Just a Few of My Favorite Things
It's been seven weeks since we moved to the Newer! Bigger! House! and just about every spare moment since then has been spent painting, fixing, replacing, sewing, digging, destroying, cleaning, and otherwise pouring sweat and tears into the house. There have been very few complaints because, frankly, we pretty much expected it to be like this. When you buy a trashed foreclosure, you get to do a lot of work. That's the trade-off for getting more house than you could otherwise afford to buy.
Somewhere in there, I think we forgot to sit back and recognize all the good that is coming from all this work. Now that we're starting to round the corner on the looooong list of projects, it's a little easier to remember that there are things about this house that are just fine. Absolutely fine. Maybe even fantastic.
Like, for example, the Mother of All Pantries.
Sure, it is in desperate need of some organizing and sorting and general OCD action, but IT'S A PANTRY! I've never had one of those before. I very nearly did the Dance of Joy right in Target when I realized I could buy the big package of paper towels for the first time because we actually have space for BIG packs of anything. Woohoo for not having to go buy paper towels every other day! (You tree huggers can shoosh it, btw. We have a cat with Irritable Bowel Syndrome. That means daily pukes and poops in random places. I'M NOT CLEANING THAT UP WITH ANYTHING I HAVE TO WASH. The end.)
You know what I don't have to clean up? Dog crap. Gone are the days when a surprise poop by one of the pups meant I had to run inside to grab a bag and then hunt the treasure down by smell. With no homeowner's association, and no tattle-tale neighbors, we are free to let whatever be in the yard, if we so desire. Sure, we do still clean it up, but we don't have to.
Nor do we have to be quiet. Between townhouses and apartments and dorms, it's been 18 years since I last lived in a place that didn't have walls shared with other people. It's SO AMAZING not hearing your neighbor throwing a party for elephants and buffalo at 2:00am. Sometimes I like to just sit and listen to the silence in the middle of the night. Bliss.
More bliss: having a place for Mr. Husband's workout equipment.
I can't even put into words how fantabulous it is to walk into our master bedroom and not see weights and bikes and other such stuff clogging up every inch of floor space. Just thinking about how crammed with crap our old bedroom was makes my blood boil.
Instead of exercise equipment, our master bedroom now boasts pretty lights. Like this:
It's just a cheap-ish light I found on Overstock, but after a coat of copper paint, it's perfect. Our old townhouse didn't have the wiring to have light fixtures in most of the rooms (beyond lamps, of course), so I'm all LOOOOOOK! It's a light! On the ceiling!
It's the little things that make me happy.
And the big things. Like, the dining room:
The fisheye lens makes it look bigger than it really is, but that is still a big dining room. It's big enough for Alexis and I to spread out on the floor and work on art projects. It's big enough to hold said art projects as they dry. It's big enough for Alexis and I to work on Serious Puzzles together at the table. Now, if only Alexis would quit being a poopystinkyhead in Target so that I could buy a Serious Puzzle for her . . .
All that? Yeah, THAT is why we moved.
It's worth every bruise, paint stain, sore muscle, and the empty checking account.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Reader Comments (24)
Not only does it look big, it looks empty. You need to remedy that. :)
Now that I've had a pantry for 4 years, I couldn't live without one. It would be so hard ot go back. I love that light!!
Awesome. Enjoy your new piece of the world. Especially all the space for your Christmas Trees and your Halloween decorations!!!
That pantry is awesome, and I love the light. Just wait until you go crazy buying Halloween and Christmas decorations this year. Have you warned your neighbors yet? Then, again, by the size of their houses, I'm guessing they'll have some impressive displays also.
@Flea--We'll never be able to fill that place. It's toooooooo big.
it looks awesome!!!
After we re-do our drainage, we're doing something about our no ceiling lights in the living room problem.
We know there's dead-ended wires up there in the ceiling and there's already a switch...it's just a question of tearing out the ceiling.
I covet your pantry. We have a cabinet where the extra food goes. We call it the pantry. Deep down, I know it's the extra cabinet. :-)
i completely agree. I totally do... it's kind of fun to work on projects, but then it gets old and there are a million things left to be checked off that list. It feels like it lasts forever but it's so worth it...
Big pantries are da bomb. I threatened to just make a half door on ours and use it for a playroom jail instead of a pantry. The pantry won out though because storing the food in the toddler's bed would have been awkward.
Also, I'm jealous of that huge dining room. That space. OOOOOOOHHHHH, that space.
I love me a Mother of all Pantries. I don't have one where I am now, but I have a decent size laudry room with plenty o' storage space. So, my buying in bulk addiction is easily satisifed.
The dining room is AWESOME!! Mine is a decent size, but not nearly as big as I'd like. Your's look like you could have a roller blading session in it :)
You hyperlinked Larry and Balki.
Lady, I *heart* you.
dude, that chandelier does not look even remotely cheap. i'm drooling all over it!
wait...did i just somehow call myself cheap for loving your cheap light fixture? great...
Just in time for you to sit on the couch and recover during football season!! HOORAY!!!
I LOVE the pantry... I would LOVE a pantry... I am SUPER jealous! ENJOY it! How fun. Imagine all the junk food you can store there now? I'd be in serious trouble! ;)
And the dining room... love it! Your new house is fabulous, even if it is a lot of work right now with the upgrades, etc. You scored!
I am drooling over the pantry! After having had a pantry most of my life (minus one or two temporary apartments), I am now in a great house with no pantry. It's awful!
I'm so happy that you guys got a great house. Sure it's taking work to fix it all up, but that just makes it even more yours.
Love the copper paint you used on that light. Brilliant!
Holy mother of dining rooms! BIG...
@Nap Warden--The entire first floor of our townhouse would fit in that dining room, with room to spare. It's crazy!
Holy Moly, that dining room is BIG! I'm so jealous, I want a dining room!!
Just seeing a pantry that big makes me happy in my happy place. Yeah for the bigger house, and OH BOY do I know how that comes with a smaller checking account!
Not that you need more work/projects to do, but you mentioned once not being happy that the house did not have a foyer. If the DR is too big, put up a wall thing and separate it into a DR and foyer area. Tricky, I'm sure, but possible.
Fellow Burgher :-)
@Anonymous--I've thought about it, for sure. The tricky part is that the door is way in the corner (directly at the bottom of the stairs) and there is a window right where I think a wall makes sense. Moving the stairs would be an option, but my husband's head might explode if I mention that too loudly. I keep looking at it, though. There HAS to be a semi-simple solution.
I love your pantry. I just showed my husband the picture and demanded a pantry like that when we finally get a new house.
Thanks for sharing your favorite things. You have awesome choices. That cheap-ish light from http://www.dealrocker.com/promotions/overstock/coupons" rel="nofollow">Overstock is looking beautiful.