DIY... with support from my sponsor aka Husband

Gone are the days of "It's been (insert large number of days) since my last blog post" because it feels like I am in trouble and since not many people read my blog why would I be in trouble?  I do feel guilty about not blogging as much as I would like, but not because of the time between posts, but because of the overwhelmed feeling I give myself by having so much to write about and not enough time to do it when I go this long between posts...

So while I have a good amount of catching up to do, I do want to share our first major project we complete in our new house!  We were smart and started small and so we were able to have a more "instant" gratifying moment than if we had started with say the kitchen or living room.  Our first project was to paint and decorate our half bath on the first floor.  I was inspired by my bud Shannon who has an all black bathroom (sounds creepy but is totally super chic and makes using the restroom at their house a luxurious experience!) but did not want to copy said bathroom and so we made it our own by introducing a color I like to call Merlot.

Here's the bathroom before we started...

 White walls... White toilet and sink... white trim and door. Oh and the mirror was this weird octogonal shape.

















As I mentioned above we decided to go bold in this bathroom.  For several reasons, but the main one was because it was a small space and could handle bold colors.  It's not as if people go in the bathroom all day, every day so if it was a bit of an assault on the senses we figured it would be ok for a few moments at a time.

First we taped out the bathroom so that the painting came out nice and neat.  When you have an anal precise husband this is sure to go smoothly.

 

You can see that the old mirror left 2 big spots on the wall, but I think we're lucky that's all it did seeing as it was glued to the wall!

First color we applied was the Merlot.  We went with a semi gloss because Im too wimpy to go with high gloss but I think in the future we wont even go with semi gloss because of our textured walls.  This sounds like a fancy feature of our new home but really is not and it's quite obnoxious if you ask me.  Not sure why anyone would want bumpy walls.... But back to the Merlot color... mmmm Merlot!

 

Next was onto the trim.  I will say with the black trim we made a happy mistake.  I bought flat paint by mistake, so the trim and door look almost like caulk boards...THEY'RE NOT FYI.... but we like the contrast, so all is well that ended well.

 

To finish up the room we put up faux roman shades.  I got this idea from Pinterest (which yes I am obsessed with...) and it was super easy.  I glued all the hems (yes I own a sewing machine but this was WAY easier) and then you arrange the fabric on 3 tension rods and TADA!

They don't move up or down, but with the bars on the windows (we live in a city and we're fine with them...now) and the fence right outside the window, we figured no one would have a desire for them to be up.  Also because the fabric is super thin, light still filters in when it's sunny out so win-win.

The next thing we did was decorate.  Originally I wanted to go with a fancy, heavy on the wooden frame look, but then I found Fleur-de-Lis accessories at Hobby Lobby (southern craft store) that I loved and so the wrought iron/ New Orleans theme was born...

Fleur-de-Lis towel hook and metal globe

Mirror with scroll work from Ikea. It covers the 2 boo-boos from the first mirror perfectly!

I am very excited that these two pieces of art have such a great
home now.  We got them on our Mini Moon in NOLA and they
are by an artist from NOLA!

Fleur-de-Lis toilet paper holder... obvs 

At this point we just need to find wrought iron light switch covers and new bulb covers for our light fixture.  Then our first major project will be complete! That is until we replace the sink for something more modern and maybe get a black toilet.... Jarrod's idea... I'm kinda weirded out by it. 

Next up is the upstairs guests bathroom (elements themed) and our master bedroom (NYC themed). I guess we like themes.... 

Come on in... But You Don't Own It...

Another quick update as I am sure Jarrod and I will be very busy the next few weeks... We get the keys to our first home TODAY!!!  The catch, as there seems to be a catch with many aspects of the home buying experience, is that we don't technically own the house yet.  When push came to shove the bank could not secure the funding in time to close today.  However due to the generosity of the seller, we were able to sign a "lease" agreement that allowed us to move in this weekend for a small "rent" fee.  This is so helpful to us as we will officially be closing on a Tuesday now and no one wants to move mid-work week.  Next weekend (and many weekends after that for that matter) is booked already with Regionals for track, so it was almost now or... well never is extreme, but that's what it would have felt like!

Well I have about 15 minutes until I meet Jarrod at OUR house to start moving in a few of OUR things into OUR house.... The movers will be at our apartment around 9am tomorrow and it looks like a beautiful day for moving.  Though I am sure it will now pour because I said that. Blast!!

Stay tuned for many pics and projects in the coming days, weeks and months :)

The Waiting Game

Though the Waiting Game is nothing like the Hunger Games, that may soon change should our bank not complete our paperwork soon enough... I am sure I could totally prevail should our mortgage processor and I be put in a dome with scary creatures and boiling oceans. I mean after all I work at a high school so that gives me total advantage!

Anywho... The best update on our home process is that we are waiting on the bank to complete the closing paperwork.  If they finish by Tuesday, then we should be able to close Friday the 20th.  Should they fail... We'll have to push it back until the next week.  May the odds be ever in their favor!

Step 3: Inspect the Unexpected

As most people know, before you buy a house it is a really good idea to have it inspected to ensure that you're not about to buy a nightmare of a house!  Yesterday, Thursday, we had our home and pest inspection to ensure just that.  The pest guy was only there for about an hour and his report was as follows:
                                           * No termites! Obviously the best news we could have heard.
                                           * Ants are normal inside and out, especially this time of year.
                                           * For about $65 every 3 months they will come and spray inside and out so we                    
                                              don't have a major ant/bug problem through out the year- SOLD!!!

The homes inspection company sent 2 men to check out the house. One did electrical, plumbing and such and the other did structural.  Here is what we found out:
           Electrical/Plumbing-   * A few outlets are loose, so we need to tighten them to the wall
                                            * Where the power comes into the house, the wires have pulled away from the
                                                house.  Just needs a bracket to hold it against the house.
                                            *  Tiles around the tubs need to be re-grouted and re-caulked.
                                            *  Water currently smells like sulfur, but it is 99% because it hasn't been used                                        
                                                 in a long time.
                                            *  AC Unit is looking very good, maybe 3-5 more years on it.
                                            *  Furnace is looking good, again 3-5 years on it.

            Structural-                *  The slab foundation has shifted (My heart totally dropped when he said this)
                                                 however in Texas this is TOTALLY normal.  It is not major, just something
                                                 to keep any eye on. One way to help- water our foundation!
                                            *   The problems we saw in the kitchen are really nothing and no damage
                                                 because the sub floor on the first floor is just the concrete slab of the
                                                 foundation. Woo!
                                            *   There are couple of minor repairs to make on the roof, but not to the
                                                 shingles.
                                            *   Some siding has pulled away, but it just needs to be checked out and fixed.
                                            *  Some of the double-pane windows have broken down and are now only
                                                single pane. No immediate need for change, but will want to do sooner than
                                                later to save on utility bills.

It seems like a lot, but when you consider a whole house I would say we got about an A-... woohoo!  The best part is that we did not need to ask the seller to fix or replace anything, so we are full steam ahead to closing on our first house!  We also found out that the lawnmower (the exact kind we planned on getting!) and  weed whacker they left in the garage are staying! Woo free stuff :)

While we were there I took more pictures and a video... enjoy :)

inspection day - slideshows

Step Four: Sign our lives away....

Step Two: Ask someone if you can buy their house... for less than they asked for...

This post is really for Katie so she does not go into a tissy waiting to hear our house choice :)

After we saw house number 4, 2 floors-3 bedrooms-2.5 baths, we began discussing with the Realtor what our next move should be.  As I mentioned we kinda went into the last house with high hopes and minus some slight water damage on the floor in the kitchen, the house did not disappoint!  So we ran some numbers on our way to the mall for birthday shopping (it really was a super awesome day :) ) and made our decision over lunch.

We called Sarah (our Realtor) while we were at the mall, which is why it looked as if we were putting an offer in on the mall haha.  House #4 was listed at 189,000 and we offered 180,000 with 2,000 towards closing costs.  We were very hopeful that they would indeed take the closing cost request, because that's cash up front that would allow Jarrod and I to start some projects right off the bat rather than give the extra money to the bank up front.  This was Tuesday, and we gave them till Friday to answer us back.  At that point Friday seemed like eons away and though we were celebrating my birthday with shopping and dinner, it was really hard not to think of anything but the house.

For the rest of the day we went about business as usual as best as we could.  We had a very successful day of shopping, used the Apple store to sign our offer contract (how I love technology) and enjoyed a few hours of rest with the pups before it was time for dinner.  Dinner was also fabulous! So much good food and wine we almost... almost... forgot we were waiting to hear back about the house.

The next day was Wednesday and we were going to the Houston Rodeo for the first time (I will do a post on that separately for sure!) and we were glad for it as it would be a good distraction.  Jarrod and I were early to pick up a friend, so we stopped in to the near by Barnes & Nobles to pick up the first Game of Thrones book.  Yes we are watching season 1 currently and yes we will most likely get HBO just so we can watch it, however I digress...


As we were deciding on which was the first book, Sarah called with a counter offer! We were totally surprised and excited that they got back to us so quickly.  Their counter was 185,000 and the 2,000 closing costs.  After some quick deliberation we decided that the price was still pretty good for how much house we were getting and the fact they agreed to the closing costs, how could we say no?!  So an hour before our first rodeo, we were under contract on our first house!

Again via computer we signed the new contract and set up a time to visit Sarah to give her the first of many checks.  1 to start the process with the title company, and 1 to the seller to give us the option of a 10 day "trial" if you will.  During these 10 days we have the option to walk away if the inspection does not go well or if we simply change our minds.

Our house, roof and pest inspections are scheduled for this Thursday the 22nd and if all goes well we should be closing on or around the 28th of April!  At the inspection I will be taking some video and more pictures, which I will be sure to post!  Here's hoping that the water damage is minor, the roof and AC still have long lives and there are no multi-legged creatures crawling where we can and can not see them.

Step Three: Inspect the unexpected....

Step 1... Look at the Potential Houses

After the wonderful weekend in Fredericksburg it was time to focus back on our house hunt!  On Tuesday we met up with our realtor and she showed us 4 houses.  If you've read the previous posts you know that 4 was actually quite a bit considering how fast houses are moving around here.  Allow me to bring you along for the ride...

House 1: An attached town home with 2 bedrooms and 1.5 baths.  Price 189,900 and it had HOA fees for being part of this small community that is about a 5 minute walk from our current apartment.  I took photos of it, but my camera died so you'll just have to "listen" about this one and the next one.
Upon walking into this house you are immediately in the living room/dining room which has nice dark hardwood floors.  The somewhat updated kitchen over looks both rooms and there was a half bath down the hall from the kitchen.  There was a tiny... tiiiiiiny, backyard space and no garage, though there was enough space to park 4 cars should we desire.  A full staircase (which is a big deal for us as we have the metal spiral type in our apartment now and dislike it!) leads you up to the 2 bedrooms that share a bathroom located in the middle of the two rooms.  Both rooms had ceiling fans and large closets and the carpet was very clean.
What we liked: It was clean, somewhat upgraded and near the dog park.
What we didn't like: It was only 300 sq. ft. larger than our current apartment, no garage and the backyard wasn't not even worthy of that name.


House 2: This house (200,000) was pretty much exactly like the first with the only differences being lighter hardwood floors, nicer appliances and a larger backyard area.
What we liked: The space was used well and we could see ourselves living there more so than the first one.  The backyard actually had some usable space and we could put grass down if we wanted.
What we didn't like: Again as with the first house it just seemed too small and it was attached so we would not be able to get a good First Time Homebuyer's Loan from our bank.

House 3: An attached metal exterior, loft-like, town home with 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms for 220,000.  It had a 2 car garage with extra storage space and many up grades throughout the entire space.  You can see in the few photos (at this point I switched to my iphone) that everything was done very well in this house...

house 3 - Online Slideshow Maker

What we liked: The various rooms were huge and had really great materials used.
What we didn't like: No real yard space, kitchen layout was odd and the 2 bedrooms were on opposite floors.  Master on 3rd floor... 2nd bedroom on 1st floor.

House 4: A detached 3 bedroom 2.5 bath house for 189,000.  Jarrod and I had been spying on this one more than the rest because if it worked for us we could get a really great deal from our bank.  So while we did our best to keep an open mind for the first 3, we may have had our hearts set on this one before we even saw it because of all it's potential.  I'll allow the pictures to show you around this one too, though just like the photos we saw online before seeing it in person, they do not do this house justice...

house 4 - Online Slideshow Maker

What we liked: The potential.  There were a hand full of projects, but all ones we could handle.  3 bedrooms make the house last longer, and a half bath on the first floor is so nice.  Also we can put a fence up and the dogs would actually have grass.
What we didn't like: Some water damage in the kitchen floor.  Smaller living space, which for us is big because we spend a lot of time in the living room and kitchen.

So which one did we choose....??? :)

Vino? Yes Please!

I love as you get older and become more busy that birthdays tend to get spread out over multiple days and occasions.  While the birthday dinner with friends was certainly amazing in every way, it was really fun to head to Fredericksburg, Texas and once again enjoy the wine tastings and shops that little German town has to offer.  This was the same place that Jarrod and I went 2 Christmas's ago and it certainly was just as lovely as it was then.  

2 friends from school and I drove up there the first Saturday of spring break for an overnight trip and though it rained most of the ride there once we actually arrived the weather cooperated and allowed us to enjoy ourselves indeed!  Rather than "talk" your ear off like I did in the last few posts, I will share our trip with photos... Please enjoy :)

Fredericksberg 2012 - Online Slideshow Maker