The Interior DIYer

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Last apartment tour

I had this post scheduled for last week, but I never got around to hitting publish because last week ended up being manic ahead of us moving to Canada. So I figured I’d share it today as, better late than never? 

Though most of our apartment is packed into boxes or in a wildly non-baby-friendly disarray on the floor and looks nothing like these pictures anymore, I wanted to share some of my favourite photos of our apartment before we head off on our big adventure in Canada. And I included one last story that made me feel pretty good in the middle of a shit storm of stress this past week … 

We had an agreement with our landlord that I show the apartment to potential buyers as I had it decorated now, and in turn I didn’t have to repaint the apartment back to white or reassemble all the furniture I had disassembled over the years. It was a win-win for everyone. It surprisingly worked to our favour – our apartment sold within a week and the buyers loved the apartment so much that they asked to buy as much of our stuff as they could. It saved me a lot of time and drama as I was planning on selling each piece of furniture, artwork and electronic item online individually. I’m not very good at accepting compliments or accomplishments [I don’t feel I’m doing enough of a good job. I think that’s imposter syndrome maybe?], but when the agents told our landlord how impressed they were with how the apartment was presented and when the buyers then wanted to buy all our stuff, I felt proud … 

The only furniture we packed to ship to Canada was our bedside tables, our bar cart, my green foot stool and our curio cabinet [we’re bringing Cora’s secondhand Stokke crib with us on the plane]. Of everything, those were the things I couldn’t be without or replace. The rest of the furniture sold with the apartment. We of course packed all our small things [19 boxes worth] which will be with us around Christmas time. That’ll be our Christmas present to ourselves this year – all our own stuff again. 

I didn’t have a chance to get emotional about leaving our apartment as we were in such a hurry trying to get packed up and get to the airport on time on the day. Despite having a love / hate relationship with our apartment [there were so many things wrong with it electrically as well as bad building finishes], I know we’ll miss it. We lived there through the biggest steps in our lives, it’ll be hard not to. 

To see what our apartment looked like when we first moved in over 7 years ago, take a look here. 
#NetflixStreamTeam

Nobu Hotel Shoreditch, London, with the #NetflixStreamTeam

Last week when we traveled to London as part of the Netflix Stream Team, we [Becky, Nicci, Geraldine, Sinead and I] were treated to a nights stay at the Nobu Hotel in Shoreditch, London, and it was kind of really something else …  

The hotel was a contrast of dark and light with plenty of gold. Our rooms were beautiful and comfortable. I especially fell in love with the bathroom sink in my room. It was [almost] too beautiful to use, but I did at long last [after taking about 76 photos of it].

The small [mostly gold] details throughout the Nobu Hotel were beautiful. The morning we left, I made sure to give myself some time to take some photos [and was very nearly late because of it – oops].

On the Tuesday night during our stay, we were treated to cocktails in the basement bar [after champagne and Vietnamese food (not at the same time), which by the way, is so good that I want some right now] by Nicola. It was such a great 24 hours and I couldn’t have asked for better company or to have spent it in more beautiful surroundings.

If you’re ever staying in London and have the opportunity to stay in the Nobu Hotel in Shoreditch, take it. 
 

#NetflixStreamTeam

#NetflixStreamTeam, London!

Earlier this week I had the rather surreal opportunity to be flown to London as a of new member of the Netflix UK and Ireland Stream Team. Myself and four fellow Irish bloggers [Sinead, Nicci, Becky and Geraldine] traveled with Nicola to London on Tuesday afternoon and were treated to a nights stay in the Nobu Hotel in Shoreditch [blog post on that soon!]. Mischief was had that evening and early the next morning we were on our way to the #NetflixStreamTeam event in a London penthouse apartment. As you do.

We first had a chance to explore the penthouse apartment and meet our fellow UK Stream Teamers. We gathered in the living room and introduced ourselves by saying what we were currently watching on Netflix [The Confession Tapes, Gilmore Girls and Schitts Creek].

We were then treated to some insider tips and tricks for using Netflix. Like, did you know you can delete a show from your history? Say if your partner or child or friend watched something on your account that messes up your recommendations, you can delete that show from your history. You can also personalise the colour of the subtitle font for each show. And, wait for it, you know how there’s a red star rating for every show you click through? That’s actually a suggested match for you [1 red star = you probably won’t like it and 5 red stars = you’ll probably love it]. I always thought the red star rating was other people’s ratings! That blew my mind.

We also talked about some new shows and seasons due to come out in the coming weeks and months [which I hope to be able to tell you soon! One of the returning documentaries I am beyond excited about, but I’m not sure if I can spill the beans on that, so I’ll play it safe].

It was then lunch time and we were spoiled. The food was delicious and there was a surprising amount of of vegan options. The catering staff were excellent and I ate my weight in vegetable and noodle spring rolls. What I wouldn’t do to have some for my dinner tonight. From my photos it actually looks like I was there by myself, but I promise, there were a lot more people! After lunch, we broke into three groups and started the activities that were waiting for us …

Our first activity was to decorate Puss in Boots themed cookies. It was really fun [and yummy] and I instantly have more respect for anyone who works with icing for a living. That stuff is tough.

We next made a King Julien inspired terrarium, where I learned all about where I’ve gone wrong with terrariums in the past; take off the rubber seal if there’s one on your jar, spritz the inside with water to start, keep the jar closed for 2 weeks at a time and occasionally open it for fresh air. My not very little terrarium actually survived my trip home in my hand luggage! Now if only it can survive living with me.

After our activities we talked and got to know the other bloggers / fellow Stream Teamers a bit more over a glass of champagne. Sometimes at events like this I can feel a bit overwhelmed, but this was really such a great size [I think it was 22 Stream Teamers altogether]. There were such cute activities and we were kept happily busy that I barely noticed the 6 hours that we were there pass by. And I could have honestly stayed longer. It was such a great atmosphere and I got to know so many lovely like-minded bloggers across the two days. It really was such a treat and I’m so excited to call myself a Netflix Stream Teamer now. Those thousands of hours watching Netflix are finally paying off.