Yearly Archives: 2011

This year has been our first real “homeowners” adventure together. Last October when we learned we’d be relocating to Cincinnati only one week after our wedding, our initial list of desirable qualities in a place to call our own included a nice yard, a little seclusion, a basement, ample storage space, a driveway and/or garage that can fit two vehicles and a trailer, a decent amount of square footage, a fair price, a good neighborhood, a home that’s actual building and grounds were well cared for, and a place that’s close enough to the lures of the city, but far enough away for a little country-time peace and quiet. These are all reasonable requests. And we found a great little place that suited our needs, for the most part. We love our home and we’ve had a blast!

However, six months later, we’ve lived and learned and had our whimsical little bubble popped and now we’re a little wiser and we have a few more “must-haves” to add to our list for the next time around. These include: Waterproof (this is generally a good rule of thumb), new (or at least clean and unstained) carpet, insulated (for the love of God, insulated so we don’t roast in the summer and freeze in the winter and blow all our money doing so!), windows and doors with proper sealing and able weather-stripping, large trees that are healthy and do not crack and come crashing into our yard with alarming regularity, up-to-date and safe plumbing and electrical wiring not left over from 1937, a sound foundation that isn’t bowing in and is in no danger of imminent collapse, ample cabinets for food and gear storage in the kitchen, and – if we’re going to be picky – just a twinge closer to work might be nice. To complicate matters, we still want our original set of criteria to apply too. All of that plus a steal of a price and breathtaking views. That’s not too much to ask for, right?

Well, maybe.

Let me be clear, we love our home. We always will. It was our first house together, the place we moved into as newlyweds. It’s charming and lovely and set-back off the road and all ours! It has a fantastic yard with beautiful views, plenty of wildlife to cozy up to, offers privacy and seclusion, is located in a beautiful and safe neighborhood with an ice cream shop within walking distance, and has a full-level basement, personal parking lot, and lots of room for all our stuff. But when we signed the lease, we didn’t know to check that the house is insulated, that the doors and windows seal, that the basement doesn’t leak, that the foundation is sound, and that all the wiring and plumbing is well-kept. Rookie mistakes. It all seems so clear now, but if you’ve never owned a home before, these things aren’t just inherently obvious. We didn’t realize how hilly and uneven the yard is and how much of a pain-in-the-ass it is to mow. We didn’t think too much about the 316 foot driveway and the 2.5 hours of snow shoveling that would surely occur at 6 a.m. on weekday mornings four months out of the year. We didn’t realize we’d have hundreds of dollars worth of electric bills to pay every month from that lack of insulation, that the trees were heavy and old and dying and would fall into our yard come summer, and that we’d guess that foundation wasn’t going to make it past next winter. We didn’t budget to include not only rent, but also insurance, electric, water, internet, trash and more – all of which added hundreds of dollars to the monthly price tag. To be fair, I think Ted knew all of this, but I fell in love with this house and there was no convincing me otherwise. It was, by far, the nicest house we’d toured. Ted likes it too. It would have been a mistake to let it pass us by.

So, as we began to move forward last week to spend the long days of summer and early fall browsing houses, townhouses, and apartments for rent, something occurred to us. Houses are great. Having land is great. All those things on our initial list of qualities are great. But we’re young and we have our whole lives ahead of us to find a house that is everything we want and more. City living, apartment living might not be so bad for a couple of years. When we first got married, I wanted a house. We’re adults, we’re married and it was our first opportunity to have a house, so I was bound and determined we’d rent a house. And you know what? I love living in a house. But when better to live in the city than when you’re young and can handle the stairs up to your 3rd floor flat? It might be nice to live somewhere closer to downtown, where we can bike to work or at least substantially decrease our daily commute. It might be nice to live in an apartment where we’re not responsible for mowing a lawn every week, or hauling away fallen trees, or shoveling snow off a long driveway. It might be nice for a few years to live in a newer place with insulation. It might be nice to stay somewhere smaller and cheaper and build up our savings account in the meanwhile. We have years of home ownership and maintenance and landscaping ahead of us. We don’t need to rush into it all right now (unless the too-perfect-to-pass-up house that meets all our desires and boasts solar and geothermal energy for $100,000 presents itself). I’m not saying we’re rushing full steam ahead toward to a swanky downtown loft, or a townhouse in the suburbs, or a sweet little apartment, or a just-right house for rent in the hills of the tri-state. But we’re keeping our options open.

What tops your list of must-have criteria for your future home?

I moved away from my hometown in the Texas Hill County nearly eight months ago. Apparently, a lot has changed.

As a kid, growing up in Boerne could have been described as “peaceful.” We had a town swimming pool, a library, a nature center, a gymnastics center, a bakery, an old-time bowling alley frequented almost exclusively by seniors with a nicotine addiction, an animal league/thrift store from which I hoarded cats, a German polka band, a Main Street full of antique stores, and – for a little spice in our lives – there was the Dairy Queen. There were also a lot of ranches with rolling hills perfect for the dreadful 5k walks I was dragged on and an outstanding population of longhorns, horses, roadrunners and armadillos. Please don’t think us uncivilized – we did have 20 churches, 10 bars and a post office. Hardly a child’s paradise. I didn’t quite appreciate the charm of Boerne back then.

As my high school years rolled around Boerne became slightly less dull with the addition of a Sonic Drive-In restaurant, a Blockbuster for movie rentals, a great snow cone stand with at least 100 flavors of awesomeness to choose from and the nicest snow cone lady in existence, one or two shops on Main Street that carried clothing a teenager might consider wearing, and – the crown jewel – a Super Wal-Mart which was blessed by Preacher Bubba Stahl while the BHS band marched through the aisles playing lively orchestral tunes (I’m serious). Impressive indeed.

In college a few more young-adult worthy shops appeared on Main Street, Marble Slab Creamery opened its doors, a pampering massage salon went up, Beer Fest began, the Urgent Care Clinic and Hospital were born, and a delicious Thai restaurant (ethnic food in Boerne? Amazing!) and an organic vegetarian restaurant also came to grace our small town. We had hit the big leagues (but really, it was that Super Wal-Mart that pushed us over the edge)! In the year before I left Texas to get married and become a resident of Ohio, I lived with my parents in Boerne and worked at an excellent youth theatre in San Antonio. At about this time people suddenly decided San Antonio was getting too crowded and the Hill County was the place to be. New homes and big commercial developments began cropping up along I-10 West, looming closer to our dear little town. The Boerne of my childhood, which in the 1990’s was certainly in no imminent danger of being labeled as a “cool place to live” (just ask the escaped trio of alpacas that ran rampant down Main Street one Christmas during the Dickens on Main celebration), was getting just a little bit cooler – both a welcome and unwelcome change.

I arrived home this weekend and, upon driving into town, one thought came to mind:  When did Boerne get so hip!?

A Main Street full of happening young stores stocked with mod yet vintage-inspired clothes and accessories that even I had to try on! A popular 50’s burger joint that serves the latest and greatest fry trend – sweet potato fries! An HEB Plus in the works the size of Rhode Island! A brand spanking new state-of-the-art library with energy efficient instruments, the latest technology, and stunning views of the Hill County from its multi-level windows and dry-erase walled kid lounge! A women’s shelter breaking ground! A swankily decorated gluten-free, sugar-free, non-fat, low-cal Frozen Yogurt shop with odd hippie toppings like boba beads in place of the old pewter store! Marketing firms with funky logos and creative advertising materials!

Very cool, very hip, but what’s happened to the Boerne I knew? The Boerne of the girl scout troop, 4H club, vacation bible school, rodeo, tiny 4th of July fireworks displays, and the annual Berges Fest parade? I mean, those are all still there and we’re still a long ways off from getting anything as outrageous as an art museum, movie theatre, shopping mall, Brazilian Steakhouse, Sushi bar, or sports arena and concert venue…but a hip frozen yogurt parlor and stores that carry stylin’ maxi dresses instead of blue jean vests with embroidered horses? Now we’re pushing the limits! On one hand, it is really great to have things to see and do without the 30 minute drive to the big city, but it’s also hard to imagine Boerne as anything other than a tiny little German town with a blooming senior population, parched grass in desperate need of water, and a small handful of basic country amenities. I love it all the same, but I can’t wrap my mind around Boerne as the new hip place to be.

Ready for the picture proof?

How has your town changed?

More to come in the next few days – Wildlife at Enchanted Springs Ranch, a Texas food diary guaranteed to make you drool, Sancho lovin’, my awesome friends, and a surprise for me!

I’m still tremendously enjoying my brief Texas vacay but thought I’d drop by for a minute to regale you with a little late 1990’s-early 2000’s nostalgia brought on by a highly entertaining discussion at last night’s dinner with my dear friends. I think these few things just about sum up the gradeschool experience of any child who attended school in San Antonio between 1993 and 2001.

First, we have the popcorn shirt. This was fashion excellent at its trendiest. My friend Julia from Wisconsin wasn’t familiar with this sexy style. Apparently this was a Texas thing? The best part was that it started out itty bitty and stretched to fit you. We saw a lady wearing one last night and it brought back all kinds of stylin’ memories. If you were a kid growing up in San Antonio, don’t even pretend that you didn’t own or seriously wanted to own one.

Do you remember the ever-popular rainbow pencil that was sold for $0.25 out of a pencil machine at every single elementary school in south-central Texas? They were top-notch and cool enough that they were actually prone to being stolen by your peers. You definitely didn’t lend these babies out to your friends. If you had these, you were officially rad. These little gems ranked right up there with glittery gel pens and mechanical pencils, which were about the hippest thing ever to an 11-year-old. Last night Emily divulged that she used to participate in the black market purchasing of mechanical pencils for $5 per pencil in elementary school. They were that cool. She said that $5 per pencil seemed reasonable at the time. I about died laughing.

Ah yes, the power bead bracelet. Another must have accessory. Again, don’t pretend you didn’t own at least 5 in a variety of colors and wore all five daily because they brought you powers such as stregth, patience, grace, wisdom, and skinnyness.

Here we have The Battle of the Alamo Imax film that played at Rivercenter Mall’s Imax Theatre. If you went to gradeschool in San Antonio, you DID see this film. If you were extra lucky, as many of us were, you saw this film every. single. year. for six years in a row. You had it memorized. You preffered field trips to the actual Alamo, The McNay Art Museum, The Witte Museum, the HEB Treehouse, The Children’s Museum, The Tower of the Americas, The Magik Theate, The San Antonio Missions, and even the San Antonio Symphony Orchestra performances you were dragged to, but let’s be real, if anyone escaped their schooling years without seeing this cinematic masterpiece at least once (you didn’t), you must have been home schooled. This film is still playing 15 years later.

Pogs and slammers. I have to be honest – I have absolutely no idea what the point of these were, except that you played some kind of game with them (that I obviously don’t remember) and you traded them back and forth and they were a blazing hot commodity. As kids we had millions of them in every imaginable color and pattern and you traded for prettier ones and kept them in special pogs scrapbooks. They were glittery and metallic and the biggest waste of space and time ever. I cannot get over how big the obsession with these things was. I had them, but what was the point of them again? It was just one of those things you had to have in order to exist as a kid in San Antonio.

Watermelon lollipops covered in chili powder, Lucas, and Twang. Nowhere else on Earth other than in Mexico and Texas would it occur to people to coat everything from fruit to lollipops to pickles in absurdly spicy, salty or sour candy powder that, like an acid, eats away at your intestines. This stuff was addictive. It could be purchased at the sketchy south-side Walmarts, from gas stations, street vendors, and the gradschool black market where kids bought it and sold it to other kids for a $0.25 profit (so you could in turn buy a metallic rainbow pencil). You’d think these were drugs and not candy. Unless you’ve had this before, I don’t think I can explain Lucas to you. It’s red and spicy and sour and hot and to automatically decrease the nutritional value of nearly anything, you just spinkled this on it. I may have to buy some today and bring it back to Ohio so Ted can experience the life of a child in San Antonio.

Along those same lines were the most popular after-school snacks for San Antonio school children, all of which were sold at the school by the cafeteria ladies – giant sour pickles spinkled with hot sauce or (what else?) Lucas and Twang, the rainbow popsicle, and Flaming Hot Cheetos. Please keep in mind the organic nature and excellent nutritional content of all these healthy snack choices. Flaming Hot Cheetos are ridiculous. They turn your fingers and tongue bright red and even for me they still require the drinking of milk afterward to tone down the fire in my mouth. Sour pickles are still a guilty pleasure of mine. I love them. Most kids after-school snacks consisted of something like this. Welcome to San Antonio. Be jealous.

While we’re on the subject of food, I’ve had two “Of course. I forgot this is Texas” food moments this weekend. Yesterday morning I bit into what I thought was a lemon poppyseed muffin, only to discover that it was, in fact, a jalepeno cornbread breakfast muffin. Then I remembered I’m in Texas and that of course that wasn’t going to be a lemon poppyseed muffin. What was I thinking? Clearly, I’ve been away from Texas for too long if I couldn’t expect a jalepeno cornbread muffin for breakfast at a buffet. And last night at dinner I ordered a watermelon margarita. When it arrived, the rim of the glass was glistening with what I assumed to be crushed orange flavored sugar crystals to compliment the watermelon flavor of the margarita. I immediately began sucking the sugary powder off the edge, like any normal person, only to be slightly taken back by the discovery that it wasn’t orange sugar at all, but chili powder. Because here in Texas (see chili watermelon lollipop above), we line our magarita glasses with Lucas. Note taken. Now I remember. You know you’re in texas when…

Stay tuned for recaps of my trip to texas!