Hiatus

My sincerest apologies, but A is for Awesome will be going on hiatus until the 2nd week of May. We are moving into our new place on April 30th and have a ton of stuff to do!

See you in two weeks.

The Dealio

Sometimes I don't blog because there is literally nothing exciting going on in my life.

That is not the case right now, trust me!

There is a heck of a lot going on... but I'm going to hold off on that and talk about random things I've been doing instead.

Good things come to those who wait. How annoying am I?

1. Selling all of our possessions on eBay, Amazon & Craigslist.

Well not all of them, but that's what it seems like when I'm at the post office every single day shipping something out. I went through all of my books and decided to sell/donate at least half of them. I'm hanging onto the classics like Sylvia Plath's poems and anything by Jane Austen and Homer. Whatever doesn't sell before we move is going straight to the used book store down the street.

[SOLD!]

2. Watching Dancing with the Stars.

Well, I'm watching it, and Tim is usually sleeping on the couch. Every night, my darling husband asks for a head rub and then passes out instantly. It's pretty darn cute! Except when the snoring begins...

3. Collecting Boxes.

For the move. Not because we like boxes. They are actually pretty annoying space-hoggers. Thank goodness our 2nd bedroom doesn't actually serve a purpose.

[Boxing movies > Boxes]

4. Trying a New Shampoo.

Bye bye, Head & Shoulders. Hello, J/A/S/O/N.

(It's really Tim's but I used it this morning & now Jason and I are in LOOOVE!)

5. Being all-around awesome.

It's not always easy, but we manage.

Backyard Garden, Numero Dos





When we move during the last weekend in April (next month, ahh!), unpacking might take a backseat to starting our garden. It will be prime planting season and we are itching for fresh veggies and herbs. There's something so satisfying about eating something that you grew yourself. And the taste... holy moly... is so much better than anything you can get at the grocery store. This is especially true with herbs, which start to lose their flavor within an hour of picking them.

Okay, that's not a fact, just what I've found.

We're still deciding if we want to do a raised bed or start it right in the ground.

The backyard is on a slight slope which makes for perfect drainage, and it gets plenty of sun which will make the tomatoes very happy.

We may have to pot most of our herbs, as well as the lettuce, and place them in a shady area. Wussy plants. Learned that the hard way last year.

Still a lot of planning to do - my specialty! 

Not to mention that we want to do an irrigation system on a timer & make a rain barrel.

Hey, go big or go home.

Our first garden was definitely an experiment, but overall, it turned out well.

The plants I started from seed did terrible. Not enough light, too much watering, maybe I planted them in the wrong kind of soil, etc. And like a true amateur, I didn't label them. DUH.

The only thing that lasted outside when we transplated was the zucchini (below), parsley & basil, which EXPLODED by mid-summer. Like seriously, out of hand.

We didn't know what to do with it all.

I ended up getting tomato & pepper seedlings from our Amish "neighbors" and they did fabulous. I'll be leaving the hard part up to them from now on and buying their seedlings for all of the plants that I want. They are ridiculously cheap, too. I'm talking $2.50 for a tomato plant that ended up giving us about 40 tomatoes.

Bananas.

Basil & Flat Leaf Parsley

And let's not forget all the beautiful perennials my mom dug up from her garden & gave to me. They're baaaaaaaack! Fool-proof garden staples. You cannot kill them.

Yes, I'll be digging some up & taking them with us again :-)

I like having a part of my Mom's garden in mine.

It's like bringing a little bit of your history everywhere you go.

Husband Organization

My hunny is getting organized and I love it!

Can you tell I'm rubbing off on him?

Over the weekend, Tim randomly decided to clean out his dresser, which I've mentioned before is mainly comprised of t-shirts. I didn't let him get rid of any dress shirts or sweaters, though, because they are like rare animals on the verge of extinction in his closet.

[Keepers]

He did part with a lot of old T's, undies that were practically disintegrating and worn out socks.

Less stuff to move... and that makes me oh so happy!

When I saw this pile of old undershirts, my brain switched to a 1950's woman's brain and I felt the need to reuse them for something. 

So I got out my sewing scissors and cut them up into cleaning rags.

My mom did this when I was little and I guess the idea stuck.

Tim's decision to de-clutter was such a delightful surprise.

I didn't even care that it occurred at 8am on a weekend.

She's a Brick... House

Actually, I believe it's stone exterior, but nevermind that,

we're going to be renting a HOUSE!

Not an apartment. Not something with hallways shared by other people. A real, stand-alone, we have our own mailbox, driveway and backyard house.

The best part is that we know the owners.

So our landlords aren't some shadeballs who will try to rip us off because we left a thumbtack hole in the wall. Right, guys?!

However, we will miss our "urban" apartment very much. It's where we celebrated our engagement, where we spent the night together after our wedding (I stood in front of the mirror in my dress, refusing to take it off), where we had lots of fights followed by lots of making up, where we planted our first garden. Lots of parties, lots of dinners, lots of couch cuddling... it's pretty much where we became adults!

We'll miss the convenience of walking to Starbucks, the farmer's market and our favorite breakfast place, Penn's Table. We'll miss walking to the bars and not having to designate a driver. We'll miss hunting down a parking spot for 10 minutes only to find one and have the person behind us pull up too far, thus blocking us from parallel parking. Wait, we won't miss that...

I'm getting a little verklempt! Talk amongst yourselves.

I'll give you a topic: the chickpea is neither a chick nor a pea. Discuss.

Now that my emotions have subsided,
I can tell you that we are super psyched about the features in our new place:

- Washer & Dryer

- 1-car garage & driveway

- 1,444 square feet

- 2/3 of an acre (for a dog, a garden, a moon bounce)

- Permission to paint... granted!

- Remodeled kitchen w/ vaulted ceiling, open to dining area

- Original hardwood floors in the living room/hallways

 - Real tile in the kitchen & bathroom (Eeeeee, no more linoleum!)

- 2 spacious bedrooms w/ lots of windows

- "Old house" vibe with updates

- Minutes from shopping, parks, our jobs, wegman's...

 - A full basement! Tim already called dibs on it for band practice

- Enclosed "breezeway" between the kitchen & garage w/ lots of shelving (sewing room?)

- Neat rounded, arched doorways throughout the house

- A pasture behind our yard & lots of space between the house & neighbors houses

We are soo excited to call this house our home and I'm sure we'll create just as many memories there, if not more.

Moving is going to be dreadful because of all of our recently acquired "stuff"

but hey, that's why U-haul's were invented, right?

We're looking to move in late April.
Can't wait to show you pictures!