If it was up to us, we would be open tomorrow

Although it was Sunday, of course we didnt take the day for rest, after going to bed really late last night, we woke up around 8, because we got all of our stuff delivered by IKEA! Already last night the bar looked beautiful and furnished, and now it just looks perfect... All the seats are here, the sofas and the chairs, the table for Scotts dj box, and the interior of the bar just looks done now. Remember, we only have had the bar for 5 days officially, but it feels we have been here for a long time:). The new chairs were pretty unique and cool already, but Scott even made them cooler by putting a lamp under them, which is going to look awesome at night. The morning pretty much went by with me putting the furniture together and Scott making the video of our IKEA trip with my mom:). 
I really needed to go home after to take a shower and go for a walk with Sky, so I went to the flat, but once again, there was no hot water...grr! Not very nice feeling, especially since we are paying quite a lot for a flat we are not even using, and the only reason we are using the flat now for a shower, but it is not possible. Oh well, tomorrow we can find out if we can get the flat above the bar, then everything is going to be a lot simpler and we could just have the dogs there, and can check on them and at last but not least we could sleep in a bed again. I dont mind sleeping on the floor, it is not even uncomfortable, it is just that feeling when you wake up in the morning, and you dont have your stuff around you and there is no bathroom to start the day:) Fingers crossed, tomorrow we can convince the owner to give it to us, there would be no better tenants anyway and then we can even think about buying it in the near future.
Scott just posted the video when I got back and we went back to the flat again to pick a couple of his stuff up and make the bar a bit more equipped with basic stuff. We were starving, our eating pattern changed a lot since we are doing this project, some of the days you just loose you appetite because of the nerves. We saw a nice looking Indian on the corner of our street, just 2 minutes away from Lost, and after putting the bags down, we went for a nice meal there. The whole restaurant was empty, and it is quite massive, but we still sat down and ordered quickly a couple of starters. All the food were sooooo delicious and nicely presented, that it was definitely with it! We talked a bit to the waiter, because Scott was amazed and said the food was one of the best Indian he ever had, which is a big thing coming from an English person. We even got a free mango lassi from him and Scott talked to the boss, and we told him that we are opening in June and we could work together sending customers to each other. If anyone wants to have a nice Indian, we can highly recommend it: 

http://www.indigo-restaurant.hu

another MAD!!! scott art attack!!!

We were more than full after this dinner, but still there was a lot to do at the bar. Although I fall asleep for an hour, haha:). But Scott was being creative again, and he kept on with his paintings on the walls, and painted the best Mad Hatter picture i really dont know where he gets his energy from but the more he draws the better it gets it looked even better than the original:)! I finished  the rest of the furniture flat packs. so for next week, we can put aside the decoration and have to concentrate on the paperwork, the licence, the dj equipment and the safety of the place. Also, we really want to start working together with Heineken and Coca Cola to see how the bar is going to look like. We have a couple of ideas more we have to do, so probably we are going to call a builder to do some bits and pieces nothing major but it is all going to come together and make the bar look crazy!! Tomorrow is going to be a very busy and important day for us, we have to get everything sorted next week, as time just flies by, we only have 25 days to do the rest of the work. But I have no fear, cant wait for the Opening, to have all our friends here and celebrate the fact that we are going to be open:)!!

Lost In IKEA

Lost In Budapest Blog Adventures Part 17
Lost In IKEA Staring Special Guest Bori Mum what a superstar xxxx

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quExvdp8mv0

Sneak Peeks!!!!

The master dj Station On Its way

Starts to look like a bar:)

As I am writing the blog, this late, since this is the first time today, that we have stopped, we are about to hit 2000 views on the blog!! It is crazy, and everyday is, we never thought when we started that we are going to have 100 people reading us everyday at the end its a really amazing feeling. its crazy to think only a month ago we were sitting in the Lake House at Balaton talking about how we are going to get this project off the ground and  how we are going to open bar in budapest, if it was even possible, and if it was, when? Still so many questions come up everyday as we go through this process , but at least we know, we are now sitting in our own bar in Budapest, and no one can tell us what is going to happen, but we are very overwhelmed with what we have achieved so far and the time scale we did it in but we have gone 200 miles an hour.This morning we arranged with my mom to go to IKEA and get the most important furniture we need for the bar, so we can actually sit down and maybe even have a table, since we spend all of our time here, and yesterday I said enough is enough to all the conditions we are living like, but today we wanted to make it cosy and nice for ourselves as well. My mom picked us up after a life saving shower in the flat and we headed off to IKEA. The goal was to get a couple of tables, chairs, sofa, decoration, but we ended up finding a lot of things, and the flow of new ideas. We made our best video so far, I think Scott is going to be ready with it either  tonight or first thing in the morning but for sure it will look amazing  as I know him and his work:)!  We want to keep the details of the in bar revamp design a secret from now on, so it can be a surprise for you guys on the Opening, but in a way it is really hard to keep it a secret once you are finished with a part of the bar, if it is cool, we just want to show you! 

We went around the store once for the smaller things, and then had to go back for the actual big furniture pieces, and as much as we like ikea for the all there crazy cool stuff and for the prices, I have to say, that if you are a bit older or just not strong enough, you will have a hard time dealing with there unique self service way, since you have to get everything for yourself, which is not the easiest in case of a sofa for example. We got the best chairs, and sofas for a certain sitting area we have chosen within lost, where you can sit down and chill out with a nice bottle of wine after a hard day at work  but we plan to put the seats away on a Friday, Saturday night, sorry:)) so we can fit more people within the venue. Scott found his desk for the DJ box which made him very happy he is just like a big kid some times we got all the furniture we needed for the lost HQ  office, at the end we seriously got so much more then what we planned but in the end under budget. Oh well, we still made it round in about 3 hours, but then Scott really wanted to look for locks for our doors because of security reasons, so we went to Baumax again. There are so many unique and funny things in these DIY shops, we found so many things, a cool doormat, decorations, and first of all, the perfect bar chairs for our bar!! It was a problematic point on our revamp list, since IKEA didnt have any ones which fit our needs and everywhere else was so expensive So it was the best buy so far, and as soon as we put them in place in  lost it actually started to look like  a proper bar:)! We have so many ideas and plans ahead for the revamp but I cant talk about it yet, all I can say, that it is going to be unique and really cool place where people can relax party and network.

After we unpacked all our stuff, I went to the mall to get paint for Scott so he could start on his graffiti master pieces. I was busy with the budget and the finances, calculating the first drink order as well which is not a short process, I just finished my part about half an hour ago, and Scott is still working who knows till when... We get our ikea delivery furniture tomorrow in the morning between 8am and 12 its really good service they deliver on a sunday so we finally can get everything ready, and maybe we are even going to get a weeks rest before the opening! Today, we already felt like we are getting there, it is just going to get better tomorrow with the sofas and tables. 

It is so much work, we did sacrafice quite a lot over this bar, our private life, relaxing time, everything is on hold till we open. But remember it is only 4 weeks from now!! Tomorrow is all about setting bar up and with Monday all the craziness is going to start all over again with major meetings planned and we find out finally about the flat above fingers crossed, we cant even start to tell people how much we have to get done next week.

Sneak Peak @ Scotts crazy in bar ART ATTACK!!! Memories from our pasts

Scott was a big fan of video games when he was a kid and this brings back memories for him

Alice in wonderland was a favourite of ours when we was kids but we plan to finish this design
with a real working clock in the white rabbits hand

Check out Blog Adventures Part 16 Amazing Music support By MJUZIEEKAL EDUCATION Digital Record Label With there Track JAMES BROWN Original Mix

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3luLO_CsCs

Can everyone see our bar in the street?

I totally lost track of time and everything, I usually wake up, and I am lying on the bar floor, surrounded by the dogs, and having Scott somewhere around the building, probably painting or decorating. I have to honest, it wasnt the most comfortable and fabulous past days of my life, but on the other hand we have done so much, that it is really over my previous expectations! Scott probably slept about 8 hours in the last few days, but this is something I cannot do, and I need my "beauty sleep" everyday, otherwise I am grumpier than usual. Scott is definitely not like that. Today, he has spent the day with painting the front of the building and getting a lot of attention from the people passing by. It is weird for him not understanding any word they say, and for example we had a guy, who walked up to him, but he couldn't understand what he was saying, so I went outside, and it turned out that he was looking for any job he could get, because he needed money to go to his brothers funeral in the countryside. What can I say, this is a bit of Hungary, as much as it is so sad...

I went back to the DIY shop to get some more of the paint spray, plus a sign saying the building is secured by dogs:). They are the funniest, the whole entrance window is covered with the posters and all you can see is two dogs peeking out at the bottom:)). After getting everything we needed to keep Scott working, the landlady came back, and we had to make another, but not major change to the contract. The thing is with  the building, is that we have a cake shop next door, and in Hungary according to the laws, you cannot just make changes to the property, only with agreeing on it with the house and everyone. Scott painted not only the entrance bit, which is basically ours now, but also to the main building, which otherwise is not possible. So, although he made a really nice design to it today, we are going to have to change it, and the rest is going to be covered with the average grey colour. But it is going to look beautiful, and it is really something that you cannot miss if you pass by. 

Once again, the internet problem is back...we are using the hotspot again, and after having normal unlimited one, it is just not the same. So, I called the UPC to get them move our Internet from the flat, since we hardly spend any time there, but as shocking as it is, they are not able to move it here, because they have no wire system in this building for them haha. I guess we are going to have to sign our 4th Internet contract soon:)

We had the Heineken representative coming out, and we decided to go with this more international company instead of Dreher. She also really liked our idea and the bar, so I think we can work together in the future. I enjoy it a lot meeting these people and having the meetings, dealing with all the paperwork, which I never thought I would, and I know it is going to take some time till I get into it, but at least I can say, that now I can imagine doing it. And Scott, he is Scott, he is working 200% as usual, the decoration is beyond words, the time just seems not relevant anymore, it is crazy to say, that one month ago we arrived at Lake Balaton, and now...well, now we are sitting in the bar which is about to open. So, I guess nothing is impossible, take a risk and live the dream, you couldnt do it any other way!

final spray crack effect by scott

Get the revamp started!

As the Grand Opening is getting closer, the days are getting longer and longer for us! By the time I sit in front of the computer I really have to think back what happened in the morning... I had to cancel my appointment for registering the company, as we wanted to make sure that everything is good with the longer opening hours license before we register. So woke up quite early again, of course not earlier than Scott and phoned both Coca Cola and Dreher to see what they can offer and arranged a meeting with them for today. I had to go to the bank and take the money out for the bar deposit and the first months rent, when the Landlady called and she said the best news, everything went through and we can sign the contract in about 20 minutes. So finally we had the papers in our hand and after some very important changes, we were ready to sign it! I dont think either of us realises that this is actually for 5 years, it is a weird feeling, to have the keys to ourselves now officially. The journey can begin! It felt like a long journey for us, but in the end, we only arrived in Hungary a month ago, so in a way it had been so quick!!

Lost window

Anyway, after signing, Scott really wanted and needed to go home and sort himself out, but we had to wait for the representative from Coca Cola. So the thing with these companies, is that you have to order their products and in return you get all of the promotional stuff and fridges from them. There is a minimum amount to order in a month or so, but you can choose the drinks you want to have. In a way it is good, with the Coca Cola, they are quite flexible, you can have different drinks in the bar, which are not Coca Cola products. The thing is, that we need a wide selection of drinks from all over the world, even in spirits and beers, but with Dreher it is quite limited and you are not really supposed to have other drinks in your fridge then theirs. So, I got the number of Heineken as well, and although I like Dreher as a beer, and probably foreigners would like it too, but maybe it is better for us to go with a more international brand like Heineken, which still has hungarian draught beer, I think Soproni, which is also perfect. We see all this tomorrow. But both of the companies liked our ideas and the concept, so hopefully we can arrange everything with no problems. The other thing is, that there is still so much paperwork to do, that it is crazy, we have to get the company registered on Monday and then go straight to the city hall and start on the licence for operating, that is the most important before we open! So much ahead, and we cant say that we have been lazy...

After the meetings, we had to go to a DIY shop, we went to Baumax to get everything for the painting of the inside. We choose a really nice beige colour, like the background of the logo and some spray paints  to recreate the stamp effect. We got a lot of stuff and still was able to stay in the budget, so after we came back Scott started working on the walls, and I organised all our paperwork, put it into folders, and made a chart for our everyday spendings, because it is very important for us to track the expenses. When I finished I started helping Scott with the corners of the walls, and just after about 6 hours I can say that the place looks amazing, and totally different! The window Scott put into the wall yesterday is perfect now, looks like the main bit of the logo, and he came up with an easy way to get that patchy look.

To be honest we had some hard times recently, we worked so hard and had so much on our minds, it was a bit too much, both of us dealt with it in a different way, and I think I can say today finally, that we are both calmer, and realised that this is our place and we can see now how it is going to look like when we open and it is so exciting!! During spraying, both of our nostrils are full of black paint and we feel a bit dizzy, so I dont know if I am completely sober but this is going to be something crazy, I cannot wait to be open and show it to everyone and have customers coming in, and when they ask, you can finally say, this is your place:)! 

Still a lot to do tomorrow, but I guess, it is just the way it is going be for the next month, but it is all good, as I said, we are so excited to open, so we are going to keep up the hard work and see everyone only in 30 days:)!!!

Always use a mask when painting and spraying haha

In life, you only get one shot, we have to do this right!

REVAMP!!!!!

It is even hard to start today, so much has happened, and I am so so so tired, in a good way but still. I am having a hard time trying to calm Scott a little bit down, not very successful with it. Yesterday we went to the all you can eat restaurant, and we said, that we are just going to relax and not going anywhere, but we ended up going to the bar and spent the night here. It was a bit uncomfortable, and I just wanted to sleep, but we still had some things done, like cleaning up most of the bar and plan the layout of the place. After that, I had to go to sleep, since I dont have to superpower of Scott, who still stayed up for hours and then woke up before me and already started working. Seriously, I couldnt move till like 8 AM and I knew how busy day we have ahead of us!

We started up with the basic things, Scott was taking care of the front of the bar, cleaning all the windows, sorting out the whole outer bit of the bar, while I was doing our financial charts for the budget for the opening. Than we printed off lots of Lost in Budapest logos and backgrounds with some of the new posters for the opening and sticked them up on the whole entrance, leaving only a tiny place for checking, who is at the door. Throughout the whole day, there were so many people walking by, and some of them even stopped by and asked about what we are going to do with the property. One of them was nice enough to give us a bucket for the cleaning and said it would be very nice if we could teach her daughter a bit of English:). The other women was feeding the cat on our doorstep, so we asked her about the cat that stays here, and told her about our idea to create the first dog run next to a bar and being animal friendly, which is a very important character of the bar! Having two dogs, we know how much they mean and we would like to provide a nice environment for them, even when you are going out and having fun:)!

new entrance break through window 

Unfortunately we have some people from the building that are not very happy about a new bar opening just under them, and we met two of this kind today. It is not our strongest  point dealing with negative people, since I am not very good at telling people off and Scott is too good at it, especially not speaking Hungarian. So, we had a little bit of argument with one of the tenants of the building saying that we are not going to get the licence we are waiting for. But all is good, we try to handle it in a nice way, and concentrate on what is important now.

I went to meet my parents at the flat to get some stuff, and they brought my bike, and then we came back to the bar, so they can see it, and we bought a bottle of champagne with my mom to celebrate the fact we got the place. They both really liked the bar and we had a quick chat about our ideas and the plan to get my sister come back to Hungary and work for Lost in Budapest. But this is a longer term thing, we have to see first how things are going to go this summer. We have to be aware of the crowd that comes here, of the stock we have to have, everything. 

Redbull gives you wings in rubys case Big ears

After that, we booked the flight for  Justin, who is going to be the dj on the opening night, he is going to fly over from England to provide the best music for the party. And another big news, is we got music support by Mark Doyle, he sent four tracks over for our videos, and he gave his full support to our project and the idea behind it. This a great honour for Scott, as he has been a big fan of him for years. 

I have a really hard time telling Scott to relax a little bit, he is not willing to listen to me, but I guess, even he is going to need some sleep eventually:). 

Tomorrow is going to be busy, hopefully we sign the contract and other then that I have to sort out the beer and drinks, and some more of the paperwork. Just feels like everyday there is so much to do, and the plan is to do whatever we can a week before the Opening, so we can have a little bit of rest before we open up! Haha, I believe it when I see it:)!! Anyway, it seems like it is going to be a long week again, working hard on the bar, most important thing for now is that we can sign and it can all go official!!

Lost In Budapest Blog Adventures Part 14

Music support by Mark Doyle:
Awesome track from Jolyon Petch coming soon on Fierce !

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2rTazArwwY&feature=share