Horrible Clients // design

AFTER (MY DESIGN)

BEFORE

I always loved to design, I went through almost almost seven years of higher education in undergraduate and graduate school to become an Architect and now I have the ability to design and orchestrate projects from start to finish and sign and seal them but I can't! WHY? Well I've come to the realization that the general public is really unaware of the value of an Architect (or any designer of the built environment), and has no idea what an Architect really does and more importantly has no respect for our profession and that really gets me mad. So called contractors  attempt to design slap things together and people accept and pay for the crap. I never intended to make this blog about my misfortunes but something that recently occurred has put me in a bit of a tizzy. Very simply, we were contacted by a person who wanted to design a salon in Hoboken, she interviewed me  grilled me on the phone for over an hour. I sent her a proposal for her job outlining what we intended to do and a fee, a few days later she hired us. We sent construction estimates etc. We drove out to her space and met with her for 5 hours on one of the coldest days we've had this winter in a space with no heat. When we left I was excited to have what I thought would be a great little project even though I was starving and could not feel my feet the entire ride home. 

I started designing the project, doing drawings and renderings to prepare to meet her the next week ( she stressed she needed it done fast). When we met the second time, we brought an engineer with us to check out some questionable conditions and give his opinion as to how we should proceed. I left that meeting with a strange feeling. That evening I sent her 2 floor plans to be approved and she never responeded but I kept working. THREE days later, I get a call saying we're off the job..she found a cheaper architect! WHAT! we had a contract, we agreed on it, we had already started work but she found a guy who "has dinner with the building inspector and will get her job done for her"..that is doing some backdoor deals to get the work done rather than following the approvals process in place and abiding by the LAW! WTF. I was so so angry and took many days to not feel anger towards random women who even slightly resembled this "horrible client". So a few weeks pass and I've stopped wishing her bad and she emails to ask if the retainer she gave us was worth the work we had already done and apologized "sincerely" for leaving us high and dry. I resisted unleashing weeks of anger on her and simply said that it was our fault for not collecting the entire contract cost upfront and so we would take it as a loss. I really wish there was more of market for design in this country, it seems like people just don't see any value in our work and would rather cut corners. What a disappointment. 

7 Months Old

I see the baby in her slipping away so fast, she is the sweetest, smiley little bundle of chubby love. She is my little baby who is now 7 months old. Evalie has had a very tough month, she has been sick for what seems like 6 weeks. She been on 4 different types of medication at a time, as at one point had to take in more medication than food. As a result, she has lost a few ounces this month, she has lost her appetite and was up until a few days ago waking up every two hours for hugs and love and very hard to put back to sleep. This is unlike her and has taken a toll on us all, we've been tired but also really missed out friendly daring little bubble. Over the last few days, I have seen a dramatic change in her which has really been great, her nanny even remarked on Friday how much fun she had and how happy she has been. It tough to leave a little one here with a non-family member and only hope she exhibits as much patience, love and care as I would especially in the situation we have been in. I do think she has though because she seems to be very aware of even the littlest signs of change in Evalie..things only mothers notice or care about. Speaking of things only a mother could love..poop has also been a real issue or the lack there of! She just stopped going for weeks but alas I think this has also resolved it self...

Now onto the good news, Evalie eats real food now and rather prefers the non pureed versions of things...yes..yes..yes..I monitor her while she eats and I serve only things in little pieces such as her dinner the other night was Turkey Bolognese with alphabet pasta. She loves it so we will be trying other things this week..one at a time and 3-4 days apart to check her reaction to it but its another reason I started out the post the way I did..shes really growing up.

Evalie is extremely verbal, she talks and yaps and squeals and shrieks while she plays..she also groans when she wants your attentions or doesn't like what you're trying to do to her. She's still working on getting herself comfortable with the bottle but I think we are all convinced she is being selective, the nanny says she drinks the bottle very happily while I'm gone but I've never seen it happen because she won't take it from anyone else, not me, not dad, not grandma, not aunty..

Arielle is really surprising me everyday, she is very careful and cognizant of things her little sister needs, her non-verbal communication with her is beyond anything I could have imagined. They play together and Arielle protects her so much. I really am thankful each day that they remain close and happy, Arielle no longer feels any form of jealousy, she sees her as a partner in crime..Evalie looks up to her.
At her last appointment, Evalie was about 18 lbs and 27 inches in a slightly lower percentile for her age 90th instead of 95th but still doing great. The doctors are happy with her progress and development. She's thinned out a bit, her hair is growing rapidly ( see the mini-fro) but she's got the cutest little feet. She seems to like music, she bounces on her bum and flaps her arms over and over when she excited, its really funny. She laughs at most things..like her sister acting like a jackhammer..(you have to be there)!

Now for the big news..she is MOBILE...she crawled for the first time yesterday, she actually moved herself a few inches..not by stretching, not be rolling bot backwards but actually crawling on her hands and knees..it was really great to see her do it. I was so proud of her! We were all sure she was going to just walk instead of crawling because she showed no interest in being on her tummy instead she is always looking for something to grab onto and prop herself up. She cruises along low puffs, tables and stands at her discovery box instead of sitting now.. As you can see..even during my photo-shoot..she was hard to keep down.. she wanted to stand surf..on a rocking chair! So I am a happy mama to have my cuddly little cherub back.

To My Valentines// 2013

I love you two more than words can say...Happy Valentines day.

Beef and Lentil Curry

INGREDIENTS
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 Tbs ground coriander
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 teaspoon peppercorns
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
2-3 bay leaves
1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbs. freshly grated ginger
1 1/2 pound top sirloin, trimmed of excess fat and cut into bite-sized chunks
1 medium tomatoes, chopped
2-4 cups water
1 cup dry lentils
kosher salt to taste
freshly ground pepper to taste
2 cups cooked jasmine rice

1. Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium-high. Add the cumin seeds, mustard seeds and peppercorn and bloom for 20 seconds. 
2. Toss in the onions and bay leaves to saute until soft, 4 minutes 
3. Crush the garlic with the grated ginger, along with a pinch of salt, to form a paste 
4. Add beef and brown, 4 minutes each side 
5. Add garlic-ginger mixture , turmeric and cinnamon stick to skillet 
6. Add chopped tomatoes and a good pinch of salt. Cook 8 minutes, until spices start to become fragrant. 
7. Add the water to cover beef and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until beef is tender, about 30 minutes. 
8. Add lentils and simmer until they are cooked through about 20 minutes. 
9. Serve with cooked rice.