Welcome to our home Part One - Kitchen & Dinning

So my first blog of 2012 is of our new home! After 4 very long months, we have finally moved in! It was a real long journey, from researching about neighborhoods, to house hunting, to looking for a contractor to checking prices for every single piece of hardware and appliances....it was an exhausting process but we have learnt a lot! During the remodeling process, we came upon some pitfalls here and there...one of the major issue was the flooring never got shipped which delayed our process for an entire month and a half! But then it became a happy accident when I found a better local flooring supplier! (I'll write about it on my next blog). The kitchen was the first spot to be completed...originally the space next to the kitchen was a small family room. I decided to convert it to a larger dinning and activity area. This is one of the spot with the best natural lighting within our home...and with all the reflective white walls...is a perfect spot to snap some photographs! I cant wait to show you the rest of the home when it's uhm...a bit more furnished! ;)

The George Nelson Ball Clock I've had for awhile now...I brought it over from Hong Kong...

Gas stove definitely makes a HUGE difference to my cooking...much more powerful and consistent distribution of heat!

I found these in an old second hand shop long ago...I believe they are used for flour, sugar...etc

The hardware on the drawers protect the doors from too much finger-touching! Star Anise must be one of the prettiest spice!

Apron sink!

Simple Human trash bin I got from Bed Bath and Beyond with my 20% off coupon!!

I found those two pendant lights from Barn House Lighting www.barnlightelectric.com! They actually have a distribution center in Chino Hills. Great service, great products!

The roses are freshly cut from the yard...our previous owner planted so much flowers!! The mandarins are from our neighbor's tree, see that bowl? I brought it all the way from Hong Kong, it's actually a Chinese-style sink!

The previous owner also planted an orange tree! Think I picked these too early...they were a bit too sour for my taste, let's wait till February!

The while plastic molded chair is the only 'real' one here from Vitra....my dream wishbone chairs are replicas (hey dont judge.... ;)

Things in the yard

Pretty soon we will be moving into our first home together! (that is if the remodeling process doesnt hit another brick wall) It's an older home, built in the 1970's. Older homes need to be fixed here and there...due to old age. But the up side is, it's usually larger with more yard space! Living in the suburbs has always been 'uncool'...but hey I think I'm starting to really dig it...it's peaceful, quiet...less pollution...and I even hear birds chirping! The previous home owner was a 80 something years old Korean lady, she was cute, and was nice. She had been living on her own since her husband passing, and all her children are grown up and have moved away. The reason she had to sell the house was she wanted to be closer to her son up in San Jose as she is getting older. All these plants were her babies! We were both instantly drawn to the yard when we walked into the home. Now I just hope these plants will survive under my hands. Sadly we did have to move away some...it was starting to get too cluttered. Also, we are thinking of water conservation, eventually I hope to plant more succulent plants, since they take much less water! It's essential living in such dry place like LA to consider saving water!

The side of the house is where all the succulents are!

Orange tree at the back of the yard! Harvest should come February?

There are roses scattered everywhere...I guess roses are seen as old fashion...but classic!

These roses are like on steroid...they keep blooming and blooming...well into the winter!

Flower of a succulent plant!

Smells like Shitaki mushroom alright, but I bet it's not edible!

There's a little bird feeder, I should put some food in it.

Quirky succulents! They are so designy looking, definitely one of my favorite!

The previous owner said these are African daisies, she planted these to cover the slope at the back of the yard.