I want a new bathroom

Our old home has two bathrooms - a full bath and a 3/4 bath (with shower). Our master bedroom has the 3/4 bath attached to it. It is very small compare to the newer bathrooms where they are almost as huge as a bedroom.

I really want an attached master bathroom that complete with a full bath or jacuzzi, a shower, two sinks (a her and a him), walk-in closet, enclosed toilet and a sky light, with optional LCD TV. I don't think I can have such a bathroom in our home at this time unless we consider expanding the current layout of the house. Our house is small, only 1300sqft at the current layout. If we are remodeling part of the house, I can also add another bedroom to it.

It will be a lot of work and a big project, but we can have it done when we decided to cover up the swimming pool at the backyard. If the city allows us to extend our home to the front, it may work too. Or we can build a second storey up and add more bedrooms.

When that time comes for this BIG project, we will be looking carefully for estimates on these works from Roofing Contractors to general contractors through a network of carefully pre-screened, licensed and insured home remodeling contractors from Signature Contractors Website. From this website, you can request 3 estimate appointments for free. After each contractor has presented their estimate, it is up to you to decide whom the best to hire for the job.

Our home improvement may sound tedious but may still be cheaper than for us to get a new home in this neighborhood.

Picture credit: Copyright © signaturecontractors.com

Ugly garage floors

Our home is old, built in the 1950s. Well, many homes in LA are old homes anyway, not that I am complaining. We have a 2 cars garage which is good as some other homes built in the 50s have only 1 car garage.

If we get the chance, we want to redo our garage. First thing is to clean out the garage floors.

As you see in the picture above it has a lot of stains - tyres tracks, oil stains, dirt and other unknown stains. Mother-in-law has redone her garage floors by covering the stains with new tiles and the result made the garage looks much cleaner and neat. May be we will consider doing our garage floor that way too.

May be next time

We remodeled our kitchen in December 2003. We tore down the old dark wood cabinet and ordered Ikea Stats white kitchen cabinets. We added an island with a second sink in the middle of the kitchen. We love our new kitchen now as it is more bright and open.

Items I regret not using during the remodel were the stainless steel Franke Sinks. I bought ceramic sinks off the shelf from Home Depot and had the contractor installed for me. Even though Franke Sink is more expensive but I realize now that it is easier to maintain than a ceramic sink.

Too late to regret now, may be our next house we will try to get a stainless steel sink for the kitchen.

Plumber with a style

An ex-client of mine has a brother has his own plumbing business. Since I am a real estate agent, it is always good for me to know handyman like him so I can recommend to my clients if they have plumbing problems.

My ex-client introduced me to him one time and his brother sure knows all about plumbing. He dressed very smart but casual, unlike any plumbers I've seen. He started off telling me why and how he started his business. Then on it went. I suspect he probably took Sales Training Courses in plumbing. I was very impressed with him and definitely will refer him to my clients in future.

A must have tool for home builders and contractors

Building a home is not easy but keeping all project teams on schedule is even harder. If you are a builder or contractor, you must get Procore Online Construction Project Management. This web-based application can help team members stay on the same page.

Another advantage with Procure is they charge a flat rate based on per-project monthly fee instead of per-user fee. Builders and Contractors can have as many users for this program as they want. Another benefit is this application is easy to use, there's no training needed.

Need new bed anyone?

When I was renting a room during my college years, how I wish I had a wooden bed. I love wood as it is so must nicer and steadier than a metal frame bed.

We have a queen size wooden bed frame now and highly recommend wooden bed. If you are looking for Quality Oak Beds, you have to check them out at Time4Sleep. You are able to find many different designs and styles all at one place. And if you prefer non-wooden bed, no problem. At Time4Sleep, they cover a wide range of beds and I am sure you can find one that fit your lifestyle.

Modular Home

Driving around town I've seen many modular homes are popping up around LA area. You may find some of these fast growing homes from Palm Harbor Homes.

These manufactured homes are very affordable especially in the rising property prices around Southern California. This may be the way to go for new first time buyers. Don't fool by the name modular home as these homes are well built and very attractive with upscale designs.

At Palm Harbor Homes, you can even view the available floor plans online and get a free informational DVD to learn more about what modular homes can offer to you.

Storage storage storage

When your house is small as mine, you will need as much storage in the garage as possible. Now with a toddler son in our family, our toys collection has grow so much and not including his baby's stuff. Some of the older strollers, car seats, cribs and other baby items are all sitting in the garage. I hate to have these items cover with dust. That's why I am planning to build some garage cabinets to store all these items neatly away from all the dust.

Bed bugs problem

A few months after my nephew was born, my sister told me that she discovered small red bumps on his body. And she found a few on hers too. Immediately I told her that it could be bed bugs problem and asked her to check out for droppings. She found a few red dots (blood) on her bedsheet but she couldn't see any bed bugs.

If I would know about the Bed Bugs Guide site earlier, I could have let her know how to get rid of them. That's why I am putting this up here, just in case if her bed bugs problem returns.

Messy Dining Room

Come come ... let me share with you how my dining room looks like after our 'little hurricane' comes around. I clean up everyday, twice a day, when he naps in the afternoon and when he sleeps at night. But the moment he wakes up, our dining room will look like this again.

I know, you may suggest not cleaning up, but I can't be sitting in the dining table typing on my laptop while looking down in this mess. I must put things back where they are before I start my blogging stuff.

Blown up mushroom

Remember I posted this here? The next day I went outside and saw them changed shape. They caps were blown up. They got bigger too. The day after that, they got even BIGGER with their caps became wider and flatter, no more looking like a button mushroom.

I wanted to see how big they would grow but Hubby 'cabut' (pull) them out yesterday evening without me knowing. This morning I went outside and was surprised to see all the mushrooms were gone. First thought that came to my mind was - the cat ate them?

Mushroom in my front yard

Saturday morning when we were leaving the house to go kai-kai (go out), I saw 3 patches of mushroom growing in my front yard. They weren't there they day before. Mushroom does grow over night. This is not the first time we saw mushrooms in our front yard. I don't think is the edible kind. I've heard there are only 7 edible types of mushroom among thousands species. I wonder if the cat will eat these?

Protect your home

If you own a home, you have to have home insurance to protect your property as this may be the biggest purchase you made thus far. Anything can happen to your property - theft, fire, flood, earthquake, and much more. Your insurance coverage will help your rebuild your home if mishaps happened.

It is also advisable that you record what personal properties you have inside your house using pictures and video camera for the ease of claiming later. If you already have coverage, check the amount if is updated. Cost of labor and material increase yearly, you want to make sure you have enough coverage to rebuild your home.

Redo garage floor

Our garage is very dirty. It is so cluttered with all the rubbish we have. We are thinking about putting in some drywalls to cover up the open wall, install some cabinets for storage and put in a new epoxy garage floor coating. The floor is so dirty even after several times of pressure washing. The stains are too old to be removed. If we do the floor, we will go with mid-light color and add in some epoxy paint chips to make it nicer.

Ka-Ka-Cau-Cau

Somebody messed up my kitchen drawer!! I can never cook in peace. Somebody always come ka-ka-cau-cau (disturb) me while I am preparing the meal. This time, he messed up my tuperware drawers. He likes to play with the round ones. Always take it away from the drawer and play in the dining area.

Front yard landscapping

Ugly ugly ugly. That's how my front yard looks and how much I dislike it. The ground is uneven, and the grass is not green. There are patches of dry spots here and there. Flower beds are all dried up. No time to maintain it. The metal fence/gate is rusting. The wooden circle decor on the fence is falling apart. Is time for makeover!

I really look forward for a new front yard. A yard which I can bring my boy out to enjoy. Let him run around and not worrying him falling onto the down due to the uneven ground. Let him play by himself while I sit on a cushioned patio chair by the shady tree with my laptop and wireless connection. That's so nice to dream about.

Honestly, we really looking to change our front yard landscapping. If we really do, I want to put in nicer, shorter grass and a few shady trees. May be 1 or 2 fruit trees too. A couple of lifelike fake boulders, similar to those you find from Artificial Rocks Factory. They look real but doesn't weigh a tonne. They can also be used to hide and conceal pumps and utility boxes. Add two fake tree stumps for sitting. Fill up my flower beds with scented and low maintenance plants. If still within our budget, may be add a small waterfall and a pond.

Just think about this makeover already makes me feel very relaxing. Imagine if this is the real thing. But for now, we'll just hope we will be able to save enough money for a new front yard. Guess we might need to increase our budget.

My home was burglarized

My house was burglarized a few years back. I was out running errand and when I returned home, I saw the door to my backyard was wide opened. I was shocked. When I peeked into my rooms, I saw everything everywhere. I quickly ran out and make a call to 911. Police came by and checked everything to make sure is safe before I back inside.

Since that day I’ve wonder if I should install a home security with a security camera. I’ve been looking around but couldn’t the information I needed. So up till today, I still haven’t got the security system installed. I preferred one without a monthly fee and that I can do my monitoring at home while is connected to the local police station if there is an intruder that breaks in.

Before the Party

We started preparing for the party a month ago. But we waited until yesterday to re-organized our home interior (putting up chairs, hang the scrapbooks, move furnitures around) to suit the party. I also printed all the scrapbooking projects and clipped them to the curtains in the kitchen area. But I think not many people noticed them as they looked like a part of the curtain. It wasn't until I showed the projects to my landlord, Anthony who came with his wife, Kathleen, as they were surprised to see the nice pictures there, I didn't know they were so unnoticable. It was too late to move to a new spot, so we let them stayed at the original place. Here are the pictures of before the party. See our family potraits are on the wall now (top left picture).