Closing and Opening

Last night at 4pm we became homeowners!

Our key!!!!

It was a whirlwind of the last few weeks and we have been working so hard to get all the last minute arrangements and paperwork taken care of. I have never felt so overwhelmed by paperwork in my life. In the end though it was totally worth it because we got a house!!!!!

I am going to just give you a rundown of all the stuff we needed for closing and some of the highlights (or lowlights if you want to be a negative Nancy) of our process.

First we had the appraisal issue. The house did not appraise originally for our agreed purchase price so we had to send in a rebuttal to the AMC who then came up only 2K after two weeks of waiting to hear from them. So the seller’s agreed to pay for a second appraisal as I had mentioned the second went through. This whole process delayed our closing by almost two weeks. This really threw a wrench into our whole plan.

When you close at the end of the month you do not have to pay as much in taxes. It is hard to explain but we ended up asking for the lender to give us a refund on this month’s taxes so we could close on May 3^rd instead of the end of the month. They did and it was not a big deal but we did totally get the shaft on getting a “free” month of mortgage payments like many realtors tell you you will get your first month. FAIL. But at this point we do not care because we just wanted to close.

After we got all the paperwork lined up we headed to the title company and signed a million papers. Seriously, my hand cramped up at one point. I suggest you also try to schedule your closings early in the morning. What happens is now with all the changes to the industry the banks require all money is transferred before you get keys. It is totally not like house hunters when you get the keys at the closing table anymore. LAME. And if you close at the end of the day you will not even get the keys until the next day because they don't have the time to process everything! We had prepared ourselves for yet another home buying dream bubble burst while signing away our lives.

Lucky for us our RELATOR is awesome and she was able to procure a key for us last night anyway. She rocks my face off.  So after lots of waiting we finally headed over to our new home!!!! We closed the door on renting and buying a home we are opening another into the world (the very scary and overwhelming world) of home ownership.

On our way to the house we went home and picked up our puppy and then headed over with a car full of cleaning supplies and paint stuff. NO time to waste in this project. We move in in two weeks and we need to paint the whole house!!!!!

So here are the fun pictures from our first night in our new home. We drank champagne and ate pizza in sweats as we threw the ball for our dog in the backyard. It was a perfect night really.

Bubbles from our REALTOR waiting for us when we got home!

Harry is one happy dog in his new home!

Our first meal in our new home. It was glorious!

Harry playing ball in his new backyard. I know it is a blur, but I totally love this picture!

Italy Trip – Day 1 – Romans Suck

Seriously. Let me start off by giving you a little background. Back in college I studied in Rome and my roommate, Kate and I developed a pretty strong opinion about Romans in general. They are rude, and pushy and many are constantly trying to rip you off in some way. I am not just making a snap judgment based on Mr. A and my time in Rome this time. Upon arrival in Rome after almost 24 hours of travel I was yet again quickly reminded that Romans… really do suck.

The hubs and I headed out of the airport terminal and were quickly duped into buying a phone card, only to later realize the phones now have pay by credit card directly on the phone… so yea we did not need that. Then we needed to change money, the first place just flat out would not do it for Mr. A just because and the second tried to rip him off on the conversion rate. This was all going on while I was in three lines to buy a train ticket to the city. After getting to the front of the line, oh yea the lady just would not take my bank card, not because they did not take them but because it was going to take too long. SERIOUSLY. After quickly snapping back into my Romans-suck-so-be-a-bitch armor I told the lady she had to take my card and got fussy and all of a sudden BAM she handed me the tickets. Y’all this was before we even left the airport…

Knowing that Roman cab drivers will try to rip you off I told Mr. A we should just take the subway; it is only 1 euro and was right by the flat we were renting. Perfect, cheap and easy. Well we get to Termini and again the ripping off begins. I go to buy our tickets, all while wearing my special bitch armor, and lo and behold the gypsy people are there trying to beg for money from me because they pressed a button on the machine that I used. I promptly said no and got yelled at in Italian. Awesome start to this trip right?

Well after a brief and scary trip on the subway we walked to apartment and had our minds blown. We stayed in a neighborhood that backed up to the forum. It was UNREAL. The street we stayed on had cobblestone and was over 600 year old with ivy growing all around you. It was like you walked into a whole other city. I quickly relaxed and realized I was going to have a much different experience this time around. Romans may suck, but at least the building we were staying in was amazing!

Here are some pictures of our newly renovated 100 euro a night flat: 

Our bilding

The living room

Kitchen

Eating area

Window to the courtyard

Bathroom

I loved this ceiling... it was over 600 years old.

 Awesome right? I know! We even did a bit of food shopping. It was so nice to have a quiet place to escape the chaos that was Rome.

After settling in Mr. A convinced me that we should not nap, even though I had not slept in 24 hours, so we headed out to start to get the lay of the land. Here is a shot of what was at the end of our street:

Old shit at the end of our street!

Trajan's market right at the end of our street.

To the left the Colosseum...

To the right the wedding cake...

Yea that’s the forum… amazing. So we walked around and did the wedding cake monument, Trajan’s Colum and Market, and a bit of other wondering. We then headed to the baths of Dioclecian and Piazza Republica: 

Pizza Republica

We then promptly realized we needed to take a nap. So we went back to the apartment and passed out for 3 hours. It was glorious. Here are some pictures from that first day of touring:

Trajan's column

Love the flag here

Mr. A found his "good" fanta

We walked by this on our way home every night. Unreal.

That night we went to dinner off of Via del Corso and walked up to Piazza Del Popolo and had a bottle of wine and gelato. Perfect end to a hectic and yet wonderful first day back in the eternal city.

Sunset over Rome

Piazza by our building

Piazza del Popolo

Wine and my love...

We walked by the Trevi fountain on our way home. More on this later.

And the Spanish steps.

 As a side note, because I love food and baking so much I am going to be putting together a whole separate set of blog posts about the food we had. Don’t worry you will get to hear all about the black truffle handmade pasta that we liked the bowls after… we keep it classy in Italy.

Fall baking awesomeness!

This weekend I baked a bunch of items for Mr. A's office. I decided to go with a fall theme. I also decided to make all weight watchers items. I was hoping his coworkers would appreciate a healthy and yummy snack and not stab me for tricking them into eating something healthy.

I started off with banana pumpkin bread, from skinnytaste.com. This bread was amazing and I think anyone would like it. Not too pumpkin-y either.

Then I made low fat, low points, pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. These cupcakes were more like pumpkin bread with cream cheese, but they were super yummy! They were also from skinnytaste.com.

I then made a sweet treat hat I am totally going to make for me niece and nephew's birthdayween party coming up. Ghost cookies! They are super cute and super easy to make. I think everyone liked them too! Also from skinnytaste.com.

Please excuse my dirty oven, oh the shame.

Aren't these too cute!?

After a hard night of baking harry was pooped...

 The hubs and I are trying to watch our waste lines because since we have been back from vacation we have been eating like beasts! So here is to healthy and fun fall themed treats!

Fall fashion and vacation wear preview

As I prepare for our vacation to the Rome, Sorrento and the Amalifi Coast I have had the perfect excuse to buy lots and lots of stuff! Woot Woot! I daydream of many of these things and some I have actually purchased. I usually try to replace staple items and then find a few trendy things to throw in there. I don't typically live on the edge though, so sorry if this is not all that exciting to many of you. I am trying to think more out of the box of my usual jeans and t-shirt with sneakers weekend outfit. Here is what I have come up with so far:

First I needed some fun dressed that I could add leggings to and boots and wear them at night or during the day. I bought these at old navy with 30% off! 

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I think the last skirt will be prefect with a white tank sandals and a wrap for a nice dinner. I have never bought anything like this before, but Kelly and Janet said it was a go so I went with it. I blame them if I look like a sofa. 

I am imagining me wearing a lot of this look this fall, all of from Loft of course. Kate Middleton rocks this all the time:

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For shoes I am bringing several newbies and several oldies. I know it seems like a lot but I remind you I had foot surgery and I don't mess around with my feet! I am bringing a pair of cold sandals in addition to these:

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Here is the one thing that I could never travel without. My scarves. Ladies, and gents I am ONLY bringing 4. This is a very low count for me considering I counted over 30 in my closet. I freaking love scarves. I am going to buy more over there, I know it. Don't judge. BUT you have to admit it is the perfect functional accessory to every travel outfit.

I am packing leggings to make each outfit a bit warmer if i choose to wear it at night. I am also packing on pair of skinny jeans as I have been told that is what Italians wear. And I am bringing a few basic tank tops  to throw on with capri's  and my scarf, of course.

So how have I done?

Hippy Drug Update

As I told you all earlier this week I ordered Vitamines from New Chapter. I ordered a Woman's 1 A Day and then Wholemega Fish Oil Focus.

Today is day two of taking both supplements and let me tell you I can already feel the difference. I feel more awake more...wait for it ... focused and totally ready to go! I have to say the to focus pills do seem to make my heart sputter a bit more than I am totally OK with so I am not sure I will keep up their suggested dosage of three a day. I might switch to two a day instead just to make sure I don't overload my system. But I am really please so far. I am hoping to keep up my new vitamine regiment and start seeing the long term benifits that so many people say vitamines have. (I still don't know if I trust the hippies just yet)

Also I started using wheat germ in my cereal and yogurt. I love it! Its like granola, but without a real flavor, so you don't really know you are eating it. Wheat germ has folic acid and vitamin E so I am hoping my hair, nails and skin will see great improvements from the supplement as well! 

By the time I get to Italy I will be all pumped full of good vitamins and so damned focused on all the wine I can drink Mr. A wont know what to do with me!

I can't help falling in love, with you Philadelphia/Katie D.

Last week Mr. A and I headed to my “hometown” of Philadelphia, PA for the wedding of Kate and Matt. We had an amazing time in the City of Brotherly Love with two of the best friends a girl could ask for. We stayed with Sarah and her husband Gian in the city. Sarah was in my wedding and is my oldest friend. We actually met on the first day of classes our freshman year of college! For most of the trip we split our time between Philly and Springfield, where Kate and Matt live. Mr. A got to have a real hoagie and learned why I would NEVER have Texasdelphia, rode the train and used a lot of public transit, saw Independence Hall, walked around Society Hill, SAT IN TRAFFIC, drove 90 to the rehearsal because of said traffic, ran up the rocky steps, saw City Hall, saw my huge university, saw the real ghetto, ate at Reading Terminal Market and so much more. Since so much happened, this post I am going to focus on the main event, Matt and Kate’s wedding.

First I want to give you a little background on the newly married couple. Kate, was my roommate during the semester I spent abroad in Rome. Kate and I have always said our meeting was fate. Kate was supposed to be roommates with some weird girls from Maine and I was going to be in a room with a Japanese girl (who later turned out to be totally awesome) and another girl from Maine. Well they asked to switch with Kate and she walked into my room and it was love at first site. We quickly bonded, while lying about smoking cigarettes (which both of us did at the time) and lying about not liking to drink “too much”, if you know me you know how big of a joke that is. We proceeded to spend the next 5 months drunk on our balcony and becoming lifelong friends. Kate is also the reason I moved to Texas. I know you are thinking, huh? Well see Kate has a sister too, who she is very close with and Kate told me to move to Texas because family is everything and having a chance to live close to my sister again was more important than anything. Plus she promised that we would always be friends and distance would not matter (she was so right). To this day this conversation makes me get all mushy inside. She, like every one of my truly close girlfriends has changed my life. 

Matt, is a state trooper and was the friend I told you all about over a year ago that was in a horrible accident involving a drunk off duty cop hitting him on the highway. He is an all-around great guy and has been friends with Kate since they were in high school. They are both incredible friends and great people, they totally deserved the best wedding day ever! 

Well, they got it. 

Kate’s wedding was one of a kind. I had never been a part of something so big! It was like I was a spectator in a real life “My Big Fat Italian Wedding”. The wedding was 200 people, it was 124 degrees out on the hottest day on record in Philadelphia, they got married in their childhood church with zero air conditioning and Kate was 100% freaking stunning in her wedding dress and 6 inch heels. The whole day was a blast. If I could have only gotten married after her and Janet I think I would have totally taken a page out of their books. Kate was super chill, got ready at her parents’ house in the room where she grew up in. It was really touching to see her sister helping her into her dress and thinking about all the nights they spent in that room.

After a VERY hot ceremony, including the groom pulling out a hand held fan in the middle of the sermon we all hopped on a limo bus and headed into the city. They took pictures at Love Park, and I can’t wait to see how they came out! Then we all arrived at The Ben:

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 A really fantastic old ballroom in the heart of center city. We took pictures and drank Yuengling Lager and then headed in for the most unreal cocktail hour I have ever seen! It was nuts. Mr. A summed it up with this comment, turning to me he says, “Wow this dinner is amazing, there is so much food”. I then responded, “Oh honey, this is JUST the cocktail hour!” at an Italian wedding you do not go hungry! We then watched emotionally as the groom danced at his wedding. Something that many thought would never happen. It is a testament to all the love and support they have surrounding them and the determination of both Kate and Matt to recover fully from that accident only 17 months ago. 

The night progressed with Mr. A drinking raz and sodas and getting just drunk enough to dance with me. We made fools of ourselves and loved every moment of it. Then after a night of dancing and drinking the trooper of a bride wanted to walk to the hotel they were staying at 6 blocks away… in her wedding dress and 6 inch heels. It was awesome and she cracks me up. The party continued at the hotel until 530 am! Her friends are crazy. Mr. A and I headed home in a cab, with no air conditioning, of course, and poured ourselves into bed.

To my surprise the next day at 12 the entire wedding party was ready to go! We continued the party at the Bride and Groom’s house with a BBQ with friends and family. Kate was a rock star and hosted an event at her house the day after her wedding. I would have had a heart attack. I am totally obsessed with Kate’s house and I was super pumped to show Mr. A the house. We helped get the party with some champagne and hoagies. From what I hear when we headed out the party was just getting started. The whole crew was up late night AGAIN hanging out and drinking 12 bottles of champagne (and much more)! Mr. A and I have learned that we are in no way cool, and our friends are whimps when it comes to drinking. I will just need to go visit PA more often to be reminded of how it is done! 

Katie, you are a great friend and I could not even begin to express how much it means to me that you included me in your wedding day. I hope you had a great mini-moon in Florida and I can’t wait to relive the whole party with you again next time I come to visit.  Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. S! You guys had a fabulous wedding, and I am sure it is just the beginning of many great things to come! 

Full photo recap to come soon! 

Hunger Games Porn

Thanks to Amelia I have become a Hunger Games addict! I read the first book in five days and I am in the middle of the 2nd right now. If you have not read these books you have too! They are an easy ready but still super intense. You will find yourself up late at night with a flashlight reading. Mr. A hates these books because I do not even pay attention to him wile reading. I could not care less if he lit himself on fire! It is that amazing.

So amazing that they are making the book into a movie! WHOOT WHOOT!

Here is the first image of Katniss!!!!!

At first I questioned the casting of Katness Everdeen but now I totally see it and I am DYING to see how they pull of everything else from the book!

Hope the rest of you from Panem are as happy as I am!

I know I am late to the "Party", get off my back.

In my last post I said I was going to post about the royal wedding. I really had planned a huge post about the food I cooked and the drinks we drank and my friend's colorful opinions of all of the hats. But I just never got there. Last week seemed to fly by and then this weekend was like, POOF! So I will give the abbreviated version for you all.

Let me start by saying as a little girl I honestly dreamt of marrying William. I really had this whole idea that because I was part English I could totally marry him. His birthday is the day after mine, but he is just a year older than me. I would look to see what schools he was going to so I could apply to them. I totally looked into St. Andrews and totally would have gone if I could have. Then history would have been different. Kate for sure stole my idea. That B. But now I am in love with Kate too. So I have gotten over my rage of not landing the prince and decided to celebrate their marriage.

By now you have seen THE DRESS. All I can say is WOW. She looked amazing. Every part of the look was spot on. I am so glad I did not get married after her because I would have totally tried to copy her veil, dress and whole lookand it would have totally cost me a lot of money.

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 Then there were all the cute moments, that really brought the wedding down to a level that we could all relate too. I loved that they were not robots, that you could tell how much they were in love. I loved that Harry took a peak at her before his brother. How cute was it that William joked with her dad at the alter? All of it made you realize this was not just a royal wedding, but a wedding of two people really in love.

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I loved the kiss, and I totally love again how real the moment was. Kate even said "Oh WOW!" as she walked out on the balcony. I thought it was so sweet to see both sets of parents taking in the moment off to the side. Charles even seems like a warm person, holding up Camilla's grandchild so he could see. Just so sweet.

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 Most of all I thought it was so cool of them that they drove off in a car together, just like normal newlyweds! Never mind that it was a rare Ashton Martin that is worth more than most houses, and they were driving from one palace to another palace... it was still so cute!

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I will finish with my normal craziness. I am totally convinced that if Mr.A and I moved to Anglesey and we ran into Wills and Kate at the market we could totally be friends. I imagine Kate inviting me over for a glass of wine and a chat. We would totally hang out. I know it. In the mean time I will continue to obsess about everything that Kate wears and grow my hair out just like her. She would not find that weird at all when she met me at the market, would she?