Too early to furniture shop?

I think the absence of Spring is making me a basket case, I am itching to get out of the house on the weekends to do well... ANYTHING!  I can't handle going to the mall though to shop for clothes because I can't wear any of it right now!  I've succumb to slothing around in raggedy old sweaters and salt stained uggs everyday (and I'm talking about my work attire here, at home it's even worse) I guess I just have the winter blues!  I need warmth and sunshine ASAP!!!  To all my bloggers who live in PA or the North East you feel me, right!?!?

So, to curb my appetite for shopping, I decided to check out some potential furniture options and bedding.  I hit up Macy's and Levin's and Restoration Hardware (insert Homer Simpson drooling sounds).  If I had all the $$ in the world, I would buy everything in RH, that store is me to the T!  I love the colors, the fabrics, the design, the eclectic warmth that everything in there brings, that touch of vintage glamour, but the price tags I just can't afford!  I do plan to buy some bedding from there though, a duvet and pillow shams (the sheets I will get at JCP with my Mom's discount :)

I found a sectional that I liked at Macy's, none at Levin's.  I just can't seem to find anything as far as dinning tables go for either the morning room or the formal.  I really need to take a trip out to World Market in Canton, OH.  I love so much of their stuff but they are about 1 1/2 hours away from me :(  I will need to do a big buy up there if I don't find anything local, I really need a large rustic table that I can fit 12 around for the morning room, I love the look of RH's tables but they are just out of my leauge in pricing!  I like being able to buy a table separate too and get chairs that are different for that collected look.

I have some pictures of the sectional as well as the bedding.  I am choosing the color "fog" for the bedding because it matches my kitty, Mr. Tickles so well!  Her fur won't show up as much and she is my little snuggle buddy, sleeps with us every night!  My poor husband who is allergic puts up with it too, he's such a trooper!  He loves her too though, even though he will deny it if you ask him! 

This is the duvet I want to get, it's a paisley print in a gray "fog" color.  I was originally going to just get a solid linen duvet but I think that I need some pattern and interest in the bedding, I don't want it to look too bland.  Plus, I can pull colors from this duvet to pick my wall color.  The ladies at RH are going to help me pick out all the colors for the house (only I'm not using their paint :( it's too damn expensive!  But I will use their swatches and take it to home depot to color match!)  Hey, I'm still going to be buying expensive bedding and other accessories so I think they can help me pick out a few paint colors... lol

Here is the sectional, I like the camel color, it's not too dark and not too light, it will hide the wear and tear I think the best and still contrast nicely with the dark hardwoods we selected.  I am still searching for other options but this one was comfy and the leather felt nice, it's more expensive that I would have liked but I think that you pay for what you get, and the last "leather" sofa I bought was 3 years ago and it looks like hell now, and now I know the difference between top grain leather and bonded leather!  I learned the hard way though... not a cheap mistake!

Egress window crisis averted!

Our egress window was placed on the back of the house by mistake, we had moved it on the blue prints to the side, because it just makes sense!  That way we can have a nice deck/patio and not have to worry about working around that ugly hole!  Our PM emailed our SR saying it will be taken care of, and I'm sooooo happy now!  Thank goodness they are able to move it, I know they will have to dig up and tear down and what not but I'm glad they are making it right, even if it sets us back a bit.  Crisis averted!

The house is getting closer to a home

Another day and more progress! We have windows and framing is complete it is really starting to look like a house and getting closer to being a home everyday!

What a difference a day makes!

So yesterday I stopped by to check progress and we had 3 walls up! Then today, a whole house!!! It's incredible! We have half the roof on too!! It's amazing the difference 1 day makes! I also stopped by to see my sales rep Bev, she is the sweetest. She had a bag of homemade Easter candy for me and we chatted for a bit and met a neighbor down the road too. Everything is coming along!

Back filled and ready for framing!

I stopped by the homestead site last night and saw it's all back filled and ready for framing to begin!  I also stopped by HH Gregg today on my lunch, I was totally creeped out by the sales woman who was just staring at my and following me and lurking around every corner.  She looked like a serial killer stalking her next victim!  It was definitely a weird experience.  I just said I was browsing and took some picture of the price tags and info and came across a nice Samsung washer/dryer.  It has the steam feature and the price is good.  However, I hear that HH Gregg will negotiate like a used car dealership and the price is the same at Best Buy (and I can get gift cards at GE for the fuel perks!) I think I may go in next weekend and see if they will do some wheeling and dealing with me on the price.  If not, I have time and I will just walk away.  Anyways, here is the set I'm looking at, it has great reviews too especially for the price! And I'm still going to check out sears outlet again, they didn't have much there when I went last but they said their inventory is constantly changing so maybe I can snag a good deal if the timing is right.  I still have a good 2 months before I need them but I like getting things done and out of the way so I am not scrambling at the last minute.  Any advise on appliance brands?  Ideally, I would like one of those high capacity sets that are like tiny space ships that will wash and dry and mend my clothes and cook me dinner and clean my house (sarcasm!) but for now, I'm thinking practical and value, I want to stay under 1200 for the pair, and 1000 for the pair is my goal.  My parents bought a pair on special for 1000, really nice too.  The ones below are for sale at 675 each but again, I think if I could negotiate a little, maybe I could get them for less, or maybe wait for a better sale!  Thoughts???

Oh, and P.S. It's taco Tuesday   If anyone in the Pittsburgh area loves tacos and loves tacos for $1 then head to Mexi Casa!  I'm starving and I think I will probably eat about 10 tonight :)  Happy Tuesday everyone!!!

"We gotta move these refrigerators....

we gotta move these color TV's.... " - Dire Straits, Money For Nothing

Don't we all wish we could get money for nothing.... *sigh*

I went to Sears Outlet last night and found the refrigerator of my DREAMS!  It's so pretty I want to live inside of it! haha... but, I'm having a really hard time finding reviews on it.  It's a Jenn Air, which I know to be a sort of Cadillac of appliance brands, they usually sell them at the higher end appliance stores, my dad has a Jenn Air grill he bought himself as a retirement present to himself and loves it.  But the price was just so incredible I don't think I can pass it up!  when they have their sale in 2 weeks, it will be under 1500!  And I can get an extra 5% when I get a Sears card, and just pay it off on the spot. 

I'm hoping that my fellow bloggers can help me out there, I wasn't really impressed with anything else, except the KitchenAid brand, but the only ones I could afford has some cosmetic damage.  The Jenn Air didn't have  a scratch on it, it was new never used!  Tell me this isn't too good to be true!!!

above is the website view and below the actual pic I took in the store, I just loved all the features and especially that 4th drawer for veggies!  It's really deep!

The new "color TV" is probably going to have to wait until Christmas, we have really over extended our self and can only get the necessary stuff for now, the furniture will have to wait too :( It will be a shame to live in such a nice home with no furniture!  I'm hoping at the 10 month mark I can paint and do at least the living room and morning room.

APPROVED!!!!!!!!

NVR's ears must have been burning with all my posts about being nervous about the loan approval so looks like they got on the ball and got us approved!  I literally jumped out of my chair at work and did a little dance, my co-workers already know I'm weird and nuts so they weren't surprised!  Today is a good day :)  It's also taco Tuesday at my local Mexican place, so I'm going to celebrate with copious amounts of tacos!  Happy Tuesday everyone!!!!

Got Wood??

Just stopped by the site last night real quick and we got our lumber and windows delivered!  Soon the shell will be in construction and word from my dad is after 3 days the shell will be up and it will start looking like a house!  I also took a peek at my new neighbor, DB, your home is coming long so fast!  I really like our end of the street too, it seems more secluded and the views are spectacular!  Happy building everyone!  And thanks to everyone who has given me advice along the way, it's been a REAL help!

Still waiting on the loan approval and it's driving me NUTS!

So we finally got everything that NVR requested and they sent things to underwriting last week for the final decision, it all seems crazy to me that they are building our house with out the approval!  I have been checking my email like every 10 minutes to see if I got anything from our LP/LO but nothing yet, I know it can take a while but I'm just impatient!  I guess that is why I still don't feel like it is going to be ours.  I don't want to buy a thing yet or even look around for anything until I know 110% that this is FOR REAL!  I guess the pessimist in me is starting to show through, I just feel like good things like this don't happen to me generally.  We have always struggled for everything we have and feel so lucky for little things and just to have a job, not even a fancy career like I would dream to have (especially after paying 100k for college and working in admin... grrr) but just a paycheck, or a clean bill of health, and I feel like a lot of people around me take those kinds of things for granted or just can never be satisfied with having the things they need to live.  The fact that I'm not even 30 yet and I'm building a house seems crazy to me, maybe it isn't so much this day and age but my parents worked hard for over 30 years and sacrificed so much and only just built their dream Ryan Homes last year.  Oh gosh, I sound like such a Debbie Downer and I have so much to be thankful for right now! 

Anyways, I was just wondering if anyone else has had this happen, where they start the build before submitting to underwriting, am I just being really paranoid?? On a brighter note, I had a nice weekend with the hubs and I also became a godmother, again!  I just gotta keep thinking positive!  I'm going to take a drive by the site again tonight, it seems to be my Monday routine, and then maybe head over to Sears Outlet just to take a peek at a fridge and a washer/dryer.

Happy Monday and God Bless!  Here are some pics from my happy weekend :)

Me and my Godson!  He is such a sweetie!  This is my best friend's first baby.

And I can't forget my first Godchild and Neice, she is just so beautiful and growing up so fast!

 

Me and the hubby at the Heinz History Center for History Uncorked.  One of his companies was a sponsor, Clique Vodka, they supplied all the party fuel!  You can pick up a bottle at your local liquor store too!  It's in PA, WV, OH and a bunch of other states too, I just can't remember them all!

A good home starts with a good foundation...

I drove by the home site last night and was surprised to see the foundation is poured!  My dad said lumber delivery is next!  I've never been more excited to see a bunch of concrete slabs and a mud pit in my life! :)  Things are moving along swiftly and we FINALLY were able to get everything we needed to send our loan application to underwriting for approval.  We still have to pay our tax bill but hey, the government is slow at paying out so why should we hurry up to pay them!  We will send it out next month, it's just rough writing so many large checks at once, we had to make our last payment of our down payment/good faith money this week so spreading things out as much as we can makes things a little bit easier on the wallet.  Sometime when I see all our hard earned savings going to RH I think "gee.. we could have gone to Jamaica like 10 times on that!" but then I keep reminding myself that this is the home where we will start our family and make new memories and it's a solid investment for our future.  But when I look at all the pictures from our past Jamaica vacation I keep kicking myself JUST a little!  But all in good time... we will be back there even if I have to eat ramen noodles for an entire year!

So, enough of that rant, I do have some questions if anyone out there has some advice on appliances.  We will be looking for a fridge and washer/dryer soon, we are trying to do it on a tight budget so nothing too fancy, I don't need a fridge with a TV or that can tell me the weather or if my shoes match my outfit (lol, like I would need that anyways, I'm pretty stylin... lol) but I want to know what brands to looks at, what to avoid, etc.  I know that we want a french door stainless with the ice/water thru-door and a front loading washer/dryer.  I thought I would want a HE top loader but after speaking to some appliance people at Sears they said that it you plan to wash a comforter, it won't get it clean because the max water level only goes up about 6 inches, they said the size is deceiving and about 1/2 of the top loaders they sell are returned within a month for a front loader.  Now, I don't know if this is a load of BS or what, so that's why I'm asking for some honest opinions!  I really have no clue where to start!  We are lucky to be closing around Memorial Day so we can hit up the sales.

Oh and to my new future neighbor DB if you are reading this, I saw your house yesterday too!  You are really making progress!  Framing is done, doors and windows are in, it's coming along nicely!  And you are only a stones through away, so I hope you like cookies cakes and sweet treats because I love to bake and if I don't give some away I will eat it all myself and be a slave to the treadmill for weeks :)

We have some warmer weather coming up but I hope that dang rain stays away!  Looking forward to seeing more progress as it comes along!

Heavenly footer and forms!

So I went up to to the homesite to check things out yesterday. Let me just preface that things have been all around stressful in our lives lately for one reason or another and I've been soul searching and not getting anywhere. Not to mention my husband is going through yet another unexplained bout of vertigo, it's truly debilitating and I just keep praying that we can get some answers but we never seem to, but that's a whole other story. So, I was taking a few photos and posted them up on Facebook for my friends and family to see the progress and my Cousins wife in Colorado commented on something she saw that I didn't while I was taking the photo and I'm honestly hoping this is a sign of good things to come. The concrete forms in the photo show a distinct cross and the way the sun is setting and and shinning just makes it look so Devine. I was on the phone at the time with my dad almost in tears about everything that has been going on lately and i think this may have been a message from God telling me everything is going to be ok and that I just need to have a little more faith! Let me know what you guys think, good sign?? I hope so! God bless!