Welcome

This blog has been in the works for quite some time although until recently it was only a series of thoughts rather than a tangible entity. Nonetheless, even before buying our first house I knew that we would be doing a lot to it...not because we intended to buy a fixer-upper but because we wanted to make the house we bought our own. To say that we like things a certain way is a drastic understatement.

The idea of "our first home" still seems like a dream rather than a reality as it has been many years in planning (again, solely in my head). Lets go back a little so you can get to know the story behind this blogger.

I'm a full time working mama to two beautiful boys that are 22 months apart and a wife to a man that I met in a bar. Yes a bar. The hubs and I met while I was in college and out one night with some friends. I was the sober driver that evening and he...well let's just say he wasn't close to being the sober driver for his group. After he finally got the courage to come over to me (a few beers helped with that) one thing led to the next and we left with each others phone numbers (not each other just to clarify, this is a family blog!). A month later we went on our first date and nine months later we were married. Our first year of marriage was my last year of college and knowing my husband wanted to continue onto grad school we prepared ourselves for the prospect of moving within the following year. Twelve months later the prospect of moving manifested as a 17-foot Budget truck with all of our belongings inside.

We moved from Washington State where all our friends and family were for a foreign country: Georgia. To make it a little more interesting I gave birth to our first baby a week before my husband had to be in Georgia for orientation. I followed 4 weeks after that with our new baby, our dog, and my mother (thank heavens). Did I mention that we drove?

It was a very challenging 3 and 1/2 years but well worth it. We returned from Georgia with a second child, a Doctorate of Chiropractic and those dreams of a home still floating around in my head. With that being said I am beyond proud of him and what he accomplished for our family.

We are a young, healthy, and budget-conscious family. My husband and I share a love for working out and eating clean but also enjoy our dessert. Both of us have sacrificed a lot to get to where we are now and into our first home. Truly it has been an adventure thus far but with so much more to come. If buying a home isn't adventure enough, then surely tearing it apart less than 24 hours after obtaining the keys qualifies. It's amazing what you find when you rip things apart and how resourceful you become when your budget dwindles faster than you anticipated. After buying this house we went all in with the renovations rather than practicing the more traditional (rational?) method of moving in and going room by room. The house itself sits on the corner of a great neighborhood and we reside on just shy of an acre. Some, when walking by or walking into the house for the first time prior to our renovations may not have thought much of it as it didn't really have any wow factors. For us though it was a gem with so much potential. It just needed a vision which I had the moment we walked in the door (and several years prior, again those darn thoughts percolating in my head!). Not to mention that vision would encompass a lot of work in the form of sweat labor, a few disagreements and several bumps along the way.

 I have been told that if your marriage can survive a renovation then you can get through just about anything. So honey it looks like we are in it truly for the long haul if that adage holds true.  Before you go I forgot to mention that all the renovations you will see on this blog are DIY thanks to my husband and his rockstar of a dad.

So, welcome to our 1989 home on 10th St...or what I more affectionately refer to as our "Gem on 10th."

"The Wall"

  When we first began our house hunt I was so excited and really optimistic. That feeling was short lived to say the least. I would compare it to a similar situation I had experienced when buying my wedding dress. Your wedding day is a milestone just like buying a house. It's suppose to be this once in a lifetime awesome experience. When in reality it does not go as smoothly as planned.

 We looked at 25 houses in three months and put offers on 5 of them. Getting desperate I dragged my husband to any house that came on the market. Even the cookie cutter development houses (which my husband had no interest in ever living in one). No offense to those who live in them it just wasn't what we were truly looking for. 

 Finally just when we had laid the idea of buying a house to rest I was online and came across a house I really felt we had to look at. The one thing that was some what deterring was the fact that it was "bank owned." However, the minute my husband and I walked in we both had this overwhelming feeling, "this is it!" This was the house that was meant to be our first home.

 We put in our offer the next day and after a long and frustrating six weeks we finally closed on our house. Did we move in the following weekend? Um.... not exactly.  I had plans for this house; new floors, paint, kitchen overhaul and taking down "the wall."

When opening the front door you enter the main floor of our split-level home. The family room is to the left, straight ahead is the eating area, to the right is a set of stairs going up and going down as well as a closet. The wall in the picture is also what you see when you walk in. Any guesses what could be hiding behind "The Wall?" 

Let's take a peek around the corner...

Viola the Kitchen!

The pantry sits on the side of the wall we were taking down. A small sacrifice in my opinion plus we truly don't eat a lot of pantry foods.  

  Wow! What a difference right? This demolition happened all within 24 hours of obtaining our keys. Not just the wall but did you notice the floors or lack there of? If you scroll up you will notice that the flooring was a honey bamboo hardwood floor. The main floor and lower level had the bamboo while the upstairs had blue carpet. 

Our house was officially under construction and not conducive for a family with two young boys.  I  mentioned earlier we looked at houses for three months. What I failed to mention is that during that time our rental lease ended. The benefit to being back in Washington was having our family. I called upon them for shelter. We were so lucky to have family open their homes to us. I felt bad enough with how long it took to close on the house but now to ask if we can stay longer while renovating was hard. I really only thought we needed 3 weeks to make the house livable. I was so beyond wrong! We didn't move in for six weeks. 

From the picture above it really seems like you could live in it. The ceiling above the kitchen and the sheetrock from the wall that came down all needed to be redone along with removing the soffits above the kitchen cabinets. When the entire ceiling came down I was having a panic attack. Trust me when I say it got a lot worse before it got better. The reason for taking down the entire ceiling was so that way there were no seams and it would be easier to tape and mud. This process has to be done three times before texturing. Removing the soffits made a huge difference in the kitchen and would now allow us to get full length kitchen cabinets for a more up to date look and feel. 

Like I said it got worse before it got better. 

Sorry the pictures are dark hopefully as this blog evolves so will my ability to take better pictures. 

The mess starts to get cleaned up and things are starting to get better. Kitchen cabinets have been ordered too! Can't wait for them to arrive and be installed.

So what do you think so far? I'm so in love with our dark stained bamboo floors. A source list will soon follow after the room is complete. Stay tuned.