Cool Bike

Today I rode my bike to the Violet Crown theater to see Wild Rose. It's super easy to get to by bike from where I live, thanks to the Lance Armstrong Bikeway - a protected bike lane on 3rd Street right through downtown Austin! I literally live right off this bike route and it's pretty amazing.

As I was unlocking my bike after the movie, the guy standing close by smoking a cigarette said "Cool bike. I like the color." My bike IS cool, and the color is great. It made me super happy.

I jetted quickly over to the nearby Trader Joe's to pick up some lemon ricotta ravioli for dinner (it is to die for). I hadn't planned on stopping, and therefore didn't have a side bag with me; the paper bag would just have to hang off my handlebars. As I was unlocking my bike, a guy inside Trader Joe's looked at me and motioned handlebars and a bag. I nodded and he gave me a thumb's up.

I rode home with that Trader Joe's bag on the protected bike lane back to my apartment, where Biscuit and Chance were waiting for me and I felt at home in this city.

Three Years and One Sold Home

Three years ago today I signed papers making the home at 2601 N Locust in Denton, TX MY home.

Two weeks ago I signed papers making the home at 2601 N Locust in Denton, TX NOT my home.

I had moved out two weeks before signing the papers, and was at my new job in Austin when a mobile-notary from the title office came to my office. It was a bit strange, but I was already removed from it as my home since it had been opened up to strangers for showings and an open house.

But now it was official.

When it officially became mine, my friend Stephanie was with me and we had tacos afterward. It was super hard to concentrate on work the rest of the day.

When it officially became not mine, I was at work with coworkers I don't really know yet. None of them know me or the joy I felt in buying that house. I went back to work to my desk, then made a quick trip to the bathroom to shed a couple of tears. I texted some friends back in Denton, to have a small and fleeting connection to something familiar.

The first month of this change to Austin has been tough. Just because change is tough in general. Many, many emotions were felt, including some very intense feelings about a haircut I had paid a lot of money for. Things have finally settled into a groove, though, and I am meeting people and getting to know my coworkers.

I will also love that home on Locust Street. I painted and hung shelves and weatherized my pipes and had friends over. It was full of love, from friends, family and my cats.

Sealing Up the Home

Back in January something really strange happened in Texas - temperatures dropped to below freezing one night. That was the time my pipes froze. It was cold and it sucked. To combat the cold, I, obviously, turned up my heat.

My electric bill that came for that time period nearly gave me a heart attack; it was double what it normally was. I immediately signed up for an Energy Audit through the City. They came out and did their stuff. I live in an old house with very poor insulation - it's basically inside, wall, outside. It's nowhere near current standards. Besides getting new windows and doing a huge undertaking to insulate, it was recommended to do some simple caulking of the baseboards for a quick ROI.

I of course didn't do it right away. It warmed up to normal Texas-winter-standards. And it wasn't hot enough for the AC...until Friday. I was dying and finally turned the AC on for the first time.

That spurred me to finally get down to caulking. It was a learning process, with the first room turning out somewhat-acceptable. But then I really hit my stride and caulked my bedroom, the second room, the dining room, and the side door in the kitchen. I've sealed my house to escaping cold/hot air the best I can.

Small Changes

Today I made small change to my living room and it immediately felt more homey and comfy.

First I added curtains. The previous owners left the curtain rods, and they have been sitting empty since I moved on. I bought white ones with a simple pattern at Ikea.

Second, I moved my couch from the wall at the front of the home, to the wall on the north side of the home. This makes the living room flow so much better. It feels connected, especially with the chair and ottoman my mom and sister bought me as a housewarming gift when they were here. (The bike and couch have been swapped.)

Don't mind the measuring tapes on the floor. I'm measuring what size of rug I need, which will be my next purchase. Something that will tie the room together.

Yardwork

I'm still unsure how I feel about yardwork. Generally I like it. However, I don't really know what I'm doing. Yes, I know how to pull weeds and cut down overgrown trees. That's the easy part. Easiness that takes sweat and getting dirty.

And that's what I did today. I have sort of neglected the backyard since moving in. I pay to have the lawn mowed, but not for the weeds to get pulled. Today I noticed that the bamboo, which has creeped into my yard from the neighbors behind me, were severely overgrown. And that the landscaped area was looking pretty sketchy with all these weeds and such.

This is what it looked like:

Bamboo is literally the worst. It's strong and hard to get rid of. All I did was trim them all back. Then I tackled the landscaped area and pulled out all the weeds. I would have done more, but the garbage can was completely full. I felt pretty satisfied when I surveyed my work.

I realize these pictures aren't the best; the sun was in the wrong location to get good photos. But it looks great.

Now to figure out the hard stuff - like what to plant. That's what I know nothing about, and it's the one thing that overwhelms me the most about being a homeowner.

Becoming a Homeowner...Hopefully

I've decided it's time to stop renting and buy a home. Buying a home is a lot of work. It's also sort of stressful, especially in this seller's market. Here in Denton, homes are going fast and for way more than the asking price. Which is ridiculous really, but what are ya gonna do.

I've already had my first rejection. I found a home I loved and pounced on it! It was old with hardwood floors and just the right amount of space. It was close to all the places I'd want to go by bike or foot.

The quest goes on.

Ridiculous Ranunculus

Last Thursday I went to Cardo Farms here in Denton and picked a bouquet of ranunculus (I'm unsure of the plural form....ranunculi perhaps). The field was full of red and pink and white and orange and yellow, but I went with a bouquet of orange and white. It has been sitting on my table all week long, and sadly the petals have started falling off. But for the week they were beautiful and blooming, it was lovely.

A Year in Denton

You guys, I've been in Denton a whole year. A year to the day. Where does the time go?

It's amazing how fast a place you had never heard of until you applied for a job there can become home. How fast you can love the place you live and all the people in it. Sometimes I feel like I got so incredibly lucky to end up here that I just can't believe it.

I have been lucky that each time I've moved to a different state a family member has helped me. My mom and sister helped me move to NYC. My sister helped me move back to SLC. My mom and niece, Ivy, helped me move to Topeka. And my dad and amazing bosom friend, Janae, helped me move to Denton. Each time my helpers boarded a plane and left me alone in my new city I cried or was sad.

Except in Denton. Perhaps it was because I'm an old pro at this now and moving and living away from family and friends is easier to deal with. Maybe I'm just meant to be in Denton.

Here's a few photos of Denton landmarks - the sign at the train station, the famous Campus Theater at sunset, the landmark Morrison's Corn Kits, the Courthouse on Flag Day, and the shoe shop off the Square.

Wall Project

I've been wanting to fill up this large empty wall for quite some time:

Late last summer I bought and spray-painted a bunch of picture frames. I perused Etsy to find prints to put in them. And then I couldn't get the pictures to hang on my concrete wall. Nails wouldn't work and I didn't have the proper tools to drill holes in the wall. I sort of just gave up.

But then I needed to paint the wall due to an unfortunate incident where my attempt to plan ahead caused paint to come off. And then I got the idea to use those velcro strips to hang the frames. It worked and now I have this:



Some of the frames are still empty as I search for the right prints to put in them. But I love it.

On the Wall

The pictures have been hung!  

 

 I chose photos both old and new. The three-pictured frame on the left edge has pictures of my family and I at sporting events--the BYU opening football game 2010, and a Bees game last summer--because we like sports, and a photo of Lindsay and me at my going away party before moving to NYC. I have a picture of my grandparents' home in Moroni that is very special to me, and a picture of the barn where my mom grew up in Moreland, ID. I have a sweet map of Idaho that I bought off Etsy. I have pictures of my nieces and nephews, of the temple, of me and my grandma. There's a picture of me and my awesome friend Pam. I have an old photo of my mom when she was around my age (my dad's corollary photo is in the works). All the people and things that are important to me (I also have a ton of other framed photos not on the wall).

Even though my books are put away, my loft doesn't really feel like home until I have something on the wall.

Hang It Up

My loft, as you would think, is very open and therefore has a ton of wall space. So much space that I don't know what to do with it. Well, I know to put pictures on them, but that is easier said than done. I actually want to do this with my huge wall. Today I bought a bunch of on-sale frames from Michaels and some spray paint. That's the easy part. Getting the pictures and arranging the frames will be a process, especially for someone as decision-making challenged as myself.

I'm also wanting to make a picture wall on my other wall in my "living room". It is quite difficult picking pictures from the many, many pictures that I have. But I think I'm comfortable with what I've chosen, and now I just need to decide how to hang them. And then hang them.

My New Home

My new home is pretty awesome. When I walked in it the first time I couldn't believe all the space. It's a loft, so it's very open and large. Thankfully, though, my bedroom is separate with a door (so is the bathroom). The hardwood floors are original from when it was used as a warehouse. There are huge, east-facing windows that bring in tons of light; I hardly ever need to turn lights on except when it's past 6. The ceilings are very high, higher than in New York. The kitchen is at least twice as big as my old one, with newer appliances and so much cabinet space that some of them are empty.

However, since my previous home was much smaller I bought small furniture, which now looks kind of silly in such a large space. It doesn't look crowded, though, which I fear my old home did.

I think what I miss most about my old home was the stand-alone bathtub. It was really great for taking baths because it was so big. I now have just a regular old bathtub set in the wall. It is much smaller and taking a bath in it was not nearly as relaxing.

Time For Family, Friends, Home

With my abundant free time this past week, I was able to finally get face time with family and friends that had sadly fallen by the wayside in my end-of-semester overload. Last Saturday I spent the morning doing Race for the Cure with my fam. Sunday was spent at my mom's for Mother's Day. Thursday I visited my friend Pam and held her two-week old baby, Dane. Friday night I watched my talented friend Cat perform in Oklahoma. Saturday I had lunch with my old roommate Julie and then went home-improvement shopping with my sister, buying paint for my unfinished Ikea table and purchasing the two remaining chairs I needed to make it complete.

It feels good to have time again to do things other than schoolwork.

Settling In

I've been in my new home for a week now, and it's awesome. Every day I put a few more things away, get rid of a couple more boxes, figure out where to put something, assemble a table or chair, and organize the kitchen. Today I took a nap on my couch, with the new pillows I bought at Ikea and the afternoon sun streaming through my windows. It was peaceful and felt like...home.

Home is an important word and a more important place. It's where you feel safe, where you feel comfortable, where you leave your heart and where you always feel welcome. "Home," has been a rather elusive place for me the past few years. There was a time when I was between homes and longed for a place of my own. But the time wasn't quite right.

I lived with my sister for a little while. Then there was a short stint with my friend Cat on her floor, an even shorter stint in Murray, and then my over a year stint on Wilson in Sugarhouse. I truly enjoyed my time there, and know that I met some really great people that influenced my life for good. But, for how great it was, I still longed for a place to call my very own. I attribute it to the fact that we moved a lot when I was growing up, and I don't have a parents' home to go to as my parents have divorced, moved, and remarried.

But again, as with many things in my life and the overarching theme of the past few years, I needed to be patient. Before moving to my previous abode in Sugarhouse, I was deciding between it and a place downtown. I've always wanted to live in downtown Salt Lake, but the place didn't feel right. I remember telling my mom, as I turned the place down, that when I moved downtown, I wanted it to be to a place I loved and on my own terms, where I wouldn't have to live with roommates. A year and three months later, I got what I wanted. (Not to say that roommates aren't good, and that mine weren't awesome, because they were.)

I have very acutely felt that I need my own home. I really feel like I have it now.

Whoa! 2011 Already!

It's 2011. A new year means a new (totally awesome) 9AM church meeting time, remembering to put 11 instead of 10 on my checks, reflecting on the year past, and planning for the year ahead.

For me, 2010 was a good year. It was a stepping stone year. I attended classes at SLCC to prepare for graduate school. I became an official employee at Myriad Genetics. I lived with awesome roommates in a cute home in Sugarhouse. It was a year that helped me get on with the grander scheme I have for my life.

2011 is already new and fresh. I have a new one-bedroom apartment. I'm starting a masters program. I feel like I'm making a dent in the grand scheme of my life. I'm excited for the challenges and look forward to bettering myself. I declare 2011 a year of improvement.

Happy New Year!!

Productivity

This morning, following on the heels of helping one of my roommates pack all her stuff in a Budget Truck, my other roommate and I took on the task of cleaning our fridge. With four people sharing a kind of small fridge, it tends to get overcrowded with condiments, salad dressings, and other things you only need/use once. And at one point, some hot fudge got spilled and ran down under the bottom drawers and created a nice little hard pool. So we went through all the old condiments and salad dressing and threw out anything that was past expiration. We threw out things that we were pretty sure belonged to girls who had lived here three roommates ago. We took out all the shelves and cleaned them with hot soapy water.

Winter is the perfect time to clean out the fridge, as our garage is so cold that all our perishables sat out there for a few hours without perishing. When the fridge was cleaned and everything put back in, it looked like a brand-new fridge! Ah, the joys of being productive.

Not wanting to lose momentum, I found the energy to clean the long-overdue bathroom, sweep the floor and stairs, and take out the trash. Tomorrow we hope to rearrange the spare bedroom downstairs to make it more conducive to watching movies and hanging out.

All in all it was a productive day, cleaning, ordering school books, playing Wii. And it felt good.

Lovin' My New Home

This is where I live now. It's right in the heart of Sugarhouse, and close to everything a girl could want. It's super close to work and entertainment and shopping. The other night after work, during that magic hour, I went to Barnes and Noble and Whole Foods and felt like everything was right. I then caught the bus for a short ride home. And I missed New York a little more, because it was so similar, and a little less, because I now felt less at the mercy of others to get me places and in charge again.

Before I decided to make the big move to New York two years ago, I was considering moving to Sugarhouse. It seemed to be a neighborhood that fit my sensibilities more than my then-current area, West Valley. Since coming back from New York, I find that it fits my sensibilities even more. The only things that might make it a little bit better is the dollar theater, of which New York has zero. It's walkable, quaint and old, filled with local restaurants and shops, and close to the beautiful mountains that New York's got nothing on.

Homeless no more.