The Hunt

 Picture via The2Seasons

Hi friends! I'm still struggling with things to blog about lately because, well, Michael and I have officially become boring. Or at least that's how it feels sometimes.

We're still in our house hunt and frankly, it's hard. Michael doesn't seem to be as affected by the long search as I am. I think part of it is the difference of being a woman and wanting your own "space" to clean and take care of. Call it a bit of maternal instinct. It's not that I'm not grateful to Michael's parents for letting us live with them for free while we search (because I really am SO grateful), I'm seriously starting to get cabin fever and to feel cramped. I don't know how people share homes for years because this is getting difficult after only 3 months. Do I ever have some respect for those two+ family homes out there.

Michael and I were talking the other day in the grocery store about how much we miss just grocery shopping on Saturdays. This particular shopping trip was while we were in Logan for a camping trip. Michael said that he used to love our Saturday shopping trip to the grocery store, walking down the aisles, searching for good prices, scoring at the day old bakery section, etc. It seems like something so simple and insignificant, but he's right. I miss it too. It was time to just be us and to have a bit of independence. Michael's parents are gracious enough to buy groceries while we live here, but who knew that we'd miss that one small thing as much as we do?

Another thing that I think makes this more difficult for me is that Michael is busy at work during the day and I'm still working on getting my jobs really off the ground. Everything is set up with the Music Studio, but student requests haven't really flown in yet. I only have one voice student right now and I hope that more will come as the new school year begins. And with music therapy, I'm all ready to go and so is my supervisor, but others seem to be dragging their feet so I haven't actually started practicing music therapy with patients yet. (On the other hand, I am officially Rebecca Black, MT-BC. I passed my board certification exam! That's pretty sweet if you ask me.)

As Michael and I were taking Milo (the Black family dog) for a walk the other night, we were talking about how our expectations have changed over these past few months. Michael admitted that he really thought we would be in or almost in a house by now.  We've had a few close calls but the houses just didn't feel right and that has been hard emotionally. It's also frustrating how the market has turned from buyer's to a seller's market. Houses don't pop on the market as frequently as they did even 3-4 months ago. Some friends of ours bought their first house a year ago and that was when 50 new houses would list every day. They looked at at least 100 homes. Over our search, we've probably only walked through about 35-40 homes. I think since the interest rates are so low right now, that many people are refinancing instead of listing their homes and buying a different one.

We're starting to feel like we just want to find a home without a few things we really felt like we needed at the beginning of our home search, just to be in a home. Instead of hoping to be in it for about 5 years, we're thinking maybe 2-3 years. No matter what we buy right now, the home will appreciate in value just for the fact that market will rise in the future. So that's positive.

Sorry if I sound all pouty, whiny, and just plain depressing. This is what we're dealing with in the Black family. I felt like it would be good to write it down and maybe get some perspective from my sweet friends. Anything would be appreciated!

DIY: Jersey Knit Bracelets

Aren't these just the cutest and funkiest bracelets you've ever seen? My sisters-in-law and I got together last night and made these jersey knit bracelets, courtesy of a Pinterest find. They're made with a simple finger-weaving method. (I totally did this kind of thing with yarn when I was younger...did anybody else do this too?) 

 As you can see, you get different widths based upon the amount of fingers you decide to use. I really love how they came out. If you want to make some yourself, just check out V and Co. She has good visuals and even a video tutorial. It's really easy and fast to do. I'm thinking I'm going to make more of these for stocking stuffers/girlfriend gifts this Christmas!

 You can see how the weave turns out to be like a "box braid" all around. Word to the wise, you'll need only one strip of 58" fabric to make a bracelet with 2 fingers. Two strips for 3 fingers. And if you have small wrists like I do, still only 2 strips for 4 fingers.

Once you make one, you'll get the hang of it and develop a feel for how much fabric you truly need to make each bracelet. I really like the look and feel of the 2 finger bracelet myself. It's not too chunky, but just right!

 And if you're feeling funky, why not weave two strips together at the same time? I kinda like how they came out (bracelet on bottom was made with only one color, as you can see). And those grey and navy fabrics were a different kind of jersey knit, so they feel a bit more "rustic" as I like to call it.

I hope you feel inspired to make these super cute and simple bracelets. I'm already wearing one today and love it!