Land Search: Nothing Yet

So.  (blows dust off of computer)

How have you been?

Me? I've been fine. Surviving the cold winter weather we're currently having. 25F currently. It was a balmy 16F when I walked out the door this morning- so cold that it nearly knocked the wind out of me.

Our little house is such a delight in the winter- it's so small that one little wall heater will heat up our little 680 square feet with no issue. I love living in a small house, some of the time.

As you may know, we were looking to buy some property in southern Washington, somewhere near the Columbia River. Well, the land we were looking at fell through- while the property was beautiful, the seller was kind, the bank was willing, the land itself, as it stood, wouldn't support a septic system- and we weren't willing to spend the money or the time waiting until we could build.

So, we're back to square one.

We still love Casa Crustante- the house itself is wonderful. I have little to fault it for what it has. It's very functional, and personally I think it's adorable- but there are some issues with the situation that we're in that makes it very clear that it's not quite working.

I had no idea I'd be such an avid creator- builder, sewer, baker, gardener. The land, a scant 1/5 acre- just isn't enough for all that I'd like to do. We want a garden that gets sunlight (ours is in the shadow of a beautiful maple tree). We'd like another room or two in the house- the husband needs an office, I would like a craft room. Oh, and the boat building thing. I definitely need a shop- or, at the bare minimum, a garage I can build in. And with the addition of our beautiful Westfalia, that garage is now a necessity.

We contemplated renovating our house so it'd fit our evolving criteria. It doesn't solve the lack-of-land issue. And, as it turns out, we're just not invested in this area. Our neighborhood is decent, but we're adjusting to some suburban culture shock that I wasn't quite prepared for- perhaps one of the biggest hurdles of suburbia is the concept of no property lines. Many people in this neighborhood feel that it is their right to welcome themselves to your property if you're not home- to check out your cars, to invite themselves into your chicken run and then not latch it on their way out (also true story- I deadbolt it closed now), to examine anything or everything that you don't have tied down.

I know people are just being people, and they're just curious. But when you're from 7 acres in the middle of the sticks and descendant of a line of people who are rightfully territorial, I get very, very angry when people assume that I won't mind.

So, we're looking for another modest house with land, or perhaps a piece of land that's perfect for building on. Perhaps in the sticks. Keep your fingers crossed that we'll find something soon!

Happy One Year, Casa Crustante! A Year in Review.

Today marks ONE YEAR since moving into our little Casa Crustante.   It took us 80 days of renovation to make this little home habitable, along with plenty of tears, a mountain of paperwork, and gallons of alcoholic beverages.

It looked like this:

With a shed like this:

An interior like this:

Then we gutted it.  Seriously gutted it.

But soon, the transformation was complete.  Our little foreclosed house evolved.  

The shed transformed into something less hideous:

The kitchen ended up being something worth cooking in:

Once we moved in, the momentum continued.  A chicken coop was started.

 And finished.

Baby chicks were hatched.

Those chicks quickly grew up.

A corgi was added to the family.

A boat started.

Not a bad first year of home ownership.  Onwards!

Things I Want to Build (Casa Crustante Needs Love, Too)

Two things I really want to build for Casa Crustante (and I'm pretty sure they'll only take a weekend- not including paint)

1.  A storage bench w/ coat rack:

Plans to build this pretty little piece here (photo and design by Blue Roof Cabin).  I'd modify this a bit by widening the seat to allow for a super secret cat litter box. 

2.  A bench (again, with storage) to replace the settee in our dining area.  I found this inspiration shot also from Blue Roof Cabin.

Right now our emergency kit and earthquake supplies are stuffed under the settee.  It looks cluttered, so having a clean space to stash it would be amazing.

Garden Update

Things are a little hectic this week, so there's not really a whole lot to report on the boat front.  While I've been slacking off, my plants have been busy.

Here's what I'm growing this year in my 4'x16' bed:

We had a lot of rain at the beginning of the week, and as the forecast called for wind and heavy rain, I wanted to do what I could to salvage my freshly planted tomato seedlings.

So I put together a little hoop house:

 

And everything survived beautifully.  I think I would have probably been just fine without the cover, but I was so impressed by how toasty it kept my little seedlings,  I may just have to make a little hoop greenhouse in the backyard to extend my growing season. 

My potato plants are growing like weeds.  What you see here, from left to right:
Bintje potatoes, Ozette potatoes, and some random potato from an Amazon Fresh grocery order. I had particularly enjoyed its siblings, so I thought it was worth attempting to grow.  I think it's an early type, as it isn't getting the lankiness of its late season companions.

My little 3'x3' herb garden is also flourishing.  The empty space in front will be used for a petite, round basil plant known as Finissimo Verde a Palla. 

I've also had a lot of success with the winter sown seeds I planted.  Every type of plant I planted has had at least a 50% germination rate, and the seedlings look strong.  I transplanted cucumber, eggplant, two types of pumpkins and zucchini today from my winter sown containers.  I'm very excited to see how they progress.   If they do well, I doubt I'll ever start seedlings inside again.

In other news, yesterday marked the one year anniversary of buying our house.  I can't believe it has been a year already!  Happy anniversary, Casa Crustante!  

The Four Seasons of Casa Crustante

It's a few months away from our paper signing anniversary, but I am happy to say we've seen our little house (cottage? Shack?) in every season!

Winter is by far the prettiest, but man, winter is being a rough mistress this year. Does she have a safe word? Anyone care to share what it is?

Rumor has it we're supposed to be in the mid-forties tomorrow. I'm not really sure where the 9+ inches of snow in our front yard is going to go. I may need a boat by the time this week is over.

The Calm Before the Storm

Yup, it's still snowing.


According to various forecasts we're really going to get it tomorrow. They're suggesting anywhere between 4-12" of snow.

We've got food stocked away, I'm baking oatmeal cookies (made with applesauce and whole wheat- they're almost more of a breakfast cookie), and we've got board games, books, candles and flashlights. I think we're ready. As ready as we'll ever be.

Should be an interesting experience.

The First Snow of 2012!

Our first snow at Casa Crustante!

Yup, our attitudes toward soliciting are as cold as our weather.

Our lovely Faverolles ladies have been great troopers, they've spent the majority of the day outside, foraging and discussing important chicken matters. Although they have been wearing an expression of WTH all over their chicken faces.

Something tells me that snow is slightly beyond their comprehension.

Hope you and yours are staying toasty and warm.

The Bedroom Chronicles: Part I

I built us a floating headboard from some leftover plywood from the chicken coop floor. Huh. There's a sentence I never thought I'd type.


It's been hanging up for two days now, and it hasn't crashed on our heads yet. I'm counting it as a success.

A few 1x3s, some upholstery fabric, and some staples later:

With Blanket #1:


Blanket #2:

If you look very, very closely you might be able to see the teeny tiny closet that my husband and I share. Don't move. You might scare it.

Because I'm a barbarian, I don't really understand the floofy little additional pillows some people stack on their bed. But now that I'm actively trying to make our house feel like home (you know, like hanging pictures and stuff..) I may be tempted to sew some soon.

'Why sage green?', you're asking yourself. This room will have a theme. My first ever room with a theme! That theme will be.... drum roll goes here.... 'Naturalist!' And with that comes very subtle shades of green, grey blues, and pale lavenders and earthy browns. I think it'll be a very calm room. We'll see.

Ever since I've seen Ernst Haeckel's Tree of Life from the Evolution of Man, I've wanted to do something with it. I don't believe humans to be the pinnacle of life like he did, but rather varying shades of grey. But there is something optimistic and cheery about people who believe we are more than just primates, shuffling along our mortal paths. And toss it with a few botanist sketches of some of my favorite plants (I'm thinking perhaps some kind of oxalis and a trillium, maybe one of lavender?) to round out the room.


So I'm going to hang this above our bed. Framed in all of its glory, as a symbol to be more than what I think we are, to strive the be the brightest version of ourselves.

The next quest for me is to find additional storage. So I'll be trading out our box spring and replacing it with this Ikea's Sultan Alsarp Foundation:

Say hello to another 33 square feet of storage! $12 per square foot. Every little bit counts with our tiny home!

Happy New Year!

I've just finished cooking and devouring the last meal of 2011. Alderwood salmon with potlatch pilaf, sauteed spinach and rosemary roasted sweet potatoes. It was amazing, which is indicative of how wonderful 2011 has treated us.

We're saying goodbye to this year quietly. Just my husband and I, Casa Crustante, and a few bottles of Belgian beer:

Leffe brune, the one we drank with every meal while we were in Belgium, La Trappe Quad (my personal favorite), Delirium Tremens, La Fin du Monde, La Chouffe (the traditional style along with a holiday bottle), Duchesse de Bourgogne, Ommegang, and various friends.

I get pretty emotional anthropomorphizing our little house. Last year it sat here, all alone, gutted, holes in the walls, no insulation or electricity. And this year, we're living in it, and it has been such an amazing home to us that we hate to leave it for a single night. The simplest chores have become acts of love, little tokens of our affection for our tiny domicile. It makes us so happy. It is limited in space, sure, but it is completely full of love.

Happy New Year from those of us at Casa Crustante! Rest assured that we will raise a glass in your honor.

House Love.

As I was raking the leaves yesterday a woman in an SUV was driving very slowly by... As someone who is naturally suspicious and paranoid, I noticed her right away. Her vehicle was getting slower and slower as she crept closer... the passenger window started to roll down. I expected the worst.

"I LOVE THE COLOR OF YOUR HOUSE!!" She yelled.

And then she sped up and drove off.


Casa Crustante, I love you. I love you for being little and efficient. For giving me space to grow my own food. For having neighbors that are both friendly and kind. For being the type of house that people drive by and yell compliments. And I love you for looking especially adorable in the fall.

And for giving me plenty of exercise in the form of yard work.

You're my domicile soul mate, Casa Crustante.

French Drains

The last two weekends have been dedicated to digging a trench on the south side of our house. Lucky for us, someone installed a french drain many years back... they laid down a pipe, covered it with river rocks, then covered the river rocks with broken concrete and a thick layer of shingles. Then they buried it.

Shingles, if you recall, work phenomenally to keep water OUT of things. So needless to say, their french drain failed, resulting in large amounts of water seeping into the foundation. The last owners, and the owners before, all complained (but never did anything to fix it...) to our next door neighbor about the drainage on that side of the house.. and lucky for us she gave us far warning before the winter weather.

The fun thing about house ownership is the large number of tools required for various projects around the property. This is our newest tool (the pickaxe, not the husband) to live in our shed. It has made the pure joy of digging a trench with river rocks, concrete, and shingles substantially more tolerable.

Happy Friday!

Check out the new and improved view from our driveway!

Let's just say that it's been a busy week around here.

Before:


After:

Before:

After:

I've got the jauntiest mailbox on the block.

Before:




After:

This mailbox was made in Seattle over 25 years ago. It deserved a little love.

Projecting.

When we had the house torn down to the studs, the hubs decided he wanted to install wiring for a projector system. There were a few hitches with the electrician (we only had to call him back about 4 times to get the job right...) and given the expense and the hassle, my husband was ready to throw in the towel an innumerable amount of times.

With my gentle encouragement ("..just order the f*cking thing already and get it done with.." were my exact words) the last few months he's been collecting the final components. On Saturday, the projector was finally installed.

And the last few cables showed up yesterday, and we were able to fire it up for the first time. It works!
We watched our first movie in our house last night- Gladiator. I'm happy to report that it's just as tearjerking 80" across as it is on a smaller television.

(btw, my apologies for not posting often or responding to comments. Moving and getting our condo ready for renting (not selling-decided to be a landlady!) has been sapping out my energy!)

Two Weeks.

Today marks two weeks of living in our house.

And sometime last night someone broke into my car and stole my emergency supplies.

RIP, my emergency kit. I will rebuild you, and make you fatter, better, stronger. And I will consider a car alarm.

Welcome to the neighborhood? :\

Breaking up with my French Press.

When I stress I have a hard time sleeping. And because I don't sleep I end up even more stressed. So the last few days have been a little rough, at least in the sleep department.

The alarm went off yesterday at 6am. I rolled out of bed and decided that Monday, of all days, is a fantastic excuse for coffee. I scoured our moving boxes for coffee, started some water.. and only then realized I had left my french press at home.

I was nearly in tears.

But then I remembered that several years ago my father-in-law bought us a single cup coffee brewer at REI. It was tucked away in our tupperware, so it had made the journey to our new home safely! And thus, my mood and day was saved. After three tall cups of coffee later, I was able to continue my mission of laundry, unpacking, and hanging curtains.

That might have been one of the best cups of coffee I've ever had. No sugar, no milk. Just unadulterated coffee on the first Monday of living in our new house.


Easy, simple, delicious. I have a feeling our french press will be neglected from now on.

A Moving Experience.

The day is finally here. We're moved in!

And by moved in I mean 'most of our crap has somehow followed us to our new house and we can't find anything at the moment, except perhaps the floor in some areas.'

You know, for someone who lives in a smaller space and loves the concept of minimalism, I obviously have much more to learn. We. Have. Too. Much. Stuff. I kept hearing "You only use 10% of your stuff 90% of the time.." blaring in my head with every box I've packed and unpacked. As soon as we're settled and we know what we need, we'll be paring down again. I'm such a pack rat, I anthropomorphize my crap and I feel actual guilt when I throw stuff away, so it's really a bit of a challenge to force myself into keeping less.


On the plus side, we were able to get all of our furniture moved with a single trip in a 10' U-Haul. Our last move (March 31, 2007) happened during a freak snowstorm, resulting in our 14' U-Haul skidding into a ditch on an icy freeway in Redmond.

Thankfully, no freak snowstorms on this move. The weather was a wonderful 85 degrees, the warmest day so far this year in Seattle.

Everything has so far gone without a hitch. Although we have only tepid water in the shower- we get scalding water everywhere else in the house, but the shower is barely warm. Any thoughts?

At any rate, hot water is overrated. At least at this very moment. I have a freshly made bed ready to snore in, and after 15 hours of moving, I am ready to pass out.

Goodnight, World.