A long overdue home improvement post

I've had my head spinning and my body going in five million different directions for the past week for tech, but not that we've opened, my life will slowly get back to normal, and hopefully the posts a little more regular.

As I mentioned before, my condo was kind of unapologetically out of control and un-lived-in, and I'd gotten tired of it. Last weekend, I had an unexpected day off from rehearsal, my mother was in town, and she helped me clean house and shop for the new place.

One of the first priorities for us was getting the porch in order. Some barn swallows have been nesting in my porch above the sprinkler head for three seasons in a row. While I love nature, the bird droppings and inability to sit out on my porch have gotten super-old. Not particularly wanting to rip a bird's nest down (don't worry: all the eggs have hatched and no birds were harmed in the process of cleaning my deck), my lovely mother hired someone to do it for us. The woman did a thorough job, and also scrubbed down the siding and patio furniture. Once all remnants of bird were gone, I went to Home Depot and bought a hammer and some thumb tacks (yes, I know... it's appalling that I didn't own a hammer. I'll give you a moment to get over it). We tacked up this magical netting called Bird Block to prevent our feathered creatures from coming back. I've had these great Japanese fish bowls sitting out on the deck that I inherited from one of my mother's recent relocations, but I've had no occasion to use them. We lined the edge of the porch with those fish bowls filled with azaleas and some other plant whose leaves look like elephant ears. Throw some lanterns out there and VOILA! New and improved porch!





We christened the new porch by inviting some neighbors over for wine and cheese that night. Our neighbor from across the hall brought some incense to stick in one of the flower pots to keep the mosquitos at bay. I never knew that worked, but I'm going out to a hippie store to buy some now. I went to Trader Joe's and bought some pita bread, a box of mixed cocktail crackers, some 3-layer hummus, aged gouda, dill havarti, and blackberries and black cherries. Here are the results of my impromptu entertaining:



I opened a bottle of Blue Jean, a California blend that is actually a pretty good value for it's money (it retails for $7.99 and is quite yummy).

All in all, it was a good way to start pulling my place into shape. A week later, the plants are still thriving. I've bought a Dyson and discovered a newfound love of vacuuming. I've cleaned my room and re-decorated the master bath. My mother re-decorated the guest bath and powder rooms. I'll leave all of that for another post, but I'm well on my way into making Chez Downbeats a home!