In Place of Homework...

Well, I have a paper to write. This is the last week of my second class in my program. I am so ready for a break from homework!! I really am going to knock out a chunk of my paper tonight...in a minute.

Lately when I've been taking Laila for walks, I've been window shopping and have noticed a couple of little shops that have the cutest clothes in the windows. I've been meaning to take a Saturday or Sunday afternoon to check them out, but haven't yet. There's a new purse store called Jenna Kator that I'm going to have to stop into one day. It's just a tiny little boutique, but the designer is a fellow Michigander.

I'm not typically a handbag/shoe type-a-girl but they have some cute bags. I want this Traverse City Tote in particular.

jennakatorhandbags.com

Now, since I've been complaining all day about how much I have to do this week, I better get to it...

An Example of Why Homeownership Can Stink...

So, I'm returning from grocery shopping at Trader Joe's. I pull into the driveway. I hear a strange noise like a tree branch hitting the car. "Hmm, wonder what that was," I think. Get out of the car to get groceries and what do I find? A BLOODY SQUIRREL flopping around as it dies. OMG. I stand behind my car hiding for about 3 minutes before I get up the courage to run inside to get the husband. Obviously it fell out of one of our tall trees and hit my car. Gross!

Now, what to do with a bloody, dead animal? We call the non-emergency police number to find out if animal control can come to dispose of the squirrel. Instead they tell us, "Just get a shovel and hit it or back over it with your car and put it in the trash." Doesn't that seem unsanitary, wrong, and disgusting? Shouldn't there be a government service set up to deal with dead animals???

So as I type, my poor husband is spraying down the driveway. Worst. Thing. Ever. It's instances like this that I miss our old apartment where maintenance would've dealt with it!

Royal Oak Clay, Glass, and Metal Festival

Last weekend, Gil and I headed over to RO to furniture shop and stumbled upon the Clay, Glass and Metal Festival. There were lots of people milling around and it was fun to see all the artwork...makes me wish I had an artsy side! We didn't buy anything, but I did see some puppies up for adoption that I wanted to take home with me! At the house, we have a fenced in backyard so it will only be a matter of time... :) We also stopped by the Farmer's Market. It was full of antiques on this particular day. I can't wait to have a Farmer's Market near our house that's open everyday. Fresh fruit and veggies, here we come!

Of course, we had to do a drive-by of the house. It looked cute, as usual. Tomorrow we will be signing all the papers and then it'll all be ours!

Scoping Out the Neighborhood...

We were in Royal Oak this weekend to check out an estate sale that we heard about, but unfortunately it was the 3rd day of the sale and all the furniture had been sold already. Of course, we stopped by our house just to check things out and it was so fun seeing the for sale sign with a big "SOLD" on it! We walked around the neighborhood and stopped by the local grocery store, Fresh Approach. We met one set of our next door neighbors, an older woman and her son. They were very friendly and had obviously been keeping an eye open for potential buyers for our house. They guessed that we were probably the buyers because they saw us around the house several times and they said they were hoping it would be us to buy it. I have been getting ridiculously excited to move in and start decorating. I've been getting a little lazy around the apartment with cleaning because we're moving anyways, right???? Probably not the best attitude to have. :) It will be fun getting to know the area and I know we'll have tons of things to do. We did some furniture browsing this weekend, which was fun. We didn't make any purchases yet, since we haven't been in the house very much. Once we remember how big the rooms are, it'll be easier to buy what we need!

Anyone who is familiar with the area, what are fun things to do (besides the zoo & farmers market). Also, where have you gotten great deals on furniture in the past??