It's been a drag but I almost see the finish! CABINETS ARE IN!!!

Well - its been a while.  I feel like I have been on the run lately and not much down time.  Good news to report - cabinets are in, tile is down and hopefully we will be in very soon!!!   The cabinets are by Marsh Furniture.  I wish they sold directly because the actual selection of cabinets does not have sufficient drawer space in the kitchen! I'm short and i don't need the cabinets 9' high... It'd be nice to have a cabinet with 4 drawers but we will be alright.  I have some exciting changes I can't wait to make in order to bring life to this kitchen!!

Semi-Country Living

Semi-Country Living by realistic-homeliving featuring Crate and Barrel

KaufmanFranco white top
hirshleifers.com

Donna Karan skirt
stylebop.com

Nine West leather shoes
zappos.com

Bead necklace
target.com

Hat Attack floppy hat
$125 - liberty.co.uk

Nuevo dining table
allmodern.com

Crate and Barrel accent chair
crateandbarrel.com

Lights Up drum light
2modern.com

Worlds Away oriental lamp
zincdoor.com

Plastic pot
wayfair.com

OKA floral decor
$195 - okadirect.com

Tab curtain panel
jcpenney.com

Southern home decor
amazon.com

Home decor
target.com

Laundry Room

Laundry Room by realistic-homeliving on Polyvore

Capuchin Square Oversized Rattan Baskets: Set of 2
culturalelements.com

Arteltalica Anna Caffe Sugar
tabledecordirect.com

Laundry Room Art - Wash...Dry...Press - Set of Three Prints - Room...
etsy.com

Organic Hand Towels by Ferm Living
burkedecor.com

Threshold Linen Grommet Window Sheer
target.com

Throw pillow cover 20" x 20" Demim Blue and Khaki you choose fabric...
etsy.com

Tide liquid laundry detergent 75oz Clean Breeze
target.com

Industrial Loft Aged Wood Laundry Cart
kathykuohome.com

Still Alive...

Update!!! Dry wall complete! Doors in! Trim and Aprons in!!! Flooring should be completed this week... I will have more pictures to update.  Family life has been a bit busy. With swim lessons, work, more work and just simply being exhausted - I haven't posted like I would like. I have however discovered a fun website which I will be posting some of my finds soon. Stay tuned...

Cedar Baskets. Flea Market Find!!

Great way to start the weekend!  One of the reasons I decided to do this blog is because, like so many other people - I really do enjoy expressing my creativity! What better way than to openly share my ideas to the world and hope that others get inspired to pass it along.  Over the years I've found that I would do things in my home and then other people would leave and go back and try to replicate my ideas. I guess imitation is supposed to be flattering but it is not when people don't give you a compliment. Now granted, this is just my opinion and perhaps others will not feel the same.  My tip to share would be, if you like something that you see another person has put hard work and effort into doing, do not be afraid to compliment them first, then ask how they did what they did.  As I continue with this blog, I may not share everything I do in my home - one I'm not sure that I will have the time to do such but also because some things are left to be unique...

In any event, I picked up these pretty cool handmade baskets. I can remember whether I shared them in a previous blog but I wanted to share them [again] because I am so excited with what I plan on doing with them!!! I was eyeing them across the lawn and my mom scooped them up for me.  She wouldn't tell me how much she paid for them (a true flea marketer never divulges their bargained price to another).  When I priced them the guy wanted $20 for the bigger one and $15 for the smaller... Something tells me she got them both for $25.  If so, that would be a great steal!  They are handcrafted, 100% cedar so those bad boys are here to stay for a little while... 

Isn't she pretty? Loving the color!!!

Doing the usual drive by and what to my surprise but our house is now our official color!! We chose Virtual Taupe, brought to us by Sherwin Williams.  I'm not sure if I'm crazy about the front door color of red but I suppose that is something we can change once we move in. I missed having my previous red door but I think it will be okay to let it go... Time for us to enter a new era of things, that including a different front door color.  I have already imagined - nice new shutters (yes, our house doesn't come with shutters but I think they will give the exterior some character), new front and garage doors. Those upgrades are a little ways out. Let's just focus on getting into the house first!

The back of the house looks great!!! We've got all the window measurements down so now it is time to start shopping for window treatments.  With 30+ windows to get window coverings for I'm trying to pace myself and get quality treatments.  I'm welcoming suggestions!!!

Now for the interior

Our house is on its way to the finish... Well at least on the outside and utility-wise. They finished up this week on the siding and I imagine they will begin insulation and closing up walls in the next week. With closing in less than 2 months, we will be in the homestretch real soon!!!

Almost closed in!!

I've been dragging my feet on posting. I guess it's because I feel like I'm talking to myself out here in the blog universe and no one hears me... Anyway, the house is almost covered with siding. I took this pic on Tuesday and as of yesterday they only had the porch to do! I'm excited and so are the kiddies. It's a real house now. When we visit they don't want to leave. In just under 2 months it will be all ours and we won't have to leave!!! Until then we will keep doing updates. Afterwards we can blog about our DIY projects and go from there.

Oooh it is looking better than paper!

I haven't posted in a little bit. Not much to report but I'm still uber excited things are moving along...

 Isn't it so purtttyy?? I can't wait for siding and garage doors!

 Rear view. I love all the windows looking out to the lake...

 I'm glad we opted to add the sunroom. Things are looking good!

I definitely plan on chopping that tree down in the front. It's way too close for me and I would like to make it through hurricane season!!!

Happy Sunday!

Now that our house is becoming more of a reality, I've begun to pull some decor together to put things in motion.  I plan to shift some things around in our new house and find a new location for certain items.  I anticipate the house and roof will be done by this week and then wiring and insulation will begin.  I'm scheduled to speak with the IT guy doing the wiring so I can map out how I want our home wired for entertainment, security, internet and monitoring.  We plan to go with Verizon Fios for our phone, tv and internet needs and we sure do have a lot of them! Every room has some gadget that requires internet nowadays. Televisions, game consoles, computer, phones, programmable thermostat, home monitoring system, refrigerators! Gosh! I definitely want several lines run to just about all the rooms.  This should be interesting... In the mean time, I've been coming across some really good yard sale finds and online deals so I plan to start posting those things as well!

And so it begins...

Although it was pouring down raining yesterday, intermittently of course, somehow they managed to begin the build. I'm a little indifferent at this point. We've ran into a glitch that needs sorting out and I will fill in the details when I can. Until then— work continues...

So far so good...

So although I don't anticipate any work being done for the next week because of the tropical storm...I'm happy to report that our foundation is coming along nicely and I expect them to hit the ground running next week!

On Saturday June 1, 2013

Thursday June 6, 2013

The house across the street is coming along nicely... I'm standing in what will be our backyard!

This will be the front. We opted not to get the extended porch front. It seems everyone has the huge porch and every time we are in the neighborhood — no one is outside enjoying themselves! I plan to sup up our backyard and with us getting the added sunroom, I look forward to that creation!

Pics from the Old House Sold...

Foundation is in... it's been such a nice weekend. It makes me miss living in my house.  The only downside to building and previously owning was that we had to sell and move to a rental.  With us already having other property - we had to sell.  It's only temporary, I tell myself. It's only temporary... Anyway - here are some pics from the old home. I look forward to decorating and changing up things in our new place!

The blocks are in!!

So DH was a darling and decided he would: 1. Go get my car inspected because I procrastinated the entire month AND 2. Stop by the lot and see what he could see... To his surprise things were everywhere! Guys, trucks, equipment! All for our lot! Oh yeah! I'm happy! I can't wait to check things out for myself when I take the kids by later, after dinner. He snapped a couple of pics for me to share. That was like pulling teeth... But nonetheless we got em done!!! With all this great weather we've been having I suspect they will start building in the next 2 weeks after the foundation is inspected of course!

Breaking ground!!

So we ratified our contract April 17th. Permit went up May 10th and foundation digging May 28! The other house behind us has their foundation prepped as well. I had a chance to walk around the lot and with the house dug out it actually takes up way more of the lot than I originally imagined. With a little shy of 1/2 acre, after the house is built I suspect we will only have to worry about cutting 1/4 of it which is fine. Maybe even less once we add the shed and they pour the patio? Either way its cool. I'm excited to see some action on our lot and I'm done peeping at the neighbor's place. Can't wait to see how ours looks — reversed with additional sunroom! I called DH to let him know and he's happy. That gave him the strength to get thru the shift tonight... Guess it's going to be a long one... I told myself I wouldn't go back to look at things until Friday. Let's hope we can fight the urge. DD gets excited to go see the progress which doesn't help lol. I'm glad I'm not alone... Can't wait to get out of our teeny apt. We hear and smell everyone's tv/music and food. Ugh!!!!

No news to report...

I wish I could say they've started the foundation but as of yesterday - our lot was looking pretty level and untouched... I'm starting to notice a trend in Chesapeake from the time the permit goes up to the time ground breaks is usually 3-4 weeks. I could be wrong with how the inspectors operate but I may be right.  In other news - they wanted an exorbant amount of money for the changes I requested. No thanks! I would've like the changes to be done but I'm fine with doing work myself.  Each change was had a change fee associated with it on top of the cost for the additional granite and cost for materials. It is really important to make sure you get the house the way you want it in that first 2 weeks because after that - be prepared to potentially be charged an A&L for add-ons.  If you're an area where you have flexibility - great! Not so much here in Southern VA...  I look forward to blogging about my changes and upgrades I do on my own! I can't wait!!!

TGIF

So clearly I forgot to post the last post on Wednesday... Oh well no biggie! Since then — building permit was put on lot with our exceptions. I would post the front of the permit but well... It's got our addy on it and well... That's not for the world to see. Now that we are in the apartment I can focus on preparing for the home. Many of our neighbors opted for having fences immediately installed by the recommended companies but with us being on the lake I think I'm fine with not being in a barricaded environment. Most have 6' tall fences and personally I just don't get it... Maybe because I'm from the city but I love my home and hope to have enjoyable neighbors just as I've just left. A shorter fence is fine and doesn't take away from the house. Actually, I'm thinking about shrubbery to act as fencing... That's not rush... In the interim, finding the right blinds are top priority for me! Plantation vs mini? Plantations are nice and at our old home I bought a few at a time. They're pricey but the look is absolutely gorgeous. The home in the neighborhood has them and although they spent over 2k to get them, it was a nice investment! We won't be doing that but I look forward to mixing and matching my treatments.

Still waiting to hear whether the changes we requested can be accommodated. Not sure what the delay is... And we requested blueprints. I encourage everyone to ask for those upfront if you're the least bit interested in room dimensions and properly organizing your room. We didn't get printed plans but instead we got the basic floor plan with handwritten room dimensions. I'm not crazy about that but it does give me a rough estimate of what to expect wall to wall. Going to go by evening. DD is so excited about another new room. She loves this apartment and how close we are. Lol when she found out she would be getting another new room she was soooo excited! DS is just a toddler so he's not the least bit interested. He won't remember ever living anywhere but HOME... Gosh I can't wait!!