Home Woes

I love owning a home. I love owning a home. I love owning a home. (Just keep telling myself that, right?) :-)

No, I actually adore our home, but she (yes, my house is female) is really testing our patience. So, we knew that we had an AC issue since about a month after we moved in. Well, we FINALLY got an expert out to the house to do a diagnostic. I met with him and whadyaknow, our AC unit is... (gulp) terminal. No, really. He kept equating our AC unit to someone why emphysema and using terms that you'd use for humans. So OF COURSE we need a brand new $10,000 top-o-the-line unit. (Side note: Really, Trane? Ten grand?)

So the sales guy was all...

And I'm all PPPPPPPSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHH. So I leveled with the guy and told him we would not be replacing a unit that still blows cold air; he came to his senses and we now have a plan to get more air into our "gasping" unit, which should equal a cooler house. (Yay!)

Then, ding dong. We had some uninvited guests in the form of winged, ant-like insects with bonus carpenter ants thrown in for good measure.

Here's my problem. When I see gross bugs (I mean, aren't they all?), I don't just see a harmless little insect, I see what I could only describe as the alien from Independence Day, waiting to shed its gooey outer layer and attack me.

Upon discovering these little critters (the flying ones), the hubby and I proceeded to run around with a fly swatter, flashlight and bug spray squealing in fear (me), cussing (him, ok both of us), whimpering (alright, that's me too) and delivering JUSTICE (that'd be him) for a good 30-40 minutes. It was like some kind of alien vs predator shiz happening. I know we'll look back on these days and laugh; I just haven't quite found the humor yet.

Then, I learned that apparently we need quarterly visits from the exterminator. Ummm, who knew?! (Note: Well, apparently everyone except us because after a quick poll in the office place, I learned that EVERYONE has these scheduled.) And I thought we were doing good to have quarterly lawn service? There should be a class you have to take before you can own a home.

But I must say (as I try to fine the silver lining in all of this), I'm VERY excited to be living in a cool, bug-free home very soon, although that bedroom furniture that we've been lusting after (hmm, awkward wording) is slipping farther and farther away.

But we're hanging tough!

Home Alone

So, as I mentioned before, the hubby is working late again so here's what I've found myself doing lately...

First, if any of you are wondering what I'm doing right now, I just got sucked into a marathon of the TLC Show, Extreme Couponing. I'm not quite sure how I feel about this show - I'm intrigued in a weird kind of rocking back-and-forth in the fetal position in the corner of the room kind of way. Once I can process this, it will surely be a blog post on its own.

Second, I'm excited to start on my next project for the guest bedroom this week. I'm DIY-ing some curtains with some fabric I ordered this weekend and am finally going to get started on the gallery wall. Will post pics soon!

Third, I finally mobile-enabled my blog so it's easier to read via mobile devices. Go ahead, check it out! I also put a cute little "Share bar" in it - not that I expect anyone to share it - I just thought it was really fun.

Have a wonderful week!

Progress: Guest Bedroom

Cue the music!

Yeah, uh huh, you know what it is.
Gray and Yellow. Gray and Yellow. Gray and Yellow. Gray and Yellow.

I know. Really clever, right? (said as 75% of my 26 blog followers start mousing for the "Close Window" button.

So, last I talked about my home decor, we had a bit of an issue. A Lowe's issue. A Lissue. But we got that taken care of and have even made some progress on the room.

A trip to Ikea, some Etsy ordering and we're getting there. Getting there. Lots, LOTS more to do, though.

Still love that Rosette pillow!

Here are the Ikea cube shelves we bought that my hubby so lovingly put together.

"One day when we're rich, we'll never buy furniture that you have to put together." - The hubby (I love my Ikea shelves, though!)

Here they are only half filled out. These shelves contain some of my fave books, wedding photos and nostalgia items, picture frames (which I've yet to fill!) and other fun items. More to come there.

Here's a closer shot of the Etsy photo frame that I just fell in love with.

I'm also about to get started on a gallery wall, inspired from my "friends" at Young House Love.


I even bought the same Ikea frames they did!

All in all, it's coming along. Still have to add curtains, a bedside table, this darling quatrefoil mirror, wall art, etc. Can't wait to make some progress.

I've also got some DIY projects I'm going to work on (I've been Pinspired!) and the hubby is working late again (shakes fist at his employer!) so I should have time. Can't wait to share.

Happy Decorating!

Pool Time

My favorite season is upon us. No, not that season. Pool season. While I don't think of myself as too much of a "sun whore," I do think almost everyone looks better with a little shade of tan on them. Lucky for me, my office does Summer Fridays so I get off around lunchtime every Friday during the summer (it's pretty fantastic) so I've made it a point to hit the pool every Friday. (The hubby's skin burns after about 20 minutes in the sun so he's not really a pool guy.)

During my pool Friday time, it occurred to me how much things have changed. A year ago, I would have been laying out by my pool in my old apartment. Back then, my biggest pool time trouble was running into the floating beer pong table or dodging the guy with the hairy back who always wanted to chit-chat. Uh, dude, I'm obviously WAY into this Real Simple magazine and you need to put on a shirt. Keep it movin'.

But it was a glorious view:

Fast-forward one year, I'm enjoying the neighborhood amenity center (read: pool) and I've learned quite a bit in my pool time. Turns out, the "color game" is still very popular (remember, one person holds the other and they guess a color, you miss it, you're dunked?). Also, children of a certain age (probably below the age of 6) LOVE to run and yell "CAAAAANONNNNBAAAAALLLL" but don't actually understand what that means. One of the top concerns of Moms at the pool is the iPhones being splashed. Lucky for me, mine is well protected. I heard a lot of comments like, "Don't splash that nice lady!" while their children proceeded to "Canonball" about four feet away. But, I think it's super-cute.

But my-oh-my, how the times have changed...

Speaking of Bandwagons...

As I mentioned in the previous post, Greg and I became proud parents to two iPhones this past weekend. In keeping with the theme of jumping on bandwagons, I thought I'd also share that I have recently been (almost) convinced to read the Harry Potter series. I know, I'm like 8 years late, but when have I ever been a trend-setter?

I'm looking for a good book/book series for summer pool time. Generally, the books I choose amount to little more than brain candy. Bonus points if the cover is hot pink or lime green (who says you can't judge a book by it's cover?). I've found only few book series that I've just absolutely loved. Twilight in 2008/2009 and Hunger Games series in 2009/2010. Since then, my life has had a book void.

I've been told by many of my butterbeer and Quidditch-loving pals that I would absolutely love it. I'm not so sure.

So what's the next bandwagon for me? Trip to the new In-and-Out Burger? Count me in. Cowboys fan? If my husband wouldn't disown me. And I'm sure I don't even have to TELL you that I've already pre-ordered my new Toms sunglasses.

And if any of you are aware of any other bandwagons I can jump on, please let me know.

Because if you Don't Have an iPhone...

We've been pretty anti-iPhone for the past few years. The idea of a touch keyboard seems quite daunting and to be honest, the Apple commercials are just really obnoxious.

Because, I mean, if you don't have an iPhone, you don't have an iPhone.

Could this be any more pretentious?

Well, the Bensons are finally moving up in the technological world. Only about 3-4 years late, but we finally both got iPhones this weekend. The hubby's is black and mine is white. While we're actually both really loving it so far, I'm quite sure we spent more money on the protection of the phone than the actual phone. With Apple Care plus a protective case (I swear, I was about this close to buying the crazy Otterbox case) plus the screen protector, I would say we are ready to go.

Oh dear Lord, I'm afraid we're going to be those parents with the tall gangly child, wearing head-to-toe protective padding, helmet, goggles. Poor little guy or girl doesn't stand a chance, do they?

I'm most excited about the higher-quality camera. I'm hoping this will ensure a clear shot while doing any neighbor-creeping or likewise.

Anyways, since we are iPhone newbies, anybody have any must-have app suggestions? You can keep your Apple car decal, though. :-)