Tag Archives: trusted housesitters

2020 Best and Worst Purchases of the Year, Favorite Restaurants, Favorite Activities

by in Rachel Barnard and tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Top Purchases for the year:

Getting my hair professionally cut and highlighted – I was starting to get a weird bowl cut looking vibe and as soon as it was highlighted, I feel like my look was completely transformed and I loved my hair again.

Amy Cohen’s masks bundles for myself, boyfriend, grandparents, and parents – Not only was I supporting someone I knew (mother of a friend), but these masks were adorable and after months of wear they still hold up!

Lush shampoo bar – I have loved every sample and bar that I’ve tried from Lush. They are super sudsy and very long-lasting. They travel very well – no leaking!

Native deodorant – I really like the natural scents and it’s one of the best natural deodorants that I’ve tried over the past few years.

ebike – I bought a secondhand Raleigh Sprite iE 45cm 2017 from someone who had used it as a commuter bike in Seattle (a gamble!) and I absolutely love this bike. I’m really happy that it works and I only spent $1000. I’ve already put over 300 miles on this bike and it makes biking where hills are involved pleasurable.

Low cost DIY pallet garden – I was able to build and plant my garden for just over $200 because I spent time and effort sourcing free materials and was gifted several tomato starts and the time and help of my friends and family.

Garage fridge – After cleaning out the mini fridge I got for free several years ago, I left it to defrost outside and it never turned back on so I invested in a $200 compact but full-sized fridge for the garage that we put all our hard cider and fridge overflow into. This was a great investment since there are three of us sharing our small full-sized kitchen fridge.

Orgain Keto chocolate (especially on sale at Costco) – I love this tuff! I can make a mousse when I mix it with milk. I can make hot chocolate when I mix it with hot milk. I put it into my granola bowls to make them taste like dessert.

Rock paint markers – I got really into rock painting as a new hobby in the summer and have been hiding and gifting the painted rocks all over town. This set works so well though I have accidentally squished down the top of the white too much. They don’t have a fine tip, which is mostly okay and I can make adequately detailed rocks.

Pecan pie from Grocery Outlet – Who knew my favorite pie was pecan? Thanks to my partner for picking pecan, now I know that it’s my favorite! Grocery Outlet’s $5 pecan pie was the best pie we’ve found this season.

Fiskars Micro-Tip Blades – I went all out for my DIY garden this year and love the clean and sharp pruning scissors I got to help me harvest my greens.

Soccer shoes – Though we only got to play one time with other people before lockdown, my boyfriend and I enjoyed multiple nights of practice play and these shoes made so much of a difference!

Top Gifts for the year:

Summer veggie box

The perfect sized cup in my Edible Arrangements birthday gift from my mother – I love this cup so much that I will wash it after each use so I can re-use it again. I eat my granola out of this cup because it also makes the perfect deep-bowl.

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Worst Purchases for the year:

$238.51 Indiegogo masks reusable N-99 silicone masks from ModPPE and $60 for additional filters – After backing this project in April of this year, I finally received my product in December. They have had a full production company since late summer, yet they didn’t cancel my order when asked and didn’t bother shipping from their US warehouse either. Worst customer service I’ve ever experienced from a company selling a product. And check out the sorry state the box arrived in! The product doesn’t fit either so I paid quite a bit of money for useless trash that took 9 months to arrive. You want one? I’ve still got most of them sitting in my closet.

Mixed seeds from Amazon – Never again. Not only did they just dump unidentifiable seeds in the packet, there weren’t 100 and they didn’t grow at all!

The AMC refillable bucket – Haha 2020. You got me!

The Lobster Shop – Most disappointing restaurant of the year. Overpriced. Too salty. Quality was meh.

AirBnB gift card – I thought I could use this gift card to pay for the second half of my reservation (should have read the fine print). Now I still have that gift card just sitting in my account when it could have gone to something more useful.

Pistachio oil and Pistachio extract – The pistachio oil didn’t have enough pistachio flavor and I didn’t really know what to put it in other than my salads. The extract was terrible and tasted very artificial!

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Favorite Restaurants:

Pagliacci – I really have taken a liking to their pizza. I like the crust. I like the cheese. I absolutely loved their fig seasonal pizza. I like how they have new seasonals every few weeks.

Where Ya Matt – Local food truck with phenomenal New Orleans soul food. Worth breaking your diet for those beignets…

The Slip – New favorite non-traditional burger place. The Slip has fun burgers that are delicious! My favorites were the Thai PB&J and the Burgadilla

Jeff’s Texas Style BBQ – we keep coming back for this BBQ.

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Favorite Activities:

Horseback riding at Mone Farms – what activities can you do that are naturally socially distanced? How long is a horse you ask?

Trusted Housesitters – I love looking for new listings weekly on Trusted Housesitters and though we were only able to fit one sit in before lockdown, I still peruse their site every few weeks. It was such fun sitting this little guy. You can use this link to get 25% off a membership at Trusted Housesitters: https://www.trustedhousesitters.com/refer/RAF286731/

UFC family watch nights – Good food and good company, though I didn’t care too much about the UFC…

Mexico Vacation prior to the pandemic – Best vacation all year… I truly took a vacation (no sneaking in emails like I do during staycations).

Surprising my grandparents – chalk message, hidden painted rocks, and traditional Christmas breakfast

Building raised garden beds and a railing bed with my housemate (especially using her power drill) – I loved building the pallet garden beds instead of buying them. Saving money and learning a new skill!

Staying the weekend in a Tiny House in Tacoma (staycation) – I have become mildly obsessed with tiny houses and it was such fun to try one out for the weekend.

Pokemon Go – Another steadfast quarantine hobby has become Pokemon Go. We played so much that I was able to level up this year after playing almost every day.

Beatsaber, Sock Boy, Heads Up, and other games with my partner – Though I almost always lost, I still had lots of fun playing games and laughing with my boyfriend.

A Beginner’s Adventures in House Sitting – First Foray

by in Rachel Barnard and tagged , , ,

Approximately 16 miles from our house where my partner, our housemate, and I live is the luxury apartment complex where we had our very first house sitting experience. On one of the many hills on the Eastside (East of Seattle), this luxury multi-story apartment complex boasts a spacious and contemporary living space within an upscale neighborhood community. Around 1000 square feet, this apartment felt cozy and just large enough. It may seem odd to house sit just a bus ride away from where we currently live while we still have a house. That may not be the case in 6 months. Our plan is to finish out our lease and then house sit, friend visit, and family crash our way through several months’ worth of living before heading out of the country.

To prepare for this rather interesting house hacking method, I researched the best websites to join and set up our account on Trusted Housesitters. The interface and setup was easy to work with and there were thousands of listings internationally, hundreds in the USA, and many within our own area. Most of the listings don’t go out much farther than 3 months. I log on and check new listings every day, looking to meet our needs come August 1st. We need high-speed internet and space to work. Both of us, my partner and I, work from home. I love dogs, cats, rabbits, goats, etc. I would absolutely love to house sit for a pig or a corgi! I look specifically at how far from the Seattle area the sits are and how many applicants they have as well as length of time and location (also looking in CO and FL). As newbies to the site, we have less credibility than others. We come as a couple. This could be a bonus for some homeowners, at least I hope.

We chose two house sits, one within 20 miles and one in Canada to gain good standing on the site. The first house sit we completed last week and we learned quite a bit about our daily habits. Here is a list of items we forgot to bring with us:

  1. Regal gift card that I had printed and was going to use when we went to see Sonic
  2. Wireless keyboard
  3. Swimming goggles (they have a pool!)
  4. Robe and towel
  5. Soccer ball
  6. Pants (not just leggings or sweat pants) since we went out for a fancy dinner date
  7. Debit card

Because we were staying in town, we continued our daily activities even though we were farther away from some activities. We didn’t take all our life’s items (like a debit card or a towel) that we wouldn’t normally need on a vacation. Except, this wasn’t a vacation.

I brought my all-in-one computer (still quite heavy) so that I had a desktop setup for work. I also brought all the groceries and some food prepped meals with us (not knowing if we’d have enough space in the fridge). I couldn’t find a tea kettle at the apartment and boiled water in a pot every morning for our coffee and tea.

It’s interesting to hop into someone’s life not knowing where the forks are located or if they have towels I’m going to like. I really am attached to the towel I use daily. We lived out of a suitcase plopped onto the floor. If we stayed longer, I would have organized my clothing better, but pulling items off the floor and out of a suitcase is perfectly fine for a few days.

Am I supposed to eat the avocado that’s over-ripening on the counter or should I put it into the fridge? I’m living in someone else’s house with their own preferences for cleaning and organizing and living. We only stayed 6 days, so I wouldn’t think of changing the structure of their life, how their apartment was organized. We did clean the toilets and run a load of linens before we left as well as wiping down the counters and the kitchen floors.

Since we live close to this house we were able to set up an in-person meeting prior to the actual house sit. This helped build good communication and expectations with the owner and her dog’s needs. She also provided a well thought out and detailed house sitting guide that lives in the Trusted Housesitters website.

The other component of house sitting is the pets! I fell in love with their little Min-Pin-Chihuahua mix. She was an absolute cutie! I grew up with larger dogs and it was nice taking care of a little pup. Poor thing had some bladder issues and so I took her out for frequent pee breaks during the day and she would have a few accidents on puppy pads at night. She often would sit curled up on my partner’s lap or huddled next to my side during the day and disappeared under the large expanse of blankets in the bed at night. It’s been many years since I’ve slept with a doggie!

I’m excited for our future adventures house sitting and ecstatic to save on rent and utilities for several months this year.

You can save too! Using this link (my referral link), you can sign up for Trusted Housesitters and save 25% off your yearly membership: https://www.trustedhousesitters.com/refer/RAF286731/