homeless

We said our final goodbye to our first home on Sunday afternoon.  I didn't think I was going to cry because I was so exhausted, but I did choke up as we drove off.  We tried to clean up the place as much as we could for the new owners, hoping that they'd fall in love with the house all over again.  I hope they will share many memories in their new home and enjoy it as much as we did. 

Above is a picture of Bailey that I took on Friday, her last full day at the house.  She was completely stressed out over the weekend and had no idea what was going on.  She didn't even have a proper goodbye!

"Homeless" is a bit of an exaggeration.  We're temporarily living with my Mom until our new house is finished.  They are promising us that it will be done by the end of December, but that does not really sit too well with us knowing that my due date is December 20th.  We would love to bring our baby boy home to a finished nursery.  We're praying that all goes well and that everything will work out in our favor.  FYI - we signed on this new house a month BEFORE we found out I was pregnant!

We're all still adjusting to our new living situation, especially Bailey.  Every now and then, she stares at us and/or stands by the front door, like she's asking to go home.  It's a little cozy with all our stuff crammed in my old room, but we're thankful that we have a place to sleep and we're able to save during these next few months.  All the sacrifice and waiting will definitely be worth it once we have the keys to our new home, and Baby T will be a sweet icing on the cake to top it all off!  It's like we're having two babies at the same time!

Here's to surviving the next couple of months.  Wish us luck!

our first home | backyard

The last part of our tour is the backyard.  See more of its transformation here. 

{photos taken by a professional}

We just finished packing the last bit of boxes and we are exhausted!  The movers are coming bright and early tomorrow, so this post will have to be short.  Currently, we're sitting in the living room just trying to enjoy our last night in our first home.  Tear!

Happy weekend everyone!

our first home | master bedroom

We didn't do a whole lot in the master bedroom.  I was hoping we would eventually paint the walls and put a sunburst mirror above the bed, but it never happened.  So we worked with what we had as far as staging the room.  Trust me, it's NEVER this clean!

I also wanted to put some cushion on the window seat, but I never got around to opening my sewing machine that I got as a wedding present!

Our master bathroom is also nothing too special.  We wanted to either tear down the mirrors and replace them with framed ones, or install frames directly on the mirrors.  And we're not huge fans of those hollywood lights.  These are just some projects we never got around to doing.

{photos taken by a professional}

Here's another post featuring our master bedroom.

To view our other bedrooms, click here.

our first home | family room

We spend the majority of our time in the family room, so it was important for us to make it feel comfortable and cozy.  That couch was one of our first purchases when we bought the house.  We needed a couch big enough for Paul to lie down on (all 6'3" of him) and for me to fit in too. 

This was how it looked when we first moved in.

Five coats of paint later (including primer), it looked like this.  Wow, look at that ancient TV and the oh so attractive stand to go with it!

It took a lot of rearranging for me to finally be happy with our mantle.  This is how it looks like when it's not Christmastime.  I tried different heights and a little layering to balance things out (sorry for the awful photo quality).

Found this pic on my phone that I took sometime in the afternoon.

A few updates later, the family room looked like this.

{photos taken by a professional}

I added some decorative pillows, sticking with the green, blue and yellow theme.  The picture frames below the console table were from our wedding two years ago.  I had no idea where to put them so I stuck them there.  Our sad plant on the left of the TV was also from two years ago.  Sadly, Paul stuck it outside to get some sun for a few minutes and has died a slow death ever since.  We are also very fond of the plantation shutters which really made a difference. 

We'll probably miss this room the most.  There were some good times well spent here, not just with the three of us, but also with family and friends.  We're currently in the middle of packing and most of what you see here are in boxes.  Just one more week to go in our first home.  Saaaad!

our first home | kitchen + breakfast nook

I don't think I've ever featured our kitchen before, except briefly on this post.  It is not always the neatest and we haven't really done too much too it.  Like the rest of the house, this area got the same, too yellow Behr paint on the walls.  When I couldn't stand it anymore, we decided to paint it a minty green (Behr paint in Palm Breeze).

The breakfast nook was slightly neglected.  With the upgraded plantation shutters though, it really gave it a good boost that it needed.  We inherited my in-laws' dining room set which was a lot bigger than the sad one you're seeing below.

I added some accessories on the wall, some stools, and here it is now.

I think I've mentioned this before, but after painting the walls mint green in the kitchen, I wanted to paint the cabinets a very dark, chocolate brown.  I figured since I wasn't going to get the granite countertops I've been dreaming about, at least painting the cabinets and adding some hardware would do it.  Sadly, that never happened, but we've managed to live with it.  The cabinets aren't too shabby anyway.

Next on the tour is the family room.  There's a little preview for you.

{recent photos were taken by a professional}

our first home | formal living + dining

Since we're moving, I wanted to feature our first home for memories.  Also to show off how awesome our house looks in these pictures, taken by a professional that our realtor hired.  He made our house look ginormous in these pictures! 

First up are the two front rooms, the formal living and dining.  You've seen these rooms several times before, but thought I'd start from the front of the house and work our way to the back. 

As soon as you walk into the house, the first thing you see is this. 

This is how it looked like when we first got our keys back in September 2009 and walked in for the first time as homeowners (well that's a lie - this was the day after).

I think the first thing I bought was that rectangular mirror which I found at Ross.  I was so excited when Paul bought me the console table for my birthday.  I've been hinting at him for months that I found the perfect console table at Target. 

I found this picture of Paul painting the first coat on with Behr paint in Desert Camel.  A few weeks later (if not A week) we changed it to Sherwin Williams in Camelback because the previous one was a little too yellow.  Lesson learned:  see if you like the paint in natural light first before continuing on to paint the rest of the house. 

Here's the formal living room and dining before:

We even had my family over for lunch one day and had them choose their top two favorites.  We ended up choosing a Behr paint that my Dad really liked (hi Dad!).

Our awesome makeshift blinds.  We put them on there when we painted the room and never took them off.  It was like this for almost two years.  Goodness.

 

And here it is now, as you've seen it lately on this blog.

Don't mind the blanket on the couch.  We forgot to remove it before the pictures.  That's Bailey's favorite spot, her go-to place when she wants to get away from us.

I've been meaning to put some artwork and a bench on that bare wall but never got around to it.  Maybe in the next house.  I think we put most of our hard work (and money) into this front room.  There was a lot to fill up and we basically started from scratch.  I am probably most proud of this room, and I hope I can duplicate this in the next house, if not make it better.

Up next is the kitchen.  I hope you have a good weekend!

this has GOT to be a record!

Before we even had a chance to breathe and for me to mention it on this blog, our house sold in pretty much TWO days!  We officially put it on the market last Monday, had two showings on Tuesday, and had an offer - at full price - Tuesday night!  I must admit, I was hoping for a bidding war, but we couldn't be happier with how things turned out.  We didn't have to mess with people coming in and out of our house for too long and having to keep the house clean 24/7.  We just got the results from the inspection this week and besides a very minor fix, we're good to go.  We close on September 24th so that gives us about two more months to enjoy our first home.  It's going to be bittersweet but we're moving on to bigger and better things.

I'm hoping to share some pictures with you as soon as we get back from our Europe trip!

bedrooms updated (sorta)

We have three bedrooms that have been somewhat neglected over the years we've lived in this house.  They finally got some love.

BEFORE

The walls in the first bedroom were pastel yellow and blue.  The previous owner had two boys who shared this room, and we didn't paint the walls until now.  Even the ceiling fan has shades of blue and yellow on it. 

AFTER

We gave it a good coat of gray (Martha Stewart's Bedford Gray - but need to double check) and I love it.  It looks a little purple depending on the lighting, but believe me, it's gray!

{professional pic}

BEFORE

Bedroom #3 used to be a teenager's room.  The walls weren't painted, and there were a few holes that needed to be patched up.  We used this mainly for storing Paul's workout stuff.

AFTER

I chose a bluish/green color (will get back to you on the brand) and I think I want it for our master bedroom!  Again, depending on how the light hits it, it's either a blue or a green.  These pictures don't really give it justice though. 

{professional pic}

 BEFORE

The third bedroom was sort of our dumping ground for junk that we couldn't fit up in the attic.  It once had a love seat, coffee table, piles of boxes and Paul's foosball table.

{photo taken by my Uncle, taken after our wedding in 2010}

AFTER

We left the walls as is, but got rid of the coffee table and love seat.  We kept the foosball table for Baby T and for entertainment purposes.  The room looks so much bigger without all the clutter (which we stuffed in the closets!).

 {professional pic}

We didn't do a whole lot in the rooms but it's amazing what a good coat of paint and some decluttering can do. 

the living room nowadays

I thought it would be a good time to update you all on how our formal living room looks like these days.  We've added and changed a few things since we decked the halls last Christmas. 

I had to buy a new orchid since the last one that we had back in March died (mentioned here).  No surprise there.  This one is not as voluptuous as the other one, but for $9.99 at Kroger, I'll take it!

This was Paul's old telescope that he had back in the day.  Unfortunately, it's broken but hopefully there's a way to fix it.  We put it in this area temporarily, but it actually looks like it was meant to be there.  This basket used to hold a decorative pillow and blankets, but since the winter is long gone, I replaced them with magazines that were cluttering the coffee table. 

I went to Home Goods on my lunch break two Fridays ago, and I found this side table and fell in love.  I like the rustic yet classy look of it.  I can even paint it later on if I wanted to.  I didn't buy it at first, but I kept thinking about it all day, so I went back that evening (after Paul's approval) and bought it!  I initially wanted to put it in between the two chairs, but it looked way too high.  So I put it by the couch, and it works.

I don't think I'll be buying a new lamp anytime soon, so to fill the table, I stacked two books and put one of our plants on top.  Not the most attractive plant, but it was one of the plants that is still surviving after two years, thanks to Paul.

I forgot to take a picture of the new owl I got from my sister.  It's a Gaudi inspired owl figurine (first mentioned here) from Barcelona.  It sits right next to Mr. Ross on that side table.

And it doesn't always look like this.  Most of the time, a little brat by the name of Bailey takes over.  When we're in the family room watching TV, she likes to escape to this couch because it's quiet.  This is how it typically looks. 

The grid frames are probably my favorite part of the room right now. 

I hope you enjoyed my little tour!