AnnFrancisco the Destroyer

When I moved into my apartment I was really excited about the bed the previous tenant was leaving me. He had "built" a bed platform thing that was about three feet off the ground i.e. plenty of storage space underneath. So I was thrilled! Turns out he didn't so much "build" a bed as attach a queen sized bed frame to some posts made of 2x4s, put another post (support beam) in the middle and call it good. Here's the "before" picture:

See, there's little ladders and everything! Well the ladders were about 1/4 inch too short so they slid under the bed while I was climbing up them and crashed to the floor once I was aloft. And the "sturdy posts" turned out to be wiggly and creaky so every time I rolled over in my sleep I was awakened by the bed banging into the wall. Sorry neighbors, it's not what you think. Anyway, I decided to take apart the bed and just have a non-creaking, non-wiggling mattress on the floor. I bought a hammer, screwdriver, and wrench and had about three hours until I had to leave for work so I figured I was good to go.

After I got everything cleared off the bed frame and took a good look at it I realized that I could save the actual bed and just remove the stilts This became the new plan.

I started by unscrewing the small screws that held the 2x4 legs together and then moving on to the giant screws. By giant I really do mean giant- the looked like the kind of screws that hold playground equipment together. I was getting huge blisters but luckily ye olde tambourine gloves came to the rescue!

Preeeeetty badass and also blister free. It took forever and it was sweaty and tiring but I eventually got all the legs off the bed! The support beam was screwed in underneath the plywood platform so I ended up bracing myself against the wall and kicking it until it loosened, then the weight of the bed pushed it sideways until the screws popped out. I felt really awesome and strong. Here's the finished product:

A totally normal looking, normal height bed! Sturdy and kind of Scandinavian looking, which I love. And here's the defeated pile of former bed, which is now in my backyard next to the compost cans because I don't know how to recycle wood:

All in all it was a successful project, although I really do need to plan more, allow more time for roadblocks, and figure out some kind of support system bigger than texting a friend, "Hey are you busy? I have a question about tools." In the end I did it, though, and my room is a much better place!

New Apartment Update

The new apartment is so cute! It's so homey! Liz and I are settling in slowly, starting out with pretty much no home accessories (or furniture) between the two of us and gathering things piece by piece.

This is our bathroom sink, with built in toothbrush holder

Liz's coworker Heather got married a few weeks ago and consequently got a bunch of new kitchen stuff. So guess who got three Rubbermaid bins full of really nice kitchen stuff?! You guessed it: Us. Nice pots and frying pans, tons of plates, and Pyrex (omg).

Liz's pretty lady reading corner

At the Salvation Army we found a great kitchen table circa 1965-70 (I think. I wasn't around then but it looks like that era) that has a leaf for when guests come over. We've started with two chairs and will find more as we go along. I got a nightstand, the kind that has two levels where the top level is smaller than the bottom one. My grandma has one as an end table. I also got a combination dresser/desk! Maybe I'll start blogging from there.

The top of my dresser/desk. Graa white walls!

Ikea, as always, was heaven. I love love love going to Ikea and taking my time walking through the whole store, all the rooms and everything. Luckily my friend Julia does Ikea exactly the same way and is also shopping for a new apartment and has a truck! We had the best day! Plus the San Francisco (meaning Emeryville) Ikea has a way better food court than the Seattle one. I got some shelves that fit our records and dvds, shelves for the closet, shelves for the wall, a shelf for the kitchen...things are going on shelves ASAP. Lots of things.

So far the best thing about our new apartment is coming home to a friend. Super cheesy, I know, but after living so long with people I didn't really connect with it's so energizing and comfortable to be around someone I can share things with. Our home is a very very happy one.

Movin On Up

Guess who's moooooooving?! Tomorrrrrrrrrow! I'm so excited to move into our new place and start settling and and have dance parties, dinner parties, fashion shows...you name it.

Packing up my room is totally taking me back to packing up my room in Seattle and it's a trip. I can't believe it's only been 5 months but, at the same time, I can't believe it's been 5 whole months! The feelings this time are around are so different. When I packed up to move to San Francisco I cried almost the whole time, felt nervous about what was going to happen next, and wasn't really sure if I wanted to go through with it at all. This time I'm looking forward to settling in to a home with a good friend, mentally re-planning my work commute, and feeling relaxed and like everything is going to be just great. What a difference!

I'll post pics of the new place soon. I wonder if we'll have internet...

Bob and Barb visit the Bay Area

My parents came to visit last week and we had a such a great time! It's really fun showing people around this city- San Francisco shows itself off very well. I also feel like just enough of a local to give tours to people but I still enjoy doing touristy stuff because it's all relatively new to me too. It's the perfect spot in which to be! Here's a rundown of some of the things we did:

• Had cocktails at the 'Top of the Mark'- the Mark Hopkins Hotel. An amazing view of the city and the fog swirling in
• Ate breakfast everywhere
• Ate lunch in Sausalito, explored the Bay Model (a building sized model of the estuary around San Francisco), looked at tons of sailboats (a huge hit with my dad)
• Found an apartment for me and Liz!!
• Explored the De Young museum and some of Golden Gate Park
• Took a freezing cold tour of Angel Island and a much warmer audio tour of Alcatraz
• Drank lots of wine
• Had great talks, laughs, and hugs

My mom shared an interesting fact with me: the last time my parents were in San Francisco together was 25 years ago...when I was in the womb! Crazy!

And last, but not least, is a picture from freezing cold Angel Island:

Fashion Forward Friday...

...is back in full effect! This week it finally got hot hot hot in San Francisco and I was ready with a sundress borrowed from my great friend Liz. Here it is:

It reminds me of an awning or something from the 80s. Growing up, my friend Ashley had awnings on the windows on the front of her house. I thought they were so cool! Now I'm wearing one.

Things I'm Excited About

Mermaid Polish

'Angela Chase' shades of lipstick

My new apartment, which includes:

A shared backyard with a lemon tree

A great friend of 6 years

A new gas stove

A bathtub

Rowboats in Golden Gate Park

Bike Rides

San Francisco Summer

So. Excited.

Of Mice and Men and Women

Alright alright alright so there's no Fashion Forward Friday this week. My bad. But I realized that all my 'fashion forward' outfits consist of a skirt, a belt, and a top. So, uh, hittin a dry patch here. Perhaps I need another style guide (hint hint)...

However, I've decided to post this AMAZING video of Linda Ronstadt and James Ingram singing Somewhere Out There from the Disney feature An American Tail. This song has been stuck in my head ALL week so the other day I looked it up on YouTube to give a listen. Do people still make celebrity radio versions of Disney songs? Because they should. They were so popular when we were kids! Consider this:

-Beauty and the Beast (Celine Dion and Peabo Bryson)

-Reflection (Mulan) (Christina Aguliera)

-True to Your Heart (Mulan) (98 degrees and Stevie Wonder!)

-Go the Distance (Hercules) (Michael Bolton)

and so many more.

Here's what went through my head when I watched this video. In order:

1. omg glasses

2. Linda Ronstadt's hair

3. They're both artists!

4. Fake window

5. Props dept. strategically placed a 'cool hat' in James Ingram's apartment

6. THEY'RE RIGHT ACROSS FROM EACH OTHER!!

7. The animation scenes during the guitar solo are kind of inappropriately violent/scary

8. Why is she wearing a blazer inside?

9. THERE'S A WALKWAY!!

10. They're probably in New York

Pretty soon I'll do a post completely dedicated to Linda Ronstadt. Until then I'll be staring out of a french door a cartoon moon and thinking of you (with Spanish subtitles).