Weather
Ok I lied, it suddenly got cold FAST!
Granted the lows only get down to the 40s and 50s (truly a Texan at heart), I haven't started preparing my apartment for winter yet.   I make it sound like I'm hibernating haha

The doors are super drafty and cold air blows in through the cracks constantly. I need to research ways to keep my apartment warm and save on electricity some more :(
Thankfully, I found some good advice.
Meanwhile, the search for my kotatsu blanket continues. I found some material I'd like to use as seat cushions, but now I actually have to make the cushions or find some and just put sleeves on them.

However, I did manage to snag some good deals with an antique desk that has a sliding cover ($32) and a small side table that I'm probably going to put my record player on ($8). With a little TLC on both of them, I'm going to have some amazing additions to my furniture! :) Pictures and processes will be up soon. I'm so motivated now, I kind of wish it wasn't halloween weekend so I could just spend all day working on them.

I'm on a thrifting binge, which is kind of bad unless I start selling some of my modified thrift finds.....we'll see how this all turns out. Either way, I'm really excited!

Thrifting/Shopping List

  • -Thick curtains
  • -Seat cushions/Pillows
  • -Door insulation supplies 
  • -Thick king size blanket
  • -Matching (if possible) sheet for floor
  • -Gesso (for table painting)
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The Journey Begins
My Quest for Fuzzy Warmness
Hello to any and all who happen upon my blog :) This will be used primarily to document my adventures as I try to convert my coffee table into a Japanese kotatsu style one before the weather gets too cold. But seeing as I live in central Texas and the weather still gets up to the mid 90s despite the fact that October is nearly over....I believe I still have quite awhile.

Why?
Try telling me you wouldn't sell your soul to have your cat do this.
That and I want to save money on heating this winter so I've decided to just have central hotspots around the apartment (my living room and bedroom).

So What Do I Need?
  • Ikea LACK cofee table
  • Kotatsu mini space heater
  • blankets
  • tools
Maybe I'm just naive, but I don't imagine the process to be too hard? 

What I've Gotten Done
Well I already have the coffee table
look my cat!
feeeettt
Just now I purchased my kotatsu heater from ebay
Hi, I cost a total of $103. Say goodbye to groceries this month
 And just in case, I put in my purchase for a plug adapter too
You can easily find this on Amazon. This was only $3!

Although I really wanted this bad boy

Sadly, ThinkGeek was out of it :(

Now I know the plug adapter doesn't actually convert the voltage of the electronics itself, but according to this site, Japan's voltage is around 100v with the U.S. at 120v. Seeing as how the heater is lower than the U.S.'s standard voltage, I figure it's at least not going to fry once I plug it in versus something with a higher voltage. This way I save money on not having to buy a transformer! Then again I could be completely wrong and this whole thing will just blow up in my face.

But what's life without a few risks?

What Do I Do Now?
Right now I'm just waiting for all of my supplies to come in! The estimated shipping date from ebay said that, at the latest, my heater would arrive around November 9th. Until then, I'll be hitting the thrift stores for some cool blankets :)
And washing them.
Thoroughly.
Three times.

How Will This Work?
First I'd remove my shelf from under the coffee table and set it aside. This ledge will be put on top of the kotatsu blanket, leaving me with a hard, even surface to write on.
Mmmm nail clippers
From what I understand, the heater instructions say to simply install it into the grid under your kotatsu table. But seeing as I'm using just a generic coffee table, I don't have a grid. However, helpful online sources show that you can just as easily mount the heater onto any old table with a couple of angle brackets and an electric drill.
And voila I have myself a kotatsu table :)

The Wait Begins
Meanwhile, as my heater gets shipped, I'll be blogging about various things and my thrift store adventures to procure a kotatsu blanket. For now....cat pictures!


Orion: Human, your body heat is insufficient. Kotatsu now!
私はこたつを買いたいですよ！
I'm also learning Japanese (my 2nd semester) Please be kind to me as I practice haha


Lastly, I happened upon this on Youtube today...
...and her voice is amazing!
11:41 PM | Category: | 7 comments