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. :)

Home-stretch Ahead! - Ryan Homes Build

So we've come a LONG way in a few short weeks. We have our walk-through next Wednesday. Did I really just say that?! It's unreal. But oh so sweet! I'm so excited and READY. 

The house is mostly complete. The only thing I have really seen that is missing is the stone from our fireplace. Which who knows what today has brought! :) Everything else has come together and just needs a good final cleaning. There are a few drywall and grout spots that I've spotted, but some of the drywall spots are ones that (I'm assuming) our PM has already selected that they fix because the blue tape has rolled out. :) 

Our hardwood floors are uncovered now and the stairs have been completed. The stairs are SO dark but so charming! I haven't really gotten to have a good look at everything in the past week and a half or so, especially since they've been finished. We attempted to stop by Saturday because we had family that wanted to come by and see the home for the first time, but our SR had the weekend off and was replaced by another one for the weekend. She was unfamiliar with us and I'm sure just doing her job, but we really only got to spend about five minutes in the house before she told us we had to leave. I honestly just wanted to take it all in! It was so cool to see mostly everything in place and uncovered. 

I have a ton of pictures but have not updated for whatever reason... shame on me! 

April 3rd! 

Gorgeous EVERYTHING! I'm in love. The incorrect faucet was installed for a short period of time. It should not have been ORB, although that one is GORGEOUS. It has since been changed since these pictures were taken, but we plan on changing this back later. It really made a difference. Granite: azul platino, Cabinets: Sonoma Square Painted Linen

Bonus room bath tile: level C

View from the family room.

April 4th!

Bonus room over garage.

Another view of kitchen/dinette from family room with stairs to bonus room.

Same view from the family room from the day before just in the light.

Stairs to main 2nd floor & basement.

Faucet fixtures in chrome with Uba Tuba granite. Only odd thing is the lights are brushed nickel and the fixtures are chrome. Apparently this is standard. 

Hey y'all! :) Bonus room bathroom panorama.

View of bonus room from the other side with doors to downstairs, bathroom, and closet.

Master bathroom granite: santa cecelia light & cabinets: Sonoma square painted linen.

Master bath shower tile pan & the baby bump. 

Master bath shower tile: level C. Hello again! :) The window is a reflection because it is actually over the toilet. Love and look forward to the dual shower heads! And love how high they tiled up the shower!

Master bath granite, cabinets, and flooring together.

Hall bathroom tile: level C with Uba Tuba granite & Sonoma square painted linen cabinets. 

Master bedroom.

Laundry room.

Before the addition of light fixtures. 

Pretty pewter gray siding.

Kitchen looking into family room.

Dinette into kitchen & family room.

The dinette fixture.

Our little row of homes! :) Model on the very left. Our home in the very middle. 

Hardwoods covered and more of the level 2 trim work installed. 

Living room.

Living room and view of stairs.

Dining room with level 2 trim work and optional tray ceiling with standard fixture. 

Hello again! Main floor half bath. 

April 11th!

Our stairs with the stain, although it looks like paint. Not too sure about this. I need to take a closer look because this is the day we rushed through the home. It's still a very nice color.

A more "cleaned" up view of the hall bathroom upstairs. Love the standard shower heads. 

Master bedroom with carpet! It's darker carpet - Rockport. I'm still a little shocked as to how dark we actually went, but my husband loves it. Overall, with kids it's a good color to go with. Ideally, I wanted a shag look, but we could not afford the upgrade throughout the 2nd floor and taking advantage of free carpet for the time being seems worth it. We did upgrade the padding to 8lbs and it seems to have made a difference, so I'm excited for that. 

A more "clean" version of the master bathroom with all the plastic and coverings taken off. I can't wait to paint this room to make it come together more. 

Pretty granite & fixtures! :) 

Coming down the stairs from the main 2nd floor. View of Misty Gray floors. 

View of the family room. Sometime this week will have stone around the fireplace. Love the floors. 

Flooring and appliances in the kitchen. 

Stairs leading to bonus room. 

Laundry room vinyl flooring - initiator - uncovered. 

Dining room. 

April 13th!

We have the first coat of paint on our front door! The red is actually extremely charming. My husband loves gray, red, and white together. I am pleasantly pleased with the combination. Part of me still wants a yellow or blue door, but time will determine that and our future HOA! :) I actually do not mind the black railing on the stairs, either.

We now have shrubbery, too! I love the black mulch. Not sure what kind of shrubs are planted, so hopefully we get told about them. Cannot wait to add flowers to the area. On the right side of the picture we want to possibly change out the shrubs for most likely a dwarf crape myrtle. 

Our son peering in the window since our SR was not available yesterday. I have to laugh each time. He is SO excited! 

View of our property line. Again, much more space than we anticipated so I'm excited about that. Cannot wait to see pretty green grass! 

Our driveway paved and the light fixtures. Apparently these are being changed out per the counties request. Curious to see what they change to. 

Love the angle at the end of the driveway. Can't wait to plant flowers along the edge. On the very left side of the house we are going to put two raised garden beds. Only two more weeks and I can plant my veggies! HURRY! :) 

The alleyway to our garages. The right side will be the backyard of the front load home sites and not rear load garages. We are the only row of rear load homes in our phase. 

Gorgeous sunset last night.