Homemaking

I have decided that a homemaker is one of two people:

1. Someone who makes a home outta a house or
2. Someone who makes things homemade.

Travis and I are both homemakers.




Travis built this planter box outside our door.
Gorgeous, isn't it? In comparison to dead leaves, old pumpkins (yes, I admit, there were still two old crusty, rotten jack-o-lanterns) and actual garbage next to our door.

And within two days all the seeds that fell from the bird feeder had sprouted in the good clean soil and in the spring we'll plant real flowers and herbs and maybe a tomato plant.
We're making this house a home.



And I made homemade pasta!
It was a first, but after such a success it will not be the last.
I hand rolled the dough, baked the butternut squash that filled it and then served it with homemade sourdough bread, and fresh garden green beans.

Travis made the sauce and it was awesome! It took like 4 hours. He grated up about 10 different veggies and mashed up half a dozen tomatoes and just let them boil for hours until the tastes had all soaked and blended.

It was quite the homemade meal.
We were very proud of its deliciousness.

There's no place like home

We're home.

I nearly cried when I saw our bed.

Luckily for you, this means that I will start posting pictures like crazy.

But not quite yet.

First, I am going to unpack.

And do some laundry.

And some grocery planning and shopping.

And eat some more strawberries (hallelujah!)

And open all the windows.

And catch up on blogs.

And go on a bike ride.

Mmmm... it is so good to be here.

You know how everyone's house has a smell, but you can never smell your own?

When we came in our door last night there were a few minutes where Travis and I just stood and smelled.

After a long trip, you learn what you smell like to other people.

Like old musty houses. Like sugar and honey. Like pages and pages of books.

I wish I could still smell it now, but I think the fact that I can't is okay.

This is our home.

Oh, I love it like mad.

To Do:

I tell myself "First I will eat,"
Then I say

"Then I will put away all the clean dishes and then wash all the dirty dishes and clean the rest of the kitchen.
Then I will clean the living room. Then the bedroom and then I will vacuum the house."

Oh no, I stop myself.
"I should do the laundry first so I can do everything else while the laundry is going. But then I have to bike to the store to get some cash and change to wash it. and if I'm going to the store then I should figure out what to have for dinner, so I can pick things up if I need to instead of going back."
So I start to clean the kitchen a little so I have some room to look at cookbooks at the kitchen table.
And then I look at cookbooks until I realize that I'm starving and it's past lunch time and I have yet to even do the first thing on my list.
Eat.
And I think, there's no way I'll survive once kids are thrown into the mix.

Because having a house that you want to keep clean sucks sometimes.
But, I mean... usually it's okay.
Usually I even like it.

But not today.
Blegh. Maybe it's the rain that's got me down.

As Promised

This is the picture I mentioned in my last post.
I am wearing my great-grandmother's dress, which was MADE by my great-great grandmother.

It's very old and cool.
Don't you think?

We're standing in front of our house, even though it's hard to see.
Isn't it a nice green?

A mouse! A mouse!

There's a mouse in our house!

Travis saw it run behind the fridge.

Come on, Moms, Grown-ups, what do we do?

We don't want to kill it. (Eeewww) but we gotta get rid of it or else it will crawl into our beds and sleep in our hair.

It might not actually do that, but it's certainly what I picture it doing.

I bet it got in because our doors don't have sealing, there's just an inch or two of open air between the bottom of the door and the floor.

We sometimes stuff it with a towel, but haven't lately.

Gaaah!

A mouse!

Help us!

Winston

We have already named the Bulldog that we do not own, and may not own for a while.
I know what you're thinking: Bulldogs are not cute.
Well, you are wrong. While previously I believed that Bulldogs were SUPER ugly, yesterday Travis and I spent about 8 hours researching and reading about Bulldogs.
And now we love them.
Here's why:
They're exactly like me.

They are prone to allergies and asthma. (haha, seems funny.)
They don't like to lie around all day, but they are intolerant to exercise and will not accept running, especially for long distances.
They are content to just be at home with people they love and don't need to be played with all the time as long as you let them curl up at your feet or on your lap.
They are intolerant to heat and cold.
They like to stay indoors.
They love babies and children, and even other little animals.

Besides being just like me, here's how they're perfect for us:
They don't like to be left alone outside--we don't really have a yard.
They're not little yappy dogs, but they won't take up the whole apartment.
We figured out our schedule and we would never leave our puppy home alone for more than three hours at a time, but when we finally ARE home, we often just want to relax, snuggle up, and watch a movie -- and a bulldog would be content to do just that. (Don't get me wrong, though, we can't WAIT to play with that little furry ball)
They're little and short-haired, so not as much fur, so not as much allergies. (Also, Travis and I may have found a CURE for allergies. But I'm scared of it.)




Come on, look at their goofy little faces. How can you not love it?
Plus, I will read high literature aloud to Winston when he's a baby so that when he grows up he will be a great writer.
And speak English very well.
Also, he will wear a monocle.
Thirdly, our landlord may or may not let us have a dog, but our contract ends in August. We want a puppy so bad that we may just move if he says no.

househousehouse

We had a busy weekend. We finally bought short nails and could put up pictures around the house, as well as hang our wedding quilt from grandma Marcie. (Good thing we have a quilt from Grandma Mary to snuggle with, our wall quilt is apparently too fragile!)

We also bought ourselves a little can of chalkboard paint, and painted a wall in our living room. It had barely dried before we colored all over it. We LOVE it. Sadly, all my pictures of it turned out blurry. They room was dark and I was having a hard time holding the camera still.

Our kitchen was finished a few weeks ago, but I’m finally posting some pictures.

So, this isn’t exactly extreme home makeover, but it’s starting to look like a pretty house, right.

We loooooove it.

These are some pictures from the living room.

Our living room also includes two bookcases. Isn't it funny? We have yet to really combine our books, and you can tell, my shelves are much more cluttered and messy.

Then, of course, our beautiful kitchen.

Look how clean and white!

We love to have couples over for dinner, too. Travis and I should be professional hosts, since we both get super excited and clean the house and cook tasty food.

Last night Travis made homemade fish sticks from Trout that Chris brought over, and mashed potatoes from real potatoes.

I made an Angel Pie (family favorite) and over half of it had disappeared before I remembered that I promised Grandma I’d take pictures of it.

Oops, sorry Grandma. I turned out perfect though. Each of us had two pieces and the pie was gone within an hour.

It was TASTY!

Being Wifey

Travis has started calling me wifey.
He thinks it's funny.

Because I am opposed to the word Hubby (first of all, it sounds like my husband is a tubby baby who is not very bright, and second of all, shouldn't it be Husby not Hubby?)
I decided that I can call him Hussy.
It makes sense. Husband. Husssband. Hussy.

I've felt very wifey lately, anyway.
I was lying around my house, determined not to do any homework, and I felt this mad desire to first clean my bathroom (which I did, my sparkling toilet, and perfectly draining tub are evident) and then bake cookies for Travis (which were TASTY!) then reorganize my already organized cupboards, then do some mending, which included fixing my sewing machine, which an unnamed roommate broke.
Cleaning, cooking, sewing. Who am I? I love it.

Tonight I am making a pie for FHE, because one of Trav's friends gave him a bushel of apples from the tree in her yard.
Because I still feel like I'm playing house, it's still very fun. I no longer cry when confronted with unwashed dishes (I HATE dishes more than any other household chore), but instead I gladly wash them so when people come over they can see what a good little homemaker I am.

Travis and I have started making married friends, too. Stephanie and Jacob, who we went to church with us, and are going to split the internet, and who lent us a can opener before Travis learned to cut cans with a knife (I am against this can cutting.)
It's fun.
I like being pretend-married.
Soon it will be real.
One month.

p.s. my house is sparkling clean today.
as it is most days.

being engaged = the best thing ever

Trav and I are having so much fun being engaged. Here's a peak into what our day to day is like. It's full of firsts, like this: this is the very first thing that we've purchased together for our home.
It was on clearance. (Can we talk later about my complete obsession with Martha Stewart? She's the BEST.) It was like a forty dollar thing, and we got it for 15! Yay Macy's! Yay Martha!
It's an expandable cutlery holder thing for the drawer.

p.s. after looking at this picture my mother said "them's child-bearing hips."


This is us painting our FIRST house together. Although, let's be honest, it's an apartment in a house, not a whole house, and we're not ACTUALLY painting in this picture. Please look at how tall he is. Please appreciate the fact that my mom is here from Montana and is spending all her time painting our house.

This was our FIRST beard contest, the rules were simple. Using only a small length of tape that we had peeled from off the walls, make a beard without looking in the mirror.
Trav's was better, but only because he had more tape. Mine ended up looking patchy.

Aaaaaalso, since we all know how much I love to blog, this blog will not die when we get married, but instead, will be reborn! The address will stay the same, so as to not confuse my heap o' readers, but the name, I think will soon change.
Because Trav and I can maybe both write, and since this blog won't really be about MY life anymore, but OUR life, we're mixing things up. But don't worry, we won't call it the "Pitcher Family Blog." That would be too confusing.

In the Brother's Bloom, at the end, there's a line that goes (basically) like this:
Penelope: Your brother told me once, there's no such thing as an unwritten life, just a badly written one.

That was our inspiration. What do you think of this new title?



And as Tigger would say, ttfn, tah-tah for now.

Our first home together

So, I told you we had a new house. Here's your virtual tour. Today Sophie, and Maude and I went over and vaccuumed, and dusted a little. Not a lot, and it needs some cleaning, but the house is here. Take a gander:

Here is the outside, most pictures are by Maude, but please notice the cute tree that acts like a tent, and our first friendly neighbor, Perry, the praying mantis, who is the same length as my longest finger.

Oh, we will be your tour guides. Becky and Sophie. (Please note Sophie's now blond hair. Looks good, doesn't it?)


When you come in the door, you are in the living room, see the tall ceilings, bookcase, and cupboards? And, don't you just adore the door?

Through the living room is the kitchen, with a funky yellow stove, a back door, and a little room beside the fridge for our baby table.

Then you've reached the bedroom, which is not very exciting, but has two big and lovely windows. (Have you noticed how bright our new home is? It's all the big windows)

And then, of course the bathroom. Check out the sweet lightswitch. I luf it.
There you have it.

a house! a house! a dress! a dress!

Today Travis and I signed contracts for a house to live in after we get married. It's not a full house, just an apartment within a house. But it is AWESOME and PERFECT and has a freaking YARD!
Pictures tonight, tonight, tonight!
Also, I got my dress, thank you, thank you, thank you ebay and Mary.
The dress, the dress, it is lovely, lovely.
The house, the house, is filled with gems (gems!) like a window seat bench that opens, and built in bookshelves and on old fashioned bathtub, a BATHTUB! Just yesterday I gave up the hope that I might have a bathtub, and was disappointed to accept that we'd probably end up somewhere with only a shower.
gah! I love it. I love them both. I am so happy, happy, happy.
(evidently my excitement is being displayed by the repetition of words here...)

Wish me congrats you folks and fellas out there.

p.s. the colors for the wedding have been chosen. If you're coming and feel like coordinating your outfit, here they are:

They're not exact, but they're close. So men, if you have a GRAY suit, wear it, not a black or brown (or otherwise) suit. If you only have a black, brown or otherwise suit, then you may wear it.

You will look dashing.