Lorenzo left for the cottage tonight. Normally, he's in good spirits when he leaves and is enthusiastic about moving forward with the renovation. But tonight he looked like he wanted to stick his head in the oven. It was pouring rain and miserable outside and he just wanted to stay home and put his feet up. He's so sick of this, and said he isn't coming home until all the hardwood is done. I packed him some homemade stew... I'm really starting to feel sorry for him. You show up at the cottage, it's freezing cold, you're all alone, and you know you have a ton of back-aching work ahead. But then...we chose this. 

I spent the evening trying really hard not to get a migraine. Tomorrow is the final day for my kids to choose their courses for next year. But only one of them brought home the necessary paperwork. So I'm helping my oldest son go over his course selection and I want him to take Honours English again. But he'll only take it if Mr. So-and-So isn't teaching it. I don't blame him - Lorenzo spoke to this man on the phone the other day because my son got into an altercation with him. He started telling Lorenzo about how big his class is, it's almost all girls who expect A's, he's had a cold, etc. Lorenzo basically said, "That's really not my concern. I want to talk about my son." He got off the phone and said, "That guy is a jack-ass." 

My son also wants to take Spanish 11, but he didn't take Spanish 10. Can he still take it? Who knows! I had to email his counsellor a bunch of questions. They leave everything to the last minute and it really frustrates Lorenzo & me because we aren't like that. Leaving things until the eleventh hour actually gives me anxiety. Why are they like this? So calm about everything...

I did a bit of shopping for the cottage the other day.  As I mentioned before, our entire budget for this renovation is $25,000 so I have to be thrifty. The best place to shop for home accessories is Homesense. I still can't believe how reasonable everything is. I needed a soap dispenser for my house (not the cottage) because the one I had broke. Let's do a "High and Low" shall we?

This plain glass soap dispenser is $29.70 at Pottery Barn.

Here's a collection from Restoration Hardware. The tall dispenser is $50. It's nice - I like reeded glass, but it's way too expensive.

I found this one at Homesense for $16.99. It is very heavy, has reeded glass, a brushed-nickel top, and I was very impressed with it. Here it is in my bathroom...

It's probably the nicest soap dispenser I've ever owned...

Something as seemingly insignificant as a soap dispenser can practically transform the whole room. For $16.99!

For the cottage, I wanted to find some nice storage jars for the bathroom. Let's see what's out there in Shopping Land...these are from Pottery Barn. The smaller jar is $32.40, the tall jar is $45.91. If you want both, you're spending nearly $80 dollars...

Ridiculously priced. So let's see what Ikea has... this Lillholmen jar is $9.99. 

A good price I guess, but it's rather ugly, and it's only five inches tall. I found these ones at Homesense: they are heavy reeded glass. The small jar was $5.99, and the tall jar was $4.99. Pricing doesn't quite make sense, but oh well...

These are so cute. The small one could be used for q-tips or hair-holders, the taller one could hold bars of soap or whatever...

They have a nice weight to them and lids with rubber gaskets...these are almost too nice to take to the cottage, to be honest. So both jars came to $10.98. 

I also needed a laundry basket for the cottage and I wanted something relatively pretty as it will sit upstairs on the landing. The range in pricing for baskets is mind-boggling. I went to Pier-One and felt they were too expensive. This one is $79.95 on their website and that is in US funds, so it would be higher in Canadian dollars...I found Pier One's baskets to be loosely woven with sharp edges sticking out. 

Next...

This one from Pottery Barn is an astonishing $241.68. Who would pay this?

Next...

This Branas laundry basket from Ikea is $34. It is badly made and I would never buy it at any price. The rattan is sticking out all over the place  - it will catch on your clothes and drive you crazy.

Guess what? Found a great laundry basket at Homesense....

I loved everything about this laundry basket: the weave is firm and extremely tight, the lid has a big happy knob on top, and the handles are big and well-placed; it's easy to pick up, and carrying it downstairs at the cottage will not be awkward. This little gem was $29.99. It is so well-made that I would have paid more. No sharp edges sticking out at all which means it won't unravel before my eyes, and it's flexible - you can bend it and it pops back into place.

Then I saw another cute soap dispenser...

This was the only one there  - it caught my eye because it actually looks like a chunk of soap. Or cheese. It's made of resin, and it was $7.99. I'll take this one to the cottage.

Also bought a tub mat...it kind of looks like this. It's thick, soft cotton - no latex. I paid $14.99

This one from Pottery Barn (above) sells for $79.66. There must be people out there who are so stinking rich they don't mind paying double and triple for similar items you can find at Homesense. Paying for superior quality is fine - for instance, sheets made in Italy - like Frette or Bellino. If you can afford them you'll have them forever and you'll appreciate them every time you go to bed. But a tub mat? I can't afford Italian sheets, but if I could I wouldn't hesitate. But a tub mat is just not that important to me.

Speaking of quality, the same principal applies to good dishes. I can't enjoy cheap dishes, especially cups - when they touch your mouth, you can feel the rough glazing against your lips. Dishware made in England  ie - Denby, Dudson, Johnson Brothers, Port Meirion - is worth the price because they are so well-made you'll have them forever. 

My Mum once told me to feel the glazing underneath a plate; if it's rough, don't buy it. Because when you stack them, your dishes get scratched. Good dishes are well-glazed front and back. She also told me to see if the dishes stack evenly - cheap dishes don't stack properly - they look warped. Good dishes stack nicely and slide into place - no scraping sounds.

My dishware at home is Dudson - I bought them at Russell Food Equipment in Vancouver. I bought them in 2005 and not a single dish has a crack or chip and they're used every single day.  I always turn dishes over in restaurants to see the make, and often they are Dudson. They're lovely and worth every penny. And buying quality has environmental impact - if it lasts, there's less crap going into landfills. Here they are in my kitchen...

I have to say something here. The open shelves in my kitchen are stair treads I bought at Home Depot. I bought them because they were exactly 36-inches wide and deeper than most shelves. I painted them Grand Teton White (Benjamin Moore) and Lorenzo installed them. It was cheap, and it's my favourite thing in my whole kitchen. I'm doing this at the cottage as well.

Open shelves are cozy and welcoming - here's another view of my kitchen. It's my favourite room in the house, which is good because I'm always in it.  Anyway, back to talking about good deals at Homesense...

This is a Denby mug, and my favourite mugs for tea are Denby. Made in England, and rather costly. This one retails at The Bay for $41.88

I found some at Homesense for $6.99. I nearly passed out. These are exactly the ones I found, and I bought 4 of them...

What happens is, companies like Denby discontinue a particular design or colour, and the leftover stock goes to places like Homesense. I have seen top-quality dishware at Homesense mixed in with the cheap stuff made in China. You have to take your time and know what you're looking for.

Portmeirion Botanic Garden mugs retail for around $25-35 each...

I found two at the Homesense in West Vancouver last year. They were $5.99 each. I bought them both. I have a weakness for good dishes - it's terrible.

The goal at the cottage is to only have what we need. If the sheets need changing, they'll be washed and put back on the beds. I don't want excess or clutter, and I want the place to feel simple and airy. It's small and I don't have the storage space anyway. I needed towels, and I decided not to buy any towels that match. This way, the kids will remember their towel, and they'll have to use the same one for a few days. These bath towels from Homesense are Calvin Kline and Ralph Lauren and ranged from $5.99 to $9.99 each. I really like soft blues, greens, and grays - they remind me of the beach. 

I bought 7 bath towels (in case we have a guest) and 4 hand towels. I'm hoping that will suffice...


Lorenzo told me to pick up a log holder and the cheapest one I could find was at Canadian Tire...

This was $39.99 which was more than I wanted to spend. I just thought we'd use an old box, but Lorenzo wanted something with handles for carrying in from outside. Good enough. The previous owners left us an old brass ash can. I cleaned it up and we'll use that for kindling.


*     *     *     *

So my cousin phoned me up and told me I was WRONG about the whole Capital Gains Tax that I wrote about. She explained that it only applies if you own more than one house. I went back to my books and still felt I had understood it differently. Turns out, I was wrong. No Capital Gains on your primary residence. On the cottage, yes. Whew... It's funny how you can read these books on taxes and estate planning and you assume you're intelligent enough to comprehend what is being written. Apparently not.

The Ikea Kitchen Event is back on. We're going to buy our cabinets this week...can't wait to get sucked into the Ikea Vortex!


Well, that's it for today....