Yellow Tree Theater - trying something new!

On Friday, Jeff and I went to a play with my parents at the Yellow Tree Theater. It is a small theater that he had taken me to on Valentine's Day. We enjoyed the theater and the play so much that we decided to invite my parents to the play that is currently on stage.

The theater is this cute little place, but you wouldn't know that by driving up to it. It is in a strip mall in Osseo, sandwiched between a furniture store and some antique type store. When we went in February, we showed up a little early and there were NO cars in the parking lot. We were a little nervous that we were in the wrong place, but then other cars started showing up. The first time we went, we weren't sure what we were getting ourselves into. As we waited in the car, we continued to see other people over the age of 60 show up as well as a man in Adidas track pants. What were we thinking?! But as we entered into the theater and enjoyed the play, we quickly fell in love with this unique venue. In February, we saw a play about two people at their high school reunion who had been high school sweethearts.

Jeff had remembered that there was a new play going on during this time about the State Fair (which I absolutely LOVE!). We roped in my parents to join us for dinner and a show. Again, I was thoroughly impressed with the theater and the show! It was about a radio contest of 5 people living in an ice shack during the MN state fair for 12 days to win $50,000. There were lots of laughs and we all really enjoyed it. It was a stretch for my dad since he doesn't usually go to things like this. Though he may have fallen asleep for a bit, he claims that he caught all of the good parts of the play.

I would definitely recommend checking out the Yellow Tree Theater if you enjoy plays and are looking for something new. I would like to try new things that I usually wouldn't do. Jeff is really good about coming up with new things to do and places to go. It's funny because when we first started dating, I told him that I would be his tour guide of the Twin Cities since he wasn't from here. It turned out that in the last 3 years, he has been a better tour guide for me, though I have lived here my whole life.

Any ideas of new things to try in the Twin Cities? We are always open to ideas!
 

Spring Projects

The snow has FINALLY melted in our yard. What does this mean? It means our list of spring projects has started. Looking at where the new grass and old grass is growing in has shown just how much we need to do. Who knew a year ago when we bought the house that we would have SO many projects to do in the 2nd year? There are so many that we have a list already for year 3 projects... We keep telling ourselves that the more work we put in, the more money we will get out of the house when we eventually do sell. We love our house but it isn't our forever house.

Here is the list of the projects that will just NEVER end:

1. Sod the rest of the front yard
2. Sod the backyard
3. Take out the wire fence
4. Replace the fence by finishing a wood fence around the yard. (Last summer I helped our neighbors build one side of the yard, but we want to finish it around our whole yard.)
5. Finish putting rock around the deck
6. Rock around the backyard tree
7, Remove the lilac bushes in the back (we are hoping someone from Craigslist is coming today or tomorrow to remove them since they want them)
8. Put the railings on the deck
9. Stain the deck
10. Build a fire pit (this one will be fun!)
11. Pump up the cement on the driveway or get a new driveway
12. Pump up the cement in the garage
13. Plant some bushes in the front (this might be a year 3 project)
14. Plant flowers (I would like my yard to have some color and beauty to it!)
15. Clean the outside windows


That is just outside the house!! There are more projects INSIDE!

1. Finish painting the basement
2. Re-carpet the basement
3. Clean up all of the dust in the basement
4. Lower the bar in the basement
5. Paint the living room
6. Paint the bathroom and fix the toilet paper holder (We quickly learned when my niece Ava came over that we would need to fix this. It wasn't secure in the wall and as I watched her put her hand on the holder to keep her balance, I learned future holdings by our future kids would tear it out of the wall more and eventually we will have a big hole. Needless to say, it needs to be fixed.)
7. Finish wedding picture wall in the living room (We currently have crooked, empty frames hanging on the wall.)
8. Clean out the junk room - everyone has one of these, right??

I am not sharing this with you so you think I'm complaining or want sympathy for the amount of work there is. This is part of being a homeowner and most homeowners know just how much work there is when you buy an old home or a home that hasn't been taken care of. While it is a lot of work, I have tried to take pictures along the way so we can see where we started and where we will eventually finish. The list is more for me to sit down and think about all of the things we need to do. I am excited at the prospect of it all being complete. Though it is going to take some blood, sweat, tears, and maybe some disagreements when my dad comes over and thinks he knows just what we need to do when we don't agree with him, we will get it all done. Maybe not by the next winter, but in time. If you have an desire to donate some time, let me know. I am sure Jeff and I could use some free laborers and we would probably pay you with beer and pizza! :)

I'm off to go start one of the first projects - remove the wire fence and the lilac bushes!

Molly