Sad House News

Well, the house deal we had in place didn't pan out. The seller was not willing to budge on repairs that were major safety concerns. We even agreed to split some of the cost with him, but he was not flexible. We decided to back out, knowing that the market is still very good for buyers right now. It's hard to let go of something you have your heart set on, but we were already spending so much before moving in, we thought that it wasn't worth it in the end. The good news is that we were able to get our deposit back in full, as what we were asking the seller to do was pretty serious. Also, our agent is very familiar with our needs now, so I think the process should be a bit quicker moving ahead.

Since we backed out, we've found a number of awesome listings and we are excited about looking at new places. Some of these homes are in mint condition, which is great because we can take our savings and use it toward decorating or even leave it in the bank!

In soap news, I've been unable to make any for a week or so. It's been unbearably hot. The last batch I made was very difficult to remove from the mold due to heat/humidity. It's going to have to go straight into the refrigerator from the crockpot - at least until this heat wave is over. I've got plenty of soaping to do for the ArtBeat Festival - and I've promised a hot process tutorial for Joanna :)

I've got a question for you all: Can anyone recommend a good program for creating html emails/e-newsletters? I'm looking for an easy-to-use program that won't set me back a lot of bucks. Any suggestions would be very welcome!

Lastly ... how long is Etsy supposed to be down? I've not been able to access their site in a couple of days.