Wisteria Lane

Being the first to build in a development certainly has its perks! We had our pick of lots, models, colors, etc and found just the perfect combination for our family. We are old(ER) than most first time home buyers and we've only got one child left at home so we went with a smaller floor plan, obviously, the Venice. Because its on the lower end of the price range we were able to load it with "extras" to make it unique. Six months into it, we are still unique in that we remain the only Venice in the place. What's upsetting to me is the fact that while there are restrictions on colors and elevations in order to keep things appearing too "cookie cutter" every single house on the street I face is a Rome! Not a bad floor plan, actually very nice, but 8 or 10 in a row makes me feel like I'm living on Wisteria Lane or that I should suggest renaming our community Stepford. Despite the attempts to make them look different it feels like we are becoming the epitome of a suburban bedroom community. :(

HOLIDAY weekend? what's that??

So... with a couple of days off together what else was there to do but cross a couple more little projects off of the "honey-do" list ;)  

DH installed a ceiling fan in the great room (it kinda looks like the rotor blades on the helicopter!!) and pendant lights above the kitchen island and sink...  

My contribution to the weekend of projects was my undying gratitude (as always) LOL, I'm always grateful for DH's skill around the house as well as his great attitude when it comes to my "lists" ... However, I DID have a little bit of a contribution as well. I re-covered the lampshades on our fabulous bargain find $15 Target clearance lamps... I also put my many hours of web surfing on Pinterest to good use when I made Braided Spaghetti Bread to reward my man's hard work :)  

Here's the proof!!

awesome new ceiling fan

kitchen pendants

lampshade project

 





spaghetti baked INSIDE garlic bread!! Pinterest makes me look like such a great mom/wife!! This was a winner :) 











Even the "braided" outside crust looked pretty good for a first try!!


So, that was our thrilling "Labor Day" weekend... Tomorrow's agenda ~ light fixture in the craft room and organizing THAT nightmare!!!

Finally!! Some pictures!!

Now that school is back in session and my life has SOME sense of a regular schedule, I took a few photos of what we've done to the house so far.  As most of you know, we painted and bought new furniture but DH has also installed crown molding the kitchen/family room and the front living room. We are debating putting it in the morning room as well but the angles in there look like they might be a real bi...  challenge. 

We really are completely in love with the way things are coming together. Yes, I still have pictures to put up and chachkis that haven't found a home yet, but I think the major items have been accomplished. My craft room is a shambles. I've been so busy with the "public" parts of the house that I haven't even attempted to put my sanctuary together. That's next on the list...  

Last Friday night we had our first big soiree here. A fun open house with many, many friends showing up. We shared laughs and food and drinks (mostly drinks!!) and I can't think of a better way to celebrate this new phase of our lives. The house certainly lived up to it's "entertaining" potential as we envisioned it when we first walked through the model :) (did any of you know that whipped cream vodka is AMAZING in root beer??? tastes just like a root beer float!!) and soaking fresh strawberries in chocolate vodka (overnight) and dipping them in melted chocolate is like heaven in your mouth??? (like i said, there was a LOT of drinking going on Friday!!)

Here are the promised pics  

Kitchen view from family room

Morning room from family room (LOVE my IKEA rug!)

Family room from kitchen (&DH's smartTV!)

can you tell i <3 IKEA??

Family room from hall... more IKEA stuff :)

Front entry/living room

View from living room

Living room (minus the rug the cat ruined!!)

BAR (fave consignment find!!)

Morning room again

DD's room

Master bedroom

gentle reminder ;)

 

 

 

Master bedroom from other side

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

30 day inspection

Since we are awaiting furniture delivery tomorrow and still painting some of the rooms, I figured I would give  a quick update about our 30 day follow up. Jared (the BEST PM ever!) came by to see what kind of issues we had discovered in our first month. It was hard to find anything to complain about as we are very happy with the house AND we have really only been living in it for 2 weeks!! The only thing on our list was that the door to the master bedroom wouldn't close & lock. Jared called his punch list guy who just happened to be in the neighborhood and had it taken care of immediately.

The rest of the visit revolved around discussing the remaining lots in the neighborhood and the fast pace of both sales and building taking place around us. We joked with him that if it weren't for US taking the risk at being the first ones in... who knows ;)  Buying from Ryan was an excellent decision and as for the quality of our home, well, we couldn't have asked for more.

I WILL say that so far I am highly disappointed in our HOA. We closed almost a month ago. HOA payments at closing included a "buy in" fee of $500, a capital costs contribution of $500 and prorated fees for the rest of the year. Those were obviously paid in full at that time. We have yet to hear from the HOA or receive any information regarding the pool and amenity center. We contacted our sales person who is obviously still on site and he sent the management company an email 10 days ago. The representative for the agency responded that she had sent us a "form" to fill out in order for that to happen. Well, I know it's called "snail mail" for a reason, but I think even a SNAIL could've gotten that letter to me within the past 10 days!!  I hope this isn't an indication of what this HOA is going to be like to deal with in the future. If it is, well, they've got a rude awakening coming. I fully intend for DH and I to become active with the Association because if there's going to be a "committee" telling me what I can and cannot do to my house/yard, you better damn well believe I'm going to have a say in those things BEORE they become my headache!! 

That's it for tonight. Maybe I'll take some pictures and post again sometime this weekend. By then the master should be complete and I will have some "fun" stuff to share. :) 

Living room furniture delivered!

Just a quick pic of the "front" living room (dining option). Furniture was delivered today & it took some time to arrange everything but I'm loving it. Still need curtains & a small (white shag) area rug, maybe some floating shelves or other artwork but we'll see.

all moved in

Two weeks after closing and we've finally gotten everything moved! What a crazy, chaotic, stressful time that was! Good thing this is the last time we'll have to experience it. I think I'd almost rather move cross country than do a local move again! We've painted the front living room and hallway, yes, RH had already painted them, but I'm a colorful person and Ryan White just wasn't going to cut if for me! I'll post pictures as soon as I have the boxes unpacked and moved out of the way, but it's a color from Valspar (at Lowe's) called Opera Glasses and it turned out fantastic! It's a medium gray and we plan to use it for the entire first floor except the morning room which will be one shade darker called Bell Tower Stone. 

Phone and internet are installed and DirecTV came today. The neighbors have been very friendly, with several coming by to welcome us and to introduce themselves. We haven't had weather for a pool day yet and we've got so much work to do inside I may feel guilty for taking time off to enjoy a nice day if we get one. The bright side of that is our sod is really taking off and we haven't had to do much watering at all!!! 

Back to work for now, but hopefully after this weekend we'll have things unpacked enough for me to be able to post pictures without being terribly embarrassed about my lack of organization or housekeeping skills ;)

...bring on the decorating!!!

Today's closing went off without a hitch, just like I knew it would!! HAHAHA! Yeah, right! I couldn't sleep at all I was so anxious about things. I don't think I was expecting anything crazy but my mind wouldn't stop playing with furniture layouts, paint colors, accessories, moving plans... etc, etc, etc! I tossed and turned most of the night and I think I finally fell asleep about 2 hours before my alarm went off! 

Anyway, I was very quiet (scared the hubby I think) as we showered and dressed to go to the attorney's office. A brief delay as we got turned around a little with our directions but we still arrived about 15 minutes early for the closing. Our realtor was already at the office. (I think I'd show up early for that check too since this is only the second time we've met with her!!!) She made out on this transaction ~ not much work involved on her side.  We had initially contacted her about a house she had listed and we wanted to see. Once we met with her and found out that the house already had several offers on it, we continued our search.  I found our house (model) and subdivision online, hubby and I went to investigate and when we finally made the decision to buy, we contacted her again to have her help with the negotiations. Other than that, today was the only other time we met with her!! But, I digress...

The actual closing went quickly and without me vomiting (which, of course, is the most IMPORTANT fact of the day!) and once the final papers were signed hubby handed me the keys and he pocketed the CHECK! What's up with that???? LOL. Yes, you heard correctly, we got a pretty nice check at closing because we had excess prepayments so of course now I'm ready to do some furniture shopping!! 

We have a "mixed household" as I like to call it. Both of us have been married before and the furniture we have is a his & hers mix and almost NONE of it matches. Honestly, I HATE IT!! Other than some accessories and bookshelves from IKEA that we've bought together, everything else is a mish-mash of yard sale finds and baggage from previous relationships. There is nothing better, and NO better excuse than a brand new house to shop for furniture that reflects us BOTH and has no memories attached but our own. :)  

Because of our work and school schedules we won't be able to actually move in completely until next week, but that gives me time to buy and schedule delivery of the furniture and washer/dryer!! That's the easy way to move! Donate all this old stuff and have the new furniture delivered to the new house.  I think I'll drive down tomorrow and take some little things, maybe stop by Lowe's and get some paint samples... pack and clean some more here (we have a LOT of boxes of "stuff" that I don't know where it came from!!). Friday the hubby and I will pick up my fabulous consignment finds and all the boxes we have packed already and go ahead and move them to the new house. Then once school is finally out (on the 8th) we will move all the "essentials" that we can't move from the house just yet. I'd like to paint before furniture gets delivered. Hmmmm. Too bad I have to work for a living. 


Good luck to all the rest of you. I never thought I would own a home, it's like I've been living someone else's life. Here we are not even 90 days since they broke ground and we're moving IN!!!  Sorry for rambling. It's been an exciting day and now it's time for my FAVORITE part ... decorating!! I'll keep this updated with all my fantastic (at least in MY mind) decorating ideas and pictures!!
 

We're almost there!

I can't believe it! Here we are a mere 60 days after construction started on my beautiful new Venice home by Ryan and we have our final walk through next week!! We received our closing letter in the mail yesterday... 25 days from now we will have keys in our hot little hands (barring any catastrophe!!)  

I am a wreck of mixed emotions! I'm excited but more than a little freaked out. I have to admit there was a little bit of comfort in being a life long renter, knowing that there was always someone ELSE who was ultimately responsible if the furnace died or the pipes burst... now it's all on US! Lucky me DH is such a handyman around the house ;)  Of course I don't anticipate any serious or significant repairs being necessary any time soon but I don't plan to move EVER again either!! 

Better run from here so I can get some packing and cleaning done :)  

Welcome Home

Loving the PAINTED front door...

I'm Falling Behind Again...

I'm doing it again! We have been down to the house twice since the last blog update but I haven't had the time (or energy ~ I've been a little under the weather) to post much. Let's see what I can remember...

Looks like, even though the house will be complete in the next week or so, we will probably close around the first week of June and take our time moving in so we can seal the granite and tile, paint, and get all the new furniture and everything "just so". Our current lease doesn't expire until the end of June and Meghan isn't out of school until June 9th so moving before then just doesn't make any sense.

As for the current progress, well... the kitchen backsplash has been completed and I must say it looks incredible!! I am very, very pleased!

Glad we chose to go with the middle placement for the listello. Now, I'm questioning how the white outlets are going to look but that's for another day. 

The carpeting for the second floor has also been installed. I don't recall choosing a brown color but I suppose that small swatch in the design center looked a bit different than an entire floor of bedrooms and a staircase does. This might take some getting used to: 

 I'm hoping that once the cardboard floor protection is removed it will look better with the cherry flooring. I can only hope ;) 

A + is that I LOVE the oil rubbed bronze fixtures we chose. An upgrade that didn't cost an arm and a leg but certainly looks like a million dollars!

That was last week. We went down again today, thinking that the sod would have been put down and the blinds would be up. But that hasn't happened yet. That's okay. There were other things that WERE done that look fantastic!!  


Like the bushes, pinestraw and front door...

It's really starting to look like the house we envisioned. I need to figure out some nice shade loving containers for my porch and that lovely window box since the house is north facing and we will get little to no sunlight on the front of the house... EVER! (any wonderful green thumb friends reading this your input is greatly appreciated)


They did remove the floor protection and OMG!!! I think I'm in love...

and... the kitchen... well ~ it's STILL my favorite place in the house. Just LOOK at how it's turning out now that you can see the floor and the cabinets and the appliances and the backsplash and everything all together... I can't believe this is MY (our) house!

Last but not least the bathroom fixtures are in and complete. The jacuzzi is working ;)

I think the one thing I want to do right away (after I take my first bath in this lovely tub, that is) is to frame out that bathroom mirror. I've always wanted a framed mirror in the bathroom and I'll probably do it in our bathroom, Meghan's and replace the mirror in the powder room with a nice framed mirror as well. (Jeff loves me for already making a "project list").  


I've also already got paint colors picked out for most of the house (I'm sure those of you who know me are NOT shocked by this at all). And I have THOUSANDS of pins on my Pinterest boards (no, unfortunately, I'm not exaggerating) with ideas for decorating and organizing my fantastic new home. Now, whether or not I actually have the time, energy or inspiration to actually follow through with most of them remains to be seen ;)


I realize now that I probably should have taken a couple of shots of the back yard, but nothing has changed back there. The concrete patio is in place, but no sod is down yet. Once some landscaping is there, I will take more pictures.


I don't think there's much going on down at the house this week. Maybe blinds going up, possibly sod being put in. Another coat of paint, some varnish on the hand rails, most of the "major" work is completed. Now it's just detail stuff.

  Unfortunately for now, it's bedtime. I'm sure I won't be able to sleep as I dream of paint chips, floor plans, closet organizers and pendant lighting. Nothing a little ambien can't take care of. 

Busy Week for the Contractors!

So ... a different subcontractor is scheduled in the house every day this week. Carpeting was being installed today. Remainder of the curb & gutter is being poured today or tomorrow. Kitchen back splash should be done Wednesday or Thursday. Landscapers grading the front yard, laying sod and planting bushes. There are still two more visits scheduled by the drywallers and painters... but Jared says we will still be finished before the end of the month!

Spoke with Ryan and NVR today as well. We were curious about what incentives they would be willing to offer us to close early on the house. Our current lease doesn't expire until June 30th and Meghan is in school until June 9th so we really don't want to move in before mid-June. They have put an offer on the table which includes a month's worth of rent credited toward closing costs so that we wouldn't have two house payments in June. Because we have already "over paid" the estimated costs, this would result in us receiving a refund at closing which would, in essence, pay our rent for June.  We were really hoping to skip a month of house payments (if we closed in June we wouldn't have a payment until August!!). Closing early I suppose we still skip a month because they would essentially be paying June's rent payment and we would start with our house payment in July.

We countered and asked for the closing costs AND no payment until August, if possible. If not, we may just ask for an increase in the closing costs to cover that payment as well. Bottom line is, the house will be ready, it's up to us whether we chose to close now or later.

Now it's a waiting game. We are headed down South again on Wednesday to see the carpet and tile. I will try to take some more pictures and maybe we will hear something encouraging by then about closing as well!!!

i'm LOVING the choices we made

The PM called on Friday to let us know about the progress this week. The counter tops are in. Light fixtures installed. Laminate floor down on the first floor. Tile work done in the bathrooms. Jeff couldn't wait until Sunday so we took a little drive down before I had to work on Saturday night. 

Jared needed us to make a decision about where the listello (a new word for me! it's what you call the decorative glass tile "stripe" through the tile work) in the kitchen backsplash. See the pic below: 

He said he thought that the higher placement would take away from the "look" because part of the "view" would be blocked by the upper cabinets.  But, I don't think we like the lower placement of the listello either... 

  
So, I think the decision we have made is to place the listello in line with the outlets and replace the old white plastic switch plate covers with stainless ones to match the appliances and coordinate better with the tiles. They should love us for that since it looks like it will entail some creative tile cutting to make it all fit "just right." Oh well, its not like we aren't paying for it!!

Since that decision has been made, check out the floor!! Since the cabinets are a dark cherry, we wanted to stay within the same color family but not quite as dark for the floor.  We went with a native cherry floor and I'm really excited about how it looks. I wish we could have pulled up more of the protective covering but I didn't want to mess anything up. I'm really excited to see the coordination where the cabinets and the floor meet once everything is clean!  
Here's a pic of the floor, the color in the picture is actually pretty close to accurate: 

I think the next most exciting thing about this week at the house is the near completion of the master bath! I cannot believe that this is actually OUR house! It looks like something out of a magazine; or a model home :)

Other than the newly poured patio, driveway and sidewalks there's no more exciting news this week. 

The upstairs carpeting is supposed to be installed this week. Landscaping and sod go in on Monday (weather permitting). I'm pretty excited to see what they do with the landscaping and I will certainly be sharing the pics with you :)

Cabinets are in!

We took a quick drive down today before I had to be at work because I'm impatient and was NOT waiting until Sunday to see the cabinetry! :)

So we pull up and lo and behold, the siding and stone work is all complete! I LOVE IT!!

Inside the trim, railings, kitchen & bathroom cabinetry and bathroom tiling had been completed. It's really coming along! More pics:

living room from front door

View out front door from corner of living room

kitchen cabinets & island from family room

kitchen cabinets

kitchen island from morning room

Meghan's bathroom. Tile & cabinets installed

laundry room floor tile installed

Master bath shower

Close up of master shower tile

So, that's it for today. We will be going back down on Sunday after all the electrical and plumbing are complete. The driveway and sidewalk are supposed to be poured tomorrow.