This Halloween marks the fourth week of my marriage to my beautiful bride (that’s a photo of me at the wedding when she gave me my precious ring — somehow I lost my tux before the ceremony). What have I learned in my first four weeks? 1) I’m always wrong. Period. And 2) A new life together takes a lot of work.
First up on the to-do list: new shared bank accounts and closing the old personal ones. We got that done this weekend and it was surprisingly easy (I’m of the belief that the List should rate banks, as I’d rate my new financial institution highly, but that’s for another post). Next up: filling out reports for all the service companies we hired for our wedding ceremony. I’ll be rating and reviewing the reception hall, the florist, the photographer and the DJ. I should have done this weeks ago, but hey, I just got married — I do what I want (if it’s OK with the wife).
What else? For the long term, we need to find a home to purchase in the next two years; figure out a shared financial investment strategy (with the economy, I’m thinking of buying stock in the manufacturers of Ramen and refrigerator boxes); determine how to reduce our now shared debt; and decide on whose medical insurance we’ll use. I’ve got the feeling my Angie’s List membership will definitely come in handy in the future.
Josh is an associate editor at
Angie's List magazine. He has two dogs, Simon and Clem, and likes Thai food, Portland, Ore., and riding his motorcycle. For the low price of $1.00 US, he will give you his sincere and succinct opinion about anything.
Like Lindsay and YaShekia, I’m house-hunting. It’s for all the usual reasons — it’s a good investment, I’d like to have more space, and after a few years of renting, it’s time to take the next step and buy a home.
I’m not too picky. A safe neighborhood and good resale value are two of my top priorities, and of course I want a home that’s affordable and in good condition. But when it comes to the interior, there aren’t too many must-haves on my list. As long as the kitchen has enough room for a table and chairs, I don’t need a formal dining room. I don’t need a family room and a nicer living room, either — I don’t have that much furniture anyway. I’m not someone who simply has to have a fireplace. No dishwasher? No problem. (Although it certainly would be nice to have one.) But one of the main things I’m looking for has nothing to do with what’s inside the house: I want a fenced-in backyard for my dog. Continue reading ‘A house, a yard, a dog, and a dishwasher: House-hunting begins’
Liz is an associate editor at
Angie's List magazine. She enjoys eating chocolate chip ice cream on the beach after swimming. She also likes colder, drearier places like London.
My house was the talk of the block for a few weeks recently. So much so that we ended up meeting half of the people in our neighborhood for the first time.
I’m almost 100 percent positive they weren’t interested in meeting us; they were just scoping out their new competition for next year’s neighborhood landscaping contest.
That’s right, it took six months, but my landscaping in my front yard is finally complete (see one of my first Blue House Blog entries from April: “Living with a professional landscaper”). Continue reading ‘Landscaping gets thumbs up’
Kristy is deputy managing editor at
Angie's List magazine. She has two rottweilers, Bud and Moto, and enjoys playing mom to her rott-en, lovable pups. Taking the plunge into homeownership last year was a huge wake up call for Kristy. Thankfully, she says, she not only has a handy fiancé, but a handy tool called Angie’s List as well.
Last week, after a year without TV — it wasn’t a protest against modernity, just an attempt to save a bit of money — my husband, John, and I paid to have our cable hooked up, bringing us up to speed with the rest of the civilized world… sort of.
Our fifteen-year-old television is a mockery to modern technology — an obese and awkward ancestor of the new supermodel generation. Continue reading ‘And then there was television…’
Lindsay is the publication assistant for
Angie's List magazine. She has a dog, Clio, whom she found on the street, pregnant, in front of the Blue House. Lindsay loves eating anything homemade, especially salads, and her favorite movie is The Constant Gardener. Coincidence? Her favorite place is the South of France.
I’m homeless. Actually, both my husband and I are. Well, admittedly, that’s a bit of a stretch. We have a place to live, but we simply could use about 1,000 square feet more of it.
For the past several weeks, we’ve been scoping out the wonderful land of Central Indiana, hoping to MapQuest or TomTom our way to our new dream house in the potentially money-saving realm of foreclosed homes. Continue reading ‘A house hunting we will go!’
YaShekia is an associate editor for
Angie’s List magazine. Her favorite movie is The Temptations, and she loves riding roller coasters, singing and dancing.
All this talk of nosy neighbors has me thinking about safety. I live on the near east side of Indianapolis, a mile from downtown, and while it’s not exactly Crime Alley, it’s not the kind of place I’d recommend you keep your doors open and unlocked all night, either.
There’s a fine line between nosiness and neighborliness. Continue reading ‘A fine line between neighborliness and nosiness’
Paul is senior staff writer at
Angie's List magazine.
His favorite album is Blondie's "Parallel Lines," he's more obsessed with
Doctor Who than any American has a right to be, and his desk at Angie's List is guarded by (toy) robots.
I’ll let you in on a secret: I’m a hero.
A few weeks ago I was walking my dog. It was a nice warm day and my neighbors were all outside doing yard work. Another young man was walking down the street. I waved to him, and kept walking.
All of a sudden, there are fifty cop cars screaming around my neighborhood. One pulls up to me: Continue reading ‘It’s a bird! It’s a plane! No, it’s just me.’
Conor is an associate editor for
Angie's List magazine. He has a cat named Kanye and a puppy named Sherman, his favorite movie is
Back to the Future, he loves playing basketball and his favorite place is his couch.
The area I live in is what most would call “borderline” — it’s safe, but has a definite element of sketchiness. I would characterize my neighbors in much the same way.
For example, when we bought new furniture, Neighbor Tom knew, even though we didn’t tell him. He asked us if our paver patio was put in, even though supplies for it were well out of view and in our backyard.
His knowledge of the goings-on at our house is a little creepy, but on the other hand, it’s kind of reassuring. Continue reading ‘Nosy neighbor: Friend and foe’
Mandy Miller is senior online editor for Angie's List publication department. When she's not focusing on the
magazine's website and other online offerings, she's tackling a mounting list of home improvements she thinks she can do herself. Plus, she really likes to ride her bike, play with her puppy, Boo Radley, and take naps.
Earlier this summer, I wrote about preparing to move from one great, beautiful home to a house that’s, well, soon to be great. Last week my wife and I took possession of our new house. We have our work cut out for us with the long list of to-do’s (or rather “never-gonna-do’s”) the previous owners left. Continue reading ‘Welcome to the jungle: Cleaning up our new house’
Tristan Schmid is host and producer of
List-en up!, the Angie's List podcast. When he's not sitting in front of a computer, working on websites, audio or video production, he stays occupied by taking his dogs for walks, helping
homeless animals find families, and skiing.
As my apartment-dwelling colleagues Mike and Matthew well know, our house-dwelling co-workers sometimes seem to have the upper hand in many respects. My biggest apartment complaints usually have to do with my neighbors. Continue reading ‘Howdy, neighbor!’
Josh is an associate editor at
Angie's List magazine. He has two dogs, Simon and Clem, and likes Thai food, Portland, Ore., and riding his motorcycle. For the low price of $1.00 US, he will give you his sincere and succinct opinion about anything.
