Unpack all the stuff

Who needs this much stuff?

No one.  The answer is "no one needs all this stuff".  I just lived out of a suitcase for a month.  And while I felt unsettled, it was very freeing.  I missed my kitchen stuff the most because I don't like eating out.  I like meal-planning and all that jazz.  So I need that portion of my stuff.  But as for the boxes of clothes, shoes, and stuff I haven't even missed in the last month?  Probably not all that needed.

We've been married 4 years and the stuff has accumulated.  And we lived in a 2600 square foot house for half of that and...it accumulated.  And if you visited that house, it STILL felt empty.  Even with all this stuff in it.

Stuff:

Stuff that needs to go on the walls.  Some of the stuff that needs to go on walls, anyway...

 Oy.

Oh basement, I love you.

 Uh huh.

 The mover who packed up my clothes in Alaska said he'd never seen someone with so many clothes hangers.  Great, right?

 My hairdryer is the red one.  I have a travel one I've been using for the last month, and that little gray thing is "the back-up".  I also have 3 curling irons.  The last time I curled my hair was 2 years ago.  

Why do I have 3 curling irons?

Couches being shuffled about.

Anyway, as I'm unpacking, I'm putting stuff in boxes.  One for stuff I want but don't want out, and one for stuff I plain old don't want.  This is a fresh start and we don't need ALL THE STUFF.  

Do you get rid of stuff?  Scott and I are both on the same page this time around.  We want to downsize the stuff.

(The goal here was really to see how many times I could use the word "stuff".)

High 5 for Friday

1.  We picked up my car in St. Louis on Wednesday.  That took less than a month!  As I said on Instagram, my car is born-and-raised Alaskan.  This Sonata will get to experience summer this year (It should have to write me a thank-you note).

2.  Speaking of Alaska, this late season snow stuff is happening.  And I'm not there.  I would laugh.  Really, I would laugh and jump up and down and praise the Lord and all that...but our air conditioner seems to be not working as well as it should (we can't cool it down past 73 in here).  This is a different problem entirely and one I'm not used to.  I feel like I've entered an alternate universe.

3.  Our last landlord was so terrible at her job that she sent our security deposit refund to Montana.  She claims/claimed that I never gave her a new address.  I did.  I emailed it to her and wrote it down on a piece of paper while she was standing in front of me.  If you'd like her name, just let me know.  In case you want to rent from her or something.

4.  We listened to Killing Lincoln on our drive from PA to Missouri this week.  Scott liked the first half and slept through most of the second half.  I was struck with some kind of weird illness this week (Tuesday night) and spent most of the first half trying not to throw up in the new truck (I'm better now), so I didn't catch all of it.  The second half held my attention across the entire states of Ohio and Indiana.  I particularly liked the Afterword and Epilogue because he tells you what happened to every. single. character. in the saga (non-fiction).  I recommend this if you like history.  A teacher friend told me to read it back in November.  I thought, "Oh, I will".  I listened to it in a day and a half.  It made me feel hugely productive. Next up: Killing Kennedy.

Where do you all get your audio books?  We bought this straight-out at Barnes and Noble for $30 because we were desperate for entertainment (Ohio is no joke).

5.  All the stuff arrived.

It's going to be a long weekend around here.

Sharing at High 5 for Friday

New deck and new neighbors

Shorts/shirt:  Old Navy // Sandals/belt: Target

This isn't the best outfit picture, but I wanted to show the fact that I have a deck in Missouri that's just like the one I had in Alaska.  It's a little higher off the ground, but this one at least has steps down to the ground.  Our other deck didn't have steps.  It was pretty inconvenient.  

(I never showed you this outfit from March.  It was so cold that I just kept layering til it felt right.  Kind of a mess, but it was comfortable!)

Boots: Steve Madden // Scarf: Old Navy // Sweater: Target // Dress: Kohl

Anyway, behind the new house, there's a unkempt gully (a holla, if you will) and across that gully is a neighbor who likes to yell at his dog.  He was having a fit on this particular day, because the dog, that he kept chained to a doghouse, was digging holes.  He went on and on (to the dog who doesn't understand him) for a good 15 minutes.

He was also probably wondering why I was taking pictures of myself on our deck.  This would also be a good opportunity to tell you that not one of our neighbors has introduced themselves.  Who should say "hi" first, the person who just moved in, or the person who already lives on the street?  I never did talk to our neighbors at our last house in Alaska (much).  At our first house in Alaska, the neighbors were great......a few came over the day we moved in to introduce themselves. I would like to think of this as an opportunity to start over...what should I do?

Linking up to Walkabout Wednesday, Random Wednesday, WIWW

PA Pictures..kind of

I'd love to be one of those bloggers who takes 94 pictures over the weekend and has them watermarked, edited, and posted by Sunday evening in storybook fashion.  Those posts are always interesting to read because I know it's something I could never do.  

This is what I've got for you today:

Me, driving down the turnpike from Pittsburgh to Carlisle.  No makeup and unshowered.

I guess we don't visit enough.

She didn't hold onto my leg like that.

What that dress was supposed to look like, minus the leggings and boots.

Scott "accidentally" got gum in my hair.  He said he'd pick it out.  I saved him the trouble by taking the scissors out of the first aid kit, while we were driving down the road, and cutting it out.  I wasn't happy.

Also, that's the lid selection at a convenience store in St. Louis.  Mesmerizing, right? 

I bought Scott an Alaska air freshener.  I'm thought he'd appreciate that.

Also, it's rained 80% of our time in PA.  Go figure, right?  Yesterday, it was spitting some snow flurries.  Which is why...I had to wear my workout leggings.  I didn't pack any real pants.  I thought it'd be warm and stuff.

Finally...I had a blate!  Well, kind of.  Becky and I knew each other before I started blogging (she's blogged longer than me), but that's how we keep in touch now.  So let's call it a blate.

One more thing that's checked off the blogging to-do list! Thanks Becky!

The new house.

This is the unfurnished version of our new living space.

It’s safe to say that we love our new place.  We’ve lived in 3 houses over the past 4 years and this is the best layout and most suited to us.  In the first house, the living space was kinda small and there was little to no storage. 

Moving into the second place, we found there was too much space (we had wanted the 3-car garage for all of his tools and outdoor toys), and we were able to hoard, accumulate, and generally not throw anything away for 2 years.  

This place is practical.  I mentioned before that we hadn’t actually seen it before moving in.  I sent in a check and signed a lease a month before we even left Alaska.  I was nervous to say the least.

The house is essentially a ranch, with everything on one floor (new concept to us) and there is a FULL basement.  A runs-the-length-and-width-of-the-house basement and it is a Godsend.  It is what’s been missing from our lives.

It is the place where Scott can store, organize, and play with all of his toys (tools).

 Living Room

Steps next to the living room, going to the basement.

The HUGE basement.  

Kitchen and dining area (from the laundry room)

One side of the kitchen.  Nice appliances compared to the house we came from!

Kitchen view from the dining area.  I love that the laundry room over there has a window.  And that's ceramic tile.  No more stick down "tiles".

Front.  Love the stonework arches.

Side

The back.  Basement access from outside is also new to us and we're pretty excited...it's the little things us Alaskans aren't used to :)

Who were the fools people who did a partial do-it-yourself move?  That'd be us.