But first, the most exciting announcement:

WE’RE ALMOST READY TO START!!

Our lot has been staked and as soon as the permits come back, *fingers crossed* for that to happen in the next day or two, we’ll be breaking ground!!

View from the front of the lot

View from the back of the lot

I think our soon-to-be neighbors think I’m crazy because I got way more excited about taking photos of surveyor stakes than any normal person would.  Look at those beautiful pink flags!!

And I got another surprise while visiting the lot…in the back right corner is the most gorgeous lilac bush!  And it’s huge!  It’s near the edge of the property but it’s definitely on our lot.

I LOVE lilacs!

In other house-related news, we’ve made several big changes to the layout of the house over the past few weeks.  About a month ago I decided to post my floor plans to a home-building forum.  I had an interesting encounter with an internet troll but for the most part people had helpful and constructive criticism and ideas.

From the more helpful people, we got the idea to alter the bottom floor layout so that the entrance to my studio would be right by the garage door and nearer to the stairs.  In moving our utility closet and laundry room, we also had to shuffle the upstairs a bit.  So our dining room and kitchen have flipped positions.  I wasn’t keen on the idea to start but the more I think about it I really like the idea.  It also forces some changes to the deck layout but it will give us a better view of the backyard from the dining room window.

Downstairs, we lost our little bench entryway but I think I’m going to take some ideas from Pinterest and convert the closet under the stairs into a mudroom entrance similar to this:

I think it’ll provide a nice space for students to hang up their coats and bags and also provide us with a little extra shoe storage.

I’ll probably post a new floor plan once I get the final plan back but for now, hopefully that will give you an idea.

We’ve also made some progress in the kitchen area…I was having the most awful time trying to match a countertop and backsplash to a flooring tile without it looking too busy or too matchy.  In the midst of my panicking, our builder gave us an awesome offer to upgrade parts of the house to hardwood for just pennies more than the tile we had originally planned for.  It’s unfinished oak that will be finished on-site.  We’ve decided to put hardwood in the dining, kitchen, and living rooms, the main hallways on both floors, the stairs, and the foyer.  In the dining, kitchen, and living rooms it will be laid on the diagonal and it will be laid straight everywhere else.  This photo gives a pretty good idea of the color stain we’re aiming for:

I wasn’t keen on hardwood floors until I saw this combo.  I LOVE the grain and texture in that flooring with the ebony cabinets!

And I also ended up changing the countertop…Originally, I was interested in the Formica Soapstone Sequoia but I’ve found lots of photos recently of dark cabinets with the Formica Bianca Luna and it’s stunning!  Of course, now when I’m looking for one of those particular photos I can’t find one, but here’s an example of it with white cabinets.

Anyway, I’ll probably end up changing my mind at least once more before we actually get around to placing any orders but these are my thoughts for now.  I look forward to the day when I can post an entry about my finished kitchen!!

I’m sure the photos and posts will pick up in the next few weeks/months!  I’m looking forward to sharing this journey with all of you!

]]> http://www.jessicafrost.com/blog/2013/04/and-now-we-begin/feed/ 2 http://www.jessicafrost.com/blog/2013/03/120-months-and-some-good-news/ http://www.jessicafrost.com/blog/2013/03/120-months-and-some-good-news/#comments Thu, 28 Mar 2013 05:28:44 +0000 jessicafrost http://www.jessicafrost.com/blog/?p=359 Continue reading →]]> So, as of the last few hours, Steve and I have been “officially” together for 10 years!  I’m still don’t quite remember the time, so it’s possible that he may have actually asked me out in the early morning on March 28th, but we’ve always gone with March 27th, 2003 as our official “anniversary”.  To celebrate, a brief photo “history:”

This may be the first photo of the two of us. Taken by my future roommate, Amanda Calhoon at PF Chang’s in Tyson’s Corner!

The Wind Ensemble tour to DisneyWorld

One of our first big out-of-town trips to NYC!

March 27th, 2008…proposal in the Luray Caverns

The most perfect ring

Engagement photos at Skyline Drive (taken by the lovely Julie Napear!)

Our first dance

Here’s to my amazing husband, who still makes me laugh everyday. I look forward to spending many more decades together!

Love you!

P.S. Oh, and that good news?  This morning we found out that our builder was finally approved for the construction loan (the bank has been taking FOREVER) and we break ground in a week or so!!  All in all, a very happy day!

I’m still not quite sure how I’m going to set up my new space. It will be a little larger than my current studio but in different shape.  It’s wider at one end than the other and there are more windows and doors throughout.  We’ll also be displaying the beautiful quilt that my mother-in-law made for us in the studio so we’ll need ample room on one wall to give that the space it deserves.  It is multi-colored and patterned but the dominant colors are black, red, and cream with hints of blue and brown so it’ll fit in beautifully with the wood instruments and color scheme of the bottom floor.  I can’t quite decide where I’m going to put a shelving unit but I’ve definitely decided how I’ll be doing the shelves!

Quilt hanging day!

This photo was taken at our townhouse, on the day the quilt was brought up to us and hung.  Thank goodness for tall brothers-in-law who can hang things really high!  And for those who don’t know, that is my father-in-law, mother-in-law, Steve (of course), and Dan, my brother-in-law.  Oh, and Blu (our previous foster and the Ballas’ adoptee) and Merlin.  These were the P.A. days…Pre-Archimedes.

I LOVE that quilt!  You won’t believe how many harp fabrics were found for that quilt!

After doing some late night googling, I am planning to order 3 or 4 of the Billy Bookcases from Ikea (found here) and will attempt a DIY project similar to this or this.  I love the way both projects turned out.  The finished bookshelves definitely don’t look like basic Ikea products.  And 3 or 4 of them will give me plenty of space for my music library that is not currently contained in my two file cabinets and all of the other music knick-knacks I have all over the place.

My other Pinterest-inspired idea for the music studio is for wall “art.”  For the past 8 years of teaching I’ve saved every recital program and attempted to take at least one photo of each studio recital.  The studio recital photos are currently in two large collage style frames along with random photos from my studios but the programs have been safely filed away in my file cabinet.  For the past few weeks I’ve been taking a 40% or 50% off coupon to Michael’s each week and purchasing a 9×12 black frame.  Once we get settled in the new house I’m going to frame my favorite recital programs.  Every couple of years I can change them around, but I’m really excited about having a visual “history” of the studio!

Next post…craft room ideas!

P.S.  I guess I do have to start making decisions on paint now…

P.P.S.  I may have launched into a Grey’s Anatomy-esque dance break in my teaching studio today upon hearing the news!  The dogs were thoroughly embarrassed for me…

The marinated cheese recipe comes from my best friend, Heather, and I’m not sure where she got it.  There are several variations of it online but in my opinion, this is the best one!  This is NOT a low-calorie, low-fat, healthy appetizer so it should probably be eaten in moderation.  But it’s okay to splurge once in awhile!  We serve it with various types of crackers…my favorites are garlic bagel chips, everything pretzel crackers, and those boring little water biscuits.

Marinated cheese, pre-drain…

Marinated Cheese

1 (0.7 oz) envelope Italian dressing mix
1/2 cup vegetable or olive oil
1/4 cup white vinegar
2 tbs minced green onion (I almost never use these simply because I don’t like green onions)
2 tbs water
1 1/2 tsps sugar
1 (8-oz.) block Monterey Jack cheese, chilled
1 (8-oz.) block sharp Cheddar cheese, chilled
1 (8-oz.) package cream cheese, chilled
1 (4-oz.) jar chopped pimientos, drained
Assorted crackers

Whisk the first 6 ingredients together.  Set aside.

Cut Monterey Jack cheese in half lengthwise.  Cut each half crosswise into 1/4 inch thick slices.  Repeat with Cheddar cheese and cream cheese.

Arrange cheese in 4 rows in shallow 2-qt. baking dish, alternating Monterey Jack cheese, Cheddar cheese, and cream cheese.  Pour marinade over cheese.  Cover and chill at least 8 hours or overnight.

Drain marinade (or reuse on chicken breasts!).  Arrange cheese on a platter in rows.  Top with pimientos and serve with assorted crackers.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars

There are also several recipes floating around for Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars and I’ve tried several of them.  My favorite recipe still comes from Martha Stewart.  Her bars turn out crispy on the very bottom, chewy and dense in the middle, and crunchy on top with just the right amount of jelly.  These are fantastic and a little square goes a LONG way as they’re very rich and dense.  Best served with a cold glass of milk!

Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
2 1/2 cups smooth peanut butter
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups strawberry jam, room temperature (I also recommend trying raspberry)
2/3 cup salted peanuts, roughly chopped (I always use honey roasted and not chopped)

Heat oven to 350.  Grease a 9×13 pan with butter and line the bottom with parchment paper.  Grease the parchment paper and dust with flour to coat.  Set aside.

Place butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes.  On medium speed, add eggs, vanilla, and peanut butter.  Beat until combined, about 2 minutes.

Whisk together salt, baking powder, and flour.  Add to bowl of mixer on low speed and combine.  It will be VERY thick at this point.  Resist the urge to eat it straight out of the bowl as it does contain raw eggs.

Transfer two-thirds of mixture to prepared pan and spread evenly.  I find it’s easiest to use damp fingers to spread the mixture to the edges.  Using spatula, spread jam on top of peanut-butter dough.  Dollop remaining third of peanut butter mixture on top of jam.  I just break off little quarter sized pieces and try to evenly cover the top.  You should be able to see the jam through the topping.  Sprinkle with peanuts.

Bake until golden, about 45 minutes (usually takes me 50) minutes).  Transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

Be careful to only bake it until it turns a nice golden brown.  If you wait too long, the edges will burn and the bottom layer will be hard and not soft and chewy.

Again, neither of these recipes are remotely healthy but if you’re looking to indulge, I highly recommend giving them a try!

Maybe you can tell that I missed the beach…?

Oh, Tom Cruise…before you went crazy!

However, I moved off campus after my freshman year (couldn’t take dining hall living ANYMORE) into a fairly nice apartment a few minutes from campus.  I was there for 2 years and had a 2 roommates (one for a year and half and the other for half a year).    It was just a two bedroom apartment but it had a pretty spacious common area (teensy tiny kitchen though) and a nice balcony.

Our first big group dinner…we cooked “Thanksgiving” for 10+ people…

Front of my building

Steve was literally standing in about half of my kitchen…there wasn’t much more space on the other side.

I was not fond of having to drag my laundry down to the basement common laundry room but overall it wasn’t too bad.  My only real bad memories from that place was a misunderstanding between the landlord and myself regarding their pet policy.  I purchased Nestle, my chocolate brown lop rabbit, thinking that my landlord given his approval.  After being in the apartment for two weeks I found out that the person I had spoken with was the son of the boss and therefore, not allowed to give me permission to have my bunny.  Luckily my parents are very kind and agreed to let Nestle “vacation” at their home for the duration of the year.  During my last year in that apartment, Steve moved off campus to a different apartment complex on the other side of Winchester (which was unfortunately, also pet-unfriendly).

For my senior year and Steve’s first year of grad school, we moved into a two bedroom apartment together.  It was a nice place to live and we definitely enjoyed our two years there.  The two biggest perks of that apartment complex was 1) they were very pet friendly, and 2) we had our own washer and dryer!  The kitchen was still pretty small but much more user-friendly than my first place.  Of course, Nestle moved back in with us and we adopted Cookie, and later Merlin, while living there.  We also fostered Blu (who ended up being adopted by my in-laws) while we lived there so we have a lot of special memories from that apartment.  But after living there for two years we (okay, I) was anxious to find something a little bigger…

Dining area

Loved those pink sheets!

So, our next home seemed to be everything I had dreamed of but ended up becoming my worst nightmare.  My best friend lived for a few months in this beautiful new three story townhome in Stephens City and I had fallen in love with her place.  However, they were only in that home for a few months before moving cross country, and luckily, never ran into the problems that came with our place.  We ended up renting a different unit which was supposedly “the best” as it was an end unit with “all the upgrades”.  At first glance it seemed like an absolute dream come true.  It was only a year old and was more than double the size of our previous apartment at over 2500 square feet.  There was a huge kitchen, master bedroom ensuite, plus three more bedrooms, a huge studio space, and a backyard and front yard for gardening!  It didn’t take long though for the problems to start cropping up.  The first major (non-house) related problem…the neighbors, or more specifically, their children.

Dining room, looking into the living room

Soaking tub…so not worth it…

Kitchen

One of our first days there I put a pretty copper wind spinner in my front yard garden.  Shortly after I drove up from the grocery store and there were 5 random children standing in the garden playing with it.  And I don’t mean standing in my front yard…I mean standing in the actual garden.  So I got out of my car and politely asked them to step out of my garden.  The first couple kids stepped out but the youngest two (I’d estimate around 5 or 6 years old) continued to play with the spinner and completely ignore me.  So I repeated my request a little louder but still very politely.  I then had a (probably middle school age) child screech at me to stop telling her sister what to do and who did I think I was punctuated by numerous profanities.  If you know me well, you know that patience is NOT a virtue of mine.  I was pretty impressed with myself for asking these kids to politely get out of my property twice but I was absolutely not going to be cursed at by a kid.  So at that point, I told her that it was my property and I wanted them all off of it or I was going to call the police.  Little did I know that with those words, I was starting WWIII: neighborhood edition.

For the next 12 months those children, and in particular, that girl, made our lives absolutely miserable in that house.  I planted a crepe myrtle bush in my front yard, she came by and pulled all of the leaves of all the branches*.  I planted tulips that came up the following spring, she ripped the flowers off and left them all over the front yard.  They left their bikes in our yard, we moved them to the common area, they keyed Steve’s van.  They threw rocks at the windows when Merlin was in the downstairs bedroom (usually when we were out) to antagonize him.  They threw trash in our yard and at the upstairs windows when we were home.  They purposely lazed around in our front and side yard, kicking our siding, as if to dare me to come out and tell them to move.  When I walked Merlin outside they’d stand around jumping at him and making threatening motions which, at the time, scared him half to death.  It was awful…and when we occasionally saw their parents out and about, we realized that it would do us no good to say anything to them about their children’s behavior.  We just tried to ignore it as best as we could.

And then the house itself…*sigh*.  Again it was only a year old when we moved in.  It was one of those national builder, pre-fab, slap it together as quickly as we can jobs.  Our landlord lived in northern VA and was quick to answer our emails but slow or totally unresponsive to fix problems.  One of the selling points (for us) was the beautiful master bedroom ensuite bathroom with the giant soaking tub, separate shower, etc.  Well three months into living there, a strange orange mold/fungus started growing along the cracks in the shower.  We would (literally) cut it away and it would be back within weeks.  We had a second bathroom on the top floor which was for the two small bedrooms that we used for offices.  It was nice until we realized that if you tried to use the bathtub, it would leak water down through the ceiling and drip off our dining room chandelier.  We figured that was probably some sort of hazard so we stopped using that bathtub.  Then I tried actually using the soaking tub in the master bath one day and realized that the water heater was so small that you could only get about a foot of water in the tub before it got cold.  And then in the spring, the birds came.  Our landlord was too cheap to put cages or mesh on the ends of any exterior pipes so starlings came to live inside all of our pipes.  That townhouse had 4 bathrooms…by the time we moved only one bathroom was really usable.  The first thing we noticed was an odd, sickly sweet smell whenever you turned on a fan in the bathroom.   Then it got to be that the smell was always there.  After weeks and weeks of complaining our landlord finally agreed to pay for us to hire a exterminator.  He arrived with some huge vacuum device and sucked out all of the dead baby birds, rotten eggs, nest and waste debris, etc. from every pipe and put cages on the ends of the pipes…took him less than an hour.  It took so long for our landlord to agree to pay for it that the birds had been out of the nests for weeks and it was just rotting remains left inside.  Nothing got rid of that smell though.  Ugh, we used every air freshener known to man to no avail.  We finally just closed up those rooms and used the very top floor bathroom for the sink and toilet and the master for the shower.

And while I do understand house settling and such over time there were cracks all over the walls and ceiling of the house (not to mention water spots from various leaks).  It was a mess.  The house was pretty and sparkly upon first glance but was SO shoddily put together.  I couldn’t get out of that house fast enough…

So, after a year there, we moved to our current home where we’ve lived since 2008.  It’s literally less than a mile from the townhouse (which we can actually see if we walk to the end of our street).  A few years after we moved here we noticed that the same neighborhood kids who had terrorized us were now old enough that they were starting to migrate to hanging out in our neighborhood.  One summer we had an HOA meeting because they had begun destroying other people’s properties after being told to stop using their yards as walkways into the neighborhood.  For a few years I actually hid inside the house if I saw them walking around in hopes that they wouldn’t remember me and realize that they could resume their torture.  There are some things I’m not terribly fond of here; but, all in all, this house has been pretty good to us.  And again, there are a lot of good memories of this home.  We got married the year that we moved here, Archimedes joined our family here, and we’ve been here for almost half of our relationship.  I’m sure it’ll be a little sad to say goodbye when it comes time to move but I am most definitely ready for change!

*As a side note, I was determined to save that little crepe myrtle from our townhouse (it was my first real plant purchase) and I’d be damned if the neighborhood kids were going to kill it.  So I put heavy duty stakes around it and used zip ties to secure hard rubber netting around the three leaf-less spindly branches.  When we moved, I begged my dad to dig it up and take it with us.  I think it had maybe two leaves when we dug it up.  Now it’s taken over our front garden and every year no matter how much I cut it back it grows up to the second story of the house. I’ve already started asking my dad to dig it up so that it can come with us to the new house…so far he’s not seeming very receptive to the idea but I’m going to keep at it.  That bush is a fighter!

When it first arrived post townhouse trauma…

My crepe myrtle survivor…back right in the photo. Now it reaches the second story windows.

And this post was WAY longer than I expected it to be…whew, if you got all the way through this, I’m impressed!

Paperwhites, crocuses, and grape hyacinth planted around the tree trunks
Weeping willow
Wisteria
Lilacs
Morning Glory Perennial Vine
Morning Glories and Honeysuckle on the back deck
Hydrangea
Gaura
Cosmos
Sweet Pea
Larkspur
Lavender
Fairy Rose
Day Lilies

My earth boxes filled with tomatoes, two 4′x8′ raised vegetable beds, and a few dwarf apple trees…

And some of my Pinterest finds:

Love the colors

Hostas and Knockout Roses

Totally not practical but I can dream!

I love this look for the raised gardens…

Lilac Varieties

And I’m hoping I can convince Steve to help me make a sign like this:

Garden Sign

Except we’d probably have to have an arrow pointing up towards the Death Star and another pointing towards Mossflower…

Floor plan as of 2/14/2013

I’ve got a few busy weeks ahead (gigs and teaching stuff) so I hope I don’t have to make any more major decisions for awhile.  I’m still waiting for a few more tile samples to come in before I make decisions for the master bathroom.  At the moment I’m trying to decide between a light gray or dark gray carpet for the upstairs floor…but that’s about it.

There is a small lot around the corner from our house that has been deserted since we moved in 5 years ago.  I was told that there was an explosion of some kind at the old house and it was torn down.  They’ve finally decided to start building on it and I’m amazed at how fast things are going up.  It seems like each day it looks totally different.  The whole process has definitely made me even more anxious for construction to begin on our lot!  I’m sure the workers are going to start dreading when they see my van come up the hill as I’ll probably stop by daily to document the build in photos!  It was recommended that I come bearing baked goods…that might soften them a bit!

Anyway, I’ve got to watching The Walking Dead before bedtime!  Fingers crossed for lots of Daryl Dixon scenes!!