Phew!
I can't believe I made it! To the fourth week of moving and settling...
Isn't it insane when you start a home from scratch? That first grocery trip costed us around $400 for 2 people. And that is not including South Asian groceries. Our Wal-Mart bill 2 days ago was $300 for miscellaneous things needed around the house. Every week, as I utilized the kitchen... I kept noting down what was missing. And the list just kept adding up... from hangers, to can openers, to scissors, to whisks, to pots and pans, to cups, to containers, to storage boxes and so on.
That dreaded first grocery shopping for a home that you just move into - BAD! You gotta start from scratch. Ketchup. Mayonnaise. Oil. Butter. Yes, all fattening things. Pickles. Frozen vegetables mix. Rice. Flour. Sugar. Salt. And spices.... oh god. Don't get me started on how many spices Indians need to cook a meal. Up until 2 weeks ago, I had never heard of Garam Masala. And incidentally, I sprinkle it in every Indian dish I cook. Oh, and measuring cups! I mean, what a lovely invention. I just discovered them, lol. They have surely made it easier to follow YouTube recipes.
It was hard to fill an empty kitchen. I had to think meals!
As in... breakfast. So... eggs, egg whites, milk, cereal, oatmeal, protein bars, protein shakes, fruits, waffles, pancakes. I like to have options for everything.
Lunch - tofu, cheese, fish cakes, chicken breast, beans, rice, bread, vegetables (frozen and fresh), garlic naan, and so on. And then I had to think the same for dinner. I ended up spending $950 in 2 weeks for just filling up the kitchen with food and utensils.
We were kindly invited to so many dinners during our first three weekends. And so much of our food went to waste. I feel so bad. So, we discussed how we can make the most out of our grocery trip without breaking the bank, and most importantly, not wasting food.
I am glad we finally agreed on a mix of Indian and Western cooking. For one week, I get to cook foods that I like. Every alternative week, I get to cook foods he likes. Exceptions can always be made! And we can eat out 1 day out of the week. If we have a system, we'll be better at our diets. We have way too much holiday weight going on. Men are so demanding. He likes freshly prepared food and doesn't eat foods that are refrigerated for more than a day. Fair enough. I mean, everyone has their own rules. I am okay with that.
What I can't wait to do is... get our home set up, so we can also invite my lovely friends over for parties. Managing space in a condo can be challenging. It takes way more time and effort to store things in a smaller space. I have been inspired to do many DIY projects at home that provide solutions for smaller spaces. So, hopefully, I can do a series of that on my blog. For now, my biggest storage issue is my makeup. I don't have a vanity yet. I do my makeup in the bathroom. And I hate storing makeup in the bathroom. Even though the bathroom lighting is great, I just don't like to bend down for each and every product to reach the cabinet that's under the sink.
My makeup was all over the place since I came back from India. I sat down and categorized it. That's the least I could have done. Drawer #1: Skin Stuff (includes primers, BB creams, foundations, concealers, corrector, cream/powder contour and highlight, cream/powder blush compacts, finishing powders, and powder foundation compacts).
I stored away all my liquid foundations in a different makeup bag. I only reach for those when I dress up for something special. My daily foundation and moisturizers sit in a mirrored-wall cabinet in my bathroom (which is practical and easy to reach - thank god!) I've also stored cotton balls, Q-Tips, makeup removers, wipes, cleansers, face masks, and day/night creams in that mirrored cabinet. I use that stuff often and it is stored away somewhere I can easily reach.
Drawer #2: Lip Stuff (includes all of my lip glosses, lip liners chubby sticks, lip balms, lipsticks, lip butters etc).
Drawer #3: Eye Stuff (eye liner pencils, gel liners, liquid liners, mascaras, lashes, glue, and loose eye shadow pigments). I've also stored my eye makeup palettes there. And everything to do with eyes including primers and eyebrow pencils.
I was able to manage space for an extra drawer for all my extra makeup items that I do not use often.
Now, here is the deal. I really have to manage the space in my bedroom and I have a DIY Vanity idea. However, I am still wondering if any of you can help me out. Do you guys know of any small dressers that are perfect for smaller spaces? I saw one on Amazon but I am kinda iffy on ordering it online. If someone can suggest a store in Toronto, where I can personally check it out - that would be great.
I can't wait till I get everything set up. It took us 2 weeks to do our laundry (we had to wash practically everything!) I've got my wardrobe set up. I've also tucked away some of my winter stuff in boxes because hopefully, we will be welcoming Spring soon. I am trying to keep everything organized but it's just so much work. These are the times I miss mom and my own house =(
Nish and I are entertainers and we would love to have people over. I kinda enjoy cooking so I am really looking forward to settling in as soon as we can. It will still probably take around 2 more weeks to get some furniture in. Yesterday, we filled up 3 huge bags of clothing for donation. We are trying to get rid of stuff we don't need and pretty much start over with everything new. And isn't this the whole point, anyway? Marriage is new. And so is everything else that comes with it. I am excited and exhausted at the same time. It's 2:30 am.. and before I ramble any further, I just wanna give a shout out to all the lovely couples that invited us over for dinner. Thank you so much for your lovely gifts and wishes. We had a great time! Thank you for the hospitality. Makes us feel so special! Thanks once again :)
I can't believe I made it! To the fourth week of moving and settling...
Isn't it insane when you start a home from scratch? That first grocery trip costed us around $400 for 2 people. And that is not including South Asian groceries. Our Wal-Mart bill 2 days ago was $300 for miscellaneous things needed around the house. Every week, as I utilized the kitchen... I kept noting down what was missing. And the list just kept adding up... from hangers, to can openers, to scissors, to whisks, to pots and pans, to cups, to containers, to storage boxes and so on.That dreaded first grocery shopping for a home that you just move into - BAD! You gotta start from scratch. Ketchup. Mayonnaise. Oil. Butter. Yes, all fattening things. Pickles. Frozen vegetables mix. Rice. Flour. Sugar. Salt. And spices.... oh god. Don't get me started on how many spices Indians need to cook a meal. Up until 2 weeks ago, I had never heard of Garam Masala. And incidentally, I sprinkle it in every Indian dish I cook. Oh, and measuring cups! I mean, what a lovely invention. I just discovered them, lol. They have surely made it easier to follow YouTube recipes.
It was hard to fill an empty kitchen. I had to think meals!
As in... breakfast. So... eggs, egg whites, milk, cereal, oatmeal, protein bars, protein shakes, fruits, waffles, pancakes. I like to have options for everything.
Lunch - tofu, cheese, fish cakes, chicken breast, beans, rice, bread, vegetables (frozen and fresh), garlic naan, and so on. And then I had to think the same for dinner. I ended up spending $950 in 2 weeks for just filling up the kitchen with food and utensils.
We were kindly invited to so many dinners during our first three weekends. And so much of our food went to waste. I feel so bad. So, we discussed how we can make the most out of our grocery trip without breaking the bank, and most importantly, not wasting food.
I am glad we finally agreed on a mix of Indian and Western cooking. For one week, I get to cook foods that I like. Every alternative week, I get to cook foods he likes. Exceptions can always be made! And we can eat out 1 day out of the week. If we have a system, we'll be better at our diets. We have way too much holiday weight going on. Men are so demanding. He likes freshly prepared food and doesn't eat foods that are refrigerated for more than a day. Fair enough. I mean, everyone has their own rules. I am okay with that.
What I can't wait to do is... get our home set up, so we can also invite my lovely friends over for parties. Managing space in a condo can be challenging. It takes way more time and effort to store things in a smaller space. I have been inspired to do many DIY projects at home that provide solutions for smaller spaces. So, hopefully, I can do a series of that on my blog. For now, my biggest storage issue is my makeup. I don't have a vanity yet. I do my makeup in the bathroom. And I hate storing makeup in the bathroom. Even though the bathroom lighting is great, I just don't like to bend down for each and every product to reach the cabinet that's under the sink.My makeup was all over the place since I came back from India. I sat down and categorized it. That's the least I could have done. Drawer #1: Skin Stuff (includes primers, BB creams, foundations, concealers, corrector, cream/powder contour and highlight, cream/powder blush compacts, finishing powders, and powder foundation compacts).
I stored away all my liquid foundations in a different makeup bag. I only reach for those when I dress up for something special. My daily foundation and moisturizers sit in a mirrored-wall cabinet in my bathroom (which is practical and easy to reach - thank god!) I've also stored cotton balls, Q-Tips, makeup removers, wipes, cleansers, face masks, and day/night creams in that mirrored cabinet. I use that stuff often and it is stored away somewhere I can easily reach.
Drawer #2: Lip Stuff (includes all of my lip glosses, lip liners chubby sticks, lip balms, lipsticks, lip butters etc).
Drawer #3: Eye Stuff (eye liner pencils, gel liners, liquid liners, mascaras, lashes, glue, and loose eye shadow pigments). I've also stored my eye makeup palettes there. And everything to do with eyes including primers and eyebrow pencils.
I was able to manage space for an extra drawer for all my extra makeup items that I do not use often.
I can't wait till I get everything set up. It took us 2 weeks to do our laundry (we had to wash practically everything!) I've got my wardrobe set up. I've also tucked away some of my winter stuff in boxes because hopefully, we will be welcoming Spring soon. I am trying to keep everything organized but it's just so much work. These are the times I miss mom and my own house =(
Nish and I are entertainers and we would love to have people over. I kinda enjoy cooking so I am really looking forward to settling in as soon as we can. It will still probably take around 2 more weeks to get some furniture in. Yesterday, we filled up 3 huge bags of clothing for donation. We are trying to get rid of stuff we don't need and pretty much start over with everything new. And isn't this the whole point, anyway? Marriage is new. And so is everything else that comes with it. I am excited and exhausted at the same time. It's 2:30 am.. and before I ramble any further, I just wanna give a shout out to all the lovely couples that invited us over for dinner. Thank you so much for your lovely gifts and wishes. We had a great time! Thank you for the hospitality. Makes us feel so special! Thanks once again :)
I don't mean to sound cheap but I think you should definitely check out Dollarama for organizers. Some Dollaramas like the one on Derry and Mclaughlin at the border of Mississauga and Brampton carry some neat closet organizers. Some of them are meant to be hung in the closet but I just lay it on my closet floor and keep all my barely used makeup in the different sections. They are of course more than a dollar, but within 5 dollars usually. I mean its just an organizer right? Its not like you are using it as a display so I think its fine to buy it from Dollarama. You can even find the little drawer organizers at Dollarama but you would really have to look around in various stores, sometimes you can also find them in the kids section. Other than that, there is Ikea, you should definitely visit Ikea for home organization. And I would say consider a jewellery cabinet? It did wonders for me lol! I got so organized when I got mine from the Brick recently. Its usually a little expensive and since you spent a lot on home stuff already, maybe it would be smart to wait for it to go on sale. You don't have to use it for jewellery only, you can also use it to store your make up. Mine has these little boxes that are very handy for keeping all sorts of make up. And remember Target is going to be closing soon. I know the sales there are not that great yet, but around May they should be having better sales so you could check them out. From what I have learnt, its better for furnitures and home accessories to go on sale before buying it unless absolutely necessary, you will save a lot that way. Hope this helps :) Good luck hun and enjoy this new chapter in your life.
ReplyDeleteHey anon!
DeleteIt doesn't sound cheap at all. Infact, these are great ideas. I could use some of these! I actually got most of my storage containers from Walmart and Ikea. And I use the Dollar Store ones for my makeup storage. The jewllery cabinet is new to me, though. Seems like a great idea! My mom got me one for $50 but it's not as spacious. I don't mind investing in one that can hold a lot of stuff. Thank you for such wonderful ideas!