Oktoberfest preparations

Every year, Hubby's best buddies from college host their "traditional" events celebrating important holidays like New Year's Day and March Madness. Hubby has been promising that we would hold Oktoberfest in honor of our time in Germany as soon as we were settled in Frederick. Well, I wouldn't exactly call us "settled," but with an infant, is anything ever really settled...I think not. So, today begins the last minute scramble for cleaning and house preparations. Tomorrow is food prep and decorating. The good thing about working full time and having a baby is that I don't have time to obsess over this party like I normally would. Cheers to seeing good friends from all stages of our lives tomorrow to celebrate another all imporant holiday--Oktoberfest.

Having a boy...making a skirt

I began to create a baby registry...ugh. In doing so, I realized that I liked NONE of the crib bedding options. They were either very gender-specific (pink, flowered, cupcakes OR blue, baseballs and trucks) or just plain ugly. So, I spent some time (okay, a lot of time) researching other options. Once I decided to make my own crib skirt (thanks to younghouselove.com for the instructions and reassurance that despite my woeful lack of sewing ability, I could, indeed, create a cribskirt), I spend some time (okay, a lot of time) researching for the right material. Spoonflower.com, fabric.com, tonicliving.com all had adorable fabrics and colors, but the choices were a bit overwhelming for my already indecisive proclivities. So, Hubby and I decided to take a little break from the house during the last 60 degree weekend. We ventured to Old Town Alexandria and found a cute little home store in which a well-dressed, well-spoken, well-groomed man directed us to the holy grail...the perfect fabric.



The only problem...$35 per yard plus shipping. So, conservatively, I would spend over $150 on fabric for the skirt and valences IF (and that is a big if), I didn't make any mistakes requiring recutting. This thrifty girl left empty-handed.

Baby D wasn't letting me sleep that night, and hubby was still up working on one of his gazillion projects, so my iphone and I surfed the net and found a similar pattern for $16 per yard...10 more minutes of kicking (Baby D, not me), and I found the same fabric for $10 per yard plus free shipping at onlinefabricstore.net. SOLD! The fabric arrived last week, and this morning, I tackled the crib skirt. The skilled decorista (yes, I just created that word) at younghouselove.com said it took her 40 minutes to make her no-sew crib skirt. Me...four hours minus a lunch break and a visit to the tea shop. Nonetheless, I was truly in my glory. There is definitely something to this nesting thing. Here is the final product.

Return of the blogging

It's been a hundred years since I have last written a blog post. Life has been busy. We moved out of A's house and are still working on getting the Sparks house rented or sold. Most importantly, we FINALLY moved in to our new old home. Note that I didn't say that our new old home is finished. The reality is that it is still very much a construction zone. Hubby couldn't resist not sleeping here despite the dust, bare unpainted walls, mud for a backyard, drafty windows, etc. So, here we are! The truth is that our house is beautiful, and I am amazed that all of my thrift shopping and the family painting efforts have culminated in an (almost) Dwell-worthy home.

The TO DO list:
Paint all trim
Paint ceiling touch ups
Srape paint from all windows
Repaint all windows
Paint exterior of house
Obtain and install storm windows
Acquire random pieces of furniture
Sand and polyeurethane stairs
Grade yard and install concrete patio
Install fence
Get remainder of household goods that government has skillfully "misplaced"
DECORATE
Throw housewarming party :)

More paint please

Hold on to your seats...this will shock you....we spent this weekend...wait for it...PAINTING!!! Yeh, not a big surprise. We were delighted that my friend S donated more hours of her time than she had planned to cover my office closet doors with a second coat of paint. And, even though Matt's college buddies bailed (one, who shall remain nameless, even said that he couldn't help because the new Harry Potter movie was being released...really? that's all you could come up with?), one drove out to help on Sunday. They say that during a crisis, you find out who your real friends are. I think that during a major house renovation and a call for painting, your true friends shine through. Thanks S and R!

3 days...1 week tops.

Three days...one week...tops. Famous last words of our flooring guy. Seriously...how do these people manage to make a living...oh wait...that's right, residents like us don't know how/have time to install hardwood floors and are therefore at your mercy. So, needless to sat, we've passed the three day mark. We've passed the one week mark. They were installing floors today...let's hope that it lasts.

My dearth in postings is due to the fact that every waking moment that hasn't been spent working or moving has been spent painting. I inherited by dad's nose and my mom's eyes, but neither of them passed their painting gene to me. I suck, and I'm okay with that. They, on the other hand, don't suck at painting. In fact, they're quite good. Mom can cut in (that's painting talk for painting the top of the wall without getting one drop of it on the ceiling) with the best of them. This weekend, my parents came to visit and painted. Mom on the ladder. Dad holding the bottom. Hubby and I were listening to them quietly bicker while we painted the need-no-painting-skill door frames a room away. Going through this renovation has made me appreciate my parents' ability to stay together throughout all that they have done. Renovating is a stressor. It is a constant stress on the indivdiuals and on the couple. Hubby and I have a pretty darn good marriage, and this renovation has pushed us to our share of squabbles, meltdowns (okay, that one is mostly me), and financial freak outs (that one is mostly hubby). What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right? Well, our relationship muscle is going to be ready for Olympic weight lifting by the end of this project...whenever that may be.

Everything has been running behind/taking longer/requiring more permits, etc. We are out of the leaking he#$-hole formerly known as our apartment. Our lease was up July 1, and we thought FOR SURE that we'd be in the house by then...silly novices. Our realtor (God bless her soul) allowed us to move into her house while she is honeymooning and is now living with her husband. She is amazing, and her house totally rocks. Needless to say, my tolerance for inconsistent contractors just increased. As long as A doesn't sell her house, I'm content to stay. Actually, if we should happen to sell the house that we haven't gotten to live in yet and anyone has an extra $200K lying around and wants to throw it my way, I'll gladly purchase A's beautiful old home with all of its quirks and creaky floors. I've grown fond of mowing the lawn, watering the plants, and sitting on the porch. I love walking to the gym and the park. Hubby gets upset because he wants me to like our house as much as I like this one. We'll get there...someday.

Behind schedule

So, last weekend was first our move-in weekend, then our painting-marathon weekend, but in reality it was our scrape-and paint-exterior-windows-in-the-100-degree heat weekend. Ugh. Needless to say, for more reasons that I care to think about, the house is behind schedule.

The good news:
1. We have drywall
2. The in-laws have a lovely planter for us for our front step
3. We bought a brand new sectional at the Re-Store for cheap (of course)

The bad news:
1. I pulled a quad muscle playing kickball which (un)fortunately won't affect my ability to paint
2. The city can't seem to figure out what they want us to do about our drainage situation
3. We are still behind schedule and can't do a thing about it

Door #1

Hubby's been a little anxious lately. He's been itching to DO something at the house. So, when the weather finally stabilized, we went to the house and did what our limited home improvement skills allowed. First, Matt cut down an invasive plant/tree. All went well until the last part of the stump crashed into my upper thigh. I have a nice baseball sized bruise, and I need to find a good story to accompany it :) Then, we started the nasty P word...painting. We painted one door and trim before the thunderstorm hit. Door #1 looks great and is a symbolic step ahead.

Today is our three year anniversary! Hard to imagine that we were in SF three years ago saying "I do " on the steps of the court house. Last year, we were in Paris for our anniversary. We stayed here. We didn't celebrate our love in an international location this year, but we did indulge in a lunch at Volt on Friday. Yum. Yum. Yum.

Nature: A Feel Good Elixr

Spring insn't officially here, but I definitely felt and saw signs of her approach this weekend. Hubby and I went for a wonderful hike in Harper's Ferry on the Maryland Heights Trail This was our first hike in the area, so we parked outside of Harper's Ferry, asked crunchy hikers to point us in the right direction, walked half a mile to the historic Harper's Ferry (that always feels eerily empty to me even when it is overflowing with tourists), and headed out over the old railroad bridge. The steps leading down from the bridge to the canal path were open-grate, which was mildly disconcerting given the swift running water, nearly ready to overrun its banks. In fact, the river was lapping around the final step. The trek up the riverbank was steep and reminded me that my hiking legs had not had a good workout in quite some time. Nevertheless, it felt wonderful to be active in the fresh air!

Sunday was a local hike day. We visited three open houses...Hubby even obliged me and went in. We also strolled Baker Park and discovered Great Stuff by Paul. Usually when a shop has "great" or "best" in the title, I can almost discount its greatness or bestness; however, this was different. They truly had great stuff. I found candle holders made from old sugar molds, and Hubby found a factory cart that would make a cool coffee table. Given that we don't actually have a house yet, we decided to refrain from purchasing the items. The house is coming along, though. The plumber was working on Sunday when we stopped by. Hubby and I had a small tiff over the master bath shower, but we just have different styles of doing things. Hubby likes to make a decision NOW. I could spend the next six years researching the issue. We compromised. I researched for a few hours and we had a decision.

I'm feeling good after spending time in nature. I feel more like myself. Maybe it is getting back in touch with Pennsylvania roots where every free moment was spent outside or maybe it is reconnecting with nature in a way that is inherent in us all. Either way, I'm ready for more!

Half Full

I knew I probably shouldn't have eaten almond butter, but I missed it. So, I did. And I paid...with stomach pains all weekend. Nevertheless, the stomach issue didn't stop me from volunteering at the local tea shop...Voila I loved it! It was a bit overwhelming...260 teas, and I haven't used a cash register since my pizza shop days! Then, hubby and I drove to Catonsville for a lovely, delicious dinner with a co-worker and her husband.

Sunday, I really wasn't feeling well, so I was confined to our tiny apartment. Matt painted at the house while I franticaly researched paint colors. Behr paint was 25% off...what a deal...but I had been dragging my feet making a decision (those of you who know me know my inherent and genetic difficulty with decisions) about the colors for the house because it was just too overwhelming. The deal was for three days...Saturday through Monday, so being the thrifty shopper that I am, I had to act. My pain prevented painting and fun activities like hiking, but on the upside I was forced to choose colors. I am a simple gal, and if it were up to me, I'd love to live in all white, but hubby is a bit more traditional. So, after many, many, many visits to paint websites, design websites (thank you apartment therapy, decorpad, and many blogs), I decided on....drumroll please...Benjamin Moore's Edgecomb Gray for the main areas of the house







And Decorator's White for the Master and my office

We went to Home Depot last night to pick up our paint. I waited nervously as our paint mixologist (very PC) prompted the computerized paint system to deposit red, yellow, and brown into our white paint cans. After the stirring/shaking machine did its thing, the paint mixologist, reached in to the can and placed a dab of the Edgecomb Gray on the lid...it was love at first sight. I was so pleased and had no hint of painter's remorse...let's just hope that it looks that good on the walls :)

I felt like crap this weekend...glass half empty. Feeling like crap forced me to stay home and make paint choices for our house...glass half full.

The Purpose of Storm Windows

In theory, storm windows are supposed to protect "real" windows from stormy weather, to muffle outside noises, and to provide insulation to keep warm air in and cold air out. Theory does not equal practice. We had a big storm last night, and the storm windows created more noise than they prevented by clanging against their metal tracks as they were buffeted by the wind and rain. That clanging kept all of us (even the cat) awake for most of the night.

The "storm" continues in the apartment today after 469 pounds of clothes, housewares, toiletries, and furnishings from Germany were delivered. I was very happy to see some of my sweaters and most grateful to see my tea, but not so pleased with rearranging the apartment yet again. I feel like a magician, or a physicist, trying to create empty space where none exists (thanks to subletting from a landlord who didn't expect to sublet and therefore left all of her belongings including her John Deer collection here). So, after three furious hours of unpacking, repacking, and checking to make sure that the cat didn't fall into one of the paper filled boxes, I still have a mess...perhaps organized chaos is a more appropriate term. I have piles for donation and storage of my clothes. I realized that I can live much more simply with fewer clothes. I have piles for recycling and trash (which thankfully is picked up tomorrow), and piles for hubby to go through to determine into which of the aforementioned piles his belongings will go. And yes, I did leave him half of the space in the closet and half of the shelf above.

Our appraisal for the house we are still trying to buy came in lower, much lower, than expected, forcing us to come up with more money for closing, which is supposed to be tomorrow. So, we did the money shuffle last night and we should be okay. HOWEVER, our realtor found out that the appraiser didn't count 1 of our bedrooms and 1 of our bathrooms in the appraisal, and she didn't use the comps that were relevent (e.g., the rowhome next door that sold four months ago). Ugh! Our realtor is conversing with the appraisal company, trying to get the appraisal corrected. Thank you, dear realtor, for being our storm window and protecting us from the elements. Our bedroom storm windows could learn from you!