The Truth and a Chandy

Okay, so.  I'm just gonna put it out there. Yep. The truth.  Not that I think you guys ever thought I spoke anything but the truth.  Sometimes...I speak way too much truth. But that's just me.  So why would that change at the ripe old age of 48.  Yep. 48.  I turned that this past month while away from my blog.

An iPhone pic from moving out of the former home.

So the truth.  After moving 8 times since 1988, buying and purchasing and selling, buying and purchasing and selling over and over again, we have landed the house of my dreams.  Now, before you get all excited for me, I have to tell you something.  In order to get such a place, we had to find someone willing to walk away from an over improved home and had to buy it "As Is."  That real estate term, in case you don't know it, states that the buyer is purchasing the property in the current state regardless of the condition of anything releasing the seller from the 2 percent clause. (If you don't know what the 2 percent clause is, look it up...not boring you here with that!!)  Outside all the legal jargon, we have learned that with THIS house the term "AS IS" means "Everything is broken!"  Ha!  We didn't even do formal inspections!!  Guess what?  We still don't care!  Sometimes, ya gotta be willing to overlook the faults, bite the bullet and get what you want vowing to fix what you can as you go.  This is where we find ourselves.

So the last month, we have been in fix it mode.  You know, the boring stuff like appliance repair, and appliance repair...and oh, and appliance repair!  But that doesn't mean that I haven't had some fun finding some great things.  For example, the seller decided to strip the house of a few items that needed to be replaced, like the ceiling light fixture in the foyer.  Yep, he took lighting.  Oh well, this means that I get pick my own.

I set out to all my favorite consignment stores looking for the perfect chandy.  I didn't look at antique places or thrift shops for this.  I needed something a little more special, newer and such.  But you know me, I am a bargain person and I was not going to pay full retail of this item!  Oh no!  It took me a few days to nail it.  In fact, I found this one day in a consignment store over by my daughter's former school (remember I talked about that 3 hours of driving in my last blog post) and am glad that I stopped to check out the place. I am super duper excited about the lighting fixture that I found.  I just got it installed in the foyer and took these snap shots to show you.

How totally cool is this fixture?!!  I just love the glass flowers and the droplets.  It was super hard to transport and install.  Lost a few pieces along the way.  But it has such a WOW factor at my front door.  Don't you think?!

It's not for everyone, but it is for me.  I'm kinda glad the guy who sold me this house took the light fixture.  His was probably ugly anyway.  I like mine just fine and it didn't set me back too badly.  Sometimes, if you stay positive, it all works out!

-The End-

I've Been Away Too Long

I've taken breaks from The Homeless Finch in the past due to vacations and the like.  But, it has been 7 weeks since my last post.  Funny...it feels longer.  I never anticipated being away like this, but the transition into the new house has been way more than I anticipated.  Until the end of last week, we have been driving my daughter to her previous school.  The drive took a full hour and a half two times a day.  It was worse than it sounds...really.  It's okay because anyone can do anything for a short period of time, right?

Even though we have moved 7 times since 1988, this one was much more difficult. Was it because we moved pretty far from our previous houses?  (If you are not counting the move out of state and back into state in one year just over ten years ago.)  Probably not.  Was it the timing?  My daughter having not graduated from 8th grade yet and a son struggling to keep decent grades after too many changes in his life this past year?  Maybe.  Am I getting older? Yep. Probably.   All this and more has made it next to impossible for me to find time to even read my favorite blogs, let alone write mine.

So, I'm easing back in.  I've started reading some of my favorite blogs and this post will be my 'toe in the water' attempt to write again.  I don't know what direction The Homeless Finch will take this year.  I certainly have a ton of house posts I could write, but am very hesitant to make home decor the center focus of The Homeless Finch.  ....  or maybe I will.   Hey, maybe I will just take one day at a time and we can all see how things develop.  I have plans to paint several pieces of art specifically for rooms in my house.  I know I will be sharing the process and finished works for sure.  Sound good?

For now, I will show you two images I took on my iPhone a few days apart.  I go and sit in this spot to rest and relax between unpacking boxes. It's the lake view from the cabana out by the pool.

Yes, you are correct.  In the second image I might just have been also enjoying a nice, crisp glass of white wine!  Love this spot.  Perhaps I will talk more about it later.

-The End-

Back from Spring Break - Check In

We are back from our Spring Break Cruise on Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Seas!!  We had an awesome time.  I highly recommend this ship!

I have about one day to recover because we close on the new house next Monday and move the following week! Yikes!  I wanted to 'check in' and give you a quick update.  Once I get into the house, I am sure I will have more posts than you are even interested in reading!!!

Until then....  (My loaner Nikon was damaged as we embarked on this trip.  So these iPhone images are the only ones we took.)

Labadee, Haiti.....one of my favorite places in the world.  This was where our ship was docked.

The view from our table at the restaurant in Cozumel, Mexico

My two kids chillin' in Cozumel, Mexico

I will check in soon! Promise...

-The End-