Home Tour - Our Sweet Girl's Nursery!

Figured I would start the lovely Fall season back up with a blog post! I plan on starting a home tour over the next couple of months. It has been an unexpected couple of months which has delayed the decorating and designing of our home. But, God's always got bigger plans than we ever realize. You can't have sunshine without a little rain (in our case, it's felt like a major storm!). I could go on and on.. but you get the picture. Everyone's health is fine, it is all job and finance related but the pieces are coming together and we are thankful for the blessings we have been given through this time.

So, onwards we go! :) Each room is still in bits and pieces, but I figure it will be fun to go through each room every couple of weeks or months and show you all the changes, little or big, that have occurred. The rooms aren't going to be perfect and I can appreciate the time and effort that goes into making a room part of a home.

First up - our daughter's nursery! As you all may remember, we were not finding out what we were having. I loved the wait of the surprise and even though it would have been nice to decorate her room sooner, it is coming together perfectly even now. She is now a little over 3 months old and we are in love. With her and her room.. :)

First off, the color is by Behr - Gentle Rain 790E-2. This is our go-to color. They don't have the swatches anymore, but you can still request it to be made. We've used it in all 3 places we have lived. It's been used in our master bedroom in our condo, dining room, living room and morning room in our previous home, and so far in our daughter's room and the powder room in this home. It is definitely a "cloudy, rainy sky" color but is so lovely.

The white flower upon walking in her room is from Ross. I cross my fingers for the day they have another! The headband holder is something I made with materials from Michael's and the majority of the headbands are made by me - some of which I hope to sell in the near future. :) The crib is by Graco - the Westbrook. The pink pom-pom and the elephant picture are from Hobby Lobby - which I just discovered a few months ago. If I could afford to, half of my home would be from that store! My plan is to return there soon and get another pom-pom in either hot pink, green, or turquoise and hang it a little bit lower. The butterflies and the dresser are from Wayfair - I'd like to get a couple more butterflies for that wall. The rocker is salvaged from a yard sale 5 years ago and was used in our son's nursery. The pink lamp is from Ikea. Last but not least are the curtains from Carousel Designs - I fell in LOVE with these when I saw them online. They are gorgeous in person and so well made. I still have three other pictures that I need to get frames for before I hang them, but I have yet to find the perfect frames.

We love how far we have come with this room, but there is still more that is going to be done. I have a couple ideas floating around. Time will tell what we add! Until next time guys! :)

The Days of Internet are Upon Us! - Ryan Homes Build

Hi everyone! 

I'm not even sure I know how to blog anymore! Just kidding, I'm pretty sure I can pick that up fairly quickly. ;) I can't wait to catch up on everyone's blogs, I'm sure many of you have moved in already or are well on your way. 

We finally got internet last week. YAY! It's definitely.. interesting.. being one of the first ones in a newly developed neighborhood but things are moving along. :) But honestly, we have loved it. It's been nice getting to know what few neighbors we have - which consists of 8 families so far. Everyone is pretty much awesome that we have met and it's just the perfect thing to be able to go out on a walk and spend some time chatting with neighbors. I've enjoyed that so much! 

Also, as I sit here typing this, we have a lovely 3-week-old little girl named Ella Jean! We are in love. She is squishy, fussy, sweet and everything we were hoping for since we didn't know the gender before delivery. :)

Our son & Ella

I have a couple of posts up my sleeve that I want to fill you all in on.. so I hope to catch you guys up relatively soon! :) 

Right Here, Right Now - Ryan Homes Build

It's obviously been a couple weeks since I've touched base with you guys. I'm not falling off the wagon yet! We haven't gotten internet because the company we want to go with isn't installed at this time in the neighborhood, so I am limited to my internet access. :) Hopefully just a couple more weeks (I'm praying not months).

Closing went relatively well. We had to wait for a little while while the waited for the papers to come through. I'm not sure why there was a delay of about 30-45 minutes, but all was well and we closed! We had to pay 75 dollars extra at closing due to a change on the HUD. It is what it is though to get keys to your home! :)

We've completed a couple things around the house. We've (and when I say we've, I mean my husband) installed a garage door opener, blinds, the ceiling fan in our sons room, arranged the furniture in the dining room & family room, all the while the bonus room, our bedroom, the baby's room, the living room, the dinette, and the guest bedroom are a work in progress! :) I just got my washer and dryer out of storage last weekend and I'VE NEVER BEEN HAPPIER! We were really grateful it still works great after being stored for over two years. I'm one of those people who actually likes to do laundry for some reason. ;)

One of the biggest frustrations is that our red couch and chair that we expected to go in the bonus room does not fit up the stairs and around the corner. So I'm still slightly conflicted on what I want to go where. We have a tan couch with two love seats from our previous home and I was going to put the one couch and love seat in the family room, with the other love seat in the living room/office. The red couch and chair were going in the bonus room. Well, with the change of plans the red couch is currently in my living room/office, the red chair and tan love seat in the bonus room. Not the look I'm going for. :( However, putting the red couch and chair in the family room is definitely not the look I was going for either. So I'm stuck. I think ultimately, the tan couch and the two love seats that match will go in the bonus room with the red couch and chair remaining in the family room until we can afford different couches, that is.

A small view of our family room from the couch. We are not putting the TV over the fireplace because you would have to look WAY up high and we don't want to destroy the stone either. But it fits perfectly where it is. :) 

As far as the flooring goes, I was a little OCD initially about the tiny surface scratches that were appearing. I don't happen to notice them anymore but I am still very cautious. There's a lot of money put into those floors and I don't have the heart to see them get messed up. But nonetheless, they are still very lovely but very easily dirtied. We have bought a mini Bissell 3-in-1 vacuum which works beautifully and quickly. If I had it to do all over again, I may not have chosen to have hardwoods all throughout my first floor.. but I haven't fully committed to that decision.

We love the color of our carpet upstairs and the way the upgraded padding made a difference in the way it feels. We chose Rockport colored base carpet and it's the perfect dark color. I couldn't imagine going lighter. :)

We bought a king bed and were a little apprehensive about how it may fit in the master bedroom, but my goodness, we still have plenty of room! And it looks and feels perfect. :)

We have yet to put the pulls on our cabinets but that will happen soon because those guys are a pain to open! They are pretty easy to clean, however. So next up on the project list is the pulls and probably the pendant lights. :) Time will tell!

I'll make a future post at some point to list the pro's and con's of the home and what I'd do differently if there were a next time. But overall, we LOVE the home. It's the perfect touch of what we love and is coming together perfectly. Can't wait to see what the future holds for our home and your alls as well! You have some beautiful homes coming together. :)

A Time for Closing! - Ryan Homes Build

Times a ticking, guys! We go to closing in just a few short hours!

Here's to new beginnings & the time that has actually come after a year and one month of waiting for this house! Can't wait to continue on in this journey. :)

Pre-Settlement Walkthrough! - Ryan Homes Build

We had our pre-settlement walkthrough today. It took about 2.5 hours and I have no idea where the time went! But this time next week we will be IN OUR HOME! :) 

We also got the approval that we are CLEARED TO CLOSE from NVR today! 

There weren't many things concerning in the home at all. Most things had been fixed before the Quality Inspector came through per our PM. He does have a good eye and blue taped a couple of places, but nothing in excess by any means. Very few drywall issues, mostly paint touch-up and two minor grout spots I spotted. We are pretty excited!

Biggest issue is that Comcast is not available in the neighborhood at this time and may not be for a couple months. Lack of planning on Comcast's part as the neighborhood has been in the works for over a year and our PM says they have been in contact within the past couple months, at least. So there goes our internet for now. We are planning on using DirecTV as we have before. We will have to see about utilizing Verizon which is only available as wireless internet for the time being. Yikes.. not really thrilled about that but we will see!

I didn't take any other photos of the interior, but will next Wednesday when we close. I think I've showed you guys most of the house, but I will do a final run through of all the rooms then. :) 

Until next time, guys! :) 

Where the Green Grass Grows.. or, is Laid! - Ryan Homes Build

I don't have a reason I haven't posted these guys, but here they are! We had sod laid this past Thursday. It is lovely. Makes such a HUGE difference in the look of the home. The home to our right has its sod as well. Just waiting on the home to the left of us to get to that point in a couple of weeks and it will be pretty and green throughout! :) They have had automatic sprinklers coming on in the evenings which has been nice, plus we've had a few rain showers. Get those roots please, sod! 

On Wednesday (our pre-settlement walkthrough!!!!!) I will attempt to get completed pictures of the outside. The last bit of siding was installed this past Friday. The completed home looks GREAT! Also, they added in more shrubbery. Our porch is pretty high up but still interestingly enough doesn't require railing, apparently. Also, with all those shrubs, it takes away from what itty bitty front yard we would typically have. Oh well! Less to mow! :) 

Here on the left side of the garage will be the home of my raised garden beds. CANNOT WAIT! I'm so ready to plant some tomatoes.. and other stuff. But seriously, tomatoes! 

The blue stake marks the end of our "side yard".  I will have to see if I can get a picture to do it more justice. It really has a decent size to it compared to some of the others in the row. I look forward to the additions to this area in the years to come. :) 

We also got the stone installed for our fireplace on Thursday, I believe it was. Hello gorgeous! It is very pleasantly pretty in person. We peered through the window on Thursday night and were slightly apprehensive about the color, but seeing it in person on Saturday made a world of a difference. We are in love. Except, the mantle is pretty darn high. Not sure how our TV will fit above it if we ever choose to do so.. so that's a question for Wednesday. But, if it's to be fixed/removed/lowered that's probably going to affect the already placed stone.. oh the questions. 

Otherwise, we are pretty well pleased with the quality of work and what we saw that was completed in the home this past week. Instead of the attack of the blue tape, it was attack of the green tape.. but really not that much! I think our PM has done a great job identifying and keeping track of "errors".. some of the notes we read that were on the tape made us grateful he has a really good eye because we surely wouldn't have caught it such little details. Okay, maybe later we would have.. :) 

But nonetheless, let's see what Wednesday brings! CHEERS! :)

All the not-so-small things! - Ryan Homes Build

Can I just say how pumped I am to only have two more weeks to go to closing?! Wednesday the 29th - you are oh so sweet! We have 3 relatively simple things to get together to submit to our loan processor for final underwriting this week and we are good to go.  That's all that's looming and I'M SO EXCITED! 

We went a little hog-wild this past weekend shopping for odds and ends for the home, but necessities are necessities! :) Plus we are going to be pretty tight for money as the mortgage starts rolling around.  Welcome back to real life! 

Again, I really have NO idea what we have hanging around in our storage unit as it's been 2 years since we've dug through it. We've got the bigger things such as couches, dining room table, dinette table, TV's, barstools, a glass coffee table and a black (super cheap) coffee table, a TV stand, beds for the rooms, one nice dresser and one old chest-of-drawers, and a few lamps. So no super big purchases for us for AWHILE. Some of the stuff we have needs upgraded, but that will come with time and money. I think we can survive, otherwise. ;) However, a new mattress the day we go to closing is happening. I cannot live another month on the current mattress we have. It's seen its last leg! 

We did, however, drop quite more than I dreamed on things this weekend. 

The handles/pulls on the kitchen cabinets! This has proven harder than I thought to be. But we came upon these at Home Depot and after holding them up against our cabinets, we have fallen in love! We initially just got enough as pulls for the drawers and were going to use knobs for the cabinets, but I love the look of these on the cabinets as well. But that explains why I couldn't find a knob I liked! :) We bought a couple of these a few weeks ago and finished up the remainder this weekend. 

And these knobs for the cabinets in the laundry room. In love with these! My husband actually picked them out. How does he have such good taste? 

These knobs picked out by my husband also for the master bath. I got lucky! I can't believe he is letting me add a little "glamorous" feel to the bathroom. 

These knobs are for our sons hall bath. It's got a modern feel to it, so it only felt right to select these knobs. I'm excited to see it! 

Lastly, these knobs for the bonus room bathroom. 

We have also stocked up on a few blinds. We still have at least half to go. Eventually we will obtain these! Oh goodness I forgot how much these guys cost! So, I previously attempted to compare different sites in regards to prices, but it all comes back to Home Depot being the most affordable. We used their faux wood blinds in our previous home and we really liked the look they brought. I will forever dream of having plantation shutters, but cannot afford them in the least. Maybe room by room in the future.. ;) 

This little fan is pricey, but we think it will tie in perfectly with the bed frame in our sons room. :) Also, trying to keep in mind fans are something you don't change very often, if ever! Surprisingly, we didn't buy our room a fan, yet. We got his.. oh children! ;) 

I have pondered pendant lights FOR EVER but could not figure out what kind of look I wanted for our home. My biggest thing was that I did not want my home feeling too sterile. I love the modern look of white, grey, and black which my home boasts A LOT of, but I'm a girl of COLOR! I need some pops here and there. Initially, I wasn't set on these. I really was going to settle for another white or "simple" pendant. But my husband helped me with this decision. Even though he really wanted red pendants, which would not go with our scheme. Oh well, sorry bud. 

We settled on a garage door opener. This was my husbands major call. We settled on one that was in the middle. Not the cheapest but not the most expensive. It got relatively okay reviews, but for the price paid we wanted a belt operated opener since we have the bonus room above the garage. It may or may not make that big of a difference, but we bit the bullet. Time will tell! 

This little (big) guy we got a steal on! This isn't the exact model, but it looks just like it but in chestnut. I don't know how it happened, but we just finished looking at blinds and lying on the ground were two of these bookshelves. For some reason priced at $30 instead of the original $130 because it's been discontinued! Are you kidding me?! Such a steal and it's a gorgeous bookshelf. Exactly what I had in mind for the living room/office area. I am so excited about this! Mostly because I could never again beat that price. 

Got this little guy for the baby's room. We don't know the gender so we're going mostly neutral. I really like the look of this. I wasn't sold on a fan and if so, that can always come later. 

This shower curtain will be going in our sons hall bath. It's the only thing that I could find so far that was relatively close to something I was looking for. If the new baby turns out to be a boy, I still want the "we are superheros and rockstars" shower curtain, albeit super pricey. We picked up some plush light green rugs for this bathroom as well from Home Goods. He loves green, so it's a requirement. ;) We got yellow towels for his bathroom from Target as well. I'm not sure what color we are going to paint this bathroom still. Time will tell! :) 

For our bathroom, Home Goods had certain white rugs that I have wanted for ages, but never bought. Well, that's what I get for not buying them right away because they no longer have them. However, I still managed to find a different type of plush white rugs. I just want a super cozy bathroom! :) We bought towels in white & gray from Target. Still leaning towards a purple/gray paint. 

Otherwise, we picked up a few kitchen odds and ends and some pillows for our couch in the family room. They are pool/Tiffany blue. And before I forget.. we bought a rug from RugsUSA! The colors are exactly what we were looking for for the family room. I can't wait to see it with the misty gray floors. The colors are definitely darker in person, but I believe still provide that pop of color we are looking for. :) Also, RugsUSA is still having a KILLER sale, up to 75% off their rugs! We got an amazing deal on our rug and I can't help but pass it on. If only I had more money right now! Because the sale is THAT good! 

The last thing we have to buy is a water softener. I think we are just going to get a mid-level one from Home Depot for around $500. Our area is the worst for hard water. Our last home didn't have one and my face was constantly reddened because of the harshness of the water. It was our fault since we just never got around to putting one in. But in this home, it it taking precedence! :) 

But really guys, I cannot wait to put all this stuff in its proper places and show you all the results! I just want my home! And we are so close! :) Can't wait to continue watching all of your beautiful homes being built, too. :)