Creativity overload

From the intranet's daily quote:
My future starts when I wake up every morning... Every day I find something creative to do with my life. — Miles Davis

And so, I'm looking for creative stuff to do. I am thinking of taking a woodworking class. I am also hoping to write more. And ideas for the apartment keep jamming my brain. Things I want to work on:
- storage in bathroom
- closet organization in the bedroom
- entryway

This past week I've done nothing but paint. I'm not thrilled with how the last wall came out (hence no pictures) though the trim in the foyer was surprisingly fast. That area is still a mess though. I am hoping to clean it up in the coming week and maybe another area will be considered 'done.'

Orange + food

Colors for the dining area charette bin (no, I still can't decide):

Matt's chef table from tonight's episode of "Top Design"

(Photo from This Old House)

(Photo from IKEA)

I miss Brooklyn

I was struck with Brooklyn-longing today after being reminded that it is the week to Dine In Brooklyn, Brooklyn's restaurant week. It shows that there are enough good restaurants in Brooklyn to garner enough publicity that they can do this for 4 years running. *sigh* When will there be this breadth of options in Queens? Or when will someone tell me about the secret dining options in Queens so that I can actually be able to go somewhere to eat a good meal besides having Chinese food in Flushing?

Saving coupon$

It has been a glorious day of relaxation, minor organization, and just general vegging out. I could really get used to this life of houswifery and I can totally see why people become hermits (with the heat at a comfortable temp., sun streaming in through the windows -- why would you ever want to leave the apartment?).

But not everything has been sloth and play. I've been looking for a way to use up the hundreds of paint chips that I've gathered and I thought I'd make a coupon organizer. Yes, I love to clip coupons but I love even more to use the coupons! But I've never had a good system for organizing the coupons and I end up frantically searching for the one that I need while waiting on line at the market. So I created something, which still has some kinks in it, but should do for now:

OUTSIDE of coupon holder

INSIDE of coupon holder

I want to say that I had a lot of forethought and designated appropriate colors for each section, such as cool blues for "frozen foods" but I really didn't.

Gulp, tomorrow is my first day at the new job!

Today I finally finished the second coat of paint in the alcove. Just when I thought I was done painting that area and we could move some furniture over, I realize that the moulding also needs to be painted. GRRRRR!! Who, in their right minds, would ever paint trim to be any other color other than white or off-white?! If the previous tenant had left it white-ish like she did with the living room, I'd be done by now!!
And for moulding, you have to really clean up/sand all the little nooks, otherwise the paint pools up in all those little details (as it already has) and it loses its profile. So not looking forward to this part. :(

[SIDENOTE: If you are interested, that unique-looking ladder was made by Dear's grandfather -- isn't that cool? It's a bit heavy, but I am proud to be able to use something he has made with his own hands, without the help of power tools. I've heard he was really good with his hands and I would have liked to meet him.]

Progress on alcove, or how to remove wallpaper

I took Wednesday off and actually got some work on the apartment done. I am so unmotivated now, it is a struggle which I can't stand more, the mess of things unfinished or the labor involved to finish. Right now, I'm "working" on the little alcove area next to the living room. I dread even thinking about painting the hallway and doors (more funky colors to cover up!).

On Wednesday, I had some help with the sanding (which I detest more than the painting) and then I painted the first coat. Now I have just one coat left (after another light sanding of course, grrr)! Here is the progression:

BEFORE: flowery, paisley-like wallpaper and yes, the baseboard moulding really was painted yellow and green.

A few moons ago, I tested a small area to see whether fabric softener really would loosen the paper and it did! Then I stopped working in this area to finish the bedroom, which we would need so that we could sleep comfortably.

Here's another view of this area, where you can see the confluence of colors that the previous tenant lived with. I am too embarassed to show the other side right now, where there are even more colors.

So the first order of business, after struggling to remove the somewhat plasticky paper was to score it. I got this round thingy with rolling wheels underneath that pierced the paper with lots of little holes without damaging the wall behind the paper. Then I sprayed a whole lot of fabric softener, letting it soak in.

And the sheets became easy to pull down. I think the tiny holes really helped.

Sometimes a few bits and pieces were left behind because I didn't let that area fully soak. I just re-sprayed, waited a few minutes, and then scraped with a scraper.

Dear helped by removing the picture hooks with a pair of pliers.

The last piece!

The holes in the wall, patched up and sanded.

After all the wallpaper was removed, I washed all the walls with TSP, a blue liquid that really cleans your walls and leaves it feeling slightly rough, ready to primed. I thought it necessary to use TSP to make sure all the glue from the paper was completely gone. After washing with TSP, it is necessary to rinse it off thoroughly.

The walls finally primed!

I took the extra step of priming with an oil-based primer so that if there were any glue residue (wallpaper glue is water-based) the oil would block it (since oil and water don't mix).

On a sidenote, I think it will be OK to keep the light fixture here (just need to straighten it out a little). At first, with the busy twirls of the wallpaper matching the curves on the fixture, I thought it was just too much going on in such a small space. Now, I think the curves are a good complement to the plain walls.

Today, I proceeded to lightly sand the walls and then apply the second coat. Unfortunately, I ran out of paint so I only finished a wall. When will this ever be done? I can't wait to roll up the dropcloth in this area because we keep tripping on it and it is so ugly!

Two Asian-inspired dinners

This past week I cooked two full meals (perhaps my first in the apartment, if you don't count scrambled eggs or pouring a bowl of cereal for breakfast). First I made a coconut shrimp soup off the "Everyday Food" site. I left out the red pepper flakes because I can't take the heat and used whatever noodles I found in the pantry since we don't have angel hair pasta and I figured Asian noodles would fit in better with all the Asian flavors happening anyway. I also forgot to get cornstarch so it was a bit loose but I think it turned out fine.

I was hesitant about adding all the ginger and garlic (not that there is much) b/c when I cooked with those aromatics in the past those flavors would be so overwhelming to me. However, this time I microplaned the ginger (instead of mincing with a knife, which would result in chunks due to my lack of knife skills) and it melted into the soup without being overwhelming at all. In fact, it provided just enough ginger flavor that was offset by the sweet carrots and rich coconut milk.

The recipe is quite simple and with practice I think I can get it down to less than one hour before dinner is ready and served. Since it was a recipe for 4 servings, I didn't add in all the shrimp (plus I got real tired of peeling all of them!) and I put in just enough noodles for one meal. I figured that I could just add in fresh shrimp and noodles for a meal later in the week. Unfortunately, I foolishly put the rest of the shrimp in the freezer and it was too late to defrost in time for the next dinner. So I had to resort to my old stir fry.

I was turned off to stir fry because I was/am just so bored by it but this time I had no choice. However, with the powerburner that we have on the stove plus the professional Chinese wok that Dear picked up from a restaurant supply store, I think it came out OK. (I am half-kidding about the wok b/c I think it is the heat that makes all the difference) I microplaned the ginger again but slightly overcooked the pork. The Chinese broccoli came out just right though (that vegetable is really growing on me -- I love the crisp stems). Thankfully this was just a meal for me (gotta finish it before Dear returns from his business trip, lest I be embarassed!).

So for future reference, here's the recipe for the shrimp soup:

Coconut Shrimp Soup
Serving: Serves 4

Ingredients
* 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
* 1 Tablespoon grated fresh ginger
* 2 cloves garlic, minced
* 1/4 to 1/2 Teaspoon red-pepper flakes
* 1 Pound (6 to 8 medium) carrots, peeled, halved lengthwise, and thinly sliced
* 1 can (13.5 ounces) coconut milk
* 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
* 4 Ounces angel hair pasta
* 1 1/2 Pounds large shrimp, peeled, deveined, and tails removed
* 1/4 Cup freshly squeezed lime juice
* Coarse salt
* 4 scallions, thinly sliced

Directions

1. Heat oil in a large (3-quart) saucepan over medium-low heat. Add ginger, garlic, and pepper flakes; cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add carrots, coconut milk, and 3 cups water. In a small bowl, mix cornstarch and 2 tablespoons water until smooth; add to pot. Bring to a boil.
2. Break pasta in half; add to pot. Return to a boil, reduce heat to medium, and simmer until pasta is al dente and carrots are just tender, 3 to 4 minutes.
3. Add shrimp; stir until opaque, about 1 minute. Remove pot from heat, and stir in lime juice; season with salt. Ladle into serving bowls, and garnish with scallions.

Eating out vs. in

Today Dear posed the question of whether or not it's worth it to eat in. My argument is that it's definitely cheaper but is it really? With the time it takes to cook and then clean up* afterwards, we're finally able to relax around 10-11ish pm, which means that if you want to get anything done, you've got at most, an hour before you should really go to bed (provided that you get 7-8 hours sleep). Either we're doing something wrong (too elaborate of a meal or too stringent cleaning standards) or there's a better way. Or maybe I require too much sleep?! What are we doing wrong?!

*Note that the dishwasher is the greatest thing known to man because I can't imagine if I had to wash ALL those other dishes, what time I'd be able to go to bed. Prior to this year, I've always washed dishes by hand (my parents have never owned a dishwasher). I sometimes find washing dishes soothing (though I've always hated cleaning big pots and pans) but after having to clean up after Dear cooks (he actually sets up a mise en place most of the time), I've come to see it as more of a chore. :(

Bedroom floor

I know it's going to be anti-climactic to post about the floor before the walls, but I can't find the pictures of the walls before they were painted. So here's a rundown of part B of our very first apartment project (part A being the walls):
BEFORE: the ugly, dark green carpet after wallpaper removal (hence the scraps of paper on the edges) and after painting (hence the dropcloth).

Big blob of paint that I spilled.

I cut/tore the carpet up in strips with a utility knife to reveal a pretty hefty carpet pad beneath. I then tied the carpet up with twine pilfered from Ikea. :P Interesting to see the wear pattern from the previous owner on the carpet pad (mostly leading from entrance to around the bed).

Another view of the room (from windows towards closets).

Close-up of the roll of carpet. Notice how I tied it like it was a pork loin, which gave it some nice handles to carry down to the dumping area.

I then proceeded to rip up the carpet pad using the same process as for the carpet. This time I had to be more careful so as to not damage the wood floors underneath.

Floor (mostly) revealed!

Voila! I love how the floors are warm and honey-colored, without too much shine. I am hoping that my preference for non-shiny floors will not lead to extensive damage to the wood, especially after seeing the wear from the previous tenant.

Rolled up carpet and padding

In the next two pictures you can see the pad remnants stuck to the staples. I didn't mind the little pieces because they helped me see where the staples were when I was removing them. I pulled up each individual one with needle-nose pliers while wearing only flip flops (my choice of footwear is not recommended!). It was kinda fun and went by pretty quickly.
You can see the thickness of the high quality pad that the previous tenant had used. Though the thick padding is easy on the feet and absorbs noise pretty well (we had to get used to the creaks afterwards), it made opening and closing the doors quite difficult. It also covered up about half the baseboard moulding which made the moulding look really dinky.

I repeated all the steps above (except for the pad removal) inside the closet as well. While inside the closet, I noticed the smell of old cigarettes, which grossed me out. I eventually washed the walls with TSP, which works miracles, and got rid of the smell completely. It also made the walls feel really clean. When all the painting is done in the main areas and we've moved in a lot of our other furniture, I would eventually like to redesign the closets to make for more efficient use of that space.

Anyway, we were in a rush to finish the bedroom because we had scheduled the bed to be delivered that week. I took a day off from work for the delivery of our sofa and chair and finished painting the last coat on the last wall, just as the furniture was delivered. I then was able to finish the floors as a surprise for Dear, who returned that night from a business trip.

Undoubtedly, the floors have been my favorite project so far. Satisfying results in a relatively quick timeframe. And destruction is always more fun than construction. :)