HELLO! HELLO!

I have been enjoying a much needed break from TV + the internet. The truth of the matter is we have not resumed our cable service at the new house, but I think it's time to re-enter the outside world. Thank you to everyone who sent me e-mails during my absence, I am again floored by the sense of "community" around here.

We took a much needed break from house stuff to spend a day with some LA friends who were in Memphis for a day. There were grand plans, but ended up eating at The Rendezvous (I recommend the rice + beans if you don't eat BBQ), then a visit with the ducks at The Peabody + some shopping at Schwab's, my absolute favorite place in Memphis.

We are completely in our house!
We are loving our house!
We are so happy to be homeowners!

We are still somewhat living out of boxes as the studio floors are not done yet, which is holding up our arranging everything + painting the blue walls.

Above is a shelf I found on the street, perfect for my piles of paper. And just as soon as I sold the last piece of the white glaze pottery, I found the 2 pieces on top of the metal shelves. Oh no! a new collection might be emerging, 70's McCoy + Haeger pottery.

As I started to work on my original idea for The Book Babes original artwork exchange I quickly realized that I did not have the time to devote to it. The resolution was to re-used the block from our moving announcement + I added a line from Lyle Lovett/Guy Clark's Step Inside This House, a song we have been singing a lot lately.

Without TV I have been watching DVD's

• Season 2 of Weeds
• Atonement- I bought it + have watched it 3 x's so far.
  
• No Country For Old Men- "Do you know how many people I know in El Paso, TX?" We are getting a lot of mileage out of this line. Coincidentally, Beth Grant delivers my favorite line in Donnie Darko, "Sometimes, I doubt your commitment to Sparkle Motion."
• Into the Wild- this movie did absolutely nothing for me, but I do love the Eddie Vedder soundtrack.

So that's what I've been up to the last 2 weeks. I do have to call the cable co. + will resume regular posting + communications soon, in addition to catching up with all of you.
Until then... be well + enjoy Spring!

THUS ENDS THE SOFA SAGA

Remember when this sofa slipped through my fingers at
The Goodwill Outlet for the ultra low cost of $20.00?
Until today I was still pained by this memory.

photo from ebay seller showmesusie

Today I won this sofa on ebay for $61.00. It's the same one! Again, like the free curb-side chair, we'll get it re-upholstered, but we figure that it's a lot cheaper than a new chair + sofa + they are both completely our style. The sofa is a "pick-up only" in St. Louis, which gives my boy an excuse to visit his brother.

It looks like tomorrow will be the first night we sleep in our new house.

COME ON IN, PARDON THE MESS

The living room. We decided to temporarily live with the blue walls.

Standing in the kitchen, looking through
the dining room into the living room.
(Monk looks like a tiny dog, same size as the tape dispenser)

The kitchen. I am going to paint the yucky
1970's cabinets + have removed the doors.
The window looks out to the the backyard.

The studio. The seller put in new plush carpet, but that won't do for a studio floor so we ripped it up + found the original hardwood flooring. It's a bit of a mess + we'll have to get a little help replacing some of the boards + sanding away the years of grime. It appears that neither of the fireplaces were ever fireplaces, but that there were wood burning stoves on the hearths.

And a wonderful house warming gift from my dear friend (+ fellow new home owner) Jenn. I mentioned to her that if we closed on this house I wanted to buy one of AshleyG's house prints + a package arrived on my doorstep this morning.
Thank you my friend, I can't wait to host the next crafty gathering.

YAY! SNOW

courthouse clock tower on the town square

It started snowing last night + this morning The Blue Monster woke to a winter wonderland.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My boy calls this image "Things We Found On The Street."
I found this great chair on a curb 1/2 way between our rental house + our new house. We will eventually get it re-upholstered because it's a little funky (as in grimy).
Jan. marked the 2-yr ann. of finding Monk on the street.

And what would a birthday/house warming be without gifts to myself.
A Sugarloop print I instantly bought after reading her blog post + a Catherine Holm bowl I found on ebay. It took awhile to ship, when I asked the seller when she was going to send it she replied that she rode a bike, did not have a car + could only bring 4 boxes to the post office at a time. You have got to love that!
Are you picking up that green is my favorite color?

MY BEST WEEKEND EVER

Friday- Bought a house. Thank you for all your wonderful comments + congratulations.

Saturday- Spent every waking moment enjoying being a homeowner + taking trips to Home Depot + Lowe's. There were also numerous trips to + from the new house with car loads of boxes. We are so anxious to move in.

Sunday- I spent most of the day at Claudia's with the Book Babes knitting/ fibers sub-group. The couple of the group are REALLY into spinning + when I mentioned I was looking for a wheel they offered me 1 of their 7 on permenant loan. It was made in 1962 in New Zealand + like an old car, has many quirks, but I like old + quirky. Claudia had tons of wool she was not using so I left with 2 bags.

Later on I was expecting to meet Beth + show her the new house, but it turns out she was a ploy. My boy threw me a surprise birthday party. Yep, to add to the excitement, this was also my birthday weekend. I cannot tell you how wonderful it felt to have friends enjoying themselves in our new home. The night was so warm + beautiful so we ended up on the porch, drinking beers + eating the rasberry chocolate tofu cheesecake Heather made (unfotutnately she could not come) .
There are no photos because I just kept thinking that I wanted to be in the moment.

*This post was started on Wed + published on Sat. I've not been good about posting because we are so eager to move into our new home. We are prctically telling strangers on the street that we bought a house last week- still grinning ear to ear.

STEP INSIDE THIS HOUSE*

Where to start?
This was the second house we looked at + it's 4 blocks from where we live now SO we are still living in our beloved neighborhood. Overall, this could not have been a better experience. Our realtor was a friend of ours from the neighborhood + she's an amazing potter I know from local craft shows.

There were a couple stressful moments, but it was just me saying, "what if?" as in "what if someone steals my identity + wipes out my bank account three days before closing?" Throughout all of this it was Beth who put it all in perspective + calmed my nerves when she said, "just remember that it is in everyone's best interest for this deal to go through." Chalk it up to the common sence thinking of a Missourian.

It's a 1,200 sq ft one-story cottage built in 1932, with a large yard (room to one day build a studio on the back of the property). Hardwood floors, a new roof, new plumbing + a brand new central heat/ air unit. Um...what else? Two bedroom with a bathroom that is miniscule (we can make it work), a laundry room + 300 sq ft finished basement. We’ll take the next 30 days to paint over the dreadful periwinkle walls + move in.

Thank you to the handful of you who knew we were house hunting before I officially announced it. I loved all your stories about buying your first homes + your overall emotional support + encouragement. I wish I could have you all over for a house warming dinner (if you are ever in TN...).

We were able to buy a house because of the money my boy's grandmother left him in her will + the first mortgage payment is due on her birthday.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you everyone. This morning we woke up for the first time as homeowners + you should see the huge smiles on our faces.
Shona + Tom

* we are drinking our coffee while listening to Lyle Lovett's Step Inside This House