Our biggest problem is making our smallish apartment work for us, a new baby, and Lauren who visits multiple times per year. We decided to scrap the DJ booth area up front, to my dismay, and transform it into our new dining area. The old dining room will now be the nursery. Lauren's bedroom/office will remain the same although we swapped out the desk for a newer Ikea one that is slimmer and provides more floor space in the bedroom.
One of the problems with the old dining room is that it's where we keep our china cabinet that was handed down from Jen's grandmother. It currently houses our liquor and nice glassware. We couldn't come up with another space to move it to or a suitable reuse for the baby's room so we are giving it back to Jen's mother until we move into a larger home. That created another problem though. Where do we house the items that are currently in the cabinet? Anyone who's been in our home knows that our kitchen cabinets are stuffed to the max. Luckily as we perused the aisles of Ikea we stumbled upon a large wardrobe that would fit perfectly in the corner of our kitchen where we have a smaller cabinet located there. By replacing that cabinet we add about 60% more storage space in that corner and now have space for baby's bottles too. I just hope the room doesn't become too claustrophobic once we assemble the unit.
The place is a currently a mess but we've made some serious strides in the room transitions. The new dining area is complete and the DJ equipment is all stored away. The turntable stand is now a shelf for the nursery where we'll eventually use it for stuffed animals, toys, and what not. The kitchen project will occur in the upcoming weeks.
One other optional purchase I'd like to make (woohoo! big tax return!!) is a pocket camcorder. I've been doing all kinds of research and think I've landed on the Casio Tryx. It's not due out until April but the early reviews are quite promising. Everything from 1080p HD recording to 360 degree panoramic snapshots. The design is what really stuck out to me though. The display can pivot through its frame a full 360 degrees while the screen itself can rotate 270 degrees. And with its built-in orientation sensor you can hold the Tryx in your left or right hand and the picture will right itself. The frame can also be positioned to use as a built in tripod or it can be used to hang from things such as doorknobs. It's a love it or hate it design but I'm definitely in the love it camp. I'll obviously wait until I read actual reviews on image quality but this one looks like a keeper.
- Marko
