Busy...

We'll, we've both been too busy to post (I promise I'll get Michael to post one of these days...) and we haven't been busy with house stuff. I've been putting in 16-20 hour days at work, which is making me pretty grumpy. Michael's been super busy with his music, both playing out, practicing, and doing recording sessions.

Hopefully, we'll be able to unpack some stuff this weekend, since living out of boxes isn't so fun. Then we can post more pics and projects for your reading enjoyment.

Introducing the new Opart Thai....

One of the biggest issues I had with leaving Lincoln Square, was leaving my second home behind, Opart Thai House. I have a feeling we paid for their monthly lease with the amount of time we frequented their happy establishment. It was only a 1/2 block away, and they had the best, no really, THE BEST Thai in the city. Between the Peanut Sauce Lover, the Khao Soy, and even more Peanut Sauce Lover, I was a wreck that we were moving, and they wouldn't deliver to us.. just 6 blocks shy of the delivery zone.

Last night, we were craving some Thai like mad, so I opened up Grub Hub to see what places will deliver to us. Perusing the menu's, I happened upon a spot called Dharma Garden. Hmmm, this is interesting.... I thought as I was browsing the menu. Lots of vegetarian offerings.... Almost all vegetarian offerings.... Yep, it's a Veggie / Seafood only place. Yum! That makes me happy, and Michael, who loves seafood happy, so we ordered it up to check it out. Not 20 minutes later the doorbell rang. Food had arrived piping hot, and as we were opening container after container, we were blown away by the portions. We'll each have food for 3 meals, plus, they threw in a Pad Thai for free. Can't beat that. Oh, did I mention the food rocks? Happiness...

The Rock

Sidney, the cat, is finally adjusting. His nickname is "The Rock" because when he sleeps in the bed, he refuses to move, even if you accidentally kick him, you'll encounter a non moving cat, and you'll need to adjust your legs, so you may as well be sleeping with a rock in the bed.

Yesterday, when we came back to the condo to get him, he was not happy. When we brought him to the house, he was really not happy. Around 3am, he finally realized he recognized the furniture, and then kept me up all night headbutting me, and jumping on and off the bed. This morning, he discovered the basement stairs, and I don't think he's moved in the last 6 hours.

Thanks Cousin Eileen!

We hired a company called Checkmate movers - we found them on Angies list and I swear I'll never move again without them! They were great.

When we arrived at the house, we had a wonderful surprise, Eileen (who works right down the street) had dropped off an adorable welcome present, along with a balloon. It really cheered us up after packing all night, and dealing with all the stress a move brings.



After we finished setting up the furniture and unpacking some boxes, our friend Cathy came over and we decided some Mexican food (and more importantly margaritas) were in order. Eileen recommended a place near us called Taxco, and they have some of the best margaritas I've ever had. Great food too! But this morning, I was definitely hurting...

What? We have to mow the lawn?!

After taking ownership in late August, I guess we can consider ourselves lucky that the grass didn't grow too quickly. But each weekend, we did tend to notice it getting a little taller, a little more weedy, until we couldn't see our ankles, and I'm sure we had quite a bit of wildlife setting up for the winter.

One weekend we picked up a Craftsman lawnmower for $20 at a garage sale. Did I mention it doesn't work? "I can fix it" said Mike, and I've quickly been learning he can fix anything... (if only we had the time). Next weekend... should we take the lawnmower in to get fixed? We don't have time to work on it. "I can fix it, it's just the carburetor". A couple weeks go by...


Sweetheart, I'm beginning to have nightmares of the weeds attacking me as I walk to the garage... and that's when the Crafty Beaver comes in handy - they rent lawnmowers for $15 a day.

So, now that it's in the 50's and getting colder every day, we only had to mow once this year. joy.

Fun with strippers!

No you perverts, not those strippers, paint strippers. While Mike was spackling away, I decided to try my hand and stripping the paint (25 layers of paint) off of one of the windows in the office. We bought a citrus stripper, which doesn't smell bad at all.

Well, chalk this one up to rule #1 while using paint strippers... Do not use a canvas drop cloth, as it will not keep paint chips layered with stripper from seeping through, thereby also stripping off the clear coat polyurethane from the newly refinished hardwood floors. Who knew? Now we get to work on the floor!



Yep, didn't get too far. Would you believe at one time this window was painted red? RED!??!!

Moving day coming up...

How does one accumulate so much crap? I've been trying to figure this out, as this is how our basement looks, and we still haven't moved our stuff in from the Condo. Oh, Friday will be fun...

Aversion to spackle

I hate spackle. No, I mean I REALLY HATE SPACKLE. It's gotten so bad, that I physically cringe whenever I see or smell it. And I see it a lot...



So, I understand that plaster walls, after sitting around for 86 years, will settle and crack. Sure they're prone to bulging a little, sagging a little, it's what happens after all that time. Again, I get it. But this is beyond your normal wear and tear aging... I can't explain it. Well, I can explain it... it's called painting 25 coats over old wallpaper, never patching anything, and letting paint drips dry all over the place. And just not taking care of the walls.



So, what does all this mean?

A) Put up drywall. But, we're not doing that because of the crown moldings in most rooms, and we don't want to pull them all down. Plus, plaster walls really do add some charm...

B) Re-plaster the walls. But again, not doing it because, well, that's a hell of a lot of work.

C) Spackle the problem spots. Yep, chose this option. This option sucked, hence my aversion to spackle...


(Michael taunting me with the spackle...)

And here we go...

We just bought a 1922 Chicago Bungalow. We'll be sharing our progress along the way, and I figure since we'll be officially moving in this week, we'll have a hell of a lot to share...