First planter plates, parties, and guests

One of my most favorite things about living in the house is still the sound system. I haven't used the gigantic bath tub yet, because the nights have been so warm, so I'm guessing that'll be a winter time thing! Shower parties for real, though, and tooth brushing parties before and after sleep. YES.

But my second favorite thing is my planter box! We've been using my harvested herbs for meals, and I am seriously so excited about it. So excited that I don't mind standing out in the yard to cut back and water my plants, even with all the spiders and bees (ew).

Garlic and rosemary chicken thighs

Parsley dry rub chicken

Cilantro chipotle mayo for Portobello burgers

Caprese salad

Matt has been loving his new cast iron griddle thing. And all of these plates use my plants!!!! We also had our first large gathering of friends for the Pacquaio vs. Mayweather fight. It went well, and we put all this space to good use! And then a few days later, we did a smaller (about half the attendance) Cinco de Mayo party. I was actually surprised at how any people came by after work, considering the drive...

We've had furry guests over, too! Everyone is getting puppies, and Forrest is really LOVES having playtime buddies. It's great that he's not territorial, and he'll share everything (unless he's grumpy... which was only on moving day, and after hikes). 

Mr. Walla Walla Wiggles

   

Mr. MONSTER!!

So far so good. Although, I must admit that we haven't really cleaned anything aside from the kitchen. That is... a daunting task to say the least. 

Drastic changes

It is truly INSANE how much can change in just a month! Matt and I moved out of Seattle, I started writing classes, and we're living with JR now. AND I started a little herb garden. ALL SINCE MY LAST BLOG POST!

Breaking the lease and moving from a 1 bedroom apartment to a 4 bedroom house is kind of crazy in itself. But Forrest is in love with the yard, and the neighborhood, and the stairs, and basically everything about it! We haven't wrapped up the apartment paperwork yet, but that should be over with by next week. I'm trying to adjust to commuting, and I do enjoy catching up on music (and car-aoke), but I can't say that I really love sitting in traffic in the morning...

Writing class is overwhelming at times, especially because I'm losing about two hours of non-work time on commuting days and I have assignments due during the week. Boy am I glad that I decided to register for just one class at a time... I can barely keep up! I do enjoy the work that we're doing, though, and I am learning some new things even from the very first core class of the program. I actually did a paper about my gardening project! And I still enjoy getting good grades, very much. I love seeing the 100% running total percentage in my student account. It makes me so happy!!

Living with JR is pretty awesome. At first I was concerned that maybe we'd butt heads at times or I'd be peeved with his habits (just because I can be finicky), but it's been smooth sailing so far. He's a really generous and helpful housemate, and I'm glad he's here. Houses kind of creep me out, but having Matt and/or JR at home most of the time makes me feel safer.

The house is ridiculously nice. We have an integrated sound system, an industrial-sized overhead cooking vent system, lots of TVs, a nice little office for my WFH and homework sessions, gigantic pantry and way too much cabinet space, and enough grass to keep Forrest entertained forever. I think the stairs are keeping me in better shape (or at least that's what I tell myself as I grumble silently every time I forget something upstairs/downstairs). The bathrooms are plentiful and super spacious. The only thing that is kind of annoying, is that because the house is so big... I can't reach the top shelves of any cabinets, and I can't reach the top of the closet without climbing onto a stool.

We've been at the house for weeks now, and we still haven't finished settling. The office is finally set up for the most part, but the master closet is still a mess, and the second living room (of three) has random boxes sitting out. We even got a ping pong table! That's not set up yet either, of course.

Moving  + commuting + school + work. OMG. Head explosion. So exciting! So exhausting. Zzzz. And so expensive. -___-

 

Two types of basil, two types of parsley,

two types of cilantro, oregano, and rosemary!