April 2009 – The Beehive

April 28, 2009June 10, 2009

The “To Do” List

When we were in contract on The House, we hired an independent home inspector to check things out and give us a report on its condition. You know, so we wouldn’t end up like Shelly Long and Tom Hanks in “The Money Pit.” For the most part, The House got a clean bill of health, but there were a few minor issues that needed to be dealt with in the short term. They are:

Dishwasher Drain Hose: The existing hose is too short and as a result gets a kink in it where it bends under the sink. As a result, the DW does not drain properly and water runs out the vent in the sink. We need to replace the hose with a longer one. Relatedly, the faucet requires some new caulking around it. We’ve noticed that when water runs out the vent, it leaks through the gap between the faucet and sink and to the cupboard underneath.
Gutter Drain: The drain near the garage door does not reach all the way to the ground. As a result, when it rains, water pouring out the drain can leak into the foundation area. We need to put an extension on the drain so it will flow down the driveway and not into the foundation.
Upstairs Bathtub: On of the upstairs bathtubs requires new caulking, and a tightening up of the faucet. As it is, water could be leaking through underneath the tub.

We hope to tackle the dishwasher hose this evening. We had no dishwasher at our old apartment, and were so looking forward to not doing all the dishes by hand, but because of the drainage problem we are still handwashing everything! So this is a top priority. Stay tuned for the results.

In other news, we previously wrote about packing up for the move, but have yet to finish the story with unloading into the new space. Hopefully we’ll have that post ready soon. Also, we’ll get to a room-by-room as soon as things are unpacked enough that the place is presentable.

April 28, 2009June 10, 2009

Product Review: Propel Mind

Ok, I admit, this post has nothing to do with our home, DIY stuff, being married, or really anything I set out to write about when I started this blog. However, on my way off BART this morning, I was handed a free sample of Propel Mind, a “nutrient enhanced water beverage,” and I feel compelled to comment on it. I am a big fan of Propel Fitness Water (although I don’t drink it often because I am also a fan of regular water, which is free) so I was pretty excited to try this out.

I took a big swig when I got to my desk and boy was I sorry I opted against a tentative sip. Something about the consistency was unappealing. It is hard to describe, but I imagine it must be something like what Jell-O would feel like if you were to drink it after you dissolve the mix in water but before it sets up. This might not have been so off-putting on its own, but this is supposed to be “water,” which means it also has to be low calorie (i.e. contains artificial sweeteners). In general I have no problem with artificial sweeteners — Diet Coke is by far my favorite beverage; this had a really apparent artificially sweet flavor and aftertaste, though. Not at all subtle and not what I would expect from a flavored “water.”

My opinion: if you are thirsty, head for the tap. I did not find this drink to be refreshing or tasty, and won’t be finishing my free bottle.

Update: There were people handing out free Propel Mind outside the station again today (5/6). I did not take a bottle.

April 27, 2009June 10, 2009

Our First Trip to a New Costco

Picture it: it’s Friday night and two attractive newlyweds are looking for something to do. The obvious choice? Costco.

Steve and I can make an evening out of going to Costco. We start with dinner at the snack bar, where you can get a big hot dog and a soda with unlimited refills for a buck fifty. It’s the best deal in town.

S's "loaded" dog. They ran out of onions!

We can then easily spend a couple of hours browsing the aisles, especially electronics (Steve drools over the big flat screen TVs), home goods, and tools. And of course we get to stock up on our favorite foods.

Typically I think of a Costco evening as a cheap date. We get dinner for two and an evening of entertainment for only $3! I don’t usually factor in the money we spend on the items purchased during the “date” because usually they are things that we need or will use in any event. We dropped over $350 this time though! We did save a bundle with a rebate from using a Costco AmEx and with store coupons, but we also made a couple of impulse buys. We got an oversized king down alternative comforter, which we will need when we finally get around to picking out my in-laws’ wedding gift: a new bed. We also bought a deep saute pan. We had one on our wedding registry, but when I went to complete it I learned that they actually don’t make that pan anymore, which could be why we did not receive it. Thanks for the heads up, C&B! But I digress . . .

The point is, if you take into account what we spent shopping, we would have been better off doing dinner and a movie or something like that. But then we’d probably end up at Costco on the weekend anyway, so maybe it is a frugal activity.

April 24, 2009June 10, 2009

Dry Cleaners: Godsend or Good for Nothing?

My job frequently requires that I wear a suit, and even when I get to go “business casual,” the tags in my clothes often say “dry clean only.” I have struggled to find a good dry cleaner, without success. I’ve primarily waffled between two dry cleaners, one near my former home and one located on the street level of my office building in the city. The former occassionally shrunk my clothes, but the people are friendly and always remembered me, and the latter is ridiculously expensive, no doubt due to its prime location.

Now that I’ve relocated, I’ve yet to find a close-to-home option, so when I had a few items to dry clean this morning, I went to the city cleaner. I don’t usually scrutinize the bill, but today I noticed that they charged me over a dollar more for a sweater than the posted price. Of course, being the frugal person that I am, I inquired. “It has silk in it, there’s an extra charge,” she replied. Of course it has silk in it! The reason my dry clean only sweaters can’t be washed at home is because they contain some delicate material, like silk or cashmere. So the takeaway is, the listed prices are only for pieces you could wash at home; if it’s dry clean only, it’s going to cost extra.

Then, of course, there’s the infamous extra charge for a woman’s shirt. It drives me crazy that cleaners advertise $2 to wash a shirt, but charge me $6 because it’s a ladies shirt. Something about it being harder to press because of the darts. For that kind of premium, I’ll wash and press my shirts myself.

April 24, 2009June 10, 2009

Movin’ On Up

Well, after a brief hiatus, it’s official: we have moved in. Last weekend, joined by as many family and friends as we could convince to help us, Steve & I gathered substantially all of our belongings from our respective parents’ houses and the teeny-tiny apartment we’ve been living in since we got married in January and deposited them in our new digs. Here’s how it went:

A week or two before the big move, we each started packing up things we wouldn’t need. Steve, being a CPA, suddenly found himself with very little to do at work after April 15, and so took Thursday and Friday off to pack up. Here’s Steve in the living room during the process:

Hmmm, looks like he’s watching the hockey game and messing around on his laptop. If he’s packing too, that’s some serious multi-tasking! Needless to say, when Saturday rolled around and we picked up the truck we rented, there was still a fair amount of packing to do. Fortunately, we did have a number of friends helping us out.

Even so, we still didn’t finish packing the truck, which we picked up around 10am, until 3:30 in the afternoon! I can’t imagine how long it would have taken if we had been on our own. The only downside is things really just got thrown into boxes just to get it done, so there is not a whole lot of organization to the way things are packed and it’s making unpacking a bit of a challenge.

Next time we move, which will hopefully not be for a long, long time, I’m going to suggest hiring movers. At a minimum, labeling the moving boxes is going to be mandatory!

April 15, 2009June 10, 2009

Pretty Blue Vases . . . That I Can’t Buy

I was at Crate & Barrel yesterday evening picking up some flatware from our wedding registry that was back ordered, and these vases caught my eye:

They are translucent colored glass, and the good people at C&B were smart enough to position them next to some lights that showed through and made the glass sparkle. I think they would look great in a room with lots of light, maybe a sun porch, or on a window sill.

We are officially moving in to the House this weekend, so it is not the best time to buy new things. No need to buy it now and then have to pack it and risk breakage! Plus, since we are not settled in yet, we have not made any real decisions as to how we are going to decorate, so I’m not sure where these would fit in. But they are pretty, and seem to be fairly reasonably priced, for Crate & Barrel. I will keep and eye on them and see if they go on sale, and maybe will splurge if it turns out they are the perfect accessory for one of our rooms.

April 14, 2009June 10, 2009

You Catch More Flies

Moving presents a number of logistical issues, whether you own or rent. For example, you have to set up accounts with utilities and other service providers. Steve and I split this up. I handled PG&E, water, and trash collection; he handled phone, cable, and internet.

Steve called me this afternoon furious about the cable situation. Apparently, Comcast informed him that he would not be able to initiate service for a little over two weeks because the prior customer’s cut-off date was a little over two weeks out, and they cannot serve two customers simultaneously at the same address. My first reaction? “Woohoo! Two weeks of free cable, courtesy of Seller!” He was not so positive about the situation. Seller was, shall we say, frugal, and had only the least expensive basic cable package. In other words, no Speed Channel.

Steve proceeded to explain how he had argued with the customer service rep, gotten nowhere, and eventually hung up on her. I reminded him that two weeks without the Speed Channel was not the end of the world, and called Comcast as soon as I got off the phone with him. I calmly explained the dilema to the customer service agent, and emphasized that I would be very grateful for anything she could do to speed up the process. Thirty seconds later, we had an appointment for cable installation on the exact date Steve originally wanted.

The moral of the story is: be nice to customer service people, if not just for the sake of being nice, then because it will go a lot farther toward getting your problem fixed. Also, learn to accept your husband’s need for Speed.

April 13, 2009June 10, 2009

Hello world!

This is the story of a newly married couple who bought a house and are trying to make it their own while learning how to be married to each other.

Erin is a lawyer in San Francisco. She grew up and went to school in the Bay Area, and has no desire to go anywhere else. She likes going to the gym and reading fiction, but actually spends more of her free time watching TV and surfing the net.

Steve is a CPA, also in San Francisco. A Bay Area native as well, he decided after his stint at the University of Arizona that the heat being “dry” did not make it tolerable and returned to (somewhat) greener pastures. He likes fast cars, spaghetti westerns, and MacWorld magazine.

The House is a two-story residence on a decent sized lot in the East Bay. The prior owner made some interesting color choices, loved elaborate draperies, and promptly fired the gardener as soon as the purchase and sale agreement was signed. In other words, there is work to be done.