Happy PackerBowl Sunday! Have you selected your best Packer shirt and most spirited team accessories to wear while cheering on the Packers in this evening’s game that I know you’ll all be watching? Please forgive the assumption that every family out there does this the night before SuperBowl as we do.
Ted is at work until 5 today for tech rehearsal, but he’s already in on the action wearing his Packer shirt, sweatshirt, jacket, hat, and Packer shoes (yes, shoes). For the big game we’ll be heading over to the home of one of his work friends (they’re Steelers fans, so this will be fun!) to watch the SuperBowl and chow on chili, bratwurst, and taco dip. Excellent! Ted is seven shades of disappointed that he’s not in Green Bay right now for all the pre-game city spirit, decorations, and the welcome home parade and day off tomorrow if they win tonight. But his sister sent him an official SuperBowl program that he’s been delicately cradling since it arrived yesterday afternoon.
Last night after church we braved the icy rain to drive over to the Kenwood shopping district (the word “mall” doesn’t seem to do it justice). After navigating the maze of a parking lot and sharking for a space for nearly 20 minutes, we were lucky to spot a singular empty space waaaaay out in the boonies before any of our fellow sharks did. We snagged it in record speed with some seriously awesome maneuvering skills and decided that kenwood is definitely not the place to be on a Saturday night. We made the trip for one purpose only – the Apple store, to drop off Ted’s Mac for repair. But I couldn’t help walking by places like Loft, Anthropologie, Gap, Forever 21, Nordstrom’s, Crate & Barrel, and the Cheesecake Factory and just sniffing in the essence of these places I somehow had spare change to shop at occasionally when I was single and that I now miss splurging at. Ah well, such is life, right? The rent on our beautiful home, heat, and car insurance are more comfortable than a new sweater anyhow.
When we arrived home we cooked dinner together, pancakes and scrambled eggs, and snuggled onto the couch with several warm blankets and some snacks to watch a funny movie. We chose the movie RV from our collection – and it was hilarious! Definitely funnier than I thought it would be, so if you’re looking for a light, carefree laugh, this one is a good pick.
Want to see what else we did yesterday? First, there’s this – the long-awaited basement shelves are finally finished!!
- Before – clearly chaotic and in need of some serious storage help!
- After – aaaah! Some semblance of organization!
Yes, those are indeed “bright ass Ikea yellow” doors. They were minimally damaged in shipping so they had to sell them for dirt cheap. Why anyone would want a door that color is beyond me, but whatever. We snatched them up immediately because they were cheaper than finished lumber and would make great shelf boards when cut to size, and we added some color to our basement in the process! Since the basement’s foundation is bowing in on that side Ted had to take a lot of extra steps to get the shelves to secure to the wall and be level enough to hold weight, but he’s smart and creative and did such an awesome job! Also, the water heater in this house is over 15 years old we’re counting on it blowing any time now, and when it does it’ll most likely flood the basement, so we’re trying to get everything in waterproof plastic storage containers or off the floor altogether – so these shelves will be really helpful if/when that does happen. After we’ve organized everything down there I’ll have to post a before and after picture from when we first moved in until now – the carpeting, the shelves, the insulation we’re adding – it looks miles better!
We also did this:
Brand new kitchen cabinets were part of the landlord’s renovations right before we moved in. But they only put one shelf in each cabinet, which was such a waste of vertical space. And though we loved how spacious the kitchen was, it was desperately lacking storage. So Ted bought some laminate board, cut it to size, and slipped in a second shelf. Just like that, we have instantly more than enough room to store all our stuff, whereas before we couldn’t store half the amount of things that are in those cabinets now.
And finally:
Sproutlings!! A few weeks ago I planted basil, parsley, cilantro and mint plants. I use so many herbs in cooking that I might as well be growing them – so I am. I hadn’t seen any growth and was worried that, between the lack of full-time sunshine and it being so cold in the house, I’d killed them already. So last week I moved them into our bedroom – the warmest and sunniest room in the house. And Friday morning look what popped up! And they’ve just been growing new sproutlings every day since! I put the pots in alphabetical order so I’d know which was which, but I somehow managed to get them out of order, so I really have no idea which one this is, but my hunch is that it’s the mint. Either way I’m happy to know they’re blossoming. I still think it’s funny how much I used to loathe spending a Saturday afternoon herb and plant shopping at the nurseries with my mom when I was a kid, and now I’m planting herbs of my own. HA.
I hope you had a happy weekend! Go Pack!!
P.S. I got another album of wedding pictures up on Facebook if you’re one of the people that’s been looking for me to post them for the past 3 months. The pro pics will be up sometime this week.
