Sunday, June 9, 2013

Enjoy A Million Pictures

Remember how I said earlier Cody and I had talked to a realtor about buying a house.  Ya.  We bought a house.  It's a townhome really, but it's so much larger than the houses we looked at!  We went looking at houses for only ONE day.  This is how our day went.

The first house we saw was medocre, but we thought it was what we were going to have to get for our price range so we were satisfied with it.  But the second house blew us away.  It was a single family, one floor house.  It was totally updated, brand new everything- carpet, cabinets, countertops, wood floor... it had the whole deal.  The backyard was like an acre big too! But all weeds and was going to be a lot of work.  And it was only 2 small bedrooms and 1 bathroom.  It was also located near the Rose Park area which we didn't love.  However, we were sure this would be the place.  It was at the top of our price range, but worth the money.

The third house we saw was actually quite impressive also.  It was a single family, one floor house also.  It had 3 bedrooms but the rooms were even smaller and still only 1 bathroom.  However, this place also had a totally updated kitchen and had a better designated area for the dining table.  The backyard was quite a bit smaller and needed some work.  The laundry hookup were also outside the house in a shed which was a little odd.  And this house was also close to the Rose Park area.  But this house had a detached garage which we though would be nice.  We liked this one too.

Our realtor asked us if we found "the place" yet at the third house.  We told him we really loved #2 but #3 was also great.  He advised us to put offers in on both houses (both of which were at the top of our price range) and if we get both, we just pick the one we want. He said in the market, which suprisingly has changed a lot and is a definite sellers market now, both of these houses will get sold extremely fast so we needed to move fast.  We were all for it and told him we wanted to look at one last place before we decided.

We come up to house #4 which is actually a townhome.  It's in a townhome community that is located in Taylorsville near Redwood Road, which was a much better location for us.  When we pulled in, we were a little skeptical- the townhomes were built in the 70's and we weren't sure how much we were going to like them.  When we went inside, we knew instantly this was "the place".  Everything inside was remodeled, brand new carpet, new paint, new cabinets, it was spotless.  It had a main level, upstairs, and basement.  It was 4 bedrooms, 2 bathroom, had a garage, and a backyard.  We were totally sold.  We put an offer in at the top of our budget and learned there were 8 other offers on the place.  But because our realtor is the best ever, after some painful waiting, our offer was accepted!  And even better, the appraisal on the house came back $20,000 less than we expected.  The inspector came and said the house was done really well, only a few minor things to fix, but even he said we picked a winner.

So, this lovely little townhome is our home.  We are still finishing up the closing things on it, but if all goes according to plan, we should be moving in the beginning of July!  It's been such an exciting adventure finding our first home together and we are both so excited for this major change!  I can't wait to plant flowers and have a backyard and there's even a community garden!  I took way too many pictures of it before we moved because I really want to have some awesome after pictures once everything is settled.  So, enjoy the next million pictures of our new home.  And dogs, because I love them and can't leave them out!


The walkway into the house.  Someday we might fence this whole part in for a little privacy.

The inside of our garage.  It's a one car but it's an extended one car garage so that leaves a lot of storage room.

The entry way looking at the front door, garage door entrance is straight across.

Standing at the front door entrance, a look at the living room and dining area.
A view of the living room and fireplace from upstairs.
Our dining area and sliding door into the side yard of the house.
View of the kitchen standing in the dining area.
Farther into the kitchen where you can see the door to the backyard on the right side.
Pantry on the right side of the kitchen.  This is the largest pantry ever!!
Side area in the kitchen where we want to put our laptops and printer.
View of part of the backyard full of weeds- this will be our first project.
Around to the side yard, also full of weeds.
View of the master bedroom that is upstairs. (Bedrooms are so hard to take good picturs of!)
Open walk in closet right on the side of the master.
Part of the master bathroom.
Master bathroom vanity.
Bedroom number 2 that is upstairs.

Fun little bunk shelf in bedroom 2 they added carpet onto.  Probably will someday far in the future be a baby room.

Bedroom 3 that is in the basement.
Little crawl area the is in bedroom 3 that my nieces already love to play in.  It has a little door and everything!
Huge crawl space under the house that goes the length of the house.  Fantastic storage area, although a little creepy to me.
Bathroom 2 in the basement.

Bedroom 4 in the basement.

Well, that's the house!  And now here are the pictures of the beautiful animals in my life that I promised.

Koda, who sleep underneath this bed every night.  Notice it's a bit of a tight squeeze for her to get under there... don't worry, she smashes herself so she fits.
Apollo, whom I am trying VERY hard to teach to sleep on this dog bed in the corner instead of on top of my feet on our bed all night long.  He tends to sneak up on our bed after everyone finally falls asleep though.
My mother's little tootsie finally gave in and loves me like she's supposed to.  I spoil my poodles, she found out quickly.
Yep.  Here's her cute face.  She is a hyper little thing.  ALL THE TIME.  But she's cute so it's okay.


Saturday, June 8, 2013

Awkward Times Call For Awkward Measures

I went to a wedding reception yesterday.  It was for one of my good friends from high school. It was in a backyard and it was beautiful.  It was also the first time I saw my ex-boyfriend for the first time since I got married and he got engaged.  And what an adventure it was.

BACKGROUND: I dated this guy for a long time.  Like four years.  Then he went on a mission.  I planned on waiting for him. (Ha.) Eight months before he came home, I met my now husband.  Missionary came home, I stopped seeing my husband.  After a few months I realized I wasn't sure if I felt the same as before his mission and the missionary claimed he also wanted to try dating others.  Then he pretty much fell off the face of the planet.  I again started dating my husband and then got engaged.  Missionary decides to appear again in my life.  I tell him I've moved on and am getting married.  Missionary get engaged to someone else two months later.  The end.

Flash forward to yesterday.  I come to the reception and right when I walk into the backyard, there's the ex-missionary boyfriend's fiance and his sister.  They see me, instantly start the giggles/whispers/stare as much as you possibly can phase that lasts all night long.  Missionary (or so his name shall now be) sees me one time and heads inside the house. And doesn't come back outside the entire time I'm there.  Mind you I stayed for an hour and a half just to see if he would come out.  Nope, he didn't.

 Flash forward again to an hour and a half after I enter the reception.  Missionary's fiance and sister are still in their whispery phase.  Missionary is still hiding in the house.  So, I decide I've had enough. At this point I was sick of being the awkward person being talked about, so I decided to join in the talk.  I went right up to the fiance and sister and said hello to the sister and introduced myself to the fiance.  They seemed really caught off guard.  But I was nice.  I said congrats and that I was sick of avoiding this awkward situation so I wanted to say hi and let you know I was really happy for you.  Seemed like a nice, honest conversation both ways.

A few seconds after I walk away, the fiance and sister run inside the house (past a giant window that everyone can see through...duh) right to the missionary and majorly freak out.  I don't know.  I guess I'm scary or something.

With all the history I had with Missionary, it was a little disappointing to me that he couldn't face me at all.  I would have loved to tell him congratulations on getting engaged and that I was happy for him.  Kind of a full closure kind of conversation you have to have with someone who you were that close with.  But maybe he wasn't ready for that kind of thing.  Kind of sad in my own opinion because he is supposed to be happily engaged now so he shouldn't be scared of me.  I always wondered how it was going to be when I finally saw him again someday, but I have to say, I didn't see it playing out quite like this.  But it is what it is and I'm glad I got that inital "first sighting" out of the way.  Now my book with him is totally closed and over with.

When I was figuring out life between Missionary and my husband, it seemed to me that each time I saw my husband, he really showed me how much of a better fit he was for me.  And each time I saw Missionary, it seemed as though we grew more and more apart.  Yesterday was just another way of proving to me that my husband is SO the right man for me.  I love him in every single way, shape and form!  He thinks like me, he acts like me, we have the same beliefs and views on life, and we definitely know when it's appropriate to be silly and when to be mature.  Yesterday was three months since we've been married.  And it's been the best three months of my life so far! We've been so blessed with so many things, things we would have never imagined at this point.  We are the luckiest newlyweds around.  And I'm the luckiest wife around.