House Hunting Drama

It's so hard to find a house that you like. Well, let me rephrase that. One you like AND can afford. One house we went into smelled like moldy cat and the other was missing the front portion of the stove. Never seen that before. There is always something and you typically can expect that you are never going to find everything you wanted in one house. It's either price, location, the size of the yard or that extra sink you won't get. Unless your pockets are super deep and sometimes even then something has to give.

Last week we looked at a new build on our way home from another day of house hunting with our realtor. She happened to mention a new KB Homes Community and it was on our way home so we stopped in. I love looking at model homes even when I'm not in the market. We really liked it but quickly put it out of our head as an option. It's too expensive.

We kept looking. We put in an offer on a Short Sale condo in Eastlake. The price is right but we are dismayed by the $433 monthly fees. There Mello-Roos AND HOA's everywhere you look in that area and it can eat up your budget in one swallow. The commutes not all that great either. We already know we can't afford to live centrally and we would prefer a detached home but in this market you can't be too choosy.

Days go by and we hear nothing. We start getting cold feet about the commute and can't seem to stomach those high monthly fees. Mj's thoughts turn back to that new build. It's about a minute from where we live. We already know the commute is not all that bad and the HOA totals only $135. It's more expensive but maybe, just maybe we can do it because we won't have $400 plus in fees.

We call and find out they have only one lot left in this phase so we scramble around getting paperwork together and our check book so that we can snap up the last one in this price range. We submit to our 3rd credit check in about as many months because the builder will pay $6700 towards closing costs if we use them.

And then more waiting. Meanwhile, a different realtor who is trying to get us a foreclosure tells us he has a house for us. We don't know the price yet and likely won't be able to get a look inside for another week. What to do? Do we sign a contract on the new house when there is a possibility of another lurking?

Today I find out we are approved for the new build. The lending agent is going to send me an e mail outlining what we need to pay off and what additional documentation we are going to need to provide. At about the same time I find out that the foreclosure is going to be too expensive for us anyways. They have another one but they don't know the price yet. I wasn't totally thrilled with the pics but it's hard to tell without seeing it in person. I am already thinking this likely won't work and I probably won't like it better then the new build so I am able to put that out of my head and focus on trying to get the new house.

The cold hard numbers show up in my inbox. Not only did we get pre approved but it also allows for about $10,000 in upgrade design options. Time to do a happy dance right? Well, not so fast. The bank can approve us for a million bucks but it makes no difference if we can't afford the monthly payment. I talk it over with the selling agent but it's not looking too good. I am absolutely not willing to take on a monthly mortgage over what I feel we can comfortably afford. If it means we have to walk away from ten houses then so be it.

I drive home dejected and my mind racing faster then the cars whizzing by me on the freeway. If only I made more money. If only we had saved more. Is it really necessary for us to have a wedding? Oh, and what about all that money we spent on my car 3 months ago? This new house is slipping away and I am wondering how are we ever going to find a house in this expensive competitive housing market. Are we going to be stuck in the studio forever or settle for a dump? What can I do aside from winning the lottery or robbing a bank to make this happen?

We have a design appointment scheduled for tomorrow and I have already imagined where we will put our furniture. This is our one window of opportunity to get into a house. Prices are still low but it won't last and if we don't get one soon there might not be a second chance.

Beer with dinner? Hells yeah. I really need it right about now.

Cont'd: We Bought Ourselves A House

Clutter Crazy

I am not allowed to do dishes anymore. Mj found hamburger meat in one of the pans and bleu cheese on one of the plates after I "washed" them. The problem is not that I am a miserable dishwasher. I can clean with the best of them. I am not the greatest cook but I always try to make sure I am the one who does the dishes and cleans the kitchen to compensate. The problem is that I can't see. By the time I get home from work it's dark. By the time we finish eating dinner it's even darker and the kitchen light has been broken since well before Mj came back. I am in there scrubbing pots and pans and plates that I can't even actually tell if I've gotten clean because of the poor lighting. Mj just has to re wash everything and so I have been banned. I will definitely get in there on the weekends but apparently during the week it's just not such a good idea until that light is fixed.

That is just one more challenge of my current living space. The other issue is clutter. Everywhere. I can't find my socks or anything else. I can barely shove my clothes into drawers. Every surface has stuff on it. It is driving me MAD!! I don't know how those obsessive hoarders can stand being buried in all that stuff. Of course it is an illness and I am beginning to think I have one too but in reverse. Realistically, I know I do not have OCD but I definitely do have an issue with clutter. I need to be organized. I need the counter tops to be empty. I need for everything to be in it's place at least most of the time. Right now it is impossible to have hardly anything in it's place because there is barely a place for anything and it is quite simply driving me nuts.

Organization is more then just having everything in it's place for me. When my living space is out of whack I feel like my life is too. Same thing with my finances and my food but that's a whole other blog post. I guess it's some kind of control thing and it comes in handy at times to be so disciplined in these areas but right now it's just driving me crazy. Right now I would really like to be able to see my pajamas laying across the bed haphazardly [instead of forcibly cramming them into the too small drawer] and not care one way or another. I'd rather see a messy pile of paperwork on the table and not care if it stays there or not. I want to put things away and organize but there is no space to do it. So there things sits and there isn't anything I can do about it. I have already done everything I can to maximize my space. I can't believe I'm saying this but I have kind of given up. Not totally of course , but I am just accepting there isn't much I can do. Which is probably a good thing.

I can hardly believe I have lived in such a small space for so many years. Most people I know can't even imagine such a thing. When I tell them I live in a studio their eyes kind of bug out a little. It is definitely not ideal but I did what I had to do.

The close proximity to Mj doesn't bother me at all. I actually enjoy having him right there all the time. The idea of him being far far away in another room or downstairs when I am upstairs in bed actually feels kind of lonely. Right now we can pretty much see each other and talk to each other all the time from any location. Where he is I am and vise versa. That's kind of what happens in a studio and I kinda like that part.

But, if it means that I will have enough room in my closet and less crap shoved into every nook and cranny I am really thinking that I could probably get used to it. I know he's coming to bed eventually even if he is in a far away land down the hall.

Burger Night

Last Week we stumbled upon Oroweat Sandwich Thins at Henry's Market inspiring Mj to declare Sunday burger night. I love bread so having a burger animal style with meat and lettuce to avoid all of the carbs and some of the calories in bread just doesn't cut it for me. These Sandwich thins are kind of pita style and they are only 100 calories each. You get the bread you crave but with way less calories, carbs and a whole lot more fiber. They cost $3.50 which really isn't all that bad.

Of course the burgers we used were extra lean. I topped mine with bleu cheese crumbles [my latest obsession], onions, 1 strip of bacon, ketchup and mustard. Mj topped his with sauteed mushrooms and onions, 1 strip of bacon, provolone cheese, ketchup, and miracle whip. Can you say delicious? We paired it with some high fiber Bush's baked beans and it was quite the delicious, simple, and not overly gluttonous meal. I got to have my burger and my bread. Oh, and of course nothing goes better with burgers then beer. For that we had Michelob Ultra in keeping with our carb saving theme.

All this, while watching the Saints Vs the Vikings. Sounds like a perfect Sunday dinner to me.

Saturday Morning Laziness

It may have been a short week but I tell you what, it sure did NOT feel like it. I've been adding an extra hour onto each work day in the morning so I can get next Friday off and it's wearing me out. It felt like all the house hunting and wedding stuff was just overlapping and getting really crazy all at the same time.

Last night was date night. Mj met me at the door with some pretty pink carnations before we rushed off to dinner. We were both starved. Then we went to the movies to see The Book of Eli. It was a late night making sleeping in that much more precious the next day.

I just love delicious and cozy Saturday mornings that I get to linger in bed and take my time doing anything at all. My time is my own and doing something or nothing at all is up to me. It feels like I haven't had one of these in a while but I am having it right now and it feels so good. Mj had a work function to go to so it's just me here. It's quiet and I can hear the water fountain outside.

I am still in my jammies and getting ready to leisurely turn on the TV and decide what I want for breakfast at 10:21 am on a Saturday morning. This is the life!

Oh crap! I can't get the TV to work. The new flat screen with HD is way too complicated for the likes of me. But that's OK. I can get caught up on Make it or Break it and Teen Mom online.

We Are Officially House Hunters

When I was a little girl back in the days when I used to live at home and share a room with my big sis I used to cry in the morning when I overslept and woke up late. Even then, as a youngster there was that whole sense of some sort of loss of control and fear having to do with something so unplanned. Yes, I am a control freak and even if I wasn't able to identify with that back as a youngster I am sure that's where the tears came from.

So, I don't cry anymore when I oversleep but it still sucks. Good thing it doesn't happen all that often. Yeah, because of the whole control freak thing I often double and triple check that my alarm is set just to avoid this so I don't know what happened. I woke up at 6:30am and needed to be at work at 7:00am. It's about a 20 minute drive so basically I managed to get out of the house in 14 minutes [I was 4 minutes late].

Last weekend was a three day weekend but exhausting nonetheless. The day I found my dress I was out house hunting all day and then dress hunting by night. When I was trying on dresses I felt like I was on Say Yes To The Dress and during the day I felt like I was on House Hunters. Without the video camera's of course. Mj and I LOVE that show and watch it non stop. Saturday was our very first day of going out and looking. Sunday we went to Mj's friend's house to watch football and then there was more house hunting on Monday. I couldn't go out today because I have to work but Mj looked at a great condo that is a short sale. It looks like we are actually going to put in an offer on it just as soon as he can shuttle the paperwork back and forth between me and our realtor. I'm not too worried that I haven't even seen it. He is way pickier then I am so I trust his judgement. With so much competition you have to move quick.

House hunting is tough right now. There is inventory out there but in our target area there are lots of foreclosures and short sales. You might have 10+ offers for every property and often times you get priced out because some are paying over asking price. I am READY to move. It's been close to five years in a 400 square foot studio and I think it's time. I am yearning for room to put things and space to exist because right now we really have none. Things are so cluttered sometimes I can't even stand it. Clutter aggravates me to no end and in a space that small with two people it's inevitable. Everywhere I turn there is clutter and stuff crammed into every nook and cranny. The lower bar on my closet where my clothes hang perpetually wrinkled fell down because it's so overloaded.

I am working on our budget and even after having all of this time to digest this the thought of taking on another mortgage and simultaneously taking on a rental property is extremely frightening. There is so little margin for error financially. All it takes is one month without a renter to smash my carefully thought out little budget to pieces.

I just have to take a deep breath and hope for the best on this one and hopefully that is what we will get.

  Cont'd: House Hunting Stress

The Dress

My fitting room. One of these is MY dress!

When I walked into David's Bridal Saturday it was a madhouse. There were women everywhere trying on all kinds of dresses. Babe, my bridal consultant could barely find me a room. When I looked at these bridal dresses in the plastic garment bag they all looked ugly. It is so hard to tell what the darn dress is going to look like. There is just so much fabric there and it's just so massive that you really can't tell what's what until you see it on a body.

I scanned the aisle with my size on it and there were only about 2 that looked decent to me. Babe started pulling dresses from my list of favorites that I brought in and dress hunting was in full swing. My mom and three friends were there to help me make this important decision and I must say I really did feel special being the center of attention as I put on these gorgeous dresses. I felt like I was on "Say Yes to The Dress" except there were no cameras and I was not trying on thousand dollar dresses. All I knew going into this is that I wanted to try strapless and that I did like the pick up style on the bottom. This is not my first marriage so I was considering Ivory but there is just something about a pristine white dress that I couldn't resist.

The first dress I put on was perfect. It made me feel like a princess and it hung beautifully on me. I think it was one of the two I just randomly grabbed at the beginning. It wasn't on my favorites list and I'm not exactly sure where it came from but there it was and I liked it. The second dress was a corset style that showed off my shape a little and I kept it on my list as a possibility. Every other dress thereafter was measured against those two.

Dress after dress I tried on. Still sticking with my 2 favorites but just wanting to make sure there was nothing I liked better. The #2 fav dress with it's lace up style may have eliminated my need (and the cost) of alterations but they only had it in a size 6. I tried on a similar one in a 2 and it fit perfectly but I went in there to buy a dress that day and didn't want to order one from another state without knowing if it would for sure work or not.

I kept going back to that first dress in my mind anyways. I love the silver beading on the bodice and the pick up style ruching down the skirt. It probably didn't make it onto my favorites because it was priced at $499. Ideally, I was trying to keep my dress around $300-$450. But, I did get $50 off due to the sale and I feel pretty good about staying under $500. In fact, there was NO WAY IN HELL I was going to go above that anyhow!! I think I must be between a size 2 and 4 which sucks. It's a strapless and I want it to feel secure around my body. It will have to be taken in a bit at the waist and shortened at an additional cost but bottom line is it's my dress.

It's an exhausting process. Those dresses are big and heavy. They can practically stand up on their own and you can't really get into and out of them by yourself. It took about 2 1/2 hours to make a decision on the bridal dress and I found a bridesmaid dress in about 30 minutes.

My Bridesmaid dresses

Some of those bridesmaid dresses are downright ugly and look a heck of a lot better in the catalog then they do in person. I wanted something cute and re wearable for my bridesmaids and I was afraid I wasn't going to find it in Pink but I did!! It is a beautiful soft pastel pink (although it doesn't quite look like it online) and will be perfect for a Summer wedding. It is sateen and has a matte finish and not some gaudy satin shiny thing. It even has pockets! They will wear a black pin on flower at the waist to complete the look and incorporate my 2nd color. This is a chic not overly formal look that I was going for. They will get $20 off their dresses because I bought my bridal dress there and my out of state bridesmaid will have no problem getting it.

I put my dress on layaway so I could spread out the payments. It will stay at the store for 60 days when I will make my final payment. I can either take it home that day and come back later or send it straight into alterations.

I kinda felt like part of the David's Bridal wedding machine while I was in there but I think going there was the right choice for me. They have great dresses for reasonable prices. That penny pincher inside of me says I should have just stuck to the $99 dresses and called it a day. I am very frugal and don't have extravagent taste, but I simply would not have been satisfied with a simple plain dress-not that one like that could not have been pretty. This is a BIG party afterall, so give me just one day to do it up big for a change. I wanted the dress to be unlike anything I would ever wear again. I wanted an amazing dress not just an OK dress. Don't I deserve that for once? I am thinking that maybe I do.

I just bought the most expensive and elaborate dress I will ever own in my lifetime. Never mind that I will only wear it for about 10 hours. Mission accomplished.