First Halloween

I last minute went shopping at Michael's. Originally I thought I would do it next year, but then I thought- this might be the last year I have a sibling as a trick or treater! Also, got to get the ball rolling right that I am not the creepy hoarder, I am a pleasant and fantastically creative young lady who'd like to give your children candy. Not creepy.



I got webbing for my bushes, as well as reflective eyes to hide in them. I also had a tin star hanging on my door with a pumpkin painted on it.



I put in a couple of friendly scarecrows to greet the children. The pumpkins behind them were from Pumpkin picking in Montville. Along the windows were stickers of bloody handprints.



Bought a fog machine at Target. Place it under the front of the car to fog the kiddies way (still I am not creepy)! Also, an additional pumpkin on the step.



Lastly we have a Autumn Greeting.



And TA-DA... Wouldn't you like a piece of that? And may be some candy as well.



Satisfied Customers:



HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Painting in the DA-ARK, Oh OH, oh-oh

So it was a Billy Idol evening as we sang to ourselves "Painting in the Dark" to Dancing with Myself AND "Paint without a Light" to Eyes without a Face. Had nothing to do with alcohol. The Bud Light with Lime didn't come until we ran out of lyrics.



Oh, when there's no way to get light,
In the bathroom crowded tight,
I just grab a brush cuz I'm in a rush,
And I'm painting in the Da-ark...






So let's sink another beer,
Cuz it's gettin hot in here,
I'm on a roll, up on the wall,
And I'm painting in the Da-ark...



OH-Oh... oh-oh.




Paint without a light,
No clue if it's done right, paint without a light,
Tryin' to wash these rollers white, paint without a light...



Seriously though... if you don't like Billy Idol- blame Roxanne, she's the one that got me into him. If you think we rock, credit Roxanne.

:)

Fortune Cookie

I am not easily impressed by Fortune Cookies, but I was today...

First, I ordered dumplings. The word it offered me to learn in Chinese is ... Dumplings.

...cue the twilight zone music...

Second, I have been struggling to balance the advice and criticisms of others with my own guesses at how to manage life/my house/my future wedding and so forth (mostly my house which is why I am posting this on the blog) and the fortune is... THERE IS ONLY ONE SUCCESS--TO BE ABLE TO LIVE YOUR LIFE IN YOUR OWN WAY.

Prophetic.

The numbers were a little disappointing:
-40 I am done having children by 40.
-34 My neighbor who also bought her house with her man and got into renovating it. He left her. I hope mine doesn't leave me.
-23 My number for basketball, my address number backwards, my favorite number/age other than 3.
-52 The number of cards in a deck. I enjoy playing cards.
-51 The number of cards in a deck when it's time to buy a new deck of cards.
-22 Palindrome.

Beautifying Inside & Out

Productivity last weekend!!!!

My friend Pat came with a truck and a chain saw to help us break down the tree debris (and so he could take the wood for his fire pit).


Brendan after loading the truck for the first time.


Pat making sure load 3 "wood" be a full one!


The truck filled with load two, load three mid yard, and hauling away the future mulch on a drop cloth (non-wood tree debris and weeds).


Fake blinds to hide our stuffed porch.


Peekaboo!


My new lamp.


The lamp in high detail.


Up next (hopefully) painting the bathroom!

What's New?

First...MY KITTY relaxing in the living room:



OK... enough kitties...Updates:

getting rid of the wholes in the door by hammering in ill fitting white pegs...



peeling off the tape...this is what blue tape did...


peeling off the tape...this is what the green tape did...


LESSON: GO GREEN!


bought this chair...(along with a coffee and side table)...


my living room is now cozy...



and so we had a PARTY! (well invited over 2 friends)...



This is my porch. Apparently there are people in town complaining about the appearance of my porch hurting their property values. So instead of spending my money on a sink in my bathroom, or insulating pipes in my basement, or getting a basement door, or windows that close, or screens without holes, or cabinets in my kitchen, or up to code plumbing with scald guards, or fix the grout in my shower, or blinds for the rest of my house other than bedroom, or shelves in my pantry,... I could go on...

THEY believe TOP of that list is trimming the hedges to proper shape, putting in a walkway to a front door I don't use, and emptying a porch I use as convenient storage and instead storing tools, tiles, and stuff I plan to sell in a basement or attic or garage where it's not as climate controlled or easily accessible, SO THAT when they drive by... the look of my front porch is more appealing to them.




SO I will be figuring out how to get a happy medium accomplished AND FAST.

This Just Makes Me Really Happy

Ok, so nothing to do with the house, other than that I will NEVER own a carpet that color. But seriously, can you watch this and not smile a little?

The Month of Nothing Done

So the electrician did his final inspection. Now I need to get the town guy to come out and sign off. THEN I can get vents going. I think my guy for the vents is getting me an estimate this weekend. He originally did not think he would have to damage the walls in the upstairs bathroom. Now he things he might. Boo. I asked that he try to do it by damaging the hall outside the bathroom instead (this is why I haven't finished the hall- so that in circumstances like this it's all good :).

I hope the light we end up putting in there is brighter. I have this BEAUTIFUL blueish greenish deep wall color that I love, but the light in the room is so yellow that it just distorts it all and makes it look kinda crummy.

July isn't going to be much better. Going to the shore (YAY AUNT DEBBIE!) this weekend. Then I have work on the 10th, 18th, 25th, and I think 31st. Baptism on the 11th, graduation party on the 17th, birthday that I will likely miss but if I can make it to part of I will on the 18th, and no party but both of my brothers' birthdays are this month and will need to be attended to. Oh, and trying to get to a Lady Gaga concert.

So fun stuff, just not terribly house-ish stuff. We do mow the lawn on a regular basis, and have recently looked into the recycling situation. Also, Brendan put up a shelf! (Perhaps I will get a picture of that).

Oh, and we still have the two trees in our back yard. There were two folks that offered to take them- neither of which has had time. And so now one of them I am pretty sure has a new resident: the most ADORABLE chipmunk. It will be sad when he loses his home. *Think Ferngully*

Anywho, that's it for now!

Still Alive- But a Little Held Up

So I am still living in a mess, but here's the thing...
1. have to have closets and shelves and space to organize,...
2. have to have bathrooms done to increase closets and shelves (right now bathroom vanities, mirrors, cabinets, and supplies are all over... once bathrooms are done I will have my closet back, and I will have cabinets in the bathrooms for towels and linens and toilet paper, etc...)
3. have to be able to finish my downstairs bathroom before I can take apart the toilet to do the upstairs...
4. have to paint downstairs bathroom before getting plumber in to put in vanity and toilet...
5. have to have ventilation fans put in before painting (they have to cut open the walls)...
6. have to get the final inspection done from my previous work permits from the town before I can get started on the vents
And the dude's apparently been busy for the last few weeks!!!
Grr. Arg...

Oh well, I have been busy anyways: birthdays (mine on the 23rd) baby shower, wedding, town street festival, visiting family, graduation parties and ceremonies, etc...

HAPPY SUMMER!

Vanity

It's Arriving @ Lowes SATURDAY




This is what it will look like in my bathroom (note the awesome sand paint, bath tile, bronzed faucet, and floor tile).

Lazy Updates

So I was a little lazy and lacking in wit last night and for the most part just posted pictures with little to no real explanation.

Here's where I stand. I need to paint the downstairs bathroom, a vanity for the downstairs bathroom, and I need to paint trim in the bedroom. Actually I need to paint trim everywhere. But here is why those first two things need to happen:

Once I paint the trim in the bedroom, I can
1) put the furniture in its final resting place
2) fill the furniture with the clothing currently residing everywhere but in drawers
3) take tupperwares of clothing out of attic (thereby clearing attic space) and go through and organize what I need and don't need (mostly basing it on what I can fit reasonably in two Tupperware, half a closet, a pant trolley, and drawers)
4) Have a clean organized room.
5) Organize desk area / unpack my office supplies currently loitering in Brendan's office.
6) Hang pictures (there by also clearing space in attic room and living room).

Once I paint and get the vanity for the downstairs I can:
1) Call the plumber to hook up toilet, sink, and radiator in downstairs bathroom, as well as check plumbing in shower
2) Put an above the toilet cabinet in
3) Begin unpacking toiletries in a more permanent manner
4) Clear out (take apart toilet) in upstairs bathroom
5) Floor upstairs bathroom
6) Return tile saw (clearing area in sun room)
7) Have plumber back to put in upstairs vanity and toilet (also clearing area in sun room)
8) Put in linen closet/shelving in nook by shower
9) Unpack rest of toiletries-towels-linens, freeing up space in living room, bedroom, attic, and closet downstairs.

At that point, ladies and gents... I will be able to walk in my sun room again, thereby being able to organize for a garage sale. I am not 100% sure I have enough for a real garage sale but I think I do... (sink, vanity, books, toys, porcelain dolls, may be a book shelf, dvds, stereo, etc...) also once I have the room to move and put things, I may have more that I don't even know of. I will also happily at that point take things from others to sell in their stead in a grand ol' joint sale.

After that? I get to actually focus on making the place presentable to have company (yay).

So there it is- the hold ups: I am lazy and sick of painting (getting over that this weekend) and Lowe's won't get me my vanity (supposedly arriving tonight).

The Kitchen

So the kitchen isn't perfect, but it is done for now (read- largely unpacked), and plenty livable:

Of Mice & Men

Ok, may be not mice, may be a chipmunk caught the eye of my kitty.






And my man- before his great might broke the lawn mower.

A Tale of Tiles

So my pics make Brendan look like a bystander- but I swear he did a lot of it!










When it was complete, it reminded me of a cloudy sky. I LOVE it.

A Tree Car I Didn't Desire

Brendan's Dad made short work of that tree (with the help of Aidan):

TIMBER!

So a tree limb fell on my house and Brendan's car. I originally thought Brendan fell down the stairs and so was relieved to see it was only a tree. I've called both house and car insurance (and now wonder what will become of that- do they really up my premium over an 'act of god' as they call it?). House had 2 holes in the roof- got those patched. Going to check the siding, and Brendan's car DEF needs some body work. By the end of this year that car will practically be new (already replaced engine block, turbo charger, some gaskets, and it needs a new clutch).

So I have some tree in my back yard, pre chopped, any one need any wood?

:)

On a happier note, I have a FLOOR in my downstairs bathroom!!!! Now I just need to paint and put in a toilet and vanity!

Pics to come!

It's Official!

I am a first time homebuyer and I gots the tax credit to proove it!!!!

This Got Me Some Looks..

In case you can't read Walmart:
- (2) 32 Gallon Trash Cans
- (1) Shower Liner
- (1) Set of C shaped Hooks
- (1) Quart of Skim Milk

The Vitals

By Sunday night we made sure we had...

...somewhere to sleep...




...somewhere to shower...




...and first time, Monday night, somewhere to cook...



Pasta and Sauce compliments of my next door neighbor. Sauce was homemade!