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.
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.
Uh-oh…am I the dreaded nosy neighbor? 
Now, I won’t go on your side of your privacy fence to sneak a peek (as Kristy’s did), and I won’t go out of my way to bother you with idle chitchat while you’re doing yard work (as Mandy’s does), but I do pay attention to my surroundings. Continue reading ‘Noticing neighbors is natural for me.’
Staci is an associate editor at
Angie's List magazine. Her favorite foods are sushi and chocolate (but not together). Staci enjoys mowing the lawn, and she can also make a mean s'more.
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.
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.
I was thinking about writing something else today, but my free time over the past week has been consumed by yard work, and with the spring weather, I’m sure it’s been the same with many Angie’s List members and contractors, hence this post about yard work (containing a rather long intro sentence.)
Like Kristy, Staci, Jackie, and “Flipper,” I’ve been having issues with my lawn lately. When my wife and I moved into our house about a year and a half ago, we had a blank canvas to work with: the front yard had some taller-than-me fire bushes concealing half of our house, there was a small rosebush on the side of the porch, and the backyard had a mass of flowering vines climbing along one side of the fence, but that was about it. There was some grass in the backyard, too, but overall our landscape wasn’t much to look at. We’re hoping to change that, one small step at a time. Continue reading ‘Grass, grass, please go away, I don’t want to mow you another day’
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.
Friends and family arrive at my front door and their first question always is: “Where’s the landscaping?” I smile and sigh. I’m wondering the same thing since my fiancé, Matt, owns a full-service landscaping company.
The saying, “A plumber’s pipes always leak” holds true, I guess, for most service professionals. I’ve come to the conclusion if you spend so much time working on other people’s homes, the last thing you want to do is work on your own home in the little spare time you do have. Continue reading ‘Living with a professional landscaper’
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.
