House Hunting - Steps 1 & 2

Sammit and I started looking for a house this month.  We started this process last summer but stopped when A) we couldn't find a realtor that would talk to us if we weren't pre-approved for a mortgage and B) a creepy and aggressive loan officer who didn't complete his contracts and who really over-shared in his first meeting with us.  So, we ran away as fast as we could and hide in our frugally-rented-family-owned-too-small-for-everyone-living-here house until we felt comfortable enough to reemerge this spring.

And now, we're really enjoying the process.  Here's what we did differently:


A) We found a realtor we really like.  I was a little hesitant as a DIYer to look for a buyer's agent.  I was concerned it would ultimately be an added expense and we'd have someone who just wanted to get us in the most expensive house they could as fast as they could.  I took some advice from a blogger I respect and searched for a realtor through the Dave Ramsey website.  It's free - and while I don't tend to buy into a lot of the hype I find online about anything, I respect a lot of the stuff Dave Ramsey teaches about debt relief and money management.  The website sent my phone number to 3 agents in this area and each one of them contacted me within 24 hours.  I didn't get good feelings from two of the initial conversations.  I felt like they weren't listening to me and they recommended that we close before the end of the summer because "inventory is dropping and interest rates can't go any lower!" Gross.

One of the realtors I spoke with seemed very receptive to the pace Sammit and I are operating at - we want to be able to move quickly when we see something we like, but we don't want to feel rushed and we're in a great place to be able to take our time (even until next year if we need).  This realtor got it.  He set up a consultation with one of his buying agents so we could walk through the entire process of buying a house from beginning to end and have all of our questions answered.  This meeting was an hour long and came with no obligation to the company.

Our meeting was with Jerry (when we complete our transaction and are completely satisfied, I'll be happy to share his information) who is a laid-back but efficient guy.  He's about Sammit's age and has just started a family.  He's fantastic!  My favorite part about this process is that the agency encourages us to try other realtors and look with other buyer's agents.  We don't have to sign a commitment to them until we put an offer on a house we saw through them.  Actually, my real favorite part was when I told him we might have to wait until next summer - instead of trying to convince us to close in the next few months he said:

That might make the most sense!  I want to make sure you're in a house you love - 'cause if you're not happy, who are you going to blame? Me.  The inventory will always be there and I honestly don't think interest rates will be going up too much - they may even go down.  Besides, you'll have more money saved for a down payment and you'll probably feel more financially ready than you already are.

Can you say love at first meeting!?  That's exactly how we feel about it and he's the first person to agree.

Our Credit Union - "Doof-Koo"

B) We started the pre-approval process (again) but this time we talked with 3 different loan officers first.  We finally opted to apply with our credit union for a few reasons: 1) We get a higher dividend paid out to us each year if we hold our mortgage with them; 2) We can do all of our banking from one site and I don't have to remember more usernames and passwords; 3) Most importantly, our mortgage is kept in Michigan by the people who are loaning us the money.  They are more conservative with their loans because they are the ones who will eat-it if we default, but we have good credit scores and a low debt-to-credit ratio. While we won't hear back until next week, I have a feeling we'll be okay.  This is the largest amount of money we have ever, and most likely will ever, invest in ourselves and in the economy; I feel good knowing that it's staying local and supporting the kind of socially responsible foundation on which we try to build our lives.

Seed Starting 2012

I read on a wise homesteading blog that it takes 5 years to get the hang of starting your own seeds.  I'm on year 4 and I think 5 might be about right.  I'm making great improvements each year, but I've never had anything that really resembles the plant size or strength of the farmer's market flat.  

Year One: I tried starting a few seeds in my apartment in college (sunflowers, beans, tomatoes).  I grew them in odd and end containers.  They germinated but without drainage and enough light they became spindly and weak.  

Year Two: I started seeds in my new apartment.  I used a starting kit I bought from Home Depot that came with pucks which expanded into a starting medium when warm water was added.  I had more light and some drainage.  But I also had a vacation planning in April and two cats who loved salads.  Nothing was really salvageable.

Year Three: I am generally pretty frugal and this year I tried starting seeds in natural egg cartons that I had saved and collected from friends.  I had significant light from a southern facing window and made sure to have some drainage in the bottom of the containers.  I also protected my stuff from the cats.  But in the end, there was not enough light and not enough room for roots to really develop.  I ended up with a few plants in the garden but depended mostly on starts from the farmer's market.

Year Four: Sammit gave me an actual grow light system for christmas so I have a significant amount of light (though I'm thinking I'll get one more for better coverage).  I used potting soil but I'm experimenting with a coconut coir and vermaculture blend.  I'm using yogurt and grapefruit cup containers from our regular grocery list with several holes drilled into the bottom.  The cups are stored in disposable aluminum baking pans to catch runoff water.  All of the containers are clearly labeled and stored in a spare bedroom away from cats.  I do not have a seed mat because they upstairs stays pretty warm.  I do have a fan that I turn on from time to time to help the stems strengthen in the artificial wind.

Year 4 - Week 2

Year 4 - Week 2

Year 4 - Week 8

Year 4 - Week 8

Year 4 - the whole system

I also updated my seed storage.  I used to hold my seeds in their original packets, the corners taped, and stuffed into this very adorable and very big box.  The packets would slide all over the place, making any attempt at organization pointless.

My new system is held in three stackable boxes (made in the UK).  I transferred the seeds to small envelopes with resealable flaps.  The envelope itself shows a lot of information about the seed inside.  The front shows the variety, whether or not it is organic, and the company from which I ordered the seeds. The back shows the year the seed was saved, its planting depth, and any information about the variety or planting tips.  They are organized in alphabetical order with a section labeled "flowers" for the handful of bachelor's button, sunflower, and marigold seeds I have.  Now I can find seed varieties easily and store them in properly in the off season.

Baked Crab Rangoon

Devin, the house photographer, documents our culinary lives.

Ingredients

16 oz crab or krab, shredded
16 oz cream cheese, room temperature
4 green onions, thinly sliced
1 shallot or small red onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, small dice
1 Tbs. worcestershire sauce
1 Tbs. soy sauce
1 packet of wonton wrappers (45+ wrappers)
2 Tbs. coconut oil (or some other heat-tolerant oil), melted

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 (F) and brush a muffin tin with coconut oil.  Place won tons in each of the muffin holes so they form a cup. Mix together crab, onions, garlic, and sauces fill wontons with 1 tablespoon of crab filling.  Bake for 15 minutes or until the edges are crisp and the filling is bubbling.

This made 47 wontons with about 2 Tbs. of filling left over that we used in an omelet.

Note: These do not reheat well (the wontons lose their crunch).

Mint & Strawberry Salad

Devin and I finished taking out the fence in order to get the garden ready for building.  We broke for a nice lunch and utilized some of the spearmint that's popping up in the yard (and by some, I mean more mint than I will ever be able to use).

Here's a photo set Devin put together from our lunch.

Broccoli, corn on the cob, swiss mushroom brat from the farm,
and mint-strawberry salad.

We aren't very good at the before and after shots yet, but this is from the same angle and gives you an idea of what we've done so far - and here's where we hope to go!

Big Black Fence 

Fenceless! Next the tilling & building.

Orlando, FL - March 2012

Sammit and I returned to our Honeymoon location for my spring break this year.

How we got there & where we stayed:
We stayed at the Starwood Vistana Vista Villages again.  Instead of flying down this time we decided to road trip it.  We stayed with Sammit's aunt and uncle on the way down in Pikeville, KY and with my aunt and uncle on the way home in Gainesville, FL.  We also visited my dear friend John and had another amazing dinner in Tampa.

The Fun Details:
We tried to keep a low profile this trip.  On the way down we stopped at the Franklin Conservatory for their Orchid Event.

We split our days between lounging around the pool and walking through Universal Studios.  Once again, because of our off season timing it only took us 2 half days to go through both Universal Parks.  We went to Harry Potter World where we rode the ride in Hogwarts (once of the best we've done).

Chocolate Frogs

Quidditch Set

Mandrake Roots

Inside Hogwarts

The Sorting Hat

The Food Details:
We were trying to keep our costs and calorie intake low so we packed a big cooler with healthy foods made at home.  We ate sandwiches at the Franklin Conservatory and had a family dinner with Sammit's aunt and uncle on our first day of travel.

On day two we stopped at a place called Cafe 24 in Knoxville, TN.  While we didn't have a lot of time to explore, the city was very friendly!  And the lunch at Cafe 4 was amazing.  Sammit had a fried stuffed french toast and I had a spare rib and red onion chutney grilled cheese sandwich with parmesan truffle fries; we consumed most of our daily calories in that one meal but it was absolutely worth it.  I literally groaned with gastronomic pleasure.

We made a mandatory stop back at Bern's Steakhouse in Tampa when we visited my friend John.  We took him to dinner and split a wonderful steak!  Once again, I forgot to take pictures, even after telling everyone at the table that I would be taking photos of all their plates.  We managed to save just enough room to go upstairs in the Henry Waugh Dessert Room.  If you're ever going to find yourself in Tampa, save up and treat yourself.  It is an experience worth having (and take the kitchen and wine cellar tour).

Finally, we had lunch at the Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade.  While it was still park food, it was decent park food.  I had fish and chips (obviously) and Sammit had roasted chicken.  We partook in the butter beer and tried both the regular and frozen.  Frozen.  Only do the frozen.  The regular butter beer tasted like horrible chemicals; we couldn't finish it.  But the frozen, while still made with gross chemicals, was a delicious blend of artificial butterscotch and shortbread cookie flavors.