Life Lately
Hello, strangers! My goodness! I just can’t stay consistent here!
This post was originally intended to showcase all the fun we had sledding a few weekends ago, but my media library just would NOT cooperate. I tried moving on to try to work on a little craft tutorial post, but I ended up not being able to insert my direction cards either. I tried and tried to troubleshoot the issues with no success.
And now here we are. The website magically fixed itself–like it always does, but it’s taken a while to find the motivation to sit and get to typing. So much going on lately! John will be gone for a few weekends soon, which will hopefully give me a good opportunity to catch up once the girls go to bed.
Much of my time lately has been spent house hunting and and trying to learn as much about our future duty station as possible! We’re still stuck on whether or not to live on or off post. Off-post housing has been tricky, due to high prices. Even with O4 BAH (basic housing allowance), most rentals start right at BAH and just go up from there. Then you also have to account for the cost of utilities, although from what I’ve been told, they aren’t too terrible.
I’ve loved our experiences with living on post so far, so that’s where I’m leaning. My one hesitation is that the houses on Fort Riley don’t come with fenced back yards. You can rent a 4-foot chainlink fence, but Caesar can jump right over those. After having to accompany Caesar for every single potty break since last summer, I’m really just wanting the freedom of opening our back door and letting him roam unsupervised.
Before we head out of Newport though, we have a promotion to take care of! The original plan was to DIY the promotion ceremony, and hold it at our neighborhood community center. The views from the deck are spectacular (see above) and there is tons of space and even a full kitchen inside.
Unfortunately, the community center is being updated with no date of completion. John also wasn’t too keen on DIY the food and all that, even though we pulled off his change of command pretty easily. SO, to the O-Club we go!
Even though I’d love for this to be a hands on experience, it will be nice to sit back and let someone else take care of everything. Especially since at that point, we’ll only be a few weeks away from moving to Kansas. We found a catering package that will fit out budget perfectly. Plus, the O-Club still has those beautiful views of the bridge and sunset.
OH, and just for funsies, I just clicked order on a whole bunch of items to revamp my kitchen for the last 3 months we’re here.
My super talented friend has the BEST home decor! I keep pushing her to start a blog *hint*hint* because she always has the most beautiful looking house, and does it all on an affordable budget! I’ve found myself walking around her home and snapping photos for my own inspiration. Her style has clearly rubbed off on me, because who redecorates months before a PCS?!
Along with updating the look of the kitchen, I’ve also been working on getting the pantry organized! Our pantry here is slightly smaller that what we’ve been use to, so any space we can gain is important! I’ve been using OXO pop top containers for a few years, so I’ve been stocking up on extras at HomeGoods recently. I love how easy they are to stack together and how clean they make the pantry look! I’ll be sure to share if I ever get it looking exactly how I want it!
That’s about it for now! It’s St. Patrick’s Day weekend, and it looks like things will get a bit crazy here! Stay safe if you’re out and about!