More house pics

Powder room/downstairs bathroom






Family room

Home sweet home

It's been about a week and a half since we moved into the new digs, and we couldn't be happier to finally be surrounded by our own things and not feel like we are living in two spaces. But what has really made it our "home" is that in that short time, we have already had two parties and weekend houseguests (happy/safe travels to Cali, Isaac & Natalie)! We both agree that sharing our home with family and friends has completed the transition for us, and we've worked hard to put our own touches into the house (thank goodness the hubs is okay with my decorating touch being the heavy-handed one:), and we know that we'll work on it together for years to come. Here's a couple shots from around the house, but we'll leave you to guess to which ones are the "before" and which ones are the "after"!

(Turns out I'm going to have to put the pictures in separate posts, because for some reason my Blogger dashboard is doing strange things with them)

Living room



Dining room

Summer bounty

I decided to say summer bounty instead of summer harvest because that might imply that there are herbs growing in our nonexistent garden (hey, we haven't even been in this house a week yet!), instead I clipped them out of the little potted plants residing in my kitchen's garden window. The ones I'm growing from seeds are not exactly hardy yet after a month, but I picked up this little guy from the Royal Oak farmer's market a couple weeks ago, even though I wasn't sure exactly what I was going to do with orange mint. But inspiration struck after eating the wild rice & orzo salad at J Alexander's while out at lunch with a friend yesterday (great to see you, Jen!) and deciding I wouldmake a cold lentil and brown rice salad to go along with the marinated chicken and grilled pineapple that will constitute dinner via the inaugural use of the new grill for our first meal outside, on our new patio table and chairs. That plus I was giddy to pick up some summer squash and tons of blackberries and nectarines on sale today at the grocery, don't you just love summer eating?? I know I do.

Coming up roses

Our joints are creaking (ok, maybe just mine!) and a happy tiredness greeted us this morning after a long weekend of last minute packing, loading and unloading, and digging through our boxed-up life for our things. But we feel blessed with a beautiful new home that we have and will continue to work on for years to come, and one that we hope to fill with memories that will far outnumber our piles and piles of "stuff". Here's a peek at some of the flowers blooming in some of the corners outside, more photos to come! (I took some initial move-in pics yesterday but am still hunting for the cords so I can transfer them from the camera to the computer!)

Strange sayings

People (of all ages) say the darndest things, don't they?

Yesterday morning I walk into the new location of the yoga studio that I've been going to for a couple of years and want to take in the unknown surroundings yet I'm somewhat thrown in observing the height of the person ahead of me signing in at the reception desk - a younger guy with longish hair pulled back by a bandanna, and a hiker's backpack slung over his shoulder along with his yoga mat - not an uncommon sight at such an establishment. He half turns and says "good morning" and I reciprocated like a good fellow yogi should :). At a smidge over 5'3" I'm not really a great judge of height, but I'd have to guess that this particular gentleman was nearly 7 feet tall - I noticed when he stretched his hands up above his head in class he was mere inches away from the ceiling! And if that weren't enough, because we ended up in class next to each other, I couldn't help but notice that his toenails were painted - the same color as my own! (my color "Wicked" is in the pic, notice the packing materials in the background so yes I did get some house work done too!) The minute class was over he turns to me and says "well, that was lovely", and all I could do was smile demurely (I hope), grab my things and leave the room before I burst into giggles! Thank goodness I wasn't there with a friend or all hope would be lost. That was even better than the young couple at a previous class who felt the need to hold hands during a move called child's pose, seriously folks.

Other random sayings from the last couple of weeks:

-I'm in the checkout line of our local grocery Nino's, and when I hand over the latest weekly edition of Crain's Detroit Business to read over lunch, the young female cashier squeals "Oh, that's a funny magazine!". Say what?!?
-I'm at a meeting for church, and the person leading is going around introducing everyone around the table and he stops at me and says "I'm sorry, every time I look at you I want to say 'aloha'!" Turns out Aloha is the name of another Filipino woman who goes to our church, but from the puzzled looks on a few people's faces it was clear that not everyone knew that, LOL. Just another tidbit to add to all of the mixups and crazy Asian comments that myself, my sister Aimee and our friend Kim (holla cousin Kim Kim!) who all attend there get frequently.
-And my favorite: while volunteering at Central Detroit Christian several weeks ago the kids were practicing their songs and while I'm standing in between two second graders because they were having some challenges behaving (ahem), in the middle of the song one of them is poking my arm and I whisper "Stop it, what is it?" and he says "why do you smell like that?" and I reply "smell like what?" half horrified/half frustrated and he says, looking up at me with no small amount of wonder, "you smell like a banana split!!" Apparently thanks to my application of vanilla/coconut Victoria's Secret spray, I unwittingly unleashed the sugar-spun fantasies of a 7-year-old boy. Not exactly what I was going for, but I have done worse! :)

Christmas in June

We were telling some friends yesterday that over the weekend I spent some time re-opening some wedding gifts that have been hibernating in storage for a year and a half, and one commented that it was like Christmas in June! Indeed. Mostly they were items like platters and various kitchen items that we simply didn't have room for. Actually, in the picture you can see a long thin box sticking out in the background and that contained blinds that I was supposed to be installing (see small stepladder to the left) but I was getting really frustrated so instead I plowed through the gifts :). So thanks for the distraction, the gifts are lovely - again!

Counting down

These days my head is filled with numbers from my scribbles of "house notes" that I've been keeping on hand as I am continually drawn back again and again to our trusty local Lowe's store : 2 bathroom vanities, 4 mirrors, 12 switchplates, 14 light fixtures, 46 outlet covers, etc.   I even keep a mini-tape measure in my purse in case I need to quickly calculate whether new blinds or a refrigerator will fit into a certain space!  I've definitely learned some things through the process as well, like how to force my pen to the paper when writing checks for the plumber, painter, electrician, carpet guy, lumber place and general contractors :).  Trust me when I say that discussing different types of paint, toliet wax ring sizes, sanded vs. non-sanded grout, subtle differences between brands and models of new appliances and sound levels of bathroom exhaust fans are not things I normally chat about, but I have found that even in unfamiliar territory if the choices are fairly limited and explained plainly, I'm able to arrive at decisions pretty quickly (something that the hubs can appreciate about me - for better or worse!).

Our move date is now officially June 12th, a little later than we originally thought but finally on the horizon yet we're still scrambling to get everything organized and packed. I am grateful for the unexpected gift of time I have right now to do these things and coordinate the contractors we've had working on the new place, and soon enough it will be time to get serious about the job hunt.   But in the meantime I am enjoying my current home project manager position, and I promise I will post some before and after pictures of the changes we've made here and there to make the house our own, though of course that will be an ongoing and neverending process!

 

---

Hotmail is redefining busy with tools for the New Busy. Get more from your inbox. See how.