Happy House-versary!

1 Year down, 29 more to go!
 (Based on a traditional 30 year mortgage, which surely will be paid off far ahead a time)

At any rate, how do you celebrate a 1 year House-versary you ask?

Well you get a fairly decent amount of sleep the night before, you wake up in a fog, and promptly smash your finger in the sliding glass door while letting the dogs out in the morning.let the dogs out, pick up several miscellaneous things and prepare for Molly Maids to come and clean (thanks to Groupon)

You work a full day, then swing by and pick up fresh cut flowers on the way home, run into or almost literally over Paula Deen and her Husband Michael in the shopping center parking lot, (Yes I saw Paula Deen and hubby going for dinner at Bonefish Grill) So you go home and prepare dinner and enjoy a glass of wine while enjoying a freshly cleaned house. You conclude the evening with a candle lit bubble bath, with some Barry White Miles Davis tunes. After a long day you watch Under the Tuscan Sun, because what better movie is there about home renovating and things going wrong? Of course there is Money Pit... but that was so June. 

It was 1 year ago today I spent several hours signing away my life amongst a massive stack of documents. Closing had been moved several times but finally the day had arrived.

After being at the closing attorneys office, I headed to the new place with keys in hand. My first task was pulling up some very very very doggy smelling carpet on the sun porch. In the days to follow my bestie would come and help remove it, and we'd embark on the task of wallpaper removal.

My former apartment began to look like a warehouse, packed and stacked with boxes galore.

The first 2 weeks of homeownership were hardcore, as bedrooms were de-wallpapered, the living room painted and the dining room de-wallpapered and painted. Giving me a whole 3 rooms "liveable" while months and months of work went into other areas. 

By March 19th (which was my nieces 1st birthday and we celebrated the week after in Ohio) I was officially moving in and popping the cork to having a place to call my own.

What a year its been! If you've been following this blog for any length of time, you know the year has been filled with tons of ups and downs, sleepless nights, lots of sweat, tears, injuries (not too many and mostly minor) and elbow grease.

So cheers! To one year down and many more to come! 

(Herb crusted pork lion, pan seared asparagus, sliced tomatoes and blackberry wine accented with some pomegranate) yum!

As most of the work is now done, my efforts and focus are on cleaning, organizing, decorating and accessorizing. So as rooms become "complete" stay tuned for some true before & after pictures.

Happy 1st House-versary to me!

Back to blogworld

I'm back guys!

It's been a rough month or so, but today starts a new month and what better time than to post a new blog entry.

These last few weeks I've been working to clean and organize and regain some ground so that I can continue to work on housey projects. (In the process continuing to find missing items) I just couldn't work amongst all the saw dust, tools and odds and ends laying around. Time for some order!!

Now that things have re-grouped a bit, some order has been brought to the chaos, I can continue on with all my never ending list of projects.

I've celebrated this past Thanksgiving with some friends (I'm gearing up to host for next year). I also celebrated my birthday which was a fabulous weekend and ended with the Lady Antebellum concert.

Talk about an amazing show! My seat was 7th row, but I ended up standing up next to the stage the entire time.. Charles said happy birthday to me within the first 10 minutes, and later Hilary came over and said happy birthday to me as well. I was in my element... And yes, like the good ol' days of elementary school and seeing the Backstreet Boys that I LOVED, I had a homemade sign for Lady Antebellum staying it was my 25th birthday.

C'mon, a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do! Before the concert started they had a camera going around taping people dancing and it was put on the big screen.. I was caught on that too. It was awesome!

 (And no, this is not using zoom!!)

Back on the house front, the front door is ALMOST 100%. Just a few more coats of paint and it'll be good to go. The other night I was busy cleaning the living room to prep for getting the Christmas tree this weekend, I hung some garland on the mantel and semi decorated it. I decorated a wreath too and then realized,

"Crud, the front door isn't done yet. I can't hang this beauty until THAT is done..." So I finished up the trim panels and went to town priming it.. As of last night the official coat of paint went on and I'm IN LOVE with the color!!

If you remember here, I was tossing around several colors. My heroes have become Sheryl and Mike! They've taken the plunge and have a fabulous colored door, which sealed the deal for me and mine.

I'm sure I'll have some neighbors who will think...."What the heck is she thinking?!?!".....Shoot I'll have some friends who think that too I'm sure... But the bottom line is this, I wanted something different, I wanted it to make a statement, and I wanted something off the beaten path..... I got that.

Enough of me rambling on and on.. You want pictures don't you? Yes you do, you know you do! 

 After the panels were cut and put on, the door was primed.

 I just couldn't wait to see the door color, so I painted a big swatch and was giddy with excitement.

 Two coats down, (paint still wet) and I'm in love!

The bottom of the door will be graced with a kickplate for a finishing touch. I'll be sure to show the final product. It's starting to get semi cold here- so I doubt I'll paint the front porch before Christmas but we'll see!

My mom is coming down for Christmas for the first time and first time since I've been a home owner... I can't wait to put her to work!!! (She wants to help, trust me) Hard to believe that it was this time last year I drove my realtor Julia nuts with looking at 30+ houses!!

Welcome!

Welcome to this blog!

Here I hope to post updates as I transform a 1946 bungalow into a home of my own.
Closing is just days away and I can't wait.

Not much to report now, but let the fun begin once the keys are mine!

I noticed too, that this picture was one of the first ones I took of the house.. It's since then been fully exterior painted. =) Amazing what a coat of paint can do!

****This blog at times may be picture heavy***