Too Much

Ok, so I have a few weekends to cover here....

2011-03-27T23:07:00.000-05:00

Weekend of March 4 -
So we took Friday off. Why on a random chilly day would we do that, you ask....
Well, we had to go and pick out our new puppy. Yup, we're a 3 dog household now.

Meet Griffin:

He's about 5 months old and he's the most laid back puppy I've ever seen. Laid back to the tune of we have to wake him up to eat and go outside. We're smitten, we're in love, we think he's the best thing since beer. I feel sorry for all of you once we have kids b/c this guy is all we can talk about anymore - kids are a whole other level.

On Saturday and Sunday - it was rainy, cold, and wet. We learned that Mr. Giff doesn't really care for those conditions. Evidenced by the fact that he wouldn't actually go to the bathroom - that guy held it ALL day long. We know this b/c we were outside with him in the rain, cold, and wet ALL. day. long. 5 minutes inside and then 10 minutes outside. It was a LONG day. But eventually we won. And we haven't had an accident since....that wasn't our fault.

No Sunday movie. For no reason at all. I don't know why we skipped it.

Weekend of March 11 -
Mike came to town for a date on Friday night. Matt and I stayed home and watched TV.

SaturDAY started with puppy training class with Dogs and Kat. We've got a pit bull and we plan to turn around as many minds about this breed as possible -he has to be an ambassador for the breed which means a TON of training.
It was beautiful out so after training and a trip to Hot Diggity Dog for lunch, it was time for our all day drinking party. The first pretty Saturday of the year, you just have to spend it on a porch. So we started in our back yard and then we all headed over to Lester and Dooze's to finish out the evening.

Our Sunday Morning movie has just been completely forgotten about....that always seems to happen when Mike's in town. Instead we had another day of drinking on the porch. And we started another project - but that's a separate post.

Weekend of March 18 -
I have no idea what we did on Friday night. I'm pretty sure Sakah came over and we began the evening on the front porch. I dunno what we did for dinner - ordered in something, I'm sure.

SaturDAY - 2nd puppy training class and then came all the prep for Marchgiving. This was the biggest year yet.
Guest list included:
The Heads - brought the stuffing and the cranberry sauce
The Hawks - brought the rolls and the dessert
Sakah - brought the corn and green bean casseroles
Ronnie and Liz - brought the broccoli casserole
and Chris (who left Japan 18 hours before the quake hit) - he didn't have to bring anything.
Matt and I supplied the turkey, sweet potato casserole and mashed potatoes.

Marchgiving was a success and I know this b/c I have only one picture (of the food) and had a clogged kitchen sink once it was all said and done. The dishes weren't done until Sunday night. Maybe I'll upload the picture later....but probably not.

SunDAY - No Sunday morning movie. Chris stayed with us and since we didn't have any clean dishes (all were used for the Marchgiving festivities,) we went for coffee and breakfast at Ugly Mugs. About 3 blocks down the street.
RotoRooter was waiting in our driveway when we got back. After telling us they wanted $350 to snake the drain - we said - uh, no thank you. And Arthur the Plumber (our regular Harley riding, pony tail having plumber) made an appearance later in the afternoon. By that time, Sam had made his way over and the 4 of us were on the front porch again with a game of "bags" and some beer. The perfect way to spend a Sunday.

And finally, this weekend -
Friday - we took a half day to get some life insurance and have our taxes done. Grown up stuff. Turns out we had to put off the taxes but we did get some life insurance.

SaturDAY - puppy training and then Gabby's Burgers - Oh. My. God. Awesome. So awesome that we had to come home and take a nap. Plus it was cold and rainy outside - so we spent the rest of the afternoon and evening on the couch watching basketball and planning our vegetable garden.

SunDAY - No Sunday morning movie - we had to go to puppy play time. Our trainer also does puppy play sessions so that the little guy will learn to play well with others. The added benefit is that it wears his little ass out and he sleeps for 2 days afterwords.
We (Griff in tow) headed to Lebanon to get our taxes done - Jimmy Bowen is our tax man. He's also a musician. Jimmy Bowen and Santa Fe He tours and stuff - but not during tax season.
We hit the Home Depot on the way home. $200 later - we're home and watching NPT learning about Buddhism.

Now you're up to date -
See you family humans in a few weeks in New Madrid. We're bringing Mr. Griff so everyone can meet him and so we can get some extra points on the socialization contest our trainer is having. We're gonna WIN!

This Weekend - one week late.

2011-03-05T23:41:00.000-06:00

Sakah made it official!
Mike showed up Friday afternoon since he was the "preacher" for the affair.
Matt was a groomsman and I just hung out the whole weekend.

Friday night - The Un-Rehearsal dinner at Daniel's house in Franklin. Not a bit of rehearsing but a ton of eating and drinking.

SaturDay - Matt went to work early his first Saturday of work since Sears. Mike and I hit Pucketts Grocery with Sam, Steve, and Lisa for brunch. Highly recommend. Bloody Mary's and biscuits and gravy are the perfect start to any day. Matt met us there around 11a then we went home took a nap and got ready for the wedding.


Mike and Matt doing "the Lenor."

Matt was NOT into getting his picture taken...PUNK.

Saturday Night - The wedding went off without a hitch, the food was good, and the party was awesome.

Lester and Dooze.

And Dez. Was the perfect gentleman - slept through almost the whole reception.

Steve and Lisa. Lisa was the DD - love her for that.

They weren't so sure about the champagne punch.

So the only thing to do in a situation like that is drink it like a shot.

A toast straight from Steve's wedding week: "Here's to fires, not the ones that bring down shacks and shanties, but the ones that bring down pants and panties."

Down the hatch.

Apparently Mike and Sam didn't get the memo about shooting the champagne punch.

Steve and I did and we promptly called them both Pusoirs (said poo-swah - French for pussy.)

And then we were proud of ourselves....

And then we were proud of Sam.

The last shot of any night that the 4 of us are together at an event....for the last 3-4 years.

After this we hit the road with to-go cups of soda - for the Jack Daniels that was waiting in the car. By the time we made it back to Nashville, I was done. Sleeping on the bathroom floor - done. Great party.

SunDay - no movie of the week today. Since Mike was camped out on the couch, I couldn't live there all day. Someone made the suggestion that we all have a Bloody Mary - and we did....All. Day. Long. Sakah came over about 3p and we talked about the wedding over "brunch" at Mad Donna's.


Back on the front porch, Mike and I continued to celebrate the nuptials.....while Matt -


pretended to be a grown up and drank water on the couch until dinner time.

We wrapped up the weekend with a nice greasy dinner at Batter'd and Fried, again with Sakah. It was a perfect wedding weekend, if I do say so myself.

This Weekend

2011-02-18T16:36:00.002-06:00

Better late than never, right?
Friday night - I worked out and then drank wine.

Saturday - I worked out again - wahoo - go me! Then we did a quick truck trade with Steve so that we could pick up some room dividers that I was taking from work. Not sure yet what I'll be doing with them - maybe a head board of some sort??

Saturday Night - we had dirty Mexican dinner with Sakah. The thing about dirty Mexican is that if they ask if you want a big beer, you have to say yes, it's practically state law. But do you really want the big beer - NO, hell no you don't want the big beer b/c mixing the big beer with beans and rice is a BAD idea. No one's stomach is built to hold that much substance. No one.

Damn you Big Beer - I love and I hate you.
Sunday - We did have our Sunday morning movie:
Taken

It was good. There is one line where he talks about his "specific set of skills" that makes the whole movie.

It was more than beautiful outside and since I'd gorged myself the night before - we had to get out and do something. Matt pulled the bikes out of the shed and we took a ride over to a guy's house to look at a rug. And the rug was awesome. We bought it. (Does that count as working on the house?)
It's currently living in Living Room 2. The old rug was too small and this one is perfect. It's an 8 x 10 West Elm rug that we scored for $140. You can't beat that with a stick.

The old rug is just a little small and doesn't really match anything - got her from Craig for $40 so while worth it, she's not quite what we want in this room. Never fear, she will soon live in the front room upstairs where she matches and will feel much more at home.

And here's the new guy:

He's chocolate brown and big and beautiful. And sooo thick. He came from a home with a dog and a baby and the puppies are having a field day scratching and licking and pulling at the rug trying to find said dog and baby b/c they smell them. A little strategically placed red pepper has hopefully fixed the issue.

We drank Mimosa's with Morning Glory juice which is a blend of pure sunshine and rainbows. Awesome. While I vacuumed the new rug (outside on the front porch,) Matt got sucked into a John Cusak movie on TV.

Seredipity

Who doesn't love a good and sappy John Cusak movie. There was no rain in this one though - there was snow.

We finished the weekend with the Grammys.
Lady Gaga, Lady Antebellum, Eminem, Mumford and Sons, Avett Brothers. Love them all. Period.

Food, Inc

2011-02-14T16:36:00.000-06:00

I've been interested in my food origins for about the last year now. I quit buying and cooking chicken about 2-3 years ago, partly because I gave it up for Lent and never recovered and partly because I had heard the rumors about how chickens were raised and I wasn't comfortable with it.
Matt and I have been talking about buying a freezer and "buying a cow" for about a year now. I've been reading the Omnivore's Dilemma. Needless to say, I've been interested in where my food comes from for a while now. I just never made the effort do something about it. I preferred to ignore the thoughts in my head and keep going to the grocery paying more attention to price that quality.

Well, I watched Food Inc. and now it's worth the time and money to me to make the change. I've made friends with the Turnip Truck, our local organic grocery store. And yes, it is more expensive but until I get my garden growing and my freezer and my grass fed cow - it's where I'll be going.

So for now, we're on the hunt for a chest freezer, a CSA, and a cow. Click that link to find your own CSA.

This Weekend

2011-02-08T12:36:00.000-06:00

I think we're just over the house stuff. This was another weekend of no house/reno stuff, just normal stuff.

Last week was longer than it should have been for both of us...so I hit the couch on Friday night and promptly began my Wine Haze while Matt continued his scrubbing of every surface of the bike.

Saturday we lounged around the house, ate more HOT chicken, Matt worked on the bike somemore, and I had a documentary day of movies and monthly menu planning.
Blood Into Wine

We were most interested in this because we're Maynard fans, the man sings like he's from Heaven. This probably wouldn't have been as interesting to us if not for that....and the fact that I like to drink wine. I was also glad to know the story behind his wine named Judith - it made him more real to me.

The Business of Being Born

Since kids are a future endeavor for us, this was an interesting take on labor and delivery. I think I may be a hippie.

And finally, Food Inc.

Ok, I'm definitely a hippie. This one deserves it's own post for all the changes that we're making due to it. Maybe I'll get to that later this week.

Sunday was spent grocery shopping and cooking and eating and SuperBowling at the Sunday Ryan household. Saw Vince and met Jordan of MONA while there. If you haven't checked them out, then do. Ms. Ryan has dubbed me a superfan and I kind of love them.
Anyway, we watched the game, ate too much food, and then went home to bed. Unfortunately, we missed our Suday morning movie this week.

$200k - HA!

2011-02-05T14:59:00.038-06:00

HA! I say! I laugh in the face of $200k.

If you pay attention to the sidebar on this blog you will notice that the amount of money we're saving is totally different. And by totally different - I really mean double.
*Hint - it's listed in my profile info.*

What led to that drastic change was a meeting with this lady: Lynn Taylor
She is a pseudo architect that has a bajillion years of experience with old houses. And we spent almost 2 hours walking through our house and talking about all the stuff that's floating around in our heads.

Good News -
What we want to do inside is completely doable.
Bad News -
We don't think we can change the front of the house b/c we're in a historical conservation overlay - boo.
This means that this:

May not be possible. The front of a house is sacred in historical overlay land.
Poops.

And then there's the bottom line - we've got a LOT of saving to do, otherwise none of it really matters.

Monthly Menu Planning

2011-02-03T14:59:00.002-06:00

So I was doing some Googling around ....
Sidebar - don't you love that Google has become a verb. Matt even says he googles his iTumes library now. No really - that actually happened.
Anyway - on my Google trip the other day, I found this.
Monthly menu planning = interesting.

I don't know if I have the cojones to try it.

Pepperfire Chicken

2011-02-02T14:31:00.025-06:00

As part of my hangover cure on Sunday, something fried totally fit the bill.
On our way home from running errands - we passed Pepperfire Chicken. If you don't know, hot chicken is kindof our thing here in Nashville.
For me it was like all those tourist attractions in town, like 2nd Avenue. Something that I know the tourists do but I steer clear of....until now.
While you won't be seeing me on 2nd Ave. anytime soon, you will find me back at Pepperfire Chicken. It has both qualities I find non-negotiable:

It's really effing good.
It's on the East Side.

I'm no restaurant critic so I'll let the Nashville Scene do the talking:
http://www.nashvillescene.com/bites/archives/2010/11/19/fire-in-the-hole-pepperfire-spiced-chicken-opens-on-gallatin-pike
And Yelp has always helped me out when it comes to reviews:
http://www.yelp.com/biz/pepperfire-nashville

And since my family are the only ones that read this little dittty - let me know next time you're in town and we'll go together.

This Weekend

2011-02-01T13:30:00.001-06:00

What we did:
The normal stuff and none of the reno stuff.

Friday night - we went to see Dooze and Lester, Sakah came too.
SaturDay and night - we watched a movie: Beer Wars

Kinda slow and everyone HATES Anheuser Busch.
Then Matt researched the restoration of his 1960s Hornet bike, and I went to Sarah Qs for a girls night in. I had a pregnant DD and that means trouble in my world.

SunDay and night - I was HUNGOVER which means I aimlessly followed Matt around while he went gather supplies for Hornet restoration and then I camped out with Grey's Anatomy Season 5.
Oh yea, and the Sunday morning movie was: CouplesRetreat

Pretty funny. I laughed out loud a couple of times. A little slow towards the end but mindlessly funny, which is exactly what you need when you're HUNGOVER.

So no house progress but Matt is gonna have an awesome bike when he gets done. And maybe someday I'll stop getting hungover so I can actually do a project or two.

Simple and Awesome Recipe

2011-01-28T16:12:00.001-06:00

I tried a bunch of different recipes this past week. Sloppy joes, Chili with pumpkin in it, hummus, Beef stew with beer and paprika....I'm back to menu planning if you couldn't tell.

But by far the best one from last week was the quickest and easiest:
Broiled Salmon with Peppercorn Lime Rub and Quinoa salad.

This really took 30 minutes - actually 30 minutes, not like Rachel Ray 30 minutes where it takes her 30 minutes and the rest of us an hour.

If you like salmon, try this one. It's too easy not to try.

From Cooking Light:
Salmon:
Salmon fillets (I used 3 fillets.)
cooking spray
2 teaspoons grated lime rind
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper
1 clove minced garlic
**I didn't measure any of that stuff and eyed it all. That's just how I roll in the kitchen.**

Quinoa Salad:
1 1/3 cup chicken broth
3/4 cup uncooked quinoa
1 chopped zucchini
1 bell pepper (or red pepper/yellow pepper, whatever you've got around)
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper

Salmon:
Preheat boiler.
Place fish on broiler pan sprayed with cooking spray - skin side down. Combine remaining ingredients, sprinkle over fish. broil 7 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork.

Quinoa:
Combine chicken broth and quinoa in medium saucepan, bring to boil. Cover and simmer 12 minutes or until liquid is almost absorbed. Stir in chopped zucchini and pepper. Cover and cook 5 more minutes or until liquid is fully absorbed. Remove from heat and stir in extra virgin olive oil, salt, and pepper.

Menu Planning

2011-01-26T16:13:00.001-06:00

Even though it's not really a resolution, I plan to get better this year about my menu planning.
I've always been pretty good about planning dinners through out the week but lately I've been slipping and Italia now knows Matt on a first name basis - so much so that the delivery guy even brings a black pen for him b/c he won't sign the credit card slip in blue.

We need to make a change to say the least.

So my plan involves a magnetic calendar and a list. Of course a list, I am Sue's daughter.... list maker extraordinaire.

Normally, I try to plan one week at a time. I'm hoping this calendar will keep me better organized so I can get 2 weeks planned.
Maybe I'll even be able to start shopping sales - what? I'm never that organized...Never.

Wish me luck - I'll let you know how it goes.

This Weekend

2011-01-24T18:30:00.001-06:00

Nothing exciting happened.
We didn't start any projects...unless you count laundry as a project??

We did have a great sushi dinner with Sakah at Watanabe. Ate way too much and spent waay too much. We get pretty excited about eating out and that doesn't really do good things for the bank account.

We also watched a couple of movies - The Future of Food.

This movie made me even more anxious to start my garden and it made me want to buy a cow and raise chickens. Genetically engineered food - it's a little scary.
Although, I will say that I would have liked the movie to give more informaiton about why some believe genetically engineered food is a good thing.

And our weekly Sunday morning movie was Inglourious Basterds.

This was a Quentin Tatantino film and you could tell. Check it out on IMBD from the link above. We'd heard mixed reviews from others but it was our style and we both really liked it. But then again Matt LOVES anything with Brad Pitt in it - he has a slight man crush.

The best way to eat vegetables

2011-01-23T01:38:00.003-06:00

I've never had a sloppy joe before. I remember them from grade school lunches - a pile of orangey red mushy meat food on a hamburger bun. Eww.
I ran across a recipe for sloppy joes - nary a can of Manwich in site so I thought I'd give it a try.

It started something like this:

Yep, those are carrots. Grated carrots...in sloppy joes?! Yep, this recipe started with diced onion, grated carrots and minced garlic.

For my first go around with sloppy joes, I wasn't disappointed but I have nothing to compare at this point. I'll definitely keep this in my stash for picky eaters in the future....this is a great way to hide some veggies. Once you add the tomatoes, the carrots disappear.

I think for Matt and I though, the next time I make this recipe, I'll pour it over noodles and call it spaghetti.

Here's the recipe for ya:
From Martha Stewart.
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 carrots, coarsely grated (2 cups)
1 medium onion, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
Coarse salt and ground pepper
3 tablespoons tomato paste
3/4 pound ground turkey (93% lean, dark meat) (I used 1lb)
1 can (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes
2 tablespoons dark-brown sugar
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
4 whole-wheat hamburger rolls, split

In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium; add carrots, onion, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 4 to 5 minutes.

Add tomato paste and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add turkey; cook, breaking up meat with a spoon, until no longer pink, 4 to 5 minutes.

Add tomatoes, sugar, vinegar, and Worcestershire sauce. Cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, 12 to 14 minutes. Serve on whole-wheat rolls.

House Tour

2011-01-20T13:16:00.000-06:00

Because our house is one big circle and mighty confusing if you don't live here (so I've been told,) I thought a pictoral house tour may help.
I'm only including the dowstairs since we don't live upstairs yet.
Let's start at the front, shall we?
We come in the front door:

Turn to the left, through a doorway and enter the living room:

Walk behind the loveseat to see the rest of the room and down the looong hall way type situation:

Let's walk through that door way - and you'll find my "closet" and where I'm supposed to work out:

We'll continue down the "hallway situation":

The door way to the left in the above picture is the master bedroom:

The doorway to the right in the master bedroom is the master bath which is dirty and I'm not showing you. Privacy, please.

The doorway at the end of the loong hallway situation is the laundry room and my shoe closet:

Now, lets go back to the front of the house and come in the front door again:

This time we're turning to the right and through another doorway:

Step into the room and look down another looong hallway type situation:

Let's walk through this door way and find the dining room:

Continue down the "hallway situation" to this:

Through the door on the right is the downstairs bathroom:

And through the door on the left is a cut through to the other hallway, the one with the red runner just past the room with my closet and workout gear, and a door to the creepy, flooding basement. No picture necessary, not really much to look at.

Past the bathroom door is the breakfast area, where the "china cabinet" lives, which you cannot see in this picture:

At the very back of the house through the last doorway down the looong "hallway situation" is the kitchen:

I called all the walkways "hallway situations" b/c all it really is a walk through a bunch of rooms. I've left out the stairway doors (one in the landry room and one in the workout room) since we're not visiting the upstairs today. It's much too cold up there, we only keep the heat set to 45 degrees since we don't live up there yet.

So there you have it, a tour of the Ringger Hudson Compound. Hopefully, this will help you follow along when we start making changes and I start talking about where the new kitchen, new dining room, new living room, etc will live.

Other Furniture We've Acquired

2011-01-19T18:36:00.002-06:00

Over the past few months we've been fortunate to acquire some new pieces of furniture from my Dad's side of the family.
A buffet and the clock sitting in the middle of it:

Currently residing in the odd little aside to the living room that we don't know what to do with.

Another buffet and hutch - you might call this a china cabinet except we don't have any china:

Currently residing in the breakfast area, where we never have breakfast....or any other meal for that matter.

Dining table:

This table will unfold and we have leaf for it too - perfect for Thanksgiving dinners....except that I don't cook Thanksgiving dinners. Cooking turkey scares me.
It currently resides in the breakfast area, keeping the "china cabinet" company.
Bonus points if you can spot the puppy in my picture.

And every great table needs chairs:

We have 5 of these and 1 with arms. They currently reside in the dining room with the big table we found on Craig's List for $75, b/c the Craig's List table will not fold down like the inherited one.

We're very thankful to have this furniture from the family and with some of my own history. Bonus that it's pretty and in great shape.

This is what happens -

2011-01-17T22:04:00.002-06:00

What happens when you have nothing in the fridge and you haven't menu planned in months?

This is what happens:

Pepperoni pizza rolls.

Honey ham and cheddar cheese pinwheels.

Hors d'oeurvres for dinner - that's what happens. Nary a fruit or vegetable in site - nothing but carbs and cheese here folks.

One Fantastic Wardrobe

2011-01-17T13:15:00.003-06:00

I've been living closet-less since we moved in - September 26, 2009.
That's a long time for a clothes horse like me to fold and stuff every piece of clothing I own into my 5 drawer dresser. Not good times people, not good times.

Enter this wardrobe.

She's beautiful and I kind of love her. Matt and I carried her into the house from 3 houses down the street on a 2 wheeler, dodging traffic and cracks in the sidewalk one Saturday afternoon. Hilarity.

This inside left something to be desired:

So we did something about it.
Some batting, fabric, trim, a staple gun and glue gun later - my love now looks like this:

How freakin' awesome is THAT!

2011 Resolutions

2011-01-15T13:39:00.001-06:00

There are a ton of things that we need to get going for the house but there are also some things that I'd like to accomplish this year for myself.
I'm writing them down so hopefully that will keep me accountable.

Work Out -
No really. I always start and I always stop, for no good reason. Unless you count wine as a good reason. This year my goal is to consistently work out for 9 months of the year.

Read More -
Matt gifted me a Kindle for Christmas. I highly recommend one. It even has Matt reading for pleasure now - no ordinary feat when a brand new, shiny Wii is also available.
Now there is no reason not to read - I don't have to go anywhere to get new material.

Begin to learn Portuguese -
Matt's family is from Brazil. Everyone but the grandkids can speak it fluently and Matt can understand it - he could speak when he was younger but lost it.
I asked for Santa (Mom & Dad) to bring me Rosetta Stone for Christmas. I'm looking at Level 1 right now. Here's hoping I can make it through.

Make family and "family" a priority -
Matt and I have been pretty lax about seeing the family on both sides lately. We should/need to fix that. He doesn't know it yet but this is one of our shared goals for the year.
And with the changes going on with the "family" (tight group of friends,) like the Vecchiomistersons having a kid, Sakah getting hitched, Mike being in Columbus, and the rest of us being lazy about making it a priority - we don't see each other very much.
We need to get better about seeing the important people.

I realize I could probably go on and on and on....but I'm trying to be realistic here.

Not So Fun Must Do House List for 2011

2011-01-14T17:50:00.000-06:00

There will be no fun, pretty, before and after shots of this stuff.
It's just down and dirty must-be-done maintenance for an old ass house.
We're planning to it all ourselves except the tree tending.
Matt and pole saw = Very Bad Idea.

Insulation in basement and attic.
Clean the outside of the windows (there are over 30 windows in our house.)
Install the attic door
Seed the lawn
Have trees tended (they're getting more and more top heavy)
Continue to clean out the basement
Fill gaps in the basement foundation and walls
Test for radon.

Fun Before and After House List for 2011

2011-01-14T14:30:00.004-06:00

In the last few months we've been discussing the big reno, how to pay for the big reno, and what we can do now that won't seem wasteful when the big reno comes around but still will turn this house into OUR house.
Here's the plan:

PAINT. Paint. And more paint. The next room on our list is the bedroom downstairs, currently the master.

But we're only painting the downstairs b/c we live down there and it just doesn't make sense to waste energy and time on rooms we never see.
Hallways, the laundry room, the breakfast area...there are plenty of rooms still left down here.

Plant a garden. Brown thumb and all, this year we're planting a vegetable garden. Raised beds on the side of the house that won't be touched by any reno at all.
It's all about the accessories kiddos. Even though we have a millions rooms, every room has a purpose and we should change the decor to fit that purpose.

I know that doesn't seem like much of a list but it really is b/c with all that paint comes a ton of prep, putty, sanding, trim, etc. That first bullet up there is gonna be quite a doozy!

Insulation and other Sundry Items

2011-01-12T18:18:00.002-06:00

Here in TN, we're in the middle of Snowpacolypse 2011.
This means a few things:

I left work before dark. Before all that slush on the roads was able to freeze again.
I was able to see my roof, during the snow, in the daylight.
There is nary a gallon of milk, loaf of bread, or dozen eggs to be found in this city right now.

While outside watching the dogs, run around and try to figure out what the hell this stuff is, I was able to get some pictures of our roof.
This is what it looks like now:

I am not tall enough to get a better shot unless I go across the street - NOT happening.
Anywhoo, see all those visible shingles up there, the ones that aren't covered in snow. Not good, not good at all.
This is what the roof should look like.
Witness my neighbor's roof:

Obviously, my yard has a better view of their roof.

Since we don't allow it to get above 40 degrees upstairs in the winter (gas heat is expensive,) I'd be willing to bet that if we did, there wouldn't a flake one up top.

Pretty sure - this means insulation in the attic will come BEFORE the big reno and insulation in the walls (there isn't any in there either.)
I think this is one that we can handle ourselves too....Famous last words.

Shop It To Me

2011-01-11T13:41:00.002-06:00

Shop It To Me is this fabulous website that will sends me an email when items I might like go on sale.
So far, they've been very helpful....until today.

In what world would I actually wear this and in what universe would I be able to afford it:
$669.20
I think they've lost their minds.

The Big Reno Plan

2011-01-11T09:00:00.007-06:00

On the outside, we want to go from this:

To this:

Extend the roof line, giving us a covered deck upstairs. We're also planning to extend the porch and the roof over the porch around each side of the house to give access to the doors that are/will be on the sides of the house.

The interior will go through a complete over haul as well. There are too many walls in this house and we plan to knock some down. It's a work in progress but once complete I will share.

Now we just need to save about $200k so we can make all this happen. Top Ramen at every meal for the next 20 years should do it.

I'm so lucky - no really, I am.

2011-01-10T18:17:00.001-06:00

I'm sitting here at the computer - right now.
Matt is on the couch playing Mario on the Wii b/c even though he beat it, he didn't find all the big coins - Heaven forbid.

Anyway, back to the point -
In between yelling obscenities like, "Sonuvadick" (yes, he really just said that,) he says to me,
"I love you Ringgy. Do I tell you that enough?"
Love this guy:

On another note - I've set up some stuff to automatically post over the next few days so they may seem really random since I did them stream of conscious like and my conscious is not linear.
Hope it all makes sense - just ask if it doesn't.

Before and Afters

2011-01-10T13:36:00.005-06:00

The rooms that we've completed are the living room, office, dining room, bathroom, foyer, and kitchen.
We're only documented two of those rooms here (the bathroom and foyer) and I think it's about time I changed that.
Because everyone loves a good before and after picture, here are ours.
Living Room - Before:

Curtains that aren't long enough or lined. Yellow walls. Spackle and putty spots all over the walls.

And After:

We kept the couches, unfortunately. They're just too comfortable to give up right now. We painted the walls builder beige and the ceiling a shimmery brown. New lined curtains and pictures are on the walls.

Office - Before:

This is the day we moved in. Nothing much to report here. Some more trim to patch from the old HVAC and more yellow walls. Hooray.

And After:

We painted the stripes with the same paint from the ceiling of the living room since they are adjacent to one another. Still need a new rug and curtains but for now, we're calling it done.

Dining Room - Before:

Those damn yellow walls were everywhere plus more trim patching from old HVAC and termite damage. This room shows the most dramatic change but was also the most work.

After:

New light fixture, new paint, added wanescotting up two thirds of the wall with a picture rail topping it off, and crown molding underneath. Plus new curtains. I'm not completely pleased with the curtain rod length or the tablecloth but from where we've come - this is my favorite room in the house now.

Kitchen - Before:

This room is entirely new in this photo. Remember there was no kitchen when we moved in. In this photo, we've already added knobs to the cabinets but our new fridge hasn't been delivered yet.

After:

We added a copper back splash, painted the walls chocolate brown, rearranged some of the counter top appliances, added shelving, and one behemoth of a fridge. I'm still on the hunt for curtains.

Now you've seen everything that's worth taking a picture of - soon (hopefully) we'll be before and aftering the bedroom.

2010 - What you may have missed.

2011-01-08T23:27:00.000-06:00

Everyone knows we got hitched in 2010.
Here's what you may have missed:

We went on our HoneyMoon. Antigua. And learned that the correct way to say Antigua is AN-tee-ga.

We went on our annual "family" camping and cabrewing trip to the Elk River. Yes, I do have a swimsuit on, it's a bandeau top - no tan lines on the shoulders, please.

Those tan shoulders came in handy when I wore a strapless dress to a wedding. We felt much too hip to not have a picture from the evening.

The basement flooded and flooded again. Homer buckets from Home Depot and a Shop Vac came in handy. We're saving money so that we can correct the problem.

We bought some pretty awesome furniture. The buffet came from an estate sale and the wardrobe was on the side of Eastland Ave with a "For Sale" sign taped to the front. Score!

We went on our annual "family" vacation to Mexico Beach, Florida. And promised that no pictures of humans would be taken since none of us were feeling beach body ready.

And the last couple of weeks of the year included: an all day drinking party courtesy of Lester and Dooze, Matt having a cold for the first time in 3 years, and a New Year's Eve spent on the couch watching a movie.
I haven't had my camera out of its case since Florida. Seriously.

Here's to 2011 - saving money and making some color and design choices for the rest of those yellow rooms.

Bad Blogger, Bad.

2011-01-08T18:04:00.000-06:00

I know, I know.
I've said this before but I really mean it this time - I will get better about updating this thing.
Maybe sometime before the end of this year, I'll give you some honey moon pictures, and maybe not. There weren't that exciting anyway - you aren't missing much. Promise.

We do plan to get on some house renovating soon though and that will require some pictures.
Current master bedroom is up next. We're even planning to build our own bed.
This should be interesting.

But up next (once my slow internet connection uploads all my pictures) there will be some living room, office, dining room, and kitchen photos.

Birthday Breakfast

2010-09-19T12:12:00.000-05:00

So far 30 is looking really good.

The 4 Runner

2010-09-11T16:12:00.000-05:00

I know I promised honey moon pictures for my next post and instead you got a rant.
Well, guess what - you're about to get another one. Deal with it.

Let's start at the beginning:

I bought a car. Cash. 1999 Toyota 4Runner Limited. Right price, right miles. Mechanic checked. Loved it. Bought it on 7/14/10.
Plan to drive 4Runner to Florida for family vacation. Took to mechanic for a trip check and oil change. Let's be doubly sure that the car will make it there and back without a problem. All checked out beautifully. Just needed a new air filter. 8/26/10.
Drive 4Runner to Florida on 8/27/10. Drive 4Runner the entire week in Florida, to and from, short trips, trips as long as 30 minutes - normal daily driving.
Pack it up and get ready to drive back home to TN. 9/4/10
7 miles from the house. Count them. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. SEVEN MILES into the trip home an invisible robot jumps out in front of us...at least that's what it sounded like we had run over when we threw a rod through the left side of the engine block.
Promptly pull over, call Triple A and wait for an hour and a half for a tow truck. Tow the now obsolete 4 Runner back to the beach house.
Go to UHaul and rent a car hauler.
Promise Mike our first born son so that he will tow us back to Nashville.
Drink ourselves into oblivion.
Ride 5 deep (+ dog) in Mike's extended cab truck for 10 hours to drop 4 Runner off at mechanic. 9/5/10

Moral of the Story - Watch out for invisible robots - they will screw you into buying a new engine to the tune of $6k.
Happy Vacation.

Pop of Color

2010-08-27T11:40:00.000-05:00

This is just a rant. No pictures. Nothing about my life at all so you may wanna skip this one.
I HATE THE PHRASE "just adds the perfect pop of color." As in, "These throw pillows just add the perfect pop of color to the space."
Hate. Hate. Hate. If I hear/read it one more time, I might have a postal melt down.

I read a ton of home improvement and decorating blogs. I pull ideas from here and there and I am SO over the pops of color that everyone keeps using in their rooms. Seriously. Could you just say "this colorful throw pillow" already instead of popping freaking color everywhere.

Ugh.

A Wedding Re-Cap

2010-08-24T20:26:00.000-05:00

I know it's been a few months.
But here are a few of my faves:
Before the ceremony.

Doesn't he just look so debonair?

Yes, that is me writing my vows about 45 minutes before the ceremony.

The Ceremony.

We hadn't seen each other since about 2p that afternoon....when we were drinking beer on the front porch watching Nashville Electric Service figure out why, oh why, we had no electricity. That was fun.

Where is she?

Well, how do I look?

We took pics together after the ceremony b/c Matt didn't want to see me before. It's bad luck, afterall.

I am seriously excited about something....maybe it's the fact that we're freshly married??

My Gawd. I. LOVE. THOSE. SHOES.

And by God, there was dancing!!

And a wardrobe change, for me at least.

The kick ass band: Space Capone.

And finally, how about a Krystal to finish the night:

Next post - some of the scenic honeymoon pictures.

July 4th - I knew we were meant to be.

2010-08-22T21:40:00.000-05:00

Every year we celebrate Matt's birthday for an entire week. It's his only opportunity to run around and do nothing. Lest you forget that he does nothing and ask him to do something such as feed the dogs you'll get a swift, "IT'S MY BIRFDAY!"
We always throw an Annual Celebration of Matt's Birth Party on July 3rd even though his actual day is July 4th.
And every year we go to our buddies Steve and Lisa's house. They live on 3rd Ave with a rooftop deck, perfect for watching the downtown fireworks.
I have no pictures of either except the following:

One might wonder why we have American flags stuck to our foreheads...
Turns out we each, independent of the other, grabbed a flag as we were leaving and both stuck them to our forehead.
And that is how I knew we were meant. to. be.

This post is just for Aunt Sally and Karen Ann - I know, I know, it's been a while.
I need to update. I have pictures from the wedding, pictures from the honeymoon, pictures of house progress. Although the house progress has been non-existent since the wedding. We're taking the summer off.
I can show you where we were and where we are though.
It's coming, it's coming. Keep your pants on!

We Did It!!

2010-05-24T16:24:00.002-05:00

I had an amazing time. Matt had an amazing time.
And if everyone isn't lying to us - they all did too.

I don't know how many that were there will check this blog now, but if you do - Thank you for coming and making our day!
If you have pictures, I'd love to have some copies.

Sarah B. Gilliam has some pics up on her blog. Please pay no attention to my man-hands in the ring shot.
Thank you Sarah, Sara Beth, and Melissa - it was great fun!
http://sarahbgilliamphotography.blogspot.com/2010/05/laura-matts-show-at-cannery-ballroom.html
http://sarahbgilliamphotography.blogspot.com/2010/05/ringger-hudson-review.html

A real blog update about the house progress, complete with pictures will be coming soon.
And now....
Back to regularly scheduled programming (life, just a little sweeter.)

P.S. I was thinking that I'd change my first name to Ringger to avoid confusion...

Volunteer State

2010-05-11T13:51:00.002-05:00

I'm so proud of Matt. Usually I'm the one that takes care of our charitable causes but not this time.
Matt made the decision last week that we do in fact have the time to volunteer. There is no reason that we shouldn't. We're young, able-bodied, and our house is fine.
On Sunday, we headed over to ArtHouse, the East Nashville volunteer epicenter, to give some time. We were sent to a house on Moss Rose which backs right up to the Cumberland. I cannot even describe the war zone that we drove into.
The houses were spray painted with "X"s from being checked for humans.
The roads and grass were covered in dirt from the river being over them and then receding.
All the houses were being demoed: carpet pulled out, drywall cut out from belly button level down, kitchen cabinets gone, bathroom cabinets and sink torn out, couches, chairs, cushions, mattresses, TVs - All thrown into the front yards to be picked up by Metro garbage pickup.
Matt got a couple of pictures but even these don't really show the severity of their situation.

This is the front part of the yard.

The remainder of the yard all the way up to the house is covered in stuff to be taken to the dump.

Obviously, Matt was moving when he took this picture but you can get the idea. The back yard of this house was the Cumberland River. Water made it half way up the walls inside the house.

We're still on the water conservation effort. Both Davidson and Williamson counties are running off of one water treatment plant...which means showering every other day at the most, only unmentionables in the laundry, no shaving, and really adhering to the hippie saying, "If it's yellow, let it mellow. If it's brown, flush it down." The word on the street is that we'll have to continue for at least another week and possibly longer.

"Flood beards" like this are popping up all over town.

Nashville Floods.

2010-05-05T10:39:00.002-05:00

It's serious here. People are dead and I bet much of the nation has no idea what's going on b/c there is no national coverage.

This article says it best:
http://www.section303.com/we-are-nashville-4366

Here is a link to some photos:
http://www.wkrn.com/global/story.asp?s=12409920
And here:
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/05/flooding_in_tennessee.html?camp=localsearch:on:twit:bigpic

Matt and I came out fine with just some basement flooding. Nothing a few 5 gallon buckets, a shop vac, and some heavy lifting couldn't cure. Our biggest problem right now is the mandate to cut water usage by 50%. Small potatoes when others have lost their homes, their cars, their loved ones.
I know at least 2 people personally that lost their homes and are now in search of another.

Keep Nashville in your thoughts and if you have an opportunity to volunteer or give to the RedCross, please do so.

In other wedding related news, the Hampton Inn on 4th and Korean Veterans made it through without any damage that I know of...The water did make it up to 5th Ave. but downtown is a bowl and Korean Vets is on the upper edge of the bowl. If anyone went another direction and booked the Hilton downtown on 5th, they will be closed indefinitely. Let me know if you need other options.

See you in a couple weeks.
--Laura

Work, work, work.

2010-04-19T23:21:00.001-05:00

That's all we're doing lately...so much so that I cannot find the time to update this little window into our lives.
I can't even find to take the pictures of the finished product BUT what I do have are pictures of the work in progress.
Enjoy.

Living Room 1 - Before.

Yellow paint - same color as the rest of the house.

Someone got a crazy good deal on yellow paint.

Dining Room.

I think the vacuum cleaner and pile of randomness really set this room off.

Quick - Someone call HGTV, we've got a genius interior to show off here.

I don't have any before pics of Living Room 2 but you can get a little taste from this post.

And now the fun photos of exactly why it's taking over 3 months to get through only 5 rooms:

All that pink stuff is caulk. After caulk dries, you get to sand, and clean, and then clean some more.

That dust you see isn't on my camera lens, it's floating in the air.

Note the dust mask Matt's wearing - Safety First.

The pictures I've left out are the ones showing the cracks and holes in the walls that have to be patched.

And sometimes when we're really lucky, we get to fill in the cut outs in the trim where the old HVAC vents were.

Isn't that pretty?

The folder taped to the floor in front of it is covering the brand spanking new HVAC vent.

The good news is that we've finished Living Rooms 1 and 2 but the contents of the Dining Room are currently residing in both so I cannot show you any finished pictures. Maybe someday this house will be put back together into something that sort of resembles a home.

"I'm gonna write you a letter."

2010-03-28T01:14:00.001-05:00

I stole that title from Mike's parents. When they are not pleased with each other, this phrase always makes an appearance and I love it.
Completely unrelated to that story is this:
Today we received this letter in the mail -

Very official looking and scary.

This lovely letter is from Metro Government of Nashville and Davidson County, Department of Codes Administration. Great.

We have been "notified as owner" of our house of the following violations:

Section 16.24.330 - Accessory Structures: All accesory structures, including detached garages, fences, and walls, shall be maintained structurally sound, in good repair, and in an otherwise safe, clean and sanitary condition.

Section 16.24.330 - Open Storage: It is inlawful to store in the open area of tha yard or structure, trash, rubbish, furniture, appliances, automobile parts, including dead trees, weeds and garbage, etc (Junk, Trash, and Debris).

That is a verbatim quote of the code law from the letter.

And what exactly are they talking about, you ask. It's this:

Our delapidated carport.

Yes, it looks gross. Yes, there is a fridge, a window, a shopping cart, a trash can full of metal, and about 1000 square feet of tile in there. I know, Metro, I know, I HATE it too.

But for the love of the Golden Cow, today is the first nice day we've had since we moved into this place. I cannot believe that you honestly think we should have been out there in 12 degree weather and 6 inches of snow taking care of this. Nevermind the fact that a whole lot of that "junk, trash, and debris" was left by the previous owners. Thanks.

Here's another doozy of a quote for you:

Therefore, you are to have the violation or cause removed and/or corrected before April 26, 2010.
Removed? Right, b/c we have about $8k lying around just burning a hole in our bank accounts for this very purpose.
And the deadline...seriously? Sorry but we're a little busy trying to work on the inside of the house Where We LIVE. And plan a wedding. And work full time jobs.

So Thank You Metro Nashville Codes Department. I'm gonna write you a letter.

Mary Jane, Marchgiving, and our Doggie Disaster Weekend

2010-03-21T22:49:00.003-05:00

We'll start at the beginning.
Our plan this weekend was to take the pups to the vet get Mary Jane's "good leg" checked out, get their shots, have Marchgiving at the Vecchiomisterton household, and paint the 2nd living room. That was the plan.

Saturday morning: We get up have some coffee and start getting ready to head to the vet. I'm putting clothes on and Matt lets the dogs out. I hear one of them screaming. Not howling at a squirrrel as usual but screaming in pain. Of course, it's Mary Jane. The genius was chasing a squirrel and ran head on into a stump that is as big as she is....And it begins.
We head to the vet hoping to get in early. We get in and discover that her shoulder is swollen (from running into the stump), her "good leg" probably has a partially torn ACL, and they both get all their annual and every 3 year shots. They weren't happy campers.
Saturday afernoon: Matt primes and paints the trim of the 2nd living room. While I head to Bellevue to discuss wedding centerpieces and to the grocery then prep for Marchgiving.
Saturday night: Marchgiving goes off without a hitch. Good food, good drink, nothing was set on fire - Success!

A picture from last year since I forgot my camera this year. Fail.

We get home, let the pups out, and get ready for bed, it's about 230 am. Matt proceeds to pass out and I keep hearing puppy collars rattle. I get up to find Mary Jane's face swollen so bad that her eyes are barely open and she keeps shaking her head. Cue prompt freak out:
"Oh my God, oh my God, Matt....MATT - look at Mary Jane!"
Frantic calls to the emergency vet and a mad search for some Benadryl ensue. So began one sleepless night on the couch....
Sunday morning: MJ is in a Benadryl induced coma, Doobie is being Doobie, and we paint the walls of the 2nd living. Matt says, "Does it look like Doobie's face is swelling?" Shit. Yes, it does. His ears are burning up and he's shaking his head like crazy. Cue Doobie's Benadryl induced coma and 4th call to the emergency vet.
Sunday evening: MJ's stomach is upseat, meaning I've cleaned up her stomach contents 4 times today (I'll spare you the visual), and Doobie is running around like he's on crack trying to make his paws stop itching.
The only thing we can figure is the vaccines are causing this allergic reaction. Our pups are miserable, we feel helpless and the new vet will be getting a phone call in the morning.
ANOTHER Benadryl coma is headed their way.

The good news is we have a painted 2nd living room and we have enough Marchgiving leftovers to last a week.
I'm scared to even ask the question....is there anything else, seriously??

And another one down.

2010-02-28T14:09:00.001-06:00

Not that I didn't love our house before but now when I walk in the front door, I LOVE our house.
The foyer was this:

More yellow walls and trim that showed it's age, including hinge and door cut outs. Since this was a quad at one time, the foyer had a door on each side to separate the 2 apartments on each side of the house.

Matt turned it into this:

It's good to be home.

One Down...

2010-02-21T15:48:00.001-06:00

Ok, so I'm serious this time...
We have one room done. D.O.N.E. DONE.
And we're so happy that there is a room in this house finally that isn't yellow.
Some before, during, and after pictures for your viewing pleasure

Before:
Please appreciate the untiled tub and subfloor covered in beautiful pink shag rugs, plus the cloudy mirrored medicine cabinet, and what looks like a light fixture that should be an old gas station bathroom.

During:
We were so happy to have a room a color other than yellow we left it primed for a whole week before painting it a color.
Please note the missing medicine cabinet, that is a different light fixture (I know you can't tell) and the beautiful tile work now in place.

And finally, the after shots:
New light fixture, new mirror, new wall color, freshly painted ceiling and trim, new towel ring, tp holder, shower rod and curtain, freshly painted details like door knobs and heat/air vent...

And Matt's favorite part, finally, there is a door in this house that locks:

Snow Pics

2010-02-21T15:48:00.000-06:00

Now that it's 60 degrees outside and I can finally appreciate the pictures of our house in the snow, I'll share them. Before I was too busy cursing and shoveling/sweeping the driveway...thankfully, we got some use out of some of the crap that last owners left behind...
I mean really, how many people down here own a good snow shovel - we do now.
Enjoy -

A photographer, I am not. ....maybe someday I'll grow some talent until then, you just have to suffer through my lack of skill. Night time pictures never turn out as great as I think they should.

The Car

2010-01-24T14:48:00.000-06:00

Ya'll are gonna love this one -
So we all know that my Dad has this thing with cars....it's a collectors type thing. That in and of itself doesn't sound too bad except that his collectors type thing usually leads to conversations such as this:
Me calling Dad, while driving away in one such car -
"Hey....ummm, you know there are 3 different dashboard lights on right now, right? Is that normal?"
Dad -
"Oh yea, that's normal. I like to keep lights on to make sure they work. (while uproariously laughing) And watch out for the windshield wipers, they spontaneously turn themselves on, that's normal too. And keep an eye out for the power brakes, sometimes they just don't work..really, you'll get a nice leg workout when that happens."
Me -
"What about the power steering? It feels like I'm wrestling an alligator to make a left turn..."
Dad -
"About that, it comes and goes...kinda like the windshield wipers."
Me -
"perfect."

Feast your eyes on said car:

Looks nice right? Riiiight.

All the issues listed above I inheireted.
The following I grew all by myself:
A few months ago I was at the grocery store, I shut the truck and the license plate fell off. On the ground. It's currently propped up in the back glass.

On my way to work on Monday – The driver’s side window fell off track and is currently being held up with wedges stuck in the door.

And guess what happened on my way to work Thursday, when it was raining like hell – my windshield wiper flew off….Like the entire blade thing (not just the rubber part) was dangling from the arm.
Thankfully I was only a few blocks from the house so I circled back around and creeped home without wipers then cursed my way into figuring out how to reattach it while holding the umbrella over my head with my chin…I looked like a damn circus act. It's still attached but I don't trust it.

I mean really, you just have to laugh, it's so ridiculous.

It's Stopped Pouring

2010-01-11T16:25:00.000-06:00

So my last post was kind of a downer. I have to admit I was overwhelmed and pretty pissed at the world yesterday until.....
10:15 PM.
At 10:15PM, both Doobie and Mary Jane start howling like crazy. WTF? I go to see if someone is on the porch and I hear the glorious sound of running water.

"We got water, We got water!!"

After 5 hours of a canon style heater being pointed directly at the main water pipe headed into the house, we finally got some water moving.
The funny thing about water is that is drips and runs down walls and falls from ceilings and ruins hard wood floors. The water I heard running was actually running and dripping from our upstairs bath to the doorway in the downstairs bath and then to the hardwoods below. Lovely.

Now what do we do? We can't turn the water off b/c it'll freeze again. We can't leave it on, it'll ruin our hardwoods. ARGH.

So I called my dad for some plumbing/frozen pipe expertise....his advice: "find the leak." Really? I could've figured that one out on my own.

Meanwhile, Matt has crawled into the wall behind the upstairs bathroom to try and find the leak and I've lost him. So of course, I yell for him, find him, and we discover that it's not a busted pipe but the cast iron drain pipe had been leaking (probably since we bought the house, we never use the upstairs bath.) Since the water is turned off in the sink, there is no more leak.

Hallelujah. Angels sing. And we sit on the couch and drink wine, quite pleased with ourselves.

A side bar to that story is this:
When Matt was younger, his Mom, Ronnie and he would do a lot of hiking and camping. Once in Florida, during a drought, they almost set their campground on fire...so seriously, like a whole bunch of bushes caught fire and they were really close to calling the Fire Dept. and Smokey the Bear. So while Matt and Ronnie were frantically beating the 5 foot flames with towels soaked in water trying to kill it, his Mom was running around and opening and pouring cans of root beer on it.

After we hit the couch, wine in hand, Matt proceeded to tell me that I was about as helpful as pouring out root beer, running around screaming his name.

Thanks Honey.

When It Rains It Pours

2010-01-10T18:00:00.000-06:00

What a beautiful faucet. It's all polished and bronze and pretty. Do you notice something not quite right though??
Take a 2nd look.
That's right. It's on. There's no water.
Odd.
Now that we're working on our 9th day below freezing our old plumbling just couldn't take it anymore....even with the radiant heater in the basement. The pipes froze.
Great.

But wait there's more...here's the rundown of our last week.

Matt's car - his "ecgc" sensor (no idea if that's the right name at all??) went out on his car, while at the shop was told it's time to replace his timing belt.
Heater unit in the basement - drain pipe froze and the pump was continuosly running.
While down there checking out the heater, found that our downstairs bath pedastal sink had been leaking into the basement.
One of our 2 outdoor spigots, the one in the shed, froze and burst.
Main pipe bringing water to the house is frozen and we're currently without water.

And just to add insult to it all, today, during mile 1 of Matt's 5 mile run, his Ipod flipped out. After he has spent the last 2 weeks cleaning up his music folders and adding CD art to all the albums in the library (over 5600 songs). To him, this is the worst of all.

Less than 5 Months

2009-12-27T22:26:00.000-06:00

So what do we have done:

Venue? Check.
Dress? Check.
My shoes? Of course, that's a check...I actually have 2 pair already.
.

Sadly - those checks are the only ones..

Save the Dates?
Invites?
Guest List?
Decor?
Flowers?
Rentals?
DJ?
Band?
Matt's clothes?
Gifts for our "helpers"?
Registry?
"Rehearsal" dinner?
Hotel blocks for out of towners?

Oh. My. God.

Didn't I hire a wedding planner for a reason?

Quick Update

2009-12-27T22:02:00.000-06:00

So here's what we've been up to lately:

Thanksgiving:

Ridiculous Hat Party:

Ridiculous hat required for entry.

Christmas:

All family photos taken at our New Madrid home away from home, Rosie's Bar and Grill.

Wild Life in East Nash

2009-12-27T21:40:00.001-06:00

No, seriously...it was wild life. And not just wild cats, East Nashville is notorious for wild cats.
Today Matt was taking out the recycling, he came walking back up to the house and he hears something.
Looks to his right and sees this:

This is a Cooper's hawk tearing into the pigeon he just caught in our backyard.
WHAT?!
So of course, the only thing he could do is run out and try to get closer pics, while trying not to be attacked.

Once Matt got too close the hawk took the pigeon and flew off. He left us some feathers and that's it.

So ends another beautiful afternoon in the city.

Random Stuff about Me

2009-12-20T22:55:00.000-06:00

Well, I thought since I hadn't posted in a while I might as well give you a long one to tide you over....
Here are 50 fun things to know about me. Written in February 2009 for a facebook thing...yes, I know I'm not on facebook. We kinda got into it at work so I did it via email with a few peeps.
This was written before the engagement, before we moved to Nashville...a lot has happened this year.
Enjoy.

1. I’m 28 and I’m afraid of the dark. There is a seriously scary cowboy that lives in the corner of my bedroom when the lights go off.
2. I sleep with the TV on and the remote under my pillow. Matt just had to adapt to that.
3. I’m the spooner in this relationship, he’s the spoonee….his arm is just too heavy and I can’t breathe when he’s the spooner.
4. I can’t sleep right without him in the bed with me.
5. I had imaginary friends when I was a child. 2 of them. Peacock and Pagan. Don’t ask where the names came from, I have NO idea.
6. Peacock used to beat me up.
7. My younger brother had an imaginary friend too, BIG imagination runs in the family.
8. My grandmother turned 90 this year and after her party she went out to the local bar with everyone until about 1a. She’s my hero.
9. She said the next day that for her 95th, she wanted to skip the fancy party and just go to bar with everyone.
10. I want a big family but pregnancy scares the shit out of me. I think Rent-A-Uterus is the way I’m gonna go to make this happen.
11. I want a marriage not a wedding. The more I think about weddings the more I want to elope and just throw a party to celebrate with everyone. I only need Matt there for the ceremony.
12. I would love to start a non-profit for the right organization.
13. I give away 5% of my income to various causes b/c even though I’m saving money for a Nashville house, it makes me feel better about the world.
14. I want to be a dog trainer. Victoria Stillwell (“It’s Me or the Dog”) is awesome.
15. My kindergarten classes only lasted ½ day, we went home right before lunch time.
16. I’ve had bad ankles my whole life. I jumped out of a tree, more like a little sapling, when I was 5 and sprained my ankle, Mom had to carry me to school on her back.
17. My knees ache when it rains or I sit still too long. Movies at the theater kill me.
18. I love, love, love taking a shower then getting into a clean, just been made bed with wet hair.
19. Cooking as well as my mom is something I’m still striving to achieve.
20. Matt and I extended our patio, tiled it, and built a pergola with only the help of Mike and Sam. We’re extremely proud, if you’d like to see pictures.
21. We also built a killer dog house, with windows, carpet, and siding.
22. I never want to live in a brand new house, I want something with character that I can turn into my own, East Nashville is very appealing to me for that reason.
23. I’m from Parsons, TN, on the TN river. I’ve been on and around boats my entire life and would be considered a “River Rat.”
24. I’ve lived in Omaha, Nebraska and Minot, North Dakota.
25. I want to learn to speak Portuguese and visit Rio to see Corcovado.
26. I was a cheerleader in high school.
27. The cheerleaders sponsored the dances after the football games, one time I showed up stoned and hid in the corner b/c I was so paranoid. Yea, I was that kind of cheerleader. Rah, rah, rah.
28. Early in our relationship, Matt wrote me a poem that ended with the line, “I even like her dumb thumbs.” I’ve been made fun of for these fat, mis-formed appendages my entire life. **Thumbs Up!**
29. I have a thing for turtles. Just love them.
30. I’d like to own a Rottweiler….or any big dog (as long as there isn’t a drool issue.) I also wouldn’t mind having something small too for portability reasons.
31. I love the grey cats with blue eyes….Russian Blues I think they’re called.
32. I’m a country girl at heart. While I do like the city and all the opportunities to go out, I need a certain amount of grass in my life, whether it’s alive or not, it’s still nice to have around.
33. To that end, I hate suburbia. Goes against everything I’ve ever known and really, how can your house have character if every house in a ½ mile radius has the exact same character.
34. I am really happy when I’m planning an event or a party….things like the time and date may slip through the cracks but the food and guests are a top priority.
35. I had a dog named Gretchen when I was little, she was a black lab and TERRIFIED of thunder. Pokey is my dog that is really my parents’ dog now, she’s the same way. I think it must be a curse on the family, we will forever have dogs terrified of thunder.
36. Back when I used to go to the babysitter, my mom would pick us up and I would wish with every fiber of my being that she’d surprise me with a horse when we got home. It never happened.
37. I still want a horse but I know that’s a bit impractical now just as it was back then.
38. I believe in aliens. I think it’s awfully lofty of us to assume that we’re the only ones floating around out there.
39. I rarely drink soda and when I do it burns my tongue.
40. I have a thing for good strong coffee. Like really good coffee, Café Du Monde style good coffee. It makes me happy and if I could afford it I’d buy a “good coffee” every day.
41. Sushi is one of my favorite foods and Sakura in M’boro is one of the best. Once I move, I’ll still drive out there to eat at Sakura. Totally worth it.
42. Tattoos. Love them. Want more. But not in very visible places, like my arms, more like my sides or my back. I’m thinking Moravian star next….or maybe the lilies….
43. If I’m not challenged, I’m not happy. Boredom and monotony do not serve me well in my work life.
44. I truly believe that Champagne will rain from the sky when Matt and I move to Nashville.
45. Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals are the only artists that I pay to see every time they’re in Nashville.
46. I like cars and knowing how they work. I’d like to know how to do engine work but the grime that is permanently under mechanics’ fingernails has always deterred me from trying to learn.
47. I like flowers too. Too bad I have the brownest thumb in all the land. Who can kill evergreen trees and holly bushes in a single season…..I CAN.
48. Once I had killed the evergreen trees, we left them for a whole year and talked about them as if they were “veeerry expensive golden spruces from Japan….Veerry expensive.”
49. I name almost everything I plant. 2 trees in the back yard = Brad and Yoshi. 2 hibiscus on the front porch = Edward and Edwin. 2 hydrangea plants on the side of the house = Hazel and Jewel. I named the 2 potato vines growing on the pergola too, they were redneck names = Peggy and Pete.
50. In 2008, Matt and I both forgot our anniversary. We moved it back a month so we could celebrate. It’s a made-up day anyway.

Yea, that's just Creepy.

2009-11-18T17:49:00.001-06:00

So this estate sale thing generally works in our favor. We've gotten some really "good stuff" (that is an original Sue term).
Quite a few pieces of furniture, some lamps and other decor items, etc.

This one is Matt's absolute favorite:

Of course, sitting atop Matt's other favorite piece...the late 1800s roll top desk, with a drawer locking system that we still haven't figured out.

I'm not completely convinced yet. It looks creepy to me....like at any moment the giant Egg lamp will hatch an alien to suck out our brains. Matt will be safe, of course, because he only has good thoughts about aliens, since they can read our minds and all.

One Down??

2009-11-18T17:41:00.000-06:00

One room down about 15 to go.
Our 2nd living room is an office. Now that Matt has found the perfect roll top desk (thank you Bernice Denton Estate Sales) and we spent way too much money at Target in one trip.

We've got this to show for it:

Of course our definition of "Done," may be quite a bit different from yours.

The Kitchen

2009-11-18T17:03:00.000-06:00

So we needed a kitchen. We needed it cheap. We needed it fast.
We got it.

Yes, that IS the debauchery fridge in our kitchen. Why yes, it was half filled with condiments so that real food wouldn't really fit.

As you can see, the kitchen is small. The dishwasher is across from the fridge and when open you're trapped in front of the sink...putting away the dishes in the huge built-in cabinet that you can't see here is really fun.

The picture above was all before the new fridge.

Enter singing Angels and heavenly light from above.

She's a monster and I love her. She's big and beautiful and white and CLEAN. And we can store much, much more than condiments now.
We thought the kitchen was small before. Ha.

The First Dinner

2009-10-29T12:56:00.000-05:00

So the microwave is the only appliance that has really seen any use since we moved in, no dishwasher or running water in the kitchen kept me from actually cooking a meal.
Last night all that changed - we finally got to turn on the oven and cook.

I'm sure you're DYING to know what my culinary talents produced for our first real meal in our new house........
Tony's Frozen 4-Cheese Pizza.

A true classic.

I know, I know....

2009-10-28T13:12:00.001-05:00

I haven't posted in a while. Here is your pictureless update.

Yes,

we now have counter tops,
the appalling issue with the basement and plumbing that I won't re-cap here has been fixed,
I DO have a back lit shoe rack (although no other type of closet at the moment, you see where my loyalties lie),
the shuTTer on the 2nd story was put back up (of course it fell down again but it was up for a week or two, we're calling that success),
the kitchen built-in shelving has been painted and the shelves lined (that took a whole damn Saturday!),
hardware has been added/changed on the kitchen cabinets,
most of the kitchen boxes are unpacked,
our 4 rocking chairs for the front porch have been sanded, primed, and painted,
the room of lamps is still FULL of lamps but much of the other stuff has been put away,
we did buy a roll-top desk b/c otherwise our "office" would be the dining room table (how's a girl to throw lavish dinner parties if the dining table is covered in computer and file boxes - that sounds like me doesn't it),
and the best part.....we FINALLY took up the paper that was covering the hard woods to protect it from all these people traipsing in and out (and I realized just how many rugs we'll have to buy.)

I'll follow-up with some pictures later.

Counter Tops - Today?

2009-10-09T13:02:00.001-05:00

Cross your fingers but don't hold your breath....
We should have countertops installed this afternoon at 3p.

Here's to hoping the torrential down pour and thunderstorm warning don't stop the cabinet installer from working.

Mary, Mary Quite Contrary

2009-10-05T18:21:00.000-05:00

Everyone knows that Mary Jane is the smart one and Doobie is.....just Doobie.
Well, she's too smart for her own good sometimes. And she just wasn't content staying and sniffing around a back yard 3x the size of her last one. Nooo, she had to go and escape.

Yesterday, I woke up to Matt yelling. "Laura - she's gone. I can't find Mary Jane." Good Morning everyone....why yes, I would love to run around East Nashville chasing after a stupid fast dog.

Finally, I found her across the street and down about a block sniffing the bushes in between 2 houses. When I got to her, she looks up at me all waggly and happy like "Oh hey, where have you been?" She had no idea that we'd been running around the neighborhood yelling and whistling and shaking the bag of treats.

Later that night Matt was still upset about it. Not because he was afraid she'd be lost forever, but rather because she won. She beat him in a foot race.

Finally - The Long Awaited Pictures

2009-10-05T14:08:00.001-05:00

They're here! They're here! You can all stop holding your breath. And be as awed and appalled as I am.

Yes, I know, we're missing a shutter upstairs on the left. Apparently, NO ONE took it down, it just happened to be laying in the front room upstairs with a crow bar sitting on top of it. But no one took it down.

Yep, those beautiful 1984 Aztec print couches made the move with us. Yay.

I call this the lamp room. Lovely, isn't it?

And the dining room - I just love that the chandelier is hung so high that you can't even see it in this picture. Ahhh, contractors.

Ok, so this one is a bit dark, but it's a bathroom and there is some really cool tile in the top of the shower.

The best room in the house. My favorite spot to cook a nice meal with a glass of wine...Except that THERE ARE NO COUNTER TOPS. I hate Lowe's and that's all I'll say about it.

After walking around my house and snapping room after room of boxes and ugly couches, I decided I should probably get some pics of why we bought this house....Otherwise, I'm sure you would start to wonder.

Love, love, love this light fixture.

This is the tree in our back yard. Effing amazing. Buck looks like a little Tonka Truck.

And this is the tree in our front yard. Yes, I know, I know, I'm a hippy at heart.

The window in the breakfast room. Details, it's all in the details.

We have 2 of these windows. One in each of the front rooms. Love them both. Please make note of the beautiful yellow, lace window sheers. Gag. One would think that one room of these sheers would be enough....oh no, one would be wrong. These sheers cover every room in the house.

Well, now you've seen some of it. We've got 3200 square feet and 4 bathrooms to deal with, each having what looks like original piping. Home built in 1925. Today we got the news that one of the bathroom drain pipes that is built into the block foundation is leaking into the basement. This is almost comical at this point.

I don't think I'll ever be able to take the key holder off the door.

Congratulations Homeowner.

The First Piece

2009-10-05T14:05:00.000-05:00

We got through one box last week. One. It's hard to go through boxes when nothing in your house is finished!

Our first box was linens and this was safely tucked inside.

We must be home now.

The Clampetts Move Out

2009-09-29T12:46:00.000-05:00

We finally live in our house.
Buck may make us look like a couple of red necks...but he sure was helpful driving back and forth from Lester and Dooze's to our house with all our stuff.

Pictures of the current Mataura bomb that exploded in our house to follow.

Do you Hula?

2009-09-20T21:42:00.000-05:00

Yay, my birfday was yesterday. After spending the morning sleeping in (Thank Jebus, I needed that)and the afternoon running house errands (b/c you can't go a full day without doing that...apparently), I expected a nice dinner at home courtesy of Lester and a super awesome, dance party courtesy of Lester, Dooze, and Matt.
What I got was all that and MORE....

Words cannot explain the supery, awesomeness that occurred when the rest of the family surprised me and showed up around 7p. Who knew a hula hoop could provide hours of ridiculous joy...Yea Birthday.

And with all that ridiculocity going on, the puppies had a lovely evening of sleep.

I believe the night was summed up best by Lester this afternoon, "It's not a good party unless someone gets hurt."
Poor Amy, may have broken her foot. Yea Hula Hoop.

A Planner

2009-09-18T23:49:00.000-05:00

I wouldn't call myself a planner...not at all really. I will admit that I love being organized and knowing that everything has a home and I can always find things because they always go back to their home. Period.
Given all this organization, I'm not a planner. I can't do it. I have no thoughts about how to make things happen, linear pattern - nope, that's not me. I'm more of a fantasy, "wouldn't it be nice if we..." kind of person.
It's hard being this self aware. But nice too. I know my limits and planning is outside my limit.
We have a wedding planner and as cheesy and stupid and expensive as that sounds, I'm soo glad we did it. I only have to dress myself now. I get to pass all of our ideas through to her and she will just make it happen.
This is as close to jeans and a courthouse as I'm gonna get.

One Week

2009-09-18T23:13:00.000-05:00

We're down to one week.
Next Friday everyone will be out of OUR house. It will no longer be a construction zone, it will finally be where we live. Our mail might actually be delivered there since right now it's being returned to sender. Really, US postal service, really? Like we don't know our own address....
But I digress, one week. THAT is the point, one week.

**I promise once we are actually able to see the house after work (no electrcity at the moment) there will be some pictures.**

Week 4.

2009-09-13T21:23:00.000-05:00

It's week 4 and we're still homeless...Gypsy does sound cooler but homeless is closer to the truth. Apparently, I'm supposed to be planning a wedding and buying a dress and worrying about the guest list and all that cripe, instead I'm concerned with when we'll actually be moved in and how the smallest kitchen on the face of the planet is actually gonna work and how in Jebus' name will we get the wood floors clean after all this dusty mess of renovation is over.
Well, I guess this whole wedding thing may be nothing more than me and Matt dressed in nothing more important than a new pair of jeans...I might get my wedding way afterall.

Obsession.

2009-09-07T22:20:00.001-05:00

My boy Doobie has a new obsession... He's madly in love. She's tall and brown and lovely. She's a tree. This wonderful "woman" lives in the back yard of Dooze and Lester's house.

Doobie lives and breathes every moment of his days here for this tree.

He stares out the window and pines for her.

He stands at the back fence and stares at her.

And this is the only view he gets...She never gives him anymore than this.
She's quite the prude really.

And you thought this was gonna be a tree hugger post.

Gypsy Status Revoked

2009-09-01T13:03:00.000-05:00

1407 Eastland Avenue
We have a new address.

Much quicker than we thought possible. Our original close date was Sept. 9th, our mortgage broker really wanted this commission in August so guess what happened....
We closed August 31st.

However, it is a renovation loan and the home has no HVAC, no kitchen, no working baths...The plumber and electrician started today.

Lester and Dooze only have to deal with us for a couple more weeks now.

Pics coming later. I promise.

To 'da Beach Boyeee!

2009-09-01T12:37:00.000-05:00

Vacation is a wonderful thing.
We've been out of pocket since August 21st at the Hippy Farm beach house in Mexico Beach Florida.
Love. That's all there is to it.

Since we are still gypsies, our permanent address for those 9 days was 418 Nutmeg Street, Mexico Beach, FL. Lovely.

And since we are still gypsies, I have no idea where my actual camera is located. This butterfly is the only pic I got (with my camera phone) on the day we were leaving.

Gypsy Status Achieved

2009-09-01T12:24:00.001-05:00

Lester and Dooze's House

The room that we've stuffed every thing into. And yes, that is a twin bed that Matt is lying on. I get to sleep on the twin trundle bed. The infamous "Father Knows Best" beds.

And I think they may actually like us.

We shall see if that is still the case once this is over!

Annnd we're homeless.

2009-08-14T17:34:00.000-05:00

Well, here we are, August 14th.

Homeless.
Although I think I prefer the term gypsy... has a kinda of hippie cool vibe to it. Homeless just makes me think of the crazy blue haired lady and she scares me.

Countdown Update.

2009-08-12T13:21:00.000-05:00

It's Wednesday. We close on Friday.
Check out our new decorating scheme. Very minimalist.

See the new coffee table (blue cooler) and new entertainment center (round waste basket), which the computer sits on so we can go to Hulu and get our Burn Notice fix....our current TV fascination.

I have to say though without all our stuff in the way, our paint looks AWESOME. I'm gonna miss this house.

UPDATE on the thermostat:
While I would have loved to put in a circular thermostat, I didn't get a choice. Matt called our HVAC man and he put in a digital one. Dang. Still I do get a little satisfaction when walking by, there is a small but lovely square of red next to the current LEVEL digital thermostat.

It's the small things.

Wow.

2009-08-04T19:11:00.001-05:00

Matt just found a 1 million dollar bill. Here's what the back of it said -
"The million dollar question: Will you go to heaven when you die? Here's a quick test. Have you ever told a lie, stolen anything, or used God's name in vain? Jesus said, "Whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart." Have you looked with lust? Will you be guilty on judgement day? If you have done those things, God sees you as a LYING, THIEVING, BLASPHEMOUS, ADULTERER AT HEART."
Wow.
Of course, then the million dollar bill then goes on to try and get you to "repent (turn from sin)." Wonder if that has ever worked for anyone?
Oh my, a 1 million dollar bill. What's this? If I don't, how you say, re-pent then I'll go to hell?! OH NO! Whatever should I do?
Now, I'm no Jebus hater, in fact we're pretty close but this is a bunch of religious propoganda that gives us Jebus lovers a bad name.

Countdown On.

2009-08-03T12:55:00.000-05:00

It's Monday, August 3.

We have 10 days to be out of our house.

On Saturday, August 8, all TVs, beds, dog houses, lawn furniture, bed side tables, end tables, dressers, tables, lamps, and chairs will be taken to storage.

For the rest of that week, we will live in the nicest camp ground on the planet. Too bad there's not a river to canoe in our back yard.

Oxymoron?

2009-07-30T08:59:00.000-05:00

On my way home from work yesterday, I was sitting at a red light beside a car that I had just passed.
A little red 4 door car, with 2 window clings screaming "BABY ON BOARD" and 2 sunshades in the rear windows to block the sun from the little ones' eyes.....
Now this in and of itself is not that much of an oddity. I see this all the time. I have yet to figure out what compels new parents to have Baby On Board window clings but I digress...
The real conundrum was that the mother was driving, all the windows rolled up, smoking a cigarette with the kids in the back seat.
Is it just me or does it appear that this mother has mixed up her priorities??

Victory is Mine - Kinda.

2009-07-26T17:31:00.000-05:00

After all that stuff with Matterhorn, I figured I should update the plight with Eastland. Remember this one - the one we're trying to buy so we're not homeless forever...
So we're cautiously optimistic that this will actually happen. Our real estate agent, actually the seller's agent, tipped us off about renovation loans. We didn't think banks did this anymore but apparently they do. Yay for us! Bad for Dooze and Lester, and Steve and Lisa, and maybe Sam and Bekah too....
Dooze and Lester, Steve and Lisa, and Sam and Bekah are the wonderful peeps that are letting us couch surf for a couple/few of weeks with our 2 dogs. Since we've had to go this route with financing, the escrow period will be longer plus we still have to renovate a couple things like electrical and HVAC before we can move in....thus more time spent couch surfing.
Matterhorn close date - August 14th (Shit, that's only 2 weekends away)
Eastland latest close date - September 9th (We've made sad, little, puppy dog faces at our new mortgage guru to hopefully speed up this process.)
3 1/2 weeks homeless....or at least until we can move our stuff in. Um yea, where the hell do you store a doggie mansion for a month??
Prolly 4 1/2 weeks until we can move in. We're counting on the kindness of our friends....hopefully they'll still be our friends after this is all over.

The Difference Between Us and Everyone Else

2009-07-26T16:00:00.000-05:00

We're masochistic.
We must be. Otherwise why in God's name would be dying to buy a house with no kitchen and only 1 functional bathroom of the 4 in the house.
This didn't really seem that weird to me until I saw the list of fixes the buyers of Matterhorn wanted done before closing.

1. New roof. Ok so maybe there was more hail damage than we thought....but a whole new roof when this one doesn't leak or look f-ed up at all. Really?!

I'm no roofer but if it doesn't leak...where's the problem??

2. Replace all gutters and downspouts. No. Nuh-uh. Not ever gonna happen. That is cosmetic and all the gutters function just fine. They have been blown out every year nevermind that Matt spent about 4 hours with a Magic Eraser and Power Paste scrubbing the dang things clean before we went on the market.

Sparkling Clean.

3. Fix the float switch on catch pan in attic. What IS that? Never heard of it but apparently ours is broken - sounds serious enough that we should have noticed, right?

4. Fix outlet at right rear kitchen wall. This one is so vague, we don't even know which outlet they're talking about. The right rear kitchen wall? With a walk through kitchen - Which end of the kitchen were you standing on to say right. Nevermind that all the outlets work in the kitchen. Apparently the one "on the right rear kitchen wall" has the negative and positive switched....?

Which right is wrong in this picture? There's an outlet on every wall.

5. Level the heating/cooling thermostat in the upper hallway. This one is the most ridiculous to me and the one that will give me the most satisfaction when it's all said and done. Little do the new home owners know that our hallway was RED. Leveling that thermostat will leave a lovely red outline around the new one. I haven't decided yet whether a brand new nice, ROUND thermostat is just too mean.

Imagine a nice new round thermostat with a eye catching rectangle of red around it. How's that for level?

Dog House vs. Fence

2009-07-24T22:03:00.000-05:00

The Dog House.

The Only Gate.

Since the contract on Matterhorn does NOT include our pimpin' dog house, we have to figure out just how to get this mansion out of the back yard.
Uh oh Shaggy.

The Saga Continues...

2009-07-23T12:34:00.000-05:00

Really, stupid complicated home buying process, really.
We're good people, we have stellar credit,and unfortunately a love for the ever elusive diamond in the rough. Loan underwriters don't have that same love.
Seems that even if the home appraises for the value of the loan or more, you still have to worry about the underwriters grinding the process to a halt b/c they won't release the loan.
It was NOT our fault all those a-holes passed out loans like candy back in the day and now we're in this huge mess. But we sure are paying the price.
This is getting f-ing ridiculous.

August 13. Ouch.

2009-07-21T09:43:00.000-05:00

The good news is we sold our house in one day. For that, we are extrememly thankful. There is something to be said for Matt's obssesive cleaning, painting, organizing, staging, etc. Cinderella can relax now....

Except the close date on Matterhorn is August 14. Which means, we gotta be out by the 13th.
Oh my God, we're really homeless now. This is not a joke or a drill, we gotta find a house and QUICK!

Everything But the Kitchen Sink

2009-07-20T17:42:00.000-05:00

Apparently banks don't like to loan money when it will be used to buy a house that doesn't have a kitchen....
I guess I left that lovely detail out of my last housing update. Eastland doesn't have a kitchen. Our plan is to put in a cheap one and then save some cash to PIMP out a new one, knock down some walls, etc, etc, etc.
Appraisers don't see potential, they only see what's there in the right now. If we can't work out the details with the seller to get past the appraisal, then this one is a no-go too and I'll truly believe that we aren't meant to move to Nashville.
Aw, cwap.

This Might Actually Happen - What?!

2009-07-20T12:15:00.000-05:00

I have to admit, I never really thought the Stratton house would work out which is why I wasn't extremely upset that it didn't. I was only waiting for the other shoe to drop and when it did I wasn't that shocked.
We just got word this morning that the sellers of Eastland are more willing to work with us than we expected....this is so stupidly exciting!
I'm in shock now.

Lazy Sunday

2009-07-19T15:23:00.000-05:00

I cannot remember the last time we had a lazy Sunday. Between:

getting ready to sell our house (just call me Cinderella),
trying to buy another one (damn Stratton Ave. - fingers crossed for Eastland),
our trip to California (met the entire bunch of step in-laws for the first time),
work life in general (Thank God 3rd/4th Q is placed now),
and beginning to plan a wedding

we've been pretty busy. The biggest item on our agenda today is laundry folding and dog baths....maybe some dinner and a couple of beergaritas before bed.

Ahhh - lazy Sundays. Love them.

And the winner is...

2009-07-18T17:35:00.001-05:00

The first house we fell for was 1407 Stratton Ave. in East Nashville. Turns out the house was hiding a number of issues from us.

What an asshole thing to do.

We must have a thing for houses at 1407 Any Street, Nashville TN. This is the 2nd one.
1407 Eastland.

Cross your fingers - Nashville, here we come.

Tree Hugger

2009-07-17T18:21:00.000-05:00

Yep - I'm a tree hugger...not the smelly, Jebus sandals, dreads, and arm pit hair kind but the kind that showers, typically smells good, and tries to recycle. I also LOVE trees...like it upsets me when subdivisions level all the trees on a block.
So you can imagine how glad I was to see the Sequoia trees in California....

Not to mention the elation I felt to be out of the car and safe from plummeting over a cliff because Ronnie likes to sight see while driving.

One "W"

2009-07-15T20:27:00.001-05:00

Why?
Why in God's name would I start a blog? Good question.
I figure for now, some people may want to know information about our upcoming party with a side of wedding.
I also figure there's a lot of stuff going on that I need out of my head and somewhere else....
Dear Diary -
Stay tuned for the details of my little life.