Messy.

Our house is an absolute disaster. In fact, it's so messy that I can hardly bring myself to clean it because I just don't know where to start. Plus, Justin is gone, which is valuable time for me to watch a plethora of TV shows that he hates and never wants to watch when he is home. I also desperately want to go shopping, which we SO don't have the money for right now. That said, I did pick up a couple of cute things at Old Navy's $14.92 sale online--why hasn't it ever occurred to me to shop in their "tall" section online? I did today, and I'm very excited! Maybe things will actually be long enough for me! Here's one thing I got, and it was only $5!



I've also been thinking of things we'll need to remember to budget for when we eventually buy a house. I've sort of been breaking this up into "immediate needs" and "future needs". The "future needs" section will probably come out of the $7500 tax credit and our other tax refund (I'm also hoping to score a DSLR camera out of the tax refund deal!).

Immediate Needs:
-A fridge. Why is it that houses on the market typically have all the appliances except the fridge?
-Window coverings
-Water and garbage deposit (we already have electric and gas, so we shouldn't require a new deposit for those).
-Light bulbs
- Have the house re-keyed.

Eventual Needs:
-New Paint
-Probably sod or topsoil/ grass seeds. Most of the houses have lawns that are trashed.
-Probably new flooring. Either laminate wood, carpet, or both
-Bookshelves. Lots of them.
-A bed/mattress for the guest bedroom.
-Additional furniture (another chair or loveseat).
-Cable TV.

Things I'd Probably Like, but Don't Need:
-Backsplash in kitchen
-New flat-screen tv(s)
-New kitchen table.

I'm also just remembering that I have a bunch of furniture in "storage" (i.e. grandma's basement). It's hand-me-down furniture from mafia-aunt, so of course it's like imported from Italy or somewhere like that, and topped with marble. It's gorgeous and expensive, and totally not my style. The trick is that this aunt wants it all to stay in the family, so I don't think I'm allowed to do anything with it (i.e. new hardware), nor am I allowed to sell it. Basically, she was tired of storing it, so she "gave" it to me via my parents, who accepted it on my behalf. I'm thankful that we will have SOMETHING when we move into a house, it just is not my style at all.

And did I mention that Justin loves it? It's cherry colored wood. And gold (blech!) hardware. I will have to trek over to grandma's house sometime soon to do a pictoral inventory of what I have. And I'm sure I'll be asking for all kinds of advice on how to make it more "me."