Caution: house hunting/selling update ahead. We put off going to any houses until this past week to give some more time for people to come through ours. We have still only had three people through our house. OK, I shouldn't say only because three is better than none. But, we haven't had any offers come from the showings. We were a close second on one, but clearly that isn't cutting it at this point. We really need to get some more bodies through the door at this point, so we scheduled an open house in a couple of weeks to hopefully get some people in. I like to think people haven't been in the house hunting mood because it has been crappy out; don't ruin my happy bubble on that one. Our hope is with the weather improving, more people will be out and about looking for houses. I'm starting to realize, and yes dear I will admit this, perhaps we were a bit hasty in purchasing this home. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with it and it is a great home.
Last Wednesday, we went to look at a house that I would love to buy if I could pick it up and put it on a different lot. It backed to a pretty major street and the backyard was actually rather small. I love working in the yard and planting, so that was going to be an issue for me as much as I tried to talk myself out of it. We left that house contemplating putting a subject to sale offer in on it, but something didn't feel right about it. There is one thing I have learned about myself; if it doesn't feel right now, it really won't six months from now. Now that we opened up our search area a little bit, it has given us a few more options. On Friday, we ventured to my hometown to check out four houses. I had to admit to myself that I am rather attached to the city.
When we started out on Friday, I had in my mind the house that I just knew I was going to love. Obviously, I like all four of them or we wouldn't have been looking at them, but one stood out to me. Wouldn't you know it, the one I thought I was going to like the most wasn't my favorite in the end. As of today, we have a subject to sale offer in on a house that we both love and has everything we have been looking for: a large fenced yard, a large kitchen, a garage we can actually park in, a finished basement, a bedroom we can fit a larger bed in, and FOUR bathrooms. Yes, I realize more bathrooms means more cleaning, but I will gladly do it if it means more than one bathroom. The other thing I love about the house is the whirlpool tub in the master bathroom; don't hate.
We have 60 days from today to get this bad boy sold and hope that no one goes in with a non subject to sale offer and takes the other house from us. If that happens, I am going to be one grumpy lady. In closing, some needs to come buy our house!
Sunday, March 31, 2013
Sunday, March 24, 2013
Mama Bought Herself A New Purse
I hope I don't kick myself for this purchase, but I broke down and bought myself a new purse. It isn't just any purse either, I bought myself a Coach purse. This isn't my first Coach purse, I got a vintage Coach purse a couple of years ago from a purse exchange we did with a ladies in my family. Wendi, if you are reading this, I still love the purse!
In an effort to move spring along here, and also to continue on with my love of pink things, I bought a pink purse. I'm not a huge fan of the Coach symbol all over things, but I am a fan of the Coach quality, so I bought a leather bag. I bought this bad boy off Ebay, which is why I say I hope I don't kick myself when it arrives.
Here is my new lovely
I usually buy purses twice a year, in fact I actually have a budget to do so. I have been on the hunt for a while for a purse I likes. Yesterday, we ventured out to Younkers to buy Andrew some new work pants, so I thought I would take a look at the purses while we were there. I was pretty excited about the prospect of buying a purse there too because it was Goodwill days and I took some clothes in to donate so I could get some coupons. I pretty much had coupons to get me half off a purse. Much to my dismay, I found zilch in the way of a purse I liked. It doesn't take me long to cruise through purses and figure out if something is going to work for me. My major go-to brands are Fossil and Tignanello. Both are good quality, which is something I look for in a purse.
I used to buy cheap ones all the time, like they were candy. However, after using them for a month or so, they would look like crap and I had to get rid of them. Once again, I found out that you get what you pay for. So, just like I have with clothes, I started buying the more expensive handbags so they will last longer. Now, rather than having twenty cheapo handbags, I have about ten really good ones. Some of them are showing more damage than others, but they are all still in pretty good shape. I pretty excited for my new purse to show up though! I will have to let you guys know my thoughts on it when it arrives; it should be here at the end of the week.
In an effort to move spring along here, and also to continue on with my love of pink things, I bought a pink purse. I'm not a huge fan of the Coach symbol all over things, but I am a fan of the Coach quality, so I bought a leather bag. I bought this bad boy off Ebay, which is why I say I hope I don't kick myself when it arrives.
Here is my new lovely
I usually buy purses twice a year, in fact I actually have a budget to do so. I have been on the hunt for a while for a purse I likes. Yesterday, we ventured out to Younkers to buy Andrew some new work pants, so I thought I would take a look at the purses while we were there. I was pretty excited about the prospect of buying a purse there too because it was Goodwill days and I took some clothes in to donate so I could get some coupons. I pretty much had coupons to get me half off a purse. Much to my dismay, I found zilch in the way of a purse I liked. It doesn't take me long to cruise through purses and figure out if something is going to work for me. My major go-to brands are Fossil and Tignanello. Both are good quality, which is something I look for in a purse.
I used to buy cheap ones all the time, like they were candy. However, after using them for a month or so, they would look like crap and I had to get rid of them. Once again, I found out that you get what you pay for. So, just like I have with clothes, I started buying the more expensive handbags so they will last longer. Now, rather than having twenty cheapo handbags, I have about ten really good ones. Some of them are showing more damage than others, but they are all still in pretty good shape. I pretty excited for my new purse to show up though! I will have to let you guys know my thoughts on it when it arrives; it should be here at the end of the week.
Saturday, March 23, 2013
I Think I Have A Problem
I decided a long time ago that the house we can afford and the house I dream of clearly do not match up; story of my life. The wardrobe I want and the wardrobe I have don't match up, the job I have and the job I want aren't a match; see a pattern here. Now, some of this I can live with; it's called being happy with what you do have. I'm grateful that I have a job that pays me what it does and has insurance. I'm also grateful for my family, my loving puppies that greet me at the door every night, my car, my education, I have a roof over my head and food in my stomach. I have a lot to be grateful for in life. However, this doesn't stop me from wanting, and who doesn't want something they don't or can't have. It this is you, please contact me because I would love to talk to you.
In addition to obviously wanting someone to put an offer in on our house so we can move, I want to find the right house to move into. Now, I know that there isn't a perfect house in the world; nothing is perfect. But, I thought I would try and find the closest thing. So, what did I do? I started scouring the million dollar homes in the area, just to see if money were no object, would I like these houses. Would you like to know the answer? By and large, the answer was yuck. I have never seen so much waste of space and darkness in houses. Who needs an 8 car garage, really? Most of the homes I was looking at have an abundance of windows, which I like, but they still seemed dark. I have never seen so many dark kitchens. And while we are on the topic of kitchens, let me vent. I think I have mentioned before that kitchens are my killer when it comes to a house. I can like everything about a house but the kitchen, and it will still get taken off my list.
I like to cook, Andrew likes to cook, and all this means we need the space to do it. Three or four cabinets in the kitchen doesn't cut it, we have a lot of kitchen "stuff". I need counter space too for when I am baking. All those rolls and cookies have to go somewhere while they are cooling off. Lighting is also another issue I'm encountering in kitchens. Clearly, the people that designed these kitchens did not understand the importance of lighting in a kitchen. Do you really want to be chopping up an onion without being able to see what you are doing? I know I sure don't want to. There is also such a thing in my world as having too much space in a kitchen. If things are so spread out that you are constantly walking all over the place, that is also a problem. I saw a kitchen in a house that I loved, until I saw where the stove was. The stove had been set back into a brick wall in the kitchen and there was no counter space on either side of it. I don't know about you guys, but when I cook I need space on either side of the stove to put things.
Here are a few examples I have found of kitchens I love:
I love the amount of light in this kitchen. No worries about slicing a finger in this kitchen!
Check out all this counter space. I'm not a fan of all the white though.
Check out all the counter space with that island; love it!
So, there you have it. I told you I was picky
In addition to obviously wanting someone to put an offer in on our house so we can move, I want to find the right house to move into. Now, I know that there isn't a perfect house in the world; nothing is perfect. But, I thought I would try and find the closest thing. So, what did I do? I started scouring the million dollar homes in the area, just to see if money were no object, would I like these houses. Would you like to know the answer? By and large, the answer was yuck. I have never seen so much waste of space and darkness in houses. Who needs an 8 car garage, really? Most of the homes I was looking at have an abundance of windows, which I like, but they still seemed dark. I have never seen so many dark kitchens. And while we are on the topic of kitchens, let me vent. I think I have mentioned before that kitchens are my killer when it comes to a house. I can like everything about a house but the kitchen, and it will still get taken off my list.
I like to cook, Andrew likes to cook, and all this means we need the space to do it. Three or four cabinets in the kitchen doesn't cut it, we have a lot of kitchen "stuff". I need counter space too for when I am baking. All those rolls and cookies have to go somewhere while they are cooling off. Lighting is also another issue I'm encountering in kitchens. Clearly, the people that designed these kitchens did not understand the importance of lighting in a kitchen. Do you really want to be chopping up an onion without being able to see what you are doing? I know I sure don't want to. There is also such a thing in my world as having too much space in a kitchen. If things are so spread out that you are constantly walking all over the place, that is also a problem. I saw a kitchen in a house that I loved, until I saw where the stove was. The stove had been set back into a brick wall in the kitchen and there was no counter space on either side of it. I don't know about you guys, but when I cook I need space on either side of the stove to put things.
Here are a few examples I have found of kitchens I love:
I love the amount of light in this kitchen. No worries about slicing a finger in this kitchen!
Check out all this counter space. I'm not a fan of all the white though.
Check out all the counter space with that island; love it!
So, there you have it. I told you I was picky
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Wanted: A New Hobby
In the house hunting world, we had another showing for the house today. Every showing we hope means an offer, so we continue to wait. We still have an eye on the house that we looked at several weeks ago and liked, and is still on the market. I like to ask Andrew if he thinks it is waiting for us.
While cruising Pinterest one night, I decided I need a new hobby. I really want to learn to sew. There are so many awesome idea on Pinterest for sewing projects: bags, clothes, things for around the house, and projects for the pups!
A while ago I stumbled upon this blog from Pinterest: ReFashionista. This woman is amazing. Now, some of the work she has done on the clothes she picks up is pretty intense, and I know I wont be able to do those things right away. First, I should probably how to properly run a sewing machine. I have used a sewing machine before, and things go alright until thread needs to be changed. At that point, everything is downhill. If I need to sew anything now, I do it by hand. I lost track a while ago of how many seems I have sewn on Andrew's pants. I have also sewn a few buttons back on in my time, but nothing fancy.
I aspire to be a sewing master like my Grandmother was. She could sew anything and everything. Her last major project before she passed away was to reconstruct my childhood blanket. She replaced the binding and hand wove in string to fill in where it was pretty much falling apart. I actually still have the binding she took off the blanket when she replaced it and regret not sewing it into my wedding dress because she always used to joke with me about that. I know if she was still with us she would have come up with some creative project for it. Every time I look at the blanket, I think of her. My mom still has my grandmothers sewing machine, so I hope to follow in her footsteps.
Here are a couple of the projects I have come across on Pinterest:
My mind is racing with project ideas right now. I could sew curtains, dog beds, reusable bags for grocery shopping, scarves, skirts, dresses, refashion tops, etc. Think of all the possibilities. I will keep you posted on my progress, I might have to take a class to learn my way around a sewing machine first.
If you want to follow all the project ideas I have, you can check out my sewing board on Pinterest.
While cruising Pinterest one night, I decided I need a new hobby. I really want to learn to sew. There are so many awesome idea on Pinterest for sewing projects: bags, clothes, things for around the house, and projects for the pups!
A while ago I stumbled upon this blog from Pinterest: ReFashionista. This woman is amazing. Now, some of the work she has done on the clothes she picks up is pretty intense, and I know I wont be able to do those things right away. First, I should probably how to properly run a sewing machine. I have used a sewing machine before, and things go alright until thread needs to be changed. At that point, everything is downhill. If I need to sew anything now, I do it by hand. I lost track a while ago of how many seems I have sewn on Andrew's pants. I have also sewn a few buttons back on in my time, but nothing fancy.
I aspire to be a sewing master like my Grandmother was. She could sew anything and everything. Her last major project before she passed away was to reconstruct my childhood blanket. She replaced the binding and hand wove in string to fill in where it was pretty much falling apart. I actually still have the binding she took off the blanket when she replaced it and regret not sewing it into my wedding dress because she always used to joke with me about that. I know if she was still with us she would have come up with some creative project for it. Every time I look at the blanket, I think of her. My mom still has my grandmothers sewing machine, so I hope to follow in her footsteps.
Here are a couple of the projects I have come across on Pinterest:
If you want to follow all the project ideas I have, you can check out my sewing board on Pinterest.
Sunday, March 17, 2013
Waiting Is The Hardest Part
No, I did not intend for that to sound like a song lyric, but there is truth
to the statement. We finally had our first showing for the house on
Saturday with no news since. Of course we didn't think we would sell it
off the first showing, but it sure would be nice. I have mixed feelings
about it selling right now. There are a couple of houses on the market
that we like, but none that we are in love with. OK, there are a few we
are in love with, but they are at the top of our price range and we don't really
want to be eating ramen noodles for the next ten years. If we didn't have
our pesky student loans, it would be a different story. The day those are
gone, I'm throwing a party. This party will involve a live burning of all
student load documents. You are all invited, of course. I'm sure
there will be alcohol as part of the celebration. I think we are maybe
about ten years off from that mark. A few of mine have about seven years
left on them. I have to keep reminding myself I really have been out of
college that long. Of course, every year that passes is another year
closer to having that monkey off our backs.
The problem with having a range when house hunting right now is that I have seen what the top end of the range gets; it gets me a jacuzzi tub in the master bathroom, a large walk in closet, and in some cases it gets us a really nice sized kitchen. I think I have mentioned before that the kitchen is probably the one thing that kills a house of me the fastest. Case and point; there was a house posted online yesterday without the photos uploaded yet that sounded like the perfect house. I got online this morning to do my normal rounds and saw the photos for the house were posted. I got two photos in before I saw the kitchen and knew it wasn't going to work. We both cook, and many times we are in the kitchen at the same time. If a kitchen isn't large enough for one of us, there is no way it is going to work for two of us. I would love to have a center island in a kitchen, I feel like it ads tons of counter space which I can't get enough of when I am baking.
I always come back to the list of needs and wants in a house. Do we NEED a jacuzzi tub in our master bathroom? Of course the answer is no, but it would be nice. Of course then I ask myself how often I take a bath and I really can't tell you the last time I took one. To be honest it has probably been at least ten years. Whenever we got to a hotel with a hot tub though I'm all about that, so it makes me think I might be more inclined to take a bath if we had a jacuzzi tub. Plus, you have to admit there is just something luxurious about them.
The question I keep asking myself is if a jacuzzi tub, more space, and a potentially larger kitchen are worth $200 to $300 more per month? I haven't decided on an answer yet. I had to ask myself the same question when it came to buying my amazing Rogue. Was it worth trading in a car that was paid off and ran fine for the rogue? You bet your butt it was worth it. I love driving that thing every time I get behind the wheel, and it has been so nice to have something with a little more space to haul things. I wouldn't trade that in for the world. Unless of course it was for a newer rogue, but that won’t be for at least five years. We should probably get the student loans paid off before we think about buying another car. Of course, we will have to see how much longer Andrew's car lasts. His is going on the nine year mark now.
But, back to the house hunting situation; we need an offer on the house before we can really get our hearts set on anything. If our house doesn't sell for several months, the housing market could look way different at that point. For now, we wait and try to keep the house clean without going mad.
The problem with having a range when house hunting right now is that I have seen what the top end of the range gets; it gets me a jacuzzi tub in the master bathroom, a large walk in closet, and in some cases it gets us a really nice sized kitchen. I think I have mentioned before that the kitchen is probably the one thing that kills a house of me the fastest. Case and point; there was a house posted online yesterday without the photos uploaded yet that sounded like the perfect house. I got online this morning to do my normal rounds and saw the photos for the house were posted. I got two photos in before I saw the kitchen and knew it wasn't going to work. We both cook, and many times we are in the kitchen at the same time. If a kitchen isn't large enough for one of us, there is no way it is going to work for two of us. I would love to have a center island in a kitchen, I feel like it ads tons of counter space which I can't get enough of when I am baking.
I always come back to the list of needs and wants in a house. Do we NEED a jacuzzi tub in our master bathroom? Of course the answer is no, but it would be nice. Of course then I ask myself how often I take a bath and I really can't tell you the last time I took one. To be honest it has probably been at least ten years. Whenever we got to a hotel with a hot tub though I'm all about that, so it makes me think I might be more inclined to take a bath if we had a jacuzzi tub. Plus, you have to admit there is just something luxurious about them.
The question I keep asking myself is if a jacuzzi tub, more space, and a potentially larger kitchen are worth $200 to $300 more per month? I haven't decided on an answer yet. I had to ask myself the same question when it came to buying my amazing Rogue. Was it worth trading in a car that was paid off and ran fine for the rogue? You bet your butt it was worth it. I love driving that thing every time I get behind the wheel, and it has been so nice to have something with a little more space to haul things. I wouldn't trade that in for the world. Unless of course it was for a newer rogue, but that won’t be for at least five years. We should probably get the student loans paid off before we think about buying another car. Of course, we will have to see how much longer Andrew's car lasts. His is going on the nine year mark now.
But, back to the house hunting situation; we need an offer on the house before we can really get our hearts set on anything. If our house doesn't sell for several months, the housing market could look way different at that point. For now, we wait and try to keep the house clean without going mad.
Monday, March 11, 2013
A Disappointing Day
Enter disappointment number one in the house hunt saga. The house we looked at on Friday and pretty much fell in love with, but then talked ourselves out of (kind of) sold late on Sunday. Have no fear, there are others. I am trying to stay optimistic and tell myself if it sold, it wasn't meant to be. I'm going to keep telling myself that until I'm not quite as annoyed about it. The house was on the market for a total of three days, I think. Let's hope ours doesn't stay on the market long.
On another note, today marks day one of my cleaning spree. I broke the house down in one to two room segments depending on size. Tonight I worked on our bedroom, the linen closet, and the bathroom. There are some toiletry items we haven't used since moving the last time; what is the point of keeping these things? In our room, my nightstand had turned into more of a dumping ground than anything else. I also put some things aside for the give away box. I hope to make a run to Goodwill this weekend with some things. If I haven't worn it, used it, or thought about it in a year, there is no point in keeping it. Out with the old, and in with nothing new; at least not until we move. After that, I can't make any promises.
As you may have guessed the Pinterest project of the week is being placed on hold. I don't really want to create any more projects we are going to have to move. Don't get me wrong, if we have the house on the market a couple of months I'm not making any promises about holding out on projects for long. I hope we know what is happening before it is time to plant flowers this spring or we might have a problem. I need my flowers, folks. Although, I have to say I'm excited about the prospect of being able to plan some sun loving flowers this year. The shade only flower selection is a bit lacking.
That is all for tonight, just wanted to post about the progress in the house department.
On another note, today marks day one of my cleaning spree. I broke the house down in one to two room segments depending on size. Tonight I worked on our bedroom, the linen closet, and the bathroom. There are some toiletry items we haven't used since moving the last time; what is the point of keeping these things? In our room, my nightstand had turned into more of a dumping ground than anything else. I also put some things aside for the give away box. I hope to make a run to Goodwill this weekend with some things. If I haven't worn it, used it, or thought about it in a year, there is no point in keeping it. Out with the old, and in with nothing new; at least not until we move. After that, I can't make any promises.
As you may have guessed the Pinterest project of the week is being placed on hold. I don't really want to create any more projects we are going to have to move. Don't get me wrong, if we have the house on the market a couple of months I'm not making any promises about holding out on projects for long. I hope we know what is happening before it is time to plant flowers this spring or we might have a problem. I need my flowers, folks. Although, I have to say I'm excited about the prospect of being able to plan some sun loving flowers this year. The shade only flower selection is a bit lacking.
That is all for tonight, just wanted to post about the progress in the house department.
Sunday, March 10, 2013
We Are Listed
So, we have our house listed. We didn't want to list it quite this soon, but
we fell in love with a house and now we are in a race to see if we can get ours
sold. We busted our butts this weekend getting some things fixed in the house.
The wall in our bedroom has been stripped of the floral wallpaper, sanded and
painted. We also repainted the window in the bathroom that we started to strip
before. Yes, I would have like to finish sanding the pain off and stain it, but
we don't have time on our side right now. Like I said before, in a lot of ways
I feel like we are letting the house down with some of the work we thought we
would do but haven't.
The house we really liked that we saw on Friday, we were going to put an offer on, but they wouldn't take a contingency offer. Enter my sad face here. I have to keep reminding myself it will all work out the way it needs to in the end. There are a lot of things I love about the house we looked at, but a few I'm not sure about. The few things I'm not sure about are putting doubts in my mind; doubt over such a large purchase makes me nervous. I fell in love with the kitchen in the house we saw. It had a center island with a cook top stove and a wall oven; LOVE! I love wall ovens more than should be normal, and I love double wall ovens more than anything. The house had a wonderful finished basement, and an amazing vaulted master bedroom and closet. The house doesn't have a fenced in yard, so we would have to get one put in pretty quickly. I don’t think the dogs would take too kindly to being leashed up outside while going potty when they had a whole yard to roam around in before. I have no clue how much it would cost to have a fence put in, but I know it isn't going to be cheap. The sellers are also taking their refrigerator and washer and dryer with them. Having just recently purchased both those items, I know those will be about $2500 for both. In my head I go back and forth about wanting to buy a house that we are going to have to buy items for right out of the gate. The other house we liked, but thought has a lack of storage had the refrigerator and a fence already; we would have to buy a washer and dryer though. The other thing I weigh it location. The house we saw on Friday is located off a major street that I think would be a pain to get on in the morning, and there is no light to use. The house we saw last weekend was in a tucked away area, but had a light to get onto the major street. My mind is racing, but this is of course all contingent upon us selling our house. So, who wants to buy a house?
Check out our weekend projects:
Something like this:
a
The sad part is I could probably fill this thing. I don’t think anyone would ever guess that though because I am so stinking lazy in the mornings when I get ready I don’t want to think about accessories. Of course, that might also have something to do with the fact that I don’t enjoy getting up and going to my job, so I don’t really care to be in tip top shape. Yes, I realize that is a terrible statement, but if you are reading this and you work in my department you know what I am talking about; don't judge.
I guess I know what I will be doing for the foreseeable future in the evenings after Andrew goes off to work; cleaning and packing. Doesn't this all sound like fun? Who wants to help?
The house we really liked that we saw on Friday, we were going to put an offer on, but they wouldn't take a contingency offer. Enter my sad face here. I have to keep reminding myself it will all work out the way it needs to in the end. There are a lot of things I love about the house we looked at, but a few I'm not sure about. The few things I'm not sure about are putting doubts in my mind; doubt over such a large purchase makes me nervous. I fell in love with the kitchen in the house we saw. It had a center island with a cook top stove and a wall oven; LOVE! I love wall ovens more than should be normal, and I love double wall ovens more than anything. The house had a wonderful finished basement, and an amazing vaulted master bedroom and closet. The house doesn't have a fenced in yard, so we would have to get one put in pretty quickly. I don’t think the dogs would take too kindly to being leashed up outside while going potty when they had a whole yard to roam around in before. I have no clue how much it would cost to have a fence put in, but I know it isn't going to be cheap. The sellers are also taking their refrigerator and washer and dryer with them. Having just recently purchased both those items, I know those will be about $2500 for both. In my head I go back and forth about wanting to buy a house that we are going to have to buy items for right out of the gate. The other house we liked, but thought has a lack of storage had the refrigerator and a fence already; we would have to buy a washer and dryer though. The other thing I weigh it location. The house we saw on Friday is located off a major street that I think would be a pain to get on in the morning, and there is no light to use. The house we saw last weekend was in a tucked away area, but had a light to get onto the major street. My mind is racing, but this is of course all contingent upon us selling our house. So, who wants to buy a house?
Check out our weekend projects:
The mess we started with
Here is the finished wall
I will have to post a photo of the painted window in the bathroom later.
Now we get to start the fun process of boxing everything up
again, and getting it ready to move. I'm pretty sure when we moved in here I
told Andrew this was the last time I was moving. I'm going to stop saying
things like that because they are coming back to bite me in the butt. I was
going through some stuff in my office tonight wondering why on earth I think I
need to keep it. Does anyone else have old class notes from freshman year in
college? I wouldn't be surprised if there are some documents from high school
in there too. I think my student loan documents probably add up to weigh ten
pounds, so I'm excited to move those again; not.
I was going through my clothes
in my closet upstairs tonight too, just to see what I have. Do you have so many
clothes you forget what you own, or only seem to wear the same things over and
over? If your answer is yes, I'm happy I am not the only one in that boat. I
think I have three pant sizes in my closet right now, which is just depressing.
I decided the whole upstairs dressing room thing just didn't work out for me
the way I thought it would when we moved in. I hate going upstairs in the
morning to get clothes. Most of my other accessories are upstairs too, so
needless to say there has been a lack in accessories for the past year. I would
love to have a closet attached to my bedroom where I could have all my clothes.
I would also love to have a dresser where I could have all my jewelry and
things in one place. To be honest, I would love to have a jewelry armoire.
a
The sad part is I could probably fill this thing. I don’t think anyone would ever guess that though because I am so stinking lazy in the mornings when I get ready I don’t want to think about accessories. Of course, that might also have something to do with the fact that I don’t enjoy getting up and going to my job, so I don’t really care to be in tip top shape. Yes, I realize that is a terrible statement, but if you are reading this and you work in my department you know what I am talking about; don't judge.
I guess I know what I will be doing for the foreseeable future in the evenings after Andrew goes off to work; cleaning and packing. Doesn't this all sound like fun? Who wants to help?
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Cupcakes Make Life Better!
On the fairness scale, this week has been low for me. Andrew was sick last
week with some version of a cold/flu; I don’t even feel like labeling it
anything at this point, I just know it sucks. He had a sore throat and headache
followed by a runny nose and a general blah feeling. Sunday I had a sore throat
and by Monday I really had a sore throat. Needless to say, I left work at 1:00
on Monday thinking I could go home and sleep off whatever was wrong with me.
How wrong I was; by Tuesday morning, I was sucking on cough drops and popping
Mucinex like it was going out of style. I still don't feel amazing, but I feel
semi human again. Although the coughing thing can stop at any point and I would
be alright. Yesterday while I was home sick though, Andrew said one of the best
things he has said to me in a long time: "let's go to Cheesecake Factory
for lunch". Why is this an amazing statement? Because Scratch Cupcakery is
across the street and I have been waiting forever to go. Ok, maybe not forever
because I think they have only been open since December.
Yesterday at scratch was a particularly amazing day because it was Tuesday, which means they had the doughlicious cupcake, which is the one I have been dying to try and it is only there on Tuesdays. Of course once I walked in the store and smelled all the cupcake goodness, I couldn't just get one cupcake, I had to get three. I walked out with a red velvet cupcake, a wedding day cupcake and the doughlicious cupcake. As I type this, only one cupcake remains; the red velvet deliciousness. I have had the red velvet cupcake before, so I know it is good. I wanted to try the ones I hadn't had before first. If you haven't been to scratch, you must go right now. As we drove home with my amazing cupcakes, I think Andrew thought I had lost my mind; I was beaming from ear to ear. He said if that was all it took to make me happy, he would buy me cupcakes every day; I'm still waiting from my Wednesday cupcakes, dear.
The other love of my life, at least in March, is a shamrock shake at Mc Donald's. I remember having these with my dad when I was younger and for whatever reason, I stopped getting them for many years. I think I kind of forgot about them. One weekend last March when Andrew and I were standing at a Redbox at McDonald's, I saw a sign for shamrock shakes and remembered how amazing they were. Andrew hadn't had one before, so I knew I had to initiate him in the deliciousness. He loved them to, or maybe he was just humoring me, but we enjoyed them several times before March was over. The other morning, Andrew came home and told me shamrock shakes were back; we have had them twice in less than a week. Did you know they are half off between 2:00 PM and 5:00 PM. Oh McDonald's, you just made a sweet treat even sweeter. And before anyone asks, yes I have had two cupcakes and a shamrock shake today. No, I have not worked out this week. I have been sick, that is my excuse, take it or leave it.
Yesterday at scratch was a particularly amazing day because it was Tuesday, which means they had the doughlicious cupcake, which is the one I have been dying to try and it is only there on Tuesdays. Of course once I walked in the store and smelled all the cupcake goodness, I couldn't just get one cupcake, I had to get three. I walked out with a red velvet cupcake, a wedding day cupcake and the doughlicious cupcake. As I type this, only one cupcake remains; the red velvet deliciousness. I have had the red velvet cupcake before, so I know it is good. I wanted to try the ones I hadn't had before first. If you haven't been to scratch, you must go right now. As we drove home with my amazing cupcakes, I think Andrew thought I had lost my mind; I was beaming from ear to ear. He said if that was all it took to make me happy, he would buy me cupcakes every day; I'm still waiting from my Wednesday cupcakes, dear.
The other love of my life, at least in March, is a shamrock shake at Mc Donald's. I remember having these with my dad when I was younger and for whatever reason, I stopped getting them for many years. I think I kind of forgot about them. One weekend last March when Andrew and I were standing at a Redbox at McDonald's, I saw a sign for shamrock shakes and remembered how amazing they were. Andrew hadn't had one before, so I knew I had to initiate him in the deliciousness. He loved them to, or maybe he was just humoring me, but we enjoyed them several times before March was over. The other morning, Andrew came home and told me shamrock shakes were back; we have had them twice in less than a week. Did you know they are half off between 2:00 PM and 5:00 PM. Oh McDonald's, you just made a sweet treat even sweeter. And before anyone asks, yes I have had two cupcakes and a shamrock shake today. No, I have not worked out this week. I have been sick, that is my excuse, take it or leave it.
Sunday, March 3, 2013
Let The Games Begin
I know I have mentioned before the possibility of moving. I think I even our
great debate weighing out the pros and cons of moving vs. renovating out
current house to make it more family friendly. I think we have come to the
conclusion that we are going to move. So, while you all shake your head knowing
we have only been in this house for about a year, let me do some splaining.
Laugh all you want, but a lot of our decisions are based on the needs/wants of
our imaginary child. We know at some point that we are going to have at least
one, so we want to plan accordingly. We want our kids to be able to safely ride
a bike in the neighborhood. Our current neighborhood isn't terrible, but it
isn't terrific either. We want our kids to grow up in a good school district.
In my research, I have realized all schools are now going to a standard
curriculum, which is fine however some schools are cutting essential programs
in process. Why are we pushing math and science at the sacrifice of arts and
foreign language programs. There is currently only one school district in our
area that teaches Spanish in the elementary schools still, so that is where we
will be headed. We are also looking in to the possibility of the Montessori
schools. Again, research for a child that doesn't exist yet. On a more
immediate factor, I'm sure some people might be wondering why we would be
considering moving when we are both less than ten minutes away from work. While
that is nice about our current location, I actually rather like taking the bus
to and from work when we lived in the apartment, and I think Andrew is willing
to trade a longer commute for a house we like and can grow in.
Since we have decided to move at some point, in the semi near future, I started a list of things we would like in a new house. Here is the list: a garage we can actually park in, a kitchen larger than a closet, at least two and a half bathrooms, at least three bedrooms, a fenced yard, a formal dining room, possibly a fireplace, a finished or partially finished basement, and possibly some existing trees. I know, that list sounds like a lot. Andrew's eyeballs grew as he hear me rattle of the list one day. Man if I am going to move again, I'm going to get most of what I want. We both cook, so we want a kitchen we can both move around in at the same time. Having lived together now for three years, we have discovered the importance of having multiple bathrooms, which we have yet to have. I would love to have a partially finished basement where I could create a Packers shrine! I need some place to hang that stock certificate. We had great hopes and ambitions when we moved in to this house, and I kind of feel like we let the house down because we didn't do all the things we set out to do. However, when I think about it, we really had done a lot of work to the place. We did front and backyard landscaping, we had a sump pump put in, we painted some rooms that needed a fresh coat of paint, we have the house some TLC, we sealed off the basement wall, put in a new fridge and microwave in the kitchen, and stained the deck.
With our list of wants in hand, we set out to look at five houses this weekend. I was reminded again that photos can be deceiving. Houses that I wasn't as sure about I loved, and house I thought I would love I really didn't. After looking at five houses in very different parts of town, there was really only one that I would consider buying. Even that one had a lack of storage space. A girl has to store her Christmas tree somewhere. The house we liked really only had one small closet in the basement for actual storage. While appreciated the beautifully finished basement in the house, they could have left some room for storage. Of the houses we looked at, one just needed more updating than we care to do, one just wasn't the right layout for us, another was way too close to major roads, and the others didn't have the right fit. I knew this next house was going to be a chore to try and find, and I was right. Some might think I'm crazy for looking before we even have our house on the market, but I need to get out there and see what else there is to offer. I have easily looked at hundreds of houses posted online and quickly nixed many of them. Of the 296 houses currently listed for sale in the school district we want to be in, there are only two that I remotely like. Yes, I'm picky.
In the coming weeks I should be posting about more projects around the house as we try to get some things fixed up. The major project is obviously the wall in our bedroom. I don't think anyone in their right mind would want to buy this house from the looks of that wall. Sadly, with all the snow on the ground right now we can't exactly show off the landscaping right now either.
Since we have decided to move at some point, in the semi near future, I started a list of things we would like in a new house. Here is the list: a garage we can actually park in, a kitchen larger than a closet, at least two and a half bathrooms, at least three bedrooms, a fenced yard, a formal dining room, possibly a fireplace, a finished or partially finished basement, and possibly some existing trees. I know, that list sounds like a lot. Andrew's eyeballs grew as he hear me rattle of the list one day. Man if I am going to move again, I'm going to get most of what I want. We both cook, so we want a kitchen we can both move around in at the same time. Having lived together now for three years, we have discovered the importance of having multiple bathrooms, which we have yet to have. I would love to have a partially finished basement where I could create a Packers shrine! I need some place to hang that stock certificate. We had great hopes and ambitions when we moved in to this house, and I kind of feel like we let the house down because we didn't do all the things we set out to do. However, when I think about it, we really had done a lot of work to the place. We did front and backyard landscaping, we had a sump pump put in, we painted some rooms that needed a fresh coat of paint, we have the house some TLC, we sealed off the basement wall, put in a new fridge and microwave in the kitchen, and stained the deck.
With our list of wants in hand, we set out to look at five houses this weekend. I was reminded again that photos can be deceiving. Houses that I wasn't as sure about I loved, and house I thought I would love I really didn't. After looking at five houses in very different parts of town, there was really only one that I would consider buying. Even that one had a lack of storage space. A girl has to store her Christmas tree somewhere. The house we liked really only had one small closet in the basement for actual storage. While appreciated the beautifully finished basement in the house, they could have left some room for storage. Of the houses we looked at, one just needed more updating than we care to do, one just wasn't the right layout for us, another was way too close to major roads, and the others didn't have the right fit. I knew this next house was going to be a chore to try and find, and I was right. Some might think I'm crazy for looking before we even have our house on the market, but I need to get out there and see what else there is to offer. I have easily looked at hundreds of houses posted online and quickly nixed many of them. Of the 296 houses currently listed for sale in the school district we want to be in, there are only two that I remotely like. Yes, I'm picky.
In the coming weeks I should be posting about more projects around the house as we try to get some things fixed up. The major project is obviously the wall in our bedroom. I don't think anyone in their right mind would want to buy this house from the looks of that wall. Sadly, with all the snow on the ground right now we can't exactly show off the landscaping right now either.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)