Brief Update

I don't have much to tell, but I figured it was time for a quick post.

We're just waiting for our house to close so we can start working on it! Our loan officer now has all of our documents, and we're just waiting on underwriting. Expected closing date is September 12th. Work on the house is expected to be completed on or before September 6th, 2013.

Here is what we have to do before we move in (sorry if this is repeat information!):

• Scrape "popcorn" ceilings & paint
• Buff & stain hardwood floors (they look VERY bright, and are original hardwood)
• Linoleum replacement in the bathroom (there's some minor water damage due to improper use of a shower curtain)
• Replace lighting fixture in bathroom
• Paint all walls 
• Main living areas will get a "wainscoting" look similar to this. Upper 2/3 = taupe, lower 1/3 = white
• Still contemplating ideas for our room and my office, but I'll be doing a cherry blossom tree for sure in Ellie Jo's room! 
• Clean (duh) 

We have had a lot of people asking us what we need for our new house. The truth is, we aren't entirely sure, but we know that we want to make many cosmetic improvements. We don't know what or how much we'll do, so I'm sure we'll be frequenting Home Depot, Lowes, and other such stores often!

For all of you who follow me on Pinterest, I'm sincerely sorry for blowing up your feeds lately with all my ideas for the house!

In other news, I'm hoping to get caught up on various projects around the house this weekend after we go to the fair!

Hoping to write more later.

Summer Reading

So far... I've completed one book. Pathetic.

I mean, we've been somewhat busy with moving and Ellie Jo (she is already 3 1/2 months old!)

But still!

I am absolutely loving my lunch breaks at work on Mondays & Tuesdays. I get to hide away for an entire hour in a private location and pump, set up my Kindle and enjoy a quiet lunch all by myself. :) I think I'll forever remember this one and only book that I've read this summer so far as my "lunch hour book."

The Fence My Father Built

You can read my review here. 

Anyway, I'm going to try to get to the library this week to return all the books I swore I would read in 3 weeks (ha! little did I know that I would be moving - twice - in one month!), and try to make a list of them all so I can re-check them out when I'm back in "good patron" standing. Sigh.

We're moving....again

I've been reluctant to say anything about this so soon, but regardless of the outcome of the situation, I think it's going to be an encouragement to share here what has been going on with us.

We've recently moved (as my previous posts mention). But we're actively looking for a new home to buy.

Here is what we are looking for in our new home:

3 bedrooms
Safe (passes inspection)
Yard
Garage
Parking
Bottom of the price range we qualify to purchase
A home that needs some TLC
Close to home still


Here is what we are not looking for in our new home:

Dream home
5,000sq feet
No yard
Perfect
Expensive
Out of town
Unsafe

That being said, let me share a bit of what's happened so far:

Last Wednesday, I looked at 3 houses with my mother & sister-in-law. We all liked them, and agreed that they would work just fine to meet our needs and serve our purposes. I put an offer in on one (foreclosure) up north from where we live now.

The third house had just gone on the market that day, and I really liked it. It had everything we wanted and more, plus it's in town. So, I put an offer in. I didn't think twice about it; the chances of getting it were slim, anyway.

Let me interject here that my husband is trusting my judgment on this, as he works all day every day and I don't. (And, I had more than just my opinion!)

Saturday morning as we head out to Safeco Field to watch Ken Griffey, Jr. be inducted into the Mariners Hall of Fame, my realtor calls and leaves a message saying, "I hope you're sitting down, because you just bought a house!" I called him immediately assuming it was the foreclosure.

Nope.

It's the one here in town. Not only that, but the sellers agreed to our offer with no changes! I was blown away.

We've spent this week doing hours upon hours of paperwork, arranging the inspection (tomorrow morning at 8am), and getting our down payment to escrow.

We're exhausted and excited.

I got a text on Wednesday from my realtor that said, "Guess what...you just bought another house!" Our offer was accepted on the foreclosure up north!

I am blown away.

I know this post is a little vague, but I'll try to post more as soon as there's more to tell.

I brought all this up at the luncheon at Robert's mom's with all the girls in their family yesterday, and his mom's cousin (who is admittedly obsessed with real estate), kept saying how thrilled she is for us and that she had goosebumps (which I could see!)

Right now, pray for the inspection to go well - that anything that needs fixing is minor, and if not, that the major stuff can either wait or the seller will agree to fix. If it doesn't go well, we DO have the fallback option of that foreclosure, but I just don't have a peace about it.


I know this post is a little vague, but I'll try to post more as soon as there's more to tell.