CristinaB's Blog

Got the green light!!!

2008-05-07T18:37:00Z

All systems are "go" on the new house!! We had our inspection yesterday- our house recieved an A-.

We have some minor repairs to do upon or before moving in, but nothing major or too costly; although the small items do add up!

I posted some teaser pictures of the house on my personal blog:

www.wcblanton.blogspot.com

We're chomping at the bit to start fixing up the place and adding our "touch" to it all!!! Ideas are running through my head like a raging river and I cannot focus on work to save my life! How long until closing now???

It happened that way!

2008-05-05T14:13:00Z

Ok so we put in an offer on the house we "stumbled" across- and we were accepted. So surreal, so weird... I still can't wrap my mind around it.

We are attending our home inspection tomorrow, even typing that feels crazy, "our. own. home".

I have about 15 million things swimming around in my head and none of them relate to work...how can I concentrate on work when all I want to do is look at home magazines and design blogs!!! I dont want to jinx anything before our inspection is completed, but seriously I've already made 2 lists of "to do" things for the house... someone stop me!

Could this actually be it!?

2008-05-01T14:08:00Z

Hub and I stumbled, literally, stumbled across a house we love 2 days ago while we were doing our nightly "milkshake drive".

{A little background info first: Its become a ritual for us since we've been in house-hunting mode to load the pup in the car after dinner, pick up coffee, a milk shake or some ice cream and drive around some nice neighborhoods. We drive around looking at homes oohing and aaahing over some of the amazing landscaping and gorgeous entry ways these houses have and fantasize about living there and then return to our little reality world in our cozy 2 bed/2bath tiny town home and settle in for the night.}

So we're on the milkshake drive and all of a sudden the pup decides he wants to start dry heaving, we pull over and the hub jumps out of the car, grabs the pup and runs him down to a grassy lot. When the pup was done with his dramatic dry heaving spell, hub picks him up and as he’s coming back to the car to load him up again, he trips over the street curb ( I have a very clumsy husband, what can I say) and lands in the front lawn of a house for sale. Apparently I had been sitting in front of that house for 5 minutes and never even noticed the sign; I was too preoccupied starring at the dry heaving pup!

The hub pulls a flyer from the info box and low and behold it is within our price range, already has hardwood floors and the best part- it’s in our top 2 choices of neighborhoods! We literally called our realtor at that very second and told him we wanted to see it ASAP. The next morning, bright and early, guess who was inside viewing that home!? US!!! We loved it! Although it needs some cosmetic updating, it is overall a great looking home and has a decent sized back yard. The hub and I are definitely not afraid of a paint brush and some manual labor- we welcome it in fact, it gives us the opportunity to customize the house as we like.

Fast forward to this morning- we’re putting in an offer! This would be how the hub and I find “our home”, if it in fact happens to turn out that way. I do hope it turns out that way! Random and a bit dramatic= the story of our lives! J

Keeping fingers tightly crossed!!!

P.S. sorry this is so long... I think this is the longest post I've ever done but I had a lot to say!

This funny life

2008-04-21T19:06:00Z

Isn't it funny how life plays out and how things just magically fall into their appropriate place. I'm not saying it happens all at once or even all at the same time or in a particular chronological order- but eventually, IT HAPPENS!

That's my small contribution to optimism for the day.

Help please

2008-04-08T02:47:00Z

Okay how the heck can one post a slide show on this thing? I put the few decent pictures that came out of the disposable cameras on a photo slide show but I dont know how to put it on a post.

Note- pictures taken by disposable cameras are very disappointing! Very low grade quality, nothing like a digital.

On a lighter note- I now have a new digital and I'm ready to snap away but I have nothing to take a picture of!

Easing the aging process

2008-03-12T20:17:00Z

Last weekend was my birthday. My hub knows how I feel about birthdays and he's always been amazing on my day; this year was no exception.

I slept-in the morning of my birthday because we stayed out way past our bed time the night before. So around 10am hubby comes into the bedroom with a breakfast tray with coffee and strawberry crepes for my bkfast!! He even included my favorite flower in a vase on the tray- very movie-esque! It was the best start to my day! The rest of the day was just as awesome-hubby had the romantic bug big time!

Before we left our house for dinner he called me downstairs where he had prepared an area with sunflowers and candles- I felt like I was being proposed to all over again! He turned on our wedding song and asked if he could dance w/me!! My whole body went as limber as a wet noodle and the tears fell like a running faucet.. I melted!! He gave me my birthday present after we finished our dance, which also made me cry like a baby; it was my grandmother's wedding ring all shiny and beautiful and inside he engraved our intitals right next to my grandparent's initials. I swear I could not stop crying the entire time we danced and even on the drive to the restaurant... my father-in-law, who met us for dinner, was kidding me for it too. :)

Every birthday I have had since I met my husband has been the best and most romantic...I truly could not ask for more in a man. I know now why my heart waited so long to surrender completely to anyone...she was waiting for my husband.

Spoke too soon!! Darn Investors!

2008-03-06T22:08:00Z

Geeeeze!!! This is ridiculous, another "investor" flip-it person has out bid us on this home my husband and I really wanted to buy. This investor will probably bull doze the super cute 1950's cottage and build a million dollar home on it and people like hub and I wont be able to afford the "re-do". So typical of our house hunting adventures as of late. This has happened to us 2 times already!!!

We found an amazing home in the most coveted neighborhood of our town that needed some major fixing up, but we were willing to put in the elbow grease given the location and the fabulous schools; however, money talks and we had to walk!! The investor put in the exact asking price and of course, our "meager" offer of only 10k under the asking price was not entertained!!! This is so frustrating, its analagous to the big chain stores coming in and snuffing out the local mom&pop stores!!!

How is a newlywed couple supposed to be able to afford a great home in a great neighborhood when the darn flip-it people snatch them up and turn them into million dollar homes!!!

UGHHHH! We are truly very disappointed. I could scream, but instead, I will drown my sorrows in wine and chocolate.

Overwhelming Frustration

2008-03-06T15:46:00Z

House hunting is frustrating, tiring, and emotional...I dont know that I am prepared for this! {sigh}

After much frustration, we might be closing on a house in the next 2 weeks!