Ginger goodness

After reading the post about his elbows, Michael thought a follow-up was necessary.

Michael: I want you to know that people noticed. All day at work, people noticed that I smelled like ginger.

Me: They did not. You are exaggerating again.

Michael: They did. I had so many meetings that day, so I just started preempting the funny looks and questions. Yes, I borrowed my wife's lotion. Yes, I smell like ginger. I want you to know that I smelled that way all day.

Me: That's the power of LUSH. Did anyone smell your elbows?

Michael: No.

Me: Then it sounds like you had a good day.

Warning: No Elbow Smelling Allowed

You learn funny things about a person when you spend time together. I recently discovered that Michael does not appreciate his elbows smelled. I know this thanks to my love of LUSH. If you have never had the pleasure of walking into one of their stores or using their products, you just don't know what you are missing. Everything is fresh and handmade. Everything has real, grown in nature ingredients, and the effect is magical. The scents also last the entire day and they never smell overwhelming or like perfume. Instead you radiate bergamot and vanilla, or citrus and cinnamon, or lavender and peppermint. Simply glorious. I was introduced to LUSH by my friend Tim in Manila, AND I just discovered that there is a store in Raleigh! I am giddy, giddy, giddy.

So our conversation went like this one fine recent morning:

Michael: Can I use some of your lotion?

Me: Of course.

Michael (as he is rubbing some on his elbows): What does that smell like? What do I smell like?

Me: You smell like ginger. Now people will want to smell your elbows all day.

Michael: If anyone at work attempts to smell my elbows, they will get an elbow in the face. I mean it; a ginger elbow in the face.

Let the games begin

Yes, we closed on our house today. Halle-freakin-lujah! It was rather a stressful few weeks, but I have to say our loan processor and our realtor were fantastic. Both of them kept me from being too emotional and also gave me enough insight so that Michael wasn't asking me "why" every 15 seconds. It's not nice to want to beat your husband. If you ever need some money, I will give you Starr's number...and if you ever want to buy a place in the Triangle, please call Peter Rumsey. They are good, good people.

Tonight was a little bit of an emotional let-down. We've been so hyped about the house and all the things we can do with it, that we just were over it this evening. Tomorrow we're meeting with contractors that will tell us how to spend all our remaining money, so that should make us giddy again.

In the meantime, it is only fair that we share the "Before" pictures. Now before you get all judgey, remember who we are. We like old houses with original character, we like changing things, we like painting things, we like fixing things, and we like thinking that the ghosts in the attic are friendly and won't entice us to turn on our neighbors and recreate a good ole slasher film. Have some vision or we'll make you sleep in a tent in the backyard when you come to visit. Hopefully the wild pack of corgis won't keep you awake all night as they try to herd your sleeping bag.

What we have is an unadulterated home from the early 1900's with almost 11' high ceilings, two fireplaces, heart pine wood floors and original wide moldings and wainscotting. It sits in the historic Glenwood-Brooklyn neighborhood and is in walking distance to the library, restaurants, markets and a huge park. It is a fabulous urban neighborhood and the house NEEDS LOTS OF WORK. And we love it.