one year and counting...

song of the day: atmosphere, glasshouse

today marks one year that jonathan and i have lived in our house. memorial day 2007 was the first night that we spent at our new address and it seems as though not much has changed... we still have a million fire ant hills that seem to never go away no matter how much you poison them, the yard isn't really grass so much as it is weeds, the green room is still the shit room, and our walls are still mostly without photos and artwork.

here i am being all glass-half-empty, but when i think of it, we have done a lot of work. i mean, really, when you buy a house that was once a crack house, there is inevitably going to be a lot of work that needs to be done! and you might think, "oh my gosh, those countertops are horrific. and that island? are you kidding me?" and yes, i think that, too. so although no room in this house is entirely finished (yet -- i always have to throw that word in there to make me feel better about myself), this house has seen some dramatic improvement over the past year.

(and our newest accomplishment is the little oomph of color we gave to the exterior over the weekend thanks to a $10 quart of paint... we now have a turquoise front door!)

so i guess i've learned a few things this past year, too, when it comes to owning a home:
1. it takes 10x more time and money to do something than one ever imagined (duh)
2. there's always "something" that isn't just right
3. live with it
4. flat paint is your arch nemesis
5. there's always one or two neighbors who have absolutely no taste or class whatsoever
6. there can never be enough trees
7. always keep a can of white and black spray paint on hand
8. in the land of mcmansions, "quaint" is always a compliment
9. an anal retentive personality + off-square corners & slightly crooked edges = disaster
10. other people aren't judging you and your home as much as you are... at least you hope
11. the instance that makes it all worth while is a quiet, warm spring morning enjoying a cup of great coffee and your favorite magazine or book on your deck along with your husband and beagle while listening to woxy.