Here for now

It's been nearly a week of getting used to being here and realising that I'm not here for just two weeks or even just two months but for much much longer than that. I no longer hit a store thinking, hey we don't get that in sg, I should pick it up. Rather, it's about what I need now to make myself feel more at home in what is now our apartment, our home.

Here, by the way, is San Francisco. Or more specifically, South San Francisco.

It would be so much easier if we were setting it up together from scratch. But since R has been living here for over a year now, it has been very much his place. Some of my things have been slowly invading, having been left here in February, crept over in July, November, December and finally the rest of the lot dumped just last week.

On the young-couple-starting-up-a-home necessary visit to Ikea (about half an hour away), we brought back new bedside tables, a lampshade, a full-length mirror (how one lives without, I do not know), another shoe rack, and some random whats-its for the kitchen, such as a new colander, cafetiere, salad bowl...

And following that, a trip to the outlets at Gilroy, in order to look for a new coat, but ending up with lots of socks, a blouse, and lots from Bath and Bodyworks. The coats I found were either too big or too poofy. It was rather quiet for a Saturday, until we got to the area where the Coach store is, which was packed with what looked like tourists (but I could be wrong) while just outside, Asian men watched over pampered pooches. And at Gilroy, a perfect pick-me-up during the futile coat search - a double-double with cheese (no onions), fries and a coke at In-N-Out*.

It amuses me to note how certain things seem quite difficult to find here, such as facial toners and tea. However, I am learning to make do with what I can find.

And we continue our search for a good and durable cordless electric kettle. Apparently some people use coffee makers - now those are plenty, and cheap. (In case you're wondering, we've been using a pot on a stove. Yeah.)

We've been doing our part to support the American economy.

*One of the issues with my no-longer-a-tourist status, is that I tend to leave my camera at home. So no pictures of that juicy burger with the crisp bun, eaten outdoors on a gorgeous day.