Quirkyville gets a makeover

Had I blogged this year, you would have been along for the ride as Mr. Q and I bought our first house in November.

Three months earlier, I was sitting at a kitchen table in Cedar Rapids, IA declaring that Mr. Q and I were not the buying type and were very content to be low-maintenance renters. (Otherwise, what happens in Cedar Rapids, stays in Cedar Rapids, so we’ll leave it at that.)

It’s funny how life changes.

It was a whirlwind crazy process, made slightly easier by the fact that one of my best friends was our real estate agent. I have to admit, looking at other peoples’ houses is quite fun. It’s kind of like being a guest without having to mind your manners. There was the one house where Mr. Q had to drag me away from the garden where I was inches away from grabbing a handful of fresh rosemary from a massive rosemary plant(bush?) There was the other house where there was a bathroom with a massive Jacuzzi tub right off the kitchen. I mean, we’re talking inches away from the stove. So bizarre. And while the idea of jumping up to stir my soup mid-bath was slightly intriguing, I had to wonder who had THAT idea?

Complicating our house buying experience was the fact that I pretty much lived in Chicago due to work travel during the month of October. This meant that Mr. Quirky had to do all the heavy lifting in getting our loan. Let’s just say, Mr. Quirky was gifted a pair of Chiefs football tickets because without him, we would NOT have gotten our loan.

I absolutely love the new Quirkyville. Most people have said it is “so us.”

(Whatever THAT means.)

But seriously, this house is awesome. Here are some of my favorite things we’ve put in it:

I have always wanted one of these:

I can already see the wine that will be sloshed while sitting in it this summer.

For Christmas, Mr. Quirky got me this. It’s so amazing. The cooking pot is currently in the shop (it’s practically an antique.) But I cannot WAIT until we fire this bad boy up.

Our house is old, like over 100 years old. I like to think of all the glamorous ladies who must have lived here. I have a pretty big imagination. Anyhow, I bought this at an antique market so I could try to be one of them.

I wanted to get a new bedspread set for our bedroom. Okay, so I really wanted an excuse to shop at Anthropologie. But the set I wanted was sold out online. So, I found it on eBay for a decent price. Two weeks after I got it, I went to the Black Friday sale and found it sitting in a sale bin for about 70% LESS than I paid for it. It made me sick. But despite that, I still love it. It’s called the Love Letters duvet set, and it’s made from old love letters from a vintage book store in Brooklyn. Isn’t it sweet? It’s fun to try to read some of them too.

Speaking of reading, you never know when you are going to need a little assistance in life. A Magic 8 ball can come in very handy…

“You May Rely On It.”

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