We Got A Roomba

I'm the cheap one in the family. Always have been always will be! So when my husband started making noises about getting a roomba, and saying that one day we would have one, I really wasn't trying to hear it. The usual objections applied. It's too much money. I can do it myself. We already have a vacuum. Although, I will admit our vacuum is probably on it's last legs. It's been making this really high pitched screeching sound, and I fear it's only a matter of time before it makes no sound at all. But the point is, that I'm perfectly capable of vacuuming our house and I don't need a robot to do it.

Charcuterie Anyone?

I wanted to share this adorable little charcuterie board we had made for us. Charcuterie. I just love that that word. And just in case you are wondering exactly what the word means and how it's pronounced: Charcuterie (pronounced "shahr-ku-tuh-ree") is the art of preparing and assembling cured meats and other meat products. It was Mj's idea to get one specially made. These types of ideas usually are. Anyway, MJ follows a guy on Instagram who does woodworking. Jay made him a really nice rack for him to hang on his wall displaying his medals. He liked it so much he wanted him to make something else.

Working on that Home Decor Thing

Setting up a brand new house is very expensive. There isn't any fixing up to do, but not to fear, there are still plenty of things to spend money on. We bought four ceiling fans, three pendant lights, and so many other things I've lost count. It never seemed to end. I think we were at Home Depot every weekend for the first six months. We kept the majority of our furniture from our old home, but we did spend money replacing a desk, bar stools, fold out couch for a spare bedroom, and a buffet. The only additional item we've purchased is a 4 tier shelf for our entry way. Our couch is about to be ten years old and we're ready for a new one, but we've had to wait because of those darn priorities. Our biggest expense was outdoor landscaping, which we were required to take care of right away. Once we got that together we prioritized getting our patio cover, and outdoor furniture so we could enjoy the backyard. We also had to buy window coverings for 29 windows. We picked up a few items here and there to decorate, but for the most part home decor as fallen to the bottom of our priority list.

Moving Sucks, Moving Twice Sucks Harder

Real estate is weird. I feel like everything happens backwards. You sell your house when you don't yet have a place to live. You buy a new home, before you've sold your old one. You pay a hefty commitment deposit and agree to buy before you've had a home inspected or even built. You choose flooring and other design elements when the necessary funding for it won't be finalized for weeks or months. Every single  detail for moving or buying a home has been set in place, yet nothing is truly final until those keys are in your hand. None of this makes any sense, whatsoever in my head. Nothing is done in the order you'd think it should be done, and yet this is how it works.

How can anyone function like this? The answer is very stressfully.

Flat Screen Mounted

Before

Over the weekend Mj invited his friends over to participate in some unpaid labor. That's what friends are for right? He bought this 55" 3D monster of a TV about a year ago and ever since he's been talking about mounting it. I was against it because I'd heard it could cost hundreds of dollars and it just didn't seem worth it to me when it's fine just sitting there on the table.  TV's are so thin now, they really don't take up much space. I also have a fear of putting holes in our walls.  We aren't renting so we can do whatever we want but for some reason this fear has not gone away.

During

after

Well, he didn't listen to me of course and he finally did it. He found everything he needed on Amazon for about $100 and the only labor cost was burgers and beer for the guys so it actually turned out to be a pretty inexpensive project.  I thought the destruction of the wall would be much worse but only two squares of drywall were removed and they were filled in with plastic inserts.  He and his friends did a great job.  I love the way it looks. There are no cords and it just floats there ever so perfectly like a picture on the wall.  Like magic.  So yeah, Mj was right about getting hardwood floors and about mounting the TV.  It looks great and I'm just glad he didn't have to spend a lot to do it. Now, if only I could finally finish decorating and find something to put on all of those empty surfaces...but not too much otherwise dusting is a real pain in the butt.



  

Area Rugs, Bar Stools and Floating Shelf

7'6" X  9'6"Hand Tufted Alexa Pino Floral Red Rug from Overstock.com

I'm still getting my Vacation posts together so for now I'll show you the new rugs we got before I left for vacation.  The red one for the dining room came in first.  Mj was gone and it's so heavy that I wasn't able to put it down for weeks until my family came down because I couldn't do it by myself.  It is so soft and thick.  It feels like really good quality.  The size was perfect.  All of our chairs fit with room to spare.

5 X 8 Damask Trellis Navy Blue Rug from Rugs USA

The blue one was on back order so it came about a week before I left for vacation.  We don't actually have any Navy Blue decor pieces so we weren't even sure how that would look but we loved the color and pattern.  We'll be adding some Blue to tie in with the rug but even as is it doesn't look out of place at all.  It's 100% wool so it's a bit itchy but I can still sit on it.  After we got the hardwoods our sectional was sliding all over the place but the rug keeps it in place perfectly.  Both were on sale.  The Blue one was $149 and the Red one was $227 and although at first I felt like it was kind of a lot of money for rugs after seeing them I can say it was definitely money well spent.   I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE them both.  Sometimes I'm at a loss when it comes to decorating.  I see amazing pics and different pieces that I like and then I look at my house and can't quite figure out how to put it all together.  It's always so hard for me to tell if I'll really like something or just how it will fit into our decor based on the picture but I think we done good. . 

These are the bar height stools I finally picked out in March after the usual obsessing after we raised the counter.  I found them for a decent price at a Bar Stool store.  They were $149 each.  I thought the back of the chair would be higher then the counter.  It's not, but it's the right height and it still looks okay.  It's a perfect red.  Not too bright or too dark and fits in nicely with our color scheme.

These are the floating shelves that Mj finally got around to putting up.  He wasn't totally sold on it but I really wanted them and after they went up he liked them just as much as I did.  Our house has really been a work in progress.  We've been here for two years now and we still have some bare walls and empty shelves.  We still haven't painted any of our bathrooms or spare bedrooms.  They are still builder basic White and who knows when or if that will ever happen!  I hate painting.  We've taken care of the areas that matter most to us though and I like the way it's come together.

More Money? Area Rugs Edition

When you buy a house and/or try to decorate a home you learn about all kinds of  things that you didn't realize were expensive but are.   I guess that is true of everything; because when I was planning our wedding there were all kinds of things along the way that I was shocked to find out the price of.  Some things I knew were going to be expensive like a closet organization system, hardwoods and granite but other things surprised me.  When we did our back yard I was surprised to learn that a pile of rocks could cost hundreds of dollars.  When we had our blinds and curtains put in I couldn't believe how much those were.  Mirrors are shockingly expensive too.  And lamps.  The price tags on decorative pillows is outrageous.  I mean, pillows?  Then  I couldn't believe how expensive a King size comforter set could be, then I was shocked that an average household kitchen sink could be $400 dollars and the faucet runs $200.

Damask Trellis Navy Blue Rug @RugsUSA

Am I just cheap?  Maybe, but now I'm shocked again and this time it's by how much area rugs cost.  If you want a really big one it can cost thousands of dollars which seems to be as expensive as having actual carpet installed in which case it's like paying for flooring twice.  So as with everything else I have to walk the fine line between not wanting to get the cheapest thing out there and not wanting to spend more then I can afford yet still ending up with a quality product that I will love.  It makes no sense to spend a dime on something you don't even like.  I love saving money but I'm not the thrifter, craigslist shopper type.  I wish I was.  The selections are random and limited so it could take forever to find what you want.  I just don't have the patience or the eye to find that diamond in the rough, bring it home, clean it up and make it look all shiny and new.  I will run all over town looking for the best deal though.  I comparison shop and look for coupons and research the hell out of everything.  I don't stop until I find the best deal around.  I probably wouldn't feel comfortable buying something like a couch or rugs pre-owned but I know that if I had been willing to hunt down things like our dining room set at on craigslist I could have spent a lot less money.  So, what did my latest bargain hunt yield?

Hand Tufted Alexa Pino Floral Red Rug @Overstock.com

Right after we got our hardwoods put in I saw a Groupon for Rugs USA.  I'll say it again.  I love Groupon!  For $95 I got $235 in merchandise so I spent $149 with free shipping on a 5 X 8 area rug for our living room.  The original price was $289.  It was on sale for 35% off and they wouldn't let me double dip on the sale price which is lame if you asked me but I still saved $39 more using the Groupon so whatever.  They had the red one too but I found a better price on Overstock.com.  It was 15% off which brought it from $284 to $242.  I found a $15.00 off promo code on their site for a total of $227 for a 7'6" X 9'6" rug and only $2.95 for shipping because Overstock is cool like that.  That one will go in the dining area.  I am shocked by how much we spend on things.  Things that we don't even REALLY need.  $376 for rugs on top of what we paid for flooring.  Really?  Oh well.  Maybe I could have done better but I feel pretty good about how much we spent considering how much these rugs can cost.  It's so hard to tell colors online but hopefully we like them.  We'd better.  Chances are we're stuck with them because I am not returning them and starting all over again.

Hardwood Floors

Home renovations can be a pain in the butt.  After our kitchen I was not looking forward to doing anything else so this was one 'honey do' I did not bug Mj about.  When he told me he scheduled the installation I can't say I was thrilled.  It's so much work.  I hate the dirt.  I hate having to move everything and how anxious I feel when my house is a total disaster.  I know I'm totally whining and I hate myself for it but I got over it and we got our hardwoods put in last week.  If you looked at our upstairs you'd think we were hoarders because we had to put most of our furniture up there. Poor Mj had to listen to my incessant whining while we moved everything upstairs and out to the garage but we both survived.  It took them two days and then on Thursday we cleaned and put everything in order.  It was so good to have our house back!! 

We did the entire downstairs with a hand scraped engineered hardwood from the Reward Grenada Collection in Birch Retreat.  It's already distressed so when the inevitable nicks and dings start to turn up they won't be as noticeable.  We went with engineered because it's cheaper and we have a concrete sub floor.  It's a good option because they can still be refinished.  Our cheapo baseboards were replaced with really pretty five inch crown molding.  I didn't even know we were getting those.  Since they had to pull up the toilet anyways we bought a new one for the 1/2 bath.  Without the sound absorbing carpet it sounds really hollow like we we're in a cave or a bathroom but I don't notice it as much any more.  

It's not that I don't like hardwoods but I can't say I was 100% enthusiastic about getting them.  Mj definitely wanted this more then me.  I love the look but to me carpets are more practical and easier to maintain.  I've grown very attached to our carpet.  We upgraded on it when we bought the house.  It looks nice and I like the color.  I like the feel of soft carpet under my feet and sometimes I like to sprawl out on the floor.  We don't have pets or kids and we don't wear shoes in the house so it wasn't that hard for us to keep them clean.  After two years it's still in good condition so it was weird to watch them tear up perfectly good carpet.  We like dark wood so that's what we got even though we knew that every speck of dust and dirt would show up.  I kind of feel like I just made more work for myself.  We still have my precious carpet upstairs so I can get my carpet fix sitting my butt on the floor up there.  We're searching for an area rug too so that should help. 

So we finally have those coveted hardwood floors.  Mj just loooves it.  As hard as it is he did lay on it "'just to see what it felt like."  I know technically, hardwoods are cleaner because unlike carpet you truly can clean them whereas carpet absorbs.  And it does look really good.  I mean, it's kinda hard not to like.  They're beautiful.  The more I see it and get used to feeling it under my feet the more it's starting to grow on me.

Our first house project:  Painting

Now We Need Bar Stools

We got our kitchen counter tops re done and raised our bar area so now we need bar height bar stools.  I love it that Mj cares about the home decor in our house.  The only problem is that he can be really, really picky.  This often makes picking out anything from throw pillows to shelves quite a frustrating experience.  There are times when he will tell me he doesn't like something without explanation.  No he doesn't know why...he just can't put his finger on it.  What am I supposed to do with that?  Especially if it's something I really like and he can't even tell me why he doesn't.  I'll show him item after item and he'll veto every single one.  So imagine my excitement when he tells me that I get to pick out the bar stools all on my own. His only rule is that they not be cheap.  El cheapo used to be my middle name so I know why he felt the need to emphasize this.  I don't want to bring anything home that he hates so as I'm searching I do run stuff across him.  True to his word he is mostly non committal unless he really hates it...which is fine because I don't want him to hate anything in his house.

I get to pick out whatever I want.  This is great.  The only thing is that I have no idea which ones to get!  I started out wanting something bright and modern.  Funky even.  Just because it's a chance to introduce something new into our decor.  Then, I changed my mind and thought that the more traditional chair might work better with what we already have.  Now, I just have no clue.  Red, Brown, wooden, adjustable height?   I read reviews, I browse countless websites and I compare prices.  I stare at our counter and try to envision them there.  I just end up more confused and undecided.  I cannot ask Mj to help me figure it out.  I'm determined to find the perfect ones on my own.

I've got links to ones I like bookmarked all over the place.  Here are a some that I'm considering.  Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Photo Source:  West Elm $338 for 2 (I'd get the Brown)

Photo Source:  Overstock.com  $186.29 set of 2

Photo Source:  morebarstools.com $104.78 each

I'm hoping that I'll have time on Saturday to go to a store that carries nothing but bar stools and that I can make a decision soon.  I'm pretty sure that I'm obsessing way too much over this but it's what I do.  I can't help it.

Our Kitchen: Basic to Bling

We did the backyard, we did the closet and so naturally it was time for the kitchen.  We are all set with our nice appliances and cabinets but the laminate counter tops had to go.

Basic Laminate Countertops

Trying to visualize it at home depot with our cabinet, granite samples and backsplash

Picking out the back splash was a little bit agonizing.  We spent at least an hour staring at glass tiles but I think we made a good choice.  We wanted a light color for the counters to contrast with our dark cabinets.  Mj found White Kashmir Granite on the internet.  It can be really hard to tell from pictures but we liked what we saw and Home Depot carries it so we got to see the samples there.  We've been watching Renovation Realities on the DIY channel and we think a more fitting name might be Renovation Nightmares.  We are not DIY people so we decided on the granite color, bought our sink and our back splash from Home Depot and then turned it over to the pros.

They actually had to build extra wall to raise the bar

It took five days when we initially planned for three.  We did decide to get back splash at the last minute so I think that did add on the few additional days.  They only work through the week so Mj and I had to juggle our work schedules.  On Thursday they got to our house at 8:00am and didn't leave until 8pm then were back Friday for a couple hours to finish up.  I can only imagine how long it would have taken us if we tried to do it ourselves.  Being without a kitchen was inconvenient and they had to shave some granite inside which caused a lot of dust but it was all worth it in the end.

It took about 20 sheets of back splash tile which was way more then I thought it would be for a small kitchen.  At about $17.99 per sheet it adds up but when we were choosing it I focused on what we wanted and not the price.  If we're going to do it we might as well get what we want.

This sink is deep enough to hide dirty dishes

The sink was $375 but once you put it under granite it's not getting changed out so I'm glad we got what we really wanted here too.  Slowly but surely I'm learning that while budget is important sometimes you really do just need to get what you want.  This is our house, it's permanent and we are already spending the money so why not?  Within reason of course.

Now we need to find bar height stools

Now that we have raised the counter to bar height we moved the two counter height chairs back to our dining room table and I am looking for two bar height stools to replace them.   I'm also planning on putting some floating shelves in that blank space next to the window.  Raising the bar height somehow made the kitchen feel larger and has given us a little bit more counter space.  Lighter counters has brightened up the space.   Thank goodness we found this contractor.  He did our crown molding and painting for us last year and he's also doing our floors.  He only charged us $2,600 for this entire project; that includes granite and labor.  I cannot believe I'm saying the word only in front of thousands of dollars but compared to what others are charging out there this is extremely reasonable.   This transformation happened in our own house and I still have no idea how they did it.  How did they cut the granite?  How do they make it fit perfectly around the sink?  How did he build that wall?  What a difference new counter tops can make!!  Our kitchen went from basic to bling and I'm so happy with how it turned out.

Next Project: Hardwood Floors

Home Decor....Slowly But Surely

It takes so long to get a house decorated.  We got all the furniture we need it's just the details and accents that are taking a while to come together.  Once you figure out what you want sometimes it's almost impossible to find it in stores and at the right price which can be really frustrating but slowly but surely we're getting there.

Vintage looking Boudoir lamps from Pier One

Finally, after 1 1/2 years of living in our house we finally got bedside lamps for our night stands.  We have recess lighting so it's more decoration then anything else.  I looked everywhere!  First I didn't know what we wanted.  Then we decided to add color to our room with the lamps but finding the right one in the right color at the right price is hard.   I originally went in looking for a different lamp but found these pretty vintage looking ones at Pier One Imports for $40 bucks each.  I had a $10 off coupon so that was a bonus.  I had to take a picture and send it to Mj for approval and he liked them too.  We could have gone bigger because our headboard is high and our nightstands are a good size but eh...I just wanted something small.  These are 18" high.  I plan to add a satin ribbon around the bottom rim to add color once we get some accessories in our accent color; which I think will be purple.

Bargain price ottoman found at Ross for $99

Room for everything

Mj let me keep the black Ottoman.  He didn't say anything for about a day or so and then decided that he liked it.  My pajamas are all nicely organized now in one place where they all fit and are convenient for me to get to.  It's a nice little seating area too.  We're going to find a nice piece of wall art to put over it.

We didn't get the mirror that came with our dresser.  We found our own.

Can't wait until these make it onto the wall

 Back in October we found a large black mirror to hang over our dresser at Marshall's for $99.00, which is great because like everything else mirrors can get pretty pricy too.  I got a great deal on these matte picture frames at Michael's and framed our wedding pictures over Christmas Break.  They've been sitting there waiting for hanging for a while and they will go right over our bed.  Mj if you are reading this...how bout this weekend?  The black rimmed full length mirror needs to go up too. 

Sloan Espresso Leaning Book case.  Photo Source:  Crate & Barrel

Red Bamboo Vase-Photo Source: Pier One

In other rooms.  Just before the holidays we bought two leaning shelves at Crate & Barrel to put on either side of our TV downstairs in the living room. I was trying to go for the less expensive Walmart version but Mj wasn't having it.  At $149 each it's more then I wanted to spend on these but they are great quality and they look good.  We also bought a red vase from Pier One that we filled with sticks.

Next up.  We are getting the downstairs carpet and flooring replaced with hard woods.   Our kitchen counter tops will be replaced with granite and we're adding back splash.  We'll be getting started on those projects after we get our tax refund.   And lastly, we want to do something with our master bathroom.  I'm kind of itching to do it now.  The flooring is builder basic vinyl (like our kitchen) which I actually don't mind so much but I hate our very hard to keep clean fiber glass shower and tub surround.  It really can wait until next year though.  One thing at a time.  It's a work in progress but I love our house and I love how everything has been coming together.  House pics coming soon.

Shopping Around

Celebrity Pink Skinny Jeans at Macy's

I hate  it when I want something specific.  I'm very impatient once I've made up my mind that I want [insert anything new here] and inevitably I can never find it.   Once it's in my head I am basically tormented by it so I pretty much don't give up until I find it.  I'm on a mission.  This time I wanted Beige skinny jeans, I didn't want to pay a lot for them and I wanted 'em now.  I walked into store after store at the mall until I finally found these Celebrity Pink Jeans at Macy's.   The color is darker then I originally wanted but I was desperate.  Just one problem.  That darn mannequin girl was wearing the only pair in my size.  She's not going anywhere; surely she can wear something else so I ask the sales lady if she can get the mannequin to take off those pants.   She had to call someone else for help because miss mannequin wasn't giving them up easily and the pant removal actually required tools.  I felt like a whiny high maintenance customer asking but I really wanted them.   I distinctly remember colored denim being in a loooong time ago when I was in high school.  They were mom jeans compared to the low slung version of today but I had white, black, beige, hunter green and plum.  They disappeared for a while but like everything else in fashion their baaaaack. 

The next day I stopped at Ross looking for some new work out clothes.  I haven't bought new ones in about 10 years.  I've basically been working out in rags (not really).  Since this whole 'working out again' thing seems to be sticking it was time to update my gear.  I found some cute tops and bottoms then poked around in the Juniors section and what else do I find?  Celebrity Pink Skinny jeans for $18.99.  Not only was the price $11 cheaper then at Macy's but the color was the lighter Tan I originally wanted.  Little Miss mannequin at Macy's can have her jeans back.  Sometimes I overlook Ross because it can be very disorganized and a pain in the butt to shop but this time they had exactly what I wanted.  

I love it he doesn't.  What now?

I poked around in housewares and found a black rimmed full length wall mirror ($14.99) and the black storage ottoman that has been haunting me for about a year.  I am so excited!  Most of the ones I've been finding are about $250 and this one is only $99.  I have tons of pajamas and instead of storing them awkwardly under the bed in a bin that doesn't quite fit I can put them in here where I can get to them easily AND we can sit on it.  Later that night Mj says, "Will you be upset if I don't like it?"  Uh, heck yes I'll be upset.  I've been looking for this thing for over a year!!  To top it off he says he isn't even sure why he doesn't like it; which clearly isn't a good enough explanation for me.  I tell him he better "splain himself" and he says he thinks it's too big.  Sigh.  I think it fits in nicely in our bedroom.  I'm hoping it will grow on him because I love it, I need it and like everything else I wanted it yesterday and don't want to keep shopping around for it.

1 Year House-iversary

 Under Construction

We didn't officially close until May 24th, 2010 but we signed the documents on Thursday and were given the keys on Friday May 21st that allowed us to move in. One year ago we packed up our moving truck and finally got to move into our new house.  I remember this overwhelming feeling of relief and happiness mixed with exhaustion as we pulled into our new neighborhood.  We weren't there to sign some documents or measure one of the rooms.  We were there to stay.  The house hunting and home closing process was so stressful.   You almost don't believe that the house is really going to be yours until the keys are in your hot little hands.  By the time you get towards the end of the home stretch you are so anxious and you just want it so bad.  You want to be excited that you are buying a house but it's hard to because for every step you bypass there is another step around the corner that you have to get through in order to make it real.  Should we buy points? Would we get money towards our closing costs? Turns out yes. What will our interest rate be? It ended up nice and low.  But getting answers to those questions was excruciating at times.  At one point we had to scramble to get a back up loan in place then we didn't even know if we'd be able to close on time and move in when we had already scheduled our moving truck. The knowledge that at anytime something can go wrong and the deal could fall apart was always in the back of my mind but it got to the point where I just had to let it go.  It was out of my hands.  We provided every scrap of documentation that we were asked for, sometimes repeatedly and if this was meant to be then it would be.  And it was.

Thank goodness because if the stress of buying a home wasn't enough to drive me mad then the stress of living in a too small home surely would.  Two people, 400 square feet.  Not good.  I felt like I was being suffocated.  I'd lived there for five years and had already outgrown the studio, street parking, community laundry lifestyle but now there were two of us and I was OVER IT!  I hear all of these stories about a trend in mini houses and couples minimizing their lifestyle living in 200 square feet.  That sounds all nice and good and I'm all for downsizing and getting rid of excess but c'mon.  That is just not comfortable or natural on any level to sustain.  Like your job, if your living situation isn't right it affects your whole outlook on life.  Everything else is filtered through this lens of discontent.  I was just aching for space.  Aching to breathe and make my day to day life more functional.  It's not just about potential investment so the decline of the real estate market did not sway us a bit.  Like a lot of people out there.  We still wanted to buy.

Almost done

When I come home to our house I still love it just as much as the day we moved in.  It might not be the ultimate dream home but I don't feel like we settled either.  We got everything we needed and a heck of a lot of what we wanted.  I remember when we first walked through the models.  Our Realtor told us about this new development that turned out to be down the street from where we lived.  As we walked through, many of the features satisfied a lot of must haves on our list but I would not allow myself to get excited or even really consider it.  We were just looking.  I checked out the walk in closet, dual sinks and the cute little loft area with longing.  I remember walking out of there and saying, "That house would be perfect for us, but oh well.  It's too much."  We took the paperwork from the sales office but dismissed it as we continued with our house hunt. 

We could already see how difficult it was going to be to find a house that we liked in our budget.  There seemed to be multiple offers on houses within minutes of going on the market and you know what that means.  A bidding war.  And you will always lose against offers with cash or a hefty down payment.  It was like a full time job.  You had to be on those listings and you had to go see them fast which was hard to do around our work schedule and wedding planning.  Some of the houses we were looking at were beat up and we are not the fixer upper type.  We also started to get cold feet about the 1 hour Northbound commute to work every every day.  Suddenly the new house started to look better and better.  While still not centrally located, the Eastbound commute is only about 30 minutes, the HOA was low and there were no pesky Mello Roos like the other area we were considering.  Oh, and wouldn't it be fun to pick out all of our design features?  About a week later we went back to see if we could make it work.  It was about 25K more then I wanted to spend but  we wanted out of the studio and with our wedding coming up in six months we didn't want to spend a year house hunting.  We couldn't get everything we wanted but I think we paid a reasonable price for the house we got.  The payments are comfortable, once I got used to the number and I don't feel that we are house poor.  Just regular poor!!  

All moved in

We saw all kinds of horror stories on the net about our builder but it's been smooth sailing for us.  Being a new construction we had a 1 year warranty period for them to fix up any little thing that needed fixing.  No matter how small we called them because we could.  It was like still having a landlord.  We still have a long term warranty for structural defects and a lifetime warranty on the roof but we are officially on our own now.  The home decor is an ongoing work in progress and we are enjoying the little projects we have done so far.  Watching a house get built from the ground up is like watching your dream grow.  I never imagined I could afford a home in California.  It just didn't seem possible.  Then Mj came into my life.  He wanted the same thing and together we made it possible.  There were so many bumps along the way but every hurdle and every mini anxiety attack was worth it.  Now we have the things that a lot of people take for granted.  Outdoor space, a laundry room, extra closets, a garage and enough space to stretch out.  Our day to day life feels functional now.  It feels right.  I totally appreciate and work really hard for what we have and I will never take any of it for granted.

House Pics:
Contract to Close:  Our Home Buying journey
The Home Building Journey
House Projects 
What I love Most About Our House

Girly Girl Gets Dirty in the Yard

I'm a self proclaimed girly girl.  I love Pink, shopping and things that smell pretty.   I am afraid of bugs, I hate feeling dirty and I prefer it when Mj handles all the heavy and technology related tasks around the house.  So when Mj said that I was going to help him in the backyard planting herbs and other assorted plants the first thing I said was, "No way.  My mama couldn't make me get out in the yard and you can't either."  "Oh, yes you are," he said.  And he basically didn't budge which is why I found myself outside sitting in dirt in our backyard on a Sunday afternoon.

We headed to Home Depot first for supplies and spent $130, but who's counting right?  I can't believe I spent money on dirt.  So, we got our plants, dirt, mulch, planters, miracle grow, and other supplies that Mj as project manager deemed necessary and we got to work.  The only way I agreed to this is because I was promised gloves.  I put 'em on and started grabbing handfuls of dirt and putting it into the planter box and an interesting thing happened.  I realized that I didn't hate it.  There was something somehow soothing about digging into the dirt with my gloved hands and using it to plant something and make it grow.  I enjoyed placing the roots of these little plants into their new home.  It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be!!

Herbs

When we stepped back to look at our  handiwork I felt proud of it.  I actually had fun and felt like we had accomplished something together.  Now Mj has fresh Basil, Chives, Cilantro, Rosemary and Thyme to use for cooking.  I suppose I can use them too considering I do get in there myself and cook these days.  He also has the tomato plant he wanted.  I don't like tomatoes but I got the dwarf mandarin orange tree I wanted.  It's nice to have a bit more greenery out there.   Planting it with my own hands gives me a greater interest in their survival which means I'm less likely to forget to water them and less likely to kill them. At least I hope so.  I was so inspired that I FINALLY even ordered our patio furniture. 

Orange tree on the left and tomato plant to the right

It felt so good to take a hot shower and relax after that.  This is just another example of me being forced out of my comfort zone by Mj.  I can be so stubborn sometimes but when I allow myself to be swayed 9 times out of 10 I'm glad that I did.  We wanted a small yard with no grass so it would be low maintenence.  There is no reason that I can't participate and help out.  The weather is warming up nicely.  I'm looking forward to finally enjoying our outdoor space and seeing the fruits of our labor. Literally.

Pimp My Closet

Our closet before.  Not too shabby but a lot of wasted space.

I've always thought of our closet as the little walk in that could.  It's small but has so much potential.  I mean, look at all that wasted space.  It's still a walk in so I felt I was moving up in the world because the closet I came from was even tinier.  So tiny my clothes were perpetually wrinkled from being crammed and jammed in there.  I don't know how those people back in the day survived with so little closet space.  Oh yeah, I guess they didn't have much!  Well, now we have tons of stuff so closets are super important.  I was hogging our closet in typical woman fashion but that's what we do because we have the greater need.  I've got work out gear, tanks, bras, long sleeves, short sleeves, skirts, dresses, scarves, pajamas and it just goes on and on.  Don't even get me started on the shoes.  There are flats, pumps, open toed, close toed, sandals and those darn boots.  Men don't have nearly the excessive wardrobe needs that we do.  Despite my feelings of entitlement to more space I at least had the common decency to feel bad for shutting him out so I rearranged some things so he could at least fit some of his stuff in there.

Our brand new organized closet

Mj's double hang rod and Eight drawers

Women love closets.  Men love closets.  And if you have a lot of clothes and shoes like most of us do then you really love organized closets. Enter Closet World.  They pimped our closet and it turned out even better then I thought it would.  I was thinking it might feel cramped after they put everything in AND we put in all of our stuff but it actually made it look larger somehow.  I took the opportunity to get rid of a lot of stuff and tried not to allow just any old thing to make it into our new and improved closet.  Everything got scrutinized and I'm glad to say not everything made the cut.  It was time to cleanse and make a trip to the Goodwill donation center.  I staked out my territory first and tried not to be too greedy!  The double hang section to the left is all mine but there is room for Mj to hang things too if he needs it.  Turns out he only has about 9 pairs of shoes.  How sad.  So most of the shoe shelves are taken up by me of course.  We have 11!  I have  7 which fit 4 pairs across and he gets 4 which fit 3 man sized shoes across.  All the shelves are fully adjustable so I can make it taller for boots and shorter for flats.  There is also room at the top and the bottom for more shoes or whatever else.  We added belt racks and tie racks that slide in and out too.  I was able to fit a lot more into our bedroom set dresser drawers because my clothes are smaller so I'm only getting 2 out of the 8 closet drawers and he has a whole wall of cubbies to himself.

It's been a week and he still hasn't put all his stuff in.  Is he scared I'm going to shove him out?  After seeing the way he awkwardly tried to cram a bunch of his folded shirts and chunky sweatshirts into one of his cubbies I told him he might as well let me organize all of his stuff.  I'm so much better at it.  He agreed.  The only other thing I want to get for storing clothes is a pretty white end of bed type storage bench/trunk, which I'm having a hard time finding.  I've been on a pajama shopping freeze for years because I have a ridiculous amount of pajamas, mostly from Victoria's Secret, that are currently residing in a bin that doesn't quite fit underneath our bed and they could all go in the trunk instead. 

Show wall on left and Double row of hanging rods. 

The cost is actually almost double what I was hoping to spend but we figured if we are going to do it we might as well DO it.  We had them design it in the way that would best fit our needs.  We didn't want to build our own closet so it cost us but I think it was worth every penny.  I feel like I can actually SEE my clothes and there is a place for everything.  Even my giant Uggs have a home in this closet. I love it!

 My dream closet inspiration.  Ours doesn't look 

exactly like it but close enough!!

We landscaped the backyard last year.  Crown molding was home improvement project #2 and the closet was project #3 for this year with our tax money.  Project #4 is rain gutters.  Not nearly as much fun but necessary.  We'll put that off until after Summer.  Project #5 is kitchen and flooring and hopefully that will  happen sometime next year.  Mj claims that this is our starter home and that we won't be here forever but I love this house and every time we add to it I love it even more.  I am glad that we are doing some of the things that we want instead of never getting around to it so that we can really enjoy it while we are here.  Even if this isn't our last home I definitely plan to be here for a while.  Really, how could I ever leave my beautiful closet behind?

****

Does anyone else struggle with how to store all of your stuff?  Aside from not shopping and donating to goodwill what are your solutions?

House Project:  The Gargce