petition to HGTV to give me a show
Floor Time
/flôr tīm/
noun
the 15-60 minute time period spent laying on the floor in the middle of the work day, typically as a relief from the soul-sucking reality of corporate America.
I have been in full weekend warrior mode. Months ago, I emailed my landlord and asked if I could paint my kitchen cabinets (in a rental, the madness!). I knew he’d say yes because a) I’ve lived in this apartment for almost four years as the *hair flip* angel tenant, and b) because before I moved in, a woman lived here for five years with no renovations. This apartment has not had a single facelift in nearly a decade. If anything, I’m doing you a favor, DAVE.1
^little sneak peek for you Floor Timers of the social content to come ;)
It’s January so if you’re like me you’re having a bit of an introspective, hermit-like reset in your enclosure. Enter: the long weekend. It was the perfect time to put my phone down and dive into a multi-day-long project. I haven’t done any serious reno or redesign since I first moved into the apartment (e.g. Eli and I flipped an old credenza, my friend Lauren helped me put up our wallpaper, I painted two murals, prepped and stained and built my standing desk) so I was jazzed to have another project on my hands.
The last time I did a kitchen cabinet flip was in 2009-ish with my dad—we flipped our dark, outdated, wood cabinets in my childhood home to a clean off-white (and then a year later my mom was like, let’s just do the real thing and do the full reno). So even though I felt confident I could take on the project again, I did have to call my dad and check in about a few things. The most tedious part of a project like this is very much the prep—painting is easy. I unscrewed all the hinges from the doors (shoutout to power tools for saving my hand here), took the doors down, cleaned them (very important in kitchens because of all the grease that builds up), sanded them, used tack cloth and a vacuum to make sure all the residue was off, and then primed, painted, and reattached all the hinges and doors.
I feel like the space has completely transformed. The paint job has lightened up a pretty dark space (the overhead lighting fixture is my NEMESIS and I am working on finding an alternative—pls don’t write any critical letters to the editor about this I KNOW it’s terrible), but most importantly, it feels fresh.
For the first time in a while, I have the energy to make changes and get a little uncomfortable in all areas of my life. But it starts with the space where I spend most of my time: my apartment. And every day this week I’ve gone into the kitchen and just feel this burst of newness that I want to harness into every other area that feels stale. Maybe you’ll experience a similar energy just by doing something simple (does not have to be a full kitchen reno :) like pairing your outfits more adventurously, trying and failing at a new hobby, or taking a class. Let me know how it goes??
Something I Thought of in the Shower
When they have hummus on the menu but then ask if you’d like pita with it—how were they expecting that you were gonna eat it?
Something Pretty
We got our first real snow in NYC this week! I know I will always be a Californian at heart because of how magical snow is to me.
Something To Laugh About
Here are this week’s gems:
This is exactly my brand of humor. ⚰️
Wait why is this so true. Do we all have the same childhood trauma?
It’s me, hi. I was this friend in college.
I miss them so much, and this tomfoolery.
Ignoring that this lemon kinda triggers my trypophobia, I stand by this stitch. Men, I need you to show a little more enthusiasm. Let some whimsy into your life! Match our energy!!!
Extreeeeemely topical because a) I had my routine rewatch of National Treasure earlier this week and b) because I haven’t won a SINGLE Connections game this week like WTF Wyna why are you torturing us like this?!
This is singlehandedly the best video I’ve seen on the internet this week. Thank you, king, for your service.
OH MY GOD THANK GOODNESS I FOUND THIS FOLLOW-UP BEFORE SENDING THIS FLOOR TIME OUT.
Something for Clarice
Hey! This newsletter is free and I intend to keep it that way. That said, if you love it and want to show your appreciation, buy me a coffee :)
By the way…I’m reading this.
I just started Happiness Falls by Angie Kim. As we lead up to the new year (lunar), I have also collected a stack of books by Asian authors on my nightstand. Hopefully, I can tackle all of these in February!
Stay warm, team!! Enjoy a cuppa and watch the snow fall from the comfort of your enclosure until Monday.
Til’ next time, weekend warriors. Your friend,
Clarice
for legal reasons if you read this, Dave, this is a joke—you’re the world’s best landlord don’t evict me.