house news!

The house is almost finished!!! We move in September 24th!

Here are some recent snapshots!

tin backsplash!!!

(I fought for this... i was actually advised against it!

Eat your words designer lady... eat your stupid words.)

once she saw this,

she conceded... as she should

THE outside lights!

We decided not to go with the fixtures on either side of the garage and just do can lighting-

We LOVE the way this turned out!

Indoor lights!!!

These are the first items that have really made the house FEEL like a home.

You can walk in at night and turn on the lights.

It's not a dark empty construstion site anymore!

We're So official!

On a side note-

I saw Kristin Cavelleri and Jillian from the bachlorette in Chicago this weekend!!!!

They were together-

at the VIP booth-

when they left we got the booth and took the obligatory picture with the "reserved" sign.

 HAHA, WE FELT Soooo cool...

cabinet LOVE

Ok... long time no post on this cabinet progress!

They delivered all the material a few weeks back, that's when i posted about my excitement!

Then they broke a few on installation

and it took 2 weeks to order the replacements!

 if i've learned anything about myself through this whole process...

It's that i'm NOT a patient person.

no matter how hard i try to put things out of my mind and wait...

I CAN'T.

I just can't.

If i want it, i want it now.

it's my innerVeruca...

Anyway, after all the waiting...

They're here!!!!

(they still need hardware, but i can't decide on anything!)

kitchen

Guest Bathroom

Master Bathroom

3 panel door!

The fireplace

No cabinet pictures yet!

we went by the house yesterday and the they're being installed,

but nothing of great progress .

I'll post the pictures as soon as there is something worth seeing...

In the interim-

 they were working on our fireplace mantel which was a big surprise!

We really weren't expecting it at all!

So here is a picture,

it's not really even close to being finished but it gives you an idea...

It will eventually be painted white.

{which is a sin in this part of the country, people around here like their stained wood WAY too much, I have had several awkward encounters with people physically shaking their head when i tell them, "oh, all the trim will be painted white" such a waste of a good grain line... i know i know, but get over it people. }

&

this is the tile that will go around it.

(Marazzi: Le Pietre, Basalto)

In bigger news!!!

If you're booking a flight to Denver from kc for our wedding

southwest is having a sale- $59 each way!

What are you waiting for??? Go get 'em:)

 

Kitchen Cabinets!!!!

OMG,

they are installing our kitchen cabinets today.

Last night we drove by and there was a big semi in front of our house unloading a bunch of boxes-

 it was like christmas.... ony a REALLY GOOD christmas.

I can't remember the last time there was a semi-load of stuff all for me!!!

oh wait!

that probably never happened.

Check that off the "bucket list"

Wasn't there in the first place- but so cool!

Anyway....

Of course we went back a few hours later to check out all the presents.

& It was our cabinets!!!!

they were all boxer up... but we opened a few anyway!

&

They're amazing!

I couldn't be happier with they way they turned out and i can't wait to see them in the house!

Picking out Cabinets is actually really diffucult...

 all you have to go off of is one square cabinet door

you really have to use your imagination for how it would look in a rectangular style with a drawer above it.

Plus,  the doors come in so many different styles,

we picked out the style we liked, then picked out the finishes seperately.

basically, until last night I hadn't seen the "portico" style with the "antique white" finish all put together. 

Picture to come!!!

Journey to Wallpaper?

I'm thinking about wallpaper for our kitchen "nook" 

.....

seriously!

Everyone says "DON'T wallpaper" because it's hard to put up, it starts to peel, it's hard to take down. 

BUT! 

wait a minute!

Sherwin williams has a brand called EASY CHANGE & it claims to come off super easily.

AND i'm obsessed with the idea of getting a big graphic pattern and doing just the dining room alcove.

We're young... It should be bright and bold! 

ANYWAY- while i continue to argue my point to casey (beg really) 

here are some pics i covet on my journey to wallpaper.

I'M BRINGING IT BACK! 

OK enough of that! 

This week they bricked the front of our house!! YAY! 

You have no idea how many different color bricks are out there and color combinations.

We wanted a "clean" look so we chose the darkest most consistent brick we could find. 

The house will be painted tan the current grey is just the color of the siding. 

(on that note- I keep wondering if they did grey siding because we chose tan paint-

 does the grey siding provide for a better base for tan paint? our neighbors siding was tan and they painted it dark brown- same theory?)

Tan with white trim and soffits & dark brick... 

Creepy

 I've been super creepy lately!

I've been in Wichita for about 2 weeks now-
I don't officially move until the end of August but my job started July 6th so I'm currently living
[with clothes only]
[OH & KIA]
in Casey's apartment.

To bide my time i've obviously been working, enjoying my new found time with casey, and legitimately logging the equivalent of a part time job in what I like to call "checking" on the house.   

(the latest picture- roof on, and all the siding FINALLY finished!!!
Just waiting on brick)

It all started the first week I was in town. 

Casey went to work in Topeka & I had the whole week to get to know wichita.... 

That took 2 hours! 

I found the nearest Target,

 Grocery Store, 

Pier One, 

Hobby Lobby, & World Market- 

Finished! 

 So... I decided to "check on the house"

It's like a kid in the candy store!!! I hadn't had access to go see it until I moved into town, 

But now, I can go see it whenever I want to:)

It's gotten pretty bad & i'm starting to wonder if the workers know my car?

Last week i drove by every morning on my way to work, 

Every lunch break, 

After work, 

And after dinner casey and i would go & i would pretend like I hadn't seen it since the night before!!!

 haha, are you kidding? 

i've ACTUALLY already driven by 3 times today

is that weird?

In related news... 

Casey left town (a-freaking-gain) this morning so we went over to the house before he went to the airport.

FINGERS CROSSED- 

when he gets back next saturday there should be sheetrock, and brick on the exterior.  

Anyway, We took a few pics!

Essentially instead of 9:30 mass on Sunday morning, we opted for a photo shoot-

Me drinking coffee in the "kitchen"

Casey warming his hands by the fire

We need Wichita friends stat...

& stat means now!!! (for court:) 

Lighting!

Let me tell you we've learned a lot about lighting... 

from windows that don't open, to fixtures that "won't pass code"- 

sometimes i wonder who makes these codes?? are the negotiable? 

If I promise I won't let any 7' tall people enter through the front door can we hang the hall lantern that I want? and **psst** Mr. city inspector I don't even have friends that tall! 

&

 In the future I will be very cautious about befriending anyone of that stature due to the fact that if they come over they might bump their head on our light that hangs at 7'!!I promise- I am willing to risk potential future friendships for this fixture- honest!

Anyway.... still working on entry fixtures.... so for now let's go back to windows. 

Since we picked a model blueprint everything is in place, we're welcome to make changes, but most of the nuts and bolts are laid out. 

My dad suggested we send the plans to my aunt who is an architect- just to see if we're missing anything.. well... let me tell you those came backed all marked up! Which was surprising because when we visited the model i didn't see any of these problems! 

First off all the windows in the back of the house were fixed- none of them opened??

It literally costs $30 per window to replace the fixed with an opening and for air flow purposes, we were all over that change. 2nd there were no windows on either side of the house. 

We added 9 opening awning windows all together

(top- awning window. bottom- awning window in action!! 3 in our bedroom & 2 in the master bath)

Now back to those light fixtures... I saw this picture early on in the process....

obsessed with the island lights- they're called onion lights- very new england. 

(learned this through countless google image searches, also learned they are traditionally outdoor lights which is why they were so hard to track down) 

Anyway, we found them at a lighting store in wichita, added them to our order, 

then I saw these... 

Guess I'm a lot flakier than i thought. 

After weeks of obsession with the onion lights it took me aprox 5 minutes of staring at this light before I decided we were going to make the change! 

&

just for your viewing pleasure i'll show you the matching dining room fixture-

The Details!

Hey Everyone! 

I finally have time to blog about our new house!!! 

You've seen the pictures, now here are some of the details...

(most recent picture)

We decided early on that we wanted to buy a house, 

own instead of rent, 

build equity... blah blah blah. 

First we started looking at houses in Denver and the prices were shocking!!! 

Full disclosure we were looking at neighborhoods in the Denver zip code- obviously more popular areas. What we found was 350-400k on average and that's for an older home with not much remodeling work. 

Then- we jumped over to wichita- 

We couldn't believe we could get a 5 year old home for somewhere in the mid 100's to low 200's. That's when we decided we'd rather "get ahead" and buy an afforable house in wichita then buy into a Denver mortgage that was way over our heads! 

After that Casey started sending me numerous emails from realtor websites with pictures of houses for sale, Exciting!!!!! But overwhelming.

Then he sent me a picture of home just built- in our price range- open layout- perfect! 

We called on it but it had just been sold!!!

The lady, we now know her as Victoria the development lady, said she had similar houses that were in progress if we wanted to look.... 

It's pretty much been full on craziness since then! 

First we picked a house that was midway through construction & Victoria said we still had time to pick out our colors for paint and tile. Perfect. It's like building house but not...
everyone was thrilled, Casey & I met in Garden City at his parents house to discuss the plans, that's when I said the phrase that cursed us... "This is perfect! I just DO NOT want to build a house!" 

Then another couple put in an offer... panic! 

Do we counteroffer? 

In steps my dad and 80-year-old Grandma, they were out to dinner the night all this went down. 

"we think you should scratch the whole plan & buy the lot on the pond."-Dad & Grandma

"put your money in the lot, better resale"-Dad

"i've always wanted to live on water"-Grandma 

really people!?

But... who can turn down advice from two 

knowledgeable,

well meaning, 

elders??

So we let the house go, along with the $8,000 homebuyers credit since we wouldn't be in a house before the June 30th deadline & Casey drove over to the developer's office and put a deposit on our lot!!!!

   

Guess we ended up building a house after all!

Here it is...

Well folks- here it is!

I truly cannot believe how quickly this process is moving along!

I have a lot to blog about the house, and now that i'm "unemployed" for the next 2 weeks I will have plenty of time to update everyone- but for tonight- here it is... 

Last Day!

This week I quit my job.

  Why you ask? Because the rumors are so true... I'm moving to wichita!

This was a really rough decision for Casey & I- mainly myself, but in the end I want to be closer to home, Casey has an amazing job he did not want to leave, and the cost of living is not even comparable! 

Over the last few weeks I've realized making the decision to move was the easy part- 

leaving my job and Denver is the hard part. 

But the show must go on, so on wednesday I put in my two weeks... they were surprised, but supportive! Since I took a job with a competitor... my last day was today. Sad that I'm walking away from such a great company- but also exciting to have the opportunity to start a new position with another great company, in tax (which i prefer over audit) and finally live in the same city as Casey!!! 

I'd like to end this post with a farewell to my coworkers: a quote from amanda in the if i can dream house (if you don't watch this show on hulu... shame on you! I am addicted!) anyway... on with the quote 

"I'll see you at the top, I'm just going a different way" 

Framing...

Progress

We are making progress on our project. 

i'll give all the details next week!

I called Casey Monday night....

"what are you doing?"

"mark & I are eating goodcents in our closet!"

"Huh??"

"Yeah, In the master closet at the new house!"

AKA they were sitting on the foundation wall of the closet.... 

i think someone is way too excited... but good to know the closet it now broken in!

A Change of Pace.

Hello!

HOLD on tight! This blog of mine is about to switch gears...

Casey and I are embarking a a totally awesome and exciting new adventure.

We are both learning a lot- and of course we want to share!

Even if you don't benefit from it right now you will at least have some insight & gain little bit of knowledge. It's my goal to document as much as I can. That way when we get to the end of this project i can make a coffee table book with the blog contents.

(note to bloggers: if you haven't checked out blog2print.com, lulu.com, or blurb.com- you should! They will take your blog from whatever period of time you want and turn it into a hardcover book. It's a great way to save what you've posted and documented and i think it will be amazing and hilarious to pull out in 20 years and show your kids.)

Obviously there will be more details to come in the next few weeks.

To start, here are a few recent photos to get the ball rolling!