Go outside. Wasted the summer on the sofa? There is still plenty of time to get off your ass and feel the sun on your face. It doesn’t have to be an all day commitment. My friend Trisha and I took a short but challenging hike over the weekend and celebrated with smoothies and pancakes. I was back on the couch with the bong by 3 pm, but this time with a misguided sense of accomplishment. 
Go natural. Lose the make-up, hair dryer, and trappings of effort and just go as you are for at least a day. See how good you look free from all the cosmetic “enhancement.” Ever since I stopped brushing my hair like an Olsen everyone keeps saying how great it looks. A dialed-down you might receive surprisingly interesting reactions. Why not cultivate an effortless look by actually using less effort?
Embrace frivolity. Before September strikes, enjoy a moment of total silliness. Play in a sprinkler. Wear ridiculous vintage. Smile at strangers. Read Jacqueline Susann. Send a postcard. Shamelessly court fun.
Hey ya’ll. You know how moving is; apologies for the delay. Saving you the tedium of details, I’m in a semi-remote locale and internet service is unreliable. I’m working tirelessly to get my shit together, and I’ll be back on schedule shortly. Horoscopes and more on the way (MUCH more as I will be serving as a bridesmaid Friday). Thanks again for your patience and have a marvelous day. XOXO, DC
Attentive readers may remember I’m looking to relocate while I work on a project in a semi-remote location. I’m currently in the midst of negotiations with the homeowners of a nearby property I would like to rent while working on the project. At first, I thought I could handle keeping the house on the market. When I really considered it, I’m intensely private and clean, and there is no way I can have strangers noodling around in my stuff and shedding errant pubes. Plus, I don’t want to deal with the insecurity of worrying the house will sell and force another disruptive and expensive move. The owners are considering a counter that keeps the house off the market for one year for a generous amount of rent. 
They expressed an interest in unloading the house. Between you and I, the house has been on the market for three months with no offers and just a handful of showings. If it is going to sell, it will sell before Labor Day, but I seriously doubt it will sell at all without a drastic price cut. It’s a quirky overpriced house with a weird, obviously-not-to-code staircase. I’ll take it as a rental, but it’s obvious to see why it hasn’t ignited much interest in the market or yielded any offers. 
Now, I’m contemplating what to do if they decline our offer. (No hard feelings if they do). Do I upgrade to an overpriced rental or buy something cheap and fix it up? A fixer upper adds value to my investment, but diverts funds from my central project. A posh rental also adds up, but is move-in ready, completely fresh, and low-maintenance. 
The third and final option is whether I can make my current abode work for a little while longer? Even though my LL (fairly and modestly, but annoyingly) raised the rent? I hate it here, and I hate to hate where I’m living. 
We’ll see what happens with Mr. an Mrs. Homeowner from above; maybe they’ll come to their senses and see my offer for the money making opportunity it is for them. Because trust, that house will sit on the market stale for another year until they make an embarrassing price reduction or rent it to someone else less tidy and dependable. 
I’m looking for a place to move temporarily while I work on a project. The rent inventory is low and the selections are overpriced and abysmal. 
The area where I’m looking has a dearth of rentals and a plethora of homes on the market.
After looking at a filthy rental that exceeds my current monthly payments by several hundred dollars, I felt defeated and relinquished to sub-optimal rental living hell. 
Rather than take this defeat, I decided to contact the listing agent of a vacant house for sale in the neighborhood where I want to move. I proposed renting the property. This updated house is way better than the dump I looked at just a few doors down.
The agent spoke to his clients and they were open to the idea of renting. I have an appointment Sunday morning to check out the place.
The advantages of this approach are many. Homes on the market tend to be cleaner and have updates ordinary rentals don’t. The fact the house isn’t listed as a rental means there isn’t any competition from other renters. Since I proposed the idea, I have more power in the negotiations. 
Really, it works out for everyone. The sellers get a super clean light-treading renter with no pets and no kids. They get their mortgage paid and benefit from having the house staged for possible buyers. 
Can’t get ahead of myself, the deal hasn’t been done. I’ll let you know how the scheme worked out either way, and you can decide if it’s a tactic you want to employ to upgrade your living situation. 
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