Exciting Insanity

I would just like to preface this post by saying when we started house hunting, I DID NOT want a 'fixer upper'. I didn't mind the idea of repainting some walls and perhaps changing carpet. I DID NOT want to have to change the floors in EVERY ROOM, strip wall paper off at least one wall in EVERY ROOM, have to remodel ANY bathrooms (let alone two and a half), or have to replace things like garage doors, interior doors, and light fixtures. I wanted an all around "move-in ready" house. I realize at this stage in my particular life I would not be able to help with much of these things anyway, so why does it matter? I think I just didn't want to have to wait to move in. The more work you have to do, the longer you have to wait. Don't get me wrong. It's not that I am dying to move out of Nana and Nandad's house. It's just that I'm not used to living with anyone other than Adrien (and Cole) anymore. And I'm sure you can imagine that 4 adults and a 2 year old in a townhouse gets a little tight. On top of all that, I've been dreaming of having a house (a real house-not an apartment that I own) for a LONG TIME. I've wanted a great kitchen-pantry included, a laundry room, a room for a TV, a room for an office, and a room for my son's toys-not all three combined into ONE!

That being said, WE FOUND A HOUSE. OUR HOUSE. THE HOUSE I'VE BEEN DREAMING OF!!! Except for one minor detail. It's a FIXER UPPER! HA! I think sometimes God enjoys answering our prayers with a little twist. ;) I must tell you though that I absolutely LOVE this house. Quirks, nasty carpet, wallpaper, and all! When we get done with this place (many years from now) it will be the perfect house for us. It already is the perfect house for us because it has great bones and even better potential. This house was custom built in the mid 70's. This house has the top line of everything you can imagine and has been taken care of very well. It's just outdated-it's from the mid 70's!  We are currently waiting for our official financing approval but considering that we had two pre-approvals we are confident things will work out fine. I hope I'm not jinxing us by posting this now instead of waiting. Oh well! Either way, you HAVE to see this house!

So, no more blabbing. Let me just give you a little tour of our future home. Please, all comments are welcome! We are having a lot of fun talking about this house with our friends. :)

 View of the house from the front yard

The entry way. This house is a quad meaning it has three levels and a basement. You can see the two staircases (one going up and one going down) in this photo.

This is the living room. We will most likely have our current living room furniture and TV in this room.

This is the dining room. It will be empty for quite a while but that's OK!

The kitchen!! One thing's for sure about this house-the cabinets are STAYING! They are custom built by an Amish carpenter (not sure if that's the correct term...). They will last the life of this house and they are gorgeous!

This would be the range. The oven is on top (the glass doors) and the cook top is below-behind that long handle.

There it is! The cook top! Amazing I know. As old as this thing is, I am SO excited to cook on it!!

This is the lower level. We're calling it the family room. It will be Cole's 'play room', the office for a little while, and will eventually have some new comfy, kid friendly couches. We will most likely end up painting the brick as it is extremely dark and quite monstrous!

Another view of the living room. I love that you can see into it from the kitchen!!!

This would be the half bath located on the lower level. There is a pocket door connecting the bathroom with the laundry room. I'm so glad the laundry room is not in the basement!!

Ladies and gentlemen, those are the original washer and dryer still in working condition! Go Maytag!!!

Master bedroom. The picture does not do this room justice. It is HUGE!!! We also have a walk-in closet and our own 3/4 bath.

This will be Cole's room. It is also HUGE. It's about the same size as the master in our condo.

**We do not have any pictures of the third bedroom as it has been stripped of it's wonderful carpet. There was nothing exciting about it so we did not take any pictures of it. It's just a normal size room and will be great as a NURSERY!!!

We have a gazebo! It's even wired for cable TV (as if we'd actually sit outside to watch TV!) But if we want to we could. :)

The house backs up to a creek (a little scary but we will teach the kiddos not to go near the edge of the yard). There is a small deck built at the edge of the yard. A nice quiet place to sit and enjoy the beautiful green surroundings and sound of running water. (Maybe I'll actually learn to enjoy this!)

View of the backyard from the small deck.

I just had to share this with you. This is the chandelier in the entry way. Make sure you go back and look at the picture of the dining room. There is a matching chandelier in there! :)

I will be sure to keep you all updated on the status of this purchase as well as photos of the house's transformation once we are the proud owners!