The House Itch

ta da!

2010-11-29T14:45:00.001-08:00

for the foyer

2010-11-22T08:55:00.000-08:00

We bought this "hall tree" yesterday at Pier 1, and it comes in today! It will be so nice to have a place to hang our coats during the winter AND I'll finally have a spot for my purse & keys!
I'm also just really excited to finally have a piece of furniture to decorate our foyer! Any ideas of how to accessorize with it? Do y'all think a floor lamp next to it would look cute?

I'm thinking of a decorative pillow on the bench part, then maybe a potted plant next to it. OR a cute little umbrella stand like this:

Other ideas?

our halloween porch

2010-10-11T09:04:00.001-07:00

decorated for fall.

2010-10-04T17:45:00.000-07:00

I don't think this looks any different than last year, but here are some pictures of our house decorated for fall!

FALL!!!!

2010-09-15T14:11:00.000-07:00

I am finally letting myself get excited about decorating the house for FALL!!!! I found these online at Horchow.com, and I think I might make some...

Because guess how much these 3 cost??
$195!!! WHAT!?!?

back yard

2010-06-28T09:20:00.000-07:00

Here's what our backyard looks like right now...
I really want to get rid of the hot tub (We've used it ONCE), so we can put the table & chairs under the arbor. Oh... if only someone would just steal it.

:)

kitchen inspiration.

2010-05-11T14:22:00.000-07:00

Oh, WHY can't I have a cheery white kitchen!?!?!

before & after

2010-04-15T09:23:00.001-07:00

Just a little comparison of how it looked when the previous owner lived here vs. how we have decorated since we've lived here...

before:

after:

I'm pretty satisfied :)

house tour....

2010-03-30T06:39:00.000-07:00

I realized I haven't posted any pictures of what our house looks like lately...and since I cleaned up, I decided to take some pictures! Enjoy this little tour! :)

This is the view of the dining, kitchen & living room from the door to the garage...

Another view of the dining room *and Scout*

Breakfast nook *and Scout*

Standing at the kitchen bar, looking at our "guest hall" with the bathroom, laundry room, linen closet and 2 guest rooms...

The guest bath. I really want to paint the cabinet white.

The finished guest room (looks about the same as before)...

The former "junk room"... now the "empty room" or Queso's room...
Will someday be the nursery.

View from the breakfast nook...

Just bought these new kitchen rugs to spice things up.

View of the living room from the dining room.

I forgot to take pictures of our bedroom, but it looks exactly the same as before anyway :)
I WISH I took a picture of our garage because we TOTALLY cleaned it out! So much more space now!

Anyway, hope you enjoyed this little tour... This will be good for when we do major work around the house, so we can look back and see how far we've come. We feel so blessed to have this home though. Sometimes I just stand around looking at it, and I feel so thankful.

the nursery!

2010-03-25T11:45:00.000-07:00

Haha... I bet y'all are confused.

We are a WHILE away from reproducing, but is it weird that I already know what I want our nursery to look like??? I mean... I have already PLANNED it. Am I crazy?

here is the (surprisingly) gender-neutral bedding that I LOOOOVE.

just check out this adorable mobile.
this is the paint color. yes, i'm insane.

...and i'm in love with this print that I'd get framed.

these are just IDEAS, people.
(mom & dad, no gossiping please.)
:)

BLINDS!

2010-03-24T06:32:00.000-07:00

Before... Lots of brown bamboo blinds...

In process... already looking better...

Viola! beautiful!

Before... more icky brown bamboo vertical panels...

After! So much brighter!

In process...

Ugh... so dark...

LOVE!!!!

I think this has been my favorite update so far :)
Now I want to add blinds in EVERY room!

flowers in our side yard

2010-03-16T07:31:00.001-07:00

Yesterday on our anniversary, I looked outside our dining room that looks onto our side yard, and noticed that there is a tree/bush thing that's blooming with these gorgeous flowers!!! How fitting as we start a new year of our marriage!

Any idea what they are??? :)

**Edited to add: They are pink magnolias!
This will look soooo cool when this tree gets really big!

the breakfast nook project

2010-03-08T11:26:00.000-08:00

Okay, my next order of business is to update the breakfast nook a little. We've done absolutely NOTHING since we moved in.

This table belonged my grandmother (Mimi), so it's sentimental, but I'd like to refinish the whole thing to a dark brown... My first choice would be to paint it white and do some distressing but Ryan has a major problem with white furniture. Go figure.. Regardless, I'm not a huge fan of the current hunter green legs and the light wood top.

The valances were left here by the owner. While I think they fit the windows nicely, we're not crazy about the Asian-style print, and we think we could do better. I'm thinking a dark red color with a pattern?

The bamboo blinds will stay, I'm pretty sure. I actually don't hate them on these windows...

A rug is in question. I think the room is big enough that it could use a rug under that table, but Ryan thinks rugs in the kitchen are weird.

So vote in the poll (on the right) about whether you think we need a rug or not.
Your vote will seriously help this debate!!!!

halleluyah!!!!

2010-03-01T09:42:00.000-08:00

I feel like that person who says "NO MORE WIRE HANGERS!!!!" but instead its...

no more bamboo blinds!!!

That's right... yesterday I finally bit the bullet and ordered faux-wood blinds to put in our living room and dining room! Say goodbye to our ugly bamboo vertical panels!!!!!!!

The new ones will be delivered in 2 weeks, and then we get to install them!
Wish us luck! :)

the torture couch.

2010-01-07T11:01:00.000-08:00

We've had this couch since I lived in my teenie tiny efficiency apartment in Las Colinas. Sooo that would be about 3.5 years. Usually couches should last a lot longer than that, but we have spent every single day (and some days up to 12 hours) on this couch.

We LIVE on this couch. We eat, we nap, we lounge, we cuddle, we spend time on the computer, we watch tv, we hang out with the pets, etc. This couch is where we spend the majority of our life at home (besides the bed).

Why we love this couch:

The neutral chenille hides dirt, spills and stains.
When you take the back cushions off, it's as wide as a twin bed (great for cuddling).

Why we are shopping for a new one:

Friends call it the "torture couch" because you sink so far down that it's impossible to get out.
Some springs have broken, so the bottom cushions are uneven.
You can't sit comfortably with the back cushions on. They are too poofy and make you sit up too straight.
It is HUGE but doesn't hold that many people (4 at most).

Basically, it has just become uncomfortable to sit in. Which isn't good when we spend so much time on the couch. We are thinking we want a sectional so we can seat more people since we entertain pretty regularly...

I like this sectional from JCP, but I'm not sure about slipcovered couches. Also, I think we need a more "living friendly" color that hides dirt. We spend a LOT of time on the couch. Any recommendations?
I also like this one from Pottery Barn, but it's twice the price, and I'm not sure that microsuede would be the best fabric for us... What do y'all think?

Couches are SO hard to shop for!!! For us, this is a MAJOR purchase, and it's very important to find the right one. Argh!

Does anyone LOVE their couch? If so, where did you find a great quality one?

bedroom!!!

2009-12-14T12:39:00.000-08:00

Remember what our bedroom looked like when the previous owner lived here?

And then, remember our sad little bedroom?

Well...
BOOM! Check it out now!

We had to send one nightstand back because it was damaged, so we'll be getting that tomorrow, and it'll go on Ryan's side. Also, we're trying to figure out what to do with that random corner that has a lamp there. I'm thinking a sitting area some day. We'll see!

I can't wait to get draperies, fun decor for the dresser, and put some pictures on the wall!

We love it!!! Yay for JCP!

christmas time!

2009-12-07T12:54:00.000-08:00

We are all decorated for Christmas!!!

...and we had our first snow!!!

We are so blessed to have this home.

P.S. Coming soon: Pictures of our new bedroom furniture that arrived!

hello?

2009-11-12T08:42:00.000-08:00

We haven't done a single thing to the house in a while. Mainly because we're waiting until the big purchase of our BEDROOM FURNITURE at the end of the month!!!

So until then, thanks for keeping up with us, and hopefully we'll have something fun to post soon!

big blank wall.

2009-10-22T08:37:00.001-07:00

We have a few walls that are big and blank. And I don't want to just stick a big picture or mirror on it. Any ideas for filling it up?

I like the idea of a photo wall like this...

paint color.

2009-10-09T13:02:00.000-07:00

So I had a thought today. What if we painted our master bedroom a rich, chocolate brown? We have white/khaki bedding, and we could add crown molding and some white curtains to lighten it up... These are some inspirations...

I think our room is big enough with enough windows to not make it too claustrophobic.
Although, I'm second guessing myself and thinking it may be too dark and cave-like.
Thoughts???

more fall on the mantel.

2009-10-05T11:49:00.000-07:00

the fall porch.

2009-10-01T13:35:00.001-07:00

I just want to say that I love having a house with a porch. Remember this post from last year where I was lamenting the fact that our little apartment didn't have a porch and those with porches shouldn't take it for granted??? Well I just want y'all to know that I DON'T take it for granted.

I am so happy to have a porch.

diy project.

2009-09-30T11:58:00.000-07:00

I have a new project. I'm going to make a thingmabob to hold all of my earrings. I saw one at a store today, and I asked if they sold them there but they said no. They said that it would be super easy to make one though if I just bought a cheap frame from Hobby Lobby and then some mesh from Lowes.

I may even use an old window and have it turn out something like this:

We'll see! I'll let you know how it turns out!

options.

2009-09-29T13:04:00.001-07:00

So I took off the option to click "not my fav". Apparently I get offended when someone doesn't really care for my new guest bedroom, and I only like to see good things. Yes, that makes me one sided but this is my blog so there. Ha. :)

update!

2009-09-28T14:07:00.000-07:00

Well, besides decorating for fall (which I posted about on our other blog), we really haven't done anything new to the house. Hence the lack of posting. We got Ryan's ginormous TV, but that's about it.

We are on the verge of buying our bedroom furniture though!!!!! I went to JCP today to talk to them about ordering it, and I found out that if I order from the store, they'll deliver AND ASSEMBLE the furniture for just $100 extra. Which is TOTALLY worth it to me since there's like 8 pieces of heavy wooden furniture we'd need. But, I found out that "Associate Day" is in November, and I'd get 20% off the whole set as opposed to my usual 10%, and that would save us hundreds of dollars. So, we're going to wait until Associate Day to make that purchase I think.

I'm really wanting to paint a room though. Maybe our bedroom? We will see. :)

reading nook.

2009-09-16T13:38:00.001-07:00

Our bedroom is huge. This was one of our must-haves when we were looking because our apartment's bedroom was TINY. Now we have enough room for our king-size bed, bedroom furniture and an area for a reading nook. (The lady who owned the house before us had a full-size couch in there...so I know we have enough room for a corner nook.)

So I've been searching for "reading nook" inspirations because I've found that if I have a picture to go off of, then I know what styles/colors look good together. Here's what I've found so far.

I like the general color hues of this room... I'd need a more comfortable chair though.

soooo cozy. i like the patterned chair & ottoman.

something about this photo just pulls me in. so fresh & light.soothing color combo.i like the cozy feel of this too.I definitely think I'm leaning more towards the chaise lounge or oversized chair idea. I'd need a way for me to prop my feet up and curl up. Can't really do that in a lot of the chairs above.

love this chaise.

this is a fun chair too.
love this jcp chair too.
Can't wait to have our bedroom finished!!!

more on the guest room decor...

2009-09-14T12:49:00.000-07:00

I've added a few more decorative accents to the shelf in the guest bedroom. I had most of these things still in boxes because I didn't have a place for them. I like it...seems a bit country though!!!

We are totally "that couple" who has pictures of us two EVERYWHERE. Well, we don't have kids yet, so this is how it's going to be! :)

DIY: mirror refinishing project

2009-09-12T20:19:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago my mom called me and asked if I would want one of her old mirrors... She said if I didn't want it, she'd just give it to someone. So I said heck yea!

Nice big mirror huh? Wasn't crazy about the gold finish, but Mom saved the day!

She brought some supplies for refinishing the mirror and making it look like silver. So we got to work. And by "we" I mean Mom did all the work while I took pictures :)

Here's Mom rubbing the silver rub-on stuff on the mirror...

Starting to look more silver...

There's the crafty mom, herself.

The finished product!!! There's still some gold peeking through which is what I wanted :)

Looks perfect in the guest bedroom!

For those of you wondering what product we used, it's a little tube called "Rub-n-Buff" and we used the Silver Leaf color. A little goes a LONG way. That whole mirror took up barely anything from the tube.
There ya go! :)

the finished guest bedroom.

2009-09-08T18:27:00.000-07:00

Remember what it used to look like?

Well, take a look at this little beauty.

I absolutely LOVE the way this duvet set (from Target) turned out!

I got the lamp shade for $6 at Ross, and the base for about $20 at Target.
Also, those flowers are picked from our yard. How domestic! :)

I'll post pictures later of the mirror my mom and I refinished and then hung in this room.
It looks perfect in there! Everything is really coming together! :)

help the mccradys: volume 4.

2009-08-31T12:01:00.001-07:00

I need help.

I was one click away from purchasing this bedding set from Target. I really love the damask print with a hint of stripes, and I especially like the rich turquoise color because it obviously goes well with dark wooden furniture (and we have a lot of that). And its fresh, clean, cool and pretty.

On a whim, I decided to google the name of this bedding and see if anyone had posted another picture of it. Here is what the actual color is. While it is still very pretty, I just don't like it the same. It almost looks tropical now. Do y'all think this would still look good with our dark brown furniture? Could I style it so that it wouldn't look like you're spending the night in a Hawaiian hotel? Help?

our sad bedroom.

2009-08-30T19:20:00.000-07:00

exhibit a:

notice the icky bamboo panels, the blank walls, lack of bed frame or matching nightstand.

and here we have more icky bamboo panels, a full-length mirror on a box, mismatched dressers, and a way-too-small tv that looks miniscule when sitting on the bed.

and here's a close-up of how i wait for weeks before hanging clean clothes up.

ryan's "night stand". or other people call it a stool.

my nightstand and fan on a stool. we are classy!

just keeping it real! can't wait for matching furniture!

wish list top 10.

2009-08-25T13:46:00.000-07:00

We haven't done much to the house that's blogworthy, but we DO have a mighty-fine list of things to do and things on our wish list.

1. Blinds and drapes for the living room & dining room. I hate, repeat HATE, these bamboo panels. (I know they're expensive...I write them for a living!!!) But it's just the farthest thing from our taste. I can't wait to get them off of our windows and have nice blinds and some pretty curtains on either sides of these big windows.

boooo bamboo panels!

2. Bedroom furniture. I have resisted taking pictures of our bedroom because it is SUCH a sad room at the moment. We don't even have our nice comforter set on because it's been so hot. So basically our room has blank walls, mismatched dressers and night stands, just our bed without a frame, white sheets and down comforter, and that's about it. So sad! I'm really wanting furniture to make it feel more like home AND so I'll know where to hang pictures! I'd also like a sitting area (since our room is big enough) so I'll have a place to read my books and my Bible.

maybe this chaise for the sitting area?
can't you see a cozy little table & floor lamp for reading?

3. Guest bedroom furniture. I'd really like an upholstered headboard like this:

4. Umbrella for the patio. I built the patio table all by myself, so now all we need is a coordinating umbrella. Like this one?
5. Note: This is on RYAN'S wishlist... not my own. Just to clarify. He wants a bigger TV for our living room so that we can move the 40" one to our bedroom. I say we have a lot higher priorities at the moment.
6. Dining room table that seats more than 4. We haven't used this table once since we've been in the house. Most of our guests eat in the breakfast nook since it holds 6 people. I'd really like at least a 6-seater for our dining room furniture. And of course a matching buffet/hutch wouldn't hurt either.
7. Paint. I don't know what room to paint yet, but I know that I'm already bored of the off-white walls in every room. Maybe we could paint a guest room? Or our room/bathroom? We will see.

8. Garage organization. Right now our 2-car garage only holds my car and a bunch of junk. We'll need to organize it once the weather cools off so we can fit both of our cars in there...It'll be especially important when it gets into the freezing months so that Ryan's care won't ice over.
9. New hardware and fixtures. Everything is brass. So we may just get a new doorknob every month until our house is updated!
10. An area rug. Not sure if it would go in the dining room or the living room, but that "great room" definitely needs some color on the floor.And there our current wish list. It keeps growing and growing!

bedrooms

2009-08-20T11:26:00.000-07:00

here's what i like about these bedrooms from house beautiful.

interesting headboard & fresh color palette with crisp white linens

clean lines, soothing color choice, cool headboard

cozy & fresh at the same time

the green, white & blue together...super fresh.

natural light & light yellow. yum.

whitewashed. feels like a cottage.

love the headboard. *and our bamboo panels would work apparently.

not feeling the pink; but i love the canopy.

really like the green.

and this is probably how we'll end up decorating it...
our whole house is basically exactly like this.
cozy, warm, lamps, candles, wrought iron...

which one is your favorite?

all in a day's work.

2009-08-20T10:55:00.000-07:00

ah, homeownership.

yes please.

2009-08-13T08:11:00.000-07:00

I would like to go on a vacation to wherever this little bench is.

i'm calling it right now.

2009-08-11T12:25:00.000-07:00

If we don't use this happy little hot tub at least 10 times during our first year, then I want to get rid of it and put our patio furniture under the arbor instead.

Because I'd really like to hang little lanterns or candles for festive parties. :)

Can't you just picture it?

I am slightly excited about climbing in on one of those (few) really cold nights this winter.

How cozy & romantic :)
There will definitely be twinkle lights regardless...you can bet on that.

light & airy guest bedroom.

2009-08-11T08:27:00.001-07:00

We may be having someone stay with us in a few weeks(!!!)...but there's a tiny problem. Our guest bedroom currently looks like this:
Yep, there's not a thing in there besides that shelf. My full-size mattress & box springs from college are at my dad's house, so once we move that to our house at least she'll have a place to sleep. :) But I'd really like to make it as inviting and comfortable as possible (not just a mattress on the floor).

This is a really exciting time because we can totally decide how we want to decorate each room. Part of me wants to have the guest bedroom be very light & airy... with whites and blues and all light colors with a padded headboard and sheer curtains. The other side is thinking more cozy, warm with lamps, quilts, etc.

But for now, here are my light & airy inspirations:
I may post my cozy/warm guest bedroom inspirations later. Until then, would YOU want to sleep in these rooms??

new feature

2009-08-10T14:36:00.001-07:00

I've added a new feature! See what it is right below this post!

dear hobby lobby,

2009-08-10T11:00:00.001-07:00

It is August. Early August.

So why...oh why...do you insist on tempting me with your fall decor goodness?
It's hard enough being in a new house and wanting to buy EVERYTHING IN SIGHT to decorate with...and I'm doing really good with the "not buying anything we don't need" thing...
but then I see these pumpkins...
and I smell the spicy candles...
and I get sucked in...I can barely resist!!!
I almost bought THIS and carried it out with me.
No! It's August! I can't buy autumn stuff until at LEAST end of September!
Come on!!

patio table & chairs

2009-08-10T08:35:00.001-07:00

Well we tackled the patio chairs yesterday...Definitely took all day, and a few bad words, too. But here are the chairs and their half-price cushions :)
The box from Garden Ridge said this was supposed to be $299.99. Let me remind you we got it for $99. After putting this all together, I'm glad we paid the discounted price! We'll hopefully do the table this week. My fingers are hurting from that darn Allen wrench. Yikes.

pictures around the house...

2009-08-06T07:41:00.000-07:00

the vines on our arbor are blooming!

and so are the beautiful flowers by the fountain...

i bought some little fake apples at target for $1...
they add a little more color.

and some pears for $1, too.
they add that green color i was needing without buying fake plants :)

scoutie's enjoying the window.
i can't STAND those bamboo panels any longer!

the living room view from the dining room.
not a huge fan of the fan but it's expensive and very level...ah well.

the guest bathroom so far. my dream is to paint the cabinets white and add some pretty new hardware but we'll save that battle for later.

and there was your little mini tour! :)

tick tock.

2009-08-05T11:17:00.001-07:00

So, I'm looking for a big clock to place on one of our big walls in the living room... We already have some big framed pictures and a large mirror, so I thought a clock might be something different and not as obtrusive.

Here are a few that I'm liking. Feel free to let me know if you've found any, too!

roman numeral clock

black & antiqued red clock

decorative metal clock

patio furniture.

2009-08-04T06:54:00.000-07:00

Did you know that patio furniture is really expensive? I had no idea. That's been probably the biggest shocker to me as of late. I had originally thought that for a really good 5-piece set (table and 4 chairs) that it would be around $100. And it would look like this:

Ummm yeah... this one is $1000.
Two words: holy crap!

Have I been hiding under a rock my whole life? How did I not know that patio furniture is REALLY expensive??

Even Walmart is selling this set for $399--way more than I was prepared for!

Thankfully there is a place called Garden Ridge.

I made Ryan meet me after work yesterday, and we walked around looking at patio furniture for a good hour because...all of their outdoor stuff was on major sale!!!
We found this basic black wrought-iron set for only $99!!!
It's perfect for right now...I just wanted SOME kind of seating outside since we have such a nice backyard, and we are out there every night with Scout. So, for right now, this is a great little set that will provide some seating without breaking the bank!

AND Garden Ridge is having a 50% off sale on all their outdoor cushions, so I'm going back today after work and purchasing 4 cushions for a great price!

AND their umbrellas are only $6!! May be purchasing one of those beauties too :)

color splash: green

2009-08-03T07:36:00.000-07:00

The Inspired Room has done it again... I'm in LOVE with these green-accented rooms...especially the KITCHEN!!

front door.

2009-07-30T09:20:00.000-07:00

It's amazing how much more "homey" it feels with our new wreath!

new wreath.

2009-07-29T11:03:00.000-07:00

I bought a wreath very similar to this just now on my lunch break.

It was $9.99 and originally $40. Yay Joann's!

Is it crazy that now I want to paint our front door black so that the wreath will pop?
It's currently off-white...I guess it will have to do :)

PAINT.

2009-07-27T08:10:00.001-07:00

Breaking news: Ryan has agreed to let me paint!!! Here's the plan:

I would eventually like to paint the "big room" which is the entry, living and dining room...(all of these have the same connecting walls, and it would look really weird to paint one and not the other). However, I'm thinking I should start with a smaller room first to get my feet wet--not literally. No paint on the feet please.

So, maybe our bathroom? I'm wanting this color basically throughout the whole house...with the exception of the kitchen. It's called "Tobacco Road" and it's perfect for creating a warm atmosphere, making molding stand out, and without being too dark.

Here are some examples of rooms using "Tobacco Road".

Now imagine this color in our bathroom:

Thoughts?
*YES, we are putting tile in the bathroom eventually.

our "new" bathroom shelf!

2009-07-22T18:07:00.001-07:00

This is one resourceful little table, don't ya think?

reflective spaces.

2009-07-22T13:37:00.000-07:00

Check out these "reflective spaces" from Architectural Digest...wow...

this last one is my favorite.
...who wouldn't love that???

the table of many uses.

2009-07-19T21:23:00.000-07:00

college apartment... use: bedside table.

first "big girl" apartment out of college...use: end table

latest apartment...use: entryway table

guess what we use it for now?

mantel from my iphone last night

2009-07-15T07:35:00.000-07:00

Thanks for the advice for a bigger picture on the mantel! It definitely helped a lot!

faux-plants...

2009-07-14T14:55:00.000-07:00

So, what is your stance on fake plants for decor? I've always been a bit against it... HGTV pretty much drills it in your head that they are "tacky" but I keep seeing design blogs that have some fake greenery! I'm thinking that may be exactly what my shelves are needing--a little color.

see, these are my shelves on the jcp website. there's greenery!

set of 3 ball plants from target? jeez--$129.99???

hydrangea bouquet from jcp?

ivy ball topiary from walmart?
potted grass from c&b?
potted wheat grass from amazon?
thoughts?
tacky?
any other ideas where to find these?

accessorizing...

2009-07-13T16:25:00.000-07:00

This is totally not my forte. I finally, after 2 weeks, started to unpack all the decorative stuff from the boxes in our guest rooms. This is what I've done so far...basically just thrown stuff on shelves. Feel FREE to comment and give me any constructive criticism of what you might do differently.

dining room before:
(i hate those bamboo panels, for the record.
they will be changed out for blinds & drapes.)

dining room after:the mantel. (we'll actually hang the picture)

the entry.

what would you do differently?

bedroom furniture

2009-07-07T14:29:00.000-07:00

Y'all would laugh hysterically if you could see our bedroom right now. Here's a picture of how the owner decorated it.
But for us, our bed is on the right side wall, and our mismatched dressers and 25" TV are on the opposite wall. We don't have anything on the window wall yet. The funny part of this scenario is that the TV is too far away for our blind eyes to see from the bed. So, we've done the natural solution: we've pulled the TV and stand about 6 feet from the wall. So when you walk in you see the back of the TV, cords dangling 6 feet, in the middle of the room. Hey, you gotta do what you gotta do.

I'm not complaining though. Because, in the apartment we literally had only 1.5 feet around all sides of the bed..and that was the whole room.

So I'm really enjoying all this new space!

Now we just have to get furniture (and Ryan says we need a bigger TV)... hmmm..
Here's the furniture I like from jcp of course.

foyer solution??

2009-07-06T08:58:00.000-07:00

This bench from jcp with a big picture above it and maybe a lamp like that??
Ohhhh I love ideas.

help the mccradys: the foyer.

2009-07-01T16:11:00.000-07:00

Hello, and welcome to our foyer. The first impression of our home.

Stylish huh? Can't you just feeeel the look we were going for?

To the left is the garage. To the right is the hallway leading to the 2 bedrooms, guest bath and utility room.

It doesn't look like it from the pictures, but it is a rather large foyer. And I literally don't have ONE thing that looks good there.

Here's what it looked like before we bought the house:

I've tried to find a cool console table or mirror or something, but I'm not having any luck.
Any ideas?

new light fixtures!

2009-06-29T14:16:00.000-07:00

Well, I totally had a plan...and it totally went out the window when I saw all the amazing light fixtures at Lowes! The plan was to buy a new one for the dining room and then spray paint the existing fixtures to match it. Well, how can you turn down three MATCHING fixtures for the dining room, breakfast nook and kitchen? You can't... that's how.

Here's the dining room before and after:
before: (click to make larger)...this was her Japanese glass fixture that she took with her.

after: this is our new one from Lowes! (#3 on the lighting post)

here's the breakfast nook:
before: lovely brass.
after: rubbed bronze! much better.

and the kitchen pendant...
before: (click to make larger) brass
after: matchy matchy!

It's amazing how lighting can TOTALLY change the look & feel of a home!

connected!

2009-06-29T12:34:00.000-07:00

We're finally all moved into our house! We had our first night sleeping here last night, and we got our cable/internet set up just now! I'm so glad to be connected to the world again! The big move yesterday went off without a hitch...thank goodness! We were just in awe of how blessed we are to have amazing family that help us in our time of need :) Now, we'll be unpacking, setting things up and decorating. I'll be sure to post lots and lots of pictures!!

the perfect weekend for moving, eh?

2009-06-24T20:04:00.000-07:00

Lord, maybe a few droplets? Or at least a breeze?

dining room table

2009-06-23T17:38:00.000-07:00

I really want this dining room table set from jcp. Really.

the plan.

2009-06-23T13:25:00.000-07:00

Well we have a plan now which makes me feel better :) We are officially closing on Thursday at 3pm. Which is only a day's delay so that's not too bad now that I've heard about some of you being delayed for weeks!! So that means we'll get the keys to our home on Thursday evening!!! I've said it a thousand times already but it remains true: I'M SO READY FOR THIS TO BE OVER. To take a breath, relax, and focus on moving rather than all this legal junk. Now it just looks like we have to wait for about 48 hours more until this home is ours! Hooray!!!

frustrated!

2009-06-22T17:36:00.000-07:00

Well our closing date got delayed. Instead of being on Wednesday, it's now "hopefully" Thursday. Apparently "this happens a lot" in this process, but that doesn't change me being annoyed! It's for reasons that are totally out of our control, which is frustrating because if I was in control, we'd be done by now! I'm so ready to have all this junk done. This is definitely my least favorite part of the home buying process. All this waiting, paperwork, terms I have to strain to understand, etc. ANYWAY, if y'all could please pray that everything goes smoothly and that we'll be signed, sealed & delivered on Thursday, that would be GREAT!!

Thanks, friends :)

help the mccradys: volume 3

2009-06-22T07:56:00.000-07:00

So, our seller is taking her formal dining room light fixture with her when she leaves...which is fine with us because it is an antique Japanese-inspired glass fixture which is obviously not our taste, and it obviously means a lot to her anyway. SO, that will be one of the very first purchases we'll be making because we can't have a dining room without a light fixture! :)

This is actually proving to be one of the harder decisions for us because whatever finish this fixture is, we'll want to make all the other ones in the kitchen and living room match. (Remember, they're all brass so we're going to be spray painting them for a more modern and unified look.) We can't decide between brushed nickel (an opaque silver) or oil rubbed bronze (a dark brown) look. I think we're both leaning toward the latter, but who knows.

Here are some that I like...
And, just for kicks, since we're closing in 2 days, here's a glimpse of what our dining room looks like. Remember that basically everything in this picture will be different :) We're changing the window to have blinds and pretty, long draperies, we're probably painting the walls, we'll have a long dark brown dining room table and chairs, and we'll most likely have a matching cabinet to go with it. Oh, and eventually hardwood floors and a pretty rug. Just to name a few...

Thoughts?

mental accessorizing...

2009-06-19T12:24:00.000-07:00

These are the items that I'm wishing for in our living room after we've settled and have some more monetary cushion :)

This sectional from the good ol jcp.

This rug from Target.

Since our living room windows are facing west in the evenings, we'll need some good thermal window coverings to keep things cooler. I'm loving these from jcp.
Maybe we'll get them in the foxtail orange or chocolate color..or maybe toffee.

Annd... I kind of like this lamp from... you guessed it...

the walk through

2009-06-19T07:13:00.000-07:00

Last night's walk through went really well! We didn't find any issues at all, and it was really fun to walk around and imagine what our furniture will look like! The seller was there, and she graciously showed us all of the landscaping, hot tub, sprinkler system, etc. so we'd know how to do everything. She is this really cute little old lady, and she said that she knows "the house will love us" and she was so excited that we'd be starting our lives together in that home. She said that the house has seen a lot of love and she hopes we can continue that tradition. :)

She told us all about the neighbors (there is a young couple with 2 very young children living next door!), and she left us a ton of information about the house. It was really great to talk with her, and I'm so thankful we have such a nice and welcoming seller to deal with. I know most people don't even meet the seller when they're buying a home, but I'm glad we did!

We were so encouraged after the walk through, and it made everything we've been going through totally worth it! I had forgotten how much I loved the house, so it was good to get a reminder! :)

Now I just have to finish packing... woohoo! :)

big days coming up...

2009-06-17T12:29:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is our final walk through of our home! I can't believe it's here already! Basically we'll just walk through it and make sure that everything is up to the standards from inspection. I sincerely hope there aren't any issues. We're bringing along Ryan's mom because she has a LOT of experience with these walk throughs (they were an army family that moved around a lot).

I think the seller will be there too so we can ask her any questions we have... aka how to work the sprinkler system and how to landscape her beautiful yard! Stuff like that. I'm excited to see the house again...as silly as that sounds :)

7 days from now is our closing date! We'll be going on our lunch break because apparently it only takes about 45 minutes to sign your life away! And then I'm taking Thursday through Monday off for vacation and to get moved/settled.

Whew... I'm glad I got a lot of relaxation time in the last few weeks because the next few ones will be a doozy!

office inspiration

2009-06-17T11:32:00.001-07:00

We will have 2 extra bedrooms, and 1 will be used as an office. I've been looking around for inspiration, and here are a few office examples that I love :)

I think the first picture is my absolute favorite. I need that Roman shade pronto.

black out.

2009-06-16T06:54:00.000-07:00

So, funnily enough, one of our top priorities once we get all moved in to our house is to get

black-out curtains

for our bedroom. Sure, we could have gotten them before now, but we didn't want to spend money on curtains that may or may not fit our future home's windows. And we both LOVE to sleep, but it gets too bright in the mornings. Thankfully our bedroom will be facing the west in the mornings so it won't be as bright as it could be..but still. We want blackout curtains.

Do y'all have any recommendations?

JCP is obviously what we'll probably use...what with my fantabulous discount, and the fact that they pretty much specialize in window treatments...Oh and I WRITE about them each and every day, so I know what the good ones are. But, I'd like to know if any of y'all just adore the ones you have... so let me know!

Until then, I wouldn't mind having this instead:

a ball of nerves.

2009-06-15T06:50:00.001-07:00

So, it's crazy to think that a month ago we weren't even really looking at houses yet. And now, we close on our very own home in 9 days! Ummmm talk about fast moving! As excited as I am about finally being in a house, I have to say that I miss sleeping soundly and not thinking about money every second of the day. Ever since this all started, I haven't really relaxed yet. I've just been a big ball of nerves worrying that something will go wrong, and somehow we'll lose it all (the house and all of our money).

I know that's silly, but this is a BIG DEAL. A huge deal. We're buying a house. And on June 24th, we'll sign a thousand sheets of legal documentation saying that we are now responsible for that house. And we'll hand over a very hefty cashier's check for that house. I know that millions and millions of people go through this exact life stage, but it doesn't make me any less nervous or freaked out about the responsibility we're about to take on!

I think I'm just ready for this whole process to be over and to finally LIVE in our house. There has been soooooooo much documentation, faxing, scanning, emailing involved with all the mortgage stuff and pre-closing details....I'm sick of it! I'm ready to be in our house and not worrying about printing off all of our pay stubs or signing a gajillion sheets of paper. Ya know?

Is it "normal" to be so nervous about the closing date?

P.S. I don't think anyone hates filling out tax forms as much as I do.

this is me...

2009-06-13T17:00:00.001-07:00

...continuing to ~~force the subject~~ state my desire for white cabinets and yellow walls in our kitchen. it's my blog; i can be really annoying and persistent if i want to :)

let's all picture it together, shall we?

the breakfast nook

2009-06-08T11:33:00.000-07:00

I'm really excited about our breakfast nook. It's connected to the kitchen, and it's surrounded by a bay window that looks out on to the backyard. Ever since we started thinking about this house, I've been daydreaming about enjoying my coffee and laptop in this room :) I'm thinking I'd like to paint this area (as well as the kitchen) a light yellow to cheer it up... Here are some inspirations!

This one isn't yellow, but I'm loving the Roman shades!

P.S. Just so you can picture it... here's the picture of our actual breakfast nook. Yes, those are Japanese decals on the wall. Don't worry--they aren't there anymore! :) Basically the whole house is currently decorated with a tropical/asian/bungalow look....which will soon be turned into our Pottery Barn-esque look. What do you think about yellow in this room?

packer's block.

2009-06-06T12:51:00.001-07:00

We close on our house in 18 days.

There are 2 years of stuff, furniture, wedding gifts, clothes and junk to pack up.
You do the math.

I'm literally sitting here and looking at all of our stuff, and I can't make myself pack yet! I don't know what the deal is! We technically don't have to be out of our apartment until August 10th, but we really want to live in the house as soon as possible... Argh.

Any advice on how to get my lazy, procrastinating self to get up the will to pack?
I've heard the whole "do it room by room" thing, but that's not working either.

buying a house is really expensive.

2009-06-05T17:55:00.001-07:00

I knew this going into the whole process, but what I wasn't prepared for was the unexpected expenses that keep popping up...and we haven't even moved yet!

First it was the down payment. Great, good. We know about this.
Then it was the closing costs. Ummm alright... a bit more than we were expecting but still fine.
THEN it was paying for the inspection and appraisal. Really?

Oh, and then the loan application, title premium, homeowners insurance, option fee, paying for all the start-up fees for utilities, the list goes on.

I'm a little overwhelmed. This is only my 2nd freak out since this whole thing started, so that's not bad right?

I have to keep remembering that this is EXCITING. See? We're getting THIS house:

Remembering to breath...

we got a lawnmower!

2009-06-03T19:03:00.001-07:00

I know this doesn't really have a lot to do with our house, but I'm just super excited about this. And, for the record, I never ever thought I'd be excited about something like this but I am.

Jason and Angie (my step-aunt & uncle?)... anyway, they're selling us their lawn mower and weed eater! This was something Ryan and I had been semi-anxious about because we didn't have either one, and we would definitely need it when we move into our house!

They're really good quality, and they gave us a STEAL of a deal! YAY!

(Umm... have fun with that, Ryan) :)

Isn't she a beauty? I think I'll name her.

help the mccradys: volume 2 & update

2009-06-02T06:33:00.000-07:00

This volume 2 of "help the McCradys" is focused more on DIY (do-it-yourself) projects...

1.) Almost all of the light fixtures, fans, etc. in our house are in a brass finish. Have y'all heard of any kind of spray paint or something to refinish all the brass into a brushed nickel look? Have you had any experience (good or bad) with that? I remember seeing it on HGTV but now I don't remember the process :)

2.) Have any of y'all had experience putting up crown molding? This is totally not a "must-have" but it would really make the house look finished. I've seen online that there are kits for that, but would y'all recommend hiring someone? Have y'all tried to do-it-yourself? What were the results?

3.) We're getting a kitchen table and chairs from my grandmother (Mimi)'s house. However, the legs are currently a sage green and the top is natural. What color should we re-paint it in? Y'all have seen the kitchen, so what color do you think would "go"? To give you an idea of paint color in there, I'm really wanting to paint or living/dining/kitchen (all open to each other) a light yellow.

4.) As mentioned, our master bathroom has carpet in it because the seller's husband had arthritis and didn't want him to fall. However, we want to put ceramic tile in there. Have y'all ever done this before? We have access to a wet saw... which is scary enough :)

Okay that's all for now... see the update below from last week's edition!

Update from volume 1:
THANK YOU SO MUCH for all the input on our last "help the McCradys" post! All of the calls, texts & Facebook messages have helped so much!!!

As of right now, we're not going to do any big projects right away. My mom is being gracious enough to get our house professionally cleaned as well as having a carpet cleaner come out because "it's gross to live on someone else's carpet". I had no idea :) But other than that, we're going to move all of our stuff in, get unpacked, and then live there for a while as we decide what projects are really important to us vs. what we can live with for a while longer. The carpet is in wonderful shape so we don't need wood floors right away, as much as we'd enjoy them.

I've also heard that there are a lot of random necessities that pop up after you move into a home, so I don't want to spend all of our money on aesthetic stuff when we really need those other random items.

Thanks again for all your input!!!

community perks!

2009-05-30T17:50:00.001-07:00

We're moving into the house just in time for those reeeeally hot summer months. But good news! We have a community pool! We will SO being using that.

And I'm excited about our park & walking trail! We may not need the playground quite yet, but it will still be nice to take strolls with Scoutie in the evenings...

I guess these perks make up for our HOA dues?? :)

help the mccradys: volume 1

2009-05-29T05:52:00.000-07:00

Okay, we need a little help. I'm listing out some questions and hopefully a few of y'all can give us your never-ending wisdom!

1.) We'll have a month of being in both the apartment and the house, paying only the apartment rent because our first month's house payment isn't until August 1st! So, how would y'all recommend moving?
Should we:
a) do it all at once in one day so it's over (we can clean the apt. later) or
b) just move the stuff we need first to the house and then slowly go through the stuff we dont' need later at the apartment and get rid of stuff

2.) Our main living room which goes into the dining room has carpet. We'd like to eventually get hardwood floors in that area, but we also need a dining room table, patio furniture, ceiling fan, light fixture, window treatments...the list goes on.
Should we:
a) get hardwood floors down before moving and get furniture later or
b) just move everything in and focus on the furniture for right now (worry about wood floors later)

3.) We close on Thursday June 25th. I'm taking the Thursday, Friday and Monday off to get our house all of our utilities set up. I'd really like to get in the house and clean before we move anything in. Just to give it one good clean (especially in the bathrooms, kitchen, etc.) before we start living there. I'd also really like to paint our living room/dining room walls before we move our furniture in, but Ryan thinks we could wait.
Should we:
a) clean, paint, and get everything settled before moving our furniture in or
b) just clean, move all of our stuff in and then worry about painting later

4.) This is just a personal taste thing, but Ryan and I are disagreeing on what our kitchen should look like. First of all, this kitchen is a dream. It's so large, there are tons of windows looking out to the backyard, and there's SO much counter space and cabinets. However, Ryan and I are not satisfied with the cabinets. Ryan wants to stain them much darker for a rich look, and I want to paint them white for a fresh and open look. Check out the picture below for a good look. This is the only picture of the house's interior we'll show until we can move in.

P.S. That's linoleum that we'll change to ceramic tile eventually. It's just not super high on the list of priorities at the moment. And we'll get new appliances someday, too. And granite. And a new light fixture. And paint. What color paint? That's another question entirely. :)

Should we:
a) stain them darker for a rich look or
b) paint them white for a fresh and open look

Okay, that's all for today. Help! Thanks!

hummingbirds & butterflies.

2009-05-27T19:34:00.000-07:00

We're in the process of getting the seller to give us instructions on how to keep her gorgeous landscaping looking beautiful. Yesterday at the inspection, I got the chance to take more pictures of the front and back yards. The seller showed me her hummingbird feeder that she's leaving with the house, and there were actual hummingbirds buzzing around it! Gorgeous! Also, she had some plants that attract butterflies, so I literally felt like Snow White in the pretty meadow with butterflies and hummingbirds! :)
I can't wait to sit in our breakfast nook with the bay window and drink coffee while looking out at the gorgeous backyard... ahhhh can't WAIT!

P.S. I know y'all are wanting to see pictures of the inside, but we're waiting until we can get before & after pictures because the seller's decor and ours is WAY different! All in due time. Until then, I'll be posting about design inspiration and decor ideas. Yay!

HOORAY!!!

2009-05-27T12:59:00.000-07:00

The seller agreed to pay for that one issue we had from the inspection, and it's now fixed!!!!

We had signed in our contract that if she'd fix what we requested, then we'd waive the rest of the 10-day option period so she wouldn't be worrying that we're going to back out and she can stop showing her house to other people...

So that means that we're officially getting this house! AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

Until we close on June 25th, we'll be getting everything in order to move! We'll get to do one final walk through on the day before just to make sure everything was taken care of, and then it's a done deal! I can't even believe it!!!!!!!

Thank you Lord for making this part easy!

good news for now!

2009-05-26T11:33:00.000-07:00

The inspection went great. The guy said "our" house is in GREAT shape. Excellent, in fact. All of the big expensive issues like foundation, heating/AC, and roof were fabulous so that's great to hear.

There was one issue that we're asking the seller to fix, and hopefully she does so she can get this wrapped up! But even if she doesn't, the inspector said we shouldn't be out too much money to fix it.

Anyway, that's exciting! I'm thrilled that it's such a great house and in really great shape. :) :) :) I'm ready for this 10 day option period to be over with so we can start planning!

home inspection today!

2009-05-26T07:02:00.001-07:00

Please pray for our home inspection this morning! Ryan can't be there because he has to work but my sweet Dad will be joining me!

Please pray that the stupid Texas foundation doesn't rear it's ugly head in our home!
Please pray that there's nothing super seriously wrong because I really don't want to walk away from this lovely home.
Please pray that if there's anything to be fixed that our seller would graciously pay for the expense (and not think about all those other offers waiting behind us)!

After this last hurdle is over, we can finally start getting REALLY excited and REALLY know that this is our home. And then the greatness of packing, utility set-up, etc. can start! :)

things i'm really excited about:

2009-05-23T17:00:00.001-07:00

Just a few things I'm looking SO forward to with our new house:

a yard so that Scout can run and play...and we won't have to walk him every few hours!
a fireplace for cold nights and to hang our Christmas stockings on!
a huge master bedroom so we'll have more than 2 feet on each side of our bed!
2 extra bedrooms to have an office and guests over!
a garage so we won't have to scrape ice off our cars during the winter!
an attic to store all of our junk!
walk-in closets in every room!
a patio so we can finally grill out!
double our square footage!
a place to finally call our OWN!

our soon-to-be house!

2009-05-22T16:19:00.001-07:00

Long story short, we put down an offer on this house last night, and the seller accepted it today! There were SIX other offers RIGHT after ours, but we were the first so we made the deal! It is PERFECT for us, and we're thrilled!

I'll tell y'all the whole story as soon as I can stop shaking from excitement!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(P.S. Y'all were so right. House #1 was totally the one for us!)

kid's rooms

2009-05-22T08:46:00.001-07:00

Something we've been forced to think about as we're looking at houses is bedrooms for our future children. Crazy! But aren't these adorable?!

dilemna.

2009-05-21T11:38:00.000-07:00

We went to go see 2 houses today, and we are TORN between them! They both have something the other doesn't have... which means if we combined them we'd have the perfect house! But no... things don't work that way.

So I've made a pro/con list for each house. Of course. Check it out. :)
(Click to make larger)
Thoughts? Which should we pick?

man i wish my husband liked white.

2009-05-21T07:14:00.001-07:00

we may be looking at this one too:

2009-05-20T07:46:00.000-07:00

It's only 1650 square feet which is pretty small for us & a kiddo someday. BUT did you see those hardwood floors? And the crown molding? And the arbor/deck in the backyard????

overwhelmed!

2009-05-19T18:33:00.001-07:00

Okay, here's the deal. Apparently we're in the "hot zone" for home buyers right now. Aka everyone and their MOM is out looking and more importantly BUYING houses at this very minute. Not only because of the 8K tax credit and low interest rate but because this is the time of year that people always buy. Didn't know that. Would have liked to know that before now.

All that to say is, I don't know if I'm cut out for the competition! Literally on Sunday when we were driving through neighborhoods and picking up the flyers from people's houses for sale, there were people right behind us doing the EXACT same thing. Ummm sorry, that's OUR house that WE'RE looking at, thank you very much.

Houses are entering and leaving the market as quickly as a day! Today a really cute house became available, and our realtor wanted us to go look at it because "it might go fast. As in, tomorrow". Ummm I'm working late tonight? So does that mean we'll miss out on the perfect house because I had to work? ARGH!

If you can tell by even the landscaping of this house, you'd see that it's definitely a must-see. We're seeing it on Thursday, but who knows... it may be gone by then.

I just don't want to rush into this whole deal. I mean technically we've only been seriously looking for 5 days now. Ummm not quite ready to sign some papers quite yet. But then I don't want to be sitting on October/November with the Dec. 1st date (for 8k tax credit) looming and feeling rushed to buy a house THEN either.

Dilemna.

bummer.

2009-05-16T21:06:00.000-07:00

I told our realtor about that house (below), and she said it's already under contract with another buyer. It was on the market for FIVE DAYS! Jeez! Talk about making a quick decision. I don't know if I'm up for that kind of speed!

I must confess that I got a little too excited about that house, though. Probably more than I should have. I mean, one minute I was just looking at how far away it is from our current location (6.5 miles), and the next minute I was researching the closest elementary school!

It was probably good to experience a little heartache this early in the game so we can get used to it :) I'm sure it's one of many houses we'll like that doesn't work out. Let the rollercoaster begin!

today's find.

2009-05-16T16:38:00.001-07:00

We may go look at this house with our realtor in a few days! What do you think? It's a corner lot that's only 11 minutes from our apartment right now.
3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 1 study, 1750 square feet.

dining room & study:

breakfast nook & kitchen:living room:master bedroom:

guest bath. no pics of master bath :(

bedroom 2:

bedroom 3:

backyard:

P.S. Our lender says we could easily be in a new house by the end of August if we wanted.
Ummmmmmm HOLY CRAP.

What do y'all think of the house? Any red flags, things to think about?

p.s.

2009-05-15T14:02:00.000-07:00

I'll be posting a lot more potential houses on here since we're going to be looking a lot more!

jumping in the deep end!

2009-05-15T13:54:00.000-07:00

Well, our first meeting with the realtor (Susan) went great! She has a lot of energy, and she's going to be a great help to us on our first home buying experience. She definitely knows what she's doing--that's for sure.

She set us up with a lender, and after both of us talked with him on the phone today, we definitely have a good idea of the price range we can afford, which is encouraging. At least we have something to shoot for because we really didn't know before. So now we can focus our efforts in that range, and hopefully something will pop up!

Apparently we were looking at this all wrong. Of course :) I was wanting us to have a big down payment so our monthly payments wouldn't be so bad. Well we were told to put down as little as possible since the interest rates are so low. Better to keep "more in the bank" according to our lender. So the good news is, if we wanted to buy a house tomorrow, we'd have enough money for a down payment in our price range!

That's crazy cool! We're not rushing anything though. Our apartment lease is up in August, and if we have to we'll do month-to-month. But, the $8,000 tax credit for new home buyers is only effective if you close on a house before Dec. 1 of this year, so we still need to hustle a little! BUT--if it's not God's timing, then we'll just do without the tax credit. We just want to do things the right way and the way that's comfortable for us.

How exciting that we could be in a house by Christmas time though! Not getting too excited yet :) :) :)

first meeting.

2009-05-13T18:17:00.001-07:00

We're meeting with a realtor tomorrow. Eek!

Now, this is by NO means an indication that we're ready to seriously start looking yet. We've still only saved up a little over 1/2 of what we'd need for a 10-15% down payment. However, we wanted to talk to a professional and see if we're on the right track when it comes to our expectations and how we're saving. Just to make sure we're aiming for the right goal. And it couldn't hurt to tell her what we're looking for so she can keep a look out in the future.

She (the realtor) was given rave reviews by a couple of our friends, so we're really excited to talk with her!

today's find on ebby.com

2009-05-05T13:52:00.001-07:00

3 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom, 1817 square feet.

Things I like: built-ins in the living room, backyard (with swing!), bathroom fixtures.
Things I'm not crazy about: kitchen cabinets/appliances, carpet everywhere.

Thoughts?

what do you think???

2009-04-23T09:07:00.000-07:00

3 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom, 2080 square feet in Allen, TX.
Definitely within our price range, so we could add hardwood floors on the first floor...

Don't judge by the decor... :)

curb appeal:

living room:kitchen:

formal dining:

formal living?

bedroom 1:

bedroom 2:

master bedroom:master bath:

backyard:

Thoughts?

We've saved up about 1/2 of what we need for a down-payment, so I'm feeling the itch again :)

2 months later.

2009-03-20T13:27:00.000-07:00

hi :) still here. still looking at ebby.com several times throughout the week. still saving money and not ready to be "officially looking" yet. but we're on our way! i can't wait to update more frequently about actual homes we see and like :)

color splash: bedrooms

2009-01-22T08:03:00.001-08:00

Julia from Hooked on Houses posted some FABULOUS bedrooms in all different colors...Go check out her website now! There's so much awesome inspiration for home decor, architecture, etc.

Which color is your favorite?? I'm in love with all of them, but the brown is just fabulous.

stating the obvious.

2009-01-20T13:23:00.000-08:00

I'm lacking inspiration for this blog at the present time. As of January 1st, we started officially saving all of Ryan's paychecks for a house down payment, but I'm pretty sure it's going to take longer than we first thought before we can actually start looking. I want to have at least 10K more than the 20% down payment so we can use it for closing costs, odds & ends, maintenance, etc. So, needless to say... it's going to be a while regardless of how great Ryan's doing. So because of that, my inspiration is a little lacking because I know we have plenty of time to figure out what we're looking for. {And, to be honest, the layout of my new cubicle at work doesn't let me do as much blogging as I used to because people are constantly looking over my shoulder--suck!}

I have full faith that we can start the official "looking" process (meeting with realtors, talking to mortgage companies, etc.) this time next year. So this year will be a saving year. I'm okay with that. I'd much rather be smart and have the money before jumping in too quickly and struggling to meet our monthly payments. Amen?

Anyway, sorry (to the three of you who read this) for my lack of posting... Maybe soon I'll get inspired again. But right now, every house I see looks exactly the same as the others. bleh.

outdoorsy

2009-01-14T07:13:00.000-08:00

The cold dreary weather outside makes me daydream and wish it was summer... Oh, and that we had a house. With a back porch. Similar to these :)

swanky...

2009-01-06T13:14:00.000-08:00

Here's some pictures of the J.Crew Creative Director's home... so stylish! Now I know why the clothes are so cute! :)

ahhh bedroom fireplace....

love the yellow striped ceiling!

hello dream closet.