dreaming of a sewing room

Mike and I have been stuck in our house this whole weekend....cleaning and packing. These are the 2 things I dread most in life, I think. Since we are relocating for Mike's job, they are paying for movers to pack and move us. Yay! But our house was in dire need of a spring cleaning regardless of the move. I hate to say it, but our house has been a mess since the new year. We got home from our Indiana Christmas visit and it's been down hill from there. Now for our defense, we then found out about the move, found a house, did my sister's bachlorette party, Mike's been out of town for work, went to Mexico for the wedding.....phew! Our weekends have  been really busy for the last couple months. 

So now we are cleaning and packing for the movers. It's kind of like cleaning before the cleaning lady comes over so she doesn't think your too big of a slob.  Wouldn't it be nice to have a cleaning lady....

Today I put away my sewing machine. I'm been on a sewing break since Christmas, and I really miss it. I can't wait to unpack my sewing room and start making things for the house. I'm also excited to get back to my purses, I have a couple patterns I've "designed" and I really want to try them out.  I got my serger and it's just sat in the box; there was no reason to get it out. I wanted to paint it an aqua-teal, but Mike said no. :( So I'm going with a grey-blue. I like the grey-blue but I was kind of looking forward to a bright, bold space. It's now going to be more calm looking. I guess I'll just have to do bright, bold accessories and wall art.  Our new home is a four bedroom, so for the time being I will have a room just for sewing. I'm not sure which room it will be (we still don't know what room will be ours, since there's no "master" bedroom).

But here is a contender: 

 

 

5 days

....until were are homeowners!

I am really getting excited now. I did the last thing today that needed to be done before we sign. The house gods were definitely on my side today. We had to move some money around to get our down payment all in one account....and I waited until today to do this. I know, I know, two business days is not really that best time-line to give your money. The teller said there is normally a 9 day hold on that amount of money....GREAT. But when she put in the deposit we didn't have a hold. Woo Hoo! We are truly lucky.

I'm starting to make a list in my head what I need to pack for the first week in the house. We are going to be roughing it until all our stuff is moved, air mattress, camp chairs, etc.  But we are taking advantage of the time...painting!! While Mike's at work all week, I'll be painting the living room and our bedroom. Those are the two rooms the "need" to be done before the furniture comes. If I have extra time, the dining room will be next.

So here are some before pictures of the living room:

Sorry for the quality of the pictures, these are from the listing. 

We think we are going to take down the bead board, just because we want to put in up in the dining room. I don't want the first floor to all be bead board. But of course, our minds could change between now and painting. We are both on the same page with going with a tan color, but Mike wants a more brown-tan, and I want a more yellow/golden-tan. We will see who wins this battle! :)

This is a pretty big room (like 14' x 25'), so I will definitely have my work cut out for me. Plus, with all the trim and the built-ins.....long days of painting are in my future. Mike is a horrible painter; his hands are too shaky. So I may spend most of my time on the trim/built-ins and Mike will do the big open space on the walls. :)

sushi class

Mike and were lucky enough to attend a sushi rolling class at the resort in Mexico. And when I say lucky, I mean lucky....we didn't sign up for the class when we should of and they ran out of space. I ran into the lady who was conducting the class and she said it was full, so I read by the pool and Mike headed to the bar. :) Then about 10 minutes later the woman came back and said there was a cancellation and we were in. YES!! Mike and I were pretty excited about the class; we both love sushi but found it intimidating to make. We were wrong; it's so easy! Now granted they had everything laid out for us, but at least we were able to try out our rolling skills. I know there is a lot of prep work, especially the "sticky" sushi rice, but the class changed our thoughts on homemade sushi. Mike wants to get a rolling mat, and is actually considering a rice cooker. Rice cookers are pretty inexpensive, but are "one-hit wonders" in the kitchen and Mike normally hates those.

This class was definitely a highlight of our vacation. :)

mrs. hanson

My sister in now a married woman, and was the most beautiful bride! I couldn't be more happier for her and her husband. The wedding went off without any problems (for the most part). It down poured the day before the wedding, so she was a bit worried; but it was a beautiful ceremony on the beach right before sunset.

I wish you guys the happiest life together. :)

We had a great time in Mexico with family. Their destination wedding was a great way to get the family involved. I just wish I was there longer; with the wedding it felt so short.

Mike even enjoyed himself (I'm thinking it had something to do with all alcoholic drinks were included), he said he would even consider doing it again. This excites me to no end, because my husband hates to travel. He also hates to spend money on trips because he would rather a material item for the same amount of money. This is something we disagree on and I'm sure I'll change his mind at some point. ;)

mexico

We are heading down to St. Louis this afternoon for our early flight tomorrow to Mexico. I can't wait for this week of relaxation and my sister's wedding! :)

more inspection

After the inspection , Mike went back to the realtors and asked for $1, 000 off the house price to do some little things found in the inspection. We were kind of shorting ourselves with the amount but didn't want to sound too "greedy". There were a few things wrong that weren't in the last post because my lovely husband didn't tell me about them. :) Aren't men great?! I know he didn't want to explain electrical stuff, and all the knit picking stuff that were found in the inspection, but I want to know what's going on with the house. So when I was told about the $1,000 off, I was really confused, because I thought the pipes and the insulation were it. So Mike explained everything to me.

• One of the bedroom windows has a crack.
• The dryer circuit is over fused.
• Full bathrooms sink drain doesn't work very well.
• The downstairs half bath is gutted.  We knew this buying the home, and it will most likely been our first project.
• Half the kitchen counter is off. Again something we knew going into it and we would of replaced.
• One of the fireplaces' corners needs to be re-tucked....I have no idea what this means.....
• The dining room and living rooms' outlets have cross polarity.

So we put in the $1,000 offer, the seller came back and declined it. But he's going to fix everything on our list instead!! We couldn't be happier! It's better for us so we can move in and take our time with the remodeling we want to do, instead of rushing. I'm really happy about the half bath and the kitchen counter the most. Even though we will be redoing the bathroom still and it will most likely still be the first big project, but at least it's functional for the time being.

Also, the seller was really upset when he found out the gas wasn't on to check the furnace. It turns out the renter in the seller's nephew, so I'm sure he had a few choice words for him. ;)  I kind of felt like I was overreacting, because Mike was so calm about it.  So I'm really happy the seller was upset, so I wasn't the only one.

inspection...part 1

So we had our home inspection yesterday! I was so excited for it to happen, since it was the deciding factor on if we were buying the house or not. It started at 9am and it was just Mike and the inspector....and it took 5 hours!! I can't believe it took that long. Now don't get me wrong, I wanted them to go through everything, but I didn't think it would take all day. Right??

Everything went really well. There are just a couple things that are pretty standard things.

• There could be more insulation in the attic but it's up to code. We want  to insulate the garage, so we will just do it all at the same time - no problem.
• Some of the pipes are original to the 1935 house. They aren't in bad condition, just old. The inspector recommended to replace them before we resell - no problem.

Now here is the problem (and it's not really a problem just a set back). The gas isn't turned on in the house so they couldn't check the furnace. I'm a little ticked! We have had this inspection set for 2 weeks, they knew this was coming. And who doesn't have everything that's staying with the house running during the darn house inspection???? So now we have to get the gas turned on (don't worry we aren't paying for it) and the inspector is going to come back (free of charge). It's just frustrating... so note to anyone house hunting, when you schedule your inspection make sure everything is on so you only have to do it once. There's a fireplace with an insert (this makes it basically like a wood burning stove), and this is what the renter has been using this winter, so that's why the gas wasn't on, but still...

So we have 2 weeks until our closing date (March 1st) to get the furnace checked, and one of those weeks we are going to be in Mexico. So we have a small window to get this done, but I think it can do it.

one week

 .....and we will be in paradise!

I cannot wait for this vacation. My sister is getting married first of all! So excited for that. She's going to be the most beautiful bride and she gets to do it on a beach! And Mike and I get a relaxing mexican vacation at a resort to go with it. We haven't had a proper vacation since our honeymoon in Ireland, so it is much needed. We are having our house inspection tomorrow; fingers crossed everyone! And if everything goes well, the stress of the house will almost cease to exist.  Then this vacation can truly be a stress/worry free week.

a wedding dress moment

Any married or engaged woman knows what I'm talking about. That moment you see your wedding dress, you just know that it's the one. Everything in your mind is so clear and you have the highest level of assurance that your making the right decision. Well, we totally had that when we saw our new house. Mike and I were talking about it in the car yesterday, and he said as soon as he walked into the house he knew it was the one. I told him he had his "wedding dress" moment. :) I had to explain it to him, and he thought I was crazy I'm sure. But it's the truth, and I know I had it for the second time in my life with this house. I'm pretty sure this is just a starter home for us, but it's our dream starter home.

Mike left yet again this afternoon for a week of work in Rolla. This weekend was great, but was definitely too short. We went bowling with Brad and Lindsey and had a great time with friends we haven't really been able to hang out this recently. They've  been really busy with him about ready to go into surgery, and us with the whole house/moving thing. It was nice to just relax with them.

With Mike being gone for a week at a time and not having the a proper kitchen where he's staying, I've been making food for him to reheat. Today, I was a cooking fool! I made a weeks worth of dinners for us and split it up. The good thing is, no cooking for the rest of the week for me. :)

I'm not a huge football fan, but this Indiana girl is rooting for the COLTS! I'm heading over to a co-workers to watch with her and her husband. It should be a fun time; they're Saints fans. But like me, are super into the game. So I'm sure someone will end up gloating, and hopefully its me!