Tuesday, June 21, 2011

I am a proud home owner, well,

I am a proud home owner, well, if you replace home with "cottage in someone's backyard" and owner with "renter".
I am really excited :) Today I went to the Wine & Spirits store to pick up a bunch of boxes and I also bought a bottle of sparkling wine. It came in this really modern looking bottle, and I am hoping it will make a good water carafe.

Good things: The Cottage!!!
- Most things went according to plan today, and work was good.
- Good music
- Dan and I had some interesting discussions about books.

to do:
Call PECO and Verizon
pack!
Save up.

Sunday, June 19, 2011

I'm getting my cottage!!

I talked with my now-landlords yesterday right before I went to work. They'd like to offer me the cottage!!! I am so excited, guys. I know it'll be a lot more money than I'm used to paying, but I think I will be okay.
The good news had me in a really good mood yesterday, which helped me through work (and fewer hours of sleep than I am used to) although by the end of the night I was pretty tired. I hadn't eaten since around 3 in the afternoon & I didn't clock out until after midnight. Dan and I fought a bit when I got home, he's working with his other fun-job this weekend and so he's not sleeping much either. He didn't have a great day at the job, but it was kind of hard for me to understand, mostly because I was tired from  my own suck job, and I was surprised how much he was complaining- I'm used to him just stepping up to the plate and making the best of it. I'll admit I'm also jealous, and worried, but that's a bit more than I should probably share here.
Today I'll get my restaurant schedule for the coming week and we'll see what is going on with the Flour Pot- unfortunately I am still working shorter hours, but that's because the girl I am replacing is still there (which isn't bad, really, because I still feel like I am learning)- I should make enough though. This little cottage is going to remain fairly unfurnished for a while, though.  The landlords are being kind and just starting the lease at July 1st even though they are letting me move in a little early. There's a woman and an older guy, who apparently was a biophysicist and electrical engineer and holds three degrees. So talking to him will be interesting.

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Yard Sale Saturday

I booked most of my day (pre-work tonight, which I agreed to do to help out some other staff who wanted off) on checking out yard sales in my town. I had found three on Craigslist- one supposedly a multi-family one in a housing development or apartment building. I also found someone selling a bunch of books, many of which I hoped to read, so today is a whole day of acquiring used things! :)
The first sale on my list turned out to be a bust. There wasn't much that interested me, but I did see some fabric scraps- I should have asked if she quilted. If I had kids or collected stamps, baseball cards, or Beanie Babies it might have worked well. On Beanie Babies: I feel like someday they'll be on Antiques Roadshow or in books as this great fad that then died and now you can still collect them in various states of wear. Someday, though- not anytime soon, but in like a few decades. And they still won't be particularly valuable.

It's okay that it was a bust though- it was a short walk and on the way back I discovered a few more streets in my town . On the way TO the yard sale, though, I passed ... you guessed it.. a yard sale! It seemed to be a few neighbors together. And here I scored some neat loot (still, though, no pictures, this is becoming a blog I'm going to be too bored to reread myself):
- $2.00: A smokey-clear Pyrex ovensafe (not stovetop-safe) covered dish, about 10" across
- $3.00 A bright pink reversible (to pink on black) mandarin jacket, silk or satin brocade. The pink side is missing a closure & the other closures are worn, so I think I'm going to remove those & replace them (probably with store-bought frogs instead of making my own). It's fairly well made, for that sort of cheapish kind of Chinese "traditional" clothing. There was another shirt that might have fit me as a tunic (or a dress for a child) with one layer of fabric, unline, unfinished seams- that's what's expected of that type of clothing, but this jacket had finished seams & even a bit of padding. The sellers said they got it in China & one of their daughters probably wore it once. It looks like more than once to me, but I wasn't going to make a fuss about it! Their daughters are adopted from China, which made me smile.
- with the jacket: An orange beaded coinpurse with clamshell closure (beaded to look like an orange) with a sticker inside that says "HANDMADE IN KOREA" -unfortunately that sticker will probably come off as I use it. I also saw a Liz Claiborne beaded purse with a C monogrammed onto it, but it wasn't as much my style.
- $0.50- A short aluminum water bottle, orange-yellow, SIGG style but not SIGG, with the WWF panda on it. Cute, even if I usually use Nalgenes.
- $2.25 for the box (an old glove box!)-A box of scarves, some polyester & acetate, one labeled "100% silk", several made in Japan.

All together? $7.75!

After coming back to unload & get 15 books (the guy was willing to meet me where I asked in town and the spines are nearly perfect, so I think a dollar a book was fair), I hit a bunch more yard sales- the majority of the ones in walking distance today, definitely- and got quite a bit of loot. Within sight of my apartment, one of my bags broke! It was just holding clothes & a few padded pieces of kitchenware, so I was all right.
I saw a yard sale on the way to another yard sale, and made it back without getting lost at all. A bike still would have been nice!
I scored:

$15- 15 books. 5 are part of Asimov's Foundation series (there are 7 in all), The Sea Wolf by Jack London, Survival in Auschwitz by Primo Levi, On the Road by Jack Kerouac, The Complete Poems of Anne Sexton, Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, Death of a Salesman by Herman Miller, As I lay Dying by William Faulkner, MAUS- 1 & 2, in a boxed set, and a book on the Guggenheim- with two postcards!

$8- Two dresses, one is Ann Taylor & the other might also be, that or Banana Republic. One fits great & the other is a bit blousy, it'll need a belt or something, but if I ever need to dress nicely AND eat a big meal I'm covered.

$7- A bunch of clothes for even cheaper! A dollar each- I could hardly believe it. I got a pair of 7 for all mankind jeans that fit great, another pair of American Eagle jeans that need a new button (& maybe a re-hem, but that's simple stuff), a sateen black trench by bebe, a silk dress by Banana Republic that fits.. a little strangely, but I'll work it out, a coral silky shirt by BCBG MaxAzria- I had been looking for more coral and orange clothing, although this shirt opens way low in the front, I hope I can fix it without stitches showing, and a cute cotton cropped sweater. Oh, and a tweedy wool blend (the wool is only about 10%, but it's also well made & fully lined) suit set- a skirt and jacket. I might splurge a bit more and have this taken in at the tailor shop- there is one below this apartment and he's apparently been there for several decades now!

$5- An old-school Corningware bowl, the kind you could put on the stovetop. Also a pin and a pair of grey rose earrings- I was looking at an Etsy seller the other day and considering a very similar pair, same color- and she threw in another pair of earrings.

$2- A shoe hanger for a closet, will be great in a tiny apartment

$20- A used-once Wilton cupcake tray ($3), Monk Season 5 ($5) and the rest went to Alex's Lemonade stand. I got a cup of lemonade AND I got to pet her awesome dog- a dachshund (possibly mixed, adopted) named Watson!! He was the best part of the day.

$3.25- A Pyrex baking pan, quite scratched but totally serviceable- no deep gouges, as well as a DVD (Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon), Nigella Bites by Nigella Lawson and a bowl with a chip in the rim but an English maker's stamp on the bottom- it's a pretty shape, & a pretty blue color, & if I get the cottage I am hoping for it will go well in the very-very-blue bathroom.

$5- I almost bought a Pyrex mixing bowl, but I was already carrying a lot (haha, this is BEFORE I got the large bag of clothing), and it was a bit chipped. Instead I got a cool piece of glassware- it's a wide squat cup, like a sherry or brandy snifter but wider, with a bowl that fits in the top. You can put ice in the base and then a dip or shrimp cocktail in the top little bowl. I thought it was neat, delicate, and could also make a good scotch glass -with a glass lid to hold in the vapors! I am excited to show Dan. The ladies at this yard let me have the $1 small Pyrex sauce/dip bowl with a pretty rim, for free with the fancy glass.

All of those little things did add up, though- to $73.50. An expensive day! But at the same time, considering that would be the cost of ONE new silk dress at Banana Republic or Ann Taylor, and not even the price of the 7 for all mankind jeans... and that I got some really neat stuff and I could walk to all of it- I think this was a great shopping day! We'll see what other yard sales come up this summer. It'll be fun!

Friday, June 17, 2011

Itty Bitty Ambler

My friend Matt (@vintagecoats on Twitter) said that would be a good name for a band, Itty Bitty Ambler. Sometimes I worry about posting my location online. I'm not telling you my address, but like the band name, Ambler is itty bitty. It's got some nice character to it though and on it's main-street-and-a-half it has an interesting assortment of shops. Working for two of them, I have heard that Ambler isn't particularly helpful to its small businesses. While I thought that having flowers planted and some events and things like a facebook page was helpful, I could see room for lots of improvements, like allowing better looking signs for out-of-the-way places and updating the bulletins.

I call it main-and-a-half because we have a main street that leads to the train station, and then an actual "Main St" running perpendicular- but it's a lot shorter and smaller.

I found my now favorite pizza in Ambler, Volare Pizzaria and I have to exercise some restraint to not go there for every and any meal opportunity. This week is hard, since I just learned about it and my messy terrible roommate had guests over last night- and now she'll be more or less away all weekend. SO the kitchen is a disaster area that's slowly becoming a biohazard. In fact, Dan and I went to Volare a few nights ago and split a pizza mostly because of her in the kitchen. It was nice- I had gotten cut from work very early, we had been fighting but made up, and it was a nice summery night. We saw fireflies on the way back!

Rosey's BBQ should be opening another branch in Ambler soon, and I'm excited to try it. It's a bit behind schedule on the opening so any day now.
On Craigslist I saw a posting for a thrift store opening up here! And yet, it wasn't a particularly good looking or professional advertisement of their company- no pictures, grammar was a bit lacking- and it's supposed to open in a few weeks (unless there is a delay, which they admitted to in their ad). I've known about Rosey's BBQ for almost three months. This thrift store may be a great cheap resource, one of those strange consignment shops, or it may never quite work out. I am so into the idea of thrift- and more places I can walk to- but a prevalence of thrift stores often doesn't say the best things about the economy of an area.

Also on Craigslist I found 22 new shot glasses for sale ( I think I am going to get them soon) and someone offering for free a framed painting of James Bond (Connery Bond). Exactly what Craigslist is for! If I get the cottage I'm hoping for, I will ask if the Bond painting is still up for grabs. Why not? There's also a free shelving unit but that will probably be taken soon. There are a handful of yard sales this Saturday, so I plan to scour those a bit!

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Keeping up!

I'm hardly keeping up with this blog, and I feel like I've got to work on keeping up with life! But I like this slightly busy feeling of having things to do. Last week I had worked a bunch, came home late Friday, and yet on Saturday.. I found myself wishing I had work or plans. I went to my friend's place and had a good, chill time.

Speaking of work: I got that second job! I am really enjoying it, and I smell like cookies when I leave. So far I think I am doing pretty well. However, since the girl I am replacing doesn't have her new job for sure yet, both of us are working until she does. Which means it goes a bit faster, (which means less hours) or in this week's case- I was scheduled for Monday and Tuesday and she had the rest of the week. I came in for extra help on Wednesday, then got cut early from my busser job that Wednesday night. I had some stuff to deal with at home, or I might have stayed.

And: I got into LaSalle! So my yarn diet is officially over, but since I have nothing planned to make (other than a giant blanket.. to add to all my other blankets..) I'm still mostly looking at fabric. I'm sure I'll be obsessed with yarn all over again soon, especially when it gets colder.

I registered to attend an open house, but the next one isn't until the middle of July. LaSalle might be a bit harder to get to than USP, on the train anyways- it's closer than the City.

I haven't been sewing much with these two jobs and being tired on the weekends. I did make a boxy pouch using this tutorial: http://threebears.wordpress.com/2007/10/15/little-boxy-pouch-tutorial/ (is it weird how popular that tutorial seems, but the blogger hasn't posted there since the tutorial went up.. in 2007?!) and I am impressed with myself! Even Dan said he thought it looked very professional. I gave it to him to corral all the little attachments for his beard trimmer. Even though the base of the trimmer has slots to put the attachments into... none of them fit and there are more attachments and accessories than there are slots. I also made him a little square tray to hold change.

I still can't find my camera cords and have yet to buy a new one for my ages-old camera, so no pictures.. worst blogger ever.

Currently on hold are the halter dress from the junior pattern (I'm really close on the bodice now, but seriously: next time just cut the smaller size! geeze!) and the big blue quilt. Part of why I am waiting is because I hope to be packing up my sewing machine soon in order to move out! I'm just waiting to hear back from a woman with a little cottage in her backyard!

If I get the cottage, there will be pictures.