OUR PORCH!!! ALMOST DONE

We still have a lot to do but look how crisp it looks!! Definitely closer to the cottage look we are going for.

More Pics!

Weekend of Working

We had a great weekend fixing up the joint. We washed cars, planted and painted the porch. We're looking for a cottage feel - another room for reading, writing and chatting. And by we I mean Evan did all the work and I watched... I kid I kid I worked too!

BEFORE AND AFTER SHOTS!!!

UPDATEEEEEEED

WE GOT A BOOKSHELF (thank goodness because having books in bags was making me mental) a cute tablecloth and woo hoo to top it all off, first mortgage payment!! We are so happy :)

CHAIRS! UPDATE!

They are in!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Look at my manly WT BF who made chairs like a big boy

Chairs!

Living in this house has been magical. I love cooking and cleaning and decorating! Evan and I have been having some serious issues with dining chairs! We've done Ikea, Pier 1, Crate and Barrel, Pottery Barn and everything in between. We found chairs we LOVE at West Elm, however, they are only available online in the color we like (stupid right?). That means, we can't see how they look in our dining room without purchasing them. Oh and you can't return them if they are wrong. So we just purchased them. They'll be here in 7 days.

TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE DEMOLITION

Twas the night before demo and all through the bathroom, was cracked tiles and spackle and sponges and a broom. The phone was a ringing "hello" said I. "I broke my wrist" said the contrator "I can't come by." So here is round two of salmon colored walls, and a tub with old lady hair and a spider that crawls. A toilet that's plastic, and a sink full of crud, drawers with no bottoms and floors full of mud!

WHO SAYS YA CAN'T GO HOME

Ev's been trying to move his stuff from the storage center for about an hour or so. He just texted me that 1) the moving company can't go on the parkway and 2) he didn't start moving yet because the cops are there. A fight broke out between mover and storage center owner.

Family Times!

It was so nice to give some family a tour of the almost home! Even baby Paige made an appearance!

Home Depot and Lowes!

Our first trip...purchasing machines. We got a bird feeder!!!!!!!

My Secret Garden

Inch by inch, row by row, gonna make this garden grow... all it takes is a rake and a hoe and a piece of fertile groundddddd... and some really great helpers.

A BIG shout out to Mom, Ross and Sara for clipping, raking, digging, scraping and pounding the ground!

The landscaping is starting to look gorgeous! I'm so excited!

BAD NIGHTMARE

I'm in the bathroom with my mom and contractor and we hear a noise at the front door. I peek my head out and the bad wolf herself, the seller was standing there giving herself a tour of my house!!!!! I mean honestly, I'd love to say I was making this stuff up but really, I have better things to do with my life. She drove 2.5 hours to ask me if I had her kitchen curtain. Seller's remorse much? Fine, I get that, I really do, but don't walk into my house like it's still yours. Oh, and by the way, your stupid lace curtain was made into a skirt by my brothers girlfriend. And now it's adorable. Stay away old hag...next time I'm calling 911.

Tiger Woods Lives In My Neighborhood

So I get to the house at 8a to see the newly finished floors and I want to air out the place. I open all windows and doors and start to the garden. I am cleaning, sweeping, pulling weeds etc and make my way to the backyard. Out of nowhere, the orange and brown neighborhood cat comes darting out of my house!

Hello, Tiger Woods. That's your new name. Why? Because you're a sneaky mo fo, creepin around with other pussycats and your owner thought you were missing. But alas, you were just in someone else's house.

Creeper.

Pretty Floors Sneak Peek

Boy snuck into the house even though we weren't supposed to and snapped some sneek peek shots of the hizzy. He came home smelling like poison from the stain but whatevs.

WOOD FLOOR

How sad is it that I'm on the phone with my boyfriend/mom while they email pics of wood stains? I mean really.

Branching Out in the Neighborhood

I was waiting for my best friend to come see the house and while we were waiting I decided to video my impression of what she would do while walking in. I'm strolling, looking around etc and then bam, my cousin caught the moment of the day. We heard a crack of what seemed like thunder, and captured on camera is me with a panicked look as the most enormous branch ever came crashing down onto our property. The branch aka mini tree missed the power lines, roof and most importantly, the part of the driveway where I almost parked my brand new car. The driveway is scratched but thankfully nobody was hurt. Not only is this the perfect way to make my boyfriend pick up a tool, but it was a great ice breaker to meet our neighbors (who are so sweet btw). "Welcome to the neighborhood, you look like you need a beer." Awesome. I have enough fireplace wood on my lawn for the next two winters.

Busy Busy Bees

It's been a whirlwind of a week in Homeowner land! We've been scrubbing, sanding, scrubbing, painting, scrubbing and swifting. The house is really starting to come together and starting to look like home! The painter is coming in today to hit the trim and ceilings while I continue to obsess over paint colors. Thankfully, my cousin is an interior decorator and she's been fanning through classic colors for me. Our couch and dining room table are coming next weekend so until then, I'm in serious concentration mode.

My family has been overwhelmingly generous helping me fill my home with amazing awesomeness.

HOME SWEET HOME

Hooray!!!!! It finally happened! Yesterday was the day... woot woot. Late Sunday afternoon we received word that the buyers had gotten their mortgage approved and they were ready to go. Monday 5/3 we drove to the house and did a walk through, to find some things that "magically appeared" but weren't worth the arguing. We drove an hour to the lawyers office and signed about 100 papers and went back to the house for dinner. My grandpa was a builder, and every time he sold a house, even if grandma had a pot roast in the oven, he brought home a pizza pie and they all chowed down. So we did that in his honor, with a bottle of champagne OF COURSE :). We are ecstatic. After all that we went through it's finally ours to call home and definitely was worth the wait.

Today I spent most of the afternoon cleaning 4 windows. Each took about an hour and they are nowhere near done. These people lived like slobs. There's grim, rust, dirt, spider webs, dust you name it. My aunt and cousin came over Atleast r with mom and we all got some elbow grease in there. the house doesn't smell like cigarettes anymore!

I did my first supermarket run today!!

EVEN THE BOYFRIEND IS FED UP! - a real live email.

Fellas and lady

I just received a call from the elusive seller. He tried to be my friend but somehow I resisted. I did gain my composure (maybe that’s my super power…Composure man!). He called me to ask for "one courtesy". To which I responded, "you go AWOL on the day of the closing and ask me for a courtesy. Are you aware because I have been a nice guy to you, I am sleeping on a couch". He didn’t seem moved by this and also didn’t apologize. As you are aware, he wanted to close Monday and then move out Tuesday. We know we cannot trust these lunatics and I believe we all agree this is not a good situation to be in. The reason he can't move out Monday is because they stopped packing up their stuff when they got denied and there is too much to do. He played the old card. Luckily I am made of stone (marble actually). I told him in no uncertain terms that I will not go against my lawyer and that is that. He laughed and said "you don't have to always listen to your lawyer". I chuckled... in my head.

The real problem here is the mortgage extension. You know he will fight tooth and nail to not have to pay for another $885 dollar extension (I am also not certain if he knows when the extension is over, May 4th for those also wondering). I (we) do not want to be left holding the bag for that and I do not think I (we) should be.

So keep that in mind. If you can possibly setup the closing for Tuesday night, which you had mentioned, if all parties would agree, that would be hero stuff. If it takes us splitting one night of storing their crap on a truck for $350 like they said, I would do it. I just want this over with and I want them far far away. I will also personally escort them down the parkway if need be. That’s it.