Home. Sweet. Home.

Ok. So we've lived in our house for almost a month. And what a crazy month it's been! I haven't done this post for many reasons. Previously mentioned busy-ness (not to be confused with business) being at the top. But I didn't want to take pictures of my house till it was PERFECT. And then I realized, homes that are lived in are NOT perfect. So I did some dishes, laundry and made sure to only take pictures of the pretty set up areas, which means there are no pictures of the top half of my house....all in good time...


So, let me tell you a little bit about our home-buying experience. First off, I was NOT interested in buying a home this year. I was expecting a baby, had a crazy almost 2 year old, and the apartment seemed to be working just fine. But the home buying bug was biting Andrew. Hard. So, he used a technique that I have perfected over the years, which is to ask about the same thing over, and over, and over, and over, until you've convinced the other person. After a few months I agreed to talk to a Mortgage Lender. And I knew who I wanted to have for a Realtor. Almost everybody knows a Realtor right? But it's not often that your best friend is one. And that she is a DANG GOOD one. Kristin also happened to work for one of the largest Real Estate  Companies in Idaho. Silvercreek Realty Group. Funny Side Note, the owners of the company are friends of my parents. So we figured out just how small this world is. 


So, fast forward a few months. We'd been looking at houses, even made a few offers, only to be outbid 3 times. We were frustrated, and I was wanting to have my baby already! I had a labor scare, which ended in being sent home at 5cm dilated after 6 hours of admission. So I decided to keep my mind off things we needed to see some houses. We viewed a couple, and they were short sales, which I was afraid of. Let's just say they can be very hard to buy. So we looked at what ended up being our house. I wasn't too impressed. It needed some work. And a few walls removed. Which Andrew was SO excited about. He loves home improvement. I was scared. Regardless, we offered on 2 houses that we saw that day, hoping that maybe we'd get one. We put in the offers just 10 days before my due date. I thought this was a good plan, because then we'd forget about the offers. This was important because short sales can take up to 3 months to close! 3 months. Geez. 


So, over the next 2 months I got updates from my Realtor and Lender, some good, some bad. But all pointed in the direction that we were going to get the house. We offered on  2 houses at the same time, and one house ended up being taken off the market. So, that left us with what became our house. It was the largest, in the best location, a wonderful floor plan, and the best deal financially. I was told very early on in the process that I could NOT celebrate till I had keys in my hand. Because nothing is final, till, it's, well....final. On paper, signed. etc. So, after 2.5 months, on Sept 1st, we signed papers for our house. Knowing the road ahead would be crazy. On the 2nd we got keys, and on the 3rd, Labor day weekend, we started the long process of cleaning, demolition, remodeling, painting, and moving in. This process ended on the 15th, when we officially moved in and slept at our new house. The specs are: 3 Bedrooms, 2.5 Bathrooms, Bonus Room, 2 Car Garage and a LARGE patio. It's a little over 1600 square feet, which is almost double what our most recent and largest apartment was. 


We moved in with most of the painting and projects done, most of it. We were without carpet (due to a delay in shipping) for a few days. And I FINALLY got a decent speed of internet today. (Another reason why this post has been daunting). We are still unpacking boxes, decorating, and moving things around. We still need some furniture, to paint our bonus room (Boise State Baby!), to landscape the backyard (next year), and many other small projects. But here are some pictures of what we have done so far. We removed a half wall (that originally held a HUGE fish tank) and a closet (which sadly was the ONLY coat/linen closet in our house). Sorry about the fuzzy ones....


Before the Process:

During the Process:

After the LONG Process:

Our Entry way, with the newly added hooks (since we demolished the closet):

Our Kitchen and Dining Room:

So that's the bottom floor.  Minus the laundry room and bathroom, which I doubt you really care to see. So, our living room and dining room. Lived in. Not Perfect. I warned you! I still need to do some decorating and painting upstairs. And I'm currently decorating for Halloween/Fall outside....YAY for outside decorations! 


We are very happy with our home. I'm excited to spend lots of time making it better and better, when I can find the time! Andrew built some shelves in the garage for me, which are AWESOME, so we can now park both our cars in there, and store all of the hunting, fishing, camping, painting, and home improvement STUFF! Sometimes I still can't believe that things worked out the way they did. 


Well, I'm hoping to do a family post soon to catch you up on how Beth and Ami are doing. We are all getting used to a new home and routine.


Until I find time to update you about all the other fun stuff......


Happy Blogging!