I was determined to get a shot of us for our 2nd anniversary. This isn’t what I had in mind but it works. We went through quite a few timer shots but this is my fav.
Flying Time
It’s been quite a while and quite a bit has happened since my last post. Not sure anyone reads this blog any longer but I haven’t been doing any real writing in my journal so this serves as a back up, so to speak. I am all about saving memories and keeping records. I did some reorganizing and cleaning up in the house during Christmas break and came across my old journals. Needless to say, instead of putting away Christmas lights, I sat there and read through more than a few entries. My first diary cracks me up as I didn’t write in complete sentences and I pretty much have no clue what I was writing about for the most part. The handwriting isn’t so great either. I am amazed at the length of some entries and can kick myself over my stupidity in others. What an interesting thing life is. I love having those to go back and review and relive.
I guess all that makes me think about the progression of time and how quickly life seems to go even on the days that drag. Today, January 26th is mine and James’ 2nd anniversary. Our wedding seems a lifetime away yet like it only happened yesterday. It’s been an amazing two years with a lot of learning, experiences and memories to treasure. So many blessings.
As I think about the last two years I am so glad I went through them with James. Having him on this journey just makes it better. I think about being single and don’t miss it all. Life is better with your best friend.
Happy anniversary to the love of my life.
Christmas Planning
December 1 is tomorrow! I love December. I also love that I only have to work 15 days and then it’s vacation until January 4th! Woohoo!
My head is spinning with all the things I want to do this month in preparation for the holiday. It’s nice too because we are 90% done with all the VP sessions we needed to wrap up. After that, no more sessions until January. We need a break and I need to catch up on the bookkeeping. 
So, what’s in my head?
Baking - what, how much and who for?
Decorating- tree, lights on the house, make a wreath for the front door.
Gifts- who? what to buy? what to make?
Christmas charities, Christmas parties and what to wear!
We’ve Moved! postcards and planning for the housewarming party in January.
Oh and mustn’t forget those Christmas cards! Still undecided on the photo to use- take a new one or find another that will work?
All this to think about and do but still wanting the season to go as slowly as possible. Looking forward to enjoying every minute.
We’re Home!
We made it! The move happened and we are in our new home.
Last week was so slow and I was so anxious for Saturday to arrive and start moving. We had a lot to do during the week though and quite a bit to still pack. With some help we were able to get 98% of it all complete and ready for the truck. Here are a couple blurry iPhone photos of our boxes…
Saturday arrived and with the help of our amazing friends we loaded a 16′ truck and 4 cars with stuff. We actually ran out of room and two SUVs went back after dinner for the rest. Not too bad, huh?
We arrived at the house and the second phase of helpers arrived and they had that truck unloaded in no time! It was amazing!
I wish I had taken more photos but I guess it was just too crazy of a day. By 3pm I was done. The bed was made up and we had a shower curtain up- that was really all I need at the end of the day- a hot shower and comfy bed.
Sunday we slept in, had a lazy morning then hit the road for IKEA. We needed another desk for the office and a small desk for the Expedit shelves in the guest room so I can have a place to sew. We also got new hardware for the cabinets, a rod and curtains for the living room and a duvet cover for the guest room bed. Oh! and towel racks for the bathrooms. The place doesn’t look anything like it did before!
Keeping It Together
Wow! I don’t know where to begin. October got here and is almost gone now.
We closed on our house last Thursday. It was a very smooth process and I was never nervous, I am still not nervous. Yeah, it’s a big deal and a lot of money but it’s all good.
The sellers had until October 30 to move out but we got a call yesterday saying they were gone! We now have an empty house awaiting all our stuff. I am so glad we have extra time before moving. I have a lot of painting plans and want to make sure it all happens before one stick of furniture even enters the house. Now, if I could just decide on paint colors. Need to make a trip to Home Depot again and get some samples on the walls to really decide.
October really is pretty crazy for us. We are up to 8 photography sessions now which I think is the most we’ve done in one month. So cool. I am really excited about all of them. The ones we’ve completed have been awesome and I know the ones coming up will rock as well. I love shooting people.
My to-do list is constantly growing and I have moments of feeling so overwhelmed I wish I could go back to 4th grade and playing with Barbies. This adult stuff is rough sometimes. I am also realizing that I volunteer for way too much stuff- stuff I don’t really have time for. My goal for 2010 is to pare back on some things and not be so busy all the time. It really cuts into time with family, friends and my personal goals. Yeah, that sounds selfish but I think there are times in life when you have to step back, stop and smell the roses. Life goes by too quickly otherwise.
I’ll have two weeks off during Christmas and I plan on using the time wisely to get organized, wrap up projects and get back to a better rythym of life. I am not going to say normal because normal is pretty different for everyone. I am ready for some good changes in my life and I need to take steps to make them happen.
Well, I had better get back to the lists here at work. Another that seems to be growing quickly which is better than having nothing to do at all.
What’s New Now
I just wanted to update everyone on the house status. Since the offer was accepted we went through with an inspection that went very well. Our inspector said it was one of the best houses he’s looked at in a while. That was great news. It was a lot of information to take in about the house but it made us feel very ‘homeowner-ish”.
The next thing we were waiting on was the appraisal. Our fingers were crossed that it wouldn’t come back lower than our offer price and it didn’t! It was $2k higher! That was a load off our shoulders and also meant it was time to notify our apartment complex that we wouldn’t be renewing our lease.
We have been receiving a lot of paperwork from the title company and our list of things to do in preparation for the closing is growing. It still hasn’t hit me yet that we are buying a house but I am already on a roll looking at paint colors and deciding on furniture arrangement. Good news though, the sellers aren’t taking their fridge so we get it for free! I am glad that is one thing we won’t have to buy right away. It’s much older and too big so we do want to replace it but won’t be in a hurry to.
James’ parents were in town over the weekend so we took them to the new neighborhood and showed them around a bit. I can’t wait for them to come back and see the inside when we are all moved in.
The process seems to be moving along smoothly. We are still praying it continues that way right up to closing and the day it’s really ‘ours’.
Contract Pending
That’s right! The final offer was signed by both parties yesterday!
I feel like now that all the excitement is over until the close date but I think there will probably be a lot of stuff between now and then to keep us busy.
I definitely have house on the brain. I really want to go look at paint colors and start shopping for a few things I know we’ll need- like a fridge and something to put the tv on. I am making myself wait until after closing though. James says we still shouldn’t get too attached, just in case the appraisal comes back too high or something random happens. Fingers crossed and a lot of prayer that everything goes smoothly.
Here are a few photos of what will hopefully be our new place.
Front Porch and Yard
Living, Dining and Kitchen
Backyard and Patio
Back to Square One
So the two houses we had our eye on are either under contract or have too many offers that we can’t compete with. So we are moving on. We are keeping our eye on one but moving on still.
Yesterday we took a step back and a break from searching. Monday was so up and down we were drained. Not thinking about it helped and we were able to start fresh today.
We ran a new search (with my mom helping too!) and found a few. I sent them onto our realtor to investigate. There is a new neighborhood we are looking at too- pretty good sized homes well within our price range.
So now, we wait again and see what happens. We may be looking a few more homes this week! I am definitely feeling more optimistic today about this whole house thing. Expanding our search area has helped too. No, that doesn’t mean Round Rock or Pflugerville just not such a tight circle in southwest Austin.
Thanks for everyone’s prayers and continued encouragement. It means a lot to both of us.
House Hunting Update
Saturday we met with our realtor and he scheduled 13 houses for us to look at - we only did 9 though because we found 2 that we loved. The others we crossed off were 2 stories and we came to the decision we didn’t want a 2 story at all.
The 2 we fell in love with were built recently but not a brand new neighborhood. The trees are bigger and it’s a bit more established. The two houses are the exact same floor plan just opposite. One had been on the market for about a month and was perfect- everything looked brand new. The second house has only been listed for about a week. We really liked both of them but decided to go for the 30 day listing since it was in better condition and closer to our price range. We made the decision yesterday to start the paperwork for an offer this evening but found out this morning that it went under contract yesterday with someone else. 
Major bummer. I went from flying high this morning to pretty low. It is such a great house.
It’s for a reason though so we are trying to be ok with that. We still plan on meeting with the realtor this evening to put an offer on the 7 day listing house. It’s a bit higher but if they take our offers that would be awesome. We know our cut off point so that helps.
What an emotional roller coaster this house hunting thing is! We were wiped out all weekend. Since hearing the news this morning it’s been hard to focus at work. Trying to get back into it though.
Like I said before this house thing is kind of a test for us. If we can get into something we love we know it’s the right time if not we are ok with waiting another year. I love our apartment and staying another year wouldn’t kill me. Summer is almost over though so that’s good - fewer pool parties and loud, drunk guys playing volleyball.
The Stuff of Life
This poor blog is suffering so. Thought I’d pop in and do a post to keep it alive. I still love this blog - it’s what got me into blogging in the first place and so many wonderful memories are recorded here. Memories I should have been recording in my journal. The ease of quickly typing out my thoughts here is sometimes just more convenient.
There isn’t too much to report. Life keeps us busy. James started his new job July 1 and is really enjoying it. I love that I get to go to NYC in October because of it. My days stay full with my job then coming home to apartment tasks, VP work and projects for my new blog. Getting to be creative again has been wonderful. I have so many ideas now I am anxious to focus on.
Other exciting news is that last week we met with a mortgage banker and were pre-qualified/approved for a home loan. (!!) I had no idea what to expect going into the meeting but was pleasantly surprised it wasn’t as scary as I thought it would be. Yes, I signed my name more than I expected but hey, it’s all good. We are going out this weekend to look at a few homes. Now, this doesn’t mean we are for sure going to buy a home. We are just going to look and see what is in our price range and if we find ‘the one’. If that happens our goal is to close before December 1. If it doesn’t, we’ll most likely stay where we are and try again next year.
The prospect of being homeowners is both scary and exciting. It’s a lot more responsibility but I think we’re ready for it. If we can afford to live where we are now then we can afford a home. We have a firm budget we are sticking with on this house thing and there is no way we’ll end up with more house than we can afford.
I am also trying to not get ahead of myself. I am already scouring CraigsList for cool furniture pieces (that we really don’t need) and thinking about paint colors and planning a housewarming party…yes, I am a planner, I can’t help it. Deep breath…take a step back and one thing at a time. Haven’t even found a house yet!
It’s big news for us right now and the next few weeks and house hunting trips should tell us if this is the next step for us now or not. We’ll see!
