House Tour (Apartment Therapy style)

It has been almost a year since we moved into our first house as husband and wife. And, just like us dating, it was not love at first sight with this house. It has taken some time to fall in love with. To be honest, I just wanted to get into a house. I knew something bizarre was going on with my job (I was laid off just a few weeks after the house purchase) and I wanted to get into something while we still qualified and the houses were cheap.

With Jeff having no opinion whatsoever on where we lived, that left it all up to up to me, and I needed to find something quickly. (Jeff said he didn't care if we lived in a cardboard box as long as we were together. Sweet, but I actually believe him, which is kind of scary.) He spent most of my house hunting nights at home watching 'the game.'

After multiple offers on tons of houses, ones I didn't really like and ones I cried when we lost, we finally had an offer for a house accepted! I was relieved, but not thrilled. This isn't exactly my dream house, but it was a house, and the mortgage was right around what we were paying for rent. This was success in my book.

Before we could move in, we had to get some things cleaned up and in habitable condition. This was not a well taken care of foreclosure after all. Below is the "before."



First thing to go was the floors. We had the upstairs carpet cleaned until we could afford to replace it and Jeff and his brother Spencer took out the flooring downstairs. There was just no saving it.



While the floor was out we painted the walls, then we put some wood laminate and tile floors down in the living room and kitchen respectively. These would not have been my first choice, but they were economical ones, and I really love the way they turned out. The yellow and brown tones really warm up the house. My favorite part was replacing the base boards. I didn't think such a small change would make such a big difference.



Normally I would like to live in a place a bit before painting, to see what the light was like throughout the day, but we did everything before we moved in. After we painted the blue I was a bit frightened. It looked so cold and too much like a nursery room color at the same time. We called it "iceberg blue" for a while. It needed more black/gray tones, but after a few months of living with it, the color started to grow on me.



Most people would think I should be afraid of the green in the kitchen instead of the blue, but I instantly loved it once it was on the wall. Jeff is actually responsible for this color. I gave him the choice between two greens, the current bright green and a more subtle green. I am so glad I went with his choice of bright green. I almost chickened out a couple times, even sitting at Ace Hardware for a good half hour trying to decide if I was going to change up the color at the last minute. Again, I'm very glad I didn't.



I like the colors we chose because if people never saw the owners of the house they would know young people lived here. It is a good reminder for me too, we are young and our house should be fun. There is plenty of time for class and elegance down the road.



Over the last year I slowly decorated, picking up pieces from Salvation Army and dragging things out of boxes from the garage (very limited budget with Jeffery still in school). There is still a list of things that I want to do, but I have come to the conclusion that there will always be more to do. There will also always be limitations. We have committed ourselves to spending under a certain amount on any renovations that we make to this house. After all, this is our starter house and we do not plan to be here for too long, no need to make any big investments. Especially in Vegas, during the state of the current market.

That said, here is my wish list for the down stairs:

Kitchen:
Granite counter top for the kitchen island,
Cute cafe curtains for the kitchen window,
Microwave mounted above the stove, and
Herringbone marble subway tiles for the backsplash.



Living Area:
Nicer TV stand (not just my old dressers painted brown, maybe something that is actually wood and not pressed board),
Brown carpet tiles for an area rug,
Pair of unique antique chairs to replace the Salvation Army finds,
Round glass kitchen table from Crate & Barrel w/ upholstered dinning chairs.
(right now we use our craigslist coffee table as our dinning table, classy.)

Outside:
Fire pit
BBQ
More seating
Bamboo & Shrubbery
Stained cement

I know this list will never come to fruition, but it is in my dreams. This will be put on hold for at least another year. Up next on the list? Tackling the upstairs. Most likely after that, everything will be put on hold for things like diapers and cute little knitted booties. So I have 90% resigned myself to letting this list go. Having it pried away one finger at a time.



For now, I am still falling in love with this house. After all, this is the house that will get us through Jeffery's school years and hopefully even graduate school. This is the house in which we will bring our first baby home to. This is our first home together. I am so grateful that we get to share this house, whether it is perfect or not, I know we are blessed. Sometimes I actually just sit downstairs and am amazed that this little 1400 sq ft place is our home, all ours, it's were we find peace and love.

Last minute MENS gift advice

I saw this column on one of the blogs I read. It is hiarious and very true. For anyone that is newly married (or at least still feels that way) and still struggles and what to get your husband for Christmas- this guy has some good advice.

Jeff and I always joke that his maturity age when we met was at about 8 or 9. Since we got married, we thought he is at least 14 or 15 by now. I'm sad to know, that in actuality, he may still be only 4. *sigh*

Kirby: A guide to great guy gifts
By Robert Kirby

Tribune Columnist

Updated: 12/15/2009 11:31:51 AM MST

If you haven't finished (or even started) Christmas shopping for the man in your life, I am just in time. This column could save you from living with the world's largest 4-year-old.
NOTE: I'm not kidding. In his heart of hearts, every guy is 4 years old. Five tops.

Anyway, the only thing that makes a guy sulk worse than not getting what he wants for Christmas is getting what a woman thinks he should have instead.
For the record, this includes any item in the following four boring Christmas gift groups: neckties, grooming, pajamas and self-help books.

On the bright side, shopping for men is relatively easy. Compared with shopping for women, it's no more complicated than getting something for the family dog or even just a stray.
Sadly, some women still manage to mess it up. Every year right after Christmas, you see men standing in line waiting to exchange nose trimmers, slippers and bulk deodorant. On their faces are looks grim enough to sterilize livestock at a glance.

A good example of this would be the year my wife got me a bathrobe for Christmas. For the record, it was not something I wanted, needed or had even asked for.
She got me a bathrobe for herself, or rather her own peace of mind. She was tired of me walking around the house, answering the door and going outside to get the newspaper in my underwear.
It was a nice bathrobe, velour with matching slippers. I took it back and exchanged it for thevideo "Kung Fu Monkeys, Volume Four" and a blow gun. With the money left over, I got a pizza on the way home.

So, what do men want for Christmas? Since you asked (or simply read this far), it's basically, anything you don't want him to have because it's a.) too expensive, b.) totally ridiculous, c.) almost certainly dangerous, and/or d.) socially disturbing.
However, if you're an understanding woman, or simply don't feel like having Christmas ruined by prolonged shouting from the garage, you'll get it for him anyway.

If you are shopping blind this Christmas, meaning that your guy hasn't specifically asked for something, or already bought it, you'll do well with any of the following:
» You can't go wrong with anything in the projectile category. While this generally refers to firearms, slingshots and crossbows, it also can be extended to cover artillery, rocketry and even catapults.

» Also appreciated by men Christmas morning are gifts that -- either by design or deliberate misuse -- can be made to explode. In this category are fireworks, surplus military ordnance, small engines and anything labeled: "Contents Under Pressure."

» While it's understood that many men can read, it's wise to avoid giving them books as gifts, particularly books having to do with relationships, child psychology, the feminine mystique, cats and any emotion other than raucous laughter.

It's almost impossible to go wrong with food, but people still try. In general, a guy would rather have a ham than a box of truffles. Whatever you get, make sure it's jerked, peppered, smoked and gastronomically irritating.

Want to give your guy an item of apparel that he won't take back? Get something that fits you and is see-through. Find it with his favorite sports team logo on it and it'll be the best Christmas he ever had.

Robert Kirby can be reached at rkirby@sltrib.com

THE BEAST MASTER

Elder Travis Bame has returned home from his mission in El Salvador!! We are so excited to have Travis home and so proud of him for serving an honorable mission. It's been fun to read his letters, and for me, experience having a brother on mission, as we are all girls on my side of the family.








With his coming home we have been hanging out with the Bame family a lot the past couple months. The weekend after he came home we went to San Diego for our annual Halloween beach camping trip. Heather, my sister, also joined us. We had a lot of fun just playing in the waves (or for Jeff, reading his book, dry on the beach) and hanging out around the campfire. The weather was perfect and the company was superb.

The next weekend we had the Bame's over for Taco Night at our house. I tried my best to figure out how to cook for 10 people instead of our regular twosome. Luckily, tacos' are simple because my culinary skills are greatly lacking. After dinner the girls stayed over and played rockband.


(Right: Becky on drums, Amber on lead guitar, Natalie slappin' the bass, Jeff rockin' the mic, and Amanda our band-aid)

Saturday and Sunday we spent over at Kieth and Nanette's' hanging out with cousins, aunts and uncles. At church on Sunday Travis gave his "homecoming" talk and Aaron played an awesome musical number on the violin. We love spending time with the family, it's rare when everyone can get together like this with such a large family.

All the RM's in attendace

The following Wed. was Veterans day so we rallied up our "troops" to go hiking at Red Rock and have a picnic. It was a perfect cool, overcast day.



(To the right: Sage, Amber, Jeff, Shela, Jade, Heather, Travis, Bailey, Abbey, Natalie)


We've been kept really busy the last few weeks and I have a feeling with Birthdays and the Holidays coming up that it wont slow down anytime soon. I can't wait for Thanksgiving when we get to be together with all our family again.

Happy Anniversary

Last week Jeff and I celebrated our 2 year wedding anniversary. I can't believe it has been TWO YEARS! It feel like we are still newlyweds, while at the same time, it feels like we have been together our whole lives. I love him so much; I simply cannot imagine living life without him anymore.

To celebrate we saw The Killers play in Salt Lake and exchange presents. We saw them last year around our anniversary too and we are hoping that if The Killers cooperate, that we can see them every year for our anniversary. For presents we exchanged vinyl records and went clothes shoping. Jeff gave me a couple Pearl Jam records and I gave him a Best Of Morrisey record and a day trip to a local casino Spa.

Then, this past weekend, we went to see a movie at Town Square and did some shoping. Since we never buy ourselves clothes anymore we decided we would count it towards our anniversary, as niether of us followed the tradition of giving cotton or china.

My family is full of September anniversarys. My Mom and Dads is on the 21st and My Uncle Mitch & Aunt Jana's is just a few days after. September is such a great month for lovers!

Love you bunches Jeffery!

Pinched Pennies

In the less than two years since Jeff and I have been married, due to layoffs and other "fun" life events, we are bringing in less Benjamines than we are use to. Add on top of that buying a much needed car and house and it makes for some pretty inventive budgeting (not to mention, a pretty stressful first couple years of marriage).

I thought in this blog I would share some of our money saving tips, some of which are not entirely new or creative, but this is what works for us. These days, everyone seems to be looking for ways to save an extra buck or two and this is our few tips and tricks on how to do it.

1. Free Stuff: Yes, free is the cheapest we can get, so we look for these opportunites everywhere. Since entertainment is the first thing to get kicked out of a stretched budget we look for free entertainment the most. We have had great luck finding free movies. We belong to lasvegasmovieinsider.com. This site tells where to pick up free passes to pre-release secret premiers. Another great source is the Clark County Libraries. They will show great classics like "The Birds" and even more recent releases like "Running with Siccors" at their theaters in town. It's great because you can see old classics on the big screen.

Another great form of free entertainment is free concerts. Jeff usually scores these from myspace's secret shows (like Glasvegas - great show) and reading the fine print in the Las Vegas Weekly. We have even gotten to see free concerts when we've purchased a ticket for one show and the venue will give away free entrance into other events held in the casino the same day with a ticket stubb.

2. Taking it outside: Outdoor activities are my favorite forms of cheap entertainment. Going for a walk, bike ride, or on a hike are usually free. Summers in Las Vegas cramp this a bit, but with Mt. Charleston just a few bucks of gas away with it's cooler tempatures and hiking trails, we don't have to go far to enjoy the great outdoors. I'm even a fan for camping in the backyard or taking the projection screen and some sheets outside for your own night out without having to leave the house.

3. Coupons: Jeff and I are turning into expert coupon hunters. I usually save an average of $20 on a $100-130 grocery bill. I also only go shoping every other week instead of making weekly shoping trips, going to the grocery store less often usually saves money. Jeff searches our mail for coupons and I belong to a couple websites such as Shortcuts.com to get the best coupons.

Our younger siblings roped us into buying these coupon books from them for some school activity or something as well. We were able to recoup their cost within the first month or so with the coupons we used at grocery stores and the movies. Plus it makes date nights easier- "Where should we go?" Just look in the coupon book and pick what looks fun or tasty. (Yes, we actually do this, we are sad I know).

4. Two for One: When you start looking around it's amazing how many places offer specials with buy one get one free, which is great when your family is made up of only 2. House of Blues lets you sign up to get their Two For Tuesday deals, where you can purchase two tickets for selected upcoming events for the price of one ticket every Tuesday. And when we're feeling like a frozen treat we just hit up Dairy Queen off Eastern on Tuesdays for thier buy one peanut buster parfa get one free.

5. Cutting the Excess: We have been continually working on cutting back. We may take some services off of our cable or phones bills only to come back a few months later to reasses. Once we've lived a few months without such and such a service we see what else can we easily live without. In the last year I bet we've cut our monthly bills by a couple hundred dollars. It is actually nice to just get back to the basics. It is amazing how much extra stuff and services are included with everything. We also are reassing what we bring home. I have to admit, I use to use mindless shoping as a way to blow off steam, but now before every purchase we think - how often are we really going to use this? In a year is this something we still will want? This also helps cut back on the junk and clutter around the house.

These are probably the top five things we do to cut back on expenses. They are really pretty painless too. I haven't noticed too big of a diffence in our quality of life over the last few years. Of course, nothing can replace good budgeting, which we are constantly working on. If any one knows of good websites or tricks for saving please do share. We are always on the look out to save a quick buck or two.

Recapture

You learn the coolest things on PBS! Yes, I am that big of a dork.
Did you know that when you enter one of these: word verifications on a website you may just be helping the New York Times or be updating an old book? It is called recapture. You see, many companies and agencies are scanning their old publications, articles, and books into computers but the old print from these publications are sometimes uneven and ill spaced, making it impossible for a computer to read them. So, a brilliant computer scientist came up with the idea that if we can decipher the above word that we would be able to also decipher these old scanned words.


This is commonly used when you see two different words, you know, those fuzzy ones with lint and lines through them. Well, thanks to us and these verifications being used on popular websites like Facebook and Myspace over 20 years of word decoding has already been completed. How cool is that!

I know, I know, I am a dork - but innovative, efficient ideas like this are exciting to me.

The past month . . .

I realize that when I am not bored at work I don't really blog that well. Hmm. This might be an issue. Catch up . . .

New job is going well. I hope it will lead to promotions and a fine "career" in the future. I'm still in training so my first promotion may be a ways off just yet. Jeff starts at the PT office in the next week or two. During my week off I read a couple great books - Water for Elephants and Forever Amber. Yes, I actually read Forever Amber. It was like a more raw Casablanca set in London. My favorite line was - "Amber is the exact type of woman every man wants for his mistress but not for a wife." This character does not emulate me in any sense, but it was entertaining. As soon as the The Outsiders comes in from my hold I can't wait to read that one too.

I also painted a couple of dressers to make a larger TV stand and conducted our first yard sale. I'm still waiting to feel inspired on the design for the pillows I want to sew for the sofa. When I get the Livingroom finally all set up I'll take a couple shots and show the before and after.

We have been having just a great few weeks of lazy hanging out - it has been awesome! This past Memorial Day weekend we saw Flight of the Concords, a bonus free show of Youth Group at Wasted Space and a couple movies. My favorite part of the weekend though was when our upstairs was too hot to sleep (who puts 1 air conditioner on the ground floor of a 2 story house? It makes for a toasty upstairs! I have Ice Princess coming to see what we can do next week) we dragged down the Futon Mattress into the living room and stayed up watching movies till wee hours. I felt like a little kid building a fort in the middle of the living room. It was so much fun! I think this may be necessary this weekend too, while we wait for the repair men to come out, but I don't mind, it's just too much fun.