Monthly archives: March, 2017

Call the Plumber, Darling

When we took on our upstairs renovation, it was with the understanding that it would take a while because we intended to DIY almost everything ourselves. However, sometimes it can pay to call in a professional, so I thought I’d take a minute to detail what we take into consideration when we decide to contract …

Up All Night With the Doorknobs Loose

There are two doorknobs in the house that are not quite making the cut these days. The bathroom doorknob usually behaves, but every once in a while, it falls off and locks in a guest (or one of us). The door to the front bedroom is totally broken. You have to use pliers to open …

Masters of War: Phragmites australis

Here’s our first monthly “Masters of War” series post, which highlights invasive species in Michigan so you can recognize and help report them. I thought we’d start off with this particular plant since our first featured scientist, Jake Bonello, spends a lot of time mapping its location and treating it. Name: Phragmites australis, commonly called Phrag …

Our House

Alternate post title: Mortgages for Millennials We know a few couples who are looking to buy houses in the next few months, and have been answering a lot of questions about the mortgage process for them. It occurred to me that mortgages are confusing (we learned that first hand) and having recently (FINALLY) completed the …

Paint It Black

By now, you’ve seen a picture or two of our little house, but just as a reminder, this is what it looked like when we first moved in:   The white aluminum siding is was filthy and very chalky looking. The dusty blue color above the porch and on the shutters was in good shape, …

Plant Your Love

I mentioned emphasizing native plants in my post “Looking Out My Backdoor”, and got a request for what some of my favorites are. The short answer is almost ALL of them (not poison ivy), but that’s not really helpful. I could end up writing another 15 page long post just on natives, but I decided …

Can’t Keep It In

Today is my wonderful husband’s 28th birthday. I warned you that occasionally you’d have to hear about how great I think he is, and today you’ll just have to tolerate it because it’s his special day and I love him to pieces. I’m going to try to describe to you how great he is and …

Burrito, I’m in Love

I don’t know how anyone else feels about this, but for me, moving out of my parents’ house came with a whole lot of responsibilities I didn’t have to manage before. I had to keep the house clean, feed myself, feed the dog, make sure the bills got paid on time, and continue staying on …