Hi everyone!
So, the landscapers were out on Monday and Tuesday to finish up the yard. We, along with half the country are getting rain, and lots of it. It started yesterday and by Thursday we will get FOUR inches!! From scouring the internet, a little rain after seeding, awesome. Four inches after seeding, not awesome. Plus the hay/straw they put down MAYBE covers half the yard anyways. So my question is, anyone else with a similar experience? We were already planning on putting a little more seed down ourselves along with starter fertilizer this weekend, but I feel as if the whole darn yard needs to be redone! What seed didn't wash away won't have a fighting chance since too much water stunts the germination process, from what I understand. Am I being ignorant to the process or smart to call the PM and request some more work? Don't worry, if I'm being ignorant, please tell me, I will not at all be offended!!
On a bright note, the basement is dry as a bone through this so far! This is happy news!
The garage door opener is getting installed today. We practically STOLE a Chamberlain chain drive with On Q compatibility from Home Depot. You can sign up to get daily deals emailed to you and they actually have some great ones. We also saved a ton on LED bulbs through this too.
There is just so much to do and think of once you move in! I already feel like the building process was the easy part! Going into a previously occupied home, it already had the little things I take for granted completed. Not complaining, it's fun to do and nice to be able to do it how we want it. But girlfriend was naive! I guess I figured butterflies would appear and a unicorn would stroll through the neighborhood making it all perfect. Ok ok ok, I am being a bit dramatic, but you get the point :)
Wednesday, April 30, 2014
Monday, April 28, 2014
Few pics..... and a chainsaw!
Hi everyone!
As promised, some pics. The ones of the house are actually from the day after moving. The house should really start to come together the next few weeks and will continue to get some pics up. I think I'm gonna steal the idea of "top 20" things I love to keep me blogging and motivated to keep chugging along so that thing I love will also be pic worthy....2 birds, 1 stone!
We noticed a HUGE settlement crack in the garage yesterday, it looks terrifying! Got a call into the PM.
They came back out today and worked on the yard, no seed yet but ran another machine over it and raked, looks much better! But not as good as grass, trying.... to.... be.... patient.... They also cleared all the debris we pulled out of the wooded area, there was/is still so much dead stuff in there. Still alot to do but it already looks better. We now have up 3 or 4 bird feeders and several suit blocks- it's literally a little sanctuary in our back yard, so peaceful.
I'm terrified to put a hole in anything, anyone else have this problem? We have so much stuff to hang and I bought these GORGEOUS cabinet/drawer pulls, but the thought of it makes my cringe. I'll get over it, just takes one, right?
Totally stole from other blog's the idea of photos of the hands turning the key for the first time, it was so worth it, I love it!
The night we closed, my husband told me I was gonna learn to use some tools, and boy have I! See, why were the blinds easy to me but hanging a picture seems so scary?!
Kitchen love!
We are going to call this morning room part one. I have curtains and rods to hang plus a couple cans of black polyurethane to re-do the table, stay tuned!
Fam room! LOVE the look of burlap curtains, not loving the fibers that keep falling off of them!
If you need a washer and dryer, run out and buy these NOW! They are amazing!
See, lots of power tools this past week! I think my husband felt a mix of fear and pride :)
Next up pic- the loft! Getting some furniture delivered this week and will hopefully be pic worthy by the weekend. See, already working, it will just have to be so I can start my top 20!
If anyone can pass any words of wisdom of making those first holes, especially in the cabinets, I'm all ears!
As promised, some pics. The ones of the house are actually from the day after moving. The house should really start to come together the next few weeks and will continue to get some pics up. I think I'm gonna steal the idea of "top 20" things I love to keep me blogging and motivated to keep chugging along so that thing I love will also be pic worthy....2 birds, 1 stone!
We noticed a HUGE settlement crack in the garage yesterday, it looks terrifying! Got a call into the PM.
They came back out today and worked on the yard, no seed yet but ran another machine over it and raked, looks much better! But not as good as grass, trying.... to.... be.... patient.... They also cleared all the debris we pulled out of the wooded area, there was/is still so much dead stuff in there. Still alot to do but it already looks better. We now have up 3 or 4 bird feeders and several suit blocks- it's literally a little sanctuary in our back yard, so peaceful.
I'm terrified to put a hole in anything, anyone else have this problem? We have so much stuff to hang and I bought these GORGEOUS cabinet/drawer pulls, but the thought of it makes my cringe. I'll get over it, just takes one, right?
Next up pic- the loft! Getting some furniture delivered this week and will hopefully be pic worthy by the weekend. See, already working, it will just have to be so I can start my top 20!
If anyone can pass any words of wisdom of making those first holes, especially in the cabinets, I'm all ears!
Saturday, April 26, 2014
Closing+moving+unpacking=exhaustion!
Hey everyone! We didn't disappear, but man oh man is this exhausting. It's not like I haven't moved before, but when now its YOURS, what a different mindset you have! I typically like Home Depot/Lowe's, but if I see the inside of another one in the next 24 hours, I may lose it!
Closing went well. For the homes in Chester County, they contract an outside service to close. It's funny, the NVR office was right down the road from the apartment, but instead we drove out by the house for them to pay someone else to do it, whatever! But I'm so happy they did. This lady sat down and explained so much to us that I'm not sure NVR would have done. I guess I don't know that for sure, but yes, I feel confident assuming on this one haha! One of the things to check on is the current tax assessment of the neighbors- so when we get ours we can find out if we should appeal or not, and yes, she told us how to do this! She also gave us recommendations of who and when to refinance once our 5 year rate lock expires. She was awesome! Closing was painless, maybe 1.5 hours and that's it. Off to the house to hang blinds and take the Keurig. I NEED to know where that is at all times to function! So I had a candle and lit it. We make it ALL the way back to Philly and realize we don't remember if we blew it out. I'm not joking. So back in the car we go, and the new house is 50 miles from Philly, to find a perfectly blown out candle! With Hubby being a fireman for 15 years, all the pleading and begging I could have done for "oh, it's fine, we blew it out" he would have never fell for it! So back to the apartment we go, to arrive at midnight and be up at 630 the next day for movers. Not complaining, we said we would look back and laugh at this, I'm not there yet, but I'm sure we will :) Once closing was over and I stopped freaking out (like I was HARD CORE freaking out, poor hubby), you couldn't wipe the shit grin off either our faces!
Friday, moving day! Movers arrive right on time and we had an estimated 11 hour day. With driving and all, they banged it out in 7 hours, I love them! And money back in my pocket! Not a scratch on a wall and everything in its place. They were so amazing and they remembered us from before. So one of the movers started talking about when his sons were struck by a car several years ago, he brought up this random detail of the event that triggered something in my hub's mind and he's like "was it at X and X intersection in front of X church?" Come to find out, my hub's was the medic for his son and help saved his life, he was banged up pretty bad. This man got to shake my husbands hand and thanked him over and over. It was SO moving and touching- it's just not something that happens in such a large city with such a big system. So off the movers go and UPS pulls up. Off UPS goes and Comcast pulls up. Like clockwork people! Finally around 6pm we are STARVING. Oh crap, where do we eat? There is a whole lotta nothing out here! There is a shopping center about 5 miles down the road that has a Chili's. Our first reaction, ugh. We don't do chain restaurants. Living in Philly, we had that option, living out in BFE, not so much. So we order and as we are eating, the people at the table next to us get up to leave and the man approaches us and asks if we would be offended if he helped pay for our dinner and gave us a $20. OMG! What generosity! We will pay it forward at the right time. Then to Home Depot where this guy literally escorts us around the store to find everything we need, I mean the entire time, he was so nice. He asked hub's why he limps and comes to find out, he use to work with physical therapist's and gave Hub's a bunch of exercises to do! Then to top it off, he lives down the road from us and gave us his number- anytime we need some help with the house, give him a call! I don't know about any of you, but I have NEVER experience people so nice, NEVER ever! I needed a sign that moving 50 miles out of the city was the right thing, and um, I think this day was a great sign. My husband and I were speechless on the way home that night. The kindness from other people. We put the $20 on our fridge to remind us that just by being nice, what a difference you can make in someones day. I can be a big ol B sometimes!!
So far the yard people have come out and ran some machine over to smooth it out, it does look much better. But from when they initially cleared the lots and this machine- there was SO much dead fall at the edge of the lot. I spent one evening dragging it all out and good news, PM says the yard guys will take it! They are suppose to be out today with another machine and to hand rake, but I doubt they will since it rained last night.
Something was wrong with the microwave- it made a HORRIBLE sound and didn't heat the food. Called PM and he said call GE and he will be out later. GE guy showed up in an hour as well as PM. All fixed and purrs like a kitten, wasn't mounted right or something....
Started a punch list with a few minor things we have found. But still, nothing major. A few of the corners in the kitchen look crappy and the basement slider doesn't really slide.
We have a few more things being delivered next week, so I hope by next weekend I can get the house squared away to show some pics. I do have 3 pics from last Saturday on my phone- I will get hubs to put em on the computer so I can share. The kitchen was settled and the total minimum of the fam room and morning room. I needed some function to the place and quick! Hubs father and step mother are moving out of the country in a few weeks, so we unpacked ALL our boxes yesterday to give to them for their move. Crap is EVERYWHERE!
Closing went well. For the homes in Chester County, they contract an outside service to close. It's funny, the NVR office was right down the road from the apartment, but instead we drove out by the house for them to pay someone else to do it, whatever! But I'm so happy they did. This lady sat down and explained so much to us that I'm not sure NVR would have done. I guess I don't know that for sure, but yes, I feel confident assuming on this one haha! One of the things to check on is the current tax assessment of the neighbors- so when we get ours we can find out if we should appeal or not, and yes, she told us how to do this! She also gave us recommendations of who and when to refinance once our 5 year rate lock expires. She was awesome! Closing was painless, maybe 1.5 hours and that's it. Off to the house to hang blinds and take the Keurig. I NEED to know where that is at all times to function! So I had a candle and lit it. We make it ALL the way back to Philly and realize we don't remember if we blew it out. I'm not joking. So back in the car we go, and the new house is 50 miles from Philly, to find a perfectly blown out candle! With Hubby being a fireman for 15 years, all the pleading and begging I could have done for "oh, it's fine, we blew it out" he would have never fell for it! So back to the apartment we go, to arrive at midnight and be up at 630 the next day for movers. Not complaining, we said we would look back and laugh at this, I'm not there yet, but I'm sure we will :) Once closing was over and I stopped freaking out (like I was HARD CORE freaking out, poor hubby), you couldn't wipe the shit grin off either our faces!
Friday, moving day! Movers arrive right on time and we had an estimated 11 hour day. With driving and all, they banged it out in 7 hours, I love them! And money back in my pocket! Not a scratch on a wall and everything in its place. They were so amazing and they remembered us from before. So one of the movers started talking about when his sons were struck by a car several years ago, he brought up this random detail of the event that triggered something in my hub's mind and he's like "was it at X and X intersection in front of X church?" Come to find out, my hub's was the medic for his son and help saved his life, he was banged up pretty bad. This man got to shake my husbands hand and thanked him over and over. It was SO moving and touching- it's just not something that happens in such a large city with such a big system. So off the movers go and UPS pulls up. Off UPS goes and Comcast pulls up. Like clockwork people! Finally around 6pm we are STARVING. Oh crap, where do we eat? There is a whole lotta nothing out here! There is a shopping center about 5 miles down the road that has a Chili's. Our first reaction, ugh. We don't do chain restaurants. Living in Philly, we had that option, living out in BFE, not so much. So we order and as we are eating, the people at the table next to us get up to leave and the man approaches us and asks if we would be offended if he helped pay for our dinner and gave us a $20. OMG! What generosity! We will pay it forward at the right time. Then to Home Depot where this guy literally escorts us around the store to find everything we need, I mean the entire time, he was so nice. He asked hub's why he limps and comes to find out, he use to work with physical therapist's and gave Hub's a bunch of exercises to do! Then to top it off, he lives down the road from us and gave us his number- anytime we need some help with the house, give him a call! I don't know about any of you, but I have NEVER experience people so nice, NEVER ever! I needed a sign that moving 50 miles out of the city was the right thing, and um, I think this day was a great sign. My husband and I were speechless on the way home that night. The kindness from other people. We put the $20 on our fridge to remind us that just by being nice, what a difference you can make in someones day. I can be a big ol B sometimes!!
So far the yard people have come out and ran some machine over to smooth it out, it does look much better. But from when they initially cleared the lots and this machine- there was SO much dead fall at the edge of the lot. I spent one evening dragging it all out and good news, PM says the yard guys will take it! They are suppose to be out today with another machine and to hand rake, but I doubt they will since it rained last night.
Something was wrong with the microwave- it made a HORRIBLE sound and didn't heat the food. Called PM and he said call GE and he will be out later. GE guy showed up in an hour as well as PM. All fixed and purrs like a kitten, wasn't mounted right or something....
Started a punch list with a few minor things we have found. But still, nothing major. A few of the corners in the kitchen look crappy and the basement slider doesn't really slide.
We have a few more things being delivered next week, so I hope by next weekend I can get the house squared away to show some pics. I do have 3 pics from last Saturday on my phone- I will get hubs to put em on the computer so I can share. The kitchen was settled and the total minimum of the fam room and morning room. I needed some function to the place and quick! Hubs father and step mother are moving out of the country in a few weeks, so we unpacked ALL our boxes yesterday to give to them for their move. Crap is EVERYWHERE!
Monday, April 14, 2014
Final Walk Through
We had our final walk through today and it took about 3 hours. I was a mess this morning, I was all fidgety and anxious. I guess I was expecting to walk in and a gorilla pop out of a closet or something! But it was the exact opposite. I know I've given shout outs before to our PM, but I need to send a shout out on steroids! He said don't worry about the small stuff, he's got it- well he is no liar! It was immaculate! Just gorgeous. I saw my husband looking at everything hard core and all we found was one nail sticking out of the spindles and balusters base plate to correct. My husband isn't easy to impress and he's quite the Mr. Fix It, so he knew things to look for. He told our PM more than once how amazed he was. Walls, perfect. Kitchen, perfect. Every room, perfect. It's kind of funny, our PM didn't like the word perfect, he doesn't think that is realistic, and I applaud him for that actually. He did an amazing job of explaining everything from the get go about what to expect along the way. I know we will find stuff, it's the name of the game, but I can't say enough how overly impressed I am by our completed house. But I will stop talking, because what speaks the most is the pics! Even though it has my husband's trademark stamp, I actually took all of these- so apologies for lighting and such, he's much better at that sort of thing!
I LOVE the kitchen. The combo of colors turned out wonderful! I love how in different light the cabinets can look lighter or richer- we have calico cabinets!
Kitchen from morning room
From morning room looking into Fam room and the doorway is the mud room
Morning room *sigh* so pretty!
Looking into Fam room from the kitchen
Stairway
Spindles and balusters!
Mud room- hard to photograph!
Front entry
Front room
Spindles and balusters! We initially asked for cherry, then asked for walnut with cherry and we got the PERFECT combo of cherry walnut. Again *sigh*
From the corner of the loft
Looking down the hallway
Bedroom 1/Tiny's room
Bedroom 2/Scoot's room (how "like totally horrified" would my teenage step daughter be if she knew I called her Scoot on the internet for all to see, hehehehe!
Spare/kid's bath. Photo bombed- but hey, the house knows up front we are a rock and roll type o' family (note to Pink Floyd t-shirt)
Spare/kid's tub
Owner's closet- this pic does zero justice!
Owner's
Owner's bath
Owner's bath
Looking down the hall from the Owner's suite
Deck, LOVE! It's bigger than I thought too!
From deck
View from deck. Ok, so it's not so pretty now, but when it greens up *sigh* this was so important for us coming from the city, I can't wait to see song birds at the feeders and chipmunks down below!
So that's it! Now we continue to finish packing, we are almost done. Closing is Thursday at 1pm and we will head out to seal the grout and hang up some blinds. Get this- we are now to get a refund at closing!! Then the movers and Comcast come on Friday- so as long as no one judges me for the mess and the mass amount of decorating we have in the upcoming years to do :), I will get some more pics up with furniture. I know how much that makes a difference for the space, colors, etc. We are so excited, I want to vomit on most waking hours, haha!
So that's it! Now we continue to finish packing, we are almost done. Closing is Thursday at 1pm and we will head out to seal the grout and hang up some blinds. Get this- we are now to get a refund at closing!! Then the movers and Comcast come on Friday- so as long as no one judges me for the mess and the mass amount of decorating we have in the upcoming years to do :), I will get some more pics up with furniture. I know how much that makes a difference for the space, colors, etc. We are so excited, I want to vomit on most waking hours, haha!
Saturday, April 12, 2014
The house is finished!
We received a text from the PM yesterday along with the pic that the house is DONE!!! Wooo Hoooo! OK, I have to confess, we snuck back out but we weren't able to go inside, so I'm justifying it to myself that we stuck to the plan :) We have packed like crazy people and are almost done, we pretty much have to navigate through paths of boxes in our tiny apartment, but it's SO worth it! Who knew you needed GPS in your apartment! We are so excited, nervous, anxious.... I can't seem to come up with the proper emotion to thoroughly explain it all! So the walk through is Monday and we will post some pics up then closing on Thursday. I get the delay, so they can fix any "defects" we might have, but knowing she is just sitting there waiting makes it hard! We are gonna hit some of our favorite spots this weekend- Fairmount Park down the crick and the Schuylkill Center because we have a bet with ourselves to try to not come back into the city for at least a year. Of course the exception is a hopeful Flyers game and doctor appointments. Until Monday :)
Saturday, April 5, 2014
Packing... And gratitude!
We knew it was coming... packing. I think we were in denial! It hit home last night that we have 2 weeks and we need to get on this! This is oh so not fun, but it is time!
Hubby spoke to the PM yesterday and got a quick update... Kitchen is done, well except the microwave still needs to be installed. The deck is completed and all the flooring is in. Monday they will pour the driveway, then they dry wall guys come back and painters to follow. Wednesday is slotted for inspections. I'm dying to go out, I really am! But at this point, an hour commute each way isn't very realistic. So I'm sticking to the plan of the big reveal, for now :)
I debated sharing a short story... this is however the internet for all to see. But I learned in my short years that it's so easy to complain about the bad and the ugly, but inspiration and hope is just as important. Hey, you never know who is reading or who might be sitting next to you that your story can help change theirs for the better. So, long story as short as possible.... Rewind a few years to 2011 and we were getting married. It was a great, no stress day, we did simple. My husband was starting to have some bizarre symptoms and shortly after we got married, the doctors started a battery of testing and he couldn't work any longer. He officially retired quite young and the hunt to find the answers was on! So many doctors, so many tests, so many scary moments... the Lou Gherig's testing period was the scariest! After several very bad diagnoses and a plethora of doctors, I went on the hunt for a specialist. And I found him. Dr. K changed our lives. He properly diagnosed my hubby and gave him some quality of life back. He still has bad days, but those good days, man are they good and we cherish them. When my husband had to stop working, we were renting a house with the plans to buy it. So out of that house we go and into yet another apartment. We had to quickly accept the fact that we wouldn't never get the dream of owning a home. Doctors are expensive and even with health insurance, it's not cheap! We stumbled into the RH community by looking at places to rent to try to call a home. That's when it became so clear that we can do this, there are programs like FHA loans that we CAN do! This home is so much more than a home to us, it is hope. It gives us a comfort we never thought we would have and the amount of gratitude we both have, well there are no words. No one can plan for what life hands you. We thought we had one path and we were definitely handed another, and that is OK! There will always be hope and gratitude oozing from every inch of our new home and I will never forget how fortunate we are to have this home and the amazing people in our lives!
OK, I know, a little deep for a RH building blog, but it's such a huge part of our story, it couldn't be left out. So today the sun is shining and the skies are clear, we will put on some good tunes and pack. Pack with smiles and remember just how lucky we are to BE packing!
Hubby spoke to the PM yesterday and got a quick update... Kitchen is done, well except the microwave still needs to be installed. The deck is completed and all the flooring is in. Monday they will pour the driveway, then they dry wall guys come back and painters to follow. Wednesday is slotted for inspections. I'm dying to go out, I really am! But at this point, an hour commute each way isn't very realistic. So I'm sticking to the plan of the big reveal, for now :)
I debated sharing a short story... this is however the internet for all to see. But I learned in my short years that it's so easy to complain about the bad and the ugly, but inspiration and hope is just as important. Hey, you never know who is reading or who might be sitting next to you that your story can help change theirs for the better. So, long story as short as possible.... Rewind a few years to 2011 and we were getting married. It was a great, no stress day, we did simple. My husband was starting to have some bizarre symptoms and shortly after we got married, the doctors started a battery of testing and he couldn't work any longer. He officially retired quite young and the hunt to find the answers was on! So many doctors, so many tests, so many scary moments... the Lou Gherig's testing period was the scariest! After several very bad diagnoses and a plethora of doctors, I went on the hunt for a specialist. And I found him. Dr. K changed our lives. He properly diagnosed my hubby and gave him some quality of life back. He still has bad days, but those good days, man are they good and we cherish them. When my husband had to stop working, we were renting a house with the plans to buy it. So out of that house we go and into yet another apartment. We had to quickly accept the fact that we wouldn't never get the dream of owning a home. Doctors are expensive and even with health insurance, it's not cheap! We stumbled into the RH community by looking at places to rent to try to call a home. That's when it became so clear that we can do this, there are programs like FHA loans that we CAN do! This home is so much more than a home to us, it is hope. It gives us a comfort we never thought we would have and the amount of gratitude we both have, well there are no words. No one can plan for what life hands you. We thought we had one path and we were definitely handed another, and that is OK! There will always be hope and gratitude oozing from every inch of our new home and I will never forget how fortunate we are to have this home and the amazing people in our lives!
OK, I know, a little deep for a RH building blog, but it's such a huge part of our story, it couldn't be left out. So today the sun is shining and the skies are clear, we will put on some good tunes and pack. Pack with smiles and remember just how lucky we are to BE packing!
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