where he doesn't feel the electric shock.

The Week

It's been a slightly less hectic week. We're still waiting for all of the quotes from the builders, but have already made a few decisions. The biggest is that we're leaning more and more towards getting rid of the spiral staircase. A "real" staircase will cost a few thousand, but we'd probably get that back in resale. One of the architects told us that spirals are illegal in new homes now -- we don't yet if that's true.

Movie Recommends: Frost/Nixon, Milk
Don't Bother: The Reader

Saturday and Sunday

It's the middle of winter over here, and the days are chilly but sunny. We did house stuff all day on Saturday. We went through the house plans room by room, painstakingly figuring out where windows and doors would go, and got into heated discussions about where the bathroom vanity should go (under the window? or by the wall?) and how the kitchen should be configured. Again, any advice anyone has is appreciated!

On Sunday, we put house stuff aside and relaxed by hanging out in our favorite neighborhood bar. Now that we're redoing a house, everything I see reminds me of home renovations. Just walking into the bathroom turned into a recon mission: "Oooh.... I wonder where they got these vintage taps... and what kind of wood did they use on these floors? I like this mirror." Then I'd return to our table and Iain would comment on the lights above the bar and the cool wallpaper. As much as we tried not to talk about the house, all we did was talk about the house.

Of course, we aren't even close to that fun decorating stage yet. We're still meeting with builders and drafts people and being told about waste pipes and gully traps and load bearing walls.

Oh, that's just great...

Its been almost two years since I checked my credit report to make sure it's accurate, and it's a good thing to do once a year, especially if you've had identity theft issues, which I have.

So, I go to the government website that sponsors the reports, and THIS is what I get. What the HELL?!

The House

To those who may not know, in the span of about 48 hours right after I left for the US, we sold our UK house, sold our Auckland house, and purchased a total "do-up" a few blocks away. Whew!!! Iain worked like a dog while I was away, consulting lawyers, realtors, and builders. He also attended about 5 million open homes to make doubly sure we were making the right decision to buy the fixer-upper. When I got home, we dove right in. We measured rooms, drew up potential plans, and discussed everything from hardwood floors to appliances to number of bedrooms to whether we can afford a pool (totally not). It's really exciting. I just hope the cats like the new digs!

Click HERE for more pictures.

If anyone has ANY advice on renovating a house, please pass it on!

We're Back!

I returned home from the US last week. I enjoyed almost two weeks with my family and friends, attending reunions, happy hours, dinners, and BBQs. My mom cooked all of my favorites: crab legs, sausages, steak, devilled eggs, French toast.... I met old friends in NY for an afternoon of mojitos and burgers. In Buffalo, I had lamb souvlaki and fries with gravy. My high school reunion was a blast. I indulged in the best fish fry ever. I hung out with old coworkers and had wings and tequila shots. I got to meet kids who were born while I've been away. Watched reality TV and ordered pasta at 10pm (only in NYC!) On my last night, I ate huge scallops and two fantastic cocktails. I gained 7 lbs. That's okay. It was totally worth it. I'm already super psyched for 2010 (although I'll have to skip the NYC portion next year).

A few things I learned from this first trip home:

1. Pack light. Airline regulations are super strict about excess baggage, and this left me virtually unable to shop for fear of going over my weight limit.
2. I forgot how awesome shopping in the US is. Perhaps I'll arrive with an empty suitcase next year!
3. Rent a car so no one has to chauffeur me around (thank you Mom, Dad, Kate, Och, and Alex!!)
4. Buy shampoo, etc. when I get there to avoid the extra weight.
5. Leave behind extra jewelry, pairs of high heels and bathing suits -- I never wore any of it.
6. Try to schedule the trip a bit further into the summer -- I arrived during a cold spell and had only packed sun dresses and t-shirts. One pair of jeans and two long-sleeve shirts had to suffice for like 5 days.
7. If possible, fly Air New Zealand over Qantas. Qantas is cheaper and it shows. No online check-in, long lines, rude employees.

I returned home with mild jet lag. Basically, I'd feel absolutely fine all day except for one or two periods where it felt like someone had slipped an Ambien in my coffee. But I'm doing much better now, which is good since we're absolutely swamped.