score!

Patience pays off. I’ve been wanting these kitchen canisters for more than a year and I just ordered them. What took so long? Well, I couldn’t justify the original price, and exhaustive searching couldn’t turn up either a cheaper one or canisters I liked any better. But I happened to check in today and saw them for a third of the price. After making sure I wasn’t seeing things, I ordered them.

Now I just need to wait another year to satisfy my clothes hamper lust:

Sigh.

first bloom

Ah, spring. I love you.

I am really excited to tackle the yard. I’m dubbing it Phase 1.2 because it’s going to be as much work, if not more, than the inside. This weekend we put down our crabgrass control, but only in the backyard. We’ve got to re-sod the front because it’s a muddy mess. Joe wants to wall in the flowerbeds, and we’ll have to mulch.

And then there’s the garden.We bought four raspberry plants that I have absolutely no idea what to do with. Plus seeds for green beans and, get this, carrots. Joe always goes a little overboard. He actually suggested corn, but I talked him out of it. The carrots should be interesting. We’ll see.

and you think you’ve got spring cleaning to do …

our living room:

bedroom:

and office:

happy housewarming

Belle made us this housewarming picture:

I especially like how she copied the mailbox exactly. That, and her father’s hair.

my birthday wish list

I know it’s a little late, but if anyone is looking for last-minute gift suggestions, here you go:

1. A dishwasher hose. I have only ever really demanded two things of Joe: a wedding ring and a dishwasher. We’ve had the latter a full year, and if it isn’t hooked up soon, one of those two things is getting chucked at his head.

2. A cat muzzle. If they don’t make them, they should. Boo is not a happy camper about this move—I guess three is her lifetime limit or something. But she has let us know the past two nights by meowing at top volume in the early a.m. and not letting us get any sleep.

3. A plumber. So he can fix our brand new showerhead, which leaks. After three disgusting, grimy days without running water, I finally had to shower at work today.

4. A toilet paper holder. My husband apparently does not believe in them, but the members of the household who pee sitting down outnumber him two to one so fair’s fair.

more photos

Furniture makes a big difference. Here’s Belle’s room all ready for her:

She loves it.

home sweet home

Okay, the details. Despite the year and three months we’ve had to plan this move, it turned out like all our others—namely, with us throwing crap in boxes at the last minute and trying to corral the chaos without killing each other. We were only mildly successful.

I spent my entire Saturday scrubbing the kitchen spotless, even though Joe’s mom had already cleaned once. It was that filthy. And since this is the cleanest it’s going to be until we rip it out and replace it all in Phase II, I took a picture:

Compared to the “finished wing,” our Phase II rooms are going to be tough to live with, but I am still pleasantly surprised by how well they cleaned up. I would have liked to shampoo the living room carpet but we ran out of time.

Still, with the furniture in, it’s cozy. We may not have a window treatment in the entire house, a working dishwasher, internet access, or any clue where our bath towels are at present, but I have to say, nothing beats coming home.

WE MOVED!

Details (and pics) later, but I had to share the news. After more than a year, last night we finally spent our first night in our house. We went right down to the wire, but I did manage to do it before I turn 30.