Last night my house rebate came in the mail. 5 weeks after I filed. Woo hoo! $8,091.96. The $91 was interest - I had no clue that I would get interest for "letting" the government hold on to my $8k for so long. That was a nice surprise.
So now what do I do with the money? I need to pay off some bills and secretly, I could use all of it for that. But should I reserve some for a new couch? A new coffee table?
Hmmm....
If I take half and put it towards bills, that would be very responsible of me and I would still have lots left over to spend on my house, like a good American. After all, that's what the rebate is all about, right? Putting money back into the economy.
I think I'll start out by getting my Bonnaroo posters and college degrees framed. That'll be several hundred bucks and is something I've been meaning to do for years. Of course, I'm still going to shop around for the best deals and scour the internet for coupons.
Then I'll price out a new couch. And maybe see what it would cost to have my attic access either expanded or moved to the spare room so I can have a proper set of attic stairs installed. This article says that the ladders themselves can be around $300-400 so with cutting a new hole, insulation and man hours, maybe that's around $1,000? Not ridiculous, but not cheap.
I also think I may buy a few nice platters and serving bowls. I never had the right ones when I entertain. But while I want Apilco, I can probably find ones that are just fine at Marshall's or World Market.
So many decisions!
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Thursday, September 2, 2010
mornings
I hate the mad scramble to get ready in the morning. I'd much rather wake up whenever my body feels like it, laze in bed reading for a while, actually cook breakfast and sit down at the table to eat it. But my mornings are never like that. Instead I snooze for too long and then jolt out of bed, rush through my bathroom routine and then stand paralized at my closet trying to decide what to wear.
Did I already wear that yellow top this week? I can't remember! Okay, I'll throw on my giraffe print dress because I know I haven't worn it in over a month. But now I can't remember - do I wear a cami with this dress or do I pin it? Gah - no time to pin. There's a cream cami on the floor, going with that. What earrings should I wear? Necklace or no necklace? If a necklace, which one? Can't decide, going without. Gotta get out of the house.
I am happy to report that my new shoe system is working out nicely. I have actually been putting my shoes back in their cubby each night and I wore a pair of closed-toe shoes the other day because I knew they were easily accessible in the bin under my bed. Yay! So at least finding shoes this morning was easy.
It's political season and the brain cells that I use to get dressed in the morning have been commandeered for use on work subjects. I wake up and am immediately thinking about the schedule for the day. It's annoying and frustrating, but a way of life for someone who works with campaigns.
What I've done before is to schedule my outfits. I'll take inventory of my closet and come up with various outfits, figuring out everything from jewelry to undergarments to shoes. Then I'll put it all on a calendar and tape it to the inside of my closet. When I wake up, all I have to do is look at the calendar and pull out the correct items for that day. It's actually great because otherwise I would just wear a t-shirt and jeans everyday - not exactly a professional look. And I definitely work better when I'm wearing a professional outfit. I'm less likely to procrastinate and I find it's easier to stay organized.
I also do this when I travel. I figure out what types of outfits I'll need, how that works with what I own, if I need to fill any gaps. Then I'll come up with the outfits - again, jewelry to shoes - and assign them to each day of my trip. It's great for making a packing list - I do it all in Excel and then can sort and delete the duplicates. Easiest packing list ever.
I've tried to do this when it isn't crunch-time but it doesn't work. When I have spare brain cells, I like to use them to figure out my outfits, to be a little creative. While I work in a creative industry, my actual job is much more Excel spreadsheets, online forms and schedules so my wardrobe and my home are my outlets. But from Labor Day to Election Day? I'm all about being uncreative and just powering through.
Think I'm going to spend this weekend taking inventory of my closet...
Did I already wear that yellow top this week? I can't remember! Okay, I'll throw on my giraffe print dress because I know I haven't worn it in over a month. But now I can't remember - do I wear a cami with this dress or do I pin it? Gah - no time to pin. There's a cream cami on the floor, going with that. What earrings should I wear? Necklace or no necklace? If a necklace, which one? Can't decide, going without. Gotta get out of the house.
I am happy to report that my new shoe system is working out nicely. I have actually been putting my shoes back in their cubby each night and I wore a pair of closed-toe shoes the other day because I knew they were easily accessible in the bin under my bed. Yay! So at least finding shoes this morning was easy.
It's political season and the brain cells that I use to get dressed in the morning have been commandeered for use on work subjects. I wake up and am immediately thinking about the schedule for the day. It's annoying and frustrating, but a way of life for someone who works with campaigns.
What I've done before is to schedule my outfits. I'll take inventory of my closet and come up with various outfits, figuring out everything from jewelry to undergarments to shoes. Then I'll put it all on a calendar and tape it to the inside of my closet. When I wake up, all I have to do is look at the calendar and pull out the correct items for that day. It's actually great because otherwise I would just wear a t-shirt and jeans everyday - not exactly a professional look. And I definitely work better when I'm wearing a professional outfit. I'm less likely to procrastinate and I find it's easier to stay organized.
I also do this when I travel. I figure out what types of outfits I'll need, how that works with what I own, if I need to fill any gaps. Then I'll come up with the outfits - again, jewelry to shoes - and assign them to each day of my trip. It's great for making a packing list - I do it all in Excel and then can sort and delete the duplicates. Easiest packing list ever.
I've tried to do this when it isn't crunch-time but it doesn't work. When I have spare brain cells, I like to use them to figure out my outfits, to be a little creative. While I work in a creative industry, my actual job is much more Excel spreadsheets, online forms and schedules so my wardrobe and my home are my outlets. But from Labor Day to Election Day? I'm all about being uncreative and just powering through.
Think I'm going to spend this weekend taking inventory of my closet...
Monday, August 30, 2010
my first freecycle!
Okay, it shouldn't really be called "mine" because my sister did it for me, but it's my item!
For my old apartment's galley kitchen, I got a kitchen cart from Target. I loved this thing. Narrow enough that I could easily move around it, but wide enough to provide much needed counter space. It was maybe too country-ish for my taste, but had a drop-leaf side that a Parsons console wouldn't - and that was key for rolling out pie doughs or party prep when I needed even more counter space. And it was $100-120. Love it. I used this thing happily for about 5 years.
My GHI also has a galley kitchen, but the previous owner had added a shelf on the opposite wall. No need for my cart. For a while, I had it hanging out on the wall between the kitchen and the living area. But then I got a new-to-me flatscreen TV and put that on a bookcase and moved the dresser to that wall. The cart went upstairs to the scary spare room. And as soon as it went up there, I wanted it out of the house. It's still very functional, but just not for my house.
My sister told me to put it on Freecycle. Brilliant! But...I didn't take pictures. And the weeks slipped by.
I randomly looked at Freecycle one day and a woman was asking for a kitchen cart! I emailed her and offered mine and sent a picture from Target's website. She said it was perfect and would come by on Saturday to pick it up. Saturday rolled around and her ride fell through so she couldn't get it. I was so bummed. And now the cart was back in my living room.
The weeks went by.
Finally, Friday night my sister was at my house because her husband was teaching a yoga class at their's. She pulled out her camera and took a few pictures of my cart and posted it on Freecycle this morning. And someone responded! She's was ready for immediate pickup, but I'm at work. I responed that I'd be home after 8 (may be earlier, but I wanted to be safe) or I could leave it outside tomorrow. She responded that that works. Not really sure which one, but I guess if she doesn't come by tonight I'll just leave it out tomorrow. But I'm so excited!
Here are the pictures my sister took. The pink blur in the second and third pictures is my niece, Emerson.
For my old apartment's galley kitchen, I got a kitchen cart from Target. I loved this thing. Narrow enough that I could easily move around it, but wide enough to provide much needed counter space. It was maybe too country-ish for my taste, but had a drop-leaf side that a Parsons console wouldn't - and that was key for rolling out pie doughs or party prep when I needed even more counter space. And it was $100-120. Love it. I used this thing happily for about 5 years.
My GHI also has a galley kitchen, but the previous owner had added a shelf on the opposite wall. No need for my cart. For a while, I had it hanging out on the wall between the kitchen and the living area. But then I got a new-to-me flatscreen TV and put that on a bookcase and moved the dresser to that wall. The cart went upstairs to the scary spare room. And as soon as it went up there, I wanted it out of the house. It's still very functional, but just not for my house.
My sister told me to put it on Freecycle. Brilliant! But...I didn't take pictures. And the weeks slipped by.
I randomly looked at Freecycle one day and a woman was asking for a kitchen cart! I emailed her and offered mine and sent a picture from Target's website. She said it was perfect and would come by on Saturday to pick it up. Saturday rolled around and her ride fell through so she couldn't get it. I was so bummed. And now the cart was back in my living room.
The weeks went by.
Finally, Friday night my sister was at my house because her husband was teaching a yoga class at their's. She pulled out her camera and took a few pictures of my cart and posted it on Freecycle this morning. And someone responded! She's was ready for immediate pickup, but I'm at work. I responed that I'd be home after 8 (may be earlier, but I wanted to be safe) or I could leave it outside tomorrow. She responded that that works. Not really sure which one, but I guess if she doesn't come by tonight I'll just leave it out tomorrow. But I'm so excited!
Here are the pictures my sister took. The pink blur in the second and third pictures is my niece, Emerson.
Update: the woman emailed me yesterday afternoon to let me know that she had picked it up around 11am. How sweet!
Friday, August 27, 2010
yes, please!
Making It Lovely alerted me to Twig & Thistle's post about Liberty's printed suitcases.
I would be quite happy if the one in the bottom left corner showed up on my doorstep.
And I'll also take the matching sheets. They'd be perfect in my bedroom.
kthnxbye
I would be quite happy if the one in the bottom left corner showed up on my doorstep.
And I'll also take the matching sheets. They'd be perfect in my bedroom.
kthnxbye
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