Weekend Snapshots | Nov. 1-3, 2013

Life has gone crazy over here. Everything is starting to settle down. Here is what I have been up to lately in list form. I love making lists...

• My Mom was in the hospital and had surgery. She is out now and doing good! I don't know about you but when my Mama's sick my world is turned upside down. 
• I have been keeping Lucy for Mom. She is a handful and a half. She may look sweet but she is a diva. She cannot stay at home alone. She whines so loud my neighbors can hear. She sounds like a child so I am pretty sure if I left her alone they would call the police thinking a human child was being abused in my house. But you cannot help but love her, she has the sweetest puppy eyes. 
• This weekend I bought several items for my house. I finally found a shower curtain I liked for my bathroom. I might have went a little crazy at the mattress store and bought a king size bed for my room. For me, by myself I don't really need a bed that large but my bedroom is huge. I am not complaining I just don't know what else to put in it haha. I thought it might fill it up some but my room makes a king size bed look small... 
• It is finally feeling like Fall around here. I had my first cup of the season of foamy mocha hot chocolate this weekend and have been wearing boots! Boots are my favorite. 

House Update

Lot's of painting has been done and all I have left is to re-do one wall in the guest room and touch ups in a couple of rooms. Wahoo then I can get all the drop cloths, rollers, paint cans, etc. out of my dining room! I love my new kitchen faucet. It is amazing. 

I tried to put up a curtain rod over the kitchen window and it was a complete fail. After 6 holes in the wall I gave up. Something crazy is going on under the sheetrock, I don't know. 

Weekend Snapshots | June 7-9, 2013

I honestly do not think a single person that lived in the house before me ever washed their driveway. It was nasty.

This was the messiest thing ever. Thank goodness we put down plastic shower curtains first. We just rolled the mess up and threw it in the dumpster.

Wow, this past weekend was the most productive weekend I have had in a long time. Probably has something to do with it was my first weekend in town in a while. I got a lot done to the house. Mom was there the whole time and helped me.

This was my to do list for the weekend:

• sand and paint dresser
• paint master bath
• install new shower curtain rod (thanks to my cousin Timmy)
• install bathroom hardware
• install new kitchen faucet (also, thanks to Timmy)
• sand, strip varnish and paint nightstand
• pressure wash driveway
• cut grass and spray weed killer
• clean up plants around mailbox
• paint both halls
• finish organizing filing
• trim shrubs and dig up Crepe Myrtles
• washed light fixtures
• catch up on blog posts (I don't think I opened my laptop once except to look for new knobs for my dresser and nightstand) 

New Part-Time Job

When will it ever stop raining? Now, don't get me wrong, I love a good summer storm but not when I have so much I need to get done. Summer storms are good when you can be lazy and snuggle up with a comfy blanket, cup of coffee and a good book. 

Who knew buying a house meant taking on a part-time job as a landscaper? I sure didn't. Now with all this rain I have weeds and trees growing from every direction. I have Crepe Myrtles growing out of my shrubs and weeds taking over what little grass I have. I am praying for some sunshine tomorrow before my neighbors have me kicked out for my unruly yard. Also, hopefully I will magically become an expert at lawn care before tomorrow because I sure as heck don't know what I am doing! 

Quick Update | I'm moved!

Just checking in with a quick update! All of my stuff is moved into my house! I turned in my keys to my apartment this morning. I have been busy painting, unpacking, etc. The soonest they can set up the internet at my house is this Sunday. I guess that is a good thing because there will be no distractions from unpacking and cleaning. Have a great week! 

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I guess this means I'm an adult now? Say what!?

I have had this post written for awhile and have just been adding more things to it. I have been scared to hit publish along the way in case something fell through. I have been hinting quite a bit about buying my first home for a month or so but now that it is finalized I can finally share without worrying. What a relief this is! 

Over the Christmas holidays while at my Aunt's house the topic came up of "Why doesn't Brittany buy a house?" I have played with the idea many times before but never thought seriously about it. To be honest, I didn't think it was an actual possibility. I had no idea what my credit looked like but thought it would be okay since I always pay my bills on time, I always pay over the minimum balance on my credit cards if I don't pay them off each month, etc.  Well lo and behold, after meeting with a mortgage production lender, I was told I could buy a house! This meeting was the day after Christmas. I had until October of this year until my lease was up, or so I thought. I received a notice on my apartment door stating that my lease was up in June and to let them know if I would be re-signing. When I moved into my apartment I signed a sublease in October. I just automatically thought October. So with only 5 months to figure out what I was doing instead of the 9 months I originally thought I would have I started to feel stressed.

Along with being stressed, I have gotten my heartbroken. That may sound a little dramatic but finding a house that I thought would be perfect and then finding out it is under contract is tough! They should definitely take down the for sale sign and the sale listing. Something about it just made me fall in love. So the search continued.

After a couple of weeks I found another house that I really liked. My mom went with me the first time I saw it and I later took my dad back to see it. He liked it and thought it would be a good first home for me. So that was it. I called the realtor and asked if it was still available. She said the house had been under contract but the loan fell through and the couple was not able to get it. I felt bad for the couple but that mean't I could get it. So I made an offer and after going back and forth we finally agreed on a price and terms.

Another unnerving side note is I never ever thought I would be buying a house alone.  I am so blessed and proud of myself for being able to provide for myself. I guess I just can't believe it. There is A LOT of things to think about when buying a home and it can be a tad bit overwhelming at times. Am I really doing this?  

I am so excited and hope to share my experiences as a homeowner along the way. I can't wait to start painting, decorating and having friends and family over. 

Here are the pictures I took the first time Mom and I went to see the house. No picture of the outside for safety reasons but that is one of my favorite parts! I love the brick color and shutters. I have lots of decorating to do! Not crazy about the paint colors or the light fixtures. 

Weekend Snapshots | April 19-21, 2013

1. I went a little overboard with the milk foam this weekend but boy did it taste good. I love that you can make frothed milk with a mason jar and microwave.

2. Saturday mornings call for a good hot breakfast. This past Saturday I made a grilled cheese with eggs and strawberry jam. I love the sweet and cheesy flavors together. I am hooked. 

3. My Mom and I went to Lowe's Saturday. I bought a lot of stuff for my house which of course included cacti and succulents. I also got a couple of paint samples to try out on the walls. Now I just have to wait until the Closing on Friday to get the keys!