Scarlett Ink

One of the things that I take pride in our home is the second floor bathroom. It’s big and spacious as well as tastefully designed. I keep it very clean and smelling nice since I consider it my retreat from the outside world. While the house was still in its planning stages, I put my foot down about having enough space in the bathroom area to walk in – even pace if necessary.

My work as writer requires me to be creative and in the mood to weave stories at all times, so off to the bathroom I go for some quiet time. I spend so much time there that I sometimes bring with me books, magazines and drafts of articles that I am writing. In addition, I realized that have accumulated a lot of skin care products and aromatherapy items over the last few months. My favorite spot in the house was fast becoming cluttered and littered with so many items – big and small!

I knew it was time to hatch some bathroom storage ideas worthy of my stature. It had to be elegant, a conversation piece if possible, yet functional and effective as a storage furniture. I finally decided on transferring a beautiful antique armoire from the sitting room to the bathroom. It was large enough to hold everything from my bathrobe and slippers to my favorite reading materials. Best of all, the lacquered finish added an exotic charm to the bathroom. Made me think of Memoirs of a Geisha.

Being married to a computer programmer has its ups and downs. Feels great when you want to know something about the capacity of external hard drives or the most recently released Apple software. He’s always in the know and you end up being updated too whether you like it or not. Trouble is, you also need a man in the house to do the nitty-gritty stuff. The kind that you don’t want to do yourself because it entails getting all sweaty and dirty.

As a work at home mom to a toddler, I wouldn’t want to worry about changing light bulbs, fixing leaky faucets and most especially – painting the house exterior. That’s something I expect a man to do. So when it was time to give the fences and walls a fresh coat of paint, I ever so nicely reminded my husband. It was our first home and I could tell that exterior painting was something that he has not done before.

We were able to find the correct type of paint, primer, as well as the brushes and rollers that went along with it. The ladder was also prepped and waiting outside. Then out came hubby in his worn overalls, paint roller in hand and wearing goggles. What a sight he was! I took one look at him and decided to call a professional. Of course, we found him by googling for exterior painters in our area.

Spring cleaning is something I look forward to each year. I consider myself (mildly) obsessive- compulsive and the idea of having something to clean up, sort, organize, and store appeals to me immensely. Each spring, I choose a section of the house that I would focus on. This does not only include cleaning everything manually, but also remodeling, adding a few extra sections, maybe buying a couple pieces of new furniture just to be able to say that this has been “touched” by me.

This year, hubby and I decided that the garage is hands down the most cluttered area of the house and thus needs my OC cleaning attention the most. I had no problems cleaning out the oil stains on the floor, nor did I have any trouble transferring the unused stuff up to the attic. What really stumped me was how to organize the tools, gardening equipment and the hundreds of nails, nuts and bolts and screws we’ve gathered over time. I found solace browsing online and finding that there are shelves and cabinets which were designed for this purpose.

I was so happy to learn that these garage storage solutions could be customized according to the size and shape of my garage or the items that I wanted to store inside them. I chose the wall shelf and a couple of smaller cabinets and drawers just to be sure that everything was properly segregated. My spring cleaning rating for our garage? a perfect 10!

It’s a race for the best and the most tech savvy touch screen phone in the market today. Are you the only one left without this technological marvel? If you’re hesitant to purchase a touch screen phone just because you think technology is going to get the better of you, think again. The latest mobile phone craze does have more than meets the eye. Besides the sleek and slim designs, the 4G capability and wifi access, these top touch screen phones can also accommodate loads of different applications which make every day living simpler and much more convenient.

From teenagers to college students; to professionals and businessmen, the touch screen phone has evolved to become an indispensable tool. Everywhere you turn, you’ll see people talking or going on facebook via their iPhones or some other touch screen phone model. It has even been referred to by some as an extra limb or appendage that one cannot live without.

However, it is not advisable to purchase a touch screen mobile phone just to jump into the bandwagon. Make sure that when you do go out and buy one that it is because you like the features of the phone and really believe that you can make good use of it.

Whenever we check in at five star hotels or other elegant resorts, I always admire their elegant bathroom design ideas. Besides being spacious and very inviting with it’s plain or etched glass walls, I also find the marble or granite tile floors appealing. There was this particular place we went to that had black marble floors, glass walls and partitions in the shower stall, and gold fixtures. Now, of course, that would be pretty expensive to replicate inside my own bathroom specially since I don’t have tens of thousands of dollars to spend. However, that design idea really appealed to me and I wanted to recreate that elegant look and feel but scale down the cost as much as possible.

I started poring over design magazines, interior design books and actually started talking to contractors and craftsmen (for the marble and granite). I also asked for several price quotes, each one having different combinations of materials. I wanted to know if I would be able to save by using dark black granite tiles instead of marble; or, if etched glass would make me reach really deep into my life savings. Finally, after months of research, legwork and haggling, I decided on black granite floors; a tub with gold-plated claw feet; plain glass walls in the shower area; and gold-plated fixtures for the entire bathroom.

It set me back several thousand dollars, but the finished bathroom area was well worth it. It’s like being inside my own little hotel.

My grandmother passed several weeks ago, she was 86. Of course, a lot of people had been telling us that she was already on bonus time given that she has been sick on and off for several years. But even though we had more than enough time to prepare for her passing, I am still of the opinion that she could have stayed with us a few more years if not for that accident a couple of years ago.

Nana lived with my Aunt Bettie, who loves renovating and doing make overs inside her home. It just so happened that she was working on changing her kitchen tile flooring at that time. One of her friends was selling imported European tiles. I do admit that they were beautiful and very high quality, but my dear Aunt isn’t known for being the most practical of buyers. She chose the tiles which were too smooth and shiny, and would have looked better at bathroom walls than on the kitchen floor. Sadly, there was no arguing with her.

Off went the old tiles and in went the lovely Italian tiles. A few days after, nana slipped on the floor rug and since there was no traction whatsoever on the tiles – she fell heavily on her side and broke her hip. Since she was already in her 80s, the doctors refused to operate on her.

Nana spent the last years of her life in a wheel chair instead of up and about just because my aunt failed to choose the appropriate tiles for her kitchen floor. I can’t help but think that she would have still been alive today if not for that.

My penchant for discount kitchen furniture is a known fact to my friends and peers. Whenever they hear of someone moving to a different location, they immediately ask if they’ll be giving up some or all of their kitchen furnishings, among other things. If the answer is yes, then I am sure to have their names, addresses, as well as the date of their scheduled move. I make it a point to go there and meet the home owners personally before they start packing everything into crates and boxes. More than just getting a great buy, part of the experience of discount kitchen furniture hunting is finding out the history of the pieces, specially if they are very old.

Sometimes I stumble on antique dining tables or kitchen islands which the owners can’t take with them since they’re moving to a much smaller place. These pieces, I painstakingly clean, polish, or re-varnish before adding them to my own collection – or selling them to other interested people. I make sure though, to take pictures and email them to the former owners out of respect and gratitude.

These adventures of mine are happening more and more frequently, and I think I am gaining a following as the “garage sale” lady. Maybe I should make a career out of it. What do you think?

I am an absolute fan of designer beddings and linens. I have them custom-made according to the measurement of all our beds, pillow, and even the throw pillows in the sofa and then they are shipped here from abroad. It doesn’t come out that expensive either because the fabric and the labor of sewing is relatively cheaper over there, it’s just the shipping that costs some major bucks. But what can I do? I just love these things, and so do my visitors.

Whenever I have guests sleeping over, I make sure to put on these designer beddings. My friends and family say they feel like they’re in a hotel because of this. One time though, a cousin asked why I did not have curtains and drapes fashioned out of the same fabrics. I was stupefied. Fashionista that I am, and the thought of designer window treatment ideas did not occur to me? How embarrassing!

So, bright and early the next day I skyped my favorite supplier and asked her if it were possible to create matching curtains and window valances from the same designer fabric. She said it would not be a problem as long as the measurements of the windows and an exact design is sent to her. In addition, there should be allowances for ruffles, shirrings or gathers – should that be in the kind of window treatment design that I would be sending.

I was ecstatic and whooping! I bet all my fashionista friends would be green with envy when they see my designer curtains.

I had a sinking feeling the minute I woke up on Valentines day! There was just something at the pit of my stomach that warned me of impending disaster. Not an hour had passed when I found out that my car wouldn’t start and there was no time to find a rental since I had back to back meetings well until the afternoon.

Desperate, I huffed and puffed the whole ten minute walk to the train station and mumbled silent curses while I bought my ticket. Given my temperament, it was no wonder why the phrase “bloody valentine” was coined; I was really in no mood for loving and hugging. My plan was to arrive at the office on Valentines in my lovely new suit, fab makeup, and gorgeous hair. Besides the slew of meetings, I was also looking forward to a dinner date with the office heart throb (he finally asked me out after two months of flirting!).

And here I am, running late for my first meeting and looking like something the cat dragged in. Lisa, my colleague, took one look at me and immediately grabbed something from her drawer. She handed me an odd looking contraption and told me it would make me look human again in ten minutes flat. And boy, was she right! I never thought I would be so happy to see – much more use – ceramic flat irons in my entire life! But hey, they pretty much saved the day and my Valentines evening too.

From now on, I swear to keep my own pair of ceramic flat irons inside my desk drawer for any kind of hair emergency I may have in the future.

With February being the love month, it is quite natural for roses, chocolates, and wine to be in high demand. My husband and I run a small but very charming bed and breakfast and we thought of stocking up on chocolates and wine just before the Valentines rush. Flowers were not a problem since I have already placed an order for those well in advance. Besides, the owner of the flower farm was an old classmate in high school, so my little place is assured of long stemmed red, pink and white blooms on the day of hearts.

Chocolates check too! The plan was to leave a small box of chocolates and a long stemmed rose on the bed of every guest who checks in, as well as a bottle of chilled red or white wine. Champagne would be available on demand, since it’s well beyond our freebie budget range. The problem now was storing and chilling all these bottles.

I asked the wine store owner and he suggested that I get one of the medium-sized wine refrigerators for this purpose. I was surprised to find one that it could efficiently store and chill both red and white wines. Best of all, the appliance turned out to be quite inexpensive, which made it an ideal investment for our bed and breakfast.

Thanks to these wine refrigerators, all our guests enjoyed a lovely Valentine’s day treat!