True Curb Appeal

I'm so glad you all like Mr. Snuffy.  He really is going to be great I think.  I would like to prune him more but I'm going to let him rest for awhile so I don't stress him out too much.

Well, in his big reveal you may have noticed that the concrete path to the house was finally poured!!!!  I am beyond happy with it and it just makes everything look more fresh and clean.  We do have a little problem with the steps, but I will blog about that later if it becomes a big issue.

Let's look at some befores:

As you recall, we got it all taken out and then Mother Nature decided to unleash her spring rains which delayed the actual pouring for about 2-3 weeks.  These are pictures of the tear out and how it sat for those weeks.

When it was finally dry enough, we were able to get it poured and I love it!!!

SOOO much better!!  Now for the landscaping around it?  As I said earlier, that will be a work in progress for quite some time.

Mr. Snuffleupagus Gets a Haircut

The exterior of The 8 Cow House is really starting to take shape.  Power washing happened yesterday and it already looks like a new house.  You can actually see there is a house.  It's been "hiding".  

Other than the actual exterior of the house itself, the yard needs a lot of help.  I am not a green thumber, so the actual vegetation is something I know will take some time - like in years - to get to a good place. However, there was one particular plant I could not wait to get my hands on.  My mother was here last week and she and I tackled that beast and I'm proud to say it's on its way to actually being and looking like it should.

I give you "Mr. Snuffleupagus" on the day we purchased the house.....

By far one of the biggest Japanese Maples I've seen.  What to do with Mr. Snuffy has been a matter of debate from everyone who has come over.  Many think I should rip him out,  others think I should keep him, I am undecided.  A lesson I am taking from our first home ownership is, "Never rip something out until you know what you are going to replace it with."  If you prematurely take something out you are bound for trouble - as in weed trouble.  Snuffy needs help, but at least he's a purposeful plant.

For now, he's staying.  But if you wasn't in need of a "haircut" before spring hit, he definitely was in need of one after......

Can you see where the name comes from?  My goodness!!

Well my mom and I (mostly my mom) hacked away at him for the good part of an afternoon and this is what he has become.....

Mr. Miyagi would be proud!!  Much more Bonsai!! And a lot less Sesame Street.  I think even Snuffy likes the change.  What do you think?

"Are You Alive?"

That was a text I got from a friend last week after she realized she hadn't seen me on Facebook or the blog.  I found it a bit funny since I had just texted her that day about a reference for a sheet rocker.  It's nice to know she cared and was checking up on me.  Everyone needs to know they're cared about every once in awhile.

So where have I been?  Well, let me tell you.  I have been in a black hole of sorts.  I find it interesting how things you don't expect to be a problem or to throw you for a loop, can really knock you on your backside.  Blindside you like no other.

My last post was on Tuesday April 14th.  That very morning I listed our current house "For Sale By Owner" at about 10am.  By 1pm I had a call from a realtor wanting to see the property, and by 3:30pm a couple was walking through my house.  They made an offer the next day.  Their's ended up being the first of 4 offers!

Awesome, right?!?!?  For me, not so much.  Let me tell you, the whole buying and selling of homes is a crock.  REALTORS ARE A CROCK!!!  In what universe does it make sense to list your home by yourself, a potential buyer sees your listing on Zillow, they contact their agent to have her set up a time to come see it, and then you as the seller have to pay said agent 3% of the sale price?  Why do I have to pay THEIR agent?  It makes no sense and for what the realtor does, they are making a killing!  A killing!!!!  I had one agent get testy with me when I basically told her I really didn't want to pay her.  She said, "Well I don't work for free!"  To which I replied, "I"m not asking you to work for free, I'm just telling you that I might not be the one who pays you."  She didn't like that response and didn't end up bringing her client.  I didn't mind at all.

Over the course of the last week and a half, I have had quite an eye opening on what it takes to sell and buy a house, and if you take nothing away from this post but this, I will have been successful.  Whatever you do, DO NOT USE A REALTOR!!!  They will make you think that they are doing you a favor and that they are doing a lot of work, but here's a secret, you can do it all yourself by hiring a real estate lawyer for a fraction of the cost.

When we bought "The 8 Cow House" we walked up to the seller and asked him to buy.  That's right, the house wasn't even for sale (I will write more on that later).  Once we knew he was interested in selling, we contacted a real estate lawyer and for $300 had him go over a contract, supply a contract, and talk us through the whole process.  Easy as pie people.  EASY!!!  We then sat down with the seller, worked out a contract, signed it, and turned the contract along with the earnest money into the title company, who then did everything else.  No realtor necessary.

Some of you may be thinking that $300 is a lot, but compared to several thousand you end up paying a realtor, it's nothing.  So again, I beg of you, don't use realtors.  Now I know that if you are moving to a new area, having a realtor is nice, but let's rename them and call them "Finding Agents" and you as the buyer pay them a sum.  That way sellers can sell on their own and no one has to pay anyone money they really don't deserve.

So, to say the ridiculousness of having to pay a realtor really got to me, is an understatement.  I also didn't like people coming through my home and then trying to tell me what they thought it was worth.  I tend to be a bit sentimental, so it's been rough.  I also know they are getting a great house with a ton of new "underwear", so talk to the hand people if you are going to complain about the price.  It's one of the best on the market and I'm not being bias here.  I've seen what's out there and the buyers are getting a screaming deal.

I've had to keep going back to the way I felt when this whole process started of taking on a fixer upper and sell a perfectly good home.   Even though the last week has made me want to runaway, it was and still is the right thing to do.  We are under contract, have had the inspection, and are moving forward.  I know it will be better once we make the move.  It's like living in limbo and I don't do well with that.  I don't really own this house anymore and the one we are moving into is still a wreck - but coming.

Now that I'm done with my rant, let me tell you the exciting things I have for you this week.  More on the kitchen!!!!  The floor and countertops went in!!!!  It looks amazing and has made the kitchen look bigger!!!  So exciting!!!  The kids bedrooms are also done and just waiting for carpet, and the loft is painted and waiting to be cleaned.  I have a cleaning crew set up to come in on Thursday and I can't wait.  I'm so ready for the house to not look like a construction zone!!!

Thanks for sticking around and being patient during my little meltdown week.  Hopefully it won't happen again, but these days I can't make any promises!!

Have a great Monday!!

Sneak Peak.......

Kitchen Countertops

I have been looking at countertops for quite awhile now.  Countertops are a big decision.  They are a focal point of the kitchen so you want to make sure you get it right.

If I had an island I would have done two different color countertops.  I would have done black on the cabinets along the walls and marble on the island.  But I don't have an island, so I needed to pick one color.  I knew I wanted a lighter countertop.  I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the look of marble, but it is just not practical in the kitchen of 4 children.  It's a softer stone and tends to etch and stain.  I don't need that stress.  Of course there is solid surfaces like Corian, but that can crack with heat and stain as well, and then there is Formica, but that is not a look I want.  That left me with a choice between granite and quartz.

I went to a granite store and saw a slab I loved immediately.  It was beautiful.  It had moderate movement with tans, grays, whites, greens, and even hints of pink.  So beautiful, but in my heart I knew it wasn't right for what I was going for.  It wouldn't look good with blue base cabinets.

Here is what it looked like (the picture doesn't do it justice).  A friend of mine has it in her kitchen and it's gorgeous.  It's called Fantasy Brown.

I looked at several other pieces that were OK, but they just weren't speaking to me.  Here they are:

I was a bit discouraged after looking at the granite.  I just wasn't seeing anything.  I left and went to some other stores and looked at their quartz products.  I was drawn to Silesone in a Helix pattern.  It looks like marble and is basically indestructible.  It has a hefty price tag.  About $90 a square foot.  I was ready to splurge though for the look I wanted.  

A few days later I took Greg back to the granite store.  While there I saw a piece and on second look, realized it might work.  The more I looked at it, the more I realized it would work.  It was the right price, a hard stone, and the closest I found in a stone that looked like marble.  I introduce you to our new countertops in the color of "Colonial White" -

My cute kidlets make anything look good!

In terms of granite, it's fairly boring, but I didn't want my countertops to be the main event.  Certain granites demand to be the main event and in the right kitchen that's great, but this is not that kitchen.  I want them to enhance the overall design, but go away in general.  Does that make sense?  

I went this past Saturday and chose the layout of the cuts.  They cut them yesterday and will install in a few days!  It's coming, it's coming!!  So fun!!

As a side note, if I ever owned a granite store, I would not have fluorescent lights in my showrooms!  Who has fluorescent lights in their kitchen?!?!  If you do, be gone with it!  You won't be sorry!

Kitchen, Kitchen, Kitchen, Kitchen

This week I have decided to dedicate all of my posts to the kitchen.  It is the heart of the home.  I spend A LOT of time in this place, so I want it to be somewhere I love.

Many of the things you need to decide on in a kitchen are fairly permanent - or at least big ticket purchases - so replacing them is not really in most people's budget if after a month you don't like them.  That can cause some anxiety, and believe me I have felt it.  A not so permanant decision is paint and fabric colors, but even then, you have to make sure the big items are the right colors to allow a color change if you need one.  Also, painting cabinets is no trivial thing, so it's helpful to get it right the first time, but it is fixable if you don't.

Since deciding a full kitchen remodel was way too expensive, we will be keeping the cabinets and painting them.  Greg started the process this week.  He's using the Fine Paints of Europe Brushing Puddy.  It's a lot of work and not a trivial matter, but they are looking great!

I have gone back and forth on the color I want to paint the cabinets.  I started out with thinking I wanted to do a dark navy on the base cabinets and white on top.  Then I started to second guess that idea and was leaning towards a dark greyish/tan base with white tops.  I finally decided I just liked my all white kitchen cabinets in our current home way too much that doing anything different was kind of silly.  

But here's the thing.  Remember how I mentioned how you need to let a house tell you what it needs,  how it needs to be decorated?  Well, this house is SCREAMING for blue base cabinets.  So I'm going for it.  Every time I stand in my living room and look into the kitchen and imagine the blue, I get happy. Almost giddy inside.  That's when you know you're on the right path.  That's when you know you're "listening" to the house and your inner designer.

Here is when we bought it:

Here is what it looks like with a layer of primer:

It looks so much better all ready!!  It's gonna be great.  

Tomorrow - countertops!  Talk about stress decision!!

Cold Feet

Cast not away therefore your confidence, 

which hath great recompence of reward.

For ye have need of patience, that, 

after ye have done the will of God, 

ye might receive the promise. 

[Hebrews 10:35–36]

I started packing our house this week.  It made me sad.  I realized that I will never have another party in this house.  I will never have another Christmas tree, trick-or-treaters at this door, or cook a huge turkey in the oven.  This has been a GREAT house.  It has served us well.  We have brought 3 babies home here.  We have great neighbors and my boys love playing in the yards and cul-de-sac that drew us to this house in the first place.  Sure there are quirks and things that make me want to pull my hair out at times, but what house doesn't?  The doubt of this being a good decision has started to really set in.

Our new house is completely different in layout from this one.  What if I end up hating it?  We are actually going from a 4 bedroom to a 3 bedroom.  What if it's too cramped?  The closets are smaller in the new house.  Where will I put all the "stuff"?  Yes, it's a bigger flat yard, but that means more to maintain.  What if we can't handle it?  And the view out my kitchen window is not as pretty as my current one.  How I will miss it. Sure it's a 3 car garage, but you have to walk up stairs to get in the house.  What if I break my leg?  How will I handle them then?!?!  Our neighbors here are safe and predictable.  What if the neighbors at the new house end up being psycho?  There is so much to do to make the transition!  How will I get it all done?  What, what, what???  Why, why, why???  How, how, how???

This is when I really have to dig deep in my faith bucket.  I know God led us to this house.  I know He's chosen it for us.  I would have stayed put if that was His plan for us, but it wasn't.  I don't have all the answers.  I don't know how to fill in the blanks of the how's, why's, when's, where's.  But God does and I know He has my best interest at hand and can do many more amazing things with me and my life then I ever could on my own.  So I may cry a bit the next few weeks.  I may have some increased anxiety, but I will stay the course.  I will do what He has asked us to do.  I will trust Him.

When I have been laden with anxiety in the past, I have listened to this talk often.  It is a great by one of the greatest LDS orators of our time.  He is an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ.  He oozes faith and confidence in God and His plan for us.  It's contagious.  If you are having doubts and fears, listen to it.  It will sooth your heart and mind.  It will make you know that as long as you have faith and do what the Lord asks of you, it will all workout.  IT WILL ALL WORKOUT!!

Elder Jeffery R. Holland of the 

Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of 

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

The written version can be found HERE.  

Have a great weekend!

Patio and Front Walkway Update

Well, the Missouri god of rain is making up for the lack of moisture over the winter.  I would normally welcome it, I'm a huge fan of rain, but it's really putting a damper on the exterior progress of our house.  Namely the concrete work that needs to be done.  

A few weeks ago they were able to get in and rip out all the existing concrete so that new concrete could go in.  Here is what it looked like:

Then we got a ton of rain and it turned into a swimming pool (I guess Kidlet #3 got his wish after all!)

Fortunately, our concrete contractor (he's AMAZING in my book) got the water pumped out and we had a few dry days so that he could lay down rock before it rained again.  But, the weather is not in our favor to actually get it poured.  So this is how it will be the next few days, if not weeks:

It looks so good already!  We are going to do an aggregate on the front walk.  As for the back patio, we have gone back and forth and back and forth between the stamp and aggregate concretes.  We have looked at stamps and honestly I just can't find one I love for the extra money it will cost us.  I finally had a good talk with the contractor (and my husband who wanted the stamp to begin with)  and in his opinion he thinks we should do aggregate.  He keeps telling me it's the biggest bang for my buck.  I have to agree.  I also don't think this in a stamped concrete house.  One thing that is really important in doing a house right is making sure what you do fits the house.  You can take two exact designs, products,  or color schemes and they will look amazing in one house and silly in another.  I'm a firm believer in having the house dictate the way you should design it.  The great thing is that you can implement your style into any type of house, but you have to be flexible.  I will have a lot more to say on this subject when I post about the kitchen.  I can't wait to tell you what I'm doing with colors, etc.  It's going to look great.  But for now, pray for sunny skies so we can get this done and move onto the next project!!