9.29.2013

Do we really only have 29 days left?!

Wow. 29 days until closing. As long as the government doesn't shut down on Tuesday and I still have a job. Ha.

We are now in that stage where we're starting to live out of boxes and plan for the week of the move. We are going to load up the largest U-Haul offered ourselves, but hire movers suggested by U-Haul to get "the big stuff" at the new house, such as getting the mattresses/box springs, treadmill, washer/dryer and TVs upstairs. Aaron, my dad and I had no issues getting this stuff into our current house (thankfully it's only a 1-story), so it shouldn't be too bad getting it out. Right?

There was little progress this week, but the few things that were completed I was so excited about.

This was on Tuesday. The Morning Room tile.

Working on the tile on Tuesday.

Standard shower tile in the upstairs guest bath.  It has since been grouted (white) and looks less prison-ish.

Kitchen tile on Wednesday! Love the grout. This is the same tile in the powder room, just didn't get a shot of that.

My island with granite! Love the overhang.

Almost completed kitchen. This shot is from the dining room entryway. Love the natural light coming from the morning room. And it was actually an overcast day!
Shot taken from the morning room. Still waiting on that cabinet to get fixed.
Close-up of the granite. I was nervous it was going to have too much of a yellow tint, but it compliments the cabinets and flooring wonderfully.
Stone work has begun!



Instragram picture of the previous shot.



Close-up of the stone.
 So, on the exterior we are just waiting for the stone to be completed and some touch-ups here and there. They've begun the stairs to the porch, then we should be getting our driveway and sidewalk soon.  The house across the street started getting landscaping yesterday. They got  A LOT of little baby trees in the backyard, along the property line. I hope that was an upgrade we didn't get, because I do not want that. We are planning on getting a fence right away, and a pool in a year or 2. I don't really feel like digging up trees. Speaking of the fence...we had a contractor come out on Tuesday. We learned that in our city, on a corner lot, we cannot have a 6-foot privacy fence blocking our house from the street. If we want a 6-foot fence, it must start at the end of the house, which in our case is at the morning room. That cuts out soooo much side yard.  Our side yard will be bigger than our backyard. So, we've got some decisions to make. But if we have a pool, I want a 6-foot fence!

As for the interior, we still need that one kitchen cabinet fixed, some windows where the seal was broken have still not been installed (the replacement has been ordered) toilets and the powder room sink are sitting in the garage waiting to be installed and we are waiting on carpet and hardwood.  Our AC unit and tankless hot water heater are also in the garage. I find it odd that they have not been locking up the garage when they leave, especially with that stuff in there. I can't even tell you how many AC units have been stolen from my dad's business right down the road, and here's a unit just sitting, waiting to be stolen! Something to mention to our SR or PM I suppose.  


9.24.2013

Flooring Update!

Quick update from my last post. My dad stopped by yesterday and saw that one bathroom had vinyl flooring. I called the flooring company and asked if we could just use that same selection in all the other vinyl locations. They said yes and that saved us a trip!

Our kitchen tile is being done as we speak. Excited to see it!

9.20.2013

Progress!

Exciting things happening!  We went to the house Wednesday afternoon and found our upper cabinets hanging!
We lost one, but they look so good! These are the Timberlake Maple Espresso.
During the trip on Wednesday, our baseboards were being installed so we didn't stay too long. We did notice the doors were hung. I hope they paint the doors because they look yellow next to the crisp white paint and trim.

I ran by again Thursday night to find all kitchen cabinets in and all bathroom vanities in! (with the exception of the powder room) I am so excited!! The espresso cabinets in the kitchen are supposed to be black, but they have a hint of red in them...and I think I like that.

Looking into the kitchen from the family room. I love the island we chose, the larger gourmet island made me feel a little claustrophobic, and this is so open.

From the dining room entry, looking into the morning room. I may actually wash the dishes with that view.

First floor full bath vanity. Granite is Santa Cecilia and cabinets are Cherry Bordeaux in all bathrooms.

Upstairs guest bathroom vanity. It was very dark.

Master bath vanity. It's very high. It hit me above my belly button; I may need a step stool. The first row of "drawers" are the stupid decorative ones that don't open, so I guess my makeup drawer will be the square one in the middle? I'll figure something out...I think I saw something on Pinterest solving this problem.




I'm not really sure what's next. Our flooring company called and they don't have any of the vinyl we chose, so we have to go back on Monday (a 2 hour round-trip drive...if traffic is good..ugh) to select new vinyl. I'm really perturbed. They should have thought of this back in May, or they need to come to us with samples. They know how far away we live, then they tried to tell me when I had to come in. Um no. You messed up, and I'm not stopping my life to fit your schedule. Plus, it's vinyl. I could care less. We have it in the 3 full baths and the laundry room. We'll keep it in the laundry room, but eventually we're tearing it up and tiling the bathrooms (we can do it cheaper ourselves and get what we actually want, not the limited options through the design center). Also, the flooring appointment was probably the most stressful appointment because Aaron and I didn't agree on much. So, like I said, I'm perturbed. I'm not sure when flooring is supposed to go in, but I know we're close.

9.18.2013

Paint and Decor

I stopped by the house last night and saw that we received our first coat of paint. It's a color I can live with for a while- it's a pretty crisp white, with a hint of silver. I may do some accent walls first just to get some color on the walls, but who knows. Not going to stress about it!

I am slowly starting to purchase things for our home. We close in 40 days, so I should probably get a move on it. I just ordered a set of chairs from Overstock.com for the morning room:
Set of 4: $166!!! They are probably not the most durable, but I don't see them being used too often.
My dad will be building a table for the morning room. He ordered the wood for the table-top from a local lumber yard today. It was $200 for a 45"x75" solid wood piece. He's priced out the legs to be $18, and then a black stain will be under $20 I'm sure. So a 6ftish table for under $250...nice. My inspiration piece is from CB2 (Crate & Barrel's more modern/contemporary store):
Our table will be black, but I love how unique this is. This is smaller than our homemade table, and it's $500!
Now I need to start getting ideas for an entertainment center.  I have a lot of ideas, so I may have to draw something up. The problem I'm finding is that a lot of the styles I like only come in brown or white, and I want black. So building our own it is. We don't have a fireplace, but my dad built this for his home, and I think I want something similar:
We could make the shelving unit straight across and place the TV there. I have a huge hatred of mounted flat screens, so it would be on its base.
We picked up a few knick-knacks at Epcot last week...some prints in France (I love all things French, our current decor is black and white prints and personal photos of Paris, with some pop of color here and there), some dishes in Japan (we love our sushi nights!) and some other things that I can't remember because they're all wrapped up and I don't want to re-wrap them for the move!

There aren't too many BIG items that I need right away. I'd love a sectional, but it can wait- our current sofa is only about 2 years old and will work perfectly in the new family room. I'm sure blinds and curtains will add up, but I'm going to make a priority list (huge window in the powder room on the porch: NUMBER 1 PRIORITY!). We furnished our current home when we moved in 2 years ago with more than enough items, so hopefully we won't have too many empty rooms when we move! :)

9.15.2013

What a difference a week makes!

Just a quick update. Today was the first time we saw the house in over a week. WOW! Siding is done and they were finishing the trim this morning. Now we wait for stone. Drywall looks to be complete and we have lots of fun boxes in the garage! I only took 2 pictures. Enjoy! 




9.03.2013

It's been a while!

Wow! Long time, no blog! I've been following everyone's updates, but I haven't had the time to sit down and write something. Life just has a way of getting in the way.

As of right now, all plumbing is "roughed-in", bathtubs/shower tray things are installed, electric/cable is done, roof is done...etc.  Our siding has been sitting in the front (covered) for a while now. Missing garage service door and window have been installed.

Tomorrow, (Wednesday), is our pre-drywall meeting! I can't believe it. Tomorrow marks 6 weeks since groundbreaking. I'm hoping when we get back to town next Saturday the 13th, the house will be all drywalled!

I received a letter from RH today...our pre-settlement walkthrough is October 23rd and we close on October 28th!! Not ecstatic about the days (closing on a Monday!) but I'm glad it's in sight. Time to reschedule the refrigerator delivery!

Enjoy the pictures!

Me posing in the middle of Home Depot with our new fridge! It's the GE 25.3 model, this is the one recommended for the Palermo appliance package we got. 

This is us posing in our new mirror. I legit just found out about TJ Maxx/Marshall's...this was a find at TJ Maxx! I'm thinking it will look good somewhere in the foyer....and I'll be spending a lot of money at TJ Maxx soon.

On the morning room floor...I thought it was funny :)

It's electric!

Uhhhhbsesssed with the recessed lights on the porch!!

Random HVAC stuff

Upstairs guest bathtub

HOUSE!!