Our Happy Home

Christmas Decor

2011-12-19T11:32:00.000-08:00

I was really excited to decorate for Christmas this year. It's our first Christmas in our new house, and we didn't decorate the apartment last year. I had forgotten that I had really pared down and purged a lot of our decor when we were planning to move into a two bedroom apartment, so I didn't have much to work with this year.

The mantle in the family room.

I didn't have any filler for the apothocary jars, so I improvised with extra ornaments and glittery bulbs. I had seen a project for glittery Christmas bulbs on Pinterest, but I ended up finding a glittery bulb garland at Christmas Tree Shop for $1. I cut the bulbs off and stuck them in the jar.

The large canvas was another DIY project. The frame came from Hobby Lobby and will love on the mantle year round. I snagged it for $17 during a half off sale. The art is a plain canvas with vinyl wall words that I picked up on clearance two years ago. Simple and cheap!

I love my tree. I deck it out in red and gold each year. The more glitter, sparkle, and shine, the better! There are a few sentimental ornaments scattered in, though. Do you see the Mickey bulb from our Disney vacation?

This ornament was a wedding gift from a friend.

Adam's first ornament. His nursery was done in a vintage airplane theme, so this one seemed fitting for him.

I was happy to see my box of childhood ornaments wasn't lost in the shuffle during the move. They have a lot of sentimental value to me. That said...

What is up with this elf? He isn't as snazzy as his new Elf on the Shelf pals. He kind of looks a little crazy and I'm not entirely certain he won't try to harm me in my sleep tonight. Vintage can be scary.

Kitchen Progress

2011-12-12T09:45:00.000-08:00

You may remember this is what our kitchen looked like when we first purchased the house. I had always wanted white cabinets, and the glass fronts were an extra little bonus.

And an eat in area large enough to allow for the table of my dreams? Perfect! But the kitchen lacked a little something. It was dull. The painted over wallpaper border irritated me. The lack of color was depressing. If there was a room in this house where I could use a bold punch of color, the kitchen was it for sure.

POW. Hello yellow.

Days and days of peeling off wallpaper and sanding and agonizing over the perfect color were totally worth it.

New cabinet hardware was actually the first update. I liked the clean classic lines of the traditional knobs and drawer pulls, and the oil rubbed bronze finish really pops off of the white. I worried about finding a color that would showcase our collection of Fiestaware instead of competing with it, and I think the yellow was a great choice.

The dining area needed a splash of color, so I made the curtain panels to frame out the large window. The fabric was a bold print, and so not safe at all. I LOVE IT! It really makes the space ours.

The kitchen table and chairs were a birthday gift, purchased shortly after we moved in. I had lusted for this set for years, but it never would have fit in our old house. I'm thrilled that it fits so perfectly in this space. It even expands and can seat four more chairs comfortably in this space.

There is still a good bit of work to do, but this is a start. I love walking into the kitchen in the morning when the sun is streaming through the windows. It's such a bright, vibrant space now.

Thrifty Finds

2011-11-02T09:10:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I met up with my pal Julie to visit the Springfield Antique Show and Flea Market. Julie is the talent behind Steph's Jewels. She creates fabulous one of a kind pieces from vintage jewelry that are just to die for.

See? Gorgeous! Julie was visiting the flea market to pick up a few items to transform into more fabulous works of art. I tagged along to ~~be a bad influence and make her buy more than she needed~~ see what fabulous things she would find.

I had no intention of buying anything, but I couldn't resist picking up a few little beauties.

I fell in love with the little bird. He's cast iron and his chippy paint finish is beautiful. He's painted almost the exact same color as our family room. I had to have him. I passed him by the first time, but I knew I would regret leaving without him. $10 later and he was mine.

The safety pins were a fun little discovery. I picked up the first one after Julie pointed it out to me. It was $2. Sure, why not? I was sure I'd figure out something to do with it. A few tables later we discovered more large safety pins, including one with the same markings as mine. It was priced for $50! There were a few more that weren't as pricey, so I picked up two more for $5 total. I think I want to frame them.

After Julie and I parted ways at the flea market, I hopped over to my favorite antique mall. I picked up the old blue Ball canning jars for $3 and $4 each. I'm not quite sure what to do with them just yet, but I couldn't resist bringing them home with me.

I did manage to leave without these saucy lamps. They were HUGE- and pricey at $175 for the pair. They were awesome (and scary!) but way out of the budget for something that, um, unique.

My little assistant.

2011-10-24T10:13:00.000-07:00

I have been working on the kitchen. It seems like a never ending project. I was pleasantly surprised and very, very happy to discover that the wallpaper border came off cleanly and easily. WHEW. Choosing a paint color has proven to be a little more challenging. None of the samples on the wall seemed quite right.

Adam was intrigued when he saw me painting little samples on the wall. What three year old wouldn't be? The little jars were oh so cute and even had paint brushes built into the lids. That's probably the most awesome thing ever in a three year old kid's opinion. Knowing he'd be interested, I stashed the samples in the garage and didn't think twice about them.

He apparently did have second thoughts. He seized his opportunity one afternoon while I was momentarily distracted. Any parent knows that it is amazing what a toddler can ~~destroy~~ accomplish in just a few short minutes. I walked into the family room to discover him painting my freshly painted end tables.

"Oh no. Oh no no no. Adam, what have you done? Oh no no no no no. Stop. Stop. Stop!"
"Don't worry, Mom! Don't worry!"

At the time, I felt like crying. Later on, it was a little more funny. How could I stay angry when he looked so proud?

Lesson learned. Lock ~~child in a cage~~ up all paints to prevent these kind of incidents from occurring.

The Safari Bathroom Makeover

2011-10-21T18:49:00.000-07:00

Remember this bathroom? We were both appalled when we saw it. Someone even commented that the former tenants must have wanted bathing to feel like an adventure. We vowed that it would be the first room we tackled.

Technically, it was. I never would have imagined such a small space might have so many challenges. I arrogantly thought the ceramic towel bar and toilet paper holder would be no match for me. I'd successfully removed them in our last home. I thought it would just take a few taps with a rubber mallet and a bit of spackle, and I'd be set to paint.

I thought wrong. It turns out they were embedded in the wall, and removing them left holes that needed to be patched. To add insult to my injured ego, the wallpaper border refused to budge.

I was determined to win the battle. No way could I stand to look at those pawprints on the wall any longer.

I think it turned out pretty okay! This is Adam's bathroom, but it will also serve as the bathroom house guests use as well. I wanted a space that was fun without being too juvenile. I think I achieved it.

Since it is primarily a child's bathroom, I wanted it to be child friendly. The coat hooks are mounted at a lower height than a traditional towel bar would be, making it easier for my little guy to hang up a towel. I created the artwork to coordinate with the shower curtain. It's fun, but it's easy to change as he grows older.

It feels great to cross this one off my list!

The New Sewing Room

2011-07-11T14:34:00.000-07:00

Remember this little room?

It's the bonus room over the garage. The shape is a little awkward, kind of like a Tetris puzzle piece.

It has the potential to be a fifth bedroom if we add a closet. It's just the three of us, and we don't really need a fifth bedroom. So, it was decided that this room would be my workspace. Ready to see?

Here she is in all her glory! This is my favorite room in the house. I do have to give my husband credit. He patiently installed the counters and many, many shelves.

This is the view from the doorway. The desk to your left is my sewing station. The desk you see straight ahead is my cutting station.

I spent a lot of time on Pinterest pinning inspiration photos. I knew I wanted a lovely shade of aqua on the walls. I chose Behr Tropical Pool for the walls. The counters were created with stock cabinetry and countertops from a big box hardware store.

I choose these drawer pulls from Anthropologie. I had to have them, and they were worth the splurge!

Lots of shelving went up in this room. It's a somewhat small space, so vertical storage was a must.

Canvas bins on the wall opposite the cutting counter hold various bits and pieces to projects in progress.

As I mentioned, this room doesn't have a closet. I knew I wanted open shelving for my fabrics, but I also knew that I needed to protect them from fading. I created a makeshift closet area using a tension rod typically used for bathtubs. I used two blue shower curtains (cheaper than buying the fabric I needed, believe it or not!) and sewed a strip of fabric to the bottom of each panel to give me the length I needed. And behind the curtain?

My fabric stash, in all her glory. Flannels and printed quilt fabrics are stored on the shelves. Interfacing and heavier fabrics are stored in the large tubs. To the left of the fabric stash are my completed items ready to be shipped to new owners. These shelves span 8 ft across and run floor to ceiling.

And that's my new space, in a nutshell. It's somewhat more compact than I had hoped for when we were house hunting, but the layout and storage options make up for the size. It's for sure my favorite room in our home.

Oh, hail no!

2011-05-26T14:02:00.000-07:00

We had a little storm roll through last night. By little, I mean somewhat large with the threat of a tornado. Adam and I camped out in the closet under the stairs for a bit and waited for the storm to pass. Luckily, we only had hail.

However, that was where our luck ran out. The hail was quite large and did a fair amount of damage. All of our window screens look as though Freddie Krueger tried to claw his way in. The screens probably saved our windows from far worse damage, like this one:

And this one. The transom has a hole in the lower right hand corner.

Still, it isn't anything our insurance can't handle, and unlike may others this spring in Alabama, Missouri, Oklahoma and across the midwest, we're fortunate to still have a place to call home.

Here's hoping this crappy weather comes to an end soon. Rain, I'm over you!

Drip. Drip. Drip.

2011-05-25T14:37:00.000-07:00

That's the sound that came from the family room whenever someone took a shower in the master bathroom.

Fortunately, plumbing issues are covered under our home warranty.

Turns out, it wasn't a plumbing issue, but a home maintenance issue. The caulking in the shower was so old and grody that it had cracked and separated where the tile meets the shower pan. This left an exposed gap that just happened to be right in line with the stream of water coming from the shower head.

$120 later, we have a hole in our ceiling, all for a problem that could have been prevented with $5 worth of caulking.

Home ownership is glamorous!

Chillin'

2011-05-24T13:56:00.000-07:00

The house did not come with a fridge. This wasn't really a big deal to us. In fact, we were pretty excited to buy our own. We were both excited to buy a cool new appliance (pun intended!) until we realized how underwhelming it really was. We checked out several different stores, but nothing really stood out as being THE fridge.

We were going to commit to a closeout model at Best Buy, but it would take a week to be delivered. I didn't love that fridge enough to wait that long, so we stopped at Sears. There it was- the one. The fridge of my dreams. What made it the fridge of my dreams?

This:

It's an interior water dispenser. I didn't want a through the door water or ice dispenser. I could just picture Adam making a huge mess. This tiny little button sold it for me.

The space inside is wonderful!

We're already loving the french door functionality. I don't think I could ever go back to a conventional fridge again!

We also went to a few garage sales in our new neighborhood and snagged a few things for Adam. He's loving the new train table we picked up for $20. We also bought an outdoor playhouse that looks practically new for just $20. He's loving all the space he has to spread out and play now.

Homeowners

2011-05-17T06:26:00.000-07:00

We're homeowners again. Closing was uneventful and as smooth as could be.

We've been busy.

The wallpaper borders are coming down.
The mirror in the mini wheat room has been removed.
Paint has been purchased.
Cabinet hardware in the kitchen is halfway replaced.

We've discovered a few quirks, too.
Adam's room smells like a cat litter box.
The dishwasher doesn't drain.
And the bathtub in our bathroom leaks through the family room ceiling.

It's been an interesting few days around here, but it's already starting to feel like home.

14 days til closing.

2011-04-29T13:20:00.000-07:00

In honor of that little bitty number, 14 things I am looking forward to, in no particular order.

1. A garage to park in. No more dashing to the car in the rain, scraping ice or snow, or trolling for a place to park.

2. A water softener. The house came with one, but it didn't work when we had the inspection. The sellers replaced it, so we have a new softener waiting for us. I am super excited! The water here is really hard.

3. A huge closet to fill with clothes and shoes.

4. Glass front cabinets. I can not wait to unpack all the Fiesta that has been in storage for the past year.

5. A patio! It was one of those things we never got around to adding to the old house, and I'm excited to have one waiting for use to use. First things first... Roundup and a power wash.

6. A yard where Adam can play. Little boys need space to run free.

7. Adam will be able to walk to school eventually. There's a little access trail one street over that leads to the elementary and high school buildings.

8. A wood burning fireplace. There's something about the crackling of logs on a cold winter night that just feels cozy.

9. Huge windows. Lots of natural light.

10. A soaking tub. We may not use it often, but at least it's there when I'm ready for it.

11. Space. Lots and lots of space to spread out.

12. We didn't have a lazy susan in the last place. Silly thing to be excited over! I'm looking forward to the pullouts in the lower cabinets. It was something I really liked about our old home.

13. Quiet... as quiet as it can be with a three year old, that is. No neighbors above to deal with at 3 am.

14. Having a place that is OURS. We picked it together, and we'll make it beautiful together. It doesn't get much better than that!

The tour continues

2011-04-26T14:06:00.000-07:00

Onto the second floor!

Master Bedroom

I liked the double doors leading into the master bedroom. It was a nice touch.

I am not really a fan of the color and wallpaper boarder. It's an easy fix, but I really hate painting. I'm not very good at it. Overall, the bedroom is the smallest of the three houses we looked at. It's an okay size and we shouldn't have much trouble arranging the furniture.

I wasn't expecting to find a pocket door leading to the master bathroom. It's a little noisy, so I'm hoping a bit of WD-40 will take care of it.

And speaking of the master bathroom... I am in love.

It has a soaking tub! We didn't have one in our old house. Just a boring old shower stall.

There's one sink with extra counter space..

And and identical one next to it! I really like this set up so much better than a double vanity. There's more than enough counter space for each of us.

The closet doors inbetween the two vanities. Aren't they cute? I want to fling them open every morning and pretend to be fancy.

The new closet puts our old one to shame. I'm looking forward to eventually putting in organizers and making the most of this space. I think I may need to go shopping to fill it up.

Bedroom #2

I've affectionately dubbed it the Frosted Mini Wheat room. Yes, that is a mirror on the wall. This will be my husband's home office.

Bedroom #3

This will be Adam's room. It's the largest of the secondary bedrooms and has a walk-in closet. It looks small in photographs because I'm a terrible photographer.

Bedroom #4

The smallest bedroom and at the furthest end of the hall. This will be the guest room. It'll still comfortably hold a double or queen size bed.

Guest Bath

Once I got over the inital shock the decor gave me, I liked this bathroom. It's a very nice size with lots of counterspace and storage. It'll be getting a makeover ASAP though. My husband calls it a stripper's dream bathroom.

The second floor also has a large linen closet and a laundry room. I'm excited to have the laundry on the same floor as the bedrooms. It just makes sense!

I saved the best part for last.

Bonus Room

This is the bonus room over the garage. It's a bit of an awkward shape, but I have big plans for it to become my dream sewing room.

And that sums up the grand tour!

A little peek inside

2011-04-18T11:21:00.000-07:00

We're waiting to close. I am not a patient person. While we wait, I look over photos and daydream about all the changes I want to make.

Here's a little mini tour of the place. It needs a lot of TLC, but I think we can handle it!

The Foyer

I love the foyer. It was something on my wish list. Our last home didn't really have a dedicated foyer. The front door opened directly into the great room. I really liked the impression this two story foyer gave me when I first walked in the door. It's just something small, but I still love it. Isn't that outdated light fixture super sexy? Eventually the tile will be replaced as well.

Formal Living Room

Excuse the over exposed photograph. Admittedly, this room was one that I felt a little hesitant about, We're not formal people. We don't have many people over very often, and even if we did, they're not formal people, either. This room felt like a waste of square footage to me. I'm not entirely sure how often we'll use it, but we do already have furniture for it. The plan is to use it as a quiet reading nook of sorts. You know, because quiet happens so often with a three year old hanging around. I like the transom windows in this room, and I wish the rest of the house had them. Something else I didn't like about our last home was the lack of natural light. This house gets a ton of it!

Formal Dining Room

I had grand plans for this room. Our last house didn't have a dining room, and I've always wanted one. I picked out a table and chairs, but we decided the pricetag was a little steep right now. Eventually we'll furnish it, but for now it's going to be toy central. It'll be a nice place to corral all the little guy's toys until he's old enough to play quietly in his room. They do do that eventually, right?

I was attracted to the transom windows in this space again. The rest of the room is a blank slate, and eventually we'd like to add chair rail and crown moulding. And a new light fixture, of course.

Family Room

This room is a mess! Forest green carpet, cracked fireplace tiles, a billion outlets on the fireplace wall, and a really ugly ceiling fan. Still, the space is good and has potential. There's lots of natural light thanks to four large windows.The fireplace is wood burning and has a blower. We're hoping to replace the carpet with hardwood flooring, re-tile the fireplace, and add bookcases to each side of the fireplace.

Kitchen

The kitchen also needs a fair amount of work, but it's in mostly good shape. White cabinets and trim were at the top of my wishlist, and I wanted a place to display all of our Fiestaware. This kitchen fits the bill! We'll change our the knobs and add trim to the top of the cabinetry for a more polished look, but overall, there isn't much to do here.

The eat-in area is large enough to accomodate a large table, and the space gets tons of natural light. The tiles are all cracked and will need to be replaced within the next few years. The previous owners also painted over the wallpaper border. Gee, thanks!

The pantry is a fantastic size, too!

Stay tuned for the second level :)

More waiting.

2011-04-12T14:11:00.000-07:00

We were on day eight with no word from the sellers about the repairs we had requested. We made arrangements with our agent to go back and see the other house we had looked at earlier in the week. Just as I was heading out the door to meet her for the showing, I received a phone call- the sellers accepted our requests! It wasn't in writing yet, but it was still good news. We still decided to go and see the other house, but to make sure that we had made the right choice.

The house was still lovely and well cared for, but we knew it wasn't for us. We realized that larger closets and bathrooms were pretty high on our wish list. They had been things we disliked about our first home, and we weren't ready to compromise. Seeing the house again made us even more sure that we were doing the right thing by moving forward with the home we were already under contract on.

We were still nervous about the repairs, but our nerves were calmed when we finally recieverd the seller's response in writing a few days later. They had agreed to fix the roof and siding, service the furnace, repair and replace the drywall damaged by the water heater leak, raise the front stoop a few inches, and repair the GFCI in the garage. The water softener was replaced with a new unit as well. They had agreed to remedy everything we had asked for!

One step closer to closing!

Waiting Game

2011-04-11T12:23:00.000-07:00

We submitted our repair requests on Tuesday, then sat and nervously waited for word on whether or not the sellers would agree to our requests. Our agent told us they had ten days to respond, but we thought surely we would know by the weekend.

Wednesday passed. Then Thursday and Friday. By Saturday I was nervous and looking for other houses to see, just in case. I spotted one that had just come on the market that piqued my interest. It was 600 sq feet smaller and $20K more, but it was move in ready and within our current school district. There was going to be an open house the next day, so we went. I wasn't very impressed with the online photos and I figured I'd hate it, but it beat sitting around waiting to hear from our agent.

Surprise! It was much better in person than the pictures reflected, and we both really liked what we saw. Despite being 30 years old, it was in fantastic shape and very well cared for. The sellers had downsized into a condo, but they had put a good amount of work into putting the home on the market. Fresh paint, new carpet, updated light fixtures, and meticulous home maintenance logs. The neighborhood was a small one filled with custom homes, and it backed up to a park.

The house was only 3 bedrooms, but it had a formal living room tucked away from the rest of the home that would have made a great workspace for me. There was also a den with built in shelving located right off of the family room that would be ideal for an office, so only having three bedrooms would have worked nicely. The backyard was large, and it backed up to a private access road used by the county only a few times a year. It felt very private and quiet.

There were some downsides to the home though. While the master bedroom felt huge at 23x13, the master bathroom wasn't any larger than our last home's- something that I really hated. There were two closets, a reach in and a walk in, but they were both smaller than we would have liked. The secondary bedrooms were an okay size, but their closets were tiny. The hallway bathroom was just as small. And there was wood- a LOT of wood- that would need to be painted.

Still, it was move in ready and didn't need much work, and it was a rare find in the school district we were most interested in. Most homes were either gigantic pricey new builds, or older brick ranches with tiny windows. We mulled it over and decided to call our agent for a showing- just in case.

Too good to be true?

2011-04-08T09:05:00.000-07:00

Since we signed the contract on the house, I've been feeling little bursts of excitement. "Oh my goodness, we're going to live in a house we picked together! SPACE!!!" It appeared that the house was just in need of some cosmetic love, and a good scrub down. I felt pretty confident that the inspection would go off without a hitch. Mostly, I was just excited to get back inside the house and imagine all the things I could do to gussy it up and make it beautiful.

Inspection day did not go exactly how I anticipated. Within a few minutes our inspector, Mike, had already identified something a bit troublesome. The new roof had an issue. The sellers had disclosed that there had been damage and leaking as a result of a big windstorm, and the new roof had remedied those problems. But the roofers had not replaced the flashing in critical areas, and there was the potential for water to seep in. It was troublesome to hear, and not at all what I had expected.

Mike continued checking out the exterior of the home, and pointed out more problems. The siding had rotted in a few spots and would need to be replaced. We would also need to touch up paint in several places to prevent further deterioration.

The front stoop had settled several inches and sloped toward the foundation. It would need to be raised to prevent water from running down toward the foundation.

We moved inside to the garage to check out things there. It's a garage, so how much trouble could there be? Turns out, there were problems here, too. The GFCI receptacle tripped and would not reset, indicating that it was either faulty or there was an issue with the circuit. Mike checked out the attic above the garage and informed us that there was "a fungus among us." There was mold as a result of a previous leak, most likely in the same spot where the flashing was identified as a problem. The area was dry, so this wasn't believed to be a current problem. Then he told us that someone had placed extra shingles and tile directly on the drywall in the attic. It was causing the ceiling to bow, and it would only be a matter of time before the drywall gave way and the tiles and shingles crashed through. Who does that?!

We moved into the house to check out the mechanicals so my husband could return to work. More trouble was lurking, and it wasn't pretty. At some point the hot water heater had failed and leaked. There was mold. The drywall would need to be cut out and replaced. The water softener was unplugged and completely clogged with salt, and the drain appeared to have a leak. The baseboard near the drain was water logged and stained, and mostly just gross. The furnace was working- barely. It would only run for a few minutes before shutting off, far sooner than it should have. The air filter hadn't been changed in what appeared to be a very, very long time. The furnace was at the end of it's life span and would need to be serviced at the very least, and most likely replaced. We were 0 for 3 on the mechanicals.

Fortunately, the rest of the inspection wasn't nearly as traumatic. Two windows had broken seals, and water had condensed between the panes. It was just a cosmetic issue, but several other windows would need to have seals replaced to prevent this problem in the future. The valves for the washer's hookup were corroded and would need to be replaced. There was water damage in several places upstairs that indicated that the roof had leaked in more places than the sellers had disclosed. Both sink faucets in the master bathroom would need to be replaced. The tile flooring in the kitchen and powder room were cracked because the slab underneath had not been leveled before it was laid. These were all smaller things that we could fix.

We were worried about the roof and mechanicals especially though. I felt deflated and kept thinking "If it's too good to be true, it probably is." We decided we would ask the sellers to repair the critical items on the
list. We prepared ourselves for the possibility that they might say no. It would mean walking away from the house and starting the search again. This house had everything on our list, and I wasn't ure we'd find anything nearly as good.

We picked a house!

2011-04-06T13:19:00.000-07:00

We called our agent an d scheduled a showing for Tuesday. I was really having a hard time picturing it as my home. It was dirty and needed work, and the layout wasn't as nice as the model home. I had studied the model home floorplan and photos online for weeks, but I had only walked through this house once. I needed to see it again. We walked through and planned how we'd use each space. Our agent commented that she felt like we could get a good deal and it looked like it was just cosmetic stuff. By the time we left, I was sure. THIS was the house. The kitchen was perfect for our Fiestaware.

And it could be a really beautiful home. It just needed someone like us to take care of it again. I was starting to picture how things could fit into each room, and what changes we could make to make it our house.

There were things I didn't like about our old house. The master bedroom was small. This one was bigger! And white trim throughout instead of faux wood. Yay!

I hated our old master bathroom. It was tiny, just a small sink, shower, and toilet. I wanted a soaking tub and double vanity. This house had a huge bathroom, and something even better than a double vanity- his and hers sinks with counter space.

I wanted a big closet. Our old closet was small and cramped. This one was twice the size. The cute little double doors may have made me swoon a little.

But most of all, it had the space we were looking for. There was room for my husband to have a home office, and room for my sewing room, and we wouldn't have to compromise having a room for guests. Despite not having a basement (bummer!) there was room for storage. The only item on my list this house didn't fulfill was a mudroom. It was a pretty long list of wants and needs, so this house was indeed a great find. Most importantly, it had a lot of space for Adam to grow. It was a house we wouldn't outgrow, in a great school district. I was sure.

After we left, my husband sent me a text. "Let's go for it. I'll regret it if we don't."

We met with our agent that evening to make an offer. We went in slightly low to give us room to negotiate, and we asked for the sellers to pay our closing costs. Then we went home to wait. Within a few hours they had countered back midway, but were only willing to pay 1% toward closing costs vs the 3.5% we had asked for.

Now we had some more thinking to do. Do we accept? We really wanted them to pay closing costs so we would have the cash available for moving expenses and updating the house. We decided to counter back. We accepted their price, but asked for the 3.5% toward closing. Then we waited. And waited. And waited. I started to get nervous.

They countered our offer the next evening. The price was just $1800 below their asking price, but they agreed to pay our closing costs. We agreed and signed the paperwork. We were under contract and one step closer to being back into a home.

Crunching Numbers

2011-04-05T10:07:00.000-07:00

After the open house, we headed back to the new build to sit down and go over the pricing. The builder was going to "give" us the upgraded kitchen, morning room, and finished basement, but there were still other upgrades that we'd want.

Upgrading the elevation: $2000
Upgrading the kitchen cabinets to maple: $1,150
Upgrading to 42" cabinets: $700
Gas hookup for range: $250
Appliance upgrade: $600
Fireplace: $3,300
Master Bath Upgrade: $2,990
Wood banister on stairs instead of halfwall: $350
Recessed kitchen lighting: $600
Rough-ins for overhead lights: $700
Premium lot: $3000

All the upgrades brought the price for the new build to around $30,000 more than the list price of the other house. Sure, we could afford it, but we still wouldn't get the perfect, finished home. We'd still want to upgrade the floors and countertops down the line. Then there would be the costs for landscaping, a deck, light fixtures, and blinds. I was a bit bummed that I couldn't get white cabinets in the kitchen. I really, really wanted white!

We took the price sheet home with us to mull things over, and then we decided to do things the super scientific way... we made a list of pros and cons.

When we were done, it was pretty clear that the pre-built home was the winner. The layout wasn't totally ideal, but the price was right. It needed updated, but they were updates we'd still have to do in the new build- floors, light fixtures, and such. The neighborhood was established and it had a better feel to us. We called our agent to set up another showing to take another look at the house before deciding whether or not to make an offer.

An Open House

2011-04-02T19:45:00.000-07:00

We're pretty modest people, I think. Our last house was barely 1400 square feet, with three bedrooms and an open floorplan. We wanted just a little more space, so we were hoping to find a house with 2000ish square feet in a modest neighborhood. We're not fancy people. I'm a bargain hunter, we don't really have parties or entertain in our home, and we just wanted a comfy place to live. The new build was larger than what we thought we'd need, but the layout was just right. The neighorhood seemed to fit the bill...modest, average, affordable. Still, the new build was really a little more than we hoped to spend once the upgrades were added in.

Our selling agent recommended a buyer's agent, and she had sent me weekly emails with listings she thought we might be interested in. The homes were gorgeous, but most were well out of our budget. I'd browse through them for fun (or torture, I can't decide which. It's pretty sadistic to look at gorgeous homes while being cooped up in a tiny apartment with three feet of snow on the ground and six more months in the lease.) One of the homes on her list caught my eye. It was in a great school district and in an area known for being a bit on the expensive side. I had dismissed the house twice before because it had been out of our budget, but a recent price drop brought it right into our range. It was priced well under the base price of the new build, and admittedly my first thought was "What is wrong with this house?"

We drove by the house the day before the open house to scope out the neighborhood. Our first thought was "Oh my goodness, we do not belong here." The houses were gorgeous and huge. This was the kind of neighborhood we both lusted after but never imagined we'd ever be able to afford. Instantly, we were excited and a little awestruck.

The excitement we felt was squashed pretty quickly when we saw the lot the house was on. It was a corner lot, wider than it was deep. There was a new build going up behind the house that seemed to dwarf the backyard. Still, it was an amazing neighborhood and the house was a bargain price. We decided to go back for the open house, but at that point we were really considering the new build we had looked at before.

Open house day. I should have been excited, but the size of the yard was a big bummer. "Let's see the house so we can decide that we hate it and move on," I said. "Then we'll know that the new build is right for us."

We walked inside and I was hit with a "wow" feeling. The first "wow" was "Wow. This is big!" It was big. The house was 2806 square feet. It had four bedrooms, 2.5 baths, and white cabinetry in the kitchen. Swoon. The first floor featured a two story foyer with a formal living room to the left and a formal dining room to the right. Both rooms had transom windows, a tiny little detail I always loved seeing in other homes. A family room with wood burning fireplace and large eat in kitchen were just down the hall. Upstairs, there was a large master suite, three additional bedrooms, a laundry room, bathroom, and bonus room.

The second "wow" that hit me was "Wow, this house needs work." It was empty and had been rented out for a bit. The previous owners had relocated 8 months before. The house had good bones, but it needed love. It was really dirty and smelled a bit like cigarette smoke. The tiles in the foyer, powder room, and kitchen were cracked.

And some of the decor was a bit questionable...but changeable.

But the space was good. It had potential.

I could picture our Fiestaware in the kitchen. Still, I wasn't totally sold. I was still enamored with the new build, and while the school district was great, it wasn't the district we were currently in. It wasn't close to my husband's workplace, and it needed a lot of updating. There also was not a basement...a big drawback.

We mulled it over and decided to go back to the mode home to further discuss pricing out the new build. We wanted to go over every option and see exactly how much the new house would cost us.

Ready for a New Home

2011-03-26T19:40:00.000-07:00

Six months of apartment life is slowly starting to wear on us. We live in an oh so spacious garden apartment with paper thin walls that afford very little privacy. Our upstairs neighbors are rambunctious college girls who enjoy throwing parties five nights a week that don't wind down til 5 am. Yes, we're a little tired (quite literally!) of apartment life.

We've been looking at houses online for months, and we really haven't seen anything we liked. Both of us have pretty extensive wish lists. Big windows, lots of light, white trim, a huge kitchen, a big master bathroom and closet, space for my sewing room...the list was never ending, and we were sure we'd never find what we wanted.

One afternoon my husband mentioned building a new home in one of the new developments nearby. I was doubtful. Can we afford it? Are we going to be able to find a floorplan that suits our needs?

Turns out, there was indeed the perfect floorplan for us. Behold, the Venice:

There were a number of things I liked about this floorplan. I liked the mudroom off of the garage. It was the perfect place to drop coats and keys. I loved the counterspace in the kitchen, the bright morning room, and the open family room. The master bedroom was spacious, the closet was huge, and the bathroom was an upgrade over our last home. Duel sinks and a soaking tub? Amazing. Second floor laundry and large secondary bedrooms? Sold.

Almost. The base price wasn't bad, but it was at the top end of our comfortable budget. The upgrades we'd want to include, like the morning room and giant kitchen island and upgraded masterbath would push it out of our range. I was honest with the sales rep, and within a day she responded with a very tempting offer...they were willing to upgrade the kitchen and morning room, plus finish the basement. We decided it was worth a second glance. After all, this was a great floorplan that fit our needs perfectly.

There were things we just weren't sure about, though. We had lived in a subdivison where all the houses looked alike, and it made selling our house difficult. We didn't know what the neighborhood would look like when it was completed, and what we did just didn't feel like home. We decided to mull it over for a few days before going back to discuss pricing out the other upgrades features we'd like.

Meanwhile, I kept browsing over the listings sent to us by an agent our selling agent had referred to us. There wasn't much that caught my eye (that we could afford, that is!) but one day I saw a listing for a large house in another nearby community. It was lots of space, more than we'd need, and it was in a good school district...and it was in our price range. There was going to be an open house that coming weekend. So we decided to check it out for fun, then go talk to the sales rep about building our new home.

I could hardly sleep that night, and this time it wasn't because of the noisy neighbors.

A Fresh Start... Out with the Old

2011-03-21T11:29:00.000-07:00

In with the new!

I deleted the old blog today for no particular reason other than wanting a shiny and fresh new blog. I'm going to try to actually keep up with it this time!

So much has happened within the last year. Last spring around this time, my husband accepted a new job in the Washington D.C. area. It was exciting and scary. We had concerns, but the prospect of living in a big city with so much to see and do was an amazing opportunity. We put the house we were living on on the market and hoped it would sell quickly. He began traveling for his new job, leaving me at home to contend with showings and upkeep and caring for our two year old son. "It's just for a few weeks!"

The house didn't sell as quickly as we had hoped. In fact, it took four months before we had an offer. In retrospect, four months on the market wasn't *too* bad, considering how terrible the market has been. At the time though, it was absolute torture. I'll admit it, I was pretty unbearable the last few weeks. It was depressing to be apart, and things just weren't going the way they I thought they should. A good group of friends (who shall be called the PWs from this point on) reminded me that something good would come out of all the struggling and to be patient and wait for it. I was pretty sure nothing good would ever happen. Like I said, I was pretty unbearable, and sometimes maybe a smidge dramatic.

An offer finally came in, and we really began to solidify our plans for the move. We picked out a tiny little apartment just outside the city, signed a lease, and started packing. I came back to the house to pack and tie up loose ends.

One week before we closed on the house, I received a phone call from my husband. He told me he had been offered a job close to our home. Should he take it? The cost of living here was no where near as much as it would have been in the D.C. area. Our friends were all here. Most importantly, the job was a better fit for him. Without a bit of hesitations, I said yes. We both felt relieved, and we realized that moving to D.C. wouldn't have been a good choice at all. Note to self- the PWs are wise and all-knowing.

The new job was only an hour away from the house, but there was a tiny little problem- it wasn't going to be our home in just a few short days. I signed a lease on the first apartment I found. "Just for a year," we said. "We'll save some money and next year we can start looking for a place to live." We moved into the apartment at the end of the summer, ready to spend the fall and winter together again at last, confident we had made the right choice.