We’re settling into the new house nicely. We still have a few boxes left to unpack, but we have the essentials done. The kitchen, media room, and play rooms are totally functional. Now, we’re feathering in our list of projects with the unpacking process.
Ever since I was a little girl, one of my childhood fantasies was to have an old-timey “library” in my mansion: maybe a cozy room with floor-to-ceiling bookcases and big chairs. Our first house project came swifter than we thought when we met “Billy.” I had seen these bookcases on the IKEA website a few weeks before we moved and last month, we took a trip out to Northeast Dallas to see them. They’re totally modular; everything comes separately, so it’s totally customizable. The basic bookcase, called the “Billy Bookcase System,” is a seven-foot case with five shelves. Exactly five of these plus one half-sized one fill the length of our office wall perfectly. We also got a height extension shelf for each of the basic shelves, to make eight-feet-tall shelves, but when I was putting them together, we discovered that a second height extension fits perfectly above the first, so we went back to IKEA the next weekend and got more height extensions. Walter picked out the doors, knobs, and lights which took a week to finish after the kids went to bed. We didn’t plan on doing the bookcases until next year when our project fund was replenished, but Billy actually cost us only a third of our build-them-from-scratch budget. And you’d never know that they weren’t built with the house because it totally matches all the other cabinets and hardware. So, now we’re in love with “Billy.”
Here's a photo of Billy:
Chloe and I have been doing a lot of baking the past few weekends. Three weeks ago, the boys were out of the house and she asked if we could make something. I had a bag of gourmet brownie mix in the cupboard, so we cooked those up. We shared them with the boys when they got home and a guy that came to install our speakers and drop off the parts for our central vacuum. The following weekend, she and I took that trip to IKEA to get the second set of height extensions for Billy, but we got there before they opened, so we stopped at Barnes & Noble and got her a princess cookbook. We made the prettiest little princess cake, and shared with contractors who came to finish our speakers. One of the was the same guy that was there the previous week for speakers. I said, “Is this going to become a regular thing, every time I make some goodies, you come over?” He laughed.
Chloe's Princess Cake:
I register her for school next week. We’re going to be in Florida the following week during the official meet the teacher day, so I hope they let us make an appointment when we get back. They have to do a “placement test” on her to see which class she’ll go into. This summer has flown by for us, so I hope they’re patient with all my questions that I haven’t bothered to ask before the last minute.
Walter got a job offer for another position at our same company. It’s a bit of a promotion for him. He’s been kind of wishy-washy about it because he really likes his coworkers, but he’s growing out of his current position. (And I’m sure he’s anxious to get away from the “tap-slurp-tap-tap-trash-can” guy. You can ask him about it.)
And then, next Wednesday, WE’RE FINALLY GOING TO DISNEY!! WAHOO!! I think I have all the important details taken care of. Airfare – check. Accomodations – check. Meal plan – check. Most importantly: reservations for a princess breakfast – CHECK! The rest will fall in line. I’m only going to have two rules: wear sunscreen, and no rushing. This is not the see-it-all-do-it-all vacation. We’re going to have a leisurely stroll around the four parks, then we’ll spend a day with my sister and fiancé, and then a day/night on the East Coast. I can’t wait to stick my feet in the sand and smell the salty air again. I can’t wait to build a real sandcastle with the kids too.
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