Prop 8

Rather than trying to express my reaction to recent events by repeating thoughts of my good friend, Liz, I'll just direct you to her blog so you can read a better-articulated version.

PS: Let's all celebrate that Liz has challenged herself to be more dedicated to her writing - more fun and food for thought for us!

Before and After

Cheap, but not THAT cheap.

As I've been nesting (ha! get it?) in the new house, I've been brainstorming for decor ideas. Hours on Etsy proved to me that I clearly do not appreciate art enough as I'm not willing to drop hundreds of dollars on an original piece. And multiple runs to the various Ross, TJ Max, and other discount stores proved fruitless because I don't want our living room to look like a generic hotel room. So, I took matters into my own hands, found some fabric I liked, and stapled it to a large canvas. The finished project did not quite match my vision, and it was slightly reminiscent of a previous craft, but...it'll do for now. I've commissioned a friend to paint something for us as soon as she comes up for air from her many commitments. I just hope her work turns out better than Jake's. He promised me a painting for my birthday. SEVEN YEARS AGO. So, don't worry, Tamara. The bar's not very high.
 

However, what I AM willing to spend money on these days is air conditioning. We ran the air so infrequently at the apartment that Alley doesn't even know what to do with such strange sensations.

There was one point last summer that it was over 90 degrees. In our living room.  But, dang it, I'm a homeowner now! We've earned the right to keep the house at a breezy 85. I typically take a lot of pride in my thriftiness and was even starting to think I may have some Dutch blood in me, until some friends shared a story about their friends' frugality: they wouldn't turn on a certain light in their house because it had three light bulbs in it. Oh, the extravagance!

Words Fall Through Me

Friday night I realized that two fabulous duos were going to take the stage at the Hollywood Bowl and I scrambled around to find someone to go with me. Okay, maybe I didn't start scrambling until Sunday morning, a mere 8 hours before the concert. Shocker, but everyone 1) already had plans, 2) didn't want to spend the money, or 3) was too tired to venture into Hollywood. So, after about ten failed attempts to convince my friends to Be Spontaneous! Forget your Budget! I started looking for a single ticket because this show was too good to miss, even if I went solo. At which point, my loving husband cursed under his breath that he was such a pushover and said, "Fine, I'll go with you."

It's not that he didn't like the musicians. Apparently Zooey is even on his exception list. But the concert came at the end of a long birthday weekend of exhausting fun and he had to be up early for work the next morning. Plus, his birthday wish was for a bicycle too extravagant for a birthday gift, so instead of unwrapping something this year, he had to make due with the thought of money being saved in our bank account. So, I'm sure the thought of spending $40 on a ticket to a concert he wasn't exactly thrilled about wasn't exactly....thrilling.

YET. We ended up squeezed like sardines on a bench at the Bowl anyway. The seats weren't terrible, considering we bought them off Craigslist about 50 minutes earlier. And I probably would have been content with them, had we not spotted one of Ben's work buddies, Johnny, being escorted down to a box seat TWO ROWS FROM THE STAGE. Apparently some rich dude's friends flaked on him, so he walked up, up, up to some of the worst seats and invited two lucky dogs (Johnny and his girlfriend) to come sit with him. I remind God all the time that I would be this kind of steward of such gifts. It's the same reasoning that caused me to think tonight, "You know, in this economy, it's really a ministry to hire yard and housework help." I'm altruistic like that.

But I digress ... once I swallowed the bitter pill of envy and after I uninvited Johnny to dinner for texting us a picture of his view, I was able to actually enjoy the concert, as snug and far away as I was. Because sounds like these make you close your eyes, snuggle up to your love, and sway anyway.

29 And Feeling Fine

Oh, what's this?

A blog? I have a blog? That's right. I must have forgotten about it in the midst of all these transitions of late. There was the anniversary trip to the Big Island; the whole buying-a-house, remodeling(ish)-a-house, and moving; the trip to Missouri; ending my Pre-internship one day and beginning my Internship the next; and I'm still trying to become a Conscientious Carnivore. I've been experiencing this weird sensation when reading a favorite blogger's Eat Well posts and planning meals. Some might even call it excitement. And then I visit my favorite local produce shop and am practically giddy surrounded by all the cheap vegetables and fruits, fresh spices and beans by the buckets. It isn't until I get home and look in the fridge that I think, "Wait. Do I even like eggplant?" Sigh. I'm a work in progress.

By far the most time-consuming project has been trying to change a house from this:

{Technical difficulties. Apparently I didn't back my data up very well before taking my computer to the doctor and am now having problems hunting down some pictures. Picture Pier-1-flavored decor with dark paint, dark wood, and dark bedding. I guess just picture darkness.}

To this:

In addition to totally revamping my decorating style, we had to rearrange our sleeping style, too. There is much more natural light in this house; ergo things are much more visible. Like dog hair on a comforter. Gross. True, we were sleeping with it before, but we couldn't see it. Ignorance really is bliss. And the fact that we can no longer shut our bedroom door if the room is messy really does make us keep things a little neater. And hair free-er.

I would love to also show you the transformation from garage to family room that took place one weekend, but I need to find those photos, too. Stay tuned. And in the meanwhile, if anyone has a MyBook Essential Hard Drive, and has ever experienced phantom photos (e.g. the album is there, labeled, dated, and showing how many pictures you took, but no pictures are present), please advise. Also, if anyone wants to give me lots of giftcards to Anthropology, I'm currently accepting them.

The Good News...

...is that I no longer feel like this.

The house is slowly coming together...stay tuned for before and after pictures soon. And Hawaii! pictures.