Looking & Booking

I think over the past month or so I have definitely gotten another white hair, and by the end of the summer possibly a few more.  Why?  Well, I think after years of our apartment being on the market it has sold!  (Years as in 2011 and 2 realtors ago!)  This is great news!  That was until reality sunk in and I realized in a couple months my family would have no where to live. 

My days are consumed with two things.  Searching for a house to buy and searching for a rental for the period between selling & buying.  I've seen so many houses online and in person, they are starting to blend together.  The more I see the pickier I get.  Plus I have tried to make so many appointments for viewings, but the market is picking up and everything is selling.  The time of it being a buyers market is fading and our time is running out.  Even the rentals are booking up, and my stress level is rising.

But in the midst of all this stress there was one house that stood out, so we placed a bid and waited to agree on a price.  And today we heard they accepted our 2nd bid!  Nothing is on paper yet but this is really good news.  We're keeping our fingers crossed!

Now what do we do in the mean time?  I'd rather not move twice so we are trying to work something out with the realtor and people buying our apartment.  But to be safe I still have a few rentals lined up and will be visiting them next week.

One thing is for sure, I should have been a realtor because the majority of the companies have no idea what they are doing and are missing out on opportunities left & right.

I'll definitely keep you updated throughout this process.  And I apologize for not posting often enough but between volunteering at school and driving myself crazy with houses, my time is limited.

Bye! Dag! Adios! Namaste! Salut!

:) Danica

Darrin Doll

The last time we visited The States my daughter discovered that the Chelsea Barbie doll had accessories just for her, like a club house & play ground.  And beyond the accessories there were also other little dolls to collect.  Being that she is 5 yrs old the Chelsea & Chelsea friends are right down her alley.  She already had one of the friends, Kira, and a couple Chelsea's, so we bought the swing set and packed it in our suitcase.  The club house was too big so my Mom was sure to buy it for Sophia's 5th birthday and ship it over.  (Thanks Mom!)
 

Of course on the packaging they advertise the other dolls, dolls they just weren't selling here in The Netherlands.  I could find Chelsea but none of the friends, and my daughter really wanted the little boy, Darrin.  I asked my family in The States to start looking around but no one could find it in the stores.  Strange.  We started checking online and saw it for really overpriced amounts compared to the Chelsea doll, even stranger.  Not wanting my family to spend over $30 for a little Barbie doll, I took it into my own hands to find one before her 5th birthday.  And surprisingly enough, I found it on Amazon in Germany.  Now, I don't speak German, but I do use Amazon a lot and Dutch isn't so far off, so with the combo I was able to order her one in time and didn't overpay (too much).


After that curiosity took hold and I started looking around for the Darrin doll again (not to buy but to double check the prices), and shortly after I ordered it via Germany I saw the price went up on Amazon in Germany.  I checked The States again and saw some online shops are now asking over $50 for the little doll, what?  Amazon in the UK wants double that!  Why in the world is this doll so expensive?  Was it a limited edition?  Did they stop producing them?  Anyway, I'm glad I found one in time!  Now I just have to find the Tamika & Madison dolls before she loses interests in the little ones and moves on to playing with Skipper & Stacey more often!

Bye! Dag! Adios! Namaste! Salut!

:) Danica

Refashioning Old Jeans

For a while now  I have been wondering what to do with a stack of old jeans tucked away in my closet.  I am no longer into the boot cut and most of the boyfriend cut are too baggy for me these days.  I had actually considered trying to sell them but then it dawned on me... just refashion them!!

So I went to my main source for creative ideas... Pinterest of course!

Now I just might actually take on two projects - turning jeans into shorts & jeans into capri's!  And all without a sewing machine!!!

Thanks to two sources on Pinterest here are my possible projects :


The first project - jeans into shorts (according to Refinery 29)

Now instead of explaining it step for step I'll just refer you to their link.

Hopefully this will fix the fact I actually only like one pair of jean shorts I own!


The second project - jeans into capri's (according to By Your Hands)
(Since I don't have a sewing machine I am going to use the technic I'll learn from the shorts instead of the zig zag stitch she suggests.)

 

Again, here's a link to their site instead of explaining it step for step.

Now the capris seem way more challenging than the shorts, but if it works it would be nice to have actual capris instead of rolling up my jeans!


If and when I get around to it, obviously before the summer, I'll be sure to document my progress and keep you updated.

Bye! Dag! Adios! Namaste! Salut!

:) Danica