We're done moving! Now unpacking...

Alright. I'm done. At least for today... maybe. Moving our household from The Big City to a storage unit (free by the way, thanks U-Haul!) and then from storage to our home. Good news: we moved the last pieces into the house this morning. It feels amazing to have everything in the house. Not so amazing that everything needs to be put away. Hopefully, this will be the last weekend as gypsies.

Trevor's gracious brother, Dan, and sister-in-law, Kathy, have put us up for the last two weeks. They even tolerate our cats. BIG THANK YOU to both of them. Kathy's parents let Trev and me use their enormous van (I feel extremely formidable driving that beast) that is perfect for moving. Even a couch can fit with the doors closed. Not that we have a couch right now, but we could!

On another note, I love taking pictures and editing them. Here are a couple of my favorite from this week. Enjoy!

New house (before) and The Landlord

The Landlord gave us the green light to move into the new house this past Monday. As Trev has been working during the day, we have only gotten about half of our belongings moved in. Still in boxes, but moved  out of storage (hooray!). We did not know that the outside of the house is still being worked on... the siding, the outbuilding, the assorted lumber strewn around his vehicles. They do not currently run, but "should be up and running by winter." Yeah... the most recent tabs on those vehicles is 2005. Hrm... doesn't seem likely.

Trev and I have accepted that our landlord is a hoarder and we are essentially paying him to watch his crap. The Landlord wants his cake and to eat it too... Sorry buddy, doesn't work that way with me. I want to move into a HOME. Not some house on a used car lot. We did know that there were some unique arrangements in regards to The Landlord's hoard; but, not to this extent with the whole work crew milling around the house for the first week...

HOWEVER

The inside is amazing! Check out these quick pics from our new place:

Dining Room/Entrance 1

Sink alcove with storage space. Amazing storage. See my
Mickey D's sweet tea? I love a halfcut sweet tea!

Fun little desk area - Totally putting cork on the outside
of the two cupboard doors. Ooh, or maybe
CHALKBOARD paint!

New(er) stove and side by side. I have never had an ice/water
machine in the fridge. I have always wanted it though.

Living room. Trev and I both love how the light comes in
through the windows.

Our bedroom - It is pretty tiny, but not as tiny as the picture
makes it 

Office

Bathroom with kick-ass claw foot tub! Anyone have any
ideas for camouflaging the water heater?

The inside of the house sold me. When I first saw the house it was in shambles. No carpet, no appliances except for the washer and dryer in the living room... Apparently the previous tenants were growing and selling drugs from the home, while their very large "guard dog" ripped up the interior and clearly marked his territory. The Landlord wouldn't let me take pictures of it before this.

These pictures make me want to have errrything unpacked now. I want to fully move in (with the C-A-T-S) ASAP! Oh yeah, we're sneaking Jack and Olivia in with us. My babies are grown-ass cats that use the litter box, are fixed, and have scratching posts. Jack even tinkles in the toilet and plays fetch. There is no way I am paying an additional $500 pet deposit when I KNOW the C-A-T-S are extremely well behaved. Here's hoping they leave for Mexico for the winter sooner rather than later!

Super fun fall wreath

Trev and I get to move in on Monday!! Until my hoard is pulled from storage, here is a great fall wreath that I am dying to make. I will of course post pictures and step-by-step once I have completed mine.

This How To and photos reblogged from Lauren's Creative she has some great ideas!

Supplies

Hot Glue Gun/Scissors

14" Straw Wreath $2.99

(3) Acorn Picks $1.19/each

Pepper berry Pick $1.19

Green Yarn $2.99

Brown (Multi-colored) Yarn $3.99

Brown Ribbon $6.99

(5) Sheets of 9 x 12 Felt $.34/each

Total: $22.23

Tutorial Links

Wreath How-To 

Felt Flower How-To 

Tips:

• Do NOT take the plastic off of the straw wreath - it would make a huge mess, and I think you would end up with little bits of straw peeking through.

• Felt Mums - to make the larger mums I used two strips of 1 x 12 felt.  To ensure I had even strips - I used my rotary cutter and a ruler.  I tried to use my Martha Stewart fringe scissors, but they didn't cut through the felt that well.  It may work if you've never cut paper with them, since paper dulls your scissors.

• I attached the acorn picks and the pepper berry pieces FIRST and then added the flowers.

If you have any questions, let me know!  Hope you have a great weekend!

Loose ends

Trev and I spent all day tying up loose ends in the Big City. Forwarding mail, closing bank accounts, returning keys, etc. Picking up the final items from our old apartment, and running a vacuum over the carpet. We had to leave behind a worn out sofa, two book cases, and a table and chairs that would not fit into the back of the Wrangler.

On Friday my mother, Trevor, and I were fantasizing about what state the apartment would be left in. Trev wanted to (ahem) poop somewhere unfortunate in the kitchen. Like the oven, sink, or dishwasher. Mom thought it would be a great idea to leave a pot roast in the back of the toilet, again. Her first pot roasting was in late 2000. Finally, I pictured using a full roll of duct tape to wrap the keys to a brick and straight up throw it through the leasing office window. Now we are not the type of folks that would leave a rental in complete disarray. This revenge is not without cause...

[Note: We did not actually do ANY of these things. We MAY have forgotten the garbage filled with fridge castaways.]

In October 2011 we moved South because I earned a promotion at The Company's corporate offices. While I was thrilled, this also meant moving 90 miles away from home... in two weeks. Did I mention that we also planned a trip to Arizona... one week before I start my new job. Awesome.

We were desperate. 

I scheduled several appointments to view rentals for the following Saturday. The first unit was a bust. But the second was perfect. Two bedrooms, two bathrooms, master suite, in unit washer/dryer, POOL VIEW... the whole nine yards. The rent was within our budget, and no deposit required! We were ready to sign the lease. Everything went upside down from there. 

We left them with our applications, the processing "fee," and double the amount they asked for to hold the apartment. Trevor and I explained neither of us have great credit, but we always pay our rent first thing. The leasing agent assured us that it would not be a problem, they just have make sure that we don't have any balances in collections with other leasing agencies. To make a very long story short, they told us what we wanted to hear and made life miserable. We had parking wars, witnessed prostitution, violence, road rage from a presumably scorned lover, surprise bills, and what we can only describe as sumo wrestling practice in the apartment above...

As we loaded the final items into the back of the Jeep I realized that while I appreciate what living in the Big City has taught me, I wouldn't miss it. My home is in the country.