29 March 2014

Thingsers

-Yesterday after work Chris and I started our new workout schedule. Tuesdays and Thursdays when I get home, we'll go to the track and get some exercise. I was tired after about 20 minutes and was glad when he said we should go because of lightning, but it felt good. I could literally feel some of the stress melting away. The pretty sunset didn't hurt, either.

-Day 2 of intensive cat door training. She is at the stage where she will go through if you hold it open, but hasn't figured out that she can push it with her head to achieve ultimate freedom. This is going to take some time. And constant diligence.

-Going to College Station today. I hope I poop before we head out.

-This little "Pending" note means we're a little bit closer. We seem to have stalled out at the appraisal part because someone, somewhere, is dragging their feet. Which does awesome things for my nerves.


27 March 2014

not a fan

I've been on Pinterest and HGTV lately getting ideas for future home & all that. There's some kickass stuff out there, but I keep seeing the same annoying things and I wonder if I'm the only one who thinks they're lame...

10 home decor trends I really don't like:

1. Chalkboard walls. Cute in theory, but in reality? Chicken scratch handwriting and chalk dust mess. No, thank you.

2. Accent walls. And by that, I mean one wall painted a different color than the rest. It's not an opportunity to use a bold color. It's just so... cliche. Now, give me a patterned wall and you're talking.

3. Collage/ Gallery walls. Like, the whole bunch of picture frames artfully arranged. I've just never been a fan.

4. Anything with pallets. They're trash. Don't decorate with them-- Burn the motherfuckers in your white trash fire pit and call it a party!

5. Destroyed books used for crafting a wreath or some crap. It hurts my book-heart a little bit.

6. Those sliding barn doors used indoors. Neat idea, but not for the kitchen. It's trying a little too hard to be creative and modern and instead ends up looking weird and unbalanced.

7. That tiny door from the garage into the pantry. Yeah, shove all your groceries into this little door, and put them away later. You know what would really happen? The groceries would stay in there, on the floor, until it was time to use them. Sometimes convenience is not really convenient.

8. Flour/sugar drawers. Even if they're covered, all I can think of is "Bug Buffet." Of course, I've had to deal with them before and maybe it's just my moth infestation PTSD.

9. Huge skylights. Great until a bunch of bird crap gets crusted on and the Texas summer heat beats down on them all day.

10. Industrial shelving. Meh. Not cool with the exposed pipe look- I want my home to look finished & not like they stopped building halfway.

Am I the only one? What home decor trends do you hate?

(Ash and Suze I'm talking to you since you're the only ones who read this)

15 March 2014

Our own

I have been having a lot of fun lately thinking about how I'm going to make our potential new house ours. Something about having the freedom to customize it exactly how I want it. It's essentially a blank slate. So many possibilities! I can do whatever I want! Thanks to pinterest, I've also seen a lot of budget-friendly diy ideas.

Most of my ideas involve the kitchen.

Right now I'm thinking of removing a few cabinet doors, at least the ones that are falling apart. Maybe I can switch some around. Then I saw this neat tutorial that involved staining them.


Also I saw a cute beadboard backsplash that would help marry the clean, modernish look with the traditional charm that I like.






Speaking of beadboard, there are some built-ins in the living room that might look adorable if I added it:


I'm also thinking that I might paint the pantry door a cute color like this, for a pop of color.


Or maybe I'll do some kind of stencil/pattern. Like this but on the outside of the door.




And I've already started thinking about making a cute coffee station on the small countertop that's next to the fridge. 


Also, how freaking adorable is this idea?


Basically, I just can't wait to get in there and start personalizing stuff. Sooo close!

10 March 2014

Gary

So last night I was woken up at about 2am by a ruckus in the living room.

Annoyed, I yelled for Pumpkin to stop it. The ruckus stopped.

It started again. Even more annoyed, I yelled, louder.

It did not stop. So I got up and walked into the living room.

And found a cat.

A cat that does not belong to me.

I said, a cat that does not belong to me. This meme came to mind.

So, I followed said cat through the house into the guest room, where it leisurely leapt out of the open window.

The open window that has made my sleep blissfully sound the past few months because Pumpkin can come and go as she pleases.

The open window which shall now have to be closed because Gary likes to go inside other people's houses. And spray. It stinks. Literally and figuratively.

For the record, we know this cat. This cat has been dubbed Gary. He likes to come hang around. He's friendly and has balls, obviously. And he likes to spray. GodFuckingDAMMIT.

We will be getting one of these in the near future, obviously.

08 March 2014

Family

While I'm waiting on the realtor to respond to my inquiry about closing costs before we sign a contract, I figured I'd talk about this topic.

Over the past few months, since Chris has been home, I've been asked by nearly every person I talk to: When are you going to have a baby/ get pregnant/ start a family/ Are you having kids?

It's always acquaintances, because the people that know us already know the answer.

We don't mind, except for the constant stream of it. I've come up with quite a few jokes and funny ways to respond with a definite NO. Most of the conversations go the same way: We explain that we have no desire to raise a child, and that yes we might change our minds one day but we don't see that happening.

Surprisingly, we've learned a lot about what other people's thoughts about children are, and how their own situations turned out.

At this point in our lives, I think it's a natural question for people to ask.

I can see, though, how it can be a difficult question to address. For example, I work with a girl that I went to school with and she has not started a family yet. The other day we were in the break room and someone asked her about it, and she nearly burst into tears because they've been trying for a long time with no luck. Such a simple question that turned out to be so loaded.

While we are quite happy with our little family of three (kitty included), and there are no future plans to add another (unless it's a dog), the constant inquiries are astounding. If we had an issue with it, it would be heartbreaking to answer that question all the time.

On a related note, I've got cupcakes that need decorating so we can take them over to sweet Calvin's 1st birthday party. I can't believe it's been a year since the little babe decided it was time to come hang out.



06 March 2014

impressions & stuff

Today, someone who doesn't know me assumed that I drive a minivan.

Clearly, I need to change something about my image if that's the impression I'm giving off.

Probably related-- Once again, my work wardrobe needs desperate updating. It's all fading and pilling, and looks just a little dumpy. I'm growing weary of ill-fitting pants. I have no black flats because they got destroyed in the mud one day. However, clothing is not exactly top on our list of spending priorities.

We've made another small step in the process of finding a place to live, but it's still frustrating and the sellers are being very difficult. I have no doubt the rest of the process will be just as rocky. Keep on truckin.

We haven't had a free weekend in a while. Every day we've been out and running around, socializing, traveling, etc. This weekend we've reserved Sunday with no plans. We're just going to do whatever we feel like; whether it be lazing around in pjs or being productive.

I'm hoping to get my garden started and get a few seedlings ready in egg cartons. I'm hoping that this past week was the last cold spell, but the way the weather's been I'm not sure. This year's garden will be planted exclusively in containers this year, because hopefully we'll be moving.

Oh, also we've hired someone really great to fill one of the holes at work. She won't start for another couple weeks, but we all had a chance to interview with her and I think she'll work perfectly with our team. 

Anyway, that's the way life's been lately.

05 March 2014

DIY Dinosaur Party Hats- tutorial

The other night we had a dinosaur party hat making party.

My nephew is turning 1 this weekend and his dinosaur-themed party just wouldn't be complete without dino party hats! We made them ourselves and they turned out SUPER cute.


Not pictured:
Start with a 12 x 12 piece of craft paper.
Trace a dinner plate (about 11 inches) and cut out the circles.
Cut spikes out of additional paper; appx 4 inches long.

Now for the pictures:

Cut the circles in half.



Curl the half-circles into cones.



Glue the dino spines onto the edge of the hat with hot glue.



Glue the edges down.



Trim the stuff that's hanging off.



Punch holes in the sides & tie on elastic.



Stick a label on the front.



Put one on and get ready to party!



02 March 2014

Lone Star Grand Prix

A few shots from this weekend: