Kiefer Cottage goes rogue...

And buys a second vehicle. Who knew that's what people have these days!!  

What is it?

A 1980 VW Rabbit convertible.

Right now, it's not a convertible. It's merely topless.  You could say it's only wearing a G-string.  I know, this is a family-friendly website (sort of), so shield the little ones' eyes.

The cost?  Let's just say it's well under $1000.

This cute little thing has had a lot of work done to it, but Ryan said it was a miracle he made it back to the house. It reeks of oil and is now a bit damp since it was pouring down rain for some of the drive home (who knew it'd rain after weeks of almost nothing?).

This car isn't a daily driver, though.  At least not yet. It's for a top-secret project that shall be revealed soon, I promise.

In the meantime, revel in its adorable-ness.  Seriously, isn't it so cute???

FTR, I chose this car.  It's my main contribution to the project. So any dudes rolling their eyes, scoffing at this chick-mobile, well, you can kiss my patootey.

Conundrum in the Bathroom

Katie the crazy summer bunny says...

"We need a new bathroom faucet!"

This lovely contraption leaks.  It's pretty awful, right?

The problem is that the faucet is on a 22 inch deep vanity, which is at least 6 inches too big.

Why would I put a new faucet on a vanity I'd like to trash?

But you see this floor? It's getting in the way of progress.  I'd love to buy an inexpensive pedestal sink and plop it in--anything expensive is too big anyway). The floor, though, does not run under that vanity.  And you see that crack in the floor?  It's reminding me of the fact the floor sags around the enormous beam in the basement.  Leveling will have to happen.  Plus whenever we replace the tub, we'll need more flooring most likely because the existing apparatus is way too big.  So a simple vanity replacement would mean new floors, a new toilet while we're at it, and really, a new tub.  Yeah, that ain't happening anytime soon unless we win the lottery (buy me a ticket, will ya?).

So for now, we may or may not replace the vanity.  We have, however, purchased a new faucet. It's shiny, therefore I love it.  Well, it's not too shiny.  It won't leak, though.

All the ladies in the house

This evening, we headed outside for some portrait shots.  I wanted to show off my new hair-do.  But the girls needed photos, too.

Katie gave herself bangs a few weeks ago.  I think they work surprisingly well.

Winslow is very good at the angelic look.   That hair.  Oh, that hair.

 I, on the other hand, am genetically predisposed to goofy photos.

Amidst the tomato vines.  You know, all artsy-fartsy like.

I have three looks.  This one is "Talking".

Zoolander, eat your heart out.

I call this look "Hooching".

(Like my fun stripe?  And thanks to Katie Bel for letting me borrow her favorite sunglasses)

I've decided to wear sunglasses all the time. Makes me look awesomer.

And finally, "I shmell shomething."

I'm looking for representation so I can enter the modeling world. These looks will sell makeup and clothes, I tell you!!

**Many thanks to Chelsea over at Chop Tops in Westport for taking my hair to the next level. **

Kansas Sunflowers

We grew sunflowers this year.  Seemed wrong to live in Kansas and not try.  I planted two varieties. One tall, one short. The tall ones are taller than I could imagine.

Katie is about 40 inches, to give you some perspective.

And of course, the whole gang had to pose for a photo.  It's 100 degrees out , hence, no pants.

Too cute for his own good.

And too pretty for words.

We had some damaged stalks a couple of weeks ago.  The flower buds had been chewed half-way off. I finished the job, and it looks like life found a way to make a new flower (did it involve spontaneous sex changes like Jurassic Park??).

Critters love the sunflowers.  Ants, shiny blue bugs, flying thingies, bees, and this guy.

This poor corn is feeling outshone by the sunflowers, so it tried to produce another cob.  That's pretty darn teenitsy (speaking of teenitsy, look at these itty bitty grasshoppers. They are freakishly small!).

A bright spot in the garden as everything else dies.  I plan on growing at least double this amount next year.  Very satisfying!

Edited to add: Ryan and I did no bed prep for the sunflowers.  We planted the seeds in existing soil. I fertilized once with fish emulsion once the plants had come up, although I don't think it was necessary (I had extra from feeding the corn).  My only issues have been critters eating the seeds (hence the weird rows) and a few invasive vines left over from the previous owners.  Plant where you get tons of sun. This spot gets 12+ hours in summer!

The Master Bedroom

I've been writing this post for a year.  It's true, I have one sitting in draft that's about our cavernous master bedroom.  The delay was motivated mainly by lack of motivation.  How, you say?  Well, the room has been more of a staging ground than anything else.  Guests never see the room since it's the only space upstairs, so why bother?

The motivation came this week, though.  We're having an energy audit performed tomorrow morning, and I couldn't let anyone see the wreck up there.  Anyway, I was tired of boxes everywhere and crashing into things in the middle of the night on my way to the bathroom (About time, lazy!  You've only lived in the house for 14 months.  Hush, you meanie.  Your hair is still permed and you wear a fanny pack without irony! Ouch. You know how to hit a guy where it really hurts).

So here it is:

You can see that is is merely clean. Not well curated, not ready for a magazine shoot. Just ready for a visit from a stranger who will probably tell us that our house is the least efficient home in history.

You can see the room is huge.  The ceiling is only six and a half feet tall, so we can't have a ceiling fan in here (although we need one).  And I know you're crushing on my window treatments, circa 1970.  We keep 'em because they (barely) function, and new ones that I like would cost more money than I have. In fact, all our money is going toward our utility bill, hence the audit.

Aaaanyway, here's more.

A chest of drawers refinished by my loving in-laws.  And no, I don't usually decorate with stuffed animals.  But the master destroyers (named Winslow and Drew) are dying to rip these dolls to shreds, and this place, they can't reach.  You see a photo of me and my brother on his wedding day--he's now back in the U.S. after a few years in Italy.  I couldn't be happier because now I can drop my kids off at his house whenever I'm willing to drive 1000 miles to Augusta, GA.  I'm sure it'll happen all the time.

Our closet.  Yeah, it's the biggest closet in the house. And Ryan and I share it. Thank goodness I have no clothes, and Ryan's wardrobe consists solely of khaki shorts and polo shirts. He could wear the same outfit five days in a row, and no one would notice (well, maybe the smell, they would).

Our bed, resting on an IKEA frame, looks kind of pathetic.  Our denim sheets don't really coordinate well with the wall color (which I love, and will love more when we paint all this gross trim white). But the jersey sheets were on clearance (only $10!) and king-sized (we require a big sheet because one of us is a major sheet-thief.  Guilty as charged).  Upside to the low bed? Makes the ceilings feel higher. At least seven feet tall, right?

You like the calendar hanging at the window?  We found it in a cabinet after we moved in. It's from 1978.  I leave it up in tribute to Ella and Carroll.

There's still work to be done. And I've begun to sound like a broken record saying that about every room in the house.  But if the house were complete, what the hell would I do all day?