Warm Vanilla Sugar

No, this is not a post about one of my favorite, classic Bath & Body Works scents... This is a post about actual vanilla sugar!

If you paid attention to my post about Heaven on Earth cupcakes, you may remember my note about not wasting the vanilla bean pods after you get the vanilla bean flecks out. I chose my to make vanilla sugar with the pods, although you could chose to make a bit of vanilla extract (so I'm told, anyway; I haven't tried this and don't have instructions for you), vanilla vodka (haven't done this either but you just put the pods into plain vodka and let it rest for a few weeks- the longer, the better),  or a variety of other vanilla-flavored things.

However I have a feeling I will never get around to trying any other use of the left-over pods... Purely because vanilla sugar is just TOO good!  I must say, usually I'm a Splenda user- I just don't like to waste the calories on sugar... Normally, that is, sugar is a waste of calories. However when it's VANILLA sugar, I'm more than willing to ignore the extra calories and just indulge!

So, how do you make the vanilla sugar again? Well, you could use any container or bag(preferably a throw-away because it will be heavily vanilla-scented when you're done).  I went for the bag option...  I wanted my sugar to be very strongly flavored (so I could use less, read - less calories, while still getting lots of flavor), so I only put about two cups of sugar into the bag with four empty vanilla pods.  I let them sit for about a week before using any of it, but I think the flavor got stronger at the two-week mark (and hasn't really intensified since then).  I just squish the bag around a little whenever I remember to makes sure the flavor is evenly distributed.  It's really that easy...

How should you use the vanilla sugar?  Even easier - substitute it for sugar whenever your little heart desires!  It could be used in baking, but to be honest, I feel that would be a waste as you usually add extract or vanilla beans anyway and the extra flavor would be lost.  My personal preference is for using it in beverages.  It is amazing in coffee - just a good spoonful in a regular blend makes it taste like decadent french vanilla coffee.  I've added it to iced coffee and was able to skip the french vanilla creamer and just add a bit of milk instead; in that case, it was actually healthier for me than my standard Splenda and creamer (added calories in sugar, but less calories in milk than creamer and less fat too)!  Finally, my favorite addition was actually to tea!  I tried adding it to Bigelow French Vanilla tea, which was good and definitely punched up the vanilla flavor but I thought it worked just as well in a non-flavored tea (thus far, I've tried Irish Breakfast tea and Earl Grey tea).

 
Now my only dilemma is what to do when I run out!  Is that a good reason to get more vanilla beans and make some delicious vanilla baked goods?  Or should I resist, especially since I found some cheap vanilla bean paste on Amazon (and it should be here soon!)?  Hmm... I guess we shall see - and it very well might depend on how much I do or don't like the vanilla bean paste!  For now, go make some delicious vanilla sugar, add to your favorite beverage, and enjoy!

Just Cabinets (But so much MORE)

As I mentioned, Aaron and I stopped at Just Cabinets on Wednesday night during our mattress shopping outing.  I figured it would be a short stop...  I mean, the place is called Just Cabinets. 

 

 

Okay, so it's really Just Cabinets: furniture & more  - but I was figuring that it's mainly cabinets with just a bit of other stuff strewn about.  I was wrong.  I admit it.  (Aaron, take note - I admitted I was wrong; it does happen!) 

 

When we first walked in, we noticed plenty of mattress sets.  We started lying on them all, without any nagging salespeople.  We found three options that we liked a lot; two of those were $699 for the set and one was $799.  We didn't really like the $799 one any more than the $699 sets, so we are (tentatively) deciding between those two sets.  (On an aside, I'm now thinking that we should check to make sure those prices were not part of a sale that will be ending shortly...) 

 

However, the surprise here was that we saw a familiar looking sectional near those mattresses.  We went over to check it out and found out it was a Klaussner sectional.  It was actually the Drew sectional which we liked in N.B. Liebman; however, at Just Cabinets, it was only $999!  This sectional is a long couch with a long chaise attached.  We spent some time trying to find a fabric swatch for the Cappuccino micro-suede that we liked.  The salesman had come over to check in with us at one point, just letting us know that he was available for questions and that we should feel free to test everything out as much as we wanted.  (That's how salespeople should be!!)  Anyway, he was able to look up the fabric and said it shouldn't be an issue.  So here is what the new sectional will look like (imagine some pillows in the bird fabric):

 

 So now we are very much thinking we will get the sectional at Just Cabinets in the right fabric!  It will save us about $1,000 if we just get the sectional and the accent chair (although we aren't sure if we'll be able to get the chair at Just Cabinets or if we'll have to get that at Sofa Selections).  In terms of chairs, we checked out all the accent chairs on the Klaussner website and are between the K390 (Tanner chair) and the K1500 (Occasional chair); both of them come in the bird fabric we like.  We aren't sure if Just Cabinets or Sofa Selections carries either chair, but I have a feeling that both could order it in...  So here are the two options (K390 is on the left and K1500 is on the right):

However, the Drew sectional tends to be shown with an ottoman - if we get the ottoman too, it will still be an $800 savings.  But, the ottoman could serve as a coffee table (with the addition of a serving tray) which would allow us to skip buying a console table.  That said, we did find this awesome console table at Just Cabinets and I'm totally in love with it (even though it's $400): 

 

Of course, after we got home, I had to plug everything into Urban Barn's room planning webapp "The Make Room" - check it out here.  

 

 

Finally, as we were about to make our way out the door, I realized that Just Cabinets had a huge display of rug samples!  And we need some rugs!  How convenient!  Now, I'm not sure what the prices are for the rugs, but there were lots of options and the salesman told us there are more than are available on display.  I checked online and found out that they carry Surya brand which appears to have upwards of 2,000 rugs.  Oh boy...  I guess it'll depend on the prices whether it matters that they have tons of rugs and the prices online seem a bit high, but I'll wait to reserve judgment for when we are in the store and actually looking to make our purchases!  Speaking of which, the salesman told us that next week a sale is starting where any custom fabrics will cost the same as the in-stock fabric!  Yippee... We'll be back next week, Just Cabinets, we'll be back (spoken as if we are The Terminator)!

Rest Tests

Ahhhh... bed!  Who doesn't love their bed?  Well, I guess someone with an uncomfortable bed, but still...  I love sleep.  I love my bed.  You should too!  So onto my topic of the hour, mattress shopping!

Aaron and I are re-finishing a bedroom set (okay, so we're soon going to be doing it, let's not get nit-picky!) and that means we need a new mattress set.  The bedroom set included a full-size bed so we ordered a new headboard but we need the rest of the bed...  I looked up a few places in the area that sell mattresses and we headed out when Aaron got home from work.

Our first stop was Wolf Furniture on the Carlisle Pike.  This was my "oops!" because apparently they close at 6pm on Wednesday. We got there around 5:45pm which meant we were greeted and the door and escorted out (nicely though); they gave us a $25 coupon off anything in the store though!  I'm not sure what we can get in that store that would make it worthwhile to even use the coupon since I believe Wolf Furniture is a bit expensive... On a side note, I saw a really awesome dresser/table in the entryway of the store that I could see using as a console table in the living room!  However, I'm pretty sure it was, like, a thousand dollars!  (Ooops!)

Next up was Mattress Warehouse.  When we got there, we thought it looked a bit sketchy and generally underwhelming; there was certainly no extra frills here in terms of decor, etc.  When we walked in, a salesman came up to us.  He proceeded to show us around, telling us which mattress to lay on and which one to try next, etc.  Of course, he started with the most expensive sets!  We tried to the Serta i-Series which is gel-infused memory foam; some of those sets were all memory foam and some were hybrids that had springs/coils as well.  Let me tell you - these mattresses were nniiicceee.  They were comfortable, conforming, and yet I could move and toss and turn just fine.  We also tried the Tempur-pedics which are a denser memory foam - they were good but not as good as the Serta i-Series.  However, these mattresses were in the $2,500-$4,000 price range. 

Needless to say, Aaron and I were looking for something a bit more reasonably priced!  We moved on to the regular mattresses.  First, let me say - we learned there are four different levels of mattresses: extra firm, comfort firm, plush, and pillow-top (obviously those go from least to most soft).  We laid on a bunch of options, tending to like the pillow-top options (sometimes the nicer plush sets worked too).  We found one that we liked that was listed at only $899 (compared to the several thousands of dollars for those i-Series and Tempur-pedic sets).  Then came the salesman...  Again, I say - I hate salespeople!  Especially the aggressive ones!  So the salesman comes over and starts telling us that he wants our business and that he wants to earn our business.  He said he doesn't want us to leave, that he wants to earn our business.  I'm sure I looked skeptical so he said, "If this mattress was $200, would I earn your business?"  Of course, I said yes.  But that wasn't his offer...  He then said that, he liked us and could do something for us since he liked us (like I'm sure he likes all of his customers... and now is as good of time as any to mention that he couldn't get my name right!) - he showed us a coupon for $100 off.  He told us that he could make the mattress set $800.  When I still wasn't gung-ho, he then made it seem like it was hurting him but that he could offer us the employee discount of $180 and take the price down to $720.  He gave us time to talk it over and I still said that it was the first store we had been to and I just didn't feel comfortable; it also made me uneasy that he didn't want us to leave - if they had the best prices, he would encourage us to shop around, knowing we'd be back!  We told him we needed some time, he told us that he is off on Thursdays and Fridays, and we walked out... I told Aaron that if we came back, it would be on a Thursday or Friday!

Now, there were several more mattress places on the Carlisle Pike but it was getting close to dinner so we decided to stop at Just Cabinets and then head home.  I thought Just Cabinets would have just a few mattresses and it would be a quick stop...  I was wrong!  ...In a good way!  I will go into my new-found love for Just Cabinets later, but, for now, let's just say that they have several name brand mattresses and they are quite a bit cheaper and just as comfy!  However, my discussion of and love for Just Cabinets will likely be lengthy so you'll just have to wait for that post...

::yawn::  With all this talk of beds (and not helped by the rain outside), I'm sleepy now... Good night, y'all!

House Updates...

Just a few updates that I figured I'd post quick...

First, the sellers came back and said that we could either let them do the repair or we could pay for it entirely.  So, it seemed they were willing to lose the sale over a little balcony.  However, they came back again and said that they will get another estimate and we can go from there.  Aaron seems willing to pay for half of the balcony repair, but I tend to think that the sellers should be forced to cover this entirely.  The issue was "red" on the inspection report.  The balcony roof is tied into the house roof, and if the balcony structure fails (which is likely as the railing and roof supports are in heavily rotted wood), the roof on the house could be compromised.  At this point, they are not expending much money at all on the repairs... 

Let's recap - they pushed a button and fixed the bathroom GFI (free!); they put a new faucet in the kitchen sink (maybe $100); they agreed to add some gutters on the storage area which can tie into the existing gutter system (at about $5 a foot, that's only about $50 and MAY be able to be included in the roof repair which is paid for by insurance); they cleaned out the gutters (free!); they agreed to remove the antenna on the roof (probably free or included in the insurance payment for the roof repair); and they agreed to add a ridge vent to the roof (about $500 but likely covered in the insurance payment for the roof repair).  So... at most, the seller's are putting out about $650 for those repairs. 

Let's note what we are going to be putting out money for... We are looking at pay $3,500 to $5,000 for the conversion from fuel oil to natural gas.  This conversion should pay for itself within a few years in terms of savings in heating costs.  However, if the conversion was already complete, we'd be saving the money without having to spend several thousand.  Additionally, the house has about 14 windows that we need to replace - some of the wood around the windows is deteriorating so those windows need replaced as soon as possible.  For the most part, the rest of the windows just need replaced because they are only single-pane windows.  Regardless of the reason, windows average around $400 a  pop (and these windows may be more because they will be custom-sized windows, most likely, due to the age of the house).  At $400 a window, we're talking $5,600 for windows.  We also need to get the dryer venting to the outside rather than into a nylon sock in the bathroom...  I have no idea how much that will cost but I'm guessing the venting pipes will be around $50-$75 and that doesn't include any work.  So... at a minimum, Aaron and I are talking about putting out over $9,000 in the basic repairs.

Now, I've left out the balcony issue.  But just looking at the costs being expended by both parties and at the fact that the sale price puts the property at the high-end of the value of the homes in the neighborhood (according to both Zillow estimates and recent sale prices of neighboring homes), I think the sellers need to pony up some money and get things going.  Sure, I want this house, but I'm not willing to put myself in a bad financial situation just because I like the house! 

One last saving grace - the appraisal!  We finally told the mortgage lady (Jennifer is her name, but Aaron never remembers that so I just call her the mortgage lady) to get the appraisal scheduled.  The sellers are well aware that the house needs to be appraised at the sale price or they will need to reduce the price.  If the appraisal comes in on the low side, the sellers will have to know that no one will pay higher than that for the house because they won't be able to get a mortgage on the house...  So, here's to hoping the sellers just quit fighting over a thousand dollars and get this all settled!  And here's to hoping the appraisal goes well or, in the alternative, that the sellers respond well to a low appraisal and just drop the price as needed without a hassle. 

What No One Talks About...

When you are buying a house, everyone talks about the fun of house hunting.  Everyone talks about checking the house out thoroughly yourself.  Everyone talks about the stress of making an offer and dealing with counter-offers.  Everyone talks about the importance of an inspection.  No one talks about what happens after the inspection...

Let me explain...  First, you get a qualified inspector to come out and find all the issues with the house.  The inspector makes all kinds of notes: 1) notes in black, which are things that are fine or just things to pay attention to or things to know; 2) notes in blue, which are things that are small issues that probably should be addressed but are not urgent or expensive; 3) notes in red, which are things that are big issues (structural, safety, etc.) that are not quick or cheap fixes. 

After you get your inspection report, you decide what you want the sellers to fix or to give you credit for (by means of a reduction in the house price or increase in sellers' help) the cost of the repair.  In our case, we were concerned with several things: 1) the bathroom GFI outlet which wasn't working (could be a major wiring error or just a bad outlet, etc.); 2) the kitchen sink which was leaking (could be something small or a bad faucet set); 3) the water getting into the storage area by rolling off the roof and in behind the siding (could require fixing of the damaged wood inside the storage area); 4) clogged gutters (could be problems other than clearing debris); 5) the rotted wood on the balcony (could be just the surface wood or the supports as well); 6) the antenna on the roof (just needs to come down when they replace the roof); and 7) the lack of ventilation in the attic (could result in mold and mildew in the attic and would make it harder to cool the house in the summer).

Once you know what you're concerned with, you need to get someone out there to give you estimates (unless you're a handyman yourself).  We were referred by our inspectors to a contractor named Russ.  Russ came out and checked out all the issues (except the antenna on the roof and lack of ventilation in the attic since we weren't going to ask him to fix those as we wanted the sellers to take care of it during the roof replacement).  He believed 1) the bathroom GFI was just a bad outlet; 2) the kitchen sink could use a new faucet; 3) the roof on the storage area would be fixed by adding gutters and a downspout; 4) the gutters just needed cleared; and 5) the balcony could be fixed with replacement of the boards only as the supports are fine.  Russ gave us an estimate for all the fixes, including some credit on the labor costs because we agreed to assist with the balcony repair (we are going to learn to be handy!).

Next, you need to approach the sellers' with your response to the inspection in which you let them know what your concerns are and what you want fixed.  We listed all the concerns (1-7 from above) that we had after receiving the inspection report.  We probably didn't need to list the kitchen sink or the bathroom GFI since those were cheap and easy, but they were on Russ's estimate so they went to the sellers anyway. 

Now comes the fun... The sellers get to look at the issues and decide what they will fix or credit us for.  We have yet to get the formal response, but our realtor found out what was going on and passed on the news.  We found out that the bathroom GFI doesn't need replaced (there was another outlet that we never found that was tripped)!  Having lived there for years, the sellers knew where the other attached GFI outlets are located...  The sellers went ahead and replaced the kitchen sink faucet to stop the leak.  The sellers agreed to add gutters to the storage area roof (we just need to indicate where we want them).  The sellers also went ahead and cleared the gutters.  They also agreed to remove the antenna from the roof and to add a ridge vent to the roof to add attic ventilation.  (A ridge vent is a type of vent installed at the peak of a sloped roof which allows warm, humid air to escape a building's attic.  I'm sure you've seen them on houses without even realizing what they are - they just look like a thick part at the peak of the roof.) 

And for the stressful part - the balcony!  The sellers' first response was that the floor board go under the siding, so the siding would need to be removed to replace the boards so they want to saw off the ends of the boards and replace the rotten ones. Upon further inquiry, we found out they actually want to just replace the rotten boards; they want to mark the ones they are willing to replace and then have us check it out and see if we think more boards need replaced.  Aaron and I are quite confused here because we are pretty certain that all of the boards are rotten, at least on the end.  Regardless, we want to insure that all the boards are replaced and that they are replaced in whole, not sawed off and replaced from the end (aesthetically it will look better, but we are also concerned with water getting under the floor through the seam and damaging the support boards or the porch ceiling below).  Aaron called Russ and he said that the siding didn't need to be removed (the siding and boards only overlap by about 3/8") and that the seller either didn't know what he was talking about or he was trying to make an excuse to do it the cheap way.  Russ gave the seller the benefit of the doubt and thought he might just be ignorant as to how to do the project, but I tend to believe he's just trying to be cheap (even my mom and I can imagine how to change the boards without removing siding by sliding the boards under the siding).  So, to make this more fun, the seller wants to do the repair himself.  I don't trust him to do the work properly - I have no idea how skilled he is!  Plus, he made the comment about the siding which we know to be false - so either he doesn't know what he's doing or he's lying to be cheap.  Which leads me to Aaron's biggest concern - he is worried the seller will cut corners and do a half-assed job.  Either way, we want the sellers to either pay a qualified professional (someone with insurance!) to do the work or to credit us for the repair; we are willing to take a credit for the amount they would have to pay someone... 

At this point, we are now playing a waiting game...  We need to see what the sellers are going to say about the balcony and hope they are willing to give in a bit.  We gave in quite a bit on the asking price and did not ask them to fix all the issues.  We are already going to be spending $5k for a natural gas conversion and looking at several thousand in new windows and other repairs.  And we have agreed to allow them to put a shingled roof over the bay windows rather than a metal roof (which is what is there currently) since it will be much cheaper - apparently the number angles on the bay window roof makes the metal roof quite expensive.  I believe we have been reasonable and we are really not asking much...  But it comes down to the question of whether we are willing to lose the house over a thousand dollars or so on a matter of principle!  Aiye!  (But, hey, it goes two ways - are they willing to lose over $100k in the sale of the house over a thousand dollars or so.) 

On the bonus, we found out that they should be getting the roof done during the first week of October... But, more stress - we are being bugged by the mortgage lady about when we are going to do the appraisal; she seemed to indicate that time is ticking away and we need to get it scheduled soon.  October 22nd can't come soon enough!  (Hopefully, without too many more issues and stressful situations in the meantime...)  Wish us luck!

Handles and Knobs

So I mentioned that I will be refinishing some bedroom furniture and I'm fully aware that I haven't posted any pictures of the furniture...  Heck, I haven't really started refinishing it, but I have started looking for drawer pulls!  To be honest, the major obstacle to the project is that the furniture is at my parents' house since they have room for it and we just don't at the moment!

But, that said, picking out new hardware is important because the current hardware wouldn't work well once the furniture is painted black.  Moreover, one of the backplates is missing and I can't find a replacement anyway!

Now, I have no idea how many people have tried to find drawer pulls before, but this is a tough job!  Brick-and-mortar stores (Home Depot, Lowe's, etc.) are just plain expensive!  I mean, I found the same or similar handles online for a 1/4 of the price...  That's just outrageous!  So, as I just alluded to, I found that online shopping was the way to go!  New issue...  There are several dozen big sites out there that specialize in (or just carry tons of) drawer pulls.  And each of those sites may have thousands of options...  Since I'm a bit anal retentive, that means I need to check out all of the pulls on each site in our price range!  Ahhhh - that's a lot of looking to do!!

I had done a bunch of looking a while ago and got discouraged...  This time, I decided to enlist Aaron's help!  Getting an idea of what he liked really helped me narrow things down; combining both our likes, I did my search again (and Aaron did some on his own too), and came up with a manageable list of options... My list is down to 7 options - I need both a handle and a knob that match and need 14 handles and 9 knobs.  Each option is shown below, with a name for the set (often given by me, LoL), website that I found it, and the price for all the pieces I'd need.  Also, I'm well aware that Options 2-4 have the same handle; I didn't know which knob I liked best and they vary in price according to the knob!

Option #1: Amerock Inspirations - Satin Nickel Leaf Handle and Knob, eBuilderDirect.com, $34.10 for all

 Option #2: Atlas Twig Pull and Natural Leaf Knob (Pewter), myknobs.com, $144.85 for all

Option #3: Atlas Twig Pull and Oak Leaf Knob (Pewter), myknobs.com, $148.54 for all

 
Option #4: Atlas Twig Pull and Ivy Leaf Knob (Pewter), myknobs.com and knobsandhardware.com (for the knob), $152.59 for all

 

Option #5: Amerock Nature's Splendor Pewter Leaf, myknobs.com, $94.34 for all

 

Option #6: Hickory Hardware - Mayfair in Satin Pewter, myknobs.com, $107.69 for all

Option #7: Satin Nickel Leaf Cabinet Handle, ebay.com, $34.27 for all

Well, seeing the comparison makes me eliminate Option #6...  And the price of Options #1 and #7 is appealing!  But part of me still likes the handle for Options #2-#4!  Aiye... Maybe Aaron can figure it out from here!

My Newfound Love

Over the past few days, I've developed a newfound love for Craigslist.  "Craigslist?" you may ask, "Why in the world do you love Craigslist?"  Well, let me start by saying that I very much like yard sales.  I like to sell my things to the world and get money; it makes it easier to get rid of things (I have mild hoarder tendencies) and lets me buy new things!  I also like to look through yard sales but I don't usually buy much...

I've discovered that Craigslist is like a never-ending, higher-paying yard sale!  Thus, I love Craigslist!  At yard sales, if you have something that is worth (in its present condition) $20 and you listed it for $10, someone will inevitably offer you $5 and act like you should be grateful.  If I post the same thing on Craigslist, I can probably ask more for it and I will get a whole slew of people offering me the asking price!

On Wednesday night (at about 10:30-11pm), Aaron and I posted six items on Craigslist: a 32" Dynex LCD TV, an Emerson DVD/VHS Combo Player, an Ikea Hemnes Coffee Table, a Pro-Form Crosswalk 325x treadmill, a Marcy weight bench/bar/300 lb. weight set, and a Sportscraft full-size Ping-Pong Table with electronic scoreboard.  We asked $80 for the TV, $25 for the DVD/VHS player, $35 for the coffee table, $50 for the treadmill, $150 for all the weight bench stuff, and $85 for the ping-pong table.  By the time we got up the next morning, we had emails about everything except the treadmill and the DVD/VHS player.

By mid-day on Thursday, we had arranged for buyers to come pick up the treadmill, the weights and bar (he offered the full $150 but didn't want the bench), TV, ping-pong table, and coffee table!  Someone was coming Thursday evening for the weights and someone else was coming for the treadmill.  Tonight, someone is coming for the coffee table.  And tomorrow morning, someone is coming for the TV and someone else is coming for the ping-pong table.  We got the full price we asked for everything, so in a matter of a few days, we got $400 worth of stuff sold.  We still have the DVD/VHS player and the bench to sell.  In fact, I need to list the bench on Craigslist again!  (Thanks for the reminder!)  If the DVD/VHS player doesn't sell soon, I'll list it again and lower the price a bit.  But, all in all, Craiglist is much more successful for me than a yard-sale!  And, for that, I'm thankful and I'm falling in love with Craiglist. 

Now, I can just think of all the other things that I can put up for sale!  Once we buy our new living room furniture (see yesterday's post!) and once we know when that's coming in, our current couch and loveseat will be available on Craigslist.  We have a full-size bedframe that goes with the bedroom suit that we are re-finishing (I'm sure that will be the subject of further posts); we don't need that frame since we'll be using a queen-sized bed... Hey, maybe I'll put the old dishes I have on Craigslist rather than taking them to my parents' yard sale on the 29th! I have a Periodic Table of Elements shower curtain too... :o)  Who knows? I might make Aaron really happy here by getting rid of lots of stuff... Maybe he'll let me buy new stuff for being so good at getting rid of stuff... :oD (After all, before the last yard sale, he agreed to let me buy one new pair of shoes for every three pairs I got rid of and he agreed to let me buy one new article of clothes for every ten article I got rid of!)

Sofas and Sectionals

I’m just saying – furniture shopping is fun!  Aaron and I have really large, over-stuffed furniture in our living room currently.  The furniture is almost four feet deep!  It’s incredibly comfortable but just too large; moreover, it wouldn’t look so nice in our new home.  It just doesn’t have the right charm or sophistication…

So, knowing that new furniture would be a good bet, we started living room furniture shopping a few weeks ago.  Hey, little known fact – furniture shopping is difficult on Wednesdays.  I have no idea why, but a few places were closed and others closed early on Wednesday.  How interesting! 

Well, our first stop was Sofa Selections on the Carlisle Pike.  We walked in and liked the first thing we saw! It was a nice-sized sectional with traditional lines.  While we were checking it out, a lovely lady named Eileen came over to us.  Eileen was very nice – she let us know she was there if we had any questions about anything but just let us browse around without bothering us much.  I like this approach! Let me know who to go to with questions, offer a small bit of advice, but do NOT hold my hand and march me around…  Anyway, we found a few options that we liked (some sectionals and some separate pieces).  However, at that point we didn’t have our exact measurements (really, that support beam that marks the edge of the living room was the biggest question mark). 

That same night, we headed over to Big Lots, which turned out to be a big failure.  Our local Big Lots is quite trashy, smelly, and just didn’t have much to offer.  With that quick visit over, we stopped at Bon-Ton.  We had previously been browsing through Bon-Ton to kill some time and had liked some furniture there.  There were three different collections we liked there, but they were not really cheap and they were only available in one color unless you paid more for a custom order. 

The next night, we got out to Sofas Unlimited on the Carlisle Pike.  We got there just after 7pm and we knew they closed at 8pm, but with work and school that was the earliest we could get there.  A lady named Marge came out to assist us; she showed us around the store (which was quite large) and then told us to have at it.  We went into the first area which was the cheapest furniture but only available in one color each with no options to change anything (even pillows).  As we moved into the next area, Marge came back to visit us and proceeded to drag us around the store, not giving us a chance to sit on anything, but just showing us the most expensive stuff.  When she finally was leaving us, she commented that she wouldn’t kick us out or anything – keep in mind, it was only 7:35pm at this point! We took another ten minutes looking in the area she left us in before deciding to head to the recliner area; at that point, we noticed that she had already started turning off lights, including those in the recliner area – it was 7:45pm at this point!  We got upset at the poor customer service and left. 

At a later date, we went to another local furniture store – N.B. Liebman.  The lady helping us here (Debra, I believe) was nice enough and mainly let us go around on our own, but kept checking in with us (a little too frequently, but it wasn’t too bad).  I loved how this store was set up - it was set up as actual rooms, with a dining room and then a living room with a bedroom off to the side, etc.  It really helped me picture how it would look in our place.  This was the most expensive of all the stores we looked at; in fact, one of the sectionals we saw was $500 more here than the previous store.  There was a few things that caught our eye but, in the end, the price was the biggest deterrent. 

Just after leaving N.B. Liebman, we went back to Sofas Unlimited since they are practically next to each other.  Marge wasn’t there, luckily, and we let the saleswoman know that we had already been there but hadn’t gotten through everything; interesting, the saleswoman told us Marge was one of the owners!  This time, we were left alone and no one turned off lights on us.  It was much nicer!  Anyway, the top prospect here turned out to be a sofa and loveseat set by Klaussner.  The frame was discontinued and there was just one more set in the warehouse and then the floor model (I don’t want a floor model though).  The clearance price was just $796! The nice thing was that the covering was a nice microfiber which is still available and the pillow fabric was also still available so we could get an accent chair and an ottoman to match.  The picture is the best I have and it's just the sofa... but hey, it's what I have available!

 

Then last night we headed back to Sofa Selections and Eileen was there again.  We still liked the sectional just inside the door and narrowed down the sofa/loveseat options to the top pick.  And guess what?  We realized it was the same as the one we liked at Sofas Unlimited (see the picture above).  It was a little more expensive at Sofa Selections (by about $100) but we could change the fabric on the body and get all different fabrics for the pillows.  Plus, we liked Eileen much better than Marge (I mean, if the owner is kicking you out, that's really just bad business).  Both the sofa/loveseat combo and the sectional we liked are by Klaussner, so it was now fabric-selection time since any fabrics we picked could work for either choice!

 

We first came down to two options: one was the cappuccino (light-medium brownish with a hint of green) microsuede with the crayola fruit-tree pillow/accent chair fabric and the other was the celedon (medium green) microsuede with the twitter calypso (bird and tree) pillow/accent chair fabric. 

 

 

Aaron and I were at a bit of a cross-roads.  I, of course, loved the green and birds since I just so happen to love both green and birds!  Aaron was more hesitant about green furniture and was leaning more to the cappuccino /fruit-tree combo.  Then, with a stroke of genius... I put the cappuccino body fabric with the bird pillow/accent chair fabric, and... voila!

 

 

With a compromise, we found a combination that looks great together and gives us both what we wanted!  With that, we headed home and used the Room Planner at http://www.urbanbarn.com/Room-Planner.  We were able to put in the house dimensions and try to see how the furniture would fit.  When we played around with the sofa and loveseat, we just could not find a way to fit it all without it seeming cramped or having the chair in someone's line of vision of the TV.  However, the sectional - that fit just right!  Below is the saved image from the Room Planner.... The blue little box by the corner of the sectional is that support beam.  The big black rectangle all the way to the left is the TV and the smaller black box is an end table.  Ignore the fact that the couch cushions don't quite line up too!

This is actually the sectional we like with the cappuccino fabric and bird pillows!

 

This is actually the chair we like with the bird fabric on it!

So this was a really long post, but I'm going to blame it on the pictures... Plus, I didn't post yesterday and I'm not so certain I'll get it it tomorrow... Hehe! Anyway, we have put in our report to the sellers regarding inspection and will be waiting to hear whether they will accept our terms [either 1) fix the roof over the storage area - add gutters and downspouts, fix the balcony, remove the antenna from the roof, and add attic ventilation or 2) reduce the price by the estimate for the two fixes and take care of the antenna and attic ventilation).  Once we know that the sale is officially a-go, we can order our furniture!  In the meantime, we are putting lots of stuff on Craigslist to get ready for the move.

Inspections and Estimates

As I mentioned before, we had the inspection on the house last Friday.  A few different things were found, but no real surprises. 

The level of radon was found to be 6.1 and the EPA says it should be 4.0 and under; however, the reading was taken in the earthen basement where we will be spending about zero time and the level in the actual house will be less. I'm okay with this...

On the first floor, there was not much to note in the living room or dining room.  The stairs to the second floor don't have a railing (which I like), but that was noted as a safety concern.  The kitchen seems all good except the sprayer on the sink leaked a tiny bit.  The freezer temperature was only 25 degrees and the ice-maker gave water but wasn't making ice, so who knows what that means!  The first floor bathroom contains the washer and dryer as well; the dryer does not vent to the outside which is a small issue (and one we already planned to correct).  Other than that, the bathroom was in working order, albeit goofy (the set-up is odd; the floors are stained plywood; the cabinet under the sink looks like a child put it together, broke some pieces, then the parents tried to make it look ok again).  The storage area off the bathroom (which has exterior access as well, so is more like a built-in shed) has a few issues with the roof; it is a shingle roof and the water rolls off the edge and was getting in. 

Moving upstairs, the bathroom sink stopper isn't working right but a $2 clip will somehow fix that issue.  The bath tub stopper isn't working either, but for that, we can just buy a $5 cork thing to plug it up (cheaper and easier!).  The GFI outlet worked originally and then stopped...  We couldn't figure out if there was another GFI outlet it was connected to that was tripped or whether the outlet just went bad.  Other than that, the bathroom was fine.  Nothing major was noted in the front bedroom or the den/study/library/whatever.  In the master bedroom, the door to the balcony is hard to operate and will require trimming the bottom off the door and lifting the threshold by the same amount as we remove from the bottom of the door.  However, the balcony out that door needs a lot of help.  The wood boards are rotted at the ends and that makes the railing and roof supports loose.  Finally, one of the steps on the way to the attic is broken a bit, but not a huge deal.  Moving outside, some of the windows are old wood windows (but we plan on replacing them all eventually anyway).  There is a few dings in the metal siding and one piece of siding needs tucked back into place.  The metal roof is all being replaced and while that's getting done, the antenna on the roof should come down and ventilation should be added to the attic; we are hoping the sellers get this done during the roof repair.  Other than that, there is just a few cosmetic things to fix up outside, some lawn maintenance to do, and a step to fix (the step from the patio off the kitchen is crooked and could be a safety hazard).

As for the estimates and fixes...  The kitchen sink will be fine - it could be a few issues but we can't know what until we start to try to fix it, but at worst, we just need to replace the faucet. The freezer is a big unknown because it could need replaced; however, it could come down in temperature when filled with food and the ice-maker could be a quick fix too.  We'll just figure that one out as we go... As for the storage area and the leaky roof, this will be a bigger project; there are a few boards that need replaced due to water damage and the roof needs a drip-edge added.  The GFI outlet is just bad - the wiring is fine so the outlet just needs to be replaced.  The balcony is going to require removing all the floor boards, adding some extra support to help out any support beams that have some damage, and then priming and painting it all.  We just got the estimate back and are asking the sellers to either fix the storage area roof and replace the boards and then fix the balcony or to give us the money (either in a combination of seller's help and reducing the price or just reducing the price) to do the repairs ourselves.  Wish us luck!!

New "House" to New "Home" - Part 2

Last time, I had to run before I made it into the kitchen, which just so happens to be my favorite room in the house!
 The kitchen is just through the open dining area.  The floors in the kitchen are not the original wood floors but are newer floors.  The kitchen was expanded during the renovation; in such an old house, the kitchens used to be quite small so I am quite pleased with the size of the kitchen!  Most importantly, the kitchen has tons of countertop space and plenty of cabinets!







The kitchen also has an awesome island! The island actually contains the sink.  I absolutely love islands because they make congregating in the kitchen so easy and they also give you unobstructed space to cook or bake.  Some things are just hard to do with a cabinet overhead.   The island in this house is quite sizeable! If you notice the door on the left side - that takes you out to a small porch and the backyard.  The porch also contains the entrance to the basement (which is tiny and earthen).

Did I mention the brick backsplash?  They found an exposed brick wall during the renovations and they uncovered it, spruced it up a bit, and kept it as the backsplash.  I find this to be such a neat touch.  On another note, the countertops are just a Formica countertop.  It would be a consideration in the future to replace them, but for now, they look just fine and will be staying!  Also, I will consider getting some hardware put on the cabinets - without hardware it can be confusing as to which way the cabinet opens.  But that's all for another time...

One concern we did have regarding the brick backsplash was that you cannot run wires through the brick.  There are no outlets to be seen on the brick... So how were we going to plug in our other appliances?!  Well, during the inspection, I found out! They ran a long strip with tons of outlets underneath the cabinets!  (Please ignore the terrible quality of the picture and the discoloration of the bricks - I took this picture with my cell phone and didn't pay much attention to the quality!)

 

 

On the far end of the kitchen is a blue door (you may have seen it in some of the other photos), which is labeled with an old-looking sign that reads "Poop Deck" (I'll get a picture later!) and I'm sure you can guess where that leads to.  If you guessed a bathroom, you're super smart! :o)  The bathroom back there needs a lot of work - it's functional but seems haphazardly designed.  It contains the laundry area (which isn't properly vented), a full shower, a toilet, and a laundry style sink with a mismatched cabinet (the drawers don't match).  The floor is just stained plywood.  This room is a priority to renovate when we have the money. I'm not sure what we'll do quite yet but it will be an improvement, I'm sure!

 

Shall we move upstairs?  We shall... You can't see it, but there is an ornate metal grate on the front of the bottom stair that Aaron loves.  The stairs are open (but the mortgage may require us to put a railing in - sadness!) and are painted with the same blue trim as the rest of the first floor.  The stairs are the original wood as well.  At the top of the stairs is a full bathroom but I don't have any pictures of that at the moment...

The "second" bedroom is at the front of the house.  There are two large windows in the room, new carpet, and they added a decent-sized closet.  The room is currently sponge-painted a few shades of beige with some hand-painted ivy. The trim is painted a dark grey-brown color.  This whole room will be re-painted.  The trim will be painted white but I'm unsure what color we'll be painting the walls at the moment. The renovaters did a great job of putting outlets everywhere - this applies to the whole house, but you can see a sampling of the outlets in this picture.

 

The "master" bedroom is at the back of the house.  The bedroom also has new carpets.  There is a fairly-large closet just inside the door.  The closet doors are a bit out-dated and could use a change when we get a change.  The room is also sponge-painted and is a mixture of yellow, orange, and light-brown.  The trim is painted dark brown.  Again, all of this will be re-painted.  Most likely, the walls will be a light neutral shade of gray.  Finally, if you look to the far left, you'll see a door... That same door is seen in the next photo, below...

 

The door from the last photo is shown on the far right in this photo.  That door leads to the balcony.  The balcony can be seen in the final picture (the one of the rear of the house).  Right now, the door to the balcony is hard to open due to the plushness of the carpets so we want to fix that up as well.  Again, you can see the plentiful outlets again in this picture.  I fully appreciate the number of outlets!  I also appreciate all the ceiling fans.  (It wasn't shown in the photo of the second bedroom but there is a ceiling fan in the front bedroom as well.)

 

Okay, this is my last photo!  This is the rear of the house.  You can see a red door which leads to a small storage area/shed.  Above that area is the balcony.  On the other side of the storage area is the small patio off the kitchen.  You can see out to the street on the left side.  There is also another patio area next to the walkway.  The walkway leads to three off-street parking spots.  The yard is a good size and is fenced in for the pups!

 

For the stuff I don't have pictures of...  The storage area is not much to look at but will provide space for a mower and some cleaning stuff that won't have another home.  Additionally, at the top of the stairs, in between the two bedrooms, there is an open area; we haven't figured out what to call it yet (the den, the office, the study, the foyer... who knows!), but we have some plans for it.  We plan to put a desk up there (possibly build in a desk) and a bunch of bookcases (with the looks of a built-in or just actually build them in).  I'll keep you updated on the process, will get you all more pictures, and will show you the progress we make over time!

New "House" to New "Home"

In my first post, I mentioned that my husband and I are about to be new homeowners.  I figured I'd dedicate a post to the new house, though I hesitate to say much because we have not closed yet and there is a modicum of uncertainty as to whether everything will go through.

So, knocking word and crossing my fingers, I delight to tell you that Aaron and I started house-hunting about 3-4 weeks ago.  We knew we wanted out of our current apartment as the lease term expires on October 31st and the rent was going up again.  We decided to look for a rental in Carlisle (where I go to school) because there is a large rental market in town and places are fairly cheap (due to the large number of properties as well as the fact that both the local college and law school students aren't willing to pay $1,000 per month for a place).  We met with a guy named Scott to see a property of his that we found on Craigslist.  We liked the place, but we were a bit dumbfounded when Scott offered to sell us the property if we were interested and dropped a price of $100k-$110k.  I was shocked at the low price and began to realize that the monthly mortgage payment on such a place would be several hundred dollars cheaper than the proposed $850 per month rent!  And thus began the house-hunting...

Aaron and I began scouring Zillow, Trulia, jgr.com, and a few other sites.  We had found several options, but there was thisone place online that we really loved and wanted to see; we contacted the realtor and went to see the house that night.  The next weekend, we looked at about seven other properties for sale in Carlisle. We came down to two properties at the top of the list - the "white house" and the "blue house".  The blue house was the one we had loved online - it was essentially move-in ready and just needed a few little things done to it.  The white house was new on the market and needed more work - it needed either new carpets or the wood floors underneath needed refinishing; the kitchen needed a complete overhaul as it had clearly been expanded over time (the fridge was actually in the next room, the mudroom).  However, the white house was significantly lower in price and did have air-conditioning which the blue house did not.  In the end, the blue house won out - it had the charm we wanted, the space we wanted, a gorgeous kitchen, a nice yard, and an open layout; it also (as I'll explain) had a lot of work done and I felt like it was a lower risk in terms of things breaking or going wrong in the near future.

We decided to look into houses in Harrisburg as well.  Harrisburg was more centrally located in my targeted job market.  However, Harrisburg taxes are a lot higher and housing prices (for comparable sized and comparable quality homes) are higher as well.  Plus, in Harrisburg, there is more concern over the neighborhood and safety.  We checked out three houses in Harrisburg.  The first had a sloped floor and lots of bubbles in the laminate; those problems meant tons of money to fix and lots of risk since we have no idea what is wrong and what other problems it might indicate.  The second was a nice, newly "flipped" Cape Cod which was fine but looked much nicer in photos and had small bedrooms.  The third was an old Victorian with tons of potential, but needed tons of work (it only had half a kitchen, needed all new floors/carpet, and had some mold in the ceilings).  Needless to say, our "blue house" in Carlisle outshined the competition and we decided to place an offer.  After two counter-offers, our offer was finally accepted on September 7th.  This afternoon, we have our inspection!  I am anxious to hear what the inspector has to see and also excited to take some measurements to start figuring out decorations, furniture, etc.


Now it's time to give you more information on our (hopefully) new house!  The house was built in 1865!! To be clear, that means the house is almost 150 years old!! I love old houses and all the charm they have... As for the exterior, I'm sure you've already guessed - it's blue! The roof was damaged during a hail storm and will be completely replaced before we move it; it will be a brand new metal roof.  The house is attached on one side and there is a small side yard on the other, with a gate leading to the street.  Also, as you can see, there is a small flower bed out front (help me find my green thumb, please!)


Moving inside, the floor plan is very open.  The first room is the living room, then the dining room, and then the kitchen with the laundry room/full bathroom off the far end of the kitchen.  The living room is sectioned off by a support beam.  Now is as good of time as any to mention - the previous owner went to do a small project, found out there was no insulation in the walls, and gutted everything.  He updated the electric, some of the plumbing, and put up new drywall; that was also when he changed the house to an open layout.  Oh, and check out the cute shutters on the front windows!


As I mentioned, after the living room is the dining area.  The gorgeous wood floors continue from the living room to the dining room.  The floors are original to the house, which means, of course, the floors are almost 150 years old!  I've been corrected after calling them hardwood floors - they are not hardwood, but are, rather, pine.  Regardless, I love them! The floors are one of my favorite parts of the house.

I digress briefly... Of the side of the living room/dining room area is a small closet under the stairs (Harry Potters room if you will).  Quite neat, I believe - there is a tiny closet in the closet! But more importantly, next to the closet there is a beautiful alcove with bay windows. 








In the dining room, there is a brick fireplace.  The actual chimney has been closed off (no chimney sweeps needed, yay!) and a gas insert has been put in.  The fireplace was actually uncovered during the renovations and they cleaned it all up and put on a mantle.  Somehow, the fireplace (which is not something I really felt I needed in a house) adds charm and really defines the dining area.  Also, note, there are several ceiling fans. There is one in the living room and one in the kitchen (which is remote-controlled)!



Well, it's time for inspection now! I'll continue this post later and will show you the kitchen, bath, upstairs, and outside!

Heaven on Earth Cupcakes

This past Monday was my lovely husband's birthday.  I was told not to buy him any presents, but he never said anything about MAKING something! ;o)  Okay, okay - so the kid in me found the loophole, but I'm going to say it was the lawyer in me...  Anyway, I knew I wanted to make him some kind of dessert because everyone needs a birthday cake (or pie or cheesecake or whatever other baked good you'd like).  I thought long and hard about what to make and almost decided to do a cheesecake since it's a favorite of his, but then I remembered his groom's cake...

Flashback two years - I decided to have a groom's cake for Aaron at our rehearsal dinner the night before the wedding.  I had some ideas about what I wanted and just didn't see much that screamed "Aaron" to me.  Until I found the Fancy Cake Shop in Carlisle, that is... They had a Heavenly Cheesecake cake.  As I mentioned, Aaron loves cheesecake.  He REALLY loves the Vanilla Bean Cheesecake at T.G.I. Friday's.  According to T.G.I. Friday's site, the dessert is "Cheesecake made with real vanilla beans, layered with white chocolate mousse and baked in a graham cracker crust. Topped with white chocolate shavings." Well, as best as I can remember, the Heavenly Cheesecake cake at Fancy Cake Shop (which, sadly, is not around anymore) was a vanilla bean cake with a cheesecake filling, covered in white chocolate mousse frosting.  As soon as I saw it, I knew that was the perfect pick for Aaron's groom's cake.  I had it decorated as one of his favorite books of poetry with a scroll on top that had one of his favorite poem's written on it.  Perfection!

Well, that cake served as my inspiration to make what I will cleverly call Heaven on Earth cupcakes!
I altered a few recipes I found and combined them together to make my own creation - and it was pretty easy too! Check out the recipe and photos below (ignore the throw-away cupcake pans - my good ones are packed). A side note: Vanilla beans can be hard to find.  Grocery stores often sell dried out pods.  I found mine in the Nature's Marketplace area of Wegman's.  If you have the time, check online for vanilla bean paste - it's expensive but it actually is a better deal than buying individual bean pods if you use it often enough (and if you have it, you'll find reasons to use it)!

Heaven on Earth Cupcakes
  A vanilla bean cupcake, filled with white chocolate filling, and topped with a vanilla bean cream cheese frosting. 

Ingredients:
  - White cake mix (I prefer Duncan Hines)
  - 3 eggs
  - 1/4 cup oil
  - 1 cup water
  - 4 whole vanilla bean pods
  - 8 oz. premium white chocolate (I used Ghirardelli)
  - 1/3 cup milk
  - 3 - 8 oz. packages of cream cheese (1/3 less fat is fine)
  - 3/4 tsp. pure vanilla extract
  - 1/4 cup (half a stick) butter
  - 3 3/4 to 4 cups powdered sugar

For the cupcakes: Mix the cake mix, eggs (whole eggs, ignore box directions saying just to use egg whites - the whole egg will make the cake tinted a bit more yellow but it will be moist instead of dry), oil, and water. Whisk the dry cake mix to prevent lumps.  Feel free to use a hand mixer but I don't find it necessary. Add the vanilla beans from two whole bean pods. (To use - slice the pod in half lengthwise with a paring knife and use the tip of the knife to scrape out the bean paste; the paste is really tons of tiny vanilla bean flecks!) Mix well and scoop into lined cupcake tins. Bake as directed and allow to cool entirely - about 2 hours.

For the filling: Break the chocolate up into small pieces and put into the top of a double boiler (or into a metal bowl for a make-shift double boiler) with the 1/3 cup of milk. Heat water to boiling in the bottom of the double boiler (or in a saucepot for your make-shift double boiler).  When the water is boiling, remove from heat and put the top piece of the double-boiler in place (or place the metal bowl into the saucepan); stir continually until the chocolate is melted.  Let the mixture cool to room temperature, stirring occassionally. (This took about 45 minutes for me.)  In a separate bowl, beat one package of cream cheese and 3/4 tsp. vanilla extract together; you don't need a hand mixer - a whisk is fine as long as the cream cheese was softened first.  Slowly add cooled chocolate mixture to the cream cheese mixture and chill in the fridge for 2 hours.

For the icing: Cream together the butter (1/2 a stick) and two 8 oz. packages of cream cheese.  If both the butter and cream cheese are adequately softened, you can cream them together with a whisk; if not, use a hand mixer to prevent lumps.  Add the vanilla from two more vanilla bean pods and mix thoroughly.  Add the powdered sugar about 1/2 cup at a time.  To avoid lumps, either sift or whisk the powdered sugar before adding it to the cream cheese mixture.  Mix together after each addition of sugar.  Adjust the amount of sugar to reach the desired consistency.  Because the cream cheese cuts the sugar, you can add a lot of sugar to thicken up the icing without it getting overly sweet.  I personally prefer to have my icing thick so I can pipe it but if you are just spreading it, a little thinner is fine.

Assembly: Remove the cupcakes from the pans.  Use the handle of a wooden spoon to make a hole in the center of the cupcake to make room for filling.  Just press the handle into the center of the cupcake a few times to make a hole about nickel-sized.  Do not press all the way down or your cupcake will fall apart when you take it out of the liner - just make the hole about 3/4 of the way into the cupcake.  Put the white chocolate filling into a quart-size zipper freezer bag, cut the corner off the bag (small enough to control the filling and large enough that it doesn't take forever to fill the cupcakes), and squeeze into the center holes of the cupcakes.  Wiggle, shake, and tap down the cupcake to ensure you've added enough filling! Don't be afraid to overfill just a bit as it will settle.  Next, it's time to frost the cupcakes!  You can use another freezer bag and "pipe" it on, go with the old-fashioned knife or spatula spreading, or use an actual piping bag (I like Wilton brand but could only find my small tip to do a swirl of icing rather than the large tip which lets me do the big, cloud-like effect).  Go nuts!  Feel free to add some decorations or leave them classically plain!

Hint - start the white chocolate filling while the cupcakes are baking because it needs to sit in the fridge for about two hours to firm up.

An extra hint - don't throw away the used vanilla bean pods! There are tons of uses for the pods - just check Google! I put mine into a baggie with a bunch of plain sugar and, after a few days, I'll have vanilla sugar.  Another goodie is to put the pods into a bottle of plain vodka and make your own vanilla vodka (but I haven't tried this one yet). 

ENJOY!  :o)