one foot in front of the other

I am getting way ahead of myself. I'm already trolling the for sale section on Craigslist looking for potential furniture. And when we don't even have walls yet. It seems that I'm getting a bit ahead of myself. But... but... but....

These chairs are really great! I am really surprised over the spectacular condition. The lady who sold them to me said she bought them in 1983 and they have never really been a part of the actually furniture for sitting. They were more for looking at. But mauve velvet really isn't my style, even if they condition of them is fairly pristine.

So what shall I do with them? I am more of a crafty person than a truly inventive or creative one. I'm an idea stealer and combiner... there is an element of creativity to it, but I need that extra push of inspiration to do a project well, and I usually get that from other people's projects. I am obsessed with home decor blogs right now, being that my house is going through a major transformation (I promise, I'll post pictures soon).

I am a huge fan of Apartment Therapy and the whole AT community. I sent in a question about the chair, asking for opinions, and it was posted! Check it out here :) I got tons of great suggestions. I can't wait to start it!

well looky what we have here

Now I'm not professional, but I'm going to venture a guess... we need new plumbing. So now, besides the electrical and roof, the plumbing looks to be in desperate need of a tune up. This is something that the inspector told us we were going to need to do, but I didn't expect it to be so apparent. Oy! It's a little (read: lot) frightening, eh?

she's a beaut!

Let me give you a little tour of the place that I will soon call home. The furniture is not ours and just about everything is going to change: the electrical, the plumbing, the roof, the floors, some of the walls, the entire kitchen, the backyard and front yard will get a facelift... it's extensive and overwhelming. But we must document the beginnings, yes?

The living room... beads did not come with the house :*(

The gnarly kitchen. Gnarly more in layout and smell (they were smokers).
Other half of the kitchen behind the funky wall dividing the room (more to come on this).
The wall/oven dividing the room.
The view from the back porch

My sweet bathroom.
Bedroom #1
The super awesome bedroom #2. Again, they didn't leave the bar - so sad!

This is the whole house plan (really tiny).

Proof positive this house is now taking up 90% of my free time! It's going to be a long road!

appliances galore (thank you kelly ripa)

I nearly hyperventilated as we walked into the Lowe's yesterday. We were there for appliances. Appliances are expensive (as is, apparently, everything house related). Panic ensued.

I never thought I would be the one to freak out when it came to spending money that we had planned, but it turns out that I had a harder time swiping the credit card than Brandon did. Strange! And it's not like we didn't know exactly what we were going to get when we walked into the store. Bran and I are frugality researchers... we find the best price and then we torture over big decisions until we finally pull the trigger.

But we did it. We ordered an entire line of beautiful Electrolux appliances: p-touch dishwasher, french door freezer-bottom fridge, 18000 BTU capable stove/range, and an over-the-range microwave. We were in for a fantastic surprise when we went in to Lowe's to open a credit card (zero % for the first 12 months, which gives us time to pay it off!) and they told us that we would get 10% off for opening the card! Plus Bran gets a discount because his company sells Elecrolux, plus there was an additional $350 back with the purchase of 4 appliances. Thank you, Black Friday!

All this... to put in our not-even-conceptualized kitchen. The possibilities are endless, but I'm petrified about making a mistake. I know about the kitchen triangle with the sink, fridge, and oven, but beyond that, my kitchen is oddly shaped and now that it's bare, I have the option to change it into just about any layout I want. It's almost too much power.

The appliances are set to be delivered at the end of December... so we have about a month to get our shit together. Can we do it?

it's ours!

**blink blink**

I CAN HAZ... HOME?! It has been an absolutely frantic, stressful and intense month, but we are emerging from it as homeowners! I picked up the keys after dark yesterday from the seller's agent and Bran and I drove immediately over to the house. That sweet, sweet husband of mine picked me up at the sidewalk and carried me across the threshold of our new home. We walked around from room to room (because of course, there is nowhere to sit down) trying to absorb the enormity of what we had just done (and I only mean enormity as in weightiness of the situation, the house itself is not even 1200 st. ft!). We held hands and took it all in until Brandon looked at me and asked "now what?"

Well, now comes the time to tackle the beast! She's not going to be an easy conquest. I'll be honest, I have a ton of help. My dad is a handyman, Brandon works closely with tools at work, we have wonderful family and friends, but the house is in such a condition, from top to bottom, that everything will need to be touched by our loving hands. We are dealing with leaky pipes, a non functional kitchen, smoke smells, popcorn ceilings, dirty carpet, disintegrating roof ... and so much more. I think we're in for an adventure!

will it become a reality?

My husband, Brandon, and I put an offer in on a cute little house. I feel so hopeful, so overwhelmed. We are still in the midst of negotiations but I think this just might work out. We are scheduled to close on November 2, 2009 and will take ownership 3 days later. This house will be a labor of love, a feat that I'm not sure that we'll be able to accomplish for some time, but we'd love the chance to give it a shot. I hope that this funky farmhouse with endless potential becomes a reality (with mucho help from my great dad).

This could get bumpy... I can't wait!