The quest for hummus.

Most of my facebook friends are now familiar with my occasional diatribes complaining about the lack of "big city" amenities in Montgomery.  While I won't bore you by listing each of them, I do want to admit that I have been officially corrected on one of my most ardent criticisms.  And it has to do with that yummy (and healthy) mediterranean treat, hummus.  Yes, hummus. 

Let me explain.

On my very first grocery shopping trip as a new Montgomery resident, I asked a grocer at Publix where I could find the hummus. 

A)  He didn't know what hummus was.
B)  We spent the next twenty minutes on a wild goose chase across the store, finally ending up at the "fancy" standalone deli refrigerator where I stared down at ONE brand of drastically overpriced hummus. 

The lack of hummus knowledge that I observed at Publix, its scarce availability - and most eggregiously, its high markup - caused me to snap.  Of course I immediately (and wrongly) assumed that hummus must be considered a luxury to Alabamians.  Nevermind that my boyfriend's parents - who hail from North Alabama - have served it to me in the past.  I quickly forgot about that and went on a total bender, complaining to all who whould listen about Montgomery's lack of hummus.

That is... until I was proved wrong.  During a very enjoyable and eye-opening trip to Wal-Mart, I observed that the big box chain has several varieties of hummus at great prices. 

(Wal-Mart's hummus display.)

I avoided Wal-Mart like the plague my first few weeks.   I've quickly gotten over that.  Wal-Mart is now my exclusive hummus provider.

I live here now.  Forget Washington, DC and my beloved Trader Joe's and its many varieties of hummus.  I live in Montgomery.  And, I still love hummus.  And, I still have hummus - multiple kinds, in my fridge.  And one container at work. 

And, even if I had never found my amazing Wal-Mart hummus... it really wouldn't be the end of the world, now, would it? 

The Door.

What happens when you combine one 1920s-era front door, twelve window panes, two college graduates (and one advanced degree), ten feet of window film purchased at Home Depot, a squeegee and an exacto knife? Attempt #2 to “frost” my front-door windows for privacy.  I live in a rental so curtains seemed too permanent. However, I quickly learned that applying window film is easier said than done -- especially on TWELVE panes. After my failed attempt to do it myself, I roped my man into helping when he came in from DC for a visit.  Let's face it: I'm not handy, he's not real handy.  But our mantra was: "Our DIY-er friends are not any smarter than we are.  They are just more patient. We can do this."  So, we patiently cut out and adhered twelve pieces of window film, one painstaking step at a time. 

As you can see, frosting the windows was a great option.  The window film lets in light but adds privacy.  Here we are on the fourth pane.  Two urbanites in DIY-land.

Almost done!

The final product.

Afterward, we even had the energy to hang our black and white photo and art gallery.  Not bad.  I am convinced that window film was a great choice to keep the integrity of the (home's original?) door while adding style and privacy.  I love the old house I am living in.  Now, it feels a little more like HOME.

And to think, I didn't even want to brave Home Depot!!!!! I'm a convert now.