Buried Treasure

After planting, Adam threw the trowel down to make it stick in the grass; but instead it went "ping!" and bounced back up. Upon further investigation we discovered a PATIO under the grass! A patio people! The brick covers 22 x 16 feet. We are currently in the process of uncovering this treasure. Party at our house!!!...in about a week....

Other Discoveries

Baking Powder and Salt Kill Fleas.

After getting bit six times on one foot we discovered the previous renters had left us with fleas, even though the carpet was new.

Solution: Baking powder and salt sprinkled on all the carpets, then vacuumed at least a day later. This dries out the fleas and their eggs. Yes this works. After doing it twice for good measure, we are and have been for a while...flea free. (Use a water vacuum for double killing action.)

Boric Acid Kills Cockroaches.

In cleaning out the cupboards for move-in, I found what I thought was mouse poopies inside the cupboards. Then I remembered something Jamie said...cockroaches poop. Off to the store to buy Borax. Disclaimer: Cockroaches are a natural pest in Texas. If you live here, you're going to have to deal with them.

Below: Adam wears "protection" while spraying bug poison on the yard. The stuff works great, kills 150 different bugs (we were after the fleas) and only costs $9.00. It's called Ortho Bug B Gone.

Vinegar Removes Odor.

I mentioned earlier that we got new carpets (and vinyl, yes!) but it didn't completely take care of the dog odor. After washing the walls we diluted vinegar with water and sprayed it onto the walls of my office and rubbed it in with a rag. About five days later...NO MORE SMELL. We'll be doing other parts of the house soon. I also put some vinegar in a cup and placed it under a sink cupboard that was putting off a foul stench. It's working.

Color Theory.

I won't tell you how many times we painted the kitchen before we got the right color. (Ahem, four) nor how many times we painted the living room (cough, twice). The colors we were choosing all seemed to look purple on the walls. We thought they were picking up the overtones of the carpet color which seemed to lean to the purple spectrum. Turns out we were wrong.

The windows had been tinted with a purplish film! Before I could stop him Adam had a corner peeled off. Next he was scraping the glue off and then...poof; no more purple looking carpet or paint! Oh brother. You can see the difference on two of the windows he's finished above.

Finally all the cleaning and the fixing, things are dying down a little and we are 95% moved in. It doesn't quite feel like home yet to me...but it's getting there and I think I will like it all more because now my elbow grease has been rubbed all over it.

Putting Our Roots Down

Over the past year or so I have slowly and purposefully allowed ALL my plants to die. Upon further thought, I realized letting them die was a reflection of my feelings about our living situation. Those poor plants–having to pay for my bad mood with their lives....but not any more. We got in last week and I must tell you this move was greatly needed. And per tradition/Dad's suggestion, both of us quickly planted something to symbolize our intentions. And it feels SO GOOD to be here in this house for now.

Adam with his basil and me with a tomato plant.

Welcome...

...to our very first rental house.

A little bit about this house: It is UGLY. It is old and Provo quality. (Student housing style.) But it's dirt cheap for a 3 bed 2 bath, with garage and yard. So we aren't complaining, but we know it's totally NOT charming. In any way. Below: Living room with fire place—which will have to be scrubbed down. It's filthy. And don't get me started on the carpet. We are told it's going to be replaced. It stinks. Like dog. Bad.

The itty bitty kitchen faces the living room. There is no where to put our table. Still thinking that one through. Gotta love the tile counter top and check out that awesome carpeted bar—so stylish. The laundry closet is just to the left of the photo.

We'll probably paint an accent wall or something. It's not allowed but...who's gunna tell?

The garage...we'll probably whitewash it. There are huge holes all over in the walls too—probably just leave 'em or put things in 'em.

And the ginormous back yard. With nothing in it.

At all.

So we're throwing around some ideas for cheap shade and potted plants. In all—we're excited.

Current Living Conditions

We're moving! I started packing three weeks ago (admittedly that was too early, but I am so excited) and this is how things currently stand; A little claustrophobic but look how close the couch is to the tellie...it's like being in a movie theater! Three more weeks!

Most of you know we've been looking for a home to buy for around 9 months now. We got SO close but after FOUR extreme let-downs (being outbid by $8,000? Excuse me? And backing out of a house we finally won and really wanted...long story) we are still going to move...but into a rental house. FINE WITH ME! Get us out of apartment living and we'll be happy.

Things we will miss about this place: -The newer hardware, crown molding, newish carpets etc. (We are moving to an old house.) -Our cooking and baking nook with wall space for knives and spices.

Knife magnet from Ikea. Perfect if you have wall space and no counter space. Plus you can see exactly which knife you're grabbing, unlike from a knife block. (Notice they're hung for a left hander? Victory at last!!!) We REALLY love our spice rack. I recommend it if you're the type who screams at your spice cupboard as half of them come crashing out while you're grabbing for that mystery jar way in the back. You can make this by using slim lipped shelves (used for holding framed pictures–these came from Ikea). The little jars are .99 cents each at BedBathBeyond. I'm in the middle of making round labels for the lids.

We will also miss the trees and the view. Although, the view has changed a bit. An oil drill went in just to the right of the photo. Can't get any more Texas than that.

And of course we will miss the pool. We'll be using a kiddy pool in our new yard. Beyond that we are SO done with the memory of Crazy downstairs, Mr. Bark Bark Bark across the hall, and Mr. I Build Things Out of Wood upstairs. In a state with wide open places, I intend to NEVER live in an apartment again. Disclaimer: New York is exempt from this statement. Above Sound file: Our first reason for moving out...the air conditioner. The noise it makes is normal. The decibel at which it runs is NOT. I've had maintenance over SIX times. I am ready to sleep without being woken up. I am ready to watch a movie without blaring the speakers. I am ready to have company over who don't shout, "What's that noise?" Go ahead. Turn it way up.