Going batty in my house

My last post was about my home sweet home. This weekend? Not so much. Here's the current gem of a house situation we are dealing with...

So, Dan and I were leaving home to go on a date tonight, and our sketchy neighbor suddenly called us over into his yard.

Neighbor (like he's asking about the weather): You know you guys have bats in your attic, right?

Us: Wha... Wait, BATS?!!

Neighbor (still nonchalant, but shifty eyes lighting up): Yep, they're sneaking in through that tiny opening under the roof.

Me (horrified): Dan?! What are we going to do?!

Dan: How many did you see?

Neighbor: Well, I watched around dusk and counted seven of them flying out.

Dan: *&%@!!

Me: SEVEN!?!

Neighbor: Yeah, I counted seven, but I was outside later than usual, so I'm guessing there's more like ten to fifteen in there.

Me (breathless and hyperventilating): Oh noooo.... OOOHHH NOOOO!

Neighbor: Yeah, bats really freak me out. I heard that you don't even know if you've been bitten by one. Like it feels like a tiny scratch, but then you suddenly are dripping with rabies. Do you all have any scratches?

Me: ...

In my head while still standing gaped mouth: Are Dan and I going to need to sponsor a "fun run for rabies awareness", a la' The Office?! Oh no. Oh no. Ohhhh noooo!

Dan (Mr. Take Charge): Thanks, man. We should go make some phone calls.

And how has your weekend been?

Bat picture from here. I was too grossed out by actual photos of bats, so I used clip art.

My house tour! (AKA: All dressed up and no one to show)

I'm a sucker for a house tour!

As you might already know, Dan and I have our house on the market, a miserable exercise in "throw the bulging clothes hamper in the car because we've got a showing in an hour!!" The only thing that makes up for all the tidying and bed making? Getting to tour other people's homes! I love making mental notes on ideas for paint colors, seeing what types of decorating do and don't work, and, well, being nosy...

Lately, though, my own house is kind of like a teenage girl who's been stood up on a Saturday night. You see, our casa is feeling a bit rejected. She's been on the market for five months now, ready to be single and mingle, but even with being dressed to impress with candles and staging, no one has made an offer. Lonely house sigh...

(BTW, anyone thinking our bad luck is because of... well, this nightmare situation I wrote about in November, that's been taken care of! Woo hoo!!)

Since no one else is viewing our house, I thought I'd give you all a tour! Also, I've been reading too many design blogs to get ideas since I'll finally have time for house projects during summer, so I thought I'd share my wish list/ plans for my house too.

Living room:



This is the room I want to play with a bit this summer, perhaps making it a little more modern with a jute rug, a new wall color, bamboo shades, and a funky asymmetrical art display. Or, I may scrap all those ideas and just watch too much Bravo while inhaling popsicles like I usually do...

Our dining room:
I'm purposely not showing you the annoying blood red curtains until the second picture:
Yeah, not sure what I was thinking on that one... They suck the light out of the space and are kind of a dorky length, like tapered jeans. Shudder.

Anyhoo, we didn't do much in this room besides paint and change out the brass chandelier for this one. The photos we hung are of the Bow Bridge in New York, where Dan proposed to me.


Kitchen:

Our kitchen used to have border with a horrendous chrysanthemum print and ugly hardware. Besides updating those two problems and re-painting all the cabinets (holy headache, Batman!), we've kind of slacked in this room. My wish list is endless: appliances, counters, etc, but it's hard to know whether we should invest in anything if we end up leaving in a few years, you know?

Our master bedroom:
Ever seen the show Cribs? Why is it that the celebrities on that show always say something creepy like, "This is where the magic happens" when they show off their master bedroom?!
I promise I won't say that. But, then again, you also won't be treated to a garage full of Hummers and lamborghinis at the end of this tour. Sorry to disappoint! My wish list for this room: another bedside table, longer curtains, more (cheap) art, and a reading nook.

Tiny bathroom:
We realized about a week after we moved in that the tile was actually painted white by the previous owners. It has started to peel in parts and we keep desperately trying to re-paint so that the true Pepto pink color isn't revealed.

NOTE: The previous owners also painted over wallpapered walls, which is a bitch to correct, to say the least! I'm pretty sure there is a dingy place in hell reserved for anyone who paints over wallpaper...

Guest bedroom:
Yep, this is where the infamous smell situation happened. Good times. I like our guest room. We updated it by hanging a chandelier, painting, picking up linens from Target, and making DIY art by framing $2.00 dish towels with fern prints on them.

Office that I fixed a bit this past summer. Apparently, that's the only time of year I get anything done.

Our backyard is such a mess of weeds, that I thought I'd finish my house tour with the only gardening I've done recently, my little window box:

Thanks for touring! My house feels better already! :)

Now, if you want to really waste time, check out a few of my favorite house tours, from blogs, like The Domestic Wannabe and, of course, Young House Love, to ones in my hometown like this one and this wedding cake of a house. If you're a house tour addict like me, you're guaranteed to completely lose track of time as you ogle all this eye candy.

Happy house touring!

For all you fellow newbie cooks out there

I cooked this weekend (!) and was so excited that my meal actually turned out pretty delicious that Dan took a picture of my victorious moment.


I generally don't cook. I can chop, heat Lean Cuisines, and love to bake, but never make elaborate meals (unless you count my "just do it challenge #3"). This one was beginner friendly though, for anyone out there who may want to try it. It's orechiette with chicken meatballs, Giada's recipe, with fresh basil, tomato, and mozzarella, parmesan, and romano cheese. Seriously, can you ever go wrong when three types of cheese are involved??


And for anyone out there who wants to fix a lazy Italian dessert/snack for after this meal, I recently discovered what might be the most perfect combination of all time:

Nutella and banana slices on graham cracker. Holy moly is this good! I tried Nutella in Italy for the first time ever, and there's no going back now! Then I saw this snack idea online, and now I'm a full on fiend. No recipe necessary. You're welcome in advance!

(Pictures from here, here, here, and here.)

Just do it #10: See a Broadway musical

Full disclosure time:

* I did not go to New York to see Wicked.

* I wrote this blog post about two months ago and never got around to hitting "publish".

Lazy ass or perfectionist? The former.

* I have a green mud mask on right now that I picked up at Target as I'm about to hit publish, looking eerily like the Wicked Witch. (No, I did not plan this way weird coincidence; my skin just needed a little TLC after being sweaty at the river all day.)

Waaay more info than you all needed! Anyhoo, here's my way overdue post:

One of the items on the list I started this blog with was "See a Broadway musical". While I may not be able to officially cross that off seeing that I stayed in good 'ole River City, I got pretty damn close by seeing Wicked, the off-Broadway show about the witches of Oz, with my mom. I know some purists will argue that the Broadway version must somehow be fancier, but honestly I couldn't see how it could have been any better. I loved ever single second, from the flying monkeys, to the wicked witch levitating, to a Vegas-y, puttin' on the glitz Emerald City.

Wow. Just... wow.

It was fun how Wicked added some complexity to the back story of The Wizard of Oz. It went from "Only bad witches are ugly!" to "It's not easy being green!" I've always loved the good vs. evil struggle in the original film because it's so charming in its simplicity. It was even more fun, though, rooting for this green villain, whose cackle and "I'll get you, my pretty!" used to have me shaking in my (Warning: Child of the 80's reference) jellies.

Be honest... who out there wasn't scared as a kid during that scene when Mrs. Gulch on her bike morphs to the witch on her broom, the shrieking violin soundtrack swelling?? Even Dan confessed he once made his mom fast forward...

But...in Wicked, it turns out the Wicked Witch was a caring, misunderstood girl with a skin affliction. I really felt for her! And it made me think about all the other people I've probably misjudged over the years. Maybe it's time I rewrite some of my own judgements...

1. My neighbor, who left this truly disturbing demented baby Halloween decoration on his fence until the first week of December. Seriously, this purple monster chilled me every time I got out of my car.
Perhaps he wasn't trying to be creepy beyond belief. Perhaps he was simply trying to infuse our neighborhood with a little edgy decor!


2. My gym teacher in fifth grade, who told me my arm muscles were like "marshmallows" after I lost a round of tug of war against another student.
Emotional sadist? Hmm... perhaps he wasn't trying to further grind salt in my wound! He was simply trying to inspire a student to work out her arm muscles for a Rocky-style comeback!

Errr, or not...


But who am I to judge anyway? It's 11:00 and I'm finishing a two month old post with a mud mask on. It's not easy being green.

Verdict on Just do it #10: Hmm...not done yet, but I'll give myself half credit!
If you get a chance to see Wicked, though, definitely check it out!

(Okay, picture credit time: Wicked poster from here. Two wicked witches from here. Gym teacher from here.)