OK, first off, you all will be happy to know that tonight, Randy--yes, that Randy--left a comment on my last entry about the Cringe launch. According to my stat counter, which is how I confirmed it was really him and not someone playing a cruel, cruel joke, he found my blog after typing his full name into Google, which in turn led him to this set of diary entries. Don't worry, I've already reassured Luke that our marriage is strong and will likely outlive the newness of this shocking development, though pretty soon I might have to start stuffing dollars in the Randy jar, so happy am I that my old crush and friend is finally in the know about his kind-of published status.
(You caught the Friends reference, yes? Monica's obsessive talk about Richard? Chandler no likey? Monica coughing up dough for each Richard reference?)
(And the pun, it has officially been killed.)
Second, house talk! You've been waiting for it, I know. Our inspection was last Thursday, and Luke stayed home with Kara while I poked and prodded every nook and cranny of our future residence for two hours. It was the first time I'd been in the house since our showing, so it was comforting to see the place again and confirm we made the right decision. We so, so did.
And I have the pictures to prove it. Walk with me, won't you?
Here's the exterior. Originally Luke and I wanted to stay away from houses like this because there's no presentation to speak of, but after four months of fruitless searching, we suddenly became more open-minded. The trim needs paint, and the siding will eventually be replaced in a color that isn't yellow, but it's not hurting us for now.
Welcome to our living room. The laminate floors are new, and the space is more than our current living room and dining room combined. AND THEN SOME. Plus, lots of windows for plenty of natural light.
When I saw this corner, the first thing that came to mind was, "Playroom." Not that we'll turn it into an actual room, mind you, but this is the perfect place to carve out a books and toys area for Kara and Number Two. Since the house is a two-story, the last thing Luke needs is to spend his days trampling on the staircase to retrieve additional options for early childhood entertainment.
The dining room, which leads to the back yard. The chandelier is tacky ("tacky" being a theme that runs through the entire house, as you'll soon see), but the space is perfect.
First shot of the back yard. When I first saw it, I nearly wet myself because the lot was by far the biggest of all the many, many, MANY houses Luke and I have seen since May. The current owners have four dogs, which explains the poor condition of the lawn, but grass, it grows. I can totally imagine running around with the kids here, playing tag, wading in the kiddie pool, throwing a ball around, or simply enjoying hot dogs on the grill. This was one of the biggest selling points for me.
Second half of the yard.
Now, let's check out the upstairs.
(The upstairs! I grew up in a three-bedroom apartment building in Chicago with my parents, four siblings, and a dog. We owned the building, but space was tight, and lil' Frema dreamed of the day she would live in a house. She never imagined the possibility of a second floor.)
(Also, poor lil' Frema, missing out on all this cool stuff. Printing the Randy poem, buying a house. My adult self weeps for her.)
You're looking at the house's second big selling point (for us): the loft. At our price range and in our current market, Luke and I could be picky enough to narrow our search to at least three bedrooms, but a fourth for office space just wasn't feasible. Situated at the top of the staircase, this loft can hold a generously sized desk, filing cabinet, the works. This enables us to keep all things computer related out of our living room and our bedroom and award each child a bedroom of his/her very own, also a luxury lil' Frema would have died for. If we ever have a third, the gender-sharers can bunk up. The first one to complain gets demoted to the sleeper sofa.
Second view of the loft.
The first half of our bedroom. Notice I said half because this room is GINORMOUS. The fire-engine red paint has got to go, and it will, but I prefer to focus on the large window
and walk-in closet
and this whole other section I have no idea how to deal with yet. Library? Tea room? The possibilities are endless.
But I love that it's there.
The master bath. Which has its own closet. I am in love.
Not with the carpet, though. The current owners are the original
builders, so why they approved carpeting to be installed in a room that is
so NOT appropriate for carpet is beyond me, but it's an oversight that
will soon be rectified, as Luke and I are having the entire upstairs
re-carpeted and two bathrooms re-tiled. Or in this specific instance, tiled. We
subtracted the cost from our offer specifically for that purpose. The
carpet and tile have been chosen, and the deposit was made last night. I know
it'll make a huge difference in getting the place to feel like home.
Also, in removing signs of life with FOUR DOGS. Blech.
Bedroom number one. It's smaller than the second bedroom, but it's closest to the master so I'm calling it number one.
Luke and I made offers on three houses earlier this summer, all of which fell through (thank God), and house number three also had non-master bedrooms that weren't identical in size, and it bugged the crap out of me. Here, it doesn't bother me at all, just because the house is so spacious that the chances of us tripping all over each other are slim, and also, again with the sleeper sofa if I hear so much as a peep about how Big Sister has the bigger room. She's the oldest. Them's the breaks.
The second full bathroom, which one day will receive more TLC by way of new cabinetry and mirror fixture but for now will have to settle for new paint and tile. Apparently, the sellers' daughter felt comfortable enough with me to leave remnants of her primping routine scattered across the sink.
Also apparently, she thought bathroom shelving was better used for storing beanie babies than her hair spray collection.
Second bedroom, first time you bear witness to the sellers' love for stars. But it won't be the last!
And as if the yard, master bedroom, and loft weren't enough to seal the deal, God planted a sign that this house was meant to be ours.
It's almost as if Harry Potter himself wanted us to live here. And really, who are we to say no?
There are two rooms left to show you. Two rooms I specifically saved for last because they almost--ALMOST--caused me to walk away. Which would have been crazy after all you've just seen. But that just shows you the extent of the tacky.
The kitchen in all its pea-green-cabinetry glory. With orange walls. Hold me.
The kicker? Is that the woman painted the cabinets JUST FOR THE PURPOSE OF SELLING THE HOUSE. Against her agent's advice. Because she wanted to list this room as "updated." Excuse me while I bang my head against her handiwork.
In all seriousness, this isn't the first house we've seen with painted kitchen cabinets; consequently, this isn't the first time I've looked down on a couple for painting their kitchen cabinets. We're not quite sure what to do with them. Stripping and staining would be quite the job, re-painting them is even less appealing, and replacing them altogether isn't in the cards, budget-wise. I figured we'd just leave them alone until next year and redo them with bonus money, but then I started thinking about color choices for the living room and how limiting the cabinet color is to our first-floor decor. Luke thinks I'm insane--"They're separate rooms!"--but there's no way I could move forward on a blue color scheme for the living room when those horrid green atrocities are visible from my ass print on the couch. If you have suggestions, bring them on.
The blow is only slightly lessened by the nice-sized pantry next to the fridge and adjacent half-bath, but we'll live. Even though that bathroom's tainted, too.
Because of course all the cabinets have to match! Sob.
Also, more stars!
So, that's our house. Luke and I worked damn hard to be able to afford a house on one income and take on a mortgage that won't keep us up at night, and never in a million years did I expect to find anything more than a suitable starter home to outgrow after five years. This place fell from the sky, and to label it a "starter" when there's so much room to play around with would be sinful. The negotiations were relatively painless, and a week later we had a signed purchase agreement and a September 30th closing date. Our apartment lease ends on Halloween, so the plan is to paint for two weeks, re-carpet and tile the third week, and move in the last weekend of October. Hooray for not having to make a mortgage payment until November.
And now, time for bed, seeing as tomorrow I'll be at the hospital with Molly welcoming baby Marin into the world! Be sure to check her blog for updates.
