Faux Comfort Food

To state the obvious, fall is here!  This is how I know:  #PSL.

via

I've never been a coffee drinker.  The taste of burnt dirt was never appealing to me in the past, but since I work from home I like to spend some time out of the house around other humans, and that inevitably brings me to coffee shops.  Recently I've started to acquire a taste for plain, black coffee.  It still takes willpower to not order a cafe mocha when I approach the counter, but I've been clean for months.  Today I visited a new (to me) coffee shop in my new-ish hood.  I saw "pumpkin chai" written on their chalkboard under "Specials" and I ordered it.  Not because of the pumpkin, but because of the chai- I was expecting some decaf earthy tasting tea (like the chai tea I have in my cupboard at home).  I realized my mistake when I took my first sip of the sweet, creamy concoction.  It was a pumpkin spice chai latte!  I accidentally ordered a PSL!  Ugh.  Now I have to tell you all the reasons I love fall...  Just kidding.  :)  Once the drink was in my hand, there was no turning back. I drank the whole thing.  All 354,782 calories.  And. it. was. so. good.  

That time I was a total sucker

Since we moved into our new house, we've been getting a ton of junk mail.  Like pounds of it.  Junk mail is one of my pet peeves.  A weird one, I know.  I can't believe companies spend money on direct mail pieces (my employer included)!  I spent a few minutes every morning this week calling companies and asking to be removed from their mailing list.  One of the pieces of junk mail I received (addressed to "Resident") was a shiny, colorful piece of card stock from a local car dealership telling me that I may have won a new car, $15,000 in cash, an iPad, or a Wal-Mart gift card.  Enticing, I know, especially the last prize.

I called their main line and simply asked to be removed from the mailing list.  Standard procedure.  Now, I have to give major props to the girl on the other line.  She asked which mailing piece I received, and I described it to her.  She then said, "Don't you want to claim your prize?"  Um, what?  She then proceeded to explain that if the number in the scratch off box matched the number printed on the paper, I was eligible for a prize, and to claim it I needed to make an appointment and come in.  I told her, Sorry, I'm not in the market for a car.  She said it's no problem, but I should come in and retrieve the prize that's rightfully mine.  I'm embarrassed to say that I made an appointment for 12:30pm that day.

I told my bf about this via text.  Surprisingly, he did not discourage me from going.  I would almost say, he encouraged me to go.  Probably so he could hear about how I awkwardly showed up at a car dealership demanding to be given the grand prize.  Well played, sir.

During my lunch break I drove to the car dealership on the other side of town through rush hour traffic, nervous that I'd look like a schmuck or a freeloader, or a wicked combination of both.  I arrived at the dealership and was welcomed by a super nice sales guy, whom I told, "I called to ask to be removed from your mailing list and the girl on the phone talked me into coming into claim my prize", as I proudly flashed the mailer to everyone in the show room.  "My appointment is at 12:30," I told him, thinking he'd bring me to a room behind a velvet rope where the prizes are kept alongside chilled bottles of champagne.  Instead, I sat down at his desk and he filled out a form with the info from my driver's license.  So now I'm probably on their permanent mailing list. Awesome.

"Now we'll walk over to The Board to see which prize you won!" he tells me, and parades me over to "The Board", which is in the back of the showroom, so everyone can laugh at the girl who came in to claim her prize.  I hate to admit that during this time I was thinking about all the house projects I could complete when I win the $15,000 grand prize.  I'm such a loser sometimes!

To win the good prize, the special number on your mailer has to match the number next to the picture of the pile of cash.  Mine didn't match that, or the new car, or the iPad... But EVERYONE is a winner at this dealership, so I won a Wal-Mart gift card in the amount of $5 to $25!  YEEE-HAW!

At the end of the day, I spent an hour of my time to drive to some obscure car dealership.  I came away with a Wal-Mart gift card and a purse full of business cards from the sales guy to pass out to friends.  The moral of the story: Direct mail really works!

Now I'm off to Wal-Mart to spend my gift card.  We're low on Funyuns.

Shelves: Splurge or Save

I just loooove online shopping.  Not for clothes or shoes- I have to try everything on.  But for household items and gifts, it's the best.  The bf and I use Amazon Prime and it has saved us bundles of money on shipping.  Need a bed frame for the guest bedroom?  Shop around on Amazon and BAM!  Two days later it's at our doorstep.  In our new place I decided we had to have a pair of shelves flanking the TV in the living room.  I'm not a fan of traditional TV stands.  Our TV is now mounted on the wall above an antique sideboard we found at a thrift store.  I wanted some open shelves on either side to add some height to the wall and to display some chotchkies from our travels and our books.

I found these in the Pottery Barn catalog for $349 each...

After hunting around on Amazon, I found these for $62 each.

I'm sorry to say this is a teaser post.  Did you think I was going to show you how they actually look in our coral-colored living room?  Well, I'm sorry to say it's not ready for the big reveal just yet!  If I showed you what our living room looks like right now you'd think we're hoarders.  The moral of the story is: Amazon Prime is worth it (and no, I'm not affiliated with Amazon, although it would be awesome to get paid for saying that, if anyone at Amazon wants to throw a few bones my way after the fact).

I'll try to have some real house pics to share soon!  :)

Travel Style

Helloooooo down there!  I'm looking down at some beautiful "flyover states" right now as we head to another wedding.  This one's in a little Colorado mountain town so it's perfect timing.  We're looking forward to trading 100 degree temps for low sixties.  Do I sound like a country bumpkin or a really old person if I say it always blows my mind when I'm connected from 35,000 feet?  Our two hour flight is nearly over, and I've replied to multiple work emails and set up two contracts since I've been on the plane.  Crazy awesome.  (Crawsome?)  I wish I didn't  have any work to do so I could enjoy streaming live TV like my bf over here!  Kidding... he's sitting next to me closing deals too (after he caught an episode of 30 Rock)!

Smile!

I got a new camera!

It's my first "grown up" camera.  A Canon EOS M purchased from Amazon.  My brother bought it first and suggested I purchase one as well.  What a great suggestion from my little bro the photographer.  It arrived in the mail last week and I've been having fun capturing little bits of life with it.  I'm heading to Southern California this weekend and I can't wait to use it for my travel photography instead of my cel phone camera.  :)  Here are some of my favorite pictures taken with it so far.

To buy or not to buy?

That's the question.  We looked at our mortgage loan paperwork last night and got a little freaked out!  Of course, this whole house shopping process is turning out to be more expensive than we expected.  We should have known, right?  The house costs a little more than what we wanted to spend (but we may have had unrealistic expectations considering the neighborhoods in which we're shopping).  The monthly payments are within our budget, but we were hoping to pay less so that we'd have more money to spend on fun things like travel.  We have eight days to decide if this is the place for us.

On one hand, we're getting the house below market value.  It's in a convenient location and the neighborhood is up-and-coming so we could potentially sell it in the not-too-distant future and make a sizable profit.  It's also highly rentable if we want to go that route.  I feel like it's a decent investment opportunity.  On the other hand, the monthly payment is almost as much as our rent, and we have to factor in paying for maintenance, which we don't have as renters.  I think the ultimate question is are we ready to be home owners?  I know it's in our budget to buy this house.  We're just getting cold feet because of the financial commitment.  We have to live somewhere, and right now we're getting zero return on investment for the rent money we're spending, and if we buy this place, we're doing something with our money that could turn a profit for us in the future.

Rent vs. buy... What would you do in this situation?

Our new house! (almost...)

We found out this morning that our offer was accepted on the house!

It felt like a relief, and scary at the same time, as this will be the biggest financial investment of my life so far.  This afternoon there was some confusion between the lender, Realtor, and us regarding who is covering the 3% brokers fee.  Fortunately, we worked it out.  I'm still confused as to whether it was a misunderstanding or if something had to be taken care of behind the scenes... but it worked out in our favor so we're grateful!  The inspection will be Friday and the potential closing day is August 13th.  I can't wait to get my hands dirty with this place.  It's in an excellent location and has such great potential.  Stay tuned for lots of DIY posts in the near future!

Holiday House Hunting

I don't usually say this, but I'm so glad it's Sunday!  We celebrated the Fourth of July this weekend (well, on Thursday so it was practically the weekend) as well as a good friend's wedding here in Dallas.  We also started our house hunting process, so I am exhausted today!

What better way than to celebrate Murica's b-day than with a dunk tank?

Home

Three months ago I moved from my tiny apartment room into a proper house with my boyfriend.  My name is now on a lease, something I've been free from for nearly two years (the same time I started this blog).  Since I sold all of my belongings in my epic garage sale, it's taken some time to curate our place. We have a few mementos from our trip to South Africa this summer and we've scored some neat second-hand furniture that accentuates the character of the house.  It was built in the 1940s so there are some upgrades that need to be done but (most days) I find its quirkiness quite charming! Here are some shots from in and around our house.

Easter Weekend Projects

Happy Easter y'all!  I spent this weekend hanging out with family in Oklahoma.  It's pretty low key up here, which is nice for a change!  I hit up a couple of thrift stores near my parents' home and found some great items!  I love buying second-hand.  It keeps old threads out of the landfill and allows me to get creative.  When thrifting, you have to know what you want since there are no advertisements or displays in the store to
controlguide you.

I found a very large yellow, linen skirt that I was able to alter into a little peplum number.  That paired with a Shelli Segal top from 1995 made a cute Easter outfit!



Before

A Nomad's Home

I have earth-shattering news.  I have a home.

I’ve been waiting to post this update for a couple of months, as I was planning to include pictures and wanted to have the place looking decent!  However, I've been busy lately with other changes in my life, which I'll share with you in the near future, so when my place is nice enough to grace the pages of Domino (I miss that magazine!) you'll find them here.

First things first.  I'll explain how it happened.  When I began my nomadic venture this past November, I wanted to find a permanent home that fit my needs, rather than jumping into the first thing that was available.  I wanted the right size, price, and location, and at the time had expressed interest in a job on my team located in Chicago, so I wanted to remain flexible and avoid a lease at all costs.

One of my very generous friends is a pilot, and I often crashed at his apartment when he was on trips during my extended nomadness.  Lucky for me, he had the opportunity to “upgrade” apartments in his complex and moved into a one-bedroom, one-bathroom place with new hardwood floors, granite countertops, vaulted ceilings, and a spare room.  Guess who is living in spare?  That's right- yours truly!

The situation is perfect for me.  (I hope my roommate says the same!)  The location is perfect, space is just right, and my rent is priced accordingly, so I’m still able to stock away savings every paycheck.  We rarely cross paths so it’s a pretty low-maintenance relationship.

The New Christmas

My family is extremely traditional.  My parents still live in the house where my brother and I grew up.    (It’s always refreshing and familiar to visit home and my mom always puts a package of Ferrero Rocher’s on my pillow before my arrival.)  Up until last year, holidays have been the same familiar routine.  We all congregate at my Grandparents’ home (built by my Dad and Grandpa in the 80s) on five acres of land with two dogs, ten chickens, one rooster, and eight vintage Farmall tractors (Grandpa’s hobby is restoring them) and stuff ourselves silly, no matter what we’re celebrating.   Last year things in the family started to change.  All of the grandkids are now adults.  The first great-grandchild, Baby Theo, joined the family last October.  My cousin Edward put down roots in China.  This year things are even more different.  Edward is now in India and Andrew, his brother, has joined him for a few months.  Elizabeth, their sister, is in Africa for a year, so the big family gatherings are considerably smaller.

My brother Nicholas is going to graduate from college in May and is spending a lot of time contemplating what he wants out of life and what is most important to him.  Thanks to his introspective reflection on what he truly values, he suggested that instead of exchanging gifts on Christmas morning, we buy presents for a needy family of four.  My parents and I loved the idea, so on Black Friday we braved the consumer madness and purchased Christmas gifts for our adopted family.  It was a lot of fun to shop as a family, and it was much more fulfilling to give to a good cause instead of giving each other silly presents like kitchen gadgets, coffee table books, or Snuggies.  This new direction in gift-giving was a relief to me, because as a currently homeless person, I have worried about storing Christmas gifts in the trunk of my car where space is limited as well as what to do with the things people give me that I don’t have a place for.

Step One: The Purge

My decision to become “electively homeless” or “nomadic” was relatively painless.  I simply decided I’d take it one day at a time and when I get tired of it, I’ll get a home again.  Easy.  The difficult decisions had to do with my stuff. 

In our culture, though we may not want to admit it, we often correlate a person’s success with the things that they own.  Cars, clothes, and homes are the most obvious examples, when we don’t know if the person living in a pent-house and driving a luxury car is maxed out in debt.  We live in a land of consumer-culture driven by big businesses placing ads everywhere to entice us to purchase.  Have you ever bought something to “reward” yourself for an accomplishment or to “treat” yourself on a bad day, even if it wasn’t the right thing to do financially?  I definitely have! 

Over the years, I’ve amassed a nice collection of stuff.  Some of it has sentimental value (souvenirs from trips, gifts from special people in my life) but most of it is purely functional (even if that function is to make my home or self more aesthetically pleasing).  Moving, whether you’re downsizing or not, is the best way to streamline the things you own.  Each time I’ve moved, I’ve been amazed at the little things I’ve found.  My roommates and I would say, “Wow, I had no idea we still had that!” Or “What is this thing and how long has it been in this drawer?”  The opportunity cost of not knowing what you have is that you are missing out on a chance to sell things before they’re outdated or to donate to someone less fortunate who could benefit immediately. 

My very first step in the purging process was to make a mental list of everything I owned and decide if I needed it on hand as I stay from place to place, if I wanted to store it, or if I wanted to get rid of it.  It seemed simple at first, but it was a much more complicated process than I’d anticipated.  The knick-knacks from my trip to Spain.  The bottles of sand from Costa Rica, Bermuda, Australia.  The pictures from high school and college (pre-digital camera).  My journals.  These were things that I don’t need, but didn’t know how to part with them because they can’t be easily replaced, or replaced at all.  I finally decided that all my souvenirs had to go, and I would refer to digital photos when I wanted to reminisce.  Done.  Pictures and journals would store, and everything else, literally, would be sold! 

It was both scary and liberating to pour my life’s possessions on my front lawn, watch strangers rummage through it all, and challenge my prices.  How could someone NOT think my Pottery Barn vase isn’t a steal at eight dollars!  I paid almost fifty for that!  It amazing how quickly things we purchase depreciate in value.  Garage sale experts say to price your belongings at 30% of what you paid, but my experience was not that fruitful!  After two long, hard days, it was all gone.  No more furniture, books, pictures, dishes.  All I owned were my remaining clothes, laptop, camera, basic toiletries, a suitcase, backpack, and towels.  The garage sale was successful as a) I got rid of everything and b) made more than enough money to pay off all my credit card debt! 

The last few nights in my empty, echoing house sleeping on a borrowed air mattress were depressing.  I told myself to cherish the time, as I still had a roof over my head that I could call my own and would have a lot less alone time as I stay with friends every night of the week.  Admittedly, I never made it through a full night at my house because it was way too quiet, and I prefer the company of my peeps to being alone.  Fortunately I had people to call anytime I wanted to see a friendly face.  Without any stuff or even a home of my own confirmed my feelings that I’m at a point in life in which I measure my success by the relationships I have, not the inanimate objects that surrounded me for years.  This makes me happy and on Thanksgiving I thought of you all and how much I appreciate you in my life!  From the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU!  xoxo