i haven't blogged in FOREVER.. and right now i am DESPERATE to kill time. as in.. if i could get the steamer to warm up fast enough, i would scrape wallpaper. you see. in a mere 2 hours, i am going to see the sheila divine.
normally. this would be a pretty normal activity. but this time.. they. are. playing. with.... WEEZER.
my god. i hope the cool kids don't read this blog because i'm about to geek out about how excited i am.
all throughout high school i listened to weezer like it was my mothatruckin' job. i lived and breathed this band. had all the cd's and pin and t-shirts. imagine a teenager nowadays who is in love with justin beiber. that's how it was. then, i got to college, and i discovered the sheila divine. that was pretty much allllll i listened to in college. tsd and weezer. it was dorky.. but i have no problem owning up to it.
about a month ago.. i found out that they were playing together. i went screaming though the house like an insane person. the thought of this show makes my eyes water. you could have told me i'd won the lottery and i don't think i would have been as excited as i was to find out about this concert. now it's 2 hours away and i am sitting here waiting for my friend rachel and my huzz steve to get home. i still have about 20 minutes till i can start dinner. if i started it now, it would be cold.
on itunes.. i put all my sheila divine music and all my weezer music together and i've been listening to it all day. the whole collection is about 5 hours long, which is A LOT of music.
this day is taking forever.
in other very exciting news. we are getting a puppy. she is super cute. her name is going to be Boleyn and she is an olde english bulldog. we pick her up the first week of june, and that wait is also taking f. o. r. e. v. e. r.... we have a date with her on friday night.
the house is coming along slowly. also good.
garden is planted. whee.
i cannot concentrate. but at least i've blogged enough to get me to the time where i can go cut up some zucchini.
i will try to blog again soon :)
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
welcome to somerville homeownership!
"welcome to somerville homeownership!" said mimi, in her reply back to my email. who knows it would have spawned so much activity!
now that we're permanent residents, steve and i have been toying with the idea of actually immersing ourselves in the community. it was a conversation we've had a few times. framing some somerville artwork was actually the catalyst for me to search out the leaders of the "what the fluff?" festival that happens in september over in union square. fluff was invented here in somerville you know ;)
i chatted with mimi about volunteering at the festival, and that turned into me getting added to the festival planning committee, which then further turned into me becoming a volunteer at a couple of the saturday farmers markets. i have to say, i'm pretty excited about it!
on steve's end, he was thinking in becoming more involved with the local politics. recently, i nannied for a mom who was super duper into the local somervillian works.. she gave me her card and said she's love to chat with steve more... he could be on a roll soon too!
home is starting to come together.. and that's kind of awesome :)
now that we're permanent residents, steve and i have been toying with the idea of actually immersing ourselves in the community. it was a conversation we've had a few times. framing some somerville artwork was actually the catalyst for me to search out the leaders of the "what the fluff?" festival that happens in september over in union square. fluff was invented here in somerville you know ;)
i chatted with mimi about volunteering at the festival, and that turned into me getting added to the festival planning committee, which then further turned into me becoming a volunteer at a couple of the saturday farmers markets. i have to say, i'm pretty excited about it!
on steve's end, he was thinking in becoming more involved with the local politics. recently, i nannied for a mom who was super duper into the local somervillian works.. she gave me her card and said she's love to chat with steve more... he could be on a roll soon too!
home is starting to come together.. and that's kind of awesome :)
Friday, March 18, 2011
this march seems to be the month of awesome
i don't really know whats happening.. but this month is going so wonderfully.
things on both somerville and springfield home fronts are lovely. here in somerville, a young (thoroughly backround checked) couple, meghan and jack are preparing to move in. in springfield, dee and liz are getting ready to take on langdon street.. possibly by storm.. who knows.
it's been nice enough for me to start gardening. i've cleaned up and pulled all the plastic up from the front yard. there are some plants that i am going to wait on pulling up.. i'm curious to see what they are. but waiting in my front hall are peonie bulbs, 2 raspberry bushes, 2 blueberry bushes, and alyssum. in the seed starter pods are tomatos, cucumbers, watermelons, peppers, carrots, onions, basil, oregano, cilantro, and sunflower seeds. i CANNOT WAIT to start seeing everything start really growing. i'm super excited.
one week from now we'll have our first official house guests. i'm lucky because my sisters, my nephew, and best friends are coming from western MA and NH to celebrate my birthday. number 29.. normally i am kind of blah about my birthday, especially the last 2 years.. last year was the first momless birthday, and this year it will be grammyless as well. when i was younger we would celebrate them together as hers was the day before mine...
the plan is to go to the rainforest cafe. i am really looking forward to that. the next morning is kick-ass breakfast day at bonair street.
other than that, i've also been working on getting my online portfolio going. i still have a lot to add, but this is the start of it. click here :)
and.. the house continues to get unpacked. this also makes me silly-happy.
things on both somerville and springfield home fronts are lovely. here in somerville, a young (thoroughly backround checked) couple, meghan and jack are preparing to move in. in springfield, dee and liz are getting ready to take on langdon street.. possibly by storm.. who knows.
it's been nice enough for me to start gardening. i've cleaned up and pulled all the plastic up from the front yard. there are some plants that i am going to wait on pulling up.. i'm curious to see what they are. but waiting in my front hall are peonie bulbs, 2 raspberry bushes, 2 blueberry bushes, and alyssum. in the seed starter pods are tomatos, cucumbers, watermelons, peppers, carrots, onions, basil, oregano, cilantro, and sunflower seeds. i CANNOT WAIT to start seeing everything start really growing. i'm super excited.
one week from now we'll have our first official house guests. i'm lucky because my sisters, my nephew, and best friends are coming from western MA and NH to celebrate my birthday. number 29.. normally i am kind of blah about my birthday, especially the last 2 years.. last year was the first momless birthday, and this year it will be grammyless as well. when i was younger we would celebrate them together as hers was the day before mine...
the plan is to go to the rainforest cafe. i am really looking forward to that. the next morning is kick-ass breakfast day at bonair street.
other than that, i've also been working on getting my online portfolio going. i still have a lot to add, but this is the start of it. click here :)
and.. the house continues to get unpacked. this also makes me silly-happy.
Friday, March 11, 2011
home sweet home
finally. we are home. everything has been moved and Russell Road is no longer our home. Bonair street feels more and more like home every time i go out and come back to it.
it took the movers 2 days to move everything and our half of a basement worth of stuff has managed to fill the whole basement here at bonair street. i don't really know how that happened.. but what is coming is another purge of stuff.
things in the house are slowly being put away, and the boxes are slowly disappearing. the gardens have been lightly planned.. peonies, hydrangeas, and a lilac bush in the front. also maybe some of those flowers that form a carpet.. sunflowers and a blueberry bush on the side, and in the back where the deck is.. vegetables. i cannot wait. i'm a bit anxious to start on other rooms. mainly the office, guest room and the bathroom.. but until things get better sorted out, those will have to wait.
i'm also happy that my goldfish survived. i kind of expected them to all die of shock.. but they are doing surprisingly well. the cats have also returned to their normal hell-raising habits.
everything seems good.
on the tenant front, both places are filled both here and in somerville.. they both happened really fast.. kind of felt like some cosmic birthday gifts. (or at least that's what i'm sticking to since march is the month of my birthday..)
well.. i suppose thats just about all the excitement around here for now..
it took the movers 2 days to move everything and our half of a basement worth of stuff has managed to fill the whole basement here at bonair street. i don't really know how that happened.. but what is coming is another purge of stuff.
things in the house are slowly being put away, and the boxes are slowly disappearing. the gardens have been lightly planned.. peonies, hydrangeas, and a lilac bush in the front. also maybe some of those flowers that form a carpet.. sunflowers and a blueberry bush on the side, and in the back where the deck is.. vegetables. i cannot wait. i'm a bit anxious to start on other rooms. mainly the office, guest room and the bathroom.. but until things get better sorted out, those will have to wait.
i'm also happy that my goldfish survived. i kind of expected them to all die of shock.. but they are doing surprisingly well. the cats have also returned to their normal hell-raising habits.
everything seems good.
on the tenant front, both places are filled both here and in somerville.. they both happened really fast.. kind of felt like some cosmic birthday gifts. (or at least that's what i'm sticking to since march is the month of my birthday..)
well.. i suppose thats just about all the excitement around here for now..
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
feedback of the week
every so often when i go to take care of new kids, i worry that they won't like me or that they'll be afraid of me for lord knows what.. however, this week i received "feedback of the week" with parents in a pinch, which is the company i nanny-temp for. made me feel all warm and fuzzy because really, i thought andrew was pretty rad himself. he's autistic, and sometimes autistic kids have a really hard time warming up. besides autism, he also had a hyperactive attention disorder. he was super shy at first, but by the end of the night we were cuddled up together and hanging out. i see a few autistic kids every so often, and they are always my favorites.
this was the feedback:
this was the feedback:
Monday, February 14, 2011
packing AND moving: day 19
since we've moved on from just packing and onto both.. the title changes. it's really just the way it should go.
talk about hard work. i've always had some skill set when it comes to using tools, but i have to say.. actually putting into action makes me feel like a bit of a badass. i get the satisfaction of work, and i really like it.
so far.. i've been focusing on the two rooms we use the most. the living room and the kitchen. as i've mentioned in previous posts, there is an insane amount of wallpaper in this house. i wish i was over exagerating when i say.. "oh my god, there are 5 layers of wallpaper in my living room!". in reality. there ARE 5 layers. well.. there WERE. i steamed and scraped them all off. beneath the paper in the living room, are horsehair plaster walls. with the exception of a few places in the house where there is some really old drywall (that the steamer destroys) it's all horsehair. the living room plaster is in good-excellent shape. good enough so that i can completely patch and sand them down before painting them. the kitchen though, not so great. all of the plaster in the kitchen had to come down completely. this means that i am actually going to try my hand at drywalling. the folks at home depot will cut it all for me, and then the installation is up to me. i'm nervous and excited to try it out. this will be the first time that i will have actually done it. i've seen it on tv a million times, as well as seeing it done in person a bunch too. i know people get into trouble when they ask the question "how hard could it be?", but really. how hard could it be? we'll find out in the next few days.
as for the rest of the living room, the walls are all patched and with some light sanding, they will start to be painted sometime within the next 24 hours. i can't *really* believe it. i looked over the pictures from when it started. the room looked so small and pink i can hardly believe i'm standing in the same room now. the pink was so blinding, that if you were downstairs at the front door, and the door to our apartment was open, you could see the pink reflecting down the stairs and it gave that whole front hall area a pink glow. ridiculous. the ceilings are high and beautiful, and i love the medallion on the ceiling. after doing some light research, we found out that crown molding is inexpensive and easy to install. it's a definite possibility. the blue we chose together is also great.. it's called "russian blue" by behr. we were waffling on the choosing, but the name helped us choose because of our sway-kitty. i so cannot wait to start painting.
a link to photos of our progress so far :)
the room i am going to wait to start taking apart is the bathroom. i see exactly how it should look, but it's the only room that has any sense to it right now, even with it's orchid and turquoise walls. yick. the end result will include subway tiles, hexagonal tiles and wainscoting.
today is a lazy day. it's so nice. a lazy but working day. i am watching an 11 year old girl named grace who has tonsillitis. i've been here since 8am, and will be here till 6:30. we've played several card games, watched a movie, and now she is reading while i am typing. the most strenuous part of my work day has been cutting up some cheese and strawberries for her, and making her tea. soon, i'll make lunch for us and then who knows what. i could feel guilty for not working at the house today.. but i am technically working.. :) grace is pretty awesome. she's smart and an excellent communicator, and i really love that she likes and knows card games. not a bad work day at all.
tonight, for valentines day, steve and i will relax together. this is the one day a year he whips out some cooking skills. it'll be the 6th year in a row that he's cooked for me. it's always the same thing. steak and potatoes with peppers and onions. he's a master at this meal. he handles dinner and i do dessert. what i'm going to make yet, i have no idea. i'm excited to give him the new gwar CD that just came out as a gift.. i'm pretty sure he doesn't even know it came out yet. his gift to me was a red ladder. hardly candy and flowers, but i like the un-normalness of it. :)
i hope everyone out there has a fantastic valentines day!
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
packing: day 9
well.. as of monday night, 79 bonair street is officially ours. it was supposed to happen last friday, but thanks to the glorious new england snow, it was delayed. i had planned to do things there.. but.. yaknow..
i started attacking the wallpaper today. it was ridiculous. there seems to be 2 layers in the office. one layer that goes all the way up to the ceilings, and another that goes just to the glorious drop ceilings. the dining room has turned into a wall paper excavation. there was one wall that seemed.. loose, we'll say. i pulled at the seam of the wallpaper, and one huge panel peeled off. i was able to pick at that one panel and identify 4, possibly 5 patters of wallpaper and at least one layer of paint mixed in. all of the rooms in my house (except for the rental downstairs.. that only has some wood paneling) have wall paper that's been painted over. i now have a completely new hatred for people who paint over god-damned wallpaper. under all of that paper, i discovered horse hair plaster. i absolutely have my work cut out for me. while it may seem like i'm complaining and grouchy about it.. i'm actually really excited to do all of this work. it makes me really warm and fuzzy inside to map out all of the plans and see it in my head as steve and i's new home. he's excited to move, perhaps mostly because his portable game system chargers were accidentally packed, but has been musing lately that he's a little sad to see our time here on russell road come to an end. i feel the same.
for all of the cosmetic work that has to be done on our second floor apartment. i feel like i won a bit of a lottery with the rental unit. a good scrub, refinishing the wood floors, carpeting one room, and painting all of the walls is all that needs to happen for it to be rented out. it seems like our future tenants may move in before we do!
the packing is continuing slowly.. we plan to move some things over slowly, but the wintery hell that mother nature has been throwing at new england lately has made that idea move sloooowly.
more later!
i started attacking the wallpaper today. it was ridiculous. there seems to be 2 layers in the office. one layer that goes all the way up to the ceilings, and another that goes just to the glorious drop ceilings. the dining room has turned into a wall paper excavation. there was one wall that seemed.. loose, we'll say. i pulled at the seam of the wallpaper, and one huge panel peeled off. i was able to pick at that one panel and identify 4, possibly 5 patters of wallpaper and at least one layer of paint mixed in. all of the rooms in my house (except for the rental downstairs.. that only has some wood paneling) have wall paper that's been painted over. i now have a completely new hatred for people who paint over god-damned wallpaper. under all of that paper, i discovered horse hair plaster. i absolutely have my work cut out for me. while it may seem like i'm complaining and grouchy about it.. i'm actually really excited to do all of this work. it makes me really warm and fuzzy inside to map out all of the plans and see it in my head as steve and i's new home. he's excited to move, perhaps mostly because his portable game system chargers were accidentally packed, but has been musing lately that he's a little sad to see our time here on russell road come to an end. i feel the same.
for all of the cosmetic work that has to be done on our second floor apartment. i feel like i won a bit of a lottery with the rental unit. a good scrub, refinishing the wood floors, carpeting one room, and painting all of the walls is all that needs to happen for it to be rented out. it seems like our future tenants may move in before we do!
the packing is continuing slowly.. we plan to move some things over slowly, but the wintery hell that mother nature has been throwing at new england lately has made that idea move sloooowly.
more later!
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