It's only official once the wreath comes out

Thanks to the invention of 3M and my new oil-rubbed bronze hooks, I am now ready to celebrate fall.

I know... it still looks a little plain. But, we are trying.

Here is Mr. Hottie Scare-Crow up close and personal.

And finally, we got around to putting 2 chairs on the front porch.

They are not the forever chairs, but they will do for now.

The evenings are cooling off [some] and it's been so nice to sit out and watch the kids play at the park across the street.

Happy Fall, ya'll!

EDITED TO ADD: We had a crazy storm just about all day yesterday; rain, thunder, lightening, wind - you name it!  At one point, our front porch chairs were blown into the yard. I opened the door to get them, and Nic said "Mom, you need to take down the Halloween Christmas thing so it doesn't blow away."

Halloween Christmas thing?

Oh. My fall wreath!

Chuckle Chuckle.

God I love that kid.

Declaring my Love

I love this house.
I love living in this house.
I love how this house smells.
I love this neighborhood.
I love the Dunkin' Donuts across the street [for the sweet tea, of course]
I love this part of town - even though it's different and so far away from my old part of town.
I love the feeling of putting down roots.
I love that the kids have been pretty much almost awesome about the move.
I love the kind people and fantastic customer service I've received.
I love that the football coach at Alex's new school welcomed him with open arms.
I love that Isabel had a great first day of school and that she looked darling in her uniform.
I love being in bed with the Husband at the end of a long day; the rest of the house quiet except for the two of us whispering about plans we have for this house -- our home.

Of course, I haven't yet made my first mortgage payment.
/sigh

I got it at Ross

Goooood Monday morning.
I cannot believe the weekend has come and gone.
I feel like we got a TON done... but that there is still much more to do.

We are officially in the house.
And it feels good.

It even felt good at 5am this morning when I walked downstairs and made a pot [ok, cup] of coffee for the Husband.  The smells were too delish.  The soft lights, the coffee brewing, and my apple cinnamon air freshener "spiffing"... it all felt so homey and beautiful.

=)

Isabel and I went out yesterday to buy her some clothes. Her new school requires her to wear a uniform.
After we hit up Target, we decided to check out Ross.

I am not normally a Ross shopper. In fact, besides this weekend, I've only been in a Ross two other times.
This time around, I was looking for an ornate picture frame for a project taking place in Nic's room.
I found it!

And I found these sweeties:

I love that they are very similar in shape, but different in texture.
I love the price; $11.99 and $9.99.
I do not love the color of the smaller one.

A quick trip to the Wal-Mart paint department resulted in some spray-paint  buying.
I chose the Jade for the large pitcher and and Bright Idea for the smaller pitcher.



After our shopping bonanza, Isabel, Alex and I put Nic down for a nap and got started on taping her room.
Who's idea was it to do horizontal stripes?
Really.

When the Husband got home from work, he immediately went in to get my work computer hooked up.
The office is no where near set up the way it will be when all is said and done, but I am so happy to have my laptop up and going.

Can you believe I ACTUALLY found a lamp shade
almost the same exact shade [get it?] of my walls?!

Final share for this post involves an announcement!
I got to take the PAPER off of the windows at the front door yesterday!!
How exciting is that??

For less than $20 total at Target, I dressed the two windows. And I did it by myself.
Well, that's only cuz a drill was not required.

I knew I wanted something that would block out most of the view from the outside looking in, but I didn't want to lose any of the morning light we get.  So, I went with a tan sheer. I love the look!

I am off to get Isabel to her new school and then to try and get Alex and Nic enrolled in theirs.
When that's all done I have some work [yes, real they-are-paying-me-to-do-it work] and then this afternoon, here's hoping the wind is much calmer than yesterday so that I can get my spray-paint on!

What a whirlwind of a weekend...

Our weekend started on Friday; we were on a mission to finally secure our special order for blinds.
We decided that we needed to go with a darker (Walnut? Pecan? Peanut? Just kidding about Peanut. I think.) blind in the kitchen, family room, formal living room and formal dining room. For my office, I was okay with white 2" faux wood blinds. Everything else down here will be 2" [real] wood.

My parents came over on Saturday, bright and early to help finish up the painting.
Who am I kidding?!  My Dad did 95% of the painting and did a kick-ass job, if I do say so myself.
We would not have ever gotten the painting done as fast, or with such quality if it weren't for him. Thanks Dad!

Mom and I took a trip to Bed, Bath and Beyond, Cost Plus [World Market] and Super Target. We took Nic with us to help keep him occupied. Mom helped me find the most unbelievable curtain panels for the slider. Sliding doors remind me too much of apartment life, so I refused to put blinds there. I wanted panels that I could slide out of the way, if necessary.

We found the RIGHT colors - they match (inversely [is that a word?]) the fabric we will be using for the kitchen and family room valances.

The sweet husband installed the rod. Thanks, husband.

Here's a peak.

Once we saw how awesome the rods looked, and with my parents prodding, we went back to Target to pick up 4 more, to fit the rest of the windows for the back of the house. Oh, and Dad pointed out we really needed one more panel for the slider, so we went back to Cost Plus [World Market] and grabbed one up.

The fabric we have picked out, with the rods, and the wood blinds that will be delivered on Oct. 1 will really make our window treatments a complete fantastic package. There were a lot of decisions to be made, but in the end, we did it!

Dad had just a little more painting to do in my office... I think the green looks wunderbar. It's Sherwin-Williams Dancing Green.

Oh... look what got delivered today!

* * * *

I have this space just inside the entry way that needs something to house keys, mail, bags... anything we may be carrying in from the outside.

Now, it's just awkward...

We come in and have to carry our keys all the way to the back of the house.

Not cool.

So, I have this piece of furniture that my mom gave me a while back.

And with her blessing, I will be refinishing it.

I cleaned it up today and took off the drawer pulls.

There doesn't appear to be any writing on the wood,

so I don't really know the history behind it.

Mom and I agree that an antique white would be a great color for the piece in the space.

Now, I just need to bring the hand-sander from the other house

and then I can get started on this baby.

Here is the space.

On the right, just under the opening.

Do you have any suggestions on paint colors or techniques?

I'd love to hear them!

* * * *

So, our weekend is coming to an end.

I am blogging...

The husband, Alex and Isa are sitting at the kitchen table with me playing UNO.

Nic is taking a nap on the family room floor.

We will be closing up shop in a few hours and heading back to the apartment.

None of us wants to go.

I will take this as a good sign.

We made the right choice.

Buying this house.

Now (this time in our lives)

and

Here (this town).

We are blessed.

Thanks again, Mom and Dad, for your help and excitement.

 

He's gonna killll meeeeee

I didn't mean to.
It was an accident.
I promise.

IKEA, Bed, Bath & Beyond, and Hobby Lobby.
Today.

I told him that we would have to make a trip out to the new house tomorrow morning.
If we don't, we won't be able to take stuff over on Friday evening as planned.
The back of the van (with the seats flat) is packed to the gills.

Every thing was either clearance or 50% off.

Pinky swear.

So. Much. To. Tell.

So little time.

I cannot believe it's been 4 days since we got the keys to our house.
We've been to Home Depot and Lowes at least half a dozen times.
We've been to the grocery store for odds and ends more times than I count.
Today's trip to Sherwin Williams will count as the third. Evidently our walls soak up paint.
My dad and Marcos (and Alex) spent the day painting yesterday... we got a a few of the rooms upstairs almost done. Second coats seem like a must.

Not sure what we would have done without my Mom and Dad's help.
They have been WONDERFUL.

So... here are a few pics from the last few days...

[beautiful sunrise this morning - taken from my front door]

Alex's almost done painted room. It's a paint color called Software.

Isa's room. Sans the stripes.

Nic's room - taped but not yet painted.

This morning, at sunrise, I decided to sit upstairs in the loft and take in the beauty of my surroundings.

Everyone was asleep.

I heard a faint sound.

"mooom!"

Was I imagining it?

"mooom!"

There it was again.

Was Nic awake?

I took a better look outside...

Oh.

"Moo"ving on.

Guest bath, not complete but decent for guests.

Fabric for the kitchen...

Just a bit of a teaser.

Okay, that's it for now!
Off to buy more paint.

Possession

Not as in Paris...

that would be dumb.

As in, today we take possession of our house!

Nic woke up for 30 seconds this morning when I was waking Alex up to take him to the ortho.
He (Nic) smiled at me, eyes still half shut, and said "We get the keys to the new house today!" - and then he went right back to bed.

Speaking of ortho - Alex got the rest of his braces put on his top teeth and his expander taken out.
His bottom teeth are not so bad, so they are waiting to put the braces on those.

Well, I have my camera charged... and the van is almost packed (painting supplies, stuff, and more stuff) - I am sure I will have some time to post this weekend, since I will have helpers! :D

Happy Thursday!

Bugs & Grass

Two items on my to-do list today....

I need to schedule a pest control company to come out. After seeing not one, but two black widows hanging around the garage area of the house... I want to make sure we get our bug spray service set up asap.

And oh my gosh - after watching a Billy the Exterminator marathon on A&E (couldn't avert my eyes, it was hypnotic), I am even more convinced that the money is well worth it.

Photo Credit: A&E

Me no likey bugs and spiders.

The second thing on my list is to find a landscaper to meet us out at the house to talk front yard landscaping. There is a recommended tree list for the front yard - I've been glued to Google over the past few days trying to determine the one that will give us the least trouble.

I've come to the conclusion that we will be putting in a fake Christmas tree (sans the lights, of course - that would be tacky for a year long, front yard tree, right?).

Look! We even get three models to choose from.


P.S. We get the keys tomorrow!

Gettin' Busy

I made it home alive and in one piece from Hobby Lobby this morning... I didn't even mention I was going - no reason for you to worry!

Oh My Goodness.
Such delicious stuff, most of which was 50% off.
Well, the stuff I was looking at anyways.

I got quite a few things...
but most important - my color palette for my kitchen and family room!

They had the most beautiful fabric there and it was just right.

Forget about the yellow/golden color.

We are going to keep those rooms the upgraded beige they are and use that as a canvas to add more colors and things.

I was able to pick up a few key pieces to get us started...
I cannot wait to share.

But!

Patience, my pretties.

So, I get home and hide all of my loot in a box in the garage...

The husband hates the fact that I am buying stuff we are just going to have to pack all up and move.

I hate that I can't just drive the stuff over right now and begin our decorating adventure.

That thought got me thinking.

The husband and I do date night fairly often -

it helps we have some built in baby-sitters.

Going forward, once we get the keys, our date nights are going to consist of me begging him to tackle the Honey, yes you are going to, don't EVEN try to get out of it list.

I giggled at the thought.

Instead of decorating... we are going to be decordating.

Gettin' busy...

Gettin' dirty...

All in the name of home-improvement. 

So... when you see this picture [above],

you know the time spent on the project replaced a night at the movies.

Now... we are off to a Labor Day BBQ...

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

The Paint has been Picked and Paid for.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
It does NOT get any more exciting that this.

The husband, Isabel and I went to Sherwin Williams this weekend, sat for well over an hour, and finally decided on a few of the paint colors we will be working on this upcoming weekend.

The plan is to get the keys on Thursday evening, then tape and cover everything that needs to be protected that same night so that on Saturday morning - bright and early - we can start the painting marathon.

[Friday is furniture shopping. :) ]

We knew exactly what we wanted for certain spaces in the house.
Other spaces, like the loft and our bedroom, are still undecided.
And that is okay. We have plenty of time.

The main goal was to ensure the paint in the kids rooms and in the kitchen and family room were ABSOLUTELY washable. Nic and flat paint do not mix well.
Trust.

Sherwin Williams was having a 30% off sale, so I felt like we got really good prices on the paint we purchased. We decided on their Harmony line. It is a low odor and no-VOC formula!

So... without further ado... here are the paint colors we decided on.

I can't wait to start sharing how each room turns out, once all the details are decided on and in place!

Celebrations

It's late night.
The house is quiet... except for the tapping of my fingernails on the keyboard keys.

I feel blessed.

Today went off without one, single hitch.
We signed a million pieces of paper.
We handed over a check.
We learned that we would be getting a refund of about $1000. Yay!
That part was done.

We went on to do our new home orientation.
That went well.
There are a few cosmetic things here and there that need to touched up,
and our appliances still need to be delivered.
But everything should be good to go by next Thursday, when we are given the keys
to our new home.

Wow. 15 years in the making.
It feels a bit surreal.

We celebrated last night with trips to the Cheesecake Factory and IKEA. What until you see what I picked up! I didn't want to overdo it as we still need to finish packing this place up - but I couldn't help myself on a few items such as:

Love these lanterns. I got a few six to use for the back patio. Not sure of my exact plans, but whatever they are, these sweeties are included.

We picked up three of these (for now). They are wooden drawer organizers.

We also picked up drawer liners.

I wanted to purchase my lazy susans, but the husband asked me to hold off.

They have them at IKEA for $7.99.

I am going to get a few for my pantry.

Don't really love the color of pale wood, though - so they will be painted.

I also walked out with a few other things I couldn't resist.

One I will keep a secret for now... but man, I can't wait to get started on that project!

In the morning, we are off to celebrate [again] with my parents.

We are going to Cracker Barrel.

Nothing says "Congrats on your new home" like biscuits and gravy.

Nothing.

Can't believe it...

It just about here.
We are good to go for tomorrow morning.
Before I left for class tonight, I received an email with our settlement letter.
It told us how much we have to bring to closing tomorrow.
A little bit less that what I thought; yay!

Right after we are done signing, we have our walk-thru to get to.
And this weekend... more packing, some IKEA shopping, and a trip to Home Depot for paint!

Super exciting!

Are you ready for some Football?

I am, kinda.
I need to figure out where my camera is.

Tonight is Alex's first game!  He's got his game day jersey on, and is looking the part.
Say a quick prayer that he doesn't get hurt tonight. He needs all the brain cells he can muster for some quizzes coming up this week! :D

Go Padres!

And, in case you failed to look at a calendar today - it's September 1st.
My oh my, are we really TWO days away from possibly closing on our first house?!

So long as the docs are delivered today, and a portion of my down payment funds from an online account ever make it to my local bank, we should be good to go!

The husband gave me a kiss this morning, wishing me a Happy September 1st.
What a [lovely, sexy (can I say that word on my blog?), thoughtful] dork.

And the countdown begins...

We made it through the weekend; it went by fast enough.

We are scheduled to close on our loan on Friday morning @ 10:30am.

And then do our final walk-thru on the house at 1:00.

Knowing that... I didn't think we'd get through this weekend - but we have.

Now we just need to get through the next four days.

Another beautiful view from out there...

Seriously... This is the stuff that keeps me up at night...

Blah blah blah...
the kids are good.
work is good.
the husband is good....

On to more important things.

I cannot, for the life of me, decide where we should put our [not-yet-purchased] American Flag.

Not sure if I like it under the coach light... Come to think of it,
I think there is a law that states the American flag must be higher
than the state flag. I wonder how that works now since there is
an Arizona flag in the background.

Think the FBI will come and arrest us?

Where the heck should we put the flag?
I need medicine, huh?

Lost in Space

I got this picture from the appraisal dude.
Totally different angle than the ones I took
 (#1 is appraiser dude's, #2 and #3 are mine).
See pics below.
What the heck do I do with all of that space on top of the cabinets?
I don't want fake plants... Do I?
This is where life is going to get very interesting...
So much space to fill... I need ideas, people!

I don't really like the color of the counter-top.
I think it missed the boat in coordinating with the cabinets and the floor.
So I have to factor those in when I think about colors.

If you had this kitchen... what would you do with the tops of the cabinets... ?
And what color would you paint the walls?!

Think traditional, craftsman, chunky, comfy... just right!

The kitchen is right next to the family room (shared wall), so it has to coordinate...
with what, I don't know yet! lol
Decisions, decisions...