Move-In Monday!

After a weekend trip home for a family Christmas party, I hit the road Monday morning with my best helpers, Mom, Grandma B and Tess. We stopped along the way to buy Mr. Clean in bulk and enough drawer paper for the entire kitchen.

Keep in mind, it was Move In Day, we didn't arrive at the house until an hour past when the movers said they could initially be arriving, and there was still painting, cleaning and plenty of other things to do! I thought it was exciting! Others found it stressful.
My kitchen was chaos but my mom was a trooper and dove into the task that no one else wanted: lining all kitchen cupboards and drawers.

Grandma B mopped all the floors and proceeded to wash everything else in sight.

Tess and I enjoyed some sister bonding time inside the spare bedroom closet while we painted the walls, the ceiling (on accident) and even ourselves.

Then this Bathroom Bleaching Queen moved onto the spare bathroom, in order to allow me "a good, long, soak that night."

Clean Blinds!!! Thanks to all three of my helper's joint efforts.

The good news is that we still found time to consume my mom's amazing, warm, melt-in-your-mouth blueberry scones topped with lemon curd. Applause for you, maMa! Your breakfasts make me want to be a glutton. 

Isn't my sister beautiful?! How she manages to look so cute, even when covered in grey paint, will forever blow my mind...
Somewere in the midst of our cramming-to-beat-the-movers craziness, the TV guy showed up. Next, I glanced out my window and a trench was being dug through my already muddy backyard.

Then I saw this out the front window.

The truck had arrived.
Then came the internet guy.
Our house was a hoppin' place!
The moving began and it went something like this...
Endless boxes and pieces of furniture came in through the front door. (We turned the heat completely off. It was brrr!) The movers would call out the number on the object they were holding and Brian would mark it off on the sheet they'd given him. They called Brian 'Boss' and 'Bingo Master' all day. At one point they brought in one of our camping chairs, set it up in the middle of the living room and said, "Here you go Boss, here's your bingo chair."

Once all of our stuff had made it into the house, garage, backyard...etc. the moving guys assembled any furniture that they had unassembled back in Vancouver. And then they were off!

This was what our bedroom looked like when I decided it was time to call it a night...

And this was the state of our bathroom when I woke up the following morning...

But my kitchen looks like this!

I love how the drawer liner looks with my old bowls!

Still three days later, I don't know where most things are but everything is beautifully put away in what I don't doubt my grandma, or my mom, or my sister deemed the perfect place. For that I am very grateful.

Thank You, Thank You, Ladies! This house would still be a freakshow, had it not been for you, your generosity and all your hand's, knee's and gas tank's hard work.

A Work-Filled Week

Over the last week Finn continued checking out the house...

...while the rest of us plugged away on getting ready for move-in day.
Mom and I painted the bedrooms and got a good chunk of trim painting done as well.

Here she is in Wee One's future room...

Nursery Paint: Silver Sage by Restoration Hardware

Here I am in our bedroom...aaaalmost done with the final coat!

Celebratory Puppy Snuggles!

Yes, I do hug my dog when we accomplish things "together." :)

The front bedroom...

The day our new carpet arrived was a big day for us. It took two speedy guys 40 minutes to install carpet in 3 bedrooms. They even had time to fix a squeak in our floor and joke about stealing Finn! When they left, Finn ran from room to room, spreading his toys and rolling around on his new favorite flooring. Brian is still telling me, "I had no idea how much I could love carpet!"

Before and After

My dad and Brian were able to get some big projects done including fence repairs, work on the roof, and patching and texturing funky walls throughout the house. Getting the fence repaired meant Finn's first chance to fully explore his new yard, leash-free.

Thank you Dad and Mom for making multiple trips down and spending long days here with us, helping us teaching us how to get this place in shape!

Dad, thank you for taking time off your current jobs to help Brian.

Mom, thank you for putting your go-getter, perfectionist self to work in my home.

We love you, both of you, so much.

Productivity on the Homefront!

Yesterday was productive! I was joined at the house by my mom and Grandma B. Both of which are "workhorses." Seriously these ladies can bust booty! My Grandpa Lawrence and Uncle Randy even drove down to help out. 

Here's our list of accomplishments...

* Both coats of paint in the kitchen. The peach is forever gone, much thanks to my mom!

* Both coats of paint on one wall in the dining room.

* 1st coat of paint in the living room.

* 1st coat of paint down the hallway.

* Removal of all old, yellowed electrical sockets. Thank you Grandpa and Randy!

* All nail holes were patched and sanded.

* Spray texturing was attempted. We failed, but it made us laugh, so it was okay. We'll try a new product tomorrow, maybe the outcome will be better, huh Mom?! :S

* All window tracks, trim boards, walls, nooks, crannies...etc. are now sparkly clean all thanks to Gma B.

*The repulsive findings beside, behind and below the stove and fridge were conquered...and suddenly my kitchen smells better. Thank you, thank you, thank you, Mom and Gma!

At the end of the day my Grandma even took the dirty rags home to wash for me!

Once Brian arrived home from work, the two of us ripped the carpet out of each of the bedrooms. Our findings were appalling. I've never been so happy with a decision as I now am, having seen the underside of the existing carpet...

Note Brian's face. He said that the padding smelled like a raunchy, old fart.

Needless to say, we were more than happy to throw it out in the garage.

A big, huge thank you to the above listed family members. You have already made our week spectacular and it's only Tuesday! Thank you for driving down, working hard and helping to make this house our home.

Fresh Paint!

Here's a sneak peak at my new favorite paint.

Before...

And after...

When the first coat of "Graceful Gray" paint hit the walls yesterday I knew it was a good thing. I love it so much I think it's going to be all throughout, accented by "Madagascar Green" and "Antique Copper."

No more White, Peach, or Washed Out Sunrise for this house! 

This stuff will soon be gone...

I'm headed back to the house right now. The last couple of days have been a bit lonely with my hubs at work and my helpers an hour and a half away but today my mom and Grandma B are coming down. I'm looking forward to a day filled with cleaning, painting, chatting and lot of coffee consumption. 

Hoping to share more progress soon...

HOMEOWNERS!!!!!

As of yesterday afternoon, Brian and I are thrilled to announce that we are officially homeowners. After two months of living anxiously, waiting for our house to close, [gotta love short sales] we are there, it is done, it is ours. 

We are happy. :)

On October 3 we viewed the house.
On October 4 we put in our offer.
On October 10 our inspection took place and we were able to see the house again.
On December 2 we received news that the bank had accepted our offer.
On December 8 we signed papers.
Yesterday, December 9, our realtor called to tell us that the deal closed and the house is ours.
Today, December 10, we get the keys.


Before we scurry off to take possession and stand in our empty house, here are a few random pics I snapped when we viewed the house...

Woot Woot! We have our very own wood-burning fireplace! 

Finn's going to love it here.

Why yes, our dog and the previous owner's baby do share the same name. :)

Happy, Happy Homeowners!