Ch-ch-changes!

I know it has been awhile since I've posted. So Sorry! My dad and older brother made a trip down with their trailer in tow and helped us move. We've been officially in the house for just over a week now. Still stepping over boxes and pushing things out of our way occasionally though. 

We're in that stage of unpacking where all (ok, most) of the necessities have been taken care of and it's just the things that are left. This house is so much larger than what I'm used to living in, and I have a decent amount of space to work with here. It is a little daunting trying to figure out the "right" place to put everything. 

Also, Nick and I have both been trying to be better about getting rid of excess stuff. Tossing it. Donating it. Whatever. I just want it out of the house. No extra clutter for this girl! I type that as I am sitting in a living room that is littered with STUFF. It is definitely a process, and a long one.

Since we have moved in we have been busy, busy, busy! Lots of little (and not so little) projects have been started. We have finally found a home services company (Shout out to Green Leaf Home Services!) that is helping us out with some of the things on our long list that need to be completed before we can reschedule our city inspection. (5 months and counting, people!) Nick has stepped up his DIY-game and is even familiarizing himself with the Home Depot that is only a few minutes away. (thanks free handy-dandy Home Depot App!)

I would like to dedicate a post to each of the changes that we've been making. Sadly, I am a terrible blogger and have spaced on taking that many pictures. Actually, it is less that I forgot to take them and more it is hard to stop a project to snap decent pictures when you only have a short time between dinner time and bath time with a toddler. So please forgive me! I will get around to posting actual pictures of the projects that we have gotten into so far, but for now I'll share list so you can see how much progress has already been made!

Living Room:

• Tear up carpeting
• Chip off and spackle peeling paint 
• Hang Curtains
• Paint walls
• Paint trim
• Build tripod lamp

Dining Room:

• Tear up carpeting
• Remove asbestos tiles
• Paint walls
• Paint trim
• Build dinner table

Office:

• Tear up carpeting
• Paint wood paneling
• Paint built ins
• Build a new work desk

Breakfast Nook:

• Remove wallpaper
• Spackle uneven surfaces
• Paint walls
• Replace blinds/hang curtains

Kitchen:

• Remove drop ceiling
• Get new oven installed
• Install light fixture/remove fluorescent light
• Replace faucet
• Repair garbage disposal
• Replace water cut off valves under sink
• Paint walls
• Paint ceiling

Wow. And that is only the list for the Entry Level not including any of the bathrooms or bedrooms! Also, it doesn't include any of the decorative things such as, "buy a new sectional" or "build a coffee table"! We also need to paint the hallway that connects all of those rooms and goes upstairs. Eventually we want to refinish all of the wood floors throughout, but I know that it is going to be quite a while before we can fit that into our budget so for now, it gets left off of the list.

Nick and I are going to sit down one of these nights and make an in depth list of what we want to get done and set little goals so that we don't get too far "off track". Here's hoping that we can tackle the Living Room trim sometime this week!  

XO!
Sam

Roller Coaster of Emotions..

I didn't get a chance to pop by yesterday and with everyone a Merry Christmas! I hope that you all had a fantastic day with the ones you love. I know we had a wonderful low-key day with our little family. 

Now, on to the really exciting stuff!

The title says it all, really. We have been on a complete whirlwind of emotions with this short sale. There has been a lot of crying (mostly me) and quite a bit of arguing (that one is on both of us, this home buying stuff is STRESS-FUL.) 

Well, all of this waiting has finally started to pay off! We heard from our relator and our offer was (finally) accepted. There were some stipulations that went along with it, of course, but we are happy to oblige. Okay, maybe a little bit less than happy, but we still obliged.

We had a few issues, it being the Holidays and all, with the city inspection. But Nick worked some magic and we managed to put that on hold for the time being. That along with one other, kind-of-huge, issue popped up before we were able to schedule a closing date. 

Nick got the phone call this morning, and we officially have the green light, GO GO GO! 

It feels like we can finally breathe again. *sigh* Feels good. Obviously we're both ecstatic and can not wait to bring in the new year with such huge changes! 

I took a screenshot off of Google Street View of the house. We don't have any pictures, but don't worry, once we're in, there will be an entire Virtual House Tour and floor plan reveal. 

Can I get a HOORAY?!

XOXO 
Sam