Hello...?

It's a tentative greeting because we made an offer on a house, but we're still in the option period so things could go off the rails at any moment. We've had what feels like a ba-jillion people out to inspect the house or give us quotes on work needed/wanted, and we've been on the phone with twice as many people or responding to emails going back and forth like lightning. We're both exhausted by it and it isn't over yet, but we're also excited about the home we found. We/I have grand plans, and since I can only make him listen to me yammer for so long before his ears start to bleed, I figure I'd better use this blog for what God intended.

[Side note: I'm saying "we" and "us", and you might be wondering who the other half of that is, since I haven't mentioned Jason in a while. Jason and I parted ways in early 2011. I met a wonderful guy on Match.com, and we've been shacking up since February of this year. I haven't decided yet if I'll share his name on the blog. Maybe he'll be like Norm's wife on Cheers: you never see her or hear her; the only window you get into that part of Norm's life is what he says about her when bellied-up to the bar. Well, and you know her name is Vera, so I guess I'd have to share his name if I'm really going to parallel Cheers.

The more I think about it, the less sense it makes to look to a sitcom about a bar, and specifically an obese alcoholic who frequents said bar, for guidance on how to blog around my relationship. Frankly I've already spent way more time on it than I planned. Now it's awkward. Sorry.]

Um, yeah, so a new house!! Maybe. Hopefully. I'm nearly bursting at the seams to get in there and start planting and painting! I've been making Pinterest boards like...like...well, I can't think of an analogy for something that collects pictures on the web and groups them by theme on virtual cork boards. But whatever it is, that's me (or I'm it)!

I figure I'll just start posting about the various plans I'm pondering by area/topic. Hopefully it will help me work some stuff out so I can move in and hit the ground running! And if the house doesn't work out, we'll have bigger problems than me being massively disappointed: we have to be out of our apartment by March 2nd. Yikes! I could be sleeping in the park instead of blogging about gardening my own!

Goodbyes (part 2)

When I finished the floor I still wasn't certain I'd be selling my house, and I was still agonizing over the backsplash. When I made the decision to sell I knew it wouldn't fly to have the hardibacker as a backsplash, so I tried to find something neutral. What I chose was kind of a cop-out, frankly. If I had it to do all over again I'd have gone with something coordinated better with the floor. I had to outsource it though: I didn't have 3 weeks to spare if I did it myself.

Fast-forward: here are the pictures my wonderful realtor took of the house when posting it for sale!

 

Goodbyes (part 1)

Sorry I've been away for so long, I've been kinda busy. I sold my house and my beloved garden in Feb 2013. It was one of the hardest things I've ever done. As scary as it sometimes was to own a house all by myself, I loved it dearly. I think it turned out pretty well and I hope the new owners love it as much as I did!

Anyway, I'm now looking at buying a new house with my BF, so I thought it was time to catch things up before I start posting things about my new house!

Here are pictures of the floor as it progressed! It took me about 3 weeks, which isn't bad for my first time and the complicated layout I chose.

Surprisingly, this was the easiest part (and it wasn't easy). My mom helped me match up the edges. It was a little like a puzzle where the whole thing is a blue sky.

The borders were a bit of a challenge. I called my BF in a panic because (in a nutshell) I'd done some bad math. He helped me come up with the design you see here. He totally saved the day.

The finished floor, including the transition to the living room. I'm pretty proud of it!