Monday Musings

This weekend has been crazy...and by crazy I mean sort of a roller coaster of emotions. It started with Friday, having to be at Boeing employee orientation all day, simultaneously waiting to hear back from our counteroffer for the sale of our house. Unfortunately, as perfect as the situation seemed, the buyer did not accept our counteroffer and decided to move on. I felt defeated {and pretty much just emotionally and physically exhausted over what I'd been through in the last few weeks with preparing and listing this house} and really worried that we may be looking down the barrel at having two mortgages for an indefinite amount of time beginning in September when we closed on our new house. Had we been too bold in our decision to put an offer on our dream home while still not having ours under contract to be sold?

Then something amazing happened...we had a showing Friday night and then heard late on Saturday that they had issued an offer.

But let me preface this with a little story. I have a friend on Facebook that once worked in the same organization with me at Boeing when I worked there a couple years ago. We knew each other mostly in passing as we never directly worked with each other, but we knew each other enough and eventually became Facebook friends. So anyway, on Saturday at some point, I see a post of his in my News Feed, which I really do not usually see posts from him, so that was random. It said something along the lines of "This buying a house stuff is ridiculous." He had posted it late Friday night. I jokingly decided to comment, "SELLING a house is ridiculous. Come look at mine!" and "It's close to BOEING!!!"

Turns out, he had already looked at my house {he was the one on Friday night}...I found this out when we got the offer back and it had his name on it. I was like "Whhaaaaaa????!!!!" No way. We countered back what we thought was a fair meet in the middle and he accepted. Contract ratified...I am so happy...and I know he and his wife are happy to own their first home together soon. It is a small world...he said he had laughed when he walked in and saw my family pictures everywhere.

So a big relief for us...we are closing on ours the day after we close on our new home. I am just in awe of how the stars seemed to align for us in this. It seems surreal. But I am so thankful. So of course I let him know to tell his wife about the neighborhood wine night and also that we are moving in the neighborhood just behind them {wine club encompasses both neighborhoods} and will still be like neighbors. Happy to make them feel welcome in the neighborhood.

Anyway, today I am at Boeing again for my 2nd and final day of orientation...tomorrow I will officially start my new position. It's funny having to do orientation even though my contractor status has been a cumulative of almost two years, so I pretty much know all I need to know. But it's process, so it is what it is. I am just eager to get started in my new role!

I look back at this year and I honestly can't believe how much change has come upon us in such a short time. The opportunity to work back at Boeing and then that ending up in landing a permanent position...then that spurring us to put our house on the market since the market had come back up and we could afford a bigger house...to us finding our perfect house for our family...I just truly can't believe it all...it has been a whirlwind six months. Seriously, pinch me.

Have a great week y'all....xoxo

Follow

Linking Up With:

Mondays: Life Of Meg // Still Being Molly // Lipgloss & Crayons // B Loved Boston // Fizz & Frosting // More Pieces of Me

Tuesdays: Bless Her Heart Y’All // 2 Cats & Chloe // Style Elixir // Designed Décor // Enjoy The View // Olives 'n Wine // Confident Twosdays

Wednesdays: Pampers & Pearls // Fitness Blondie // Because Shanna Said So // The Pleated Poppy // Get Your Pretty On // Let It Be Beautiful // Tucker Up // Pumps & Pushups // Shopping My Closet // Cappuccino & Fashion // Classy Yet Trendy // Book of Leisure

Thursdays: Home of Malones // East Coast Chic // Living In Color Style // Stylin’ In St. Louis // What I Wore To Work // What Wives Wear // Look What I Got // ThrowBack Thursday
Fridays: Hello, Happiness! // The Good Life // A. Liz Adventures // Carolina Charm // Lauren Elizabeth // Meet @ The Barre // September Farm // The Farmer’s Wife // All The Joys // Momfessionals

Thoughts For Thursday

Lots of thoughts for this Thursday...

We have plans to meet with the homeowner of the house we want and officially lay out our offer. As long as all goes well, we should be moving mid-September! I am so excited about this house and so ready to have a little more space for our family of five. We've had a good 7 years in our current house, and well, if it ain't true what they say about that 7-year itch...haha.

Our house officially goes on the market today. We signed the listing agreement last night. We have been working so hard the last week getting clutter cleared, taking care of looming projects (stairwell painting and finishing up the bathroom remodel). The only thing left is a deep cleaning and carpet cleaning which are being done Friday and Tuesday, respectively. I am just praying that our house sells quickly...we are ready to move on.

I start my permanent position at Boeing next Friday. This last week of work is a bit weird and light on the workload, but it's kind of a blessing in disguise with all the stuff going on with the house. I reached a point the other day where I think that it all just caught up to me and I just found myself completely exhausted - mentally and physically. I mean, mind you, between a full-time job and getting the house ready to go, we still have three kids running around! I just can't wait until a couple months from now when we can get settled and this will all be a distant memory.

Linking Up With:

Mondays: Life Of Meg // Still Being Molly // Lipgloss & Crayons // B Loved Boston // Fizz & Frosting // More Pieces of Me

Tuesdays: Bless Her Heart Y’All // 2 Cats & Chloe // Style Elixir // Designed Décor // Enjoy The View // Olives 'n Wine // Confident Twosdays

Wednesdays: Pampers & Pearls // Fitness Blondie // Because Shanna Said So // The Pleated Poppy // Get Your Pretty On // Let It Be Beautiful // Tucker Up // Pumps & Pushups // Shopping My Closet // Cappuccino & Fashion // Classy Yet Trendy // Book of Leisure

Thursdays: Home of Malones // East Coast Chic // Living In Color Style // Stylin’ In St. Louis // What I Wore To Work // What Wives Wear // Look What I Got // ThrowBack Thursday
Fridays: Hello, Happiness! // The Good Life // A. Liz Adventures // Carolina Charm // Lauren Elizabeth // Meet @ The Barre // September Farm // The Farmer’s Wife // All The Joys // Momfessionals

Monday Musings

It has been a while since I blogged! I totally did not expect that to happen...last week started out as any normal week {with the exception of recovery from the 4th}...but then I went and got bored...and in my boredom decided that I'd officially get us moving on listing our house for sale and getting a loan for a new one.

Holy Moly.

It has all happened so fast. I called the VA on Tuesday about a loan...got pre-qualified...started digging through our files {which thank God, are meticulously organized} to get them all the paperwork they needed to work on our file and get our approval letter to us. I also met with a realtor to look at houses in one of my desired areas {and fell in love with a couple, but I'm having trouble getting the husband to agree to the tad further distance to and from work}.

But then something really wonderful happened...one of my neighborhood wine club friends put a post on the neighborhood Facebook pages asking if anyone knew of any 4-bedroom houses coming on the market soon {apparently, my wine club gals do not want me to leave!} One guy responded that his was going to go on the market in a few weeks, so we started messaging about it and he agreed to go ahead and let me see it. {FYI, this is the neighborhood right behind us, the houses are a bit nicer and larger.}

I. Loved. It.

It is the perfect layout, size and price. We agreed to forgo realtors for the sale since he hadn't listed yet and we just walked in without representation. As long as the stars stay aligned, we are signing the contract this week once we get the official letter of approval and could close as early as September 1st! It just seems so surreal to me right now, but I am so stoked.

Meanwhile, I've hired a realtor to put our house on the market and she has certainly put me to work. We plan to list it later this week. I spent the majority of last week and all this weekend packing the items we won't necessarily need for a couple of months and put them in a storage unit...also some furniture and other clutter to clear so the house would be better staged for showing. I had a pine straw guy come out and make our landscaping look a little nicer and I have a cleaning lady scheduled later this week.

It has just been a whirlwind...and it's all happening so fast.

I'll keep y'all updated on the progress, and I'll definitely try to be more present this week on the blog, however, there really is just a lot to do, so I'm going to do my best.

Anyway, here are some pictures from the last week...

Farrah is old enough for the race car shopping cart, which makes Breckin very happy.

Loves her blanket...will just go lay down if I lay it out.

Waiting for friends? Take a selfie to pass the time. It is definitely time to dye my hair dark again.

Have a great week, y'all!

Follow

Linking Up With:

Mondays: Life Of Meg // Still Being Molly // Lipgloss & Crayons // B Loved Boston // Fizz & Frosting // More Pieces of Me

Tuesdays: Bless Her Heart Y’All // 2 Cats & Chloe // Style Elixir // Designed Décor // Enjoy The View // Olives 'n Wine // Confident Twosdays

Wednesdays: Pampers & Pearls // Fitness Blondie // Because Shanna Said So // The Pleated Poppy // Get Your Pretty On // Let It Be Beautiful // Tucker Up // Pumps & Pushups // Shopping My Closet // Cappuccino & Fashion // Classy Yet Trendy // Book of Leisure

Thursdays: Home of Malones // East Coast Chic // Living In Color Style // Stylin’ In St. Louis // What I Wore To Work // What Wives Wear // Look What I Got // ThrowBack Thursday
Fridays: Hello, Happiness! // The Good Life // A. Liz Adventures // Carolina Charm // Lauren Elizabeth // Meet @ The Barre // September Farm // The Farmer’s Wife // All The Joys // Momfessionals

Not Moving After All

I know my posts have been far and few between the last few weeks. As you might know, we put our house up for sale a month ago and as of today, decided to officially remove it from the market.

We spent a good few weeks getting things cleaned and organized, as well as moving out clutter to a storage unit. Unfortunately, despite how nice our home interior looks compared to others in our neighborhood, it just didn't look like we were going to get the {fair} price we wanted and needed. Knowing that the area is up and coming - a new K-8, high school as well as nature trails are planned in the next couple years - we thought it best to just sit on it a few more years and then it will be worth our while to sell, and we can probably get something even better than we could right now. Luckily, we aren't in a position where moving is necessary, though I was excited at the prospect of a larger home. However, I feel a weight has been lifted off my shoulders for a little while...and I can focus on what's really important - preparing for the arrival of this baby girl in a few weeks.  {Plus, now I get to actually finish the nursery and put things on the walls!}

Anyhow, I do plan to get back on a regular posting schedule - this once or twice a week stuff just ain't cuttin' it, right? I can't believe we are pretty much in the home stretch with this pregnancy. Just shy of 7 weeks to go now...and my hunch is that it will be a bit less, maybe 5-6 weeks, based on my history. Here I am yesterday, at 33 weeks on the dot:

I can tell you I am soooooo ready...as if you haven't heard that already. I think I was ready around 7 weeks. What can I say? I miss wine...and normal exercise routines. No but seriously, we've got all the big stuff taken care of and it's all just waiting for a baby to inhabit it.

Now that we've taken the house off the market, as well as had some realtors give us some feedback on our place, I've got a little "to-doozy" list I've worked up for things Jake and I need to do, now that we plan on staying. Many of which I will end up sharing on here once complete. Here's the list so far, in no particular order {as I like to hold myself accountable by sharing this kind of stuff with you}:

1. Repair Garage Door {Right now it doesn't work electronically and hasn't since we've owned the house. We've just lived with it by locking it manually and raising/shutting manually as needed.
2. Build Fence Next to White Picket Fence {neighbor's} for privacy and sake of not having to view their yard {it's a rental home, so sometimes an eyesore}. The rest of our yard we have already fenced.
3. Paint Stairwell and Upstairs Hallway to match the living room {my hubby was lazy about this when we painted the living room, but this portion is long overdue for a paint job and will create a cohesive look, while also making it brighter up there.
4. Redo Master Closet. We really could stand to add some shelves or racks on the other side that is just a blank wall. I think it will make better use of the space.
5. Upgrade Laundry Closet - Nicer shelving, maybe cabinets, a fun, bright paint color, etc.
6. Backyard Landscaping - We need to do a little something out there.
7. Build a Small Storage Shed - I'd really like to store our lawn mower and other gardening tools in something like that rather than the garage and maybe some of the larger kids' toys, so our yard doesn't always look in disarray.
8. Put Lattice Around the A/C Unit. This will keep the dog and the kids away from it, and help prevent unnecessary damage. I'd die if my dog started chewing important cords and coils.
9. Replace Toilet Seats. I know, yuck, right? I keep a clean toilet, but the actual seat {not the whole unit itself} in each of our bathrooms just seems dingy. It's a quick fix and something I just need to do already. {I'll spare you of me sharing this one on the blog. You're welcome.}
10. Get My DIY Projects Going - specifically painting the wooden high chair, painting the bar cart, etc. This will obviously be after I have the baby.
11. Finish Nursery - Mostly just need to add some art to the walls and set up some toy storage.
12. Reorganize Office Closet - so it can function both as office/craft storage and a coat closet.

Happy Friday - Enjoy Your Weekend!

Find Me and Follow on Facebook, BlogLovin' Twitter & Instagram 

Add my RSS Feed to your Reader
 See where I like to Party.

Project: Kitchen Update

I've not been a fan of our kitchen situation since the day we moved in back in 2008.

The only things we had really done since then were adding a wainscot on the walls and installing a cauffered ceiling. So other than those things, we were left with plain ol' builder-grade maple cabinetry, a formica countertop in a hideous blue speckled color, a run-of-the-mill stainless steel sink and faucet, a linoleum floor and backsplash-less walls. Bleck. {Don't even get me started with how the kitchen doesn't even entertain to the living room...makes our whole space feel small...but that can only be resolved by purchasing a new house.}

A week or so back, I posted this little picture as a clue to a project we were working on:

Well, if you guessed it was a backsplash, you were correct!

Not only did we do a backsplash, hubby got a bunch of free granite as a kickback from one of his construction jobs. All that had to be paid for was getting it measured and cut to fit, and getting an under-mount sink {as well as new faucet!}

So take a look at our kitchen now:

Now, we're by no means done with this space. I've still got a laundry list I'm working on, but glad to have marked a few things off {only took 4 years to get moving}! But I really like how it's coming along and I can't wait to have the vision in my head realized. Here's the plan:

KITCHEN UPDATE TO-DO'S
1. Granite Countertops
2. Under-Mount Sink
3. Backsplash
4. Paint Cabinetry {White}
5. Paint Walls {Light Gray}
6. New Flooring {Ceramic Tile}
7. New Rugs
8. Curtains for Back Door
9. New Wall Art
10. New Accessories/Accents {Pops of Pink/Yellow?}


Look forward to keeping you updated along the way!

Find me and follow on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram 

Add my RSS Feed to your Reader

Painted Doors Galore!

I don't know about you, but I am loving the trend of brightly painted doors I am seeing across the web via Pinterest, blogs and the like.

via

 I'm loving it so much, I'm dying to paint my own! (I've been scouring our HOA's governing documents to see if there's anything that rules against it.) And it's not just the bright paint I love, I am seeing such creative ways to display house numbers! I've seen everything from vintage metal, mix-and-match, painted wood to vinyl prints. (If it turns out I'm not allowed to have a bright, bold color on the door, I will at least be making some stylish house numbers!)

via

via

Loving the "Established..." sign above the door on that one.

via

via

via

Well, so on to contacting my HOA to get the low-down on painting the front door rules. And then, hopefully, deciding on a color and a fun crafty project for the house numbers!

Do you have a fun front door? Link it up in the comments, I'd love to see it!