Putting out fires
It’s been a busy week at the to home with love headquarters. There’s been a ton going on, including a mild fire (DON’T WORRY: There was no damage and no lives were lost. Just a few singed fingertips). But, let’s start with the positives, shall we?
First of all, it’s as if Santa read my post from last week and decided to make Christmas come early this year. Starting Tuesday, everything began falling into place, all at the same time, with the arrival of our final shipment from the U.S. It was a long day with the sorting and organizing of all 48 boxes. Additionally, IKEA came to fix the pile of wood (desk) in the cloffice, AND last but not least, WE HAVE INTERNET!
The days continue to be trying as I decide where everything goes and attempt to make room where there isn’t. But I will say, this is the fun stuff. I love organizing and decorating, so bit by bit, things will start to come together. I’m giving myself until Christmas to get all of the main things done and put away, and will begin tackling wall décor and accent pieces after the holidays, because a girl can only do so much!
In case you haven’t been following my Instagram stories (by the way, you should probably go and do that), the kitchen has thus far been the most difficult. I don’t know how it makes sense. In Philadelphia we had a smaller kitchen than the one we have now, yet I can’t seem to find space to fit everything we brought over here. After two solid days of organizing cabinets and tossing unnecessary items (goodbye gross Tupperware), I feel like I have a semi-functional space. That was until yesterday when I blew all of the electricity in the kitchen and caused a small fire.
There have been a lot of “firsts” for me upon moving to a new country and trying to figure everything out. I was hoping that using a fire extinguisher wasn’t going to be one of them. Ok, I’m ahead of myself. I didn’t have to actually use the fire extinguisher, but I did grab it frantically in preparation.
Backing up, it seems breakfast (or brekky, since I’m such a local now) is the only meal we eat at our apartment. I’ve never been one for cooking (hi, I start fires) and in Hong Kong everyone eats out anyway, so it’s a win/win! That being said, I’m usually good to go with a bowl of cereal or a bagel for breakfast. Since we finally had all of our appliances, I thought it would be nice to actually make myself a bagel instead of ordering one. Mistake.
Long story short, I very quickly learned that in addition to the European adapters (Hong Kong has the same outlets/plugs as England) you need to also use a converter for larger appliances that require more energy. An adapter alone simply isn't strong enough to manage the current coming from the socket to our American-made appliances. These adapters do however, work for smaller items, like charging a cell phone or laptop and using a hair dryer, but are too weak for appliances like speakers (blew one of those too) and of course, toasters. Such a rookie mistake. I should have known this, but because I’ve been so used to using them for everything else, it didn’t occur to me.
As soon as I turned the toaster on there were a few loud pops, a spark and then some flames. My bagel was scorched in a matter of six seconds, and all electricity to the kitchen (microwave, refrigerator) was shut off. I had to call our buildings maintenance man to come switch the fuse back. I do believe the toaster still works, but I’ll wait until I have a converter before I make another bagel.