It's Time to Party!

Now that we're finally really, really settled into our house, I decided that I wanted to throw a little bash.

I have a few close friends who I've known, for the most part, since middle school (in one case, since the 4th grade, when I first moved to Maine), and as of this year, we're all back in the state and mostly back in the area where we grew up. I knew I wanted to invite my old crew for my first "candle-light supper." Expect something like this:




(Side note: My group of my friends and I started watching this show our freshman year of high school. We assigned each other different roles. I'm Hyacinth, the overly prim and proper star of the show. It's funny how I've grown into that role...Ha.)

Anyhow, I'm in the midst of planning the evening. The biggest decision of the moment is the menu. This is really not going to be anything formal, but I don't want there to be more of an air of sophistication (this is my new term, of late). We are, after all, grown-ups now, with jobs or in graduate school, some of us in serious relationships, or getting ready to make big life changing decisions. While I can't turn down a night of pizza, video games, and Apples to Apples, I want to do something different.

So, this is what I have planned so far:

Menu:
Appetizer - Sweet potato fries topped with pulled pork and cheese with sour cream maple dip
Side Dish(es) -
Main Dish -
Dessert - S'Mores with the bonfire, (there will probably be another sort of dessert dish)
Drinks - Pumpkin Head Ale, Sparkling Cider, Slow-Cooker Spiced Cranberry-Apple Cider

Activities:
A bonfire; a rousing game of Apples to Apples (some habits die hard :-)); Bocci ball

Table Setting:

Music:

Clearly I still have more to plan, and I'll update as a I go along, but I'm really excited about even the little I have here.

I am so pumped for my first grown up gathering!

Battening Down the Hatches

Irene is here!

Yesterday, DOH and I went out to celebrate our third wedding anniversary and you wouldn't have thought that anything like what is happening outside of my house right now was on its way.

While the crazy wind hasn't hit us yet (and it sounds like we won't get anything much over 45 MPH, which, of course, is still really fast, but it's not the 70-80 MPH that had originally forecasted), the rain is intense. In this part of Maine, you don't normally see these prolonged bouts of terenchal downpours.

The only thing that's really making me nervous?

We still need to hit up the local grocery store for some if-the-electricity-goes-out (which it probably will) supplies.

We're not awesome at preparing for emergencies, apparently.

The good news? I'm married to Mr. Survival, so he has, for one, lots of supplies for emergencies (besides the nonperishables, apparently, which, in my opinion, or sort of important)...somewhere (we're having some trouble finding our extra batteries, second lantern, and first aid stuff, BUT DOH did find a couple of his buck knives, for, you know, our defense in case there are mass riots post-hurrican). For two, I know he has a plan in place. Has he found the time to explain it to me? No. But is there a plan? I don't doubt it.

Now, I really don't expect anything drastic to happen, especially since the storm is tracking to the west of us (hitting more of New Hampshire and Vermont than Maine), but I am anticipating losing electricity since we live in the willywacks and any storm in Maine without losing electricity for a day or two would just feel wrong (Ice Storm of '98--we lived with my grandpa at the time on a dirt road and we lost electricity for eleven days).

If Mainers are anything, they're hardy. This storm, which seems as though it's going to end up being pretty mild in comparison to what was expected, isn't going to shake anyone. Instead, I think it'll just carve out a nice little Sunday for my family, where we watch movies, take our time prepping ourselves for the week, and hunker down with grilled cheese sandwhiches and soup for supper and something else warm and hearty for supper.

Come on in, Irene. wWe're ready for you.

Mostly because we don't have to be that ready.

Update:

For one, I've definitely learned my lesson on not reading something before hitting the publish button. Hoo-wee, that was bad.

Secondly, the worry that we weren't prepared for a potential electrical outtage was all for not. Other than the lights flickering a bit (and subsequently stopping a rousing game of Mortal Kombat between my husband and I while Lizzie napped), we didn't get much action.

I have a few friends who have lost electricity, or, in the case of one, has been blocked from going down his road all together, but for the most part, Irene has turned out to be a big dud.

Did I want horrifying destruction and mayhem?

No...

But it would have been fun to hunker down for the night, to play card games by lantern light, to read an actual paper book rather than waste the battery on my Kindle or iPad. (Of course, we could still do all of this, and maybe we will, but it's always more fun when you have to.)

Oh, well. We have plenty of winter storms to look forward to.

Movin' on Up!

Quite some time ago, when we first purchased this house, I showed you these picture of our upstairs:

Left side.

More left side.

Right side.

More right side.

That was waaaaaay back early last spring (April?). Since then, my AH-mazing dad (seen in "More left side") has taken this big open space and created TWO bedrooms. You see, the house was listed as a two-bedroomer, but one bedroom was in the basement (which is now our den) and the second was the massive upstairs bedroom, shown above (when we first looked at it there were a few beds set up sort of dormitory style). With a little one, this just wasn't going to work, so my dad sat down, created a new floor plan, and set to work. (I've recently informed my father he NEEDS to start a blog to showcase all the awesome stuff he's done in our house and his own, and maybe try some how-tos. He's got mad skillz when it comes to this stuff.)

Anywho, this is what where we're living now:

Left side, our bedroom.

Just had to show these off--they're pillows I made!

Other side of our bedroom.

Right side, Lizzie's bedroom.

I know, her window is crazy big (and beautiful, my dad and DOH installed this new one). Currently, there is a heavy bookshelf in front of this window prevent any little people from tumbling out.

Her closet and the chimney (which she thinks is so cool; she asks if Santa is going to leave her presents in her room ALL the time).

More chimney! What Lizzie's room lacks in width is made up by height. She has an awesome vaulted ceiling and when we get the ladder back down and she's a bit older, she'll have access to the loft that's just above our room.



The beams that go over her room. She now has a beautiful light-up paper star hanging from there as her bedroom light.

While anything was better than living in our old apartment, it was really nice to move ourselves to the upstairs bedrooms after a couple of weeks of all of us sharing a bedroom (and bed, most nights). It felt so good to be able to spread out and have our own rooms again! And, on top of it, they are such beautiful spaces. The last time I got to pick the color of any room, let alone two (and, of course, we've chosen colors for other rooms, too, but they're waiting to be painted), I was ten, so it was lots of fun deciding what we were going to do (seen in this post here).

A lot of things have changed since I last posted a "tour" of the house, so I might have to do that again, soon, or at least post the rooms that have changed. A lot still needs to be done both inside and out (the garden is INTENSE here--I ought to post some pictures of that, too), but slowly and surely we're getting there. My hope is that everything basic that we want to get done inside will be done by Christmas, if not sooner. Here's a short list of what we (and when I say "we", it's a combo of me, DOH, and my dad) need to complete:

• Repair the ceiling over the dining area (there was some water damage).
• Install the new side door.
• Paint the new stair treads and banister.
• Paint the upstairs bathroom and tub.
• Paint, stencil, or wallpaper the sections of the main floor that are currently covered in the hideous grandma wallpaper.

It's really not that much to get done, for which I'm thankful, considering I grew up in two houses that had to have MAJOR renovations done (like, entire sections of houses needing to be rebuilt and rewired). Also, a little more decorating needs to happen, so I'm looking forward to slowly but surely picking up a few pieces to add some character to the rooms in this house.

But regardless of what does get done and when, I'm eternally thankful to have this house, beautiful lot, and my family living in it. It doesn't get much better than that.





Oh, The Places You Won't Go...Online

We're moved in. Our upstairs bedrooms are painted. Most of the boxes are unpacked (...most...). And it's been a week. Yet, here I am, sucking internet off of my parents, because the freaking internet provider we've been using does not provide internet in our new area. I find this all bizarre, because we have literally come down from the distant Western mountains of Maine, where Time Warner didn't venture to a much more populated area and the phone company that is supposed to cover the entire state won't cover us for internet because we're literally half a mile away from an invisible line where coverage ends.

What are we going to do?

*Head desk*

Meanwhile, since I'm completely without the internet, I'm finding time to do other things. Like subsitute teach (Score!). And clean. We have one of the neatest not quite moved into homes in the state. I promise. I've also finished three (Yep. Count 'em. THREE) books this week. Okay, so, not having internet sucks, for a variety of reasons, BUT it does lead me to get a whole lot more done.

Plus, it's hard to want to stay indoors, glued to a keyboard when the weather is so freaking GORGEOUS. Until today, it's been hot, hot, hot and sunny (i.e. perfect). We've been to the beach a few times, played outside with the hose (a total novelty for me, since I grew up in a home where there was a dug well that dried up very easily and we had to use water sparingly...and then we moved to Maine, on a lake, and then we never  needed a hose--at least for playing), and have spent a lot of time outside just enjoying the total late May/early June weather.

So, for now, this is what I've got. I'll try to pop in here and there with updates on the house and whatever else is going on, but there will likely be big gaps between posts.

Such is life, right?

Paper

I'm back! Between graduation, the temporary loss of my powercord for my laptop, and a couple of busy days (including a job interview and a day of subbing at my old middle school), I just haven't had any time. Who knew the end of school would leave me with so little free time?

Anyway, we have a couple small developments with the house (which we're moving into in about a week!). First of all, and pictures, I promise, are coming soon, my dad has started to divide the top floor into two seperate rooms. The "bones" of the rooms are up and he and DOH have started putting in wallboard. Once that's done, I'll paint. And while I posted about the paint colors here, they've changed slightly. Here's what we're going with now:
Lettuce Be Green (California Paints)
Morning Mist (California Paints)
They're slightly lighter than the original colors. My mom convinced me to go lighter because the bedrooms are going to be on the small side and the other colors, while great, where going to be just too bright and therefore overwhelming.

So, with the bedroom paints officially picked, the next thing we needed to tackle was the downstairs room and wallpaper. The downstairs "room" is really one big, multi-use room. It's our kitchen, dining room, and living room (plus we have a family room/mancave in the basement). There is one section that is wallpapered (the dining area), while there are two other walls that are painted (the livingroom is a really catchy red, that I LOVE, while the kitchen walls are green. Here's what the dining area looks like:

I know it's hard to see the wallpaper clearly (it's a sort of leafy, grapey, green/yellow color scheme), but I think that maybe you can tell it's not so hot. (Also note, the furniture is not ours. This picture was taken before the owners moved their stuff out. Also, also note, the incredibly horrible railing--if you can call it that--on the stairs is currently being replaced with one that Lizzie won't fall through.) Frankly, I hate the wallpaper. It's the one detail in the whole house that makes me cringe. I feel like it belongs as a print on an elderly lady's moomoo. Not attractive on anyone or anything, especially my walls.

So, the search for new wallpaper began. Initially I figured we'd go sort of arts and crafts/folk artsy, since that is the general vibe of the house. I grabbed a whole library's worth of wallpaper books from our local interior decorating store, flipped through the books, and marked a whole bunch of stuff. Then DOH stepped into the picture.

Unlike the stereotypical American husband, DOH very much likes giving me his opinion in how things like decorating will go (he was very involved in the planning of our wedding, much to my chagrin, since we are both somewhat type A when it comes to those sorts of things). As he flipped through the pages I'd marked, his responses to what I thought would look good and what I thought he would like were sort of "eh." Then he got to one of the pages I'd marked just for fun, not really thinking he'd go for or if it would even work for the house.

It was a toile. (If you're not familiar with toile, check this out.) It was green. We both loved it. But it wasn't right for the house. The color was off and the scenes were a bit too formal, so we continued looking. The next day I went back to the decorating store, returned a few books and picked up this gem: the Ashford House wallpaper book (sounds very posh, doesn't it?). It was an entire book of toiles. DOH was in wallpaper heaven.

This is what we eventually picked, which I love:

While it's not the traditional toile (with the formal little scenes of pastoral life), it is in a similar style and I think it fits well with the feeling of the house and the landscape we're in (lots of trees, wildlife, and land around us...I know, I need to post pictures). The colors are exactly what we need, and I think it will add a level of sophisitication to the house that wasn't there before. It will be the way we really make the house our own, which I feel like we need to do, because the house has so many distinct features put in by the previous owner.

The next thing on the list (besides actually wallpapering) is to get a sofa for the upstairs. We're getting the sofas in my parents' playroom (or, I should say, my brother's playroom) for our basement family room, but we still need something for the upstairs. Tomorrow my mom and I are going sofa shopping. We'll see what we'll find!

Where We Stand

Schools over. I'm not currently employed (which may change soon, not sure). We're moving in two weeks. What the hell am I going to do with myself?

Well, the obvious answer to me would be to plop myself down in front of my laptop and/or T.V. and watch Real Housewives episodes and flip through some sort of crap magazine or book.

Unfortunately, I have this naggy side of my personality that prevents me from becoming a vegetable and I guess I'm going to have to something.

Other than send out as many job applications as I can, possibly substitute teach in our school district, take care of my daughter, and take on a few projects at the new house, I have two major things to do: organize (something I'm very bad at) and pack (something I'm very good at, via experience, but not exactly an activity I enjoy, especially when spread out over a couple of weeks).


As of last week, this (see above) is what I had done. I was busy, okay! Today I have a bit more to show for my efforts, having taken Friday as I scrambled to pick up our apartment for my parents' and BFF's arrival to put away a few nonessentials. It's funny, as you pack, you really begin to realize how much crap you really have and how much of it you do actually use. I have to ask myself: Am I actually going to use this within the next two weeks? In a lot of cases, the answer is yes.

So, in addition to trying to get as much packed and put away as possible, I'm attempting to get organized and get rid of some stuff. One of the biggest things I need to clear out are my magazines. I have...a lot of magazines.

The plan had been, oh so long ago, to go through these magazines and pull out articles and recipes that I wanted and then file them way. It never happened, mostly because I never had the time. Somehow writing papers about dead guys became more important. But now I have the time and I've got two seperate magazine-related projects going on.

First of all, I'm taking all the recipes I had pulled previously, but hadn't done anything with, and computer-itizing them (inspired by my cousin Kate's efforts, seen here). I'm using the site Say Mmm (which is great, but the name inspires really immature thoughts, likely because I've spent far too much time around adolescent boys in the last few months). After I'm done with THAT, I'm going to go through the rest of my magazines and put in more recipes that I like/want to try.

The other bit I've got going on is my notebook (I haven't figured out a clever name for it). This is where all my micellaneous magazine clippings go. I paperclip them in and attach the occasional note.

I like this idea, because it keeps all  my stuff readily accessibly and I can consult it quickly and easily. I sort of foresee, however, a time when I accumulate a lot more articles and things and need to find a better way to keep everything. Maybe nice big binders with page protectors organized by subject. Because I'm a loser.

Of Chairs and Pillows

Now that school's over (and graduation is only a day away!), I finally have some time to post a couple of pictures that are "domestic" related.

First of all, you might remember from this post that I found two way cool FREE patio chairs on the side of the road. Well, above is one of them (at the time only one had made its home on the new house's front porch, while the other hung out in our kitchen, but now the pair is back together). Their not exactly beautiful, but I kind of liked the style, they were comfortable, and given a cushion and a coat of paint they'll be awesome.

Secondly, in that second picture, you'll notice some pillows. Remember waaaaay back to one of my first posts? All that fabric? Well, I ended up taking a bunch of it and decided to do pillows for our bed in the new house. So, these are the first three pillows. I'm currently working on a minky blanky for Lizzie, but as soon as that's done (probably finish it today or tomorrow night and will post pictures soon after), I'm going to go back the pillows and make a bunch of square ones. Maybe with a button in the center. We'll see.

Anyway, I love the pillows. They're comfy, pretty, and my stitches all came out real nicely (I've probably mentioned this, but I only sew by hand). I'd like to dress them up a bit, but I'm not exactly sure how. I'm a good basic sewer (meaning I can slap some pieces of fabric together), but there isn't much else I can do. 

The next goal, besides finishing the pillows themselves, is finding a white coverlet or duvet to put on our bed. I think the white bed covering with the pops of color from the pillows will look really lovely. Can't wait to post some picture soon!

Free Stuff

If I have one piece advice for anyone, it's don't turn down free stuff. More specifically, if you're driving to work in the morning and you pass a some white metal patio furniture that could look sooo cute with a fresh coat of paint and some cute cushions AND that will fit in your Ford Taurus, you damn well pull over (even though you're already running late) and lug the goods into your backseat. You should also switch out the Taurus for a truck so you would have been able to fit in the free desk that was sitting there, too. You may have to see if it's still there this afternoon and drag to your apartment before you pick up your daughter from daycare.

Best advice you'll ever receive.

Good Morning

We've been staying at my parents for a few days, visiting family and friends from home, and this morning, despite the rain, I was reminded of one of the (many, many) reasons why I love coming to my childhood home: