Quite Contrary

I've always said I have a black thumb but someone that I work with gave me a few plant clippings. They didn't die! So of course the next logical step was to start growing things from seed in my kitchen, right? I searched online for Korean perilla (sort of like sesame) and found some on eBay. So I bought two packages. Clearly I have never done something like this before since it turns out two packages could grow me a field of the stuff and all I needed was a few seeds. Aka one thousandth of what one package held. Crap. Oh well, anyone want to grow some perilla? You eat the leaves and it's great for making gimbap!

The next step was to grow the herbs. They are looking pretty good but the oregano just didn't make it. So this weekend we cheated and bought a little oregano plant and stuffed it in with the others so we're good to go! Someone with more growing sense than me said this is working because we have a south facing window? Excellent! All I know is that it makes me smile, especially considering it's -31 Celsius outside and I get frostbite walking to my car.

Our Adorable House

When I last left this blog there were a lot of big things happening. I got a new job, we moved, someone rear ended me (and thus caused me to have to write off my car and buy a new one. Frick.), lovely Leah decided to return to BC. Big things.

I had great intentions and took a bunch of pictures of our new abode and then did nothing with them. Well, I put together a crappy slideshow so those of you who do not live near us can see where we hang our hats.

I have to say, I am in love with this place. I will be incredibly sad when we leave it. It's quirky, unusual, spacious and is just 'home'. We haven't lived here for very long but it was meant to be, as cliche and cheesy as that might sound. Our landlady is so precious, the price is right, the location is fabulous. It just makes me all warm fuzzy thinking about it. This house feels like happy. There is an issue that the downstairs tenants smoke inside but they seem to have stopped that since we moved in and asked them to stop. The real test is coming though, since it's getting colder outside. I am really, really crossing my fingers and pleading to the Universe that they continue to smoke outside because I don't want to move and the smoke (besides being gross and ruining our furniture, clothing and other belongings) really affects Matt's health.

We welcome visitors and like I mentioned, have a spare room. I haven't invited over scads of people but if I like you you can come over. My home is my sanctuary. I hadn't pictured my sanctuary to have such hideous curtains, but I guess it is my fault since I have been too lazy to replace them. I seriously can't wait until I can put up our Christmas tree in front of that bay window. Nesting much? Haha...

New Place!

We are moving this month! We happened upon our new abode through chance and circumstance. Stephie found it but then the girl she was going to room with backed out on her the day they were supposed to pay the DD and rent. Poor Steph couldn't afford it on her own and they couldn't take the place. So we scooped in and took it. It's a great find- 10 blocks from where we lived before so still a great location, lower rent, more space, quieter, funky and has the cutest landlady. She's this old Polish (I think) lady with a crocheted purple hat and she up keeps everything with the help of her grandsons. There's a huge garden in the backyard and I think we might get to cash in on some fresh veggies! For now you'll have to settle with this pictures of the outside since the inside is way too messy! Once things are unpacked and organized I will post some pictures of the inside. We have the top floor (the house is split in 3). I love the bay window, funky attic bedroom and the separate toilet and bath rooms. I hadn't wanted to move and start a new job at the same time but sometimes you just can't avoid it.

Oh and other big living situation news- Matt's sister Leah is moving back to B.C. at the end of the month so we will be living alone. We have lots of room for guests though so you should all come and visit us!!!

Our First Christmas Tree

I have been feeling a little bit blue so I decided it was time to snap out of it and get into the Christmas spirit! I just love Christmas, probably because it makes an excellent precursor to the most important holiday of all; my birthday!

Anyway, I digress (but my birthday is coming up so I hope everyone is ready!), Matt and I went on an epic trip to purchase our tree and decorations. I am picky and this was a hard decision for me. I over-think things and took this quite seriously. I suppose I can always switch the ornaments up later on. I was firm that I wanted a big, fake (I've never had a real tree) tree with multi-colored lights already on it. We had to go to a few places but I finally found what I was looking for.

When we hauled it home Steph was waiting for us (she was studying at our apartment). We had a moment of panic because it looked like the tree was going to be TOO BIG and not fit in our place. However, it is just perfect! Yay! So now we have a tree and I like to think that all the people waiting at the bus stop across the street can see it and admire it.

Mouse Attack!

We live in a third floor apartment. You would think that this would mean that we would be spared from mice. I mean, they aren't getting in through the windows! Unfortunately we seem to have attracted a number of the little bastards. Matt was the one who first noticed one peeking out from behind the TV stand in the living room.

From there we bought some traps (mice like peanut butter more than cheese) and tried to contact our building manager. It took a long time for him to get back to us which was incredibly frustrating. We caught 7 mice in total (in a week) and four in one night! What the heck!!!! One of them died less than a foot away from me while I was checking my email! Seriously not cool.

When we managed to talk to the manager he said that they would have pest control come to our apartment and check things out. Of course, this conversation happened at about 9 pm at night and the manager said that "maybe" the guy would come the next morning and if he hadn't arrived by noon to call and let the manager know.

Needless to say, I was skeptical that anyone would arrive. So what did I do? I tempted fate. I woke up, sat around in my pajamas, didn't brush my teeth, hadn't showered (I didn't work until 3 pm), well you get the picture. This guaranteed that the pest control guy would arrive! And he did! Immediately I began shuffling around, concerned about the appearance of my apartment. Why didn't I expect him to come!? He is going to judge me!

For the most part our place is pretty clean and he must have seen a lot worse... Right? I'm sure all the other mouse infested homes looked like the one in the picture. I awkwardly made small talk with the pimple faced exterminator (see, I can judge too!) and he got to work looking for entry holes. He said it was pretty clear that if our apartment on the third floor was having issues then there were issues in other apartments. The mice were traveling around through the radiators.

I never know what to do when service people come to my place. Am I supposed to sit and watch them? Chat? Let them do their work unattended and risk them stealing something? Call a therapist and speak to them about my paranoia that an exterminator is going to steal something? What do you do? I have the same problem when the cable guy comes. I decided to wash my dishes because I would still be a presence and able to see and hear what he was doing but at the same time I could impress him with my cleanliness. See! It's not MY PLACE that is the true problem. It's the guy next door with his toxic waste collection!

Since the guy left we haven't seen any more mice in our apartment. I think he was pretty successful with blocking the hole. However, I do occasionally hear them scritch scratching and trying to get in. Or is that my paranoia again?

Strange Happenings

Our weekend had a couple of strange/irritating events. When we returned to Edmonton after visiting my Mom there was someone parked in our assigned parking stall. Matt and I took some deep breaths and tried to calm our rage and then parked on the street in front of the building instead. It was a really nice car too, much nicer than ours. We wrote a polite but firm note and left it on the window and then Matt proceeded to jump in the shower and start getting ready for our movie date. About halfway through his shower the water shut off completely. His hair was full of shampoo and the only rinsing option came from the Brita water filter in our refrigerator. Poor Matt.



We shook it off though, it was our anniversary after all! We set out and on the way to the movies we noticed a NORAEBANG!!! Yep, that's right, they do exist (well one does anyway) in Edmonton. We went in and chatted with the nice owner, looked at the rooms and the song lists (he updates them with current English songs!), grabbed a business card and vowed to return soon. Seemed like our bad luck was improving.



The movie was okay and gave us something to talk about since we've both read the book. We get home and the person is STILL parked in our spot and the note hasn't been touched. At this point they have been parked there for at least 6 hours (probably longer though since we were gone all day). We park on the street again and go up to our apartment. The water is still off. We go out and purchase bottled water so I can wash my face and brush my teeth. It's an interesting exercise in water usage. Hmmm...

The next morning there still is no water. Apparently a pipe broke and so they are trying to fix it. Leah and I need a shower in a desperate sort of way. Steph is still visiting Mom so I text Bryn and Alisse. They both say we can come over and we head to Bryn's (it's closer). Bryn is a total sweetheart and makes us banana chocolate chip pancakes! I proceed to get syrup all over myself. We return to the apartment and the same person is still parked there. We get them towed. Our water is fixed shortly afterward and normalcy resumes.

Now and Then: 10 Years of Us

I could make this really mushy but that's not really my style. It was our ten year anniversary this weekend and we had a nice day. Nothing really monumental happened but I suppose you should be recognizing the important relationships in your life every day, right?

We went out and saw the Time Traveler's Wife (you can read Matt's review of it over here) and then bought ourselves a present.

I've always wanted to have nice things. That may sound really materialistic but let's face it, we need stuff to run a household and I am sick of owning a bunch of crap that is falling apart. We spent a ridiculous amount of money on new pots and pans and they are just gorgeous! Now that I'm staying in one place I want to make my living space as comfortable as I can. My parents have already helped me in the right direction with the fabulous living room furniture and TV and so now my goal is to keep that up and invest in quality things that I will love for a long time. You can see what we were cooking with before and our beautiful new cookware in the second picture. What do you think?

I think the next thing we need to save for and invest in will be a new table and chairs. What are you saving for? Have you made any big purchases lately?

Anyway, to get back on topic- Happy Anniversary Matt! And thank you to everyone that recognized our special day!

Apartment Pictures

We have finally unpacked our books and we discovered that we have too many. So we still have a container filled with them and 2 jam packed shelves. We are in the process of getting new furniture so we decided against buying a random shelf in favor of waiting until we can buy nice things that match.

Anyway, I figured that people might wonder what our place looks like (perhaps Leah?!) so here it is. It's starting to come together! What do you think? Here's our kitchen/dining area, our bedroom and bathroom.