Pretty Pretty Bang Bang

Ok, I’ve had several requests for pictures and I finally got some taken so here they are! Hope you like them. I think Steve and I comment almost daily on how much we love our house.

I’ll start with my beloved double front doors. I still need to paint them red and take off the icky brass kickplates, but that will have to wait until spring.

Next up is the coffee nook area which is a favorite spot. Steve and I have coffee there on the weekends, chat when he gets home at night and hang out while one of us is in the kitchen.

Here’s the kitchen which opens to the dining room and the coffee nook. It’s very user-friendly!

The dining room is large enough for me to have my table out with both leaves. We had 13 at the table for Thanksgiving and still had room to move around. Quite a change from the old house.

Next up is the living room which is fabulous, if I do say so myself. It also has the built-in bar area. This is a view with our aluminum tree.

Here’s the fireplace and the ’80s-style tile. Now that I’ve painted the top part of it I can live with the tile until we have the time and money to change it. Normally we have a metal sculpture above the doors, but I put up a wreath for the holidays.

Here’s the bar with the built-in sink, refrigerator (with ice maker), shelves and lighting. The owner who built this in the early ’80s left the stereo and it’s stayed with the house.

Upstairs is our bedroom, complete with two lazy cats.

Here’s the guest room where Ralph and Blair stayed last weekend. I didn’t get the picture of the loft, but it’s in this room.

Finally, here’s what we’re calling the game room. It overlooks our bedroom.

I didn’t take pictures of the office, the laundry room or my studio since they weren’t very exciting but I think you get the idea of the house. It’s all very open. We love it!

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We awoke this morning to a light snowfall, grey skies and very chilly temperatures. It really got me in the mood to decorate the house for Christmas. Yesterday, we attempted to decorate, but I had a small meltdown and had to retreat to the studio to get some work done. Steve got the big aluminum tree up and decorated and I got some much-needed work done. Today was a bit calmer and we both decided not to go all out on decorating. For starters, we don’t quite know where to put everything and, second, we just got the house put together the way we like it so we don’t want to mess up all the “daily” decor.

About an hour into our decorating project I decided we needed a large wreath over the fireplace. We had already discussed a large wreath on the front of the house, but I also wanted one inside. I was afraid of the cost, but a trip to Michael’s calmed my fears. A 5′ wreath was on sale for $40 and a 3′ one was only $10. Unfortunately, they were out of the 4′ wreaths, but the 3′ one looks good over the fireplace. I decorated them simply with some metallic berry garland and a large silver bow. While I would have loved a lit wreath over the fireplace, there wasn’t a convenient place to plug it in so we just adjusted the spotlight to light it.

I think I’m going to call it a day on decorating. Our house looks festive without looking fussy and I think that’s the perfect place to stop. Tonight we’re making Burl’s chili and he and mom are coming over to enjoy it with us. It’s the perfect end to a chilly, November day. Tomorrow is December 1! only 25 shopping days until Christmas.

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Happy Thanksgiving everyone! This year, we actually have room to host the event and Steve and I are busy getting everything ready. Ok, I’m blogging and Steve’s prepping the turkeys, but we’re still working.

It’s so exciting for me to see the table set for 13 people and know we have plenty of room for everyone. Our old house was so small! We bought two fresh turkeys and Steve’s been prepping them to go on the smoker. One is flavored with our favorite spice combo Northwoods and stuffed with pears. The second is rubbed with Old World and stuffed with apples. Steve also put some applewood chips on the smoker for additional flavor. Steve’s also making butternut squash risotto to go with the meal. He’s excited to cook in the new kitchen and I’m excited I can concentrate on the important things like setting the table and making sure we have enough wine.

Ralph, Blair and the girls arrived last night so we went out to mom’s for a bit. I walked in the door and was greeted by two little bundles of energy yelling, “Aunt Tammy, Aunt Tammy, Aunt Tammy!” It was delightful. Lydia has really grown up and is expressing her opinion often. She’s quite a handful and there’s no arguing with her once she makes up her mind. Julia gets more and more mature every time I see her. It’s so fun to be around her and interact with her. Of course, it’s always good to see Ralph and Blair. Ralph recently got Lasik surgery and is enjoying life without glasses. Yes, I’m a bit envious of it, but I don’t know if I could actually go through with it even if I had the money. She said they do give you Valium, but not enough!

It’s the calm before the family storm here so I think I’ll finish my coffee, read all the Thanksgiving ads and enjoy some quite time before everyone arrives. I’m thankful for my family, my life, my health, my husband and my friends. I hope you all have a wonderful day. Be sure to eat too much, watch too much tv and nap if you need to!

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It was a busy weekend here and I just now feel like I’m recovering. I had to work Friday and Saturday at the store so I wasn’t home much during the day and we had our evenings booked as well. Friday night Sarah and Dennis had us over for drinks and dinner and we had a wonderful evening just relaxing with them. Sarah is a great cook and concocted a dinner of finger foods that was delicious and fun to eat. We sat at the kitchen bar listening to great music, eating, drinking and talking. A nice end to a busy week.

Saturday night Steve finally got to showcase his culinary skills in the new kitchen. It was the day after Mary’s birthday and we treated her and her family to a nice dinner here. Steve wowed us with butternut squash risotto, potato leek soup, chicken with proscuitto and white cake with homemade frosting. Doug and Mary brought some nice red wine and we had a great evening. Sam and Maddie, their kids, were adorable and I felt like we were celebrating with family. I knew this would be a tough birthday for Mary, since her mom died earlier this year, so I was glad we could go the extra mile for a great meal. Thanks, Steve, for all your hard work and for cleaning the stove after cooking!

I’m feeling the crunch to get stuff made for WinterFest which will be here in just a couple of weeks. It’s funny how, when I’m really stressed about deadlines, I tend to become flighty and unfocused. The studio is up and working so I really have no excuse. With that said, I guess I’d better stop writing and get to work. Hope your day is productive!

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Our high-speed Internet has returned! Now I can check my email regularly and actually keep up with blogging. Life is starting to feel normal.

The house is coming together quite well. We had our first party this last weekend and it was a success. It’s so nice to have room for people to move around and enjoy themselves. I did discover that having several levels means wearing heels is painful! I had no idea I’d do that much walking just to make sure everyone was having a good time! Next party, I’m in more comfortable shoes. The heels did make the outfit so I wasn’t willing to ditch them halfway through the event. I can’t sacrifice fashion for comfort, you know.

I spent Tuesday working in my new and improved studio. Super handyman Burl made me an awesome workbench out of solid wood doors. I now have plenty of room for my drill press, shear and tumbler. I do need more light, but I’m ok for now. Of course, I can’t find some things so I need to get back into the storage unit and bring home more boxes. I thought I had all the studio stuff unpacked except for enameling, but I’m missing some replacement drill bits and other items. At least it’s nothing that I need immediately.

Our next big event is Thanksgiving when we’ll have about 12 people here for dinner. My table seats eight comfortably, but I don’t think it will be a problem to extend it for 12. Thankfully, the dining room is large enough to do that and still have room to move around. Ralph and Blair will be our first overnight guests and the guest room is ready for them. I even prepared the loft for a couple of special little girls. I’m planning to get out my Little House books for the loft book shelves so we can sit up there and read. 

Life is good.

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I’ve always had a fascination with true crime. I blame it on my mom who was reading In Cold Blood when she gave birth to me! Many years ago, I developed an interest in the Mafia. Mom and I saw The Godfather when it was re-released in the theaters and I instantly fell in love with the entire Mafia genre. Sure, they are cold-blooded killers, but they have rules, they have respect, they have a deep relationship with their families. I have to admit that I admire and respect them. Monday, I was at mom’s and mentioned I needed to take the day off to rest my back and I needed something to read. She mentioned a great book she’d just finished entitled Gaspipe: Confessions of a Mafia Boss. The book is about Anthony “Gaspipe” Casso who ran the Lucchese crime family in the 80s and 90s before turning on the family and ratting to the government. I loved it. By noon on Monday I’d finished a third of the book and had it about halfway done before bedtime. Last night, I finished it. What a read. Anthony was one of the most ruthless killers in the family, yet I had to like the guy. He was deeply in love with his wife, a devoted husband and father, always kept his word and was highly respected in the organization. Oh sure, there’s that little business of all the people he tortured and killed (or had killed) but it was still hard not to like him. The book is written by a former neighbor of Anthony’s so it is a bit one-sided, but still a great read.

Thanks mom, for sharing a great book and thanks for taking the time after the birth of your first child to read some true crime. Now I think I need to dig up my old copy of The Godfather and re-read it just for fun.

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AT&T is on my list. They’ve messed up our DSL and now we’re waiting for the connection to happen so we can have normal Internet access. In the meantime, I’m sporadically checking email because I, quite frankly, don’t have the patience to wait for the connection!

We’re mostly settled and getting ready for the first big party in the house - the housewarming. I can’t wait to entertain because this house was just made for parties. Here are some of the fun (and funny) things we’ve discovered in the past two weeks:

• Leftovers from the previous owners. First it was a foot spa in the bathroom, then a partial set of dentures and finally a bra behind the washer.

• A hidden compartment in the wet-bar area. Previous drug stash? Who knows. It had leftover tile in it when Steve discovered it.

• When the house was being inspected for termites, the exterminator found a cow skull in the crawl space. A leftover from some tragic 1980s southwestern decor? Who knows!

• We have a really nice electric awning on the deck, however it doesn’t seem to cover anything significant. It should have been installed over the front deck. Instead it’s over the back door which doesn’t need protection from the sun. Weird.

• We had the place exterminated before we moved in and kept finding dead or half-dead wasps inside. Forget spiders, this place had wasps.

• An architect friend pointed out that all the flat ceilings are wood and all the slanted ceilings are “popcorn.” The structure of the house is set up so that all the angles are ones you’d find in a right triangle - 30/60/90. If you look out of the upstairs bathroom doorway, the lines of the window, ceiling and wall all line up. Very cool. During the day, the sunlight even follows these rules.

• We found the title abstract in a drawer which included a brochure for the subdivision. The area was developed in 1959. We’re still researching who might have designed this particular house.

• We keep finding weird yard ornaments around the house. First, it was two hanging pieces over the deck, then Steve uncovered some foam “stepping stones” by the downstairs patio yesterday. We have a lot of clean up to do next spring.

That’s all I can think of for now, but I’m sure I’ll have more to add to the list. All in all, we feel like we’ve lived here for years. The old house seems like a distant memory. It’s amazing how all of our furniture and accessories just fit right in here. We’re truly blessed.

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We’re officially moved and I’m exhausted. No, I didn’t get the entire house painted on Saturday, but I’m getting it done this week. Every day I work on something and every night Steve and I work together to get more done. Today we got our phone service back and now we have Internet even though AT&T screwed up the order and we’re not supposed to have it. I’m not complaining.

I have so much going on and new pictures of what we’ve done but I don’t have time to get them posted tonight. Steve’s changing clothes and we’re hanging pictures tonight. I do like to have things on the walls.

I do want to give a HUGE thanks to my mom for helping us on Friday and Saturday and for her painting help yesterday. Step-sis Cindy was another huge help with loading and unloading of all the boxes. Both of them made the biggest part of the move almost bearable! Another HUGE thanks to Carrie for coming to our rescue on Friday when mom had to leave and we had an hour to get the final bit of stuff out of the old house. Julie, our former neighbor, was a guardian angel who helped Steve corral Tidbit (who did not want to move) and let us dump stuff on her lawn to pick up later. Burl was our fabulous handyman on Saturday when we needed electrical help and our new locks installed. Thank goodness he was here because the lock installation seemed like quite a challenge. The Guccione family arrived to help load the trailer, unload more boxes, empty said boxes and bless the new house. Yep, we’re quite blessed with great friends and great family. Thanks to everyone who loves us enough to help with the dirty work!

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We close on Friday and I’m getting excited. Sure, we have a lot of work to do both in moving and prepping the new house, but it’s exciting to think about living somewhere else. Our current neighborhood, Rountree, carries a certain prestige in the area. The homes are older, the streets are lined with mature trees, the elementary school is respected, we’re close to MSU and the atmosphere is family-friendly. But, I’m ready to move to another area. I’m tired of the excessive closeness of my neighbors, the busy street, college kids partying nearby and the size of my house. I never thought I’d want to leave, and I know I’ll miss walking to class, but I think it’s time for a change.

I met one of my new neighbors yesterday when I was at the house dealing with the exterminator. I think her name is Tracy and she lives across the street. She seems really nice, has kids and filled me in on the other neighbors. She offered to come over once we’re move in and tell us about the landscaping around our house. Most of it has died but she said many of the plants will return next year. She also told me that the yellow paint on the outside of the house is newer and the old color, which I thought was grey, was actually grey-blue - ick. I told her we’d be painting the house dark grey in the near future. At least, that’s the plan. Who knows what will actually happen once we’re settled! Knowing me, I’ll wait 5-7 years or whenever the old paint starts to peel before doing something about it.

Steve and I finished the painting on the outside of the house so all that’s left is the final packing and moving. I’m going to organize boxes today and take more stuff to the storage unit just so I can get it out of the way. Steve will be off the rest of the week so I’ll have his help tomorrow and Thursday. Tomorrow we move to Duane and Prudy’s basement bedroom so we can pack our bedding, towels, etc and get them out of here. I’m currently packing suitcases of first night necessities so we won’t have to dig through boxes to find our towels and sheets. Thursday we’re going to clean the new house so it will be move-in ready. I wish we could paint it before moving in the furniture, but that just can’t happen. Oh well, I told Steve to get ready to start on Saturday. I’m driven, baby!

A big shout out and thanks to Kevin for helping move boxes on Sunday and for cutting my l-shaped workbench in half. Also, a big thanks to Burl for loaning us the truck and trailer and the ladders and paint supplies. A huge thanks to mom for helping me pack and for supervising the movers on Friday so Steve and I can be at the closings. Her support has really meant a lot to me these past few months. Friends and family are making this all possible and keeping me out of the looney bin!

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We received a very funny phone call from Duane and Prudy assuring us they had arrived in Cabo, were fine, were on their second (or was it third) margarita and that they missed us. Looks like the hurricane is going to miss them so they should have a very relaxing week. Duane said they’d pulled up two empty chairs and toasted to us. What a couple of great friends! Next year, if all goes well, we’ll be there too.

The hurricane has officially hit our house. It’s a disaster. Every time I begin to think I may have a handle on packing I take a break, look around and wonder how in the world I’ll get it all out of here. Steve’s outside finishing up the painting and I’m inside attempting to pack everything that isn’t absolutely necessary in the next week. Tidbit has been wandering around the house all upset about the commotion but he finally calmed down and is snoozing under the bed. Littles doesn’t seem too phased by it all as she’s sleeping on top of a stack of boxes in the back room. I’d like to think things will be better when we move, but it’s just going to be another few weeks of chaos. At least unpacking is more fun than packing!

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