so long, /iklektIk/

I started this blog when I was in the middle of graduate school. Will and I had recently moved into our apartment together, and it was really a transition into a new phase of life. This blog was my graduate school and "new" SLP blog, my making a plain apartment our unique home blog. So now that I'm in my second year of work, and we're moving into our first house together, I felt like it was time to start something new. This will be my last post here in /iklektIk/ creativity, and I'll be blogging about our house renovations and all the life that comes along with it over here:


Life in House-Sparrow


See ya there!

We're Buying a HOUSE!

Yesterday Will said that I've been preparing for this my whole life, and really, I have. Half of my childhood games involved "playing house". In high school and college, The Sims, where I could create houses and decorate them, took over. And while we've had an apartment for three years together (plus 3 years with my  roommate Megan in college), it's just not the same as a real house.

Which is to say, we are buying a house! We are currently under contract, had our own private inspection, and are fixing up the things on the city's to-do list to bring it up to code. Since the seller is selling it "as-is", we would normally have to pay the city to be able to get a temporary certificate of occupancy, but the seller is allowing us to go in and do the fixes now.

It's kind of a funny situation to have a key in my purse for a house that is not-yet mine, to be scrubbing basement walls, and hiring contractors. It definitely helps with my impatience and excitement to actually do something instead of just waiting on loan people and the city, though!


I'm also in a kind of funny situation with blogging about it. Yesterday I took pictures of every part of the house so that I could create a list to go with each one of the plans we have. The house was built in 1947, and the owner was the original owner! So, it needs some work! Luckily it's in great shape structurally, but it needs a lot of cosmetic work. I shared them on facebook, where everything is friends only, but I really want to post them here where I can elaborate more the ideas, share inspiration pictures, etc. I realized that I've posted apartment tour pictures here, and pictures of all parts of our place now, without a second thought about security. I guess living in a pretty nondescript building with 20+ other people tends to make you feel pretty much like the privacy is already gone, and the security is what it is. Now that we're going to have a little house sitting all by itself, I'm concerned about it! So I'm still considering if and how much to share on a public blog.

I guess since I really want to be able to, I just need to figure out the best way to go about it. I've also considered starting a new blog, because it seems kind of fitting for such a momentous event. Moving from our first apartment together to our first HOUSE together is a big deal! To me, this blog is all about our life in this apartment, 3D, starting graduate school, finishing graduate school, and getting a job.

 Either way, I think I need to figure something out to "talk" about my house ideas, because I've told Will everything I could possibly say, and yet every other phrase out of my mouth is still about the house haha! He's much more of a get excited about things when they happen kind of guy. When we move in, he will be excited. Myself, on the other hand, evaluates and researches every square inch of the place with excited plans. My pinterest has been expanding like crazy! Our expected closing date is at the end of the month, so hopefully I'll have a plan by then!

Sunday Peach

The dining room window and living room sliding door are open, for the first time in way too long. There is nothing better, especially after a month of 90 degrees, than morning bird tweets and feeling a little chilly from the breeze that's coming in.

Will is still getting some much deserved sleeping in after working all week, and the puppy has moved from her "I just woke up" hyper phase to her "I'm ready for a nap" sleepy stage. A nap is now in progress on the couch. Which is to say, the apartment is quiet except for a fan in the window, and quite peaceful.

 I just finished making muffins. Peach muffins. I have been eating peaches like crazy over the past few weeks, I literally cannot get enough. I bought enough to make a peach cobbler tonight, but when I woke up, I knew I couldn't wait that long. So I borrowed one from the cobbler supply to make a small batch of muffins. I pined this recipe last summer, and finally got around to making them today. They would also be great with apples in the fall!

Peach Oatmeal Muffins

The cake stand is new, this is its first chance to showcase food! I bought it at an antique shop up north on the fourth of July, and it's been hanging out on top of the china cabinet with some wedding Ball jars  on top ever since. It's nice to see something yummy on it!

To share, or not to share.

Source: ruffledblog.com via Jessica on Pinterest

Wedding planning is in full swing! From January through April, I felt like we were having trouble really getting the wedding planning going. The biggest hang up was the reception and ceremony location. We looked at many, many locations, and considered many, many options for different types of weddings. Nothing was quite right. I think the biggest road block was that Will and I really weren't totally sure what we wanted. We knew what we didn't want, but knowing what you don't want  eliminates options, and does not make decisions. 
Then one day a few weeks ago, Will and I had a breakthrough. We made several major decisions about our wedding in a few hours time, and they all just felt right. As if we should have known the answers to where, and how, and what all along.


 My current question is how much do I share of these important and exciting decisions. I'm a fairly reserved and quiet person, but when I'm excited about something, I want to talk about, discuss it, brainstorm about it, and especially share it on my blog! Especially since these exciting things are pretty and creative some are even crafty!

We share so much of ourselves with facebook and the like, but then wedding planning comes along, and everything is supposed to be a secret! I've really tried to examine the "supposed to's" surrounding weddings before I jumped into them, and this is one I haven't quite known where to go with. Should I share the picture of myself, at the wedding gown shop, in my wedding dress?  Should I show pictures of the items I'm starting to buy and gather? Will sharing pictures and specifics of the preparation take away from the excitement of sharing those things on the actual day?


So far I've taken the share in person, not on the internet stance. I love showing off pictures of my dress, but have avoided doing so online. I love the invitations I bought today, but want there to be some sort of excitement for guests when they open their envelopes next spring. However, maybe the excitement has nothing to do with the colors, styles, and textures of the decisions, but rather the event and I'm overthinking it.

Like all of our other planning decisions, I'm hoping this one will settle into a choice that feels right. If you're planning a wedding too (I feel like so many people I know are!) let me know your thoughts on sharing (or not) in the comments or on my facebook page.

plus one room

When I watched the news Friday morning and saw a weekend forecast of 80+ degrees, I knew it was time to plant. My first trip of the season to buy plants is always so wonderful. I think I walked up and down the rows of flowers and plants about 20 times, picking out the perfect plants to spend the summer on our balcony. I'm trying to slooowwwly pace out plant purchases, since trips to the farm market and gardening centers are my favorite part.

what I started with

a start to summer

I finished planting my weekend purchases today after work, so these pictures aren't totally up to date. I would be surprised if I can wait until this weekend before adding one or two more things! I love every season for one reason or another, but this time of year is particularly sweet. Starting planting means a daily (enjoyable) task of watering, and makes our apartment suddenly feel like we are plus one room! Looking forward to the months ahead of us in this new "room". My favorite room of summer.

french toast and saturdays

Saturday morning breakfast. Cinnamon raisin french toast with strawberries and powdered sugar.

Yum. I make my french toast with a touch of almond extract in the egg-milk mixture and it is so delicious. Unfortunately, like most weekends, this was eaten all by my lonesome. Will works almost every weekend, which is especially a bummer now that I'm working full time and my days off are the weekends. I've been telling myself for months (and years, really) that one day our schedules would be more similar, that one we would both have weekends off, and guess what? One day has arrived! Well, it will in June at least! After finals in the next week, Will will be finished with all but one class towards his degree at the end of June, and yesterday he received his official job offer from a company he interviewed with a few weeks ago. He'll be in training all summer (and also finishing up his last class, which is luckily online), and working pretty long hours, but weekends will be all ours!

I am so, so excited for those days. I see lots of french toast in our future.

oh, brother.

Dear sweet brother of mine, happy birthday.

Today my baby brother turned 13. It seems incredibly momentous to me mostly because I was 13 when he was born. The past few years of his life have not been the peaceful years they should have been, and because of that, mine haven't been either. But I can see his life settling down into something that is easier. I'm sure teenage-hood will bring it's challenges, but he is truly growing up. He is a wonderful boy that I have loved since the moment my stepmom's pregnancy was announced. He added to my life in ways he still won't realize for many years, despite the slow yet noticeable trickle of mature young adult I see appearing.

Today I thought about holding that little baby body in my arms. Now he's nearly my height, and we wear the same size shoes. Sometimes I wish I could have that baby boy back, but it's also pretty neat to see the person he's becoming. He's still silly and rambunctious and loud....

13, much?

but he's my silly, rambunctious, loud baby brother. And I think he'll be that whether he's 13 or 30.