New house pics

Things are coming along. The living room, dining room and first floor bathroom are just about finished.

The old first floor bathroom had hideous mauve wallpaper. Together with the blue and pink tile, it was a disaster. I stripped off the wallpaper and removed the glue, revealing an even more-hideous pink plaster base. Two coats of oil-based primer and a coat of white semigloss later, it was looking much more clean in there. I also painted the wooden vanity white.



Much better!


The dining room didn't need much more than a coat of new paint. I did manage to bust an outlet while prying off the cover plate. Note the cool salmon color the room apparently was at one point. Here's before and after:






There is so much more we want to do, but this is a start. I'll post projects as they get done.

One long, crazy week

Happy 4th of July! For us, it's the culmination of a week of moving into our new home and trying to make it our own.

We've been busy painting, de-wallpapering, sanding, spackling and priming our little hearts out. The move went well thanks to the generosity of our friends, who donated their time and energy to lifting and hefting all of our crap. I'm hoping we'll never move again...

The closing happened last Friday. While I realize the good faith estimate is just that, an estimate, it was off by about $2500. Things were tight for a few days, but thank goodness for paydays and the return of our apartment security deposit.

I'll update the blog with more details and pictures in the next few days. There are a bunch of projects we want to tackle, but for now we're sticking to the basics.

Grocery store trickery

As a kid, my brother and I loved cookies. We'd head over to dad's for the weekend, and down a bunch of Chips Ahoy with a big glass of milk. Not healthy, but delicious.

After a few years, we started to notice that the cookies themselves were shrinking. The package would say "More chips!" but it was an illusion. Less cookie made it LOOK like there were more chips!

I tend to skip the cookies nowadays, but I'm definitely noticing a trend toward smaller packaging. First, microwave popcorn. The individual bags used to be 3.0 ounces -- now, they're getting smaller, down to 2.9 ounces. For the same price.

And last week, I saw some new packaging for another grocery item I buy -- Kraft 2% shredded cheese. Well, I usually buy whatever's on sale, but I digress. The new look is sleek, uses better fonts and is easier to read. "Sure, it's on sale, I'll buy this," I said to myself. Then, I picked up the package and read the fine print: instead of a full 8 ounces of shredded goodness, it was down to just 7 ounces for the same price. I put that sucker back on the shelf and went for something else with a better unit price, which is an excellent way to make sure you're getting your money's worth.

I'm sure some of the downsizing is due to the economic climate, but it makes me wonder what OTHER grocery items have been shrinking without me noticing. Do they take us for suckers?

Still waiting

We're still waiting for that elusive, solid closing date. The title work finally came through late last week, so now it's up to the lender and the attorneys to set the darned date.

I'm kind of tired of being surrounded by boxes at home, and I'm at a packing standstill.

It was quite a busy weekend. On Friday, I went to see The Fray with a friend; she won free tickets from a local radio station, and the parking was free, too. Except I had a few beers -- for $9 each -- and I'm not happy about that spending.

Saturday we went to see a few local bands play. It was a benefit for a friend's daughter. Lots of fun, got to catch up with some people we hadn't seen in ages!

And yesterday, I had a very nice early dinner with Mr. Saver's mom, aunts and cousins in celebration of one cousin's 30th birthday. Just us girls, which gave the men the best Father's Day ever -- peace and quiet! Haha.

So while I had a great weekend full of excitement, I wasn't happy about the spending. Have I gotten to the point where I can't enjoy throwing a few bucks out to have a good time? I hope it's only temporary because of the big house purchase.

While I advocate frugality, I don't want to not enjoy life. It's all about finding a balance, I suppose.

The upside to packing

Packing means we have to go through everything we own. Sounds daunting, but it's an excellent opportunity to pare down our belongings and get rid of things we don't want or need anymore.

I'm not one to just toss something out (unless it's beyond repair), so clothes and books are being donated, and I'll find new homes for anything else that's in good shape.

I always feel better after sorting through my stuff. It's satisfying to unburden myself of material possessions every once in a while!

What I have yet to tackle is the junk drawer. Boy, is it full of junk! I tried to organize it a few months ago, but once again it's a crazy collection of stuff that doesn't have a real home: suitcase tags, about a billion matchbooks, rubber bands, loose batteries of all sizes, giveaway pens and lanyards, and so on.

At this point I'm just waiting to pack what's left, which is really just clothes and kitchenware. Everything else has found a home.

Meanwhile, I'm so anxious for the closing that I've decimated my fingernails. On the left hand, four down, one to go! So far, the nails on the right have yet to be bitten down to the quick...

Verizon Fios

Mr. Saver is all about TV. Seriously. So for him, the most important thing with the new house is to set up cable TV service.

What's funny is that I don't even know if there was cable service set up to the house. I don't ermember seeing a cable line even in the living room, and I know there wasn't cable in any other room. I'd have to check outside.

But we're going to go with Fios. Their pricing is pretty good and guaranteed for 24 months, with a 1-year contract. Plus, we get $150 back. Can't complain about that.

What I'm not looking forward to is all the installation time it requires. Verizon says it could take anywhere from 4-6 hours. Plus, we want 4 TV hookups (yes, I realize we're only 2 people). It's easier to do it all now.

Anyone out there have experience with FIOS? Do you need a separate converter box for every TV (no HD/DVR needed)? Do all the TVs need to be there during installation? I think we'll need to have them all there, so we'll have to go a day or two without television. That's fine with me.

What a mess!

And the packing goes on ... and on ... and on ...

We're in the home stretch now, both on the mortgage and packing fronts. We just need to resubmit our latest account statements and I apparently need to send a copy of my birth certificate to show why I had two different last names on my paystubs from the initial application process (I'm not living a double-secret life; I got married, people!). We're just waiting for the title work to come back and be sent to the lender, then we firm up the closing date, which is tentatively scheduled for next Tuesday.

As far as packing, I've reached the point where I can't really put anything else into boxes. I've left out our everyday dishes, a few drinking glasses and some cookware. The china and decor stuff are all stashed away, as are linens and out-of-season purses. Not that I'm much of a fashionista -- shocking, I know.

It took about a week for the cats to discover the stacks of boxes scattered throughout the apartment, but find them they did. Now, Misfit's favorite sleeping spot is one of the mid-level boxes, and both him and Krashy enjoy chasing each other up and around them.


I'm looking forward to having our own place and, for the first time in 11 years, my very own washer and dryer. And naturally, Mr. Saver is already planning his first BBQ. We are super-psyched!