Oh heeeey, friends. Remember me?
April’s just about come and gone and I’ve all but dropped off the face of the earth. It happens. Don’t think I haven’t been thinking of you. I have. It’s just that things have gone straight into the depths of insanity and chaos around here. Plus, if I shared with you what we’ve been eating, you’d hit the unsubscribe button and never look back.
Just out of curiosity…how many consecutive fast food meals have you had in a row?
Um, yeah. I’m pretty sure we’ve beat that in the last few weeks.
If it helps, I feel absolutely terrible. I’m not kidding. AWFUL. My body hates me. If I never see another greasy bag again it will be too soon. #pukeyface
The reason for this sudden lapse in good dietary judgment?
Remember back in November? When I mentioned we were moving back (home!) to the great state of Illinois because Eric took a new position within his company?
No?
Yeah, it’s all a bit hazy for me too. Well, WAY BACK in the fall we put in an offer in on a home we loved. Ah, the fairy tail was about to begin….
The catch? It was a short sale. If you’ve ever spent entire afternoons lying in your bed watching HGTV (What? Don’t you judge me!) you know there is nothing short about a short sale. It is without a doubt the most stressful and drawn out real estate transaction you will ever encounter. And all the while, it’s in the back of your mind…this may not happen at all. Any of the parties could bail at any second.
We waited. And we waited some more. Then our old house sold. And then we were homeless for a while. And we waited some more. Then we moved a house of stuff into a rental. And did a little more waiting.
FINALLY on March 31, we signed on the dotted line and they handed us the keys. OH, HAPPY DAY!!
Hold on a sec. Did I mention that this particular house was…uhhh, a little rough. Yes. A little rough around the edges.
All looks well from the front door…
But upon closer inspection…
Almost NOTHING is finished. Railing and step not stained. Mantel? Who needs one of those? Missing baseboard? Check.
Range hood not built in. Tile work needs finished and grouted.
Hey, I don’t like painting either, but once I start I’m pretty sure I’d finish. Oh, and I’d try to do a decent job. Because THAT right there…would drive me bonkers.
That looks…not good. Like at all. Bad. Very bad. And if you’ll notice there’s no doorknob on the doorway to the master. This another common theme throughout the house…missing doorknobs. Are doorknobs overrated or something? Because I personally kinda like ’em. They’re good for…you know…opening and shutting doors.
Three things here. 1) W. 2) T. 3) I think you know the rest.
Exposed plumbing. Makes for a relaxing master bath. In Opposite World.
STICKERS. Bee stickers. Dog stickers. Polka dots and peace signs. Do you know what happens when you put sticky things on raw drywall that’s not primed or painted? Here’s a hint: IT GETS DESTROYED. It’s also worth mentioning that not a single electrical outlet or switch in the house has a cover on it. The risk of electrocution adds a bit of a thrill to the otherwise mundane task of fumbling for the light in a dark bathroom in the middle of the night, doesn’t it? Yes. Danger is my middle name…
See, I can’t cook. I just can’t. I can’t cook because of things like this:
And this:
And this:
We need hard hats to get to the shower in the morning. There’s no cooking going on in this work zone.
I do not hate the house, I just hate the mess. I do not hate the house, I hate the mess. That’s what I keep telling myself as we navigate through this process.
I wish it ended when our delightful, hard working carpenters and painters leave, but, alas, that’s when the real work begins. The work of moving our entire house, now stored in boxes in the garage in into the house and unpacking it. I’m already NOT looking forward to that…
Now, the good news! You all get to come over and shampoo my carpet!
Oh, wait….
Actually, I’m going to be introducing some new content here on Milk & Honey! See up there? The tab on the top that says Good Living? Click there to see my posts all about house, home and other domes-esseties. 😉 Well, don’t click yet – this is the only post so far, but stay tuned for more!
I’ve recently become interested in home and decor blogs because they are a great resource for real world information and inspiration from real people when it comes to sprucing up the old homestead. Magazines and television are all well and good…until you find out that one throw pillow costs $300. Let’s get real. Who can afford that??
Let me tell you what to expect. First and foremost: everything you see will be BUDGET-FRIENDLY. We are cheap. Scratch that…not cheap, frugal. We can’t spend $300 on a throw pillow and we don’t really want to. Lots of DIY, lot’s of bargain hunting, lots of working with what you’ve already got. It’s going to be SO fun, and I hope you’ll stick around and join me so we can swap ideas. 🙂
The good eats will be back shortly. In fact, I have an outstanding giveaway waiting in the wings that I am just BUSTING to share with you. I seriously cannot wait. I think you’re really going to like it. I just need to find it. It’s in a box somewhere. Stay tuned for that as well. In the meantime, have a home cooked meal for me. Eat something fresh and green and enjoy the heck out of it. I’ll just be over here…beautiful sugar-snap-peapod-green with envy.
Mmmm. Peapods…. 😉
Milk & Honey 