let's play a game.

it's called before and after and is inspired by barry bonds (yes, this is the second baseball reference in 2 consecutive posts. don't worry, i'm not becoming a fan. i just enjoy the freakish expansion of mr. bonds. his head is like sputnik.). so in the spirit of the game, here are some pictures of last night's move (mambo movers rock, fyi).


before...




after...

aaack, where did all that stuff come from. well, unfortunately it is all mine. and this is less than 1/2 of it. the rest is on the other side of the stairwell in the dining room.

holy snikes. i have a huge project, and i think it will involve throwing out/donating a lot of stuff. how is it possible that all of this crap fit in a 10' x 10' box? i dunno. but the movers were impressed in the packing job. excellent job!

appliances.

so in order to make my quirky place user friendly, i need desperately to buy a new washer/dryer and refrigerator. the catch is that there are some really awkward dimensional constraints. someone along the way thought it would be fun to box in the fridge on all sides (except the front... duh) requiring a fridge/freezer that is mini in nature. so, after some destruction c/o my contractor, i think i'll be able to put a new slightly larger than mini-fridge/freezer combo. in fact, there's an appliance warehouse in pennsauken, new jersey (jersey... what!) that will deliver the new and haul out the old for a reasonable price. that's a lot of fruit in the bottom container.

in addition the the modified fridge pod, there is also a cubby for the washer/dryer. only to be stacked. but that means i'm going to buy a great stackable washer and dryer set by bosch. then the old nasty w/d can be moved out (along with clothes in the washer and dryer... it was like the guy who lived there was in a hurry to leave).

casa de ______.

welcome to my new place. yep, i'm on my way to being a new home owner. it's a condo, but that still counts. i took some pictures today at the home inspection. they aren't the best, but hopefully they give you a feel for what i'm working with.

the seller's must have thought that i rode the short bus to schoool when they said, "we won't go any lower than $xxx" after my initial offer. then i came back and offered, yep you guessed it, almost 4% less than $xxx. but to my surprise, i pulled the wool over their eyes (who's riding the short bus now?), and they accepted. i was in a state of shock and awe! did that just happen? usually the answer to that question is yes, in fact "that just happened!"

so, here are some more pictures of my new place, la casa de _____ (tbd). feel free to give suggestions for the name. i'd like to say "casa de waffle," but in no way could it ever live up to the salsa at the waffle house.


i've taken some pictures... please note, i was under the stress of having the contractor and home inspector at the condo when i was there, so these are far from beautiful, but hopefully you can get the feel of my new quirky casa de _____.

here's a quick tour



:::my private courtyard:::
(for my kick ass grill)




:::living area:::
(with gas fireplace, nice.)


:::kitchen and dining area:::
(i get to keep my kitchen table, yay!)





:::up the stairs to...:::
(i know, i know there's no railing)



:::master bedroom, loft style:::
(with rockin' exposed brick)


there's also a second bedroom, but it's so small that the picture isn't even worth posting. luckily it's large enough for my futon and a small desk. that's all that matters. i'm thinking of painting the walls a yellow-ish color to make it seem larger.

so please stop by and stay a while!