My 3rd week of May

The third week of May just zoomed right by for me. We had Victoria Day long weekend, May 20 to 22, full of activities. More social outings are also happening now that we start having nicer weather.

Happy I’ve accomplished the following this past week:

Fitness:

• Continued to learn Spanish, 15 minutes a day.
• Exercised at the gym 3x, did yoga 2x.
• Swam 50 laps on Saturday. In the last ten minutes of my swim, I had the pool by myself and decided to keep going until lap 50. Swimming in calm water is so enjoyable!

Family:

• Kept up with my family routine.
• For our Victoria Day long weekend, I savoured time at home with my family. We also went out for a 45-minute walk and dinner with friends at a casual, all-you-can-eat place. On the menu were two choices of soup, salads, garlic bread, spaghetti bolognese, penne with grilled vegetables, cookies, ice cream, and soft drinks. Cost was CAD$10 for youths and CAD$15 for adults, taxes included - quite reasonable and good food, too.

Friends:

• Met up with a friend for cappuccino and visual arts at Harbourfront. We had a nice time chatting and strolling along the lake front.
• Reconnected via email with a former classmate who now lives in Germany. Happy messaging!

Fun:

• Attended an uplifting piano and violin recital at beautiful St. Andrew’s church.
• Blogged about ten home organization tips that have helped me stay organized.

Finance:

• Experienced a delay in the carpet installation for my condo refresh project. I had hoped to get the new carpet in on May 17 or 18 but no such thing. The work is now scheduled for May 30.

Plans for the last week of May:

• Keep up with daily family and fitness activities.
• Get new carpet installed in the condo.
• Explore a local art or entertainment event.
• Search and compare air fares to Europe.

I hope you had a good 3rd week of May. How did it go for you?

My 2nd week of May

The condo refresh project took a chunk of my time this past week. When I started going through my calendar, I felt better that I actually accomplished my other personal goals as well. 

Happy that I’ve accomplished the following this past week:

Fitness:
- Continued to learn Spanish, 15 minutes a day.
- Exercised at the gym 3x, did yoga 2x. I changed up my gym routine this past week by asking a positive-minded friend to join me in one workout session. It’s amazing how long a small dose of humour can last. I’m still smiling when I think about our fun chitchats. I’d encourage you to ask a positive friend to join you in your exercise routine now and then.
- Swam 42 laps on Saturday, and ran 5K on Sunday. 👍👍

Family:
- Kept up with my family routine.
- Enjoyed a BBQ for my mother with extended family on Sunday - Happy Mother’s day. 

Friends:
- Emailed my friends who live in the USA to touch base. Glad to hear they are well.
- Shared positive energy and laughed with my friend who joined me at the gym. 

Fun:
- Made a visit to the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) on Wednesday evening. It was nice to view art at leisure. I’ll be back to explore different sections in the AGO.
- Tried another easy recipe Sausage and Asparagus Bowl, as the ingredients were on sale at my grocery store. I used shallots, and sweet chili sauce which I had on hand, in lieu of onions and jalapeno. My family ate everything on their plates, and agreed they would have it again - Success!

Finance/ Condo refresh project:
- Plumbing: Hired a plumber to change the parts in the toilet tank to fix the toilet leak. It was the first time I called in a plumber for the condo unit. He completed his work and prepared the electronic invoice on his tablet within 90 minutes. I was pleased to see the total cost for parts and labour was reasonable.
- Do-It-Myself: The plumber diagnosed the weak water flow in the shower stall was caused by debris caught in the shower head. He suggested that since I had successfully changed the shower head in the bath tub, I should change the shower head in the shower stall to solve the problem and save money from paying him to do it. So off I went to the local Home Depot. Yep, I bought another Moen handheld shower head that was easy to install. This one has 3 settings with chrome finish. You may not be excited but I was when I finished installing and both shower heads now work beautifully!

Moen handheld 7-settings shower head

Moen handheld 3-settings shower head

- Painting: Hired a painter to paint the entire condo, including removal of the medicine cabinet in the bathroom, and the fixed desk in the den. It took him three days to complete the job. The condo looks fresh and cohesive with neutral grey/ white palette. Benjamin Moore paint codes used: Gray Owl (OC-52) for the walls, Storm Grey (AF-700) for the bottom cupboard doors, and Decorator’s White (CC-20) for the upper cupboard doors, trim, and doors.
- Carpeting: Received two quotes and carpet samples.  One of the quotes was from Home Depot. Decision to be made early next week. I was impressed that the Home Depot worker who came to the condo took measurements of the carpeted areas with a laser tool, and keyed in all details in his tablet. I was able to view the plan and estimates on his tablet right away.

Plans for this upcoming week:
- Keep up with daily family and fitness activities.
- Book contractor to install new carpet in the condo.
- Attend a free or low cost art and entertainment event. Finding one is part of the fun!
- Have dinner with friends on Saturday.

I hope you had a good 2nd week of May. Your turn to tell me about your week!

My 1st week of May

We had a lot of rain this past week, especially on Thursday and Friday. Lake Ontario has risen nearly 25 centimetres (or close to 10 inches) since May 1. It was still lovely in that my sister visited us for a week. She just left yesterday morning. Due to the heavy downpour, we spent more time indoors than outdoors.

Lake Ontario high water level

Happy that I’ve accomplished the following this past week:

Fitness:

• Continued with Spanish lessons, 15 minutes a day.
• Exercised at the gym 3x, did yoga 2x.
• Swam 40 laps on Saturday, and ran 5K on Sunday.

Finance/ Condo refresh project:

• Finished cleaning all rooms and the five appliances in the condo.
• Met and received quotes from two different contractors.
• Chose new carpet and paint colours (greys and whites).
• Replaced the shower head in the bath tub with a new Moen handheld shower head. It has seven settings, grey/ chrome finish, and was very easy to install. It was on sale for 20% off regular price.
• Added two light bulbs that were missing in the bathroom. The new LED light bulbs were frugal wins in that they were on a special sale for $1.94 each, or 65% off regular price.

Family:

• Had lunch and dinner with my sis and our parents on Sunday.
• Took my sister out for coffee and indoor shopping twice.
• Kept up with my own family’s routine and chores.

Fun:

• Posted my first April in a sentence a day and read other participants’ blogs.
• Window-shopped with my sister. We went to two different shopping malls that I haven’t been to for a while so they were kind of new to me, too. I think we were doing more talking than shopping!
• Tried Sheila’s easy chicken sausage skillet recipe. I served the chicken sausage and kale with a small amount of steamed rice, and got thumbs up from my family (thanks, Sheila).

Plans for the upcoming week:

• Keep up with daily family and fitness activities.
• Touch base with my friends who live in the USA.
• Book contractors for my condo refresh project.
• Visit the Art Gallery of Ontario.

I hope you had a good first week of May. Tell me about your week!

Condo refresh project

I have a rental condo in downtown Toronto that will be vacant in May. It is a one bedroom plus den unit that can house two people comfortably. I’m planning to refresh it with new flooring, new paint, and some minor repairs.

The condo building is about twelve years old. The hallway carpet, walls, lighting, and door handles in the common areas of the building were just refreshed last year.

My condo unit has hardwood floor in the living room, carpet in the bedroom and den, and tile floors in the kitchen and bathroom. The carpet is due to be replaced. A new coat of paint will freshen up the rooms.

I attached two pictures that I took before renting out my condo unit several years ago. One is the open concept kitchen and the other is the living and dining rooms, just to give you an idea. The living room walks out to a balcony with a view of lake Ontario and the islands.

Kitchen

Living and Dining rooms

Preliminary thoughts and potential work:

• paint the whole unit, about 825 square feet.
• paint all kitchen cupboard doors and drawers.
• paint two bathroom cupboard doors below the sink.
• put in new carpet for bedroom and den, or replace all existing flooring with new hardwood floor.
• remove the fixed desk in the den area for more flexibility with furnishings.
• remove the small medicine cabinet in the bathroom for a more spacious look.
• change the shower head in the bath tub to a nicer handheld shower head.
• change the curtain for the window in the bedroom to blinds.

Since the hardwood floor in the living room is still in good condition, I think I’ll keep it and just put in new carpet in the bedroom and the den. The condo has strict rules and regulations for hardwood flooring for noise control reasons, and hardwood floor would likely cost more than new carpet. I’d like to keep costs down where possible, without compromising the overall results. For paint colours, I think I’ll go for a neutral colour palette of greys and whites to appeal to potential renters or buyers.

Now onward to find a contractor for the project, and to shop around for paint, carpet, blinds, and shower heads! My sister knew a contractor who had finished her basement and she was satisfied with his work so I’ll start with him. I have a feeling May is going to be a busy month LOL.

If this was your investment/ rental condo, would you replace all existing flooring with new hardwood floor? What colour would you choose for the new hardwood floor, and the paint colour palette for the condo? Would your choices be different if you were to sell the unit, as opposed to rent it out?