Domino Reminiscing
Posted by: elle & ish on: February 9, 2010
- In: Design| decor
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(source)
Now that Domino Magazine is long gone and I’m setting my sights on decorating my future townhouse, I’m feeling empty.
I bought the Domino Book of Decorating last year and I leaf through it at least 2x a month. I love it that much. When I reach the end of the book I see the ‘Free Subscription to Domino with Purchase of this Book” page in the back, I siiiigh.
I recycled 95% of my magazines in anticipation of my move except for a single Japanese fashion mag and 2 Domino magazines. I was tempted to get more issues off of Ebay but I never grasped how insanely EXPENSIVE they are now that the mag is kaput.
Nearly $10 an issue!??!
Boo.
-E&I
Still not spending!
Posted by: elle & ish on: February 9, 2010
- In: Living| Money| Shopping| shoes
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April is slowly inching closer each day. I check Craigslist a few minutes a day to see if new studio apartments pop up, but seems like I’ll still have to stick with my original plan (moving to a different apartment in the same apartment complex).
My apartment-mate and I are on completely different work schedules so its easy to avoid her. Thank goodness, because I don’t want to deal with drama anymore.
I had quite a few goodies to donate/sell this weekend so I headed to Crossroads and Goodwill. I left the apartment with 3 trashbags and came back with $42 in Crossroads store credit and a $100 donation receipt for 2010’s taxes!
Admittedly I did window shop but nothing was worth buying. I did see a cute silvery gray, double layer tank at Crossroads but at $22 I wasn’t willing to fork over my store credit for it.
A short while ago I saw these Woodstock Minnetonka boots for $30 at Nordstrom Rack. Pretty cute but perhaps a little too trendy with the fringe and the beads? I’d like to find a good pair of comfortable walking shoes for Japan that aren’t flip flops or sneakers. I do have a $20 Nordstrom note that expires late this summer, but I decided to wait on it.
Eh turns out the boots are gone now. :( Oh well. Wasn’t meant to be I guess. I did see these:
These Calf High Suede boots were also $30 and very comfortable… However they heavily taper from calf to ankle and make my legs look a bit too… stocky. I’m not a fan of cone legs, thanks.
-E&I
Apartment update
Posted by: elle & ish on: February 4, 2010
I have a little confession to make.
The short sale townhouse that I’m waiting on is (hopefully) chugging along and I will rent a studio apartment month-to-month until it finally pulls through. Our negotiator supposedly has presented the short sale package to the investors, so of course there will be more waiting.
But the thing I never mentioned was, that I actually invited this apartment-mate of mine to live with me in said townhouse. I know, right? What would possess me to do such a thing???
Well? J____ has always been a cheapskate but I thought I could handle living with her again. My parents desperately wanted her to move in with me simply because she 1) pays rent on time 2) has a job 3) is a “nice girl.” Aside from her annoying penny-pinching ways and her disdain for household chores I thought it would be okay. I wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt.
Then we had those stupid arguments about the utility bills and I called it quits. It was an idiotic thing to fight about but we’ve always had a problem seeing eye-to-eye when it came to MONEY. All of my pent up anger against her finally caught up with me. I finally laid out all the cards on the table and told her everything that I had held back these past 2 years. I didn’t explicitly say that she wasn’t coming to the house with me anymore, but I’m sure she gets the picture.
Well, it’s going to be my house and I can do what I want with it.
If I really wanted to be a huge bitch I would have said
“You’re a cheap-ass and the most idiotic girl I’ve ever met. I’m tired of living with you and I’ve never liked you from the beginning.“
Buuut I didn’t.
Happily I can report that the kitchen is a lot cleaner now than yesterday. Hah!
Anyway onto the studio hunt. As we’re waiting for the short sale contract I’m most likely going to lease in the same apartment complex as we’re in right now and just slowly move my things from one apartment to another. We’ll save on moving costs but the bad thing is the 2 month lease (then subsequent month-to-month) is going to be insanely expensive. It’ll almost be like paying mortgage already. But I won’t have to deal with apartment-hunting, shady neighborhoods, and non-gated parking. Convenience and safety = $$$$$$.
The studio apartment I viewed today was a meager 386 square feet. I’m most likely going to be gunning for the 445 square foot apartment but naturally it will be more expensive. The closet space is tiny so I would have to move 50% of my clothing in storage at my parent’s house for a while, which I don’t mind. I just wonder how long the short sale is going to take.
And if the short sale falls apart, well then I’ll just renew my month-to-month lease as a 12-month deal and it’ll cut down my rent payments significantly. Then its on to more house hunting the following year.
I’m “breaking up” with my apartment mate
Posted by: elle & ish on: February 3, 2010
I don’t quite remember if I wrote about my current apartment-mate but I feel like venting now, so I will.
My lease is ending at the end of March of this year and after two years of living with her its time to move on. We rented a 2 bedroom, 2 bath apartment with +1000 square feet together for $1760. We viewed a model apartment with the same square footage, and signed the papers.
I asked her which bedroom she wanted. She said, “the smaller one.“
Then I asked her how she wanted to split the rent. ”Equally is fine with me!” she said.
Later on that day I knew that splitting the rent equally wouldn’t be fair to her, so I told her via phone that I’d up my rent to $115 higher than hers to make it more fair. ”Okay thanks!“
3 weeks after moving in, her mom comes to visit. They ask to take a look at my room. The next day, she confronts me and says. “I’m thinking I’m paying too much rent. Your room is a lot bigger than mine.“
UH. Why didn’t you think about that in the first place??? We physically saw the room dimensions before we moved in, and nearly a month later she changes her mind on me and wants me to increase my rent even more.
If she had actually thought about it before agreeing to this situation, and asked me to up my rent from the beginning, I would have said, sure why not. When we were discussing the lease and signing the papers she should have thought about it then.
But this girl has absolutely NO common sense. Apparently her mommy has to make her decisions for her because she didn’t have the brains to analyze the situation for herself from the beginning.
I’ll admit, this girl is a nice person in general. But I’d have to say she has no street smarts at all. And on top of that, she’s the cheapest person I’ve ever met in my life.
Her brother stayed over for 3 weeks this month and turned on the heater all night long. The electricity bill shot up like crazy. So I asked her to please pay for her brother’s usage.
…and she said no. How petty is that?
She doesn’t vacuum the common areas at all, she doesn’t take out the trash, she sucks at washing dishes correctly and she’s never cleaned the kitchen either.
Goodbye J_____. I won’t be missing you!
-E&I
January 2010 Budget Recap
Posted by: elle & ish on: February 1, 2010
Blown Budgets:
1. Shoes and Accessories
Woo! I only have 1 category I overspent in this month. What a great start to the new year. :)
Overall budget:
+$204
The Verdict?
Superb. I havn’t bought any clothing. Zip. Zilch. And surprisingly, I have window shopped a couple times at the thrift store and at Target, and nothing caught my eye. I have a $20something giftcard for Forever 21 and a $20 Nordstrom note so perhaps if I cave next month I’ll be okay.
Other than buying boots from Nordstrom Rack, I bought $30 worth of Pop Beauty eyeshadows from the Editor’s Closet sample sale site and a $23 Etsy print to frame at a later date.
Next months plans?
- A cute little townhouse now has my name on it! It’s pending and not available via MLS anymore but we’re still waiting on the bank to get back to us. My lease ends in March so I’m contemplating whether or not to extend my lease a few months to wait for this house.
- January was fabulous for my budget, so February will also be a NO-CLOTHES-SHOPPING month! I’m confident that I can pull this off again. Being picky is the best way to stay on track.
Net Worth Change from December 2009 to January 2010:
+US $5741.66
-E&I
I’m such a sap when it comes to dogs.
Posted by: elle & ish on: January 29, 2010
This post from Madebygirl made me burst into tears!
I think shelter dogs are the greatest. Really. I’m so thankful for rescuing Buddy every single day. I used to volunteer at an animal shelter when I was in college and these dogs can have such an inspiring capacity for love…. I don’t think enough people realize they can adopt such amazing friends there.
Audrey & Eldad Hagar never imagined that when they began photographing the hundreds of fostered dogs (and other creatures) who came through their home, that they would actually create a book. They just wanted to remember the animals they had shared great memories with.
Below is their short story about a little dog named Bradley…
“We rescued Bradley from the shelter last night, and today I took him to a neurologist.The doctor had only sad news for Bradley…
We agreed he should go to sleep and not suffer this severe hydrocephalus. (as you can see, his head is weirdly shaped due to a lot of fluids in his head / brain).
I didn’t want to let him go yet, so from the vet I took Bradley to the beach, I sat with him, played with him, and I fed him many cheeseburgers and fried chicken.
We sat there for two hours, and after that I took him to the vet’s office right on the beach, and he went to sleep forever
It was such a sad day… I cried like a baby for this little guy. Even now when I am typing these words, tears are coming to my eyes…” (The end)
-E&I
Living Room Inspiration (Version 2)
Posted by: elle & ish on: January 22, 2010
- In: Design| Inspiration| decor
- 1 Comment
While I’m waiting for the bank to legally give me my house, I’m dreaming of decor.
I’d love to get my hands on a Room and Board sofa or something similar.
-E&I
Even Superheroes Need a Break
Posted by: elle & ish on: January 20, 2010
- In: art| decor
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Just purchased another print to add to my collection!
$20 – ashleyg
The print is 8.5″ x 11″… not a bad deal at all! Most of my prints are pretty colorful and upbeat but I like the calming neutral background.
-E&I
Loaf Dog Poster
Posted by: elle & ish on: January 15, 2010
- In: Design| art| decor
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Speaking of decor… Ever since I saw this poster a year ago on a design blog (can’t remember which at the moment) I can’t get it out of my head.
It is perfect in the kitchen.
Loaf Dog by Lone Wolf Black Sheep ($50)
(image source unknown)
AGH I am itching to buy even though I don’t even have a house yet. Terrible.
-E&I
Hitting my frugality stride
Posted by: elle & ish on: January 15, 2010
I have nothing shopping-related to blog about…..since I havn’t been shopping!! At all!
The prospect of a new home and the financial aspects that go with it has really hit me… and inspired me to hold off on shopping. Well, at least I’m trying.
My free time is now spent ‘window shopping’ for furnishings online and getting inspiration from my favorite decor blogs! I’m still checking for new MLS listings every day and waiting to hear back from 2 offers that I put out.
I’m realizing that the two most important priorities in my life (as of now) are:
- Having a comfortable little home
- Traveling!
So I’m going to try to focus on this instead of shopping for other things. There’s no doubt I will get tempted along the way (and possibly even fall off of the bandwagon) but I’m satisfied with my decision for now.
-E&I
elleandish
Current Obsessions:
*
* Continue regular investing in the stock market
*Updating my shoe wardrobe
*Quality over quantity
*De-cluttering EVERYTHING
*Ronnie Wire Base White Chairs (Set of 2)
*Wooden Base White Chairs (Set of 2)
*Expanding my cooking skills!
