A few more pics of our new place

~ Front of the house ~ ~ Man Coop ~

~ Living Room ~ ~ Master bedroom ~

~ Dining Room ~ ~ Kitchen ~

~ Taryn's room ~

Keep in mind, these were taken mid-move, so everything is a cluster*F*. Some of the quirks of the house:

*The master bedroom is the biggest room of the house! When we moved in it had a lot of paneling in it. Urgh.

*Taryn's room has a half-wall-divider in it right now. The kids that grew up in this house (they are now my mom's age) wanted separate rooms, but that wasn't going to happen, so they got a divider.

*The kitchen has two different kinds of cabinets. Completely different.

*I didn't get any pics of the bathroom, but it probably needs the most work. It had carpet when we moved in. Ewwwwww. That got ripped up FAST.

So, stay tuned for more pics as we get projects done. On our "to-do" list (which is like a mile long):

*Remodel bathroom (ASAP).

*Refinish the wood floors.

*Oh yeah, move the rest of our furniture...

*Kitchen cabinets down the road when we find a good deal.

*New carpet & paint in the master bedroom.

*Take out the partition in Taryn's room.

We have had some busy weekends since we got the house, but this weekend is our last full one, so hopefully we'll start chcking some stuff off our to-do list.

What do you do...

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Question: What do you do when your house won't sell?

Answer: Buy another house!

Yes, so Lee and I are now homeowners x2.

May seem like not the smartest plan ever since we're not exactly raking in the dough, but amazingly, the mortgage payment on this house is less than our gas to commute to Lafayette.

I am SO pumped to live in West Lafayette again. Feels like home. Don't make me break into an appalling rendition of "Back Home Again..."
This picture is not a very good one (obviously), but it's all I've got right now since they took the ad off the internet when they accepted our offer. But, don't worry! I'll be taking some pics this weekend. I will call them the "before" pics since we have a lot of work planned for the place.

The house needs some work. The previous owners were super old and had lived there for 50 years! When they bought the house, it cost $7,000. Wow.

Some cool features of the house:
* It has access to the Wabash River. I don't plan to use it, but Lee has manly dreams of canoeing and stuff.
* It is also really close to Fort Ouiatenon. That probably really only means something to those of you that have lived in Tippecanoe County.
* It has a "Man Coop". Basically, there was an old chicken coop on the lot that the previous owner turned into a nice man-cave-shed. We have named it the Man Coop. Lee has big plans for the Man Coop. I have big plans for him living in the Man Coop. Haha.
* The front porch is going to be awesome to sit on! The yard is really cute and fenced in which will be great for Taryn when she can walk (and run) around.
* There are great wood floors under the carpets. Can't wait to rip those things out!
* Did I mention the mortgage payment is less then the cost of our gas to commute?

This weekend is our 10-year reunion, but we're going to try to get some of our stuff down there. At least enough to live for next week AND NOT HAVE TO COMMUTE!

Triple XXX Makes CNN!

It sounds like an "adult" film store...

But it's really one of the best places to go to breakfast in West Lafayette. It is kind of the "Diner Grill" of Purdue University.

And it is finally getting the recognition it deserves.

Triple XXX opened in 1929. And I don't think the decor has changed since. I started going there in the early 80's. My favorite thing to get was french toast and a vanilla malt. They seriously have the best malts ever!

Triple XXX also is a great place to go after the bars close. Nothing prevents a hangover like the breakfast special at 3:30am. Barry & Reuter got to try this out firsthand when they came down to Purdue with Clint & I one weekend. (Although, I'm not sure if they remember how it tastes. Reuter ended up sleeping on a cement floor that night.)

Hopefully Triple XXX will be around for another 80 years! And I'll still be getting their malts. YUM!

Signs of Spring

http://www.dognsuds.org/
Dog N Suds is now open!

There are actually TWO Dog N Suds locations around Lafayette now. I have been driving by them every time I've been in town, longing for a Coney Dog and a Rootbear. Mmmm. So, now, finally my craving can be satisfied! The weather may still say WINTER, but Dog N Suds says IT'S SPRING!

Go Cardinals!

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Reuter may be cheering for the Steelers...

But, I have to go with my hometown roots and cheer for Chike Okeafor!

I am friends with his little sister on Facebook and she has been posting stuff all week about going to the Superbowl. That would be sweet!

My mom is even interested in the game now that she knows Chike is in it. (Usually she somehow doesn't even know that there IS a game happening.) She once had to break up a fight between Chike & one of her students in high school. I can't imagine who would have been dumb enough to think it was a good idea to challenge that guy!

I don't like to brag, but...

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West Lafayette was just ranked SIXTH in the nation as a Smart Small City.

I don't think many people from West Lafayette are surprised that the city made the list, but to be ranked 6th is pretty impressive. And it worries me a little. The city already has an inflated ego, and this will only make it worse. They start talking about how great the public schools are... And as someone that went K through 12 at West Lafayette schools, I can tell you it isn't because of the schools. It's the students and their parents that make it what it is.

Here is the top 20:
1. Bethesda, Md.
2. Wellesley, Mass.
3. Palo Alto, Calif.
4. McLean, Va.
5. Los Altos, Calif.
6. West Lafayette
7. Potomac, Md.
8. Lexington, Mass.
9. Mountain Brook, Ala.
10. University Park, Texas
11. Brookline, Mass.
12. Chapel Hill, N.C.
13. Wilmette, Ill.
14. Blacksburg, Va.
15. State College, Pa.
16. Saratoga, Calif.
17. Needham, Mass.
18. Cupertino, Calif.
19. North Potomac, Md.
20. Mercer Island, Wash.

Fun Lauren fact: I have lived in two of the cities listed above (#6 & #15) and worked in another (#4). Yes, that makes me special.

"West Lafayette Red Devils"

Lee and I are watching the Cardinals/Falcons game... Killing time until the Colts game.

The first tackle of the game was made by Chike Okeafor of the Cardinals. What is interesting about this is that Chike went to my high school. We were a small high school (2A at the time, it goes up to 5A) and Chike led the way to a state championship. He was a senior when I was in 7th grade. It was pretty intimidating to cross his path in the hallway.

Chike went on to Purdue and had a good career there before joining the NFL.

Shortly after his tackle, they introduced the defense. Most guys say what college they went to, but for some strange reason, Chike said:

"Chike Okeafor, West Lafayette Red Devils."

Our high school team! Probably the first & last NFL player to give a shout out to West Lafayette High School! It was awesome!

Can you spell?

Apparently this kid can.

And where is he from? Good ol' West Lafayette, IN. Apparently there ARE still some smart kids around there...

Way to go Sameer!

Sounds like he is a bit of a comedian too:

And what did he have to say while hoisting the heavy trophy? "I'm really, really weak."