For my birthday (a couple days ago), I thought I’d give everyone an update on the house. The past two months have been a tad slow around here because Tache took another job. Good news for the cash flow; bad news for my dream of getting into the house by my birthday (friendly reminder: April 2!). The other big news in terms of bringing home the bacon is that we sold Lilypad. I wouldn’t say we’re rolling in the bacon grease, so to speak, but we did get a decent chunk of change. YAY! Now we can buy our countertops!
While things have been slow work-wise at 23 Magnolia, we managed to take a couple weeks off to jet set around North America. Our travels started with a non-stop flight from the northwestern-most airport of the contiguous US to the bottom southeast corner of Florida. We then jumped in a rental car and made the four-hour drive to my BFF’s family vacation house a few islands up from Key West, giving us a total travel distance of 3,000 miles in one day.
For those who don’t know my BFF Delia, we met in preschool and have been best friends ever since. Sure there were the junior high years when I was friends with the basketball team and she was friends with a girl whose ex-boyfriend started going out with one of my basketball friends which meant Delia and I obviously couldn’t be friends (makes total sense, right?!). But luckily that was just a blip in the friendship radar. We came back together in high school and stayed in touch throughout college. I visited her while she studied aboard in Spain; she came out to Seattle while I was at the Art Institute. And what sealed the deal on our lifelong friendship was our backpacking trip to Central America. I would say one of the most valuable relationships one can have is that of a life-long friend. I love you, Deals! (She’s one of my avid readers, so I really have to punch this up!)
Tache and I pretty much joined Delia’s family vacation. With such an amazing house and great company, there was no need to go into town. We spent our days by the pool or in the pool, by the Atlantic Ocean or in it, sometimes with coffee, often with a cocktail. We played Artichokes with Chauncey; ran for our lives from Trieste (now known as Wolverine); and enjoyed Matt’s timely dinners every evening. It was the perfect way to ease into another week of vacation. HA!
We left the relaxation of the keys for a whirlwind trip across Alligator Alley to see dear family friends of mine in Naples. In less than 24 hours, Helen and Pat wined and dined us, gave us a tour of the “drippers” lifestyle (people dripping with money), and took us to dip our toes in the Gulf of Mexico. We said goodbye and drove back across Florida to spend the night with one of my funnest friends in the world. When you have 12 hours with your funnest friend, you make the most of it… which means I was hurtin’ bad when we had to wake up at 4:30 a.m. for the next leg of our journey.
Hungover, we flew 2,000 miles back across North America to Los Cabos, Mexico. Given the early hour of our flight and time change back to Pacific, we landed and were through customs just in time to reasonably order afternoon margaritas in the airport parking lot on the way to pick up our rental car (yes, you read that right). After signing the paperwork as I took my last swig, we bumped along the road less traveled to Cabo Pulmo. We spent a few days in the Gulf of California, catching yellowfin tuna, watching humpbacks breach, and learning the hard way that mezcal is massively different than tequila. From there, we crossed over to the Pacific side of the Baja – our fourth body of water on the trip – and met up with the wedding party in Todos Santos. The rest of the vacation was filled with friendship, love, laughter, and dancing. So. Much. Dancing!
As for the house, I should say we have made a little progress over the last couple months. The biggest development being the fireplace and propane tanks, which means we now have heat! This was a game changer in the final dark days of winter. Tache had to saw a giant hole in our beautiful, new accent wall to fit the insert, and then build out the structure that will be our mantel. It’s still unfinished, but works perfectly as a display for my birthday presents (for those who remembered).
Other developments include installing the upstairs cork floor, cutting out a doggie door for Moxie, and making the downstairs bathroom fully functional. The kitchen is still not totally usable, but we did pick out our countertops. Has anyone ever done that before?! What a scam! They don’t tell you how much a giant piece of granite costs; they just give it a cost-associated letter value: A-F. A being the most “reasonably-priced” (yeah right!). F being what no sane person would think of spending on what is essentially a rock. We walked through the warehouse and selected a few slabs of varying letter values. Needless to say, in the end we decided on the A-priced granite slab once we stopped gaping at the cost. And as I mentioned above, we sold Lilypad. So, in exchange for our 40-foot, twin diesel, live aboard yacht, we can now afford the most inexpensive granite countertops.
After two weeks of living in luxury while on vacation (meaning: real beds and bathrooms – even in Mexico!), I mentally, physically, and emotionally could not do another night in that trailer. For now, Tache put down some plywood so we have countertop space. With a half-usable kitchen, a fully functional bathroom, and a heat-producing fireplace, we decided it was time to move in. So, as the best birthday present ever, we now have a bed in our guest room.
Turns out birthday wishes do come true!
Love it! Especially the comment about trading a live-aboard boat for a big slab of the least expensive granite. Sheesh! And, what a happy ending with that cute guest bed. A nice way to come home from all those travels, because what 43-year old body is actually able to stand weeks of travel (see, I remembered)!
Happy Birthday. Nice fireplace! Thanks
LOVE YOU!!! I am so glad we got to spend that precious time together doing nothing but relaxing. Can’t wait until our next trip.