No More...

House-hunting.  After 10 weeks (give or take) of looking a houses, I'm very pleased to announce that we have finally found a fucking house!!!  And... we're officially under contract with a closing date on Monday, October 19th.  A lot quicker than what we had anticipated (November 11th) and I'm really happy that we didn't have to wait any longer.

So... let's get down to the nitty-gritty.  Some stats:

1.  Two car garage with an extra utility closet.
2.  Full laundry room with plenty of shelving, extra dowel rod to hang up clothing (as I hang most of my tee shirts to dry) with plenty of room for a couple of laundry baskets.  Very nice because it's not at the other end of the house.
3.  Four bedrooms (master bedroom for both of us, an office for me, an office for the hubs, and a spare room dedicated to guests).
4.  Two-and-a-half baths.  Master suite and full guest bath downstairs, and a half bath upstairs.
5.  Very large galley kitchen with a good-sized breakfast nook.
6.  Skylights!!  (No more to be said)
7.  Trey ceiling in the dining room.
8.  Vaulted ceilings in all rooms except for the master suite and the guest bedroom.
9.  Privacy fenced back yard with a HUGE deck for entertaining!!!  :D  I was seriously considering how I could rig up some carnie lights in the back... suggestions would be appreciated!!
10.  And... a Vivint security system - installed brand-new.  (After living in NOLA, that seems a bit preposterous, doesn't it??)
11.  Blocks away from the back bay and ocean access.  Not on the water... but I can smell it from the front yard!!!  YES!!

And it's picture time, everyone!!

From the living room... the area to the right goes to the dining room... and to the left, there are two bedrooms and a full guest bath.  This area will change after we get in.  We're looking at hardwoods for both the living room and the dining room and (of course) a fresh paint job.  

The dining room!!  The fixture will have to go (along with the paint and carpet), but I have faith that my hubs will be able to do it.  ;0))  If not, I can.  How zap-tacious could it be???  Last words.

Kitchen with a ton of room and vaulted ceilings.  All these appliances will be going and new floors will be installed.  I'm hoping for room in the budget to replace the counter tops, also.  Fingers crossed.

Master bedroom.  The walk-in-closet is off of the master bath.  

Master bath.  Deep garden tub with jets.  The window AC unit was left by the previous owners.  It's gone already, too.  Had them snatch it out because it's not necessary with central AC.  

The fireplace in the great room.  That wall has got to go into another color.  I don't like it all that much.  So, I'll take care of that little problem before we move in.

My office!!!  The window makes me so happy!!!  

Skylight over the tub??  Check!!  

Guest bedroom.  Very nice size, too.  :)

Husby's office (some might refer to it as a "man cave") - it's the bonus room above the garage (note:  The window unit and curtains were left by the seller - they have been removed already).  AND the upstairs troll-hole also comes with it's own...

Throne Room!!!  

The deck and yard.  

There are two things missing that were on my original "want" list... an in-ground swimming pool (I keep telling myself that it would be a fucking pain in my ass and that I will be missing nothing - lies!!) and a woodworking shed for the hubs.  Other than that, we ended up with a 2500SQF house (not including the double-car garage), vaulted ceilings, huge kitchen, and a soaking tub.  

I'll be moving before November 1st, methinks.  

Haus Ein. Good Vibes Requested. :D

This house had made it to the top of the list.  Definitely there was some compromise between us (hubs thinks the yard is too small - then I remind him of New Orleans, you know the huge barn with the postage-stamp size lot??), but this house is on a just over a quarter acre with plenty of room.  This has a loft (yesssssss!!) which would be MY office area, master with vaulted ceilings and huge jacuzzi bath (contemporary design - loft and master suite are the only things upstairs), two full bedrooms with a guest bath, fireplace, dining room, large kitchen, HUGE laundry room and mud-room, two car garage with extra storage and workbench... plus, it's all landscaped and has an in-ground POOL.  ZOMG.

Take a peek!!

Très contemporary!!

A great room with a wood-burning fireplace and wet bar...

Front entry... to the right, 2 bedrooms and full bath.

To the left, the dining room, kitchen, mud room, and garage entry.

Stairs with master suite to the left, and the loft is overlooking the great room.

Kitchen with built-in wine fridge and breakfast bar...

So glad the fridge is going.  We have a black fridge that will match everything else.

Master bedroom with wood-burning fireplace and balcony overlooking the pool.

The pool!!  Has a bench that's jetted (also helps circulate the water).
I think it's the bees knees.  :0))

If we decide to go with this house, we'll paint, update (carpets coming out, hardwoods going in), and have everything deep-cleaned before we move in (probably a 30-day process).  The landscaping is excellent, we won't have to do much (there's also a screened-in porch overlooking the swimming pool, which has sliders that open all the way - sorry, not pictured).  Out of the 18+ houses I've personally looked at, this is the favorite.  

It would make one excellent 40th birthday gift... I can say this for certain.  x0x0

Adjustments and Adulting

Things are finally pretty calm here after the horrible move and all the drama that ensued during it.  Our temporary house is as furnished and put together as well as can be expected.  Our physical space has been  downsized quite a bit and we're still finding this home quite a bit smaller than what we'd like.  Don't get me wrong, I love the cathedral ceilings and sunken living room, but the kitchen is a lot smaller than I'm used to and the husby feels a tad bit claustrophobic in his office.  So, after a productive conversation this evening, we've made a new list of needs for the (new) semi-permanent house that we will soon start actively looking for.  And our dream list??  Here:

• Three bedrooms (four if we don't have a separate family room (we want a dedicated guest bedroom).
• Two baths (an additional half-bath would be desirable, but not necessary).
• Larger kitchen (I'd like to have an island or a bar for guests to sit at).
• Hardwoods or laminate throughout (we're willing to rip out carpets and install new flooring).
• New tile for the bathroom (I'm eyeing some slate...  delicious!!).
• Soaking tub/garden tub for moi.
• Full paint job - using some of the colors I love (husby agreed).
• Garage.
• Screened in attached porch (AKA "Florida Room").
• Living closer to the beach.

I think I found an excellent realtor and our budget is pretty large (I'm still pushing for the in-ground pool, though - just because I'd love to have one) - so I'm sure we'll have a lot to choose from.  Besides, compared to New Orleans, property here is seriously cheap.  

Husby's schedule is crazy...  he's gone for two weeks in June, comes home for two days, then does his week-long reserve duty in Missouri.  He'll have two weeks home and then we fly up to DC for a four day weekend (one of my favorite nieces is getting married.... squeeeeeeee!!).  After that, two weeks at home and then B heads out again for another three weeks.  Anyone have any non-crafty hobby suggestions???  Derby season will be pretty much wrapping up after that, so I need to find something to occupy some of my free time!!!

I am planning on having company come in from Massachusetts, California, and Louisiana while B is away (importing friends again... 10 shades of North Carolina - ugh) - but if you want to visit, shoot me a PM if we're friends on FB or email me at findingjuggsy[at]gmail.com.  I love to entertain!!!  :0))  I promise I'm not "dangerous" or anything... hahahahaha!!