Utilities: The very essence of boring

Even the word itself sounds so blah: Utilities. That is what I've spent the last day doing...

Running around town, hours on the phone.

Water. Electricity. Internet. Garbage Pick-up. Recycle.

So unless you are some rare bird that finds these things interesting, my life has actually been rather boring.

Though, a house that was built in the 1850's that is surrounded by acres of land, at night, with no electricity. Now that's exciting. Or at least, spooky and skin-crawling. We lit the entire home by candle light.I would have taken pictures, but, that's the nature of candelight. It's a little too dark for photos. Thankfully, the electricity is now turned on.

Closing

We closed on the house yesterday! It is ours! After two years of house-hunting, putting offers on three houses, and waiting six months to hear back, we have finally closed on our dream home. It's been an emotional few days; we can hardly believe that we are moving past this liminal stage in our lives and settling down a little.

Closing was interesting. It went well for the most part, except that I think I have developed carpal tunnel syndrome. Not only did I have to sign my rather long name (23 letters), I also had to sign as "attorney in fact" for our co-signer. So it looked like this

(Their long-ass name here) by and through his attorney in fact (my long-ass name here).

On every single document, in addition to my own name. Like 200 times. And, because we missed a page, and I signed my own name incorrectly, we had to go back to the attorney's office twice. Also, bringing a teething baby to a closing was an awful idea. Next time - get a babysitter.

But, that all seemed so trivial when David and I opened the door and walked inside our first home. Without a real estate agent. Just the three of us, coming home. It seemed so peaceful and quiet. David said, it makes me feel like we need a herd of animals and a brood of children running around barefoot. I agreed.

We took our first load of boxes over, and began picking out paint colors. The U-Haul has been reserved, and we will be making the big move on Friday.

Caroline

The key

When you buy a house that was built in the 1800's, this is what the front door key looks like!

Our final walk-through went well. The roof hasn't caved in and there isn't water spewing from the toilet. However, there is a 6 ft. long snake in the yard. Any ideas on how to get rid of snakes? Other than a shovel and shotgun? Go ahead and call my Laura Ingalls. We are country folk now.

We close tomorrow. I still cannot believe it. Smile & tear.

Caroline

Guru Paisley: How I paid $70 for a $350 duvet

Guru Paisley

I have been coveting the Guru Paisley Duvet designed by Vera for Anthropologie for months and months. There is no way I could shell out $350 for the duvet (not to mention the bedskirt & shams on top of that...adding up to over $500). So, I have resorted to stalking eBay for months now. Waiting, and waiting.

It's been listed for $174.99 for a while. Still way out of my price range.

I was at Anthropologie a couple months ago, browsing their SALE section and I saw the Featherfew duvet for $69.99. Now that was a price that I could afford. I bought it, even though it really wasn't my style. I figured it's from Anthropologie, I have to like it. I kept it in my closet for a while, and stared at it often, wishfully imagining that it were the Guru Paisley. I decided that settling just wasn't going to work. I would be too unhappy with it, and I wouldn't enjoy it.

Featherfew

So I listed it on eBay. It sold for $140. I kept this in my Paypal account, and caroused eBay, for several more months. Until two days ago, when I offered $140 for a Guru Paisley Duvet. She accepted.

A recap.

- 69.99 - Featherfew Duvet
+ 140.00 Sold Duvet
-140.00 Guru Paisley Duvet
______________________
Total = $69.99 out of pocket

That is the story of how I got the duvet that I wanted, at the price that I wanted. It took time (about 6+ months). But it was worth it! I can't wait for it to get here, and to be able to put it in our new home!

Caroline

Countdown to Home Ownership

Finally, some good news. Our closing date has been moved up. We will officially own our farmhouse on Monday, April 26th! Maybe I can squeeze in a few projects before we move in on the 30th.

More inside photos...consider these "Before Photos"

The Living Room

C

The Fireplace in the kitchen

The Bathroom

The Breakfast Room

 The Foyer

The Master Bedroom

The Back of the house (circular driveway) 

Back yard

It's surreal. I can hardly believe that it's almost here. After 6 months, we are going to own our own home.

Caroline

Caroline's Terrible, Horrible, No-Good, Very Bad Day

I try to be positive. I really do. But sometimes, I think life makes it nearly impossible. Nearly. Yesterday was one of those days. I started off in a pretty rotten mood, resulting from a culmination of stresses that had not been resolved from the night before (you know that saying about don't let the sun go down on your anger, it's there for a reason. Note to self.) So of course, I have to keep the world updated on my mood swings, and I start my facebook status morning off with "Caroline M... is having a hard time."

Now, I should have known better. Maybe I was asking for it. Murphy's law or something. Some things were minute, unimportant annoyances, but others were bigger than that, and a few somewhere in the middle..

-I lost my wallet. Tore the apartment up looking for it. And no luck. So my husband let me borrow his debit card to do some shopping.
-Which I lost.
-And as for that shopping...you can see my post on that here.
-I needed a specific card stock, and has to traipse all over town (3 different stores) to find it. Geez, it's just paper, but it took 2 hours to find.
- I then find out that a close friend has a miscarriage at 12 weeks. My heart breaks for them. I know Baby M was very well-loved for his/her short life.
- I knock my $600 camera off of my desk, and the lense breaks. We don't have the money to buy a new one.
- I get a phone call saying that my uncle has had a heart attack & as in the hospital.
- And to top it all off, David drops my iPhone on cement and cracks the screen.

It was a bad day. Maybe I never should have gotten out of bed. I'm no Pollyanna. But somehow, I survived. Today is a new day. I woke up to Dmitri's sweet smile, and it doesn't get much better than that. I hope it foretells of better things to come.

I'm still here.
Caroline

Wedgies, Onesies, and Clothes Falling Off

I have put off summer shopping for a long time. Years, actually. Last summer, I was immensely pregnant, and severely self-conscious, so though I was "dying" as I waddled around in the 100+ degree heat, I refused to wear shorts. Before that, I wore mostly dresses and skirts.

But now, with an active 9 month old and living in a humid subtropical climate, I need a pair of shorts. Badly. So I finally stopped putting it off and went shopping.

I looked through the entire department, found the longest pair of shorts that I could and tried them on. Now, I'm not a prude, nor do I necessarily have anything against short-shorts, but I'm really not into feeling like my butt cheeks are hanging out or that I have a massive wedgie.

Failure.

Notice the wedgie in the mirror. And oh my goodness, I have such white bird legs. So, I glance around, making sure that no college students are watching and I tiptoe into the Women's department. I lithely duck behind racks as I peek at the clothing. Ah, hah, a decent pair of shorts!

    Uh oh.

I'm all nice, mature, and modest, until my shorts completely FALL OFF. I have exhibitionist tendencies, but if I really wanted to show off my undies, I'd just not wear pants. The smallest size they make are only about 7 inches too big. I don't think it would be possible to take them in that much. So I give up on the shorts. And I find this...

  A ONESIE!

You know you want an ass-view.

All I have to say is, WOW. Are these really going to catch on? I hear these are popular in France?

Please explain this to me!!!

Overall, shopping was a failure. But I got a few laughs, and wedgies out of it.

Edit: This all took place at Target. 

You're Invited! Handmade Invitations

I love paper crafts: especially design. I have done custom invitations for two clients that I wanted to share with you. Hopefully it will inspire you for your next event!

a bridal shower invitation for a "Mad Men" themed shower

A modern wedding reception invitation

Have a wonderful weekend!

Caroline - The Feminist Housewife

Blog Censorship

I have blogged on and off for several years. I often debate how much content to censor and how much to share. My entire family (including in-laws) read this blog. I know that some things I would write would cause me a lot of grief. I don't like drama, and frankly, have enough of it in my life. But I also want to share my life with you, my whole, crazy, drama-ridden, life. And so I go back and forth. I think, "you know, it's not my fault that my family is so hilarious and bizarre that I can't help but write about it." And then I think, "well, I'm already the black-sheep, should I really make it worse?"...I've never been one to do things just to keep others happy. But I also don't want my life to be more complicated than it is.

The story of my life.

How do you decide what to write/not write on your blog? Do you keep some things private?

9-Months-Old

He's been out as long as he was in (in utero that is)! My 9 month post is a little late...but so was he (born at 41 weeks), so I deserve a little slack, right? ; )

This picture says it all: he is so full of life, happiness, and personality. We love every minute with him. He's cruising, eating "real" food, and moving around. It's amazing how life just keeps getting better. If you can't tell, he loves water! (and he's showing off his teeth: he has five!) We call him our little monkey.

I am trying to enjoy every minute with him instead of complaining how quickly the time goes...but I'd be lying if I didn't say that it makes me sad to realize how quickly he has grown.

He weighs 19 lbs. and is 27" long!

We love you, Dmitri Aleksandr!

(And don't worry...just because I am no longer on SYTYCD, I will definitely be keeping the projects coming! I have quite the list that I'm sure you won't want to miss...we are moving in two weeks!)

It's Hard to Say Goodbye

My time on So You Think You Can Decorate has come to an end.  Although I was not eliminated, I had to step out, for many reasons. On top of school, work, a design project for a client, Dmitri, and moving in two weeks, we had family in town from Israel who we only see every two years. After spending several hours in the hospital with Dmitri on Thursday and Friday, I had no more energy or time to spare for anything else!

I loved my time on SYTYCD; it was a wonderful experience with some very talented ladies. I was challenged and motivated to create. That was a beautiful thing. I feel so lucky to have been able to take part in it, and I am so sad to say goodbye.

But, I must know my own limitations and when to say no. My natural inclination is to over-commit myself, but I am learning to do what is best for myself and my family.  I don't want my family to only have the "leftovers" of me. And I must keep my sanity!

I am sad, but relieved. It was the right decision.

Good luck to the remaining ladies! You all are so talented!

Baby?

I've mentioned my pregnancy paranoia that I get at the end of every month. Lately, it seems like everyone has been mentioning baby # 2. As if, isn't it about time you popped out another? No, it's not. Thank you for your concern. Now shut up.  Maybe that's just in my head, along with the paranoia. It's probably more like, aren't you young and bad with birth control? We are expecting a slip up soon.

Yesterday, David and I were talking about if we wanted a baby # 2, and the timing. And we were both getting a little excited. My hamster wheel of a brain was turning. I had her name picked out (obviously, it would be a GIRL), and she would be due on Christmas Eve, and wouldn't it be funny to have a daughter named January that was born in December?...Ok, maybe we shouldn't be allowed to reproduce.

My Aunt was running a little late for her visit, so I took a test.

And then I was a little sad.

No, we aren't trying for another one. But, it wouldn't be the worst thing either. On the other hand, I'm also pretty relieved. I'm not sure yet that we want another. If it happens, I will be excited, but right now, I love my family how it is and I don't want it to change.

Have you had mixed feelings about more kids?

Shit!

There was a tack in his diaper! I never thought I could be so happy about a big shit. Or finding things in it...
I was so excited, I almost took a photo for you. But then I thought about it, and realized maybe you didn't want to see a photo of POO...

So I spared you. Say thank you.

Tack Swallowing Champ

If you recall here, I wrote a melodramatic post where I muse that I must be a terrible mother since my son almost swallowed a tack. There is a lot of motherly freaking out and crying going on. But Dmitri was fine, and no tack was swallowed.

He pulled an instant replay last night except he did not swallow a tack. I bawled hysterically held it together, mostly in denial that he actually might have swallowed it this time and thinking that since we couldn't find it, we might as well get an X-ray "just to make sure."

And he definitely swallowed it. I have the X-ray and everything. We spent several hours yesterday evening in the ER, and all of this morning at the doctor. At this point, it has not made any progress and is hanging out in his stomach. We are really hoping that when we have more X-rays on Monday that it will be gone!! We are just waiting at this point!

21 before 21

21 SMART Goals before 21

1. Bake homemade bread
2. Take a sign language class
3. Read a book just for fun
4. Buy a house
5. Reupholster a piece of furniture
6. Plant a garden
7. Make cake icing out of avocados
8. Get an internship
9. Write a pros and cons list for future careers
10. Go on a weekend away
11. Perform a random act of kindness
12. Build Dmitri a play kitchen
13. Write a love letter
14. Scrapbook from July 2009-July 2010
15. Build a piece of furniture "from scratch"
16. Take a practice GRE test
17. Perfect a whole wheat sugar free cookie recipe
18. Create a budget and follow it
19.Face a fear.
20. Blog about it
21. Start a compost

What is SMART? - Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time Bound

Thanks for the suggestions for the 21st goal. Composting wins! = )

What are your goals for the near future?
 

You can now find my face on Facebook!

Just in case you have been searching for my face, it has been found on Facebook! I would love for you to become a fan! The Feminist Housewife is on Facebook! 

You can check out my widget (doesn't that sound like a naughty word?) on the sidebar!

Asking Random Questions

I have numerous random questions that I wish I could ask a doctor, designer, pro-mom, couponer,  psychologist etc. But instead, I'm going to ask you! Any thoughts, help, ideas...I'd love to hear it. You are my experts on life.

- Where can I find a shower curtain for a clawfoot tub? Preferably not an incredibly boring one. Nor an expensive one..?

- I really want to coupon, but we eat mostly organic, non-processed, whole grain foods. Do you think its worth my time? Any tips or ideas?

-Along the line of couponing, where do you buy your papers? Do the coupons come in any paper?

-Why is my son's favorite color pink? Is it now justifiable for me to dress him in pink? Because you know I want to.

-Will I ever not be hyper paranoid about being pregnant each month? I mean, other than menopause. Not that being pregnant would be the worst thing right now, we would be quite excited...I just really want to be free from the worry and dread...sigh.

- Onto pregnancy, what do you think the ideal child spacing is? I know there is no right answer and it's different for everyone, but just curious.

- Do you follow a budget?

These are just some of the things floating around in my brain. And I needed to get them out! I'm also thinking about how I should be PACKING...because we are moving in 24 days...for real this time. It's hard to believe. Loving life, but thinking too much!

SYTYCD Week 6: Paint!

 Paint is what brings life to our homes, words to our art, and joy to an old piece of furniture.

I love art. And when I heard that this week's theme was paint, I ecstatically pulled our my paint brushes and acrylics.

Gel Medium brushed on my canvas before placing the photo on it.

Step 1: Apply a generous amount of gel medium (I used Golden "Regular Gel"). It's found in the art section of a craft supply like Michael's. Place the photo on top of the gel and roll out any air bubbles.

Step 2. Let the gel dry fully (it takes about an 1 1/2 hours) I let mine dry overnight.

  Step 3: Wet the paper generously. ( I used my son's sippy cup to dispense water onto it)

 Step 4: Rub the paper off with your fingers. Keep it wet and reapply water until it is all off. This takes a while, so don't get discouraged! It WILL all come off...eventually. 

 The black and white photo pre-paint. Here is how it looked. The lines are from where the paper had air bubbles; make sure you roll them out as best as you can! I liked the distressed look it gave the photo!

. Using the flowers in the background as a guide, I painted the daffodils yellow and green using acrylic paint. 

Step 5: Paint! I used a brush, as well as my fingers to layer different colors of paint for depth (I used five different colors of yellow and green in the picture below).

I added paper flowers to add dimension to the work.

The framed result:

Although this project took patience, it is pretty simple and you don't have to be an artist or a skilled painter to do it! The possibilities are endless. Please feel free to ask questions! Here are some other image transferring tutorials that I found helpful:

Lil Blue Boo: Transferring an Image with Gel Medium
Homemade Mamas: Gel Medium Transfer

I link up @

 It's So Very Creative, Motivate Me Monday, Make It For Monday, Metamorphesis, Made By You Mondays,  Made It Mondays Just Something I Whipped Up,

Happy Easter

Happy Easter! Dmitri seems to be enjoying his first! Despite me torturing him by making him wear bunny ears. (Yeah, I'm one of "those" moms).  = ) I hope everyone celebrates and enjoys this beautiful day of life and happiness!

Pages and Pages.

I have been spending the majority of my days reading. I love reading, and I wish that I had  made more time for it. But, the reality is that I don't read much outside of my required reading, and even then I don't always get that done. At least I enjoy it. But, it means that I haven't washed the dishes in four or five days, our place looks like a bomb shelter, and you can just forget laundry. Can't have it all, right?


I'm currently reading....

A few of my favorites are...

What are your favorite books? Are there any that I should add to my summer reading list?