Pollen Eyes: Foolish Hopeful Wants to Go Home

Hi.

Through the wall I can hear Seth talk on the phone to someone who may move to Austin. The restaurants, weather, dogs, outdoors, music. All wonderful.

What do you do for work? I get to work for my company back in Chicago, but unfortunately Jenny hasn't found work yet. Its a tough, saturated market for her skill set. You're in HTM, right? Oh there's tons of visitor traffic and hotels here. You should be fine.  

Do you own your home? We did in Chicago. We sold it to move here. We are renting right now because we don't know where we want to be. We thought living in an apartment building would help us make friends too. 

What's the air quality in terms of allergies? I don't have allergies, but Jenny has had a bad time with them. I think they're worse than Chicago. Oh and the bugs are bad. Jenny sorta attracts them. I don't usually have a problem with mosquitos. 

Is is really, really unbearably hot? I love the heat! I am so glad to not have to wear a winter coat again. Jenny sunburns easily and gets heat rash with anything over 90*, but I don't have that problem. 

And I'm on the other side of the door. Choking down pitiful tears. Feeling so sorry for myself as someone chalk-outlines my pain and firmly excludes himself from it.

I have the benefit (is it, though?) of idly riding along on Seth's income until the right (any) job comes along. And in that wheel-spinning waiting game I am shrinking. I am undoing. I hear each itemized loss be listed: my beautiful home, my important (it was! I think!) job, my proximity to the known.

But I've been given a do-over! A fresh set of monopoly money and a new shiny shoe from which to launch my real estate career! C'mon railroads!

All I have to do in that time is decide who I want to be and then spend 4 months (so far) trying to be that. Then, when (now) it doesn't work, decide that I would want to be a receptionist or other professional warm body, or for Christ's sake a volunteer only to find that I am one of 100 people vying for said free labor and there is someone with 15 years of volunteering experience and I'll be put in the maybe-next-time pile. Still waiting for next time over here!

I have a 15-month lease to get my shit figured out so we can repurchase a home and I can get back to being the adult I was so proud of from 2011-2014.

Until then it's sad blogging or therapy.

With all the guests I'm having to endure (sorry, but I really am having a hard time with all the people... it's a bad time for 20 questions about how my job search is going. Short answer: shitty.) I chose blogging. Talking to a stranger for money sounds a lot like networking and I have to do more of that than I like as it is.

[chirp] LOW BATTERY

Gather 'Round and Let Me Tell You A Story:

I was awoken at 5 AM by my Mr. yelling from the bathroom.

"What is that?" He asked.

Then the dog jumped up and half-woofed.

"What?"

"You didn't hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"Well you clearly didn't hear it."

"So why do you keep asking me?" Was I talking in my sleep? "Is everything ok?"

[chirp] LOW BATTERY

"Oh that? No, I didn't hear it before now."

"I think it's the smoke alarm in the hallway of our unit."

[chirp] LOW BATTERY

The Mr. comes back to bed and settles in next to the dog.

"Um, you aren't going to take care of it? We can't sleep through the low battery alarm!" I said.

The Mr. steps into the hall and tries to reach the alarm from standing on the ground. He gets the step stool. He pulls it down and somehow activates the smoke alarm function. Then the carbon monoxide function.

[chirp] LOW BATTERY
[scree-eam] SMOKE DETECTED
[whiiiirrrll] CARBON MONOXIDE DETECTED

Now we are in a literal 3 alarm situation at 5:15 AM. He pulls the machine apart. No battery to be seen. He starts pulling on wires and circuit boards. The alarms persist. He runs to the kitchen and yells:

"Bring me a hammer!"

I deliriously wander the hallway in an effort to not only find a hammer under stress, but look like I know where he keeps tools. Because this girl scout is both helpful AND supportive.

The Mr. realizes that my support is purely superficial and he finds his own hammer. Taking the whole screaming mess to the kitchen sink, he starts a'smashing.

"Are you sure that... ok... don't hurt yourself," I said.

After a couple good whacks the battery pops out of the front of the panel, as I'm sure all batteries on modern alarms do. I go to clean up the pieces but the Mr. told me to leave it. I've seen enough Law and Order to know that the sociopath isn't won over at 5:20 after a violent binge, so I leave the crime scene and we head back to bed to try and fall back asleep for 20 minutes before the usual alarms go off.

At least we know how to deactivate those.

What I imagine 'ocular yoga' feels like

My head hurts and I've had a long day of meetings and lunch meetings and feelings meetings. I am le tired.

I just want to chat with some pink wine* while wearing this sweater (please get delivered today!). When did pink wine get so chic? I mean. It was all White Zinfandel in the early 00's and now it's all 2011 Rosé served in 2013 and I get it. I suppose it has gone the way of it's friend the denim shirt. (Also in the order with the aforementioned sweater.)

Instead of a nap, leaving early from work or breaking my no-booze streak this week, let's all drink this in. Glug, glug.

First seen here.
From here.
Taking over here <3 .="">

* You didn't read that wrong. I want to chat with the wine. Not with someone over the wine. You do that? Ignore your wine?

Flip-It Friday: (up)Date Me!

Five things from me:

1) I changed the look and title of my blog a bit. I am looking to simplify. Here, at home, in my mind. I am vowing not to bring anything else into my home that isn't completely necessary and well thought-out. (Those pillows I was going to recover? gone. Those pants that I never wear? gone. Those abstract art pieces that I was going to paint? Fu-get-uh-bout-it.)

Source: 24.media.tumblr.com viaKari on Pinterest

2) We are going to see Macklemore this weekend at Purdue, my alma mater. My brother and I (whadup, Greg!) are attending the concert. The Mr. is just hanging with friends in Lafayette. I'm missing my Roo-dog already.

Source: pharosbones.tumblr.com viaMorgan on Pinterest

3) We have a relative staying with us while she gets on her feet in the big city*. We knew it was going to have stressful moments. I don't think I'm surprised, but I am not taking the stress well**. The Mr. and I are both pretty uptight people and have a hard time with disorder. We look each other in the eyes and say, "Where are your Patience Pants?".

4) Some big projects at work have been taken out of my hands. I am relieved to not be held accountable for them anymore, but saddened that I won't carry the baton over the finish line.

5) Not surprisingly, I've been thinking about how women work together (or not) lately. A woman at work is leaving and I'm sad to see her go. I have found out that there is some underlying cattiness among some of the women. I often wonder if they talk about me behind my back the way they talk about others to me. I also have realized that I am somehow a part of a clique that might encourage the cattiness. (I wasn't in the "in" crowd growing up, so this is a weird situation for me. Be kind, people!)

Source: all-things-bright-and-beyootiful.tumblr.com viaAlice on Pinterest

Geese make sense here, right?

This probably makes more sense.

For the flip-it part, share some things with me? Or respond to my five things?

* Unrelated to point 2, promise.
** Does anyone handle stress well?

Flip-It Friday: Budgets, Babies and Bottom-Lines

Happy Friday, friends.

Let me tell you a story about women. And finance. 

When will she stop these topics, you ask? No telling. It's probably all I'll talk about... forever...

Chapter 1 - Is The Nest Egg Eggy Enough?
Yesterday the Mr. and I met with a financial planner. We are pretty good savers and come from humble backgrounds so we know how to live below our means. We have 401k's, a mortgage with a great rate, a new car with low interest, savings and great health insurance benefits. We budget. We limit ourselves. We have fun too (date night tonight!) but don't go really wild.

All that said, if we keep going as we are, we'll only have 59% of our retirement funded by the time we want to retire.

59%

Yowser. I knew we were bringing an adviser in at this stage because we are young, can save a bit more and have plenty of time to invest so our money makes money. We knew we'd need to focus more on the next step of investment, but I'm not sure that I was ready to hear that we were so under on the projection.

Chapter 2 - Look That Baby Monster Right In the Eyes
I've said since I got married that I'm not having children. The Mr. said it too. I'm still on the same page as I was when we got married but I think the Mr. is entertaining the idea of a brood. No harm in thinking about it. I want us both to be open-minded but also honest with each other about what we want.

The more I think about it and force myself to plan ahead (like way head... I mean... this whole post was birthed* from a retirement discussion) the more I add to my honest list of reason not to have children:

- I am not sure I can handle it mentally. I am pretty sure I keep it together during the day because I can be selfish and weird in my free time. If I have to be "on" all the time by being a mother, I may just go crazy.
- I'm selfish about my body and don't know if I can handle all of the changes that occur. I also think this might cause me to go crazy.
- I'm already crazy.
- I worry that between the Mr. and me, our genetic makeup will make for an ugly, broken child.
- I don't want to have children just because that's what people "do". I don't want to be defined by children.
- Adopting solves some of these problems but creates new ones like "what if it hates me" or "what if we never bond"
- I'm not a very affectionate person and would probably raise an antisocial serial murderer

Reasons to have children:
- If I live a long life, will I be lonely? (but again, I'm an introvert and maybe being a lonely old person would be my dream...?)

Source: mimithorisson.com via Joanna on Pinterest

The little girl in this picture is the product of my inability to show affection. 

The little boy is the product of my inability to wear pants at home. 

The woman is not me (who picks rhubarb in a wire basket in a long, flowing white skirt?!).

The dogs are the only likelihood here.

Chapter 3 - The Saddest Realization of All
The saddest of realizations, and one I'm not proud of, is that I fear it will feel like I've failed if I become a mom.

See, having children in Chicago (we don't plan to become suburbanites) is expensive. Daycare, nannies, school, transport, food, after school activities, just putting those kids in hand-me-down Gap could be pricey!

With my career trajectory, education and skills its very possible that the cost of childcare could swallow up my entire salary - making it useless and even fiscally irresponsible for me to continue working.

I would have to become a stay-at-home mom. I say this is the saddest realization not because being a stay-at-home mom is wrong**, it's just that I would consider myself a failure in the workplace. I don't want the stigma of being a SAHM.

If I translate my abilities into money, I am worthless. (gasp....gasp)

Chapter 4 - Stay With Me, I'm Not a Jerk
The planner we met with yesterday was great. He said that if you add up the value of all the activities of a SAHM, you could arrive at a 6-figure salary, easily! He even said he wants to read Lean In to understand his clients and women's perspectives more. How nice.

But it didn't make it easier to see a sheet of paper with the Mr's numbers on it lying next to my sheet of paper with my numbers - mere fractions by comparison!

The only numbers I lead the Mr. in? Life expectancy. Womp womp :(

So, friends, what do you think? Why did/would you have children? Do you have a hard time disconnecting your self-worth to your bottom line? Do you have another perspective on the working mom vs. Stay-at-home mom debate?

---
*Baby pun, check!
**It's totally not! Don't hate me!

Did Daylight Savings Slap Anyone Else Awake This Morning

'Cause, guh. I'm not on the horse yet.

So I'm reading about getting in the right frame of mind.

A few rules of storytelling from Pixar:

"Simplify. Focus. Combine characters. Hop over detours. You’ll feel like you’re losing valuable stuff but it sets you free."

This is why I maintain that every good writer is made by through editing.

From here. Originally seen here.

---

This past weekend the Mr. and a friend hung our new chandelier over our dining room table (See Instagrams to the right on this page). It took them, GodBlessIt!, 7 hours to hang. They are smart cookies though and got the job done against all odds*.

Part of the way through the process were were joking about just up-and-moving to leave the holes in the ceiling and the half-hangin' chandy to the next owner. There was a mega-home down the street available with a separate nanny-quarters and lush courtyard. It reminded me of how much I loved day dreaming about buying too-much-too-'spensive-homes. Some gems in the Chicago:

TV in the shower, next to the tub

Making white cabinets look good

Frank-Lloyd Oh-So-Wright

Wine Cellar



*I like the chandelier, but the craftsmanship was really shotty. Just and FYI in case anyone else is looking to purchase a piece from Shades of Light, a company based in Virginia.

Done and Done

Finally compromised on some much needed home items.

In the cold, dark winter, we've felt the lack of rug/chandy at home.

Now we have both. They're on their way and they were, together, under $1k (I was skeptical, I'll admit it).

Blessed flash-sale sites, coupon codes and just bitin'-the-bullet!

Source: shadesoflight.com via J on Pinterest

Source: jossandmain.com via J on Pinterest

Not to invite a copy cat (not that anyone would), but just FYI: the chandelier is from Shades of Light (coupon code from Young House Love) and the rug is from Joss and Main.

Tipsy Tuesday: Smelling Smells

Title has double meaning, so I probably get double points. High five (clap).

I'm seeing all over Pinterest that there are homemade home fragrances for every taste: sweet, earthy or punchy. Smells can be punchy. Let me show you (clap).

I was thinking it was getting a bit ridiculous with all of the scenty-ness. I mean, does everyone's house smell so bad? Apparently.

Probably because you made your own potato chips per Cup of Jo. I know I did. I know my house smelled like I had beer-battered my cupboards, too.

But before we treat the smelly symptom, why don't we go to the source.

Tip #1: Clean

If your house is smelly, maybe you need to take out the trash. Or clean the garbage disposal. Or snake the drain. 'Tit happens people. Get your hands on that pipe rat and yank.

Tip #2 Disinfect

Sometimes things look clean, but the germs are just sparkling with scrubbed faces. Use some bleach, baking soda or even some herbal oils to disinfect and deodorize.

Which brings me to tip #3.

Take a bath with eucalyptus oil. It's kinda hot 'cause of the bath and kind cool because of the eucalyptus oil and the oil is a disinfectant. It will stink up your whole bathroom in a good way. And you get a bath out of it.

Tip #4

Open the windows. Put on some socks to keep your feet warm in the fall breeze, but get some fresh air in your home.

Tip #5

Anthropologie makes great candles. Bite the bullet and buy a candle before you boil a pot of pine needles dry and have to try and erase the smell of your botched home-scent attempt.

Hot, burned pine needles = scent of dead bodies in the woods.

Source: morganmoore.typepad.com via Elissa on Pinterest

Beverage pairing: A gimlet. Because gin tastes like pine needles to some people. (Picture above is rosemary... I guess you could put that in your gimlet...)

How to Design a House

It's easy.

All you have to do it make a million reflective decisions over the course of a lifetime in conjunction with any other figureheads in your household. Oh, and on a budget! Oh, and don't make mistakes because it will cost you to return the rug/repaint that room/replace that broken mirror!

Oh! and shoot me.

We bought paint for our entire house this past weekend because Sherwin Williams (lovingly to me, Sure-Will... as in "Will this navy paint look too dark/not cover enough of the previous color? Sure, will!").

We had to make decisions on the vision for 5+ spaces in a matter of hours in order to get 40% off quality paint and 30% off supplies. (Sale goes through today [Monday], Chicagoans!)

Geeper creeper I've got a case of the weepers.

But, all you girlfriends of mine would be so proud of me. I put on my big girl pants and just made. some. damn. decisions.

Who knows. Maybe it's all wrong. We didn't get samples this time around (they are a waste of money since they're not guaranteed to match the paint you actually buy) and we didn't hang up swatches on the wall and stew over them for days on end. We just looked through the paint deck I sweet-talked out of Sure-Will (for free) and just picked.

Afterall, we stewed-n-brewed over the shades of Navy to use in our bedroom and ended up with a different color entirely because of the mismatched samples (damn you, test pots!). And you know what? The color is fine. We all lived. It will look awesome once I style the pants off that room.

We bought the 2nd best style of paint they offered and went to town. With the current sale running and a $15 off coupon we used, we got supplies (starting from scratch) and quality paint for the whole house for under $400. Not bad, right?

So what colors did we decide on?

Source: sherwin-williams.com via J on Pinterest

Source: sherwin-williams.com via J on Pinterest

Source: sherwin-williams.com via J on Pinterest

Source: sherwin-williams.com via J on Pinterest

Source: sherwin-williams.com via J on Pinterest

Seaworthy, Clary Sage, Ivoire, Rice Grain and Perfect Greige.

The first one is the kicker and the rest are playing it safe. We painted the kicker this weekend (our master bedroom) and needed a break from being kicked. The rest of the house should be calmer.

Seeing them all lined up like that makes me like their inter-play better. I can see the household vision more now.

North-American earthy, natural but a bit dramatic, more masculine. Think: wood, glass, steel, concrete, fur, no-frilly edges, some plants, iron, black and brown mixed, wool, down feathers, wicker, cork, brass, ceramics.

What is your house "vision"?

Do you tie all rooms together or do you use them as individual canvases?

Beverage pairing? A rhubarb cocktail from the cocktail box B.Lill send me. Good gravy, what a good gift!

Tipsy Tuesday: Feng Shui. Not Just for the Artsy or Asian

Deep breath in, and relax.

You are in a tranquil space of waterfalls and Ohm. Come with me to the world of Feng Shui. Or as westerners pronounce it "Fung Schway".

A few tenants of Feng Shui that I think could help us all achieve home-decor enlightenment and that I found here are:

1) De-clutter. Get rid of whatever is broken, unused or ugly. Make space.

2) Position furniture so that navigating a room is easy. There should be a "flow". My poetry professors at Purdue would hate me for using the word flow, but love me for that alliteration. I'm sorry/you're welcome.

3) Like in life, keep work and rest separate. Create a physical distinction between where you work and where you sleep. No TVs in the bedroom. No iPhone-ing in bed. Nap in the bedroom and not on the couch, etc.

4) Make repairs promptly. If you don't fix it right away, you're better off getting rid of whatever the item is or calling in a professional. Don't create work-arounds to existing problems.

5) Mirrors. I'm not sure if I agree with this one (the fact that if you hang mirrors at the front door that they will reflect good energy back into the home...ehhhh *shrug*). But if you do hang mirrors in small rooms, it will make them look bigger. If you hang them in dark rooms, it will help make lights and sunlight brighter. It might also feed into your vanity. You be the handsome, handsome judge.

6) Living things. Plants, flowers, fruit, (dogs!). I think it's nice to display an ecosystem in your home. Have things living and existing on all levels helps you feel the balance in the world. And dogs are cute friends, right?

7) Water. I naturally have water in every room with me as I carry glass upon glass of water with me everywhere. I'm the girl who even brings her adult sippy cup to meetings. I think having water (in a glass for drinking, a fountain for listening or a vase for flower-growing), is a mood-lifter and healthy.

8) Colors. I appreciate the look of a monochromatic or all-white space, but I do like it when colors are in balance and abundant, too. Feng Shui leans towards natural greens, golden  yellows mixed with purples and reds. I wouldn't put all of them in a room together in equal parts, but if you focus on 2 or 3 and then just have one square inch of the other two, you could pull it off.

Source: google.com.br via Darlene on Pinterest

9) Avoid sharp lines and corners. Unless you like angular style of course. And if you have children, they'll either cut themselves on your sharp stuff or file all the edges down for you :) Feng Shui suggests that you should avoid pointing corners toward beds or chairs as this will direct negative energy. I think that's smart because if you point the corner of your dresser toward your bed, chances are you are not making the best use of space anyway. Think of arranging your room on a grid.

Do you Feng Shui?

Flip-It Friday: Carpet or Rug

Now that I own a home (Geez! We close next week *hopefully*. Say a prayer that everything goes smoothly!), prepare to get some home design questions from me.

And prepare to weigh in.

Now, I kinda know what I think about this, but what do you think. I want a second (or third, or fourth) opinion:

Source: designsponge.com via Renaya on Pinterest

Rug

Source: masikawa.tumblr.com via Jessica on Pinterest

Rug

Source: apartmenttherapy.com via Taylor on Pinterest

Rug

Source: markdsikes.com via Charlotte on Pinterest

Rug

Source: tinywhitedaisies.tumblr.com via Zsuzsika on Pinterest

Carpet?

Source: houzz.com via Erin on Pinterest

Carpet and rug?

Source: thewhitecompany.com via Beccy on Pinterest

Bare floor

Source: bodieandfou.blogspot.com via Taylor on Pinterest

Bare Floor


Rugs Vs. Carpet?

What do you prefer? Namely, in the bedrooms...

Or do you prefer bare floor?

I like the look of bare floor, the ease/comfort of carpet and the style options of rugs...

I couldn't find as many pictures of nice carpet on Pinterest as I could bare floor and awesome rugs. I guess no one is all that thrilled about carpet. I wouldn't be either. It's not as much a "stunner" accessory as it is a comfort.

The Homeowner's Horizon

Now that home ownership is on the horizon for me, I can get down to business. You know, the important stuff.

Like picking out a puppy!!

And by puppy I mean middle-aged, half-haired, canine-on-wheels.

I love the unlovable. Or at least the disabled.

I sent this listing to the Mr. and he emailed back saying:

"the 'I'm Special - Medical' will get you every time...."

and then...

"Does he even have eyes?"

To which, I responded:

"No. That's the best part!"

I may have written that last part in all-caps.

Dog shopping is going to be a whirlwind of emotions for me. Heartbreak and love-at-first-sight.

Sight.

I wonder if this dog reads braille. 

Flip-It Friday: Intro/Extro and Life is Short

Are you an introvert or an extrovert (or maybe an ambivert)? What does that explain about you that you didn't know before? Has labeling yourself as one or the other closed you off to experiences or changed your behavior?

It's not really the type of "Flip-It Friday" that we're all used to. I'm not asking you for advice. I am, however, just wondering what its like out there for everyone else.

I hated group projects in school growing up and found it difficult to be a receptionist as I felt like I had to be socially "on" all the time. I was resistant to even have a wedding (mind you, I was fine with marriage, but the whole wedding thing... no), but don't consider myself shy as I was an actor all through high school and have no problem walking up to strangers at a bar or flagging down the waitress for more ketchup. I hate talking on the phone.

How about you?

---

In other news, we had our inspection yesterday on our new house (first house we will ever own!).

View from balcony at the front of the building

The Mr. and the inspector and the kitchen. The seller's agent's elbow is visible at the Mr.'s right hip. That agent has a twisted-up Irish name and accent to match!

The hallway is to the left of the kitchen. The door on the left is the 2nd bathroom. The french doors on the right will be the office, the next set of doors on the right are the 2nd bedroom and a hall closet and the door at the end is the master.

I didn't get any good pics of the master. I barely got good pics of the rest of the house with my phone.

 Balcony. 

 2nd bathroom.

Living room with built-ins, fireplace and wired for surround sound. Holla! This room is at the front of the house. You walk through it to get to the balcony.

I was going to skip the inspection in favor of working out and trying to get some alone time, but I knew that this was going to be my only opportunity to go inside the place until closing. When some people started getting fired at my office (planned and necessary, but still gives an ominous feel), I took that as a sign to seize the day and go to the inspection. Life is short.

The Mr. and I had dinner in our new 'hood on a patio. There were tattooed hipsters, young professionals and families everywhere in all shapes and colors (and one Rastafarian on an elevated, 3-person bike!). There are tons of restaurants, shops and even a Starbucks in walking distance from our new place. We don't have that where we live now and I remarked about the urban feel we were getting back after a year and a half on the south side in a Hispanic neighborhood.

"We're in the city again!"

Our soon-to-be train stop.

Advice: A Smattering Of

Wear sunscreen on your ears. Melanoma can get in.your.ears. My boss is undergoing microsurgery and radiation in his ear canal and will need reconstructive surgery for the outside of his ear. In the mean time, he looks like he's wearing part of a water polo cap.

Not my boss

Don't use the salutation "Warm Regards". It makes me think of urine. And now, it will make you think of urine too. That, coupled with the picture above, will make you think that someone peed in the pool. You're welcome.

Go to bed. If you are doing anything important at 11 pm and you start making mistakes, take that as a sign that it's time to go to bed. You will be better prepared in the morning and most likely won't make as many mistakes. Or break as much stuff. This applies to guitar playing, paperwork, marriage and flashcards.

Brang (as in the past tense of "bring") isn't a word. Urban Dictionary doesn't even let it slide, so why would I? In the workplace, no less. This person has been described by more than one of my team as "a box of rocks". Two things I know about my company? We aren't interested in being sensitive or hiring quality. High five.

---
I've not been myself lately. As an introvert I just need a lot of "me time" and I'm not really getting it. Ya'll saw my schedule a few days (weeks? I have no concept of time) ago. It's not that I am double booked, but I am just not ever alone. Never quiet. I feel inadequate for not being able to handle a 40 hour work week, 4 days of social involvement, 3 work outs, 2 days spent driving, and 1.5 days of being "on" with family (more-so "on" with the in-laws than with my own fam).

Jenny Lawson can sympathize (and she's where I get the urge to say "Ya'll". It makes complaining more endearing).

I joke (sweetjesusIhopeIamjoking) that this over-load is the stuff that makes people snap.

Like, for instance, we are trying to buy a house. We are doing all the paperwork semi-electronically and some of it is password protected. The lender sent along all this G.D. paperwork and locked it up with a password but then didn't send along the password so we could unlock and sign the mother-f'er. I replied to the lender and CC'd my husband (my email is the only one on the account, you know... because that makes sense) that the lender should REPLY ALL WITH THE PASSWORD. What do they do? They reply just to me.

A normal person would just forward the email and move on.

But me? I swear in my head on everything that is dear to me that I will crawl through the computer and scratch the face of the email sender. Neither a borrower or a lender be... in this case because Imma gonna hurt ya'll. (See how nice that sounded?) And I do all of this mental-attack with a straight face, tired-droopy eyes while sipping my coffee.

Beware of any in-person paperwork signings. I'm bound to hurtle the boardroom table and give everyone on the other side a wide-eyed, ballpoint tracheostomy.

Tipsy Tuesday: Save on Rent

Buy a house.

We did.

Recycling Brigades!

Mr. S said we need to get rid of the pile of corks we've saved. (Why do we save corks anyway, people?)

I saw this site and my eyes lit up when I saw that you can recycle corks here!

and flip flops
and those single-cup coffee pods (they just need these for K-Cups now!)
and toothpaste tubes, toothbrushes, floss and more!

How freaking neat!

Tipsy Tuesday: How to Save on Utilities

We love being thrifty, don't we?

In light of this post by Newlyweds on a Budget, what are your utilities? Do articles like this cause you to look at what you spend on utilities?

What we spend:
Hulu: $8 for extra content and HD (Mr. S likes that)
Netflix: $8 (streaming only)
Cable/Internet bundle: $50 (We'll get a break on this from S's employer for his working from home and it will only be $30!)
Cell phones: $200 (We get reimbursed portions of it as we are the executors of a family plan with several people AND S's job will give us a break on it since he won't opt to get a work phone which will bring this down to $70 for us!)
Gas: $40
Electric: $50

Yikes. That looks like more than I thought when it's all lined up!

Anywho, we've been able to add in some luxuries lately (so thankful for turning the AC on in 90 degree heat!) and have skimped in the past. Here's how we cut corners.

1) No cable. Cable used to leave a big whole in a person's life if they had to give it up. But now that Hulu and Netflix are available, why bother?! The only reason we have it is because it was super cheap with the internet (they're practically giving it away now!).

2) Share internet. If you live in a multi-unit building or even in a close neighborhood,  you can piggyback internet for general web-surfing with no slowing speeds. If you are working from home or running a data center out of your house (ha), then this might not be a good option, but for general email or hulu-ing, this can work. We did this for a while and it worked ok (for only paying $20 a month for our portion).

3) Cell phone family plans. You see those deals all the time to add-a-line to your current plan. If you and a few family members/friends share a plan, you can save a ton of money.

4) Hulu. It's free without HD, and free is pretty affordable! (You can also read. My book club is reading this book. Anyone else read it?)

5) Dress for the weather, not for style. I wear thick hiking socks to bed in the winter and walk around pants-less in the summer. It saves on heating and cooling and I get to use a full range of my wardrobe. Win win! If you're cold in the winter, get a fleece and a blanket. Some people complain that our house is roasting or freezing and to them I say, "I'll change the temp when you agree to pay the bill!" I love the adventure of seeing how little we can pay for energy. I think I'm a masochist!

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Do you do anything to save on utilities? Do you consider more than just the bottom line when you adjust your habits? We also like feeling that we're saving the environment by sweating in the summer!

Tipsy Tuesday: First Time Home Buyer Advice

Friends:

We are not buying a home rightthisminute, but we are starting to think about it.

So I posted a question on FB and you all came through for me. (I may just start having my Facebook friends write all of these posts for me!)

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I asked what were some things that home buyers wish they knew when they first started the process. Here's a breakdown of the FB answers and some interesting points I found in my own search to learn about home buying:

Practicalities
- Don't underestimate the proximity to a convenient store, grocery store, and/or pharmacy.
- Storage, storage, storage! Pantries, linen closets, etc.
- Leave emotion out of it. Keep looking until you find the right combination that fits your needs.
- Seek out a buyer-agent Realtor. Most agents are working for the seller and will try to "sell" you a house with their commission in mind.
- We've all heard that location is key, but if you're moving to a new climate/region you should learn what challenges await you. For example, my friend Maddy lives in Texas after growing up in the Midwest. I never knew this, but you must water your house in Texas to keep the slab from cracking in the summer. Interesting!

Finances
- The lender will approve you for too-much-home! You cannot afford the top dollar they will lend you unless you cut out a lot of your other expenses. Don't trust the bank to advise you on your budget.
- Putting 20% down is not a "must" as it once seemed, but be careful. You will spend more in the long run if you don't put 20% down.
- If you escrow your home owner's insurance and property taxes then the mortgage company can change your payment at any time. It's better to pay them in out-of-pocket.
- Get a good home inspector.

Resale Value
- Buy in a good school district, even if you don't plan to have kids.
- Stay away from fads in fixtures. Buy quality.
- Buy the cheapest house in the neighborhood as the other houses will drive up the value.
- Buy in an appreciating neighborhood and plan to invest at least 5 years in that house.

My brother-in-law also wrote something really nice:

"No matter what people tell you now you will make decisions that you wish you hadn't and will be pleasantly surprised about things you had no clue about."

Some of the advice above is more "key" than the rest, but I think it's all worth a ponder.

What advice do you have for us as we start this journey? We aren't even ready to start shopping lenders as Mr. S's job may change a bit (either a raise or a switch in companies) and that will change our employment/income information.

Another question I have is about the 20% down thing. Do you (cough, cough*dad*cough) think that putting less than 20% down is crazy? Some calculators like here and here make it seem like putting 10% down would be fine. I'm wary... but open to the possibility.

Your thoughts?