I analogize for not keeping up with this blog. As I have stated before, I am not much of an author, which reflects in my reluctance to make new entries.
That being said, I have a few updates on what is going on over here in the good 'ole LA.
Mike "the builder" called last week and informed me that he was in the process of getting things together to start forming the foundation for the house. Therefore, Jeff and I went to Colburns to pick out all of our plumbing fixtures. Of course, I walked in the store and picked out a faucet that would have been double our whole fixture budget by its self! After Jeff reeled me back in, we were able to pick some beautiful items within our budget. I love going to these showrooms and seeing what the manufacturers are coming up with; what new designs are out there, and what is becoming the new "thing" to do. Unfortunetly, I do not get to deal with these venders on a daily basis with what I do. I sometimes miss this part of my job, but other days, I don't miss it AT ALL!
They are supposed to be framing the foundation this week and pouring next. We will be in Florida next week, so maybe by the time we get back it will be set!
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Dog sitting
Tim and Allyson went on a cruise last weekend and I was the lucky one that got to take care of their babies! Dora and Shelby are adorable chihuahuas that are only a few years old. I fell in love with them the first time I went to their house! We had a blast hanging out. We went on so many walks and Dora got to go swimming chasing after a duck! (against my will, of course!) I took lots of pictures, but here are a few:
Hawaii
So I know it has been about a month since my last post. I warned all of you who read this that I am not much of a writer, but I will do my best!
On March 13th we met with Jennifer (our Real Estate Agent), the builder, and his agent, to sign the purchase agreement on our house! It is official now. We are really going through with it! Now I just have to wait for ground breaking in June and I can get busy picking out all of the finishes.
On March 14th my family went to Hawaii for Spring Break. We stayed on the Island of Kauai (A.K.A. the Garden Island) This was by far one of my favorite vacations we have been on. Now that all of us have gotten older we can appreciate all of the more "active" things to do on a vacation. We went zip lining, did a helicopter tour, and spent 2 days on "jeep excursions" (as we liked to call it) around the Island. As much of a sun goddess I can be, I wouldn't have traded any of the activities we did for a few more hours of sun.
The Island was BEAUTIFUL! We stayed on Anahola beach, which is a public beach, but is so unpopulated that it feels private. The waterfalls, beaches, canyons, and just overall landscape was unforgettable! It truly was Paradise! (and don't worry... we had our share of "cheeseburgers in paradise")
The house we stayed in was HUGE! We each had our own bedroom and bathroom, with rooms to spare! It was the type of house that was perfect for entertaining. I hope one day to be able to have one just like it (it would be ideal to be on the beach, too!) hehe.
The last day we were there we visited Pearl Harbor. This was a very moving and inspirational memorial that everyone must visit!
It is always sad going home from a vacation. It flies by and before you know it you are reminiscing about the wonderful time we had and the memories we will share for a lifetime! Sure enough, though, it is back to reality.
On March 13th we met with Jennifer (our Real Estate Agent), the builder, and his agent, to sign the purchase agreement on our house! It is official now. We are really going through with it! Now I just have to wait for ground breaking in June and I can get busy picking out all of the finishes.
On March 14th my family went to Hawaii for Spring Break. We stayed on the Island of Kauai (A.K.A. the Garden Island) This was by far one of my favorite vacations we have been on. Now that all of us have gotten older we can appreciate all of the more "active" things to do on a vacation. We went zip lining, did a helicopter tour, and spent 2 days on "jeep excursions" (as we liked to call it) around the Island. As much of a sun goddess I can be, I wouldn't have traded any of the activities we did for a few more hours of sun.
The Island was BEAUTIFUL! We stayed on Anahola beach, which is a public beach, but is so unpopulated that it feels private. The waterfalls, beaches, canyons, and just overall landscape was unforgettable! It truly was Paradise! (and don't worry... we had our share of "cheeseburgers in paradise")
The house we stayed in was HUGE! We each had our own bedroom and bathroom, with rooms to spare! It was the type of house that was perfect for entertaining. I hope one day to be able to have one just like it (it would be ideal to be on the beach, too!) hehe.
The last day we were there we visited Pearl Harbor. This was a very moving and inspirational memorial that everyone must visit!
It is always sad going home from a vacation. It flies by and before you know it you are reminiscing about the wonderful time we had and the memories we will share for a lifetime! Sure enough, though, it is back to reality.
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Meeting the Builder
So we finally got a chance to meet with the builder. His name is Mike Dupont and we are VERY excited to be working with him. He has wonderful credentials and is extremely professional. So about the house....
We were thrilled to hear that we are basically going to be getting the house for a set price (based on our offer and their counteroffers, etc) and then all of the finishes will be picked based on allowances. For example, say he spent $15000 on flooring, I can pick out any flooring I want as long as I stay around $15000. If I go over, we pay out of pocket for the difference, If we go under that amount, we can put that money towards another aspect of the home. I don't think there will be too many structural changes that I will make, just a few minor things here and there. As far as the finishes go, They will all be different. I plan to change all of the paint colors, flooring, fireplace mantel, fixtures, lighting, cabinetry, counter tops, and appliances.
We picked out the lot that the house will be on. It is in the same neighborhood, but on the other side. The way the house is laid out, we had to pick another lot on a curve; which is fine with us, because that means a bigger yard. To our surprise, Mike will be able to have the house completed withing 4-5 months of signing all of the papers! We were expecting at least 9! We hope; however, that we can push it back a bit and move in at the end of November. We need to wait for Jeff to finish that semester of school and his turn around at work. It seems like everything is just falling into place. I know everything happens for a reason, so I know that this move is right.
I can not wait to start this project. I think it will be a lot of fun and it is right up my alley. I plan to have a party once we move it, and you all are invited!
We were thrilled to hear that we are basically going to be getting the house for a set price (based on our offer and their counteroffers, etc) and then all of the finishes will be picked based on allowances. For example, say he spent $15000 on flooring, I can pick out any flooring I want as long as I stay around $15000. If I go over, we pay out of pocket for the difference, If we go under that amount, we can put that money towards another aspect of the home. I don't think there will be too many structural changes that I will make, just a few minor things here and there. As far as the finishes go, They will all be different. I plan to change all of the paint colors, flooring, fireplace mantel, fixtures, lighting, cabinetry, counter tops, and appliances.
We picked out the lot that the house will be on. It is in the same neighborhood, but on the other side. The way the house is laid out, we had to pick another lot on a curve; which is fine with us, because that means a bigger yard. To our surprise, Mike will be able to have the house completed withing 4-5 months of signing all of the papers! We were expecting at least 9! We hope; however, that we can push it back a bit and move in at the end of November. We need to wait for Jeff to finish that semester of school and his turn around at work. It seems like everything is just falling into place. I know everything happens for a reason, so I know that this move is right.
I can not wait to start this project. I think it will be a lot of fun and it is right up my alley. I plan to have a party once we move it, and you all are invited!
Sunday, February 24, 2008
House Hunting
House hunting is one of the most exciting, thrilling, exhausting, and frustrating thing you can go through. Jeff and I have began to look for "our first place". Being out here in Louisiana, it can be a little frustrating and depressing to realize how little you can get for your money. Being used to the market in Texas, it is eye-opening moving away; like the saying goes, "you never knew what you had until it's gone".
After a huge ordeal with one builder on the first house we loved (which is a story in itself) and fighting over Realtors, etc., we quickly came to realize this would be a tougher process than we thought. We found a wonderful Realtor, Jennifer with Keller Williams, who has been a "God send" to us in this process. If you ever need a Realtor, let me know, and I will send Jennifer your way. She has shown us countless of homes in different areas, price ranges, and styles. We finally found one that we love.
This house is going to be a "custom spec". This basically means that the floor plan is already planned out, but we get to pick the finishes. This is right down our alley. The house will take at least 9 months to build, once we meet with the builder and formulate the offer and details. This is perfect timing for us because Jeff still has a year left of school at LSU, which means less time he would have to commute to school at night, and we can take our time saving some more money and picking out everything we want. We can't wait to meet with the builder and agents to set up the start date on breaking ground! I can't believe I am going to be going through the home building process for myself! It can't come soon enough!
Here is link to the house that we will have built on another lot. Keep in mind that the floor plan will be the same, but the finishes and a few details (i.e. the hole over the fireplace for the TV and the awful tile) are subject to change.
After a huge ordeal with one builder on the first house we loved (which is a story in itself) and fighting over Realtors, etc., we quickly came to realize this would be a tougher process than we thought. We found a wonderful Realtor, Jennifer with Keller Williams, who has been a "God send" to us in this process. If you ever need a Realtor, let me know, and I will send Jennifer your way. She has shown us countless of homes in different areas, price ranges, and styles. We finally found one that we love.
This house is going to be a "custom spec". This basically means that the floor plan is already planned out, but we get to pick the finishes. This is right down our alley. The house will take at least 9 months to build, once we meet with the builder and formulate the offer and details. This is perfect timing for us because Jeff still has a year left of school at LSU, which means less time he would have to commute to school at night, and we can take our time saving some more money and picking out everything we want. We can't wait to meet with the builder and agents to set up the start date on breaking ground! I can't believe I am going to be going through the home building process for myself! It can't come soon enough!
Here is link to the house that we will have built on another lot. Keep in mind that the floor plan will be the same, but the finishes and a few details (i.e. the hole over the fireplace for the TV and the awful tile) are subject to change.
Pottery Works
For all of you who know me, art is a huge part of my life. For those of you who are not aware of a place known as "Potteryworks" it is this amazing place where you can, long story short, paint pottery. I have always had a special place in my heart for these places, but recently become obsessed! I went with my friend Allyson yesterday to one here in Baton Rouge. I had to introduce her to this wonderful world of clay, paint, and little girl fascination. It sounds easy enough, but you quickly become overwhelmed by choices and your imagination begins to set into overload. After about hour 1 we finally decided what we would attempt, next, however, is to actually create this masterpiece we had built up in our heads. It is amazing how fast time flies when having fun! After the 3 hour mark, we got kicked out and had to go back today to finish. Allyson was able to finish 3 pieces in the time it took me to make my cookie jar! She made a Fleur-de-li platter, a bat for her friend she nicknames "batman" and an adorable tile with monkeys on it for another friend of hers. Needless to say our pieces turned out great and we can't wait to get them back after being fired! below are some pics of us creating our pieces today. I will post pictures of the final products as soon as they return.
Going blind from staring at the detail
Allyson working hard!
My cookie jar in the works
Allyson's monkeys "before" shot
Monkeys "after" shot... Isn't that the cutest thing you've ever seen??!!
Cookie Jar finished... front view
Cookie Jar... rear view (sexy, aint it?!)
Allyson's monkeys "before" shot
Monkeys "after" shot... Isn't that the cutest thing you've ever seen??!!
Cookie Jar finished... front view
Cookie Jar... rear view (sexy, aint it?!)
Giving it a go...
Thanks to Allyson, I am going to attempt this whole "blog" thing. I am not much a writer, (as you will come to learn as you read my posts), and I know I will have countless grammar mistakes, so for all of you English "goo-roos", I ask for forgiveness in advance.
I guess I plan to use this blog as a way to keep all of you informed on what is going on in my life, because unfortunately, I am unable to keep up with all of my wonderful friends as often as I would like. So, I hope you all enjoy, and I promise I will try to keep it updated at all times with any new exciting news I may have.
I guess I plan to use this blog as a way to keep all of you informed on what is going on in my life, because unfortunately, I am unable to keep up with all of my wonderful friends as often as I would like. So, I hope you all enjoy, and I promise I will try to keep it updated at all times with any new exciting news I may have.
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