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!

Queen of the Creek

It's been a while since I renamed and made over this here blog.
I thought I would fill you in the on the back story now.

At first this blog was called Mamarazzi...
Which I thought was cute and fitting.
But, when ever I did a google search, there were other mamarazzi's out there.

I wanted something unique and all mine.

I remember telling my mom, shortly after we put a contract on this house that I already knew what I wanted to rename my blog to.  Yes, my brain works that way. I can't ignore the details of life [take for example this]. It's sick, I know.

Moving on...

Once I realized that we would be buying our first house in the town of Queen Creek, I started trying to find a way to do a play on words to come up with a clever new blog name.  After giving it some serious thought, using Google to aid me in my mission (to ensure any ideas I had weren't already taken), I came up with Queen of the Creek.

I've never thought of myself as a princess, let alone a queen. In fact, I felt kind of weird about it. But in the end, the idea grew on me and now, as your Queen, you must bow to me.

Our new town is surrounded by mountains, farmland, and desert. It is very pretty. It is the home to Schnepf's Farm, the Peach Festival, Will Rogers Equestrian Ranch, and many other divine things and places. We look forward to joining the community. And to sharing our lives with family and friends, on this blog and in person.

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.