JOHNNY & MORGAN'S NEW HOUSE!!

Aww.. finally something to write about. Quite a lot has changed, and that's a good thing!! So, for a hot second Johnny and I bought a brand new home?!?! KB Home lowered their prices, so we went (on Halloween), picked a lot, signed contracts and thought we were on our way to being owners of a brand new, semi-custom built home (5 months later of course - build out time). A few days later, the stress and money built up. It starts out at a great deal and then you have to upgrade, then pay association fees, master plan fees, SIDS and LIDS, buy appliances, lot premiums,and damn, we weren't ready for that (and honestly it wasn't worth it)!! So we cancelled....

The day after we cancelled we heard on the Salt Marsh Court house (the one we have been waiting on for 5 months now). Soo, there was finally some action and by, let's say, this past Monday, they finally, fully accepted our offers, terms were set and all that jazz. On Friday night, Sam (our realtor,good friend) took us to see the Salt Marsh house. O.M.G it is sooo much better than I remembered!! People were living there when we first saw it, but now, empty, it's great!! The whole house is painted a warm beige (perfect blank canvas), the downstairs is fully tiled and in GREAT shape, I thought the counters were gray but they aren't!! Basically everything is perfect it just needs a good cleaning and a few minor updates (a couple ceiling fans and blinds). The backyard was like a jungle, but once we get that cleaned up it will be a nice little oasis!! We are sooo incredibly happy with our decision of cancelling on the new house. It was too far out of town (Mountain's Edge), too expensive, and honestly I would have been bored with everything being brand new. The Salt Marsh house is ready for me to finally get rid of the jumble of project ideas in my head!!

Of course, now I'm completely stumped as to what to paint, garden, etc...I'm sure it will all come to me once I get in there! Soo, our projected move in date is December 10th (is that 6 months from date of offer?!?! eesh). That is right before Christmas!?!?! How perfect!! Tree will be one of the first things to go up! We are so ready to be 'on our own' again! I think it will be like a huge weight taken off...FREEDOM!!!! So, busy and exciting days are soon to come! Woooo hooooo

WAITING....

Waiting, the waiting is KILLING ME!!! It has been about 3 months since we have signed papers and also 3 months that we have lived with Johnny's parents. I know, I know, it's a great opportunity to save money and blah blah blah...but really I don't do well NOT in my own space. If we don't get into the house by the holiday's I might have a major breakdown haha...ok enough of the dramatics.

The previous lienholders have accepted our offer...that part is done. Our actual home loan has gone through and is good for 3 months. So now we are just waiting on the closing costs. I guess some negotiator is working on "all" the short sales in town because it is taking forever! Either way, we are going to hear "any day" now (which we have been told for over 3 weeks now). Then, once we hear, it's still another 3-4 weeks for escrow. Killer process eh?

I'm at the point where I'm like, jeez let's just get a piece of crap house, get a home improvement loan and just flip it! (Actually this would be a huge dream) But, I think pretty much all the houses on the market are either foreclosed or short sale, which would be the same torture all over again. So patience is the key, right?! I guess one thing I am thankful for is that Johnny and I have remained very close, or have become even closer. That, and I have bonded a lot with his mom, we actually have a lot of fun together. So I know good will come out of this, but still, I'm ready! Oh and I have refused to cut my hair due to the cost and it's now down to my shoulders, but the time we get the house it will be longer than I have had it in at least 4 years!!! Oh, and I really miss the gym...both Johnny and I have stopped going and it's definitely showing on me, that and all the bad food. Not helping the situation any more.

More Pictures and Ideas

Just some more stuff I want and ideas I dream about.....

Put this (or something like it) by the stairs ....
dropping ground for crap...

gosh storage gets me excited!!

Cool firepit for the patio.

Come over and have some beers with us!

Elfa (from the Container Store)...The coolest stuff ever!! I want to put it in the closets too! Someday... Oh, and why isn't there a Container Store here?

I want a great chandelier somewhere! Either over the dining table or over the master bed! Too bad they are way too expensive for my blood. I will have to search second hand stores or Craig's List!

The Planning Stages

So, as usual, I have some free time at work. I will try to put some posts up of what I have accomplished on the house design thus far. Above is the bedding I bought this weekend at BB&B. I saved 80 dollars...that makes me happy! I bought some chocolate brown satin pillows to throw on it as well as chocolate brown towels for the bathroom (the rooms flow together-no door). Also got some hot pink/fuschia towels for the downstairs bath. I am undecided on what colors to do for the master bedroom (well walls, and curtains). I want to do brown walls but that might be overkill and would blue curtains be too 'matchy matchy'? Your input will be much appreciated. We will see. Oh and I also got some bedside lamps at Linens N Things...they were going out of business (so check your local store :)...

Let's do a rundown of the house...just for fun (sorry a bit fuzzy...)!!

Downstairs....

All open, already tiled and already painted beige. Going to try to leave it that way since there are vaulted ceilings and a stairwell...don't want to attempt to paint that just yet.... So, downstairs should be pretty easy and will progress later. We already have the furniture...so nothing new. Oh and I want to have a 'coffee bar' area. Heaven :)

Downstairs half bath will be painted chocolate brown. Then I'm going to use white and hot pink as accents. I bought these great white frames at target (5x7) 2 for $1.24 BARGAIN BIN!!! (That should be my theme for this house adventure!). I think I will photoshop up some cool photos for those. Maybe a collage of Pancho (our beautiful black cat :)...see pic) and his new buddy Nacho (the dog we will eventually get)?

Outside will be new and fun. Never really had a yard of my own after years of dorm and apartment life. It is already landscaped (woohoo). Has a decent amount of grass and trees/rocks surrounding that. There is plenty of room for seating and a BBQ! Perfect! For now we just need to bring it back to life a little and we want to plant some bushes along the block wall for privacy since it's too low. Thank goodness Johnny's mom has a greent thumb and Johnny is super excited to mow the lawn! Oh, and my coworker promised to give me an Aloe Vera plant...I am on my way to being a seasoned gardener :)

Upstairs.....

Don't want to put a desk and 'business' stuff in that open loft so plan to put our huge bookcase there and make it a reading area. I want to get a papason chair and a lamp or something and just make it a cozy place to sit that's NOT in front of a TV. Also, Johnny spends hours going through his baseball cards...he can use this area for that.

Master bedroom...well, see above. Eventually I want to replace lighting and ceiling flans...they are a bit outdated. Oh, and I can't wait to organize the walk in closet WOOHOO!!

My plans for guest bath and bed are just totally shot. I was going over my color schemes with Johnny and he took the colors from the guest bed to master bed (see the above bedding). He messed me all up now!!! I have an existing brown comforter and was going to use that and do ice blue walls in the guest and then blue walls and chocolate towels in the bath, but if I did it would just be brown and blue overkill. So for now I'm banking on finding a really cool pillow and taking the colors from that. Maybe a green?

As for the guest bath...oh, that's going to be fun! I want to make it like a spa!! So maybe the green from the guest, and white? I want to have toiletries and 'extras' of stuff so that if you are visiting and forget something, we will have it! Going to try and make it an awesome place to come visit (HINT HINT!!!).

(PS...ALL of the bedrooms have walk-in closets...I know ...I'm spoiled lol)

3rd Bedroom ... My favorite room, yet the least completed (in my head). This will be the office, arts and crafts room. Need to eventually get a new desk or something that both of us can have our laptops and printer, etc. Still at a loss for finding that in a reasonable price range. Not up for spending hundreds of dollars on it! I found this amazing one at Pottery Barn (see photo) but it's $1100!!! I was thinking of making it, but that might be pretty expensive too. I asked one of our installers at work to piece something together from the warehouse and so far he has a pedestal (in furniture world...2 small drawers and a file folder drawer). Also have my drafting table that will mostly be used as a beading table (kinda want to start selling jewelry!) As for colors? No idea. I really like this deep purple and burnt orange combo I keep seeing but not sure how to pull that into this room. This room will most likely be done later on. (see below for orange and purple theme I like...thanks to Hostess with the Mostess)

First Time Blogger

I like writing (mostly in my diary), making lists, and dreaming. Since I'm buying my first house this year I think this would be the appopriate time to start a blog. I am usually bursting with ideas (especially now) and kind of want a place to track all of them, receive feedback as well inspire others, oh and keep track of my projects!

A little about me...

I work as an Interior Designer and do space planning for a commercial furniture company. I don't necessarily get my creative fix from that type of job, so I have to find ways on my own to get it out (exactly why I'm dying to get my own house!!) Most of my friends/family have pointed out my obsessive list making and/or obsessive organizing. I've fully come to terms with it and now actually enjoy it. I have dreams of owning my own professional organizing/design firm someday (sick?), oh and a coffee shop too.

Besides all of that, I moved to Las Vegas about a year ago to be with my boyfriend, Johnny (see photo-he's special :)). I've finally become accustomed to the strange lifestyle and the strange people, oh and living with a boy!! :) We are in the process of buying our first home in the southwest part of Vegas (and currently living with his parents...interesting). It's a great home but very tract/standard/nothing unique...oh and we haven't even closed escrow on it...so this blog may be short lived. :) It's a little hard for me because my dream home is a loft or condo above a coffee shop in Seattle (or some other great city) but this works for now, and cost of living is MUCH more tolerable. Since I'm a cheap ass and am usually stressed about money I am very happy with our decision and the life we will make here for who knows how long!