Hmm.....
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Not a good Value City Furniture
Today, Jason and I picked up some furniture from the Value City Furniture store on the north side of Indianapolis.
We had purchased a small love seat and a chair as part of our staging project.
When we finally got the items into the house we noticed some issues. The chair had one leg that was shorter than the other four. There also didn't appear to be any way to fix this issue. But it still helped make the house look occupied and clean, so we kept it there. The love seat had some feet that you had to screw on, but they didn't have any pre-drilled holes, so we had to drill our own.
While Value City is inexpensive, the furniture does not seem to be something that you would want to actually use.
We will probably keep everything that we have purchased for this staging, because we are sure to stage future places....but we will never buy from Value City again.
We had purchased a small love seat and a chair as part of our staging project.
When we finally got the items into the house we noticed some issues. The chair had one leg that was shorter than the other four. There also didn't appear to be any way to fix this issue. But it still helped make the house look occupied and clean, so we kept it there. The love seat had some feet that you had to screw on, but they didn't have any pre-drilled holes, so we had to drill our own.
While Value City is inexpensive, the furniture does not seem to be something that you would want to actually use.
We will probably keep everything that we have purchased for this staging, because we are sure to stage future places....but we will never buy from Value City again.
Our First Devour Downtown Indianapolis
While on a long drive back from Evansville Jason called to find out if I would be interested in heading to Downtown Indy for Devour Downtown Winterfest. This $30 prix-fixe event seemed like the perfect way to end the week.
He read off some of the Menu's including the Asiago-almond Crusted Sea Scallops at Palomino's and the Kurobuta Pork Loin at Elements. However, we decided that the Coffee-Cracked Pepper Crusted Sirloin from 6 Lounge and Restaurant sounded too good to pass up. I hung up to let Jason make the reservation.
My understanding is that Jason called the restaurant to make an 8pm reservation. The woman who answered the phone was obviously not that in-tune with how a restaurant worked and seemed to be confused by the question. She put the phone down(not on mute) and asked her co-worker if another person was around who could take reservations. She then came back online and asked for Jason's number so that they could call back. Jason obliged, but 6 Lounge did not hold up their end of the bargain....we never heard back!
When I got home, Jason told me the story and then informed me that we had reservations at 8pm for Vito's on Penn for their Lobster Thermador. We had never been to Vito's so were excited to try some place new.
Our initial reaction when we walked into the restaurant was somewhat surreal, you could hear 80's music from the bar blended into Sinatra from the restaurant. The wood laminate flooring looked like it was a somewhat recent addition, but not the quality floor you would expect of a downtown fine dining establishment. The clientele, although enjoying themselves, looked like they hadn't put any effort into their appearance for their night on the town. I think we chose the only place on the list where the $30 menu option was a stretch. Vito's is a very casual location in the heart of Indy's downtown.
But the night was young and we had just sat down.
From the moment our meal started Natalie, our waitress, made us feel very welcome. She was upbeat and fun, the perfect compliment to this non-pretentious restaurant. I asked her what she recommended and she quickly mentioned The Chicken Giovanni. Since she was so sure, it made me completely disregard the Lobster that got me into the restaurant (Isn't that the point?). I also picked the stuffed mushroom dish for an appetiser. Jason chose the traditional Spaghetti and meatballs and picked the Seafood fritters from the devour downtown menu as an appetiser.
After we ordered, Natalie delivered a never-ending garlic bread that was outstandingly delicious.
The mushrooms and the seafood fritters were both very good but the Italian sausage in my Chicken Giovanni was the best piece of my meal. Jason's meatballs were better than average and the sweet tomato sauce with the spaghetti was just what he wanted.
We ended the meal with a shared Tiramisu, which was homemade and the perfect ending to our meal.
While we were expecting to eat at someplace upscale, Vito's on Penn did not disappoint. We will be sure to head back someday soon....Natalie informs us that the pizza is better than Bazbeaux's, which seems utterly impossible for me to comprehend.
He read off some of the Menu's including the Asiago-almond Crusted Sea Scallops at Palomino's and the Kurobuta Pork Loin at Elements. However, we decided that the Coffee-Cracked Pepper Crusted Sirloin from 6 Lounge and Restaurant sounded too good to pass up. I hung up to let Jason make the reservation.
My understanding is that Jason called the restaurant to make an 8pm reservation. The woman who answered the phone was obviously not that in-tune with how a restaurant worked and seemed to be confused by the question. She put the phone down(not on mute) and asked her co-worker if another person was around who could take reservations. She then came back online and asked for Jason's number so that they could call back. Jason obliged, but 6 Lounge did not hold up their end of the bargain....we never heard back!
When I got home, Jason told me the story and then informed me that we had reservations at 8pm for Vito's on Penn for their Lobster Thermador. We had never been to Vito's so were excited to try some place new.
Our initial reaction when we walked into the restaurant was somewhat surreal, you could hear 80's music from the bar blended into Sinatra from the restaurant. The wood laminate flooring looked like it was a somewhat recent addition, but not the quality floor you would expect of a downtown fine dining establishment. The clientele, although enjoying themselves, looked like they hadn't put any effort into their appearance for their night on the town. I think we chose the only place on the list where the $30 menu option was a stretch. Vito's is a very casual location in the heart of Indy's downtown.
But the night was young and we had just sat down.
From the moment our meal started Natalie, our waitress, made us feel very welcome. She was upbeat and fun, the perfect compliment to this non-pretentious restaurant. I asked her what she recommended and she quickly mentioned The Chicken Giovanni. Since she was so sure, it made me completely disregard the Lobster that got me into the restaurant (Isn't that the point?). I also picked the stuffed mushroom dish for an appetiser. Jason chose the traditional Spaghetti and meatballs and picked the Seafood fritters from the devour downtown menu as an appetiser.
After we ordered, Natalie delivered a never-ending garlic bread that was outstandingly delicious.
The mushrooms and the seafood fritters were both very good but the Italian sausage in my Chicken Giovanni was the best piece of my meal. Jason's meatballs were better than average and the sweet tomato sauce with the spaghetti was just what he wanted.
We ended the meal with a shared Tiramisu, which was homemade and the perfect ending to our meal.
While we were expecting to eat at someplace upscale, Vito's on Penn did not disappoint. We will be sure to head back someday soon....Natalie informs us that the pizza is better than Bazbeaux's, which seems utterly impossible for me to comprehend.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Charleston’s: A pleasant surprise
My partner, Jason, and I had no particular cravings. We were both hungry and we were scouring Indianapolis Monthly for suggestions. We called a few places only to find that their kitchen's were already closed for the night...or would be by the time we made the journey. (It was just before 9pm on a Wed)
Then we saw Charleston’s listed in the back of the magazine and decided to try the place for our first time.
The only bad thing about this casual, yet hip, restaurant is its location. It is in a somewhat difficult area to approach from the east side of 82nd. We had driven by it numerous times and it always seemed pretty busy and tonight was no exception.
The moment we walked in we knew the night's dinner choice was the right one! Someone approached us, who I think may have been the manager, and made us feel instantly welcomed. We mentioned that it was our first time and he asked what made us choose his restaurant. We basically told him we wanted to try a new place, had driven by a few times, and were reminded when we browsed the magazine.
Our waiter, Dan, was just as friendly and accommodating. Since we had been struggling with what to order, we decided to ask for his recommendation....this made our task even harder. He had a tone in his voice that affirmed that we could not make a bad choice.
We both settled on the ribs and chicken combo. Jason stuck with the garlic mashed, but I switched to fries....I guess I was craving something after all. The fries weren't really on my diet, nor were the ribs, but everything came out fantastic.
Dan, in true "good waiter" fashion made sure that we never noticed that our drinks were emptying. I always love dining when you don't have to worry that you're getting thirsty.
Towards the end of the large portion, Dan was sure to suggest the key lime pie, which sounded good. The only problem was that we had eaten enough for the night and had to pass.
We will be sure to return.
Then we saw Charleston’s listed in the back of the magazine and decided to try the place for our first time.
The only bad thing about this casual, yet hip, restaurant is its location. It is in a somewhat difficult area to approach from the east side of 82nd. We had driven by it numerous times and it always seemed pretty busy and tonight was no exception.
The moment we walked in we knew the night's dinner choice was the right one! Someone approached us, who I think may have been the manager, and made us feel instantly welcomed. We mentioned that it was our first time and he asked what made us choose his restaurant. We basically told him we wanted to try a new place, had driven by a few times, and were reminded when we browsed the magazine.
Our waiter, Dan, was just as friendly and accommodating. Since we had been struggling with what to order, we decided to ask for his recommendation....this made our task even harder. He had a tone in his voice that affirmed that we could not make a bad choice.
We both settled on the ribs and chicken combo. Jason stuck with the garlic mashed, but I switched to fries....I guess I was craving something after all. The fries weren't really on my diet, nor were the ribs, but everything came out fantastic.
Dan, in true "good waiter" fashion made sure that we never noticed that our drinks were emptying. I always love dining when you don't have to worry that you're getting thirsty.
Towards the end of the large portion, Dan was sure to suggest the key lime pie, which sounded good. The only problem was that we had eaten enough for the night and had to pass.
We will be sure to return.
Saturday, January 19, 2008
It is time to Stage our property
Tonight Jason and I spent over $600 at Bed, Bath, and Beyond. We bought towels, curtains, artwork, and other items to make our empty place look more inviting.
We have been trying to sell our lake place since our neighbor went homophobic on us. It is unfortunate. We did not intend to "flip" this place, so we put much of our own taste into the renovations. The plan was for us to be able to live down there from time to time. It is a great place, on a nice ski-able lake, just south of Indianapolis.
One afternoon, just before a roadtip to Atlanta, we stopped by the place to check out a recent siding project. The place looked good but just as we were leaving, our neighbor(who I've never seen sober) screamed at the top of his lungs, "Get out of here you F*CKing Homos". We backed the car up and asked him to repeat what he said. We could tell he was drunk so we decided to leave...and after a police report decided to put the place for sale.
We chose to use Jeanne Navel, the realtor that sold the place to us. She was from Prince's realty in Nineveh, Indiana. This turned out to be yet another mistake. Yes, the real estate market has slowed down, but Jeanne had a habit of never responding to our questions. I actually stopped byt he office one day to complain to her and we still didn't hear back until the listing had expired and she wanted us to relist. Sorry Jeanne, this is not how it works.
So, now we have found another realtor. This time she seems very prepared and offered us a very long list of small things that we should do to help soften the vacant property. This includes some additional painting, and savvy placement of furniture. As Kirsten Kemp alwasy talks about in her hit show Property Ladder, staging is very important. Staging has been shown to increase the amount of the final sale price while reducing the time the property remains on the MLS.
We plan to use air-mattresses as a cheap replacement for a real mattress. We also plan to make sure that all the door knobs match, and that the flaws of the house are not the focal point. Since tonight we put some of the art work around, it already feels better.
Wish us luck, I'll keep you all updated.
We have been trying to sell our lake place since our neighbor went homophobic on us. It is unfortunate. We did not intend to "flip" this place, so we put much of our own taste into the renovations. The plan was for us to be able to live down there from time to time. It is a great place, on a nice ski-able lake, just south of Indianapolis.
One afternoon, just before a roadtip to Atlanta, we stopped by the place to check out a recent siding project. The place looked good but just as we were leaving, our neighbor(who I've never seen sober) screamed at the top of his lungs, "Get out of here you F*CKing Homos". We backed the car up and asked him to repeat what he said. We could tell he was drunk so we decided to leave...and after a police report decided to put the place for sale.
We chose to use Jeanne Navel, the realtor that sold the place to us. She was from Prince's realty in Nineveh, Indiana. This turned out to be yet another mistake. Yes, the real estate market has slowed down, but Jeanne had a habit of never responding to our questions. I actually stopped byt he office one day to complain to her and we still didn't hear back until the listing had expired and she wanted us to relist. Sorry Jeanne, this is not how it works.
So, now we have found another realtor. This time she seems very prepared and offered us a very long list of small things that we should do to help soften the vacant property. This includes some additional painting, and savvy placement of furniture. As Kirsten Kemp alwasy talks about in her hit show Property Ladder, staging is very important. Staging has been shown to increase the amount of the final sale price while reducing the time the property remains on the MLS.
We plan to use air-mattresses as a cheap replacement for a real mattress. We also plan to make sure that all the door knobs match, and that the flaws of the house are not the focal point. Since tonight we put some of the art work around, it already feels better.
Wish us luck, I'll keep you all updated.
ChaCha is saving me so much time
I like hearing about technology innovations in Indiana. One such company that I wrote about recently is ChaCha.
Tonight we were driving back from our lake place that we are renovating, and I used this great service to find out about custom floor vents and to locate a place to buy one of those fake plasma TVs that you see hanging at furniture stores.
It is great, because you can ask the question from anywhere that you have cell service. All you do is send the question as a text message to 242242. Shortly afterwards you receive the answer to your request with a supporting source web link. The great thing is that if you register your phone, on their website, they save all of your questions for 60 days.
So tonight, I returned home, logged into my ChaCha profile site and learned more about fake TV's.
I believe that this is ChaCha's killer app. If they market it appropriately, and if more people read my blog, that this could help put ChaCha and Indiana on the Web2.0 map.
Time will tell.
Tonight we were driving back from our lake place that we are renovating, and I used this great service to find out about custom floor vents and to locate a place to buy one of those fake plasma TVs that you see hanging at furniture stores.
It is great, because you can ask the question from anywhere that you have cell service. All you do is send the question as a text message to 242242. Shortly afterwards you receive the answer to your request with a supporting source web link. The great thing is that if you register your phone, on their website, they save all of your questions for 60 days.
So tonight, I returned home, logged into my ChaCha profile site and learned more about fake TV's.
I believe that this is ChaCha's killer app. If they market it appropriately, and if more people read my blog, that this could help put ChaCha and Indiana on the Web2.0 map.
Time will tell.
It's all me
So, I've decided to start writing my very own Blog. I'm currently a contributor at Queercents, but sometimes I want to write about something other then money.
I have no idea how frequent I will write, but I read a few other blogs on a regular basis, so you never know what will pop up on this.
I love living in Indianapolis. I've been here for about 2 years. I moved here with my partner Jason. I love finding new restaurants and exploring Indy, but I'm always on a diet...which puts a damper on things.
The posts could range from anything about money, genealogy, my relationship, real estate, politics, food, Indianapolis, Roxy(my dog), Massachusetts(Where I grew up), or anything else that comes to mind.
I have no idea how frequent I will write, but I read a few other blogs on a regular basis, so you never know what will pop up on this.
I love living in Indianapolis. I've been here for about 2 years. I moved here with my partner Jason. I love finding new restaurants and exploring Indy, but I'm always on a diet...which puts a damper on things.
The posts could range from anything about money, genealogy, my relationship, real estate, politics, food, Indianapolis, Roxy(my dog), Massachusetts(Where I grew up), or anything else that comes to mind.
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