Checking Out The House!

I have been writing lists like a mad man and thinking about today nonstop for the last week.
Today is the day that I got my grubby, little paws back into our new house. 

Today was the day of the inspections. 

Our Realtor said we didn't need to be there for it. It was pretty obvious that he didn't want us in the inspector's hair. I can understand that but it was going to take a lot more than a subtle hint to keep me away from my chance to measure, photograph, map out where the couch goes, imagine all the new closet systems, etc.

Cora and I headed up to the house and I was determined for it to be an amazing day. So, of course we started it with a little music and dancing. I changed around the radio stations until I found something that would get my jazz hands working (while holding very steadily onto the steering wheel). I found it in an old Strokes song. All it took for Cora was me to say, "DANCE, DANCE, DANCE" and her arms were flailing like wild. It was the kind of stuff that melts your heart and makes you wish you could pause the moment forever.

Since the DNC is being held in Charlotte right now we saw lots of blue lights flashing all over the place. This led to another highlight of the trip. We saw about 6 cop cars driving down the interstate. Most of them were police car/ horse trailers that had attached blue lights flashing and "Police" written on the side of the vehicle. For some reason it made me smile a lot thinking about these fancy horses being driven around in their fancy rides. I have told a few people about it and no one seems to think it is exciting as I do. Oh well! We were living in the moment and loving it.

Getting back into the house was very exciting but somehow the rose-colored glasses had changed their tint a little bit. There were now roach traps and spider webs everywhere I looked. This was all understandable and not a problem but it is just funny how those things did not seem to exist the first time we saw the house.

Here is Cora's first impression of the house. She went running in and was ready to explore.

The terminator came today. (I always forget what exterminators are called and convince myself they are called terminators).

Sassy Arnold photo from here.

Boo! They found termites. 

They also found a snake nesting under the house. Not sure if it was a Black Snake, a Water Moccasin or a Copperhead. Let's cross our fingers for the 80s hair metal band, White Snake's alter ego, Black Snake.

The inspector was there too. He was a very friendly guy. I can't imagine that I could possibly get in his hair. He seemed to be very happy to have people around. He did mention something about the chimney falling off. Well, he may not have used those words but he was not too fond of the chimney's tilting ability.

So, we shall see. It may not be the perfect house after all but I did thoroughly enjoy my time taking photos and crossing things off my list.

For the love of listing I will tell you some of the things I did while we were there:

• Measured everything (cabinet heights, bar height, counter sizes, room sizes).
• Took lots of photos.
• Tried to visualize where furniture would go.
• Kept Cora entertained. Luckily my mother-in-law came by to check out the house and do the Cora entertaining.
• Tried to find a place that we could keep our bikes.
• Tried to convince myself that we could make due with about 1/4 of our current storage space.
• Tried to decide what color the walls should be.
• Talked to our awesome Realtor, Chip, about his recent trip to Costa Rica and about his super awesome wife, Lauren, and their baby who is on the way!
• More visualization (can we raise the kitchen ceilings, can we work with existing cabinets, can we eventually redo the bathrooms to make them more functional).

The highlight of the visit to the house was the three adorable ducks that came to check us out. They were very friendly. I think they wanted to make sure they would like the new tenants at their house. Luckily, I think we passed the test. They definitely seemed interested in us and Cora was fascinated with them. After all her first real word was "duck."

Look how cute these ducks are. All three of them are completely different colors. I know there is a chance that if we move in here we will say, "mannnnn, these ducks stink. Come on now ducks- enough with all the duck poop."

Here is a photo of Cora and her grandma, "Boo" checking out the ducks.

After all of the excitement of tape measures, ducks and snakes we headed back to Boo's house so Cora could take a nap. TOO MUCH EXCITEMENT! Cora was not interested in nap. Another example of what I have been talking about here and here about Cora definitely not being the world's best sleeper. Cora had no interest in taking a nap. Every time I tried to put her in the crib she would scream like there was a herd of ducks attacking her.

Luckily, Boo is very patient and snuggily and let Cora take an hour and a half nap on her lap. I looked at the monitor and this is what I saw:

It was a sweet, little moment. Sorry it is so blurry.

The End Of My Day!

10 Things I've Learned From Owning A Home

This is the night that our occupancy went from 2 to 3!

In no particular order...

• Write down every single paint color you use- trim, walls, cabinets, ceilings... EVERYTHING. Write down the brand you used, the finish and the color. I keep my paint colors in an email labeled "home paint colors" that I sent to myself. That way I can easily search for it when I need it.

• Vinegar! It does so much good! It shines things. It cleans and disinfects things. It takes grout residue off tile. When you think your coffee maker is broken- just run a little vinegar through and BAM it will come back to life (tip from Kelly via her lady magazines). You can even use it as deodorant. Although some people (Scott) may not appreciate it when you do. 

• If your city is lucky enough to provide you with a "bulky item pickup" find out all the details of what they take and what they don't before you dump your stuff at the curb.

• Buy air filters in bulk. They are expensive! Amazon ends up being a decent amount cheaper than Wal-Mart or somewhere like that. Plus, it is nice to have them on hand when you decide to change them.

• Try to reuse what you already have. If you aren't loving of a piece of furniture or some art in one room try it out in another room. Maybe refresh it with some paint or a new frame.

• If you are questioning whether or not to put down a drop cloth. PUT IT DOWN. Also, go ahead and put something on that you won't be upset about messing up. I'd like to see you in your stone-washed jeans and shoulder pads or, really, anything that Dorothy Zpornak would wear.

• Try to keep your garage parkable. That is almost impossible for us. Once you start throwing junk in your garage it is hard to go back. So clear it out. Park your el camino in there and keep it that way!

• If you are low on storage space take another look at your closet and other storage areas. I bet there are a few places that you could add shelves. I put hooks all over the place. A great hidden place for them is right above the door frame of a small non-walk-in closet. I hang plastic bag overflow there. I have hangers on hooks above the door in the laundry room. Also, on the wall behind the door in a walk in closet I have about 15 hooks holding my bags.

• Spray paint works wonders! It is great to use when you are on a budget. You can even turn your old brass hardware into a fancy schmancy oil-rubbed bronze or brushed nickel looking hardware.

• Flip your mattresses, check your gutters, check the disposal for spoons before you run it, stain your deck as often as recommended so you don't have to replace boards. Love your home and take good care of it.

Already sad about the idea of leaving

We got the house! 
It looks like we will be moving into our LAKE HOUSE in Davidson in a year.
I am so excited but my stomach is in enormous knots thinking about it. Usually, I love moving. The idea of getting rid of a bunch of junk, packing and unpacking is my thing. Sometimes I have dreams about unpacking and I wake up happy.
Reasons I am sad to leave this house:

• IT IS AWESOME!
• It is beautiful.
• It is spacious.
• The views are gorgeous.
• We have done so much work to it. I love it. Our new house has someone else's feel.
• Going along with the last one- we put lots of money into fixing this house up and we won't have any money to fix up our new one.
• I love our new master bathroom and we will hardly have a chance to use it.
• There is SOOOOO much storage. My mom and sister keep loading me up with their junk and I still have enough storage space left for them to unload 3 more attics.
• It has a garage. Our new house will not.
• Everything is updated.
• It has an awesome kitchen. Scott spends a lot of time cooking and I spend  a lot of time entertaining Cora in a play area in the kitchen. Our new kitchen is not so exciting. Scott will also really miss the gas stove and having two kitchen sinks along with about 50 other features in the kitchen.
• The neighbors are great.
• There is almost no yard maintenance. We have zero grass. We just have to do a tiny bit of leaf blowing and a little weeding here and there.
• We are close to uptown Charlotte.
• We have deer and owls in our backyard!
• Cora was born here (well she was born in a hospital but this is her home).
• Cora took her first steps here.
• We have a laundry shoot! It is like a secret passageway! I was super duper excited to learn about it when we moved in here.
• We lived here when we got married.
• soooo many more reasons.

The perfect house?

My husband and I are not in the market for a new house quite yet but we are always looking. Recently, we found a livable fixer upper in a great area and...

WAIT
FOR
IT

It.Is.On.A.Lake! Waaaaahat! That's right. I said it. We had no idea that living on a lake would be so appealing but man oh man it certainly is!

We checked out the house. Loved it. Put in an offer. Right now, it looks like the chances of us getting it are less than 50%. That hasn't stopped me from writing a list of what I would like to do to the house on a major budget.

Here she blows:

• spray paint all hardware on doors
• paint kitchen cabinets (they are the old school ones that you see in old apartments... no paneling, just flat).
• tile or hardwood kitchen
• raise kitchen counters up a bit
• new hardware for kitchen cabinets
• new faucets in 2 bathrooms and kitchen
• either frame out mirrors in 2 bathrooms or get new, smaller mirrors
• new chandelier in dining room
• paint whole house- walls
• paint whole house- trim
• depopcorn the whole house. my husband and I depopcorned the ceilings on 3/4 of our current house. QUITE AN UNDERTAKING! convincing him to help me with this in a new house might be impossible.
• take down wall paper in kitchen and 2 bathrooms
• paint bathroom cabinets in both bathrooms
• new hardware for each bathroom's cabinets
• new light in both bathrooms
• new counters in both bathrooms
• new outlet covers
• new outlets
• tile or hardwood baths
• hardwood in dining room, living room, den and hallways
• new carpet in bedrooms
• add a loft above the dining room
• glass in screened porch
• change out fluorescent light in kitchen
• figure out if there is any way to raise kitchen ceilings
• new doors
• new closet systems- all closets
• beef up mantle

Seeing a list like this might turn some people away from a house but for me it gets me more excited about the house. I love a house project... mainly because I love a good before and after. I love to be able to change something to exactly my style.