The Saga of Our New Home

This is kind of long, but if you want to know the whole story, here it is.

Sixteen years ago this month, Jay and I were newly weds building a house for our family.   Sixteen years ago in October we moved into that house that seemed so huge at the time (for just the two of us).   Along came three children and our family grew as our house seemed to shrink.  

About 8 years ago we felt like we had out-grown our house and decided it was time to find something larger.  We started looking and planned to put our house up for sale.  We live in a great area so we really wanted to find something in our same neighborhood.  People are often looking to move into our area so as soon as a few people heard we were thinking of selling we had an offer without ever putting our house up for sale.  

So, we signed a contract to sell our house (for the market value at that time), started packing, hired a real estate agent, and started looking in earnest for our new home.  Really looking.  A lot.  Like every day.  At lots of houses.  Our buyers were living with family so they were able to be flexible on our closing, so we weren't super worried.  But then something strange happened.  Houses began selling within an hour of being listed and for much more than the asking price.  There were bidding wars on houses that weren't even that great, and lotteries for new homes.  Home prices skyrocketed and suddenly we were selling our house for about HALF of the current market value.  (Remember this craziness in 2005?)  We discovered that couldn't have afford something similar to the house we were selling, let alone buy something larger, even if we could manage to get in an offer before someone else. 

Since there was no contingency in our contract we really started panicking.  And praying.  Really hard.  We were stuck, and kind of desperate.  We found ourselves willing to make offers on houses we didn't even really like, in locations we didn't want, which really scared me.  Suddenly our "little" house looked really desirable again and we just wanted to stay put!  There ended up being some complications with the closing so we kindly returned the earnest deposit, and it ended up being best for everyone involved. 

So, over the next 8 years we stayed in our home and made the best use of the space we have as our children grew and their stuff and friends got bigger.  We like to entertain and continued to do so even with limited space.  I really do love this house, and we love our neighborhood and the whole area.  

But I never really stopped looking at houses and dreaming.  Our "ideal" was still to find a larger house in our same neighborhood, or very close by.  We always felt that if we were patient then the right house for the right price would come along at the right time.  And it did.

At the end of April, the week before we were to leave the country for 2 weeks, I was out jogging around the neighborhood one morning.  As I ran by a house in our "ideal" part of the neighborhood which I had run/walked/biked/driven by at least a hundred times before I saw something different.... a for sale sign!  I had never really given this particular house a second glance, but now it certainly caught my eye now!  I didn't want to get my hopes up and assumed we probably wouldn't be able to afford it, and figured I probably wouldn't like it anyway (from the outside it wasn't "my style"), but I figured what-the-heck.  (I work hard to not get my hopes up.)

So, I called the number on the sign and went to see it about an hour later.  Investors had bought it as a short sale and had just started fixing it up in preparation to list it (they had just put up a sign that day but weren't ready to list it yet).  I could see it was a nice house but kept telling myself it wasn't my style.  But I couldn't stop thinking about it.  I told Jay about it and he rolled his eyes.  Then I suggested he go see it with me, which he did the next day.  The next day we went to see it again.... and I liked it more.  The next day I took my stylish sister with me, asking her to point out all the things that were wrong with the house and to tell me why I shouldn't want it.  Instead she told me all the wonderful things about it and I finally admitted how much I really liked it.  She asked me to list the things that were most important to me in a house.  That's when I realized it had everything I was looking for, and more.  It was true love.  

The next day I took my parents to see it, wanting my dad to give his approval... or not.  He has been in the home building business for 40 years so he knows what he is looking at and is very particular.  I was braced for his criticism of the house so I was shocked when he only said things like, "This is a really nice house.  They are doing a really nice job fixing it up."  My construction-management BIL who knows a thing or two about construction came along too and gave his approval.  I was sold.  Now I just had to convince Jay.... or so I thought.  It turns out Jay liked it too.  

By the next day the sellers had accepted our verbal offer.  The timing was terrible because we were leaving for Europe in a few days, and we knew we would have to sell our house really fast!  But I was surprisingly calm about the whole thing.  I knew that if it was meant to be that things would fall into place.  And they did.

The next day I sent out an email to some family and friends saying, "We made an offer on a house and need to sell ours fast.  Let me know if you know of anyone who might be interested."  Within an hour I had people calling me.  Someone came to look it that night.  Another person came the next morning... and came back that afternoon saying she wanted it.  The next day we signed contracts on both houses and the next day we left for Europe.  It was crazy, but everything fell into place. 

I have mixed emotions about the whole thing since this is the only home our family has known.  I'm excited about the new home we are moving to, but feeling a little sad about all the memories we are leaving behind.  Thankfully we are selling our beloved home to someone wonderful, so we know it will be in good hands.  

It's a wonderful little house and it's been good to us!  Now, on to the next chapter....

Easy Awn

I forgot to tell you where I got this great awning. I bought it from EasyAwn.com and had a great experience; ordering was simple, the price was great, they shipped it right away, delivery was free and FAST, the product was exactly as advertised, and it was easy to install. I am very pleased. So, if you are looking for awnings, I can definitely recommend them.

"Before" and "After"

My boys' bedroom, which is at the front of our house, has always been really hot because of the sun shining on this big window. We had shutters installed years ago, and that helped some.


On Saturday, Jay installed this awning. It helps A LOT! Plus, I love how it looks. BONUS!

Ranch Trip - Part 2

We spent 5 days at the ranch. Of lot of that time was spent in the kitchen (a big giant open room), cooking, eating, washing dishes, visiting, and making crafts. A lot of the eating including the bounty from the huge garden (it looks more like a small farm!). Yum!
There was so much zucchini (enormous!) and we discovered a creative way to use it.... "Apple Crisp!" You would never know it was zucchini and not apples. It was delicious! It was so much fun to watch people eat it, and then see their shocked faces when we told them what it was. (see recipe below)

The younger girls spent lots of time making jewelry from the plethora of beads....
... and the teenagers and women made tote bags. Here is one of several I made.
"APPLE CRISP" aka "Ranch Apple" Crisp

8 C. zucchini, peeled, seeded and diced (about the size of canned pineapple chunks)*
2/3 c. lemon juice
1 c. sugar
1 c. brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg

In a large saucepan, cook zucchini and lemon juice over medium heat until zucchini is tender. Add sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg and cook for a few minutes more. Remove from heat and let sit.

Crust:
4 C. flour
2 c. sugar
1 1/2 c. cold butter
1 tsp. cinnamon

Mix flour, sugar and cinnamon in a large bowl. Cut in cold butter until mixture resembles course crumbs. Stir 1/2 of mixture into the zucchini and spread in 10x15" jelly roll pan. Top with remaining crumb mixture and sprinkle on additional cinnamon is desired. Bake at 375 degrees for 35-40 minutes. Serve warm with real whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

OPTIONAL VERSION: Cook the apples in a very large cast iron skillet and just bake it in the same pan.

*Make sure to peel the zucchini completely and remove ALL of the seeds!

Favorite Kitchen Gadgets - Part 3

When it comes to butter... real, sweet, creamy butter... I don't give a hoot about fat or calories or cholesterol. I'm sorry, but I simply refuse to substitute it for anything else.

The Butter Bell is the ONLY way to go. It keeps a cube of butter at the perfect consistency safely for 30 days (as long as you change the water every few days). [Though who would ever need to keep it that long.... eat it!] There is nothing better than a slice of warm whole wheat bread just out of the oven, slathered with butter. Mmm.

And for those times when you need to melt that butter and brush it over something, you must have a silicone pastry brush. I would never dream of using a bristle one anymore... those disgusting old germy things.... ewwww!
I mean, really. After you brush melted butter over your lovely [raw] rib eye steaks (and then rub with a mix of coarse salt, fresh ground pepper, crushed garlic, rosemary and thyme; grill and then think you died and went to heaven while you eat it.... which I only do once a year) will you EVER be able to use it to brush butter on dough to make cinnamon rolls? With a bristle brush, no way. (I don't care how much you wash it.) But with silicone, just throw it in the dishwasher and you're good.

Thank you silicone!

Favorite Kitchen Gadgets - Part 2: SALAD

I make a lot of salad, which absolutely requires a lettuce knife. No more brown lettuce! Instead of buying those expensive bags of pre-washed/pre-cut lettuce that seem to contain more stem than leaf, and which seem to go bad quickly, you can pre-wash and pre-cut* your own. (Just remember to dry it and store it wrapped in slightly damp paper towels, and sealed in a zip-loc bag.) Lettuce knives are pretty cheap, and they all work the same (plastic or vinyl) so it doesn't really matter where you buy it or what brand it is. (I got mine at Target... about $3.)

Before you store all that lovely pre-washed/pre-cut lettuce that is ready to grab [so you can throw together a salad at the last minute to make your otherwise lonely pasta dish seem more like a meal instead of a poor excuse for dinner], you need to dry it off.

A salad spinner is the ONLY way to do this (it's also great for spinning other veggies you have washed and chopped for a stir-fry or something, so the water won't splatter when it hits the hot pan).
I have owned a few salad spinners, but this one is the ultimate! It is huge (Zyliss has two sizes, so make sure you get the larger one!) and super strong! I works unbelievably well. The mechanism is genius.

Now you need some great vinaigrette with yummy fresh garlic in it. I think I have owned every gadget invented for garlic. Some have worked better than others, and some not at all. I finally found a garlic press that is really nice (and way too expensive for something so simple, but I bought it anyway because I love garlic and use it a lot).

But this summer my mom introduced me to a new (to me) method, that is surprisingly easy. You probably already own one of these mini-graters. (This photo is about life-size!)Just take your clove of garlic (peel and all) and hold it by the root end, in the tips of your fingers. In the other hand, hold the grater, and shred that little clove. The skin stays together and protects your fingers, and the flesh comes out perfectly minced. (If you are worried about your fingers smelling like garlic, don't worry.... when you rinse out the grater you will be rubbing your fingers over the metal, which makes the smell disappear. I don't know how it works. It just does.)

And if you want to know how to get your kids to eat salad [and maybe even learn to like it] then read this.

*FOR BEGINNERS (or dummies, like me): I used to hate washing and cutting lettuce because it was such a pain... until my little sister (who went to culinary school) taught me the right way to do it! Don't wash and cut... cut and THEN wash. And DON'T chop off the end first, like I used to do. While the head is all still attached together, make several slices from the root to the tips, then slice in the opposite direction from the tip down, and it's ready to wash.

Now for washing; take the bowl of your salad spinner and take out the strainer and set it in the sink. Put one drop of mild dish soap (I like Method Cucumber!) in the bowl and fill it with water. Chop your lettuce, dump it in the soapy water, give it a few swishes, and then pull it out by handfuls (don't dump it because then all the junk that settled to the bottom will wash back onto the lettuce) and drop it into the strainer part of your salad spinner. Rinse with clean water (use your sink sprayer if you have one), and then put the spinner together and give it a whirl!

Favorite Kitchen Gadgets - Part 1

Whenever Jay asks me for gift suggestions, I always come up with kitchen items, and he always rolls his eyes and groans, "I'm not going to give you that. That's boring." But then I always explain that kitchen gadgets are "toys" for someone like me who spends a lot of time in the kitchen.

So, here are a few of my favorite kitchen gadgets. More to come.

Since the only peanut butter we eat is the all-natural kind (and we eat a LOT of it) with the separated oil floating on top, this item (discovered by my mom at the incomparable Lehman's in Ohio) is a huge time-saver (and mess-saver) for me. (We go through at least a jar a week.) It is truly amazing. And to think I used to torture myself stirring that mess without this wonderful low-tech gem.
For someone who rolls a lot of dough, a tapered French rolling pin is the ultimate. I will never go back to one with handles. You have a lot more control this way, and it covers a much larger area. Now I can roll an enormous circle of dough in seconds.
When you need to slice a large bowl of strawberries, a basket of mushrooms, a can of olives, etc. (or eggs of course), this cheap little egg slicer does the trick in a jiffy. Way cool!

Simple

Whenever I go to someone's house during December and see how cute their house is decorated with Christmas stuff, I always lament my extreme lack of Christmas decor. I'm pretty cheap about it too.

Around our house, we put up a Noble fir purchased from Home Depot, and decorate it very simply with white lights, ornaments given to us as gifts or passed down, and cheap candy canes (you know the boxes of 12 for $0.88 at Wal-Mart) that are easily broken.... and replaced.

The first Christmas we were married, my sister-in-law gave me a lovely wreath that was custom-made by her neighbor. We hang it on our door every year... though it's now missing several of it's decorations.

My sister, Charity, bought me an olivewood Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus when she spent a semester at the BYU Jerusalem Center. That goes on my entry table, and always reminds me of my dear sister who I miss so much.

We hang the same stockings that I ordered from a catalog year ago.... from our built-in bookcases because we don't even have a fireplace in our house (who needs a fire in the desert?). Some people get new ones every year... what's up with that?

Jay hangs a row of simple white lights along the roof line of our house, and that's about it. This year I did buy one new item... a snowglobe/music box from Target, for $12.

Our house feels under-dressed compared to most others.... not even worth posting pictures or even taking them. And from my description, you have probably begun to feel some pity for me. But don't! I love it!

I have always preferred simple. Number 1, I don't have to store a ton of junk; #2, I don't have to spend days putting it all up and taking it down; and #3, we keep it simple.

And though we say we are going to do so every year, this year we finally did it.... we kept the gifts simple. Now I'm excited to enjoy the season.... Christmas music, baking, taking goodies to elderly neighbors, and teaching my children the true meaning of Christmas.

"You gotta get some mawble cawlumns!"

I became physically ill while viewing the photos of this house ("house" hardly qualifies as an appropriate term for this monstrosity), which Emily blogged about. (Don't take the "Property Tour" on a full stomach.) It certainly can't be called a "home" because no one could actually live a normal life with a family in such a place... you would never SEE your family. Obviously, they were going for the palatial look. It's really ridiculous, and that's all I'm going to say about that.

Then I had a good laugh when I realized anyone can get this look by following the instructions from one of my favorite SNL skits.