Well, I am finally settling down for a much needed break from laundry and trying to catch up on my online life. Ever since our stuff showed up on Wednesday, I have been going with all cylinders. Most nights I have been rolling into bed past midnight - trying to fit the last bit of organizing/cleaning/moving in before our poor neighbors complain. If I were smart, I would probably try to go a bit slower and prolong this Christmas feeling; but my need for order is winning.The stuff showed up Wednesday morning - after everything was carried up, the guys started stripping all the wrappings off the furniture and pictures - it was like mayhem for about 15 minutes and somewhere in these piles of packing material was the hardware for our black desk. I didn't realize that till later, of course....
After they left, I basically skipped around the apartment for a half hour taking pictures of boxes (yea, I ended up deleting them - they were very boring) and looking at our unwrapped photos.
I decided to formulate a plan... There were several things I wanted to accomplish before Joe got home from work - I wanted to put together his desk and set up his computers for him and I also wanted to have a place where we could sit down and have dinner together. So, I began; but at first it just looked like I was making the mess much much worse! It was difficult unpacking the monitors and hard drives. They were all really heavy, double boxed and wrapped in three layers of packing material; but I persisted and got the whole thing set-up. Of course, I didn't actually run any of the wires or plug anything in as I had no idea what type of cables or anything to use. 
It would have been a disaster, and besides, Joe thinks stuff like that is fun so I left the wiring for him. The desk turned out rather nicely though - The office definitely has room for a couple book shelves as well so that should help with giving us some storage options later on down the road.So, before we left the states, we decided to invest in a patio set from Ikea - it was flat packed so it wouldn't take up much room in the crate and it was really cheap.
So, the set consists of two chairs, a two seater bench and a table... after we got our apartment (with no balcony and no outdoor space) we decided that we would just sell it once we got it. However, considering we don't have a dining room table or couch, we opted in favour of setting all of it up and using it as temporary furniture. I put the patio set together and then started unpacking my kitchen stuff. It was absolutely incredible to open each little carefully wrapped bundle. It was the longest Christmas that I have ever had - a Christmas that lasted for days! 
It went this way:Me: (unwrap, unwrap, unwrap) Oh look - it's a mug!
Me: (unwrap, unwrap, unwrap) Oh look - it's a pan lid!
Me: (unwrap, unwrap, unwrap) Oh look - it's a wine glass!
You get the idea... There was only one casualty and I am not letting myself get upset about it for two reasons - firstly, there could have been multiple broken items and secondly, it could have been something truly meaningful and sentimental.
That's about all I got done on Wednesday... it was enough though - I was so sore and tired by bed time! It didn't help that I was sick already so my resident Rock Star gave me a back rub and a foot rub for all of my hard work...Thursday was the perfect day for staying in and getting some serious work done... It was crummy and rainy outside - not super cold, just dreary and drizzly. I got a bit artsy-fartsy with my camera and took these two pictures out our big picture window. I focused on the skyline for the first one and on the window for the second - just some cool perspectives.
I haven't really been using my camera as much here since I have to cart it around in my purse/backpack - it's much easier to use my phone; but my phone can't do cool things like this!Anyway - Thursday, I decided to concentrate on getting the kitchen set up completely. I had already decided weeks ago where I wanted all of my stuff to go once it got here (yes, I spent A LOT of time fantasizing about having more than two mugs and two glasses) so it was just a matter of getting it set up in a pretty way.
Well, I guess it doesn't really matter how things look inside the cupboards; but there is a set of open shelves in the corner of our kitchen that I had earmarked as a great place to put glasses and mugs. Since it is so highly visible I wanted to make sure that I really set it up right - plus, I can't reach the top shelf without a step-stool so I wanted to make sure that all the the types of glasses were accessible. I think it ended up looking rather "cafe-like". Once that was done the rest of the kitchen seemed to fall into place pretty easily. Jen and Theresa - your pieces of art got pride of place as they rightfully deserved!
I got all of the rest of the kitchen done - including setting up a step-down converter on top of the microwave to plug the espresso maker into. What that also means is that whenever I want to use my crock-pot, mixer or food processor from the States; I can just set them up on that counter, plug them into the converter and then go to town! It was quite exciting that night to make dinner (Lamb Tikka Masala) in my beautiful kitchen with all of my things around me. Using a pan larger than a cereal bowl was also a great experience!
Well, I'll post a bit more tomorrow and include some more pictures - I am afraid if I don't stop now then I never will... Besides, the laundry calls...
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Hi Mimi!
I am so happy that everything has arrived and you have a prolonged christmas... maybe it came later so you could feel like it was an EARLY birthday!! If it had come 2 weeks ago, it wouldn't have been close enough to your birthday. :) wonder if the shoes were quarantined so they could check all the dirt on the soles for contaminants? Anyway, I know how much your kitchen being set up means to you - and it looks great!
Have a fabulous week!
Jen
Hey you!! Oh yes, they totally check the shoes for soil and such - I knew that going in so I actually scrubbed all the shoes, wiped them down with alcohol and then put them in plastic bags :) Maybe a bit much; but they didn't take any of them so I guess it worked!!
I am gleeful... GLEEFUL... thinking about happy Mimi running around and organizing her new home to her heart's content. Love love and double love!
Ohh...I'm living vicariously though you. Our stuff left the states about 6 weeks ago and I haven't heard they have even arrived in customs yet. I MISS my kitchen stuff especially. I can't wait until its my time. Enjoy!
@ Cory - Sorry about missing our Skype date this morning... I was really bummed :( Love you bunches!
@ musings - thanks much for the comment... Looks like you guys just moved here as well; but that you are originally from Australia? I hope yur stuff arrives soon - it really is an amazing feeling once you get it!