Dogs Barking (and no, not just my feet).

It has occurred to me that I just do not understand how the owner of a dog who barks incessantly in an urban neighborhood at all hours of the day and night can live with themselves and said dog and NOT feel completely awful and alienated and shunned from their neighborhood.

Proof, I suppose, that many people just don't give a damn. But really, what is the point of having a pet who is so clearly unhappy with it's situation in life (YOUR life) that it cannot stop barking?

Luckily it's cool enough for windows open in the living room but warm enough to turn the air on low in the bedroom to sleep. And I won't have to listen to the damn dog.

And I am certainly getting to bed early, too. I was at a "Networking Happy Hour" all night, and wore my heels ALL day (with a considerable amount of walking and lots of standing), so these dogs are barking for sure. At least tomorrow is casual Friday ;) NO evil heels for me!

I tell you, too, networking is also a bit overrated. Living in the world's biggest small town and putting people in a room with an open bar and sufficient hors d'oeuvres means that people are just going to behave like college kids at best and no real business relationships will be formed. A hella big waste of time and $ if you ask me. But no one asked me. I am at the bottom of the totem pole, so basically I just get told. So it goes.

AT Cure Week 3

I still don't feel like I have completely transitioned out of Week 2 since I have a couple loose ends in the kitchen and dining room still, but most of those involve buying things and that's out of the question at this point, since I am BROKE (what else is new?).

But Week 3 tasks are slowly being checked off the list, and I suppose slow and steady is better than nothing. I've gotta say though that this Cure thing has really gotten in the way of me getting in any quality Y time, which is hard enough as is. I feel GROSS. But perhaps when all is said and done I will be happier and thus more easily motivated to work out. Whatever. But for now I feel like I have to be putting in the majority of my free time at home, or else I won't get stuff done on schedule.

So it is. And so my list for this week goes:

1. Vacuum, dust, mop floors. AGAIN? I guess I could stand to do this on Saturday, especially since I never got around to the living room at all. Wait, take that back, I finally vacuumed the living room rug, and it makes it look not so ugly. But the floors are growing dust colonies and I must not let myself put it off much longer.
2. Clean the entrance of your apartment and all related closets. Well, I have made progress on this, emptying out the sad little hand-me-down side table and drawer, assembling my new clearance Victoria Hagan for Target cream colored console table, and moving the bookshelf out of the way, taking off all the books for sorting, and dusting the thing for potential reuse elsewhere. I haven't done the closet yet because technically my one closet isn't just for the entryway. Actually, it's not at all, but it's so bad that I need to get a jump start I think.
   
3. Create a Landing Strip. The landing strip is the area of your house where you come in and drop stuff. Basically it's close to the front door and is supposed to handle what you throw at it in an organized fashion so that you can come and go more peacefully and keep the outside nonsense away. This is something I needed to tweak for sure, and I was excited to get moving. So, see above: I got a new console table to start with. But, I also need to get a better coat rack and install it on the door to the furnace...my current one is plastic, only three hooks, and falling apart. Then it's a new doormat, new rug for inside the door, and an artsy fartsy arrangement of essential items on the new console. OH, and a new mirror. My old one was perfectly to scale for the old table, but now it just looks so sad and teeny.
   

Hmmm, reading that last bit just reminded me of MORE STUFF I HAVE TO BUY. I guess I just need to be more scavenger-y of the clearance aisles and try to shop somewhere other than Target and all the fancy stores online. I have a $15 TJ Maxx gift card that can probably be put to good use for one of the above items.

A challenge of this entire process is of course sorting through your junk and actually getting rid of what you don't use, love, or need. I am finding myself taking a harder look at things already, but it's still difficult sometimes to get stuff out the door. Luckily, the darling boyfriend is really good at calling stuff out on it's uselessness AND he even took stuff to Goodwill for me already. Out of sight, out of mind, and there's no looking back that way!

And then finally, this week I am supposed to cook two things at home in my kitchen. I am going to count last night's dinner as one, even though Andrew did the majority of the cooking. I lack self confidence in the kitchen, especially around someone else. BUT I feel like I helped out a lot more than normal (I sometimes just think it's best to be out of the way in that hot and teeny space), and I actually chopped stuff with the scary big santuko knife. We had really tasty shrimp risotto that we made with lobster stock and some tasty bok choy sauteed with my most favorite thing ever, bacon. We knocked back a bottle and a half of wine, indulged in fancy schmancy chocolate hazelnut gelato, and then passed out. I think I could do that every night. My wallet probably wouldn't agree, but my tummy sure does! At least there were leftovers for tonight!

Now I need to start thinking about the next meal I cook. It might be Saturday am breakfast, and if I make banana bread like I've been planning for the last few weeks, that will totally count as "cooking" right? Scrambled eggs, bacon, and banana bread sounds like something I can handle. It's going to be the getting up early in time to do it that'll be tough!

The Mystery of the name Dogtown...

Has apparently been solved!

Maybe these guys have too much time on their hands, but I admire their ability to seemingly get to the bottom of the story. I never much liked the idea that my neighborhood was named after a story about poorly-treated "savages" who ate stray dogs during the World's Fair.

This is what happens when I am bored out of my mind at work...I start reading the amazing literary work that is the Suburban Journals. Yikes.

Progress is being made...

My kitchen looks a lot better already. Monday night was a long night with lots of progress made, and lots of paper towels used up. I scrubbed all the surfaces and even tried about three different methods to get the sink as clean as possible. It's still rusty, but at least I gave it my all. The stove was especially gross since it's actually been getting some use lately. But it's all shiny now. The only things left in the kitchen are the fridge/freezer and the pantry. That shouldn't take too long because I am not a food hoarder. I throw things away when there is even a hint of it being bad, as long as I am taking the trash out at the same time.

I have a few details I want to add in the kitchen (shelving, hooks, curtains, etc.), but I think it's going to be pretty much complete on time for week three which is all about the entry-way. Good timing since I just got a new console table delivered from Target.com today (free shipping!). Hopefully it will encourage me to keep going and to declutter some more in order to make room for it. I'm excited!

I also need to find a way to finalize stuff in the dining room, though cause the book doesn't give a week just to that area. I imagine not many apartments HAVE dining rooms, so I am lucky, but it also becomes a new place to stash crap (most of which was given to me by people trying to clean out their OWN homes. Oh the vicious cycles must end! Goodwill, people!). But yeah, the dining room is just going to get hit whenever I can do it...bit by bit I suppose.

The difficult thing about this project, though, is not getting discouraged by the big mess that I am stirring up as I work, or by the fact that there seem to be a ton of projects looming and maybe not a whole lot of time in my life to spend on them. But, you can always put things off for another day. They'll never get done of course, which means sometimes you just have to dig in and get it over with.

Which is why I am off to watch the Cardinals tonight. HA! Real productive, right? And they will be amazing to watch, I am sure.

Week 2: Attacking the Kitchen

Short and sweet here because I actually need to get some work done tonight (and going to Target for the umpteenth time in the past two weeks doesn't count). Week two of my mission is all about the kitchen. Supposed to scrub it from top to bottom, declutter every surface and cupboard and drawer, and that includes the stove and fridge.

For having a kitchen as big as a shoe box, I actually have quite a bit of work ahead of me. I'm starting with the floor since I didn't get to that last week. I already have a zillion things in my head to get rid of. That will be the easy part.

The hard part is the second half of the kitchen task: cooking. As I mentioned before, I am supposed to make something from scratch (a new recipe) on my own in the kitchen this week. I'm nervous and haven't come up with any ideas for sure yet, but of course it had to get all hot again this week, right? I have to be stuck in my un-air conditioned kitchen slaving over a hot stove during some good old St. Louis Indian summer night. Oh well, enough complaining, I've got a floor to scrub!

Week 1: Mopping, lots of mopping

So the Apartment Therapy Cure is set up in 8 week increments, with basic goals for each week. Week 1's main task, aside from setting goals, figuring out what needs to be fixed, buying fresh flowers (I failed that task, only went to the grocery store once, it was Whole Foods and their flower selection, while nice, was way too pricey), is to mop.

I didn't even own an actual mop until Wednesday. Yes, sadly for the past three+ years I have been "Swiffer Wet" mopping my entire house, which aside from the bathroom and kitchen tile, is hardwood. Probably not the best method to clean things, and definitely a waste of materials (those things just get thrown away, and dry out before my entire living room is done).

My darling boyfriend did actually mop the floors last summer while I was in Ireland, so it hasn't been three years since they've been mopped. But I was overdue.

Anyway, I sort of enjoyed myself. I moved all the stuff out of each room, pulled furniture away from the walls, broke out the Murphy Oil Soap, scrubbed the baseboards and mopped. My house smelled so good this morning. And it's crazy how good it looked! I didn't think something so simple would have such a big impact on the overall feel of my house. But I am sold on the idea, and there's no going back. I'm not quite done yet, I still have the VERY dirty kitchen floor and the very LARGE living room floor (which has also become the landing zone for my sorting and giveaway piles). I am hoping to tackle those on Sunday night after a weekend in the country.

Can't remember the specific tasks for week 2, but I know it has to do with getting the kitchen in order. I am excited for that too, since my teeny kitchen is completely disfunctional. Not that I cook or anything...but that's part of the plan, as well. I am supposed to start using my kitchen to cook meals in. As in the stove, and not as in boiling water for pesto pasta. Something about roasting a chicken I think. It could be interesting...especially if I don't allow the darling boyfriend/chef of the relationship to do it. Maybe I need to buy a fire extinguisher first... ;)

Why buying good quality cookware is always a good idea

Last night while uploading and editing my pictures for the apartment therapy chicago flikr page, I was making a little dinner - some pasta with tomato/goat cheese sauce. Pretty much almost what I ate the night before at Dad's b.day dinner (although that was much better).

Anyway, I was a bit distracted while I was getting all my pictures up and looking at everyone else's, that I neglected to turn the burner off underneath my saucepan after I mixed up my pasta and ate. It wasn't until I headed back into the kitchen for a pinot grigio refill about 45 mins later that I noticed the flame was on.

I turned it off and peered into the pot, expecting to see the nice non-stick coating demolished and the rubber spatula completely melted. To my amazement, it was fine! The leftover sauce was nothing but charred remains, but the pot was completely intact. I rinsed it out tonight after work, and you'd never know what had happened.

Gotta love Calphalon. It's totally worth it. I am not buying the cheap stuff ever again.

My latest obsession

Due to some incredibly boring days at work recently, I have rediscovered the amazing Apartment Therapy blogs (I am partial to NY, Chicago, and Kitchen). Luckily, I was just in time to learn of their semi-annual 8-week home "Cure", which began Sunday.

As you may know, I have been in my current apartment for well over three years and pay an amazingly low rent, especially for the amount of space I have. Yet I have never fully taken advantage of this apartment, and I have furniture that could rival any dorm room out there. I decided to finally get off my butt and do something about it.

So I joined up with ATChicago's regional group and I have begun my mission. I have almost no money to spend, but I am hoping for a little advice from my fellow cure-ees, some peer-pressure style motivation, and perhaps a little creative budgeting in both time and money to ensure that I actually see some results after these two months are up.

I'm excited. And willing to take any and all advice from my two and a half readers here. Perhaps you'd like to do your own Cure? I don't think it's too late to start. You can get the companion book at your local St. Louis Public Library branch - I did, and they had more copies available through inter-library loan.

You can see my "before" shots on the AT Chicago Flickr site linked above. I'm putting it all out there, and I am looking forward to some nights and weekends spent scrubbing, de-cluttering, and re-organizing. And goodwilling. Lots of that. Wish me luck!