Eww.

I think one of the hardest things that comes with buying a house is wanting to fix everything ASAP. And it seems that every time I turn around I find something new that needs some attention. Yesterday I replaced the drip pans on the stove top and was thoroughly impressed with the amount of shine I added to the kitchen. I'm not an obsessive-compulsive neat freak by any means but this is just gross:

I'm really not sure what this guy was going for besides trying to dodge out of as much cleaning work as possible. "Oh I can see that crumbs are falling into these pans when I cook. Maybe if I wad up a bunch of aluminum foil and shove it down past the coils it'll solve that problem."

Anyway, it's not a huge house repair but it sure does make me feel better/able to eat anything that came from being cooked on these coils.

Ahhhh...it's the little things :)

Cat Haters: Disregard this post.

We have three cats. I'm an animal sucker and Grant, God love him, humors me. I love how low-maintenance cats are; they sleep all day, clean themselves and poo in a box. That last bit is the reason for this post. Since we've owned them, we've never had a specific room in our previous abodes to stash a litter box discreetly but this past week, we installed a cat flap in the door that leads out to the garage. It's working wonderfully. No litter pebbles on the floor to sweep up, no odor and the cats are enjoying exploring the garage. It's a win-win-win.

As you can see, it keeps Clive entertained too. My house shoes mysteriously keep showing up in the garage....

Progress!

Things are moving right along. Grant and my dad converted a coat closet next to the garage entry into a pantry for me and I'm thrilled! I was scared there wouldn't be enough room for dishes AND food in the kitchen cabinets so, problem solved. Here's the breakdown:

Grant hard at work....

Grant posing against his will....

 Shelves are in!

Pantry!!! (Yes, it's mostly condiments...don't judge.)

AND there's even room at the bottom for the food bowls. Double woot.

She's got pipes

...Just not very good ones. We had a complete plumbing workup done. It's not really the first thing you want to spend money on in the new house but definitely necessary considering the issues we had.

1.The toilets didn't really work.
2. The faucet in the main bath wouldn't stop leaking.
3. The stopper to the tub worked a little too well necessitating holding down the lever with your foot while shampooing your hair in order to drain water.

So we made a trip to Lowe's and bought 2 new toilets, a new sink vanity, a new kitchen faucet, various valves and hoses, called the plumbers and let them work their magic.

But the good news is that now it looks like this! And we don't have pipes laying in our backyard anymore. 

Move Day

I thought I'd share some photos of what the house looked like the morning we moved. It. Was. Disgusting. Period. I'm pretty sure the guy had never cleaned anything. 

Starting Out

Okay so I know our title isn't very catchy but A.) I'm not that creative and B.) it's the truth. Grant and I purchased our first home and we're over the moon about it! 


After weeks of negotiations, angry tirades and ill feelings toward the previous owner we struck a deal and prepared to move in. The morning of the move ( a Monday as he had insisted on having that weekend) we arrived to find that he hadn't moved anything out of the house. Our first two hours were spent bagging and chucking trash and various personal belongings into OUR front yard. He eventually came and got them. I could say a lot more but none of it is nice so I won't. 


We've immediately started on plumbing repairs and have an on-going list of improvements that need to be made but I guess that's life. I'm just so excited to have our own place! We're officially grown-ups now...bummer :)


Here she be! The Ranch as she is affectionately known: