Toast to celebrations.

On February 4, this little baby officially became ours.

Now I can really get going on all those design/decor/renovation ideas (who am I kidding...I'll be lucky if anything new is done in 2 years time).  What a load of stress off our shoulders.  I will say that it really didn't make me feel any more grown up to be a "homeowner" and actually stressed me a tad more now that our savings has been cleaned out. 

Nonetheless, we celebrated with a night of beer and food in downtown Raleigh (which we can officially call our home). 

[A little Wake N Bake to celebrate...yes please!]

 [Oh yeah...he has good reason to be excited]

 [It may not seem like a lot...but this beer will go very far...]

[Four year vertical tasting...years 06-10 of our fav beer]

So we did the vertical tasting.  It was unanimous that 2007 was the best.  It also got D and I reminiscing on our years together and figuring out what our best/favorite year was.  It ended up being a nice night, and I felt just fine the next morning :) Score 1 for us in February!

101 in 1001 :: Another review.

I took another look at my 101 in 1001 list.  I seriously feel like this is so much better than the bucket list I started a while back (although I still want to update my bucket list for those big ticket items).  I mean it could be years before I marked something off on the bucket list.  With the 101 in 1001, I get to mark things off almost monthly.  I'm confident that once we get to really mark off the buying a house notch, many other things will come.  Buying a house is such a huge immediate cost (down payments, closing, inspections, appraisals, moving, etc.) that I'll be more than happy to have it all done with come Feb (fingers crossed).  In order to not make resolutions and start 2011 out on the right foot (by focusing on my little goals), let me review my list!

**PURPLE = completed**

Start date:  September 1, 2010
End date:  May 30, 2013

Indulge

1. Buy a house

     -In progress as of September/October 2010
2. Buy something from Etsy
3. Get another tattoo

[Better/healed picture should be to come 12/21/2010]

4. Buy a new piece of jewelry that I’ll wear for years
5. See Kathy Griffin live
6. Get a new pair of glasses
7. Buy one full-priced piece from Anthropologie
8. Meet up with KD in a city and see Lady Gaga again
9. Buy a pair of TOMS
10. Spend a day eating/shopping/reading alone in public
11. Buy a bicycle
12. Get a couples massage
13. Buy a new piece of furniture
14. Buy my dad tickets to see Jimmy Buffett
15. Treat D to a fancy dinner anywhere on me
16. Have a spa day
17. Buy a fabulous pair of jeans in a smaller size (once I get there)
18. Get a bikini wax
19. Buy a blazer

[AND it was thrifted! 10/2010]

Create

20. Make a special anniversary gift for the hubby
21. Put together an awesome thrifted outfit
22. Grow something edible
23. Finish a puzzle

[Oh yes.  Charlie Brown.  It was a toughie.  12/2010.  Bring on the Vincent Van Gogh puzzle D got me for xmas.]

24. Finish writing another 101 list at the end of the 1001 days
25. Make a sewing box
26. Make a photobook of wedding pictures
27. Start a list of places I want to see/travel
28. Make a photobook of Europe trip
29. Start a compost pile
30. Make homemade sangria
31. Bake bread
32. Make a homemade pesto or hummus

Help
33. Send flowers to someone
34. Sponsor a child at Christmas
35. Donate blood
36. Eliminate all clothes that I haven’t worn since moving to Raleigh and donate them
37. Donate to Locks of Love
38. Volunteer somewhere
39. Buy someone a "Just Because" gift
40.  Give a loan on Kiva
41. Buy a lesson or class for someone
42. Donate all my old glasses
43. Donate at least 10 items from Raleigh Rescues Urgent Needs List (0/10)

Improve

44. Don't eat fast food for a month
45. Put away $25 for every goal completed
46. Take a sign language class

47. Have bi-weekly date nights with the hubby without cell phones (0/64)

     -Not completely happening.  We're working on it though!
48. Run another 5K  (10/31/2010)
49. Pay off my credit cards

     -Only about 5 more months!!
50. Get to my goal weight and maintain
51. Put something in savings every single month (0/32)

     -Definitely!  D and I have been saving like crazy.  I'll continue even if it's $10.
52. Start a 401K
53. Have sex in 20 new places (0/20)
54. Back up all pictures and documents on my laptop
55. Call my grandma at least once per month (0/32)

     -Definitely in progress and my grandma loves it :)
56. Make at least one new recipe per month (0/32)
57. Create a budget and stick to it
58. Go to the dentist regularly (every 6 months)
59. Play with the dogs outside at least once per month (4/32)
60. Purchase a piece of art for our home
61. Invite a new friend out for coffee/shopping/a meal (9/2010)
62. Purchase new bed sheets and comforter for our room

Explore

63. Ride in a hot air balloon
64. Visit NYC with KD & CAP in Winter 2011
65. Buy last minute airline tickets for a getaway
66. Eat at a renowned restaurant
67. Visit 3 of the 1000 Places to go Before You Die (0/3)
68. See a play on Broadway
69. Go to Spain/Greece
70. Visit KayD in Boston
71. Visit KD in Birmingham
72. Take a road trip
73. Visit my M-A kids who got adopted
74. Do an extreme activity in another country
75. Go to a winery tour
76. Go to a museum I've never been to before
77.  See a concert in another country
78. Go on 30 of the “60 hikes within 60 miles: Raleigh”  (0/30)
79. Eat 3 things I've never tried before
80. Visit 3 states I’ve never been before (0/3)
81. Bike the Greenway – past the sketchy areas
82. Eat at 10 new restaurants in Raleigh (1/10)

     -One that I can think of (12/2010), probably more

Expand

83. Identify 101 things that make me happy
84. Read at least 25 books from the 101 Books to Read Before You Die list  (10/25)

     -Ten out of the 25 as of 12/2010!  I've updated on most of them.
85. Bake a new dessert from scratch
86. Join a club
87. Watch all IMDB's Top 250 Movies

     -I've definitely got some time and work to do here.  69 movies watched as of 12/2010
88. Make a meal entirely from food bought at the farmers market
89. Convince D to participate in a race with me
90. Learn to make a new mixed drink
91. Sleep in the nude
92. Try 25 new sex positions (0/25)
93. Go skinny dipping
94. Send a postcard to PostSecret
95. Play kickball on a team
96. Wear heels 2x per month (0/64)

     -I think I've been accomplishing this on!
97. Be a vegan for a week
98. Go skiing
99. Go bowling
100. Stop watching TV for one week at home

     -Technically I've completed this one but if we include Netflix and online shows, nope.
101. Donate $5 to charity for each goal I don't finish

  

Blazers and busy-ness!

How do you spell busy-ness?  Because if you substitute an "i," you get business...hmmm.

Anyway!  Sorry it's been a week since I posted :(  As usual, life is just not slowing down for me.  The nights that I don't have lesson planning, grading, or school-related work, I just want to plop down and catch up on tv.  Now that we've actually moved, we're busy unpacking!  I promise moved in pictures will be coming soon.  This will hopefully be a year of decorating and updating our home decor :)  I may need to get some tips from Britney on restoring furniture! 

This weekend, I have grading that I haven't gotten a chance to do.  Yesterday was spent sleeping in (yay!  and much needed), eating breakfast and gchatting with my friend, KD, hitting up a couple thrift stores (I'm on the hunt for some oxfords), heading to the gym (about freaking time), cleaning the old house so we can be officially moved out, and finally heading to Target to pick up some necessities.  I did come back and read all my students free-writing journals.  Now the plans for today are to finish up this post, finish my coffee, completely finish cleaning and getting stuff out of the old house, hit up the gym, come back and meet D, hopefully get in some grading (ahhhh!  I have to!), and then have a stay-in date night with D.  I bought some stuff to make homemade lasagna, side salads, and red wine.  I hope he can wind down after a busy week/weekend of traveling and beer.

A note of excitement before I go!  I've been unlucky on the front of find some oxfords period - let alone in my size - in the thrift stores around here.  I think maybe I need to check out Etsy or something.  I did find a blazer yesterday that I fell in love with.  No lie, it is almost exactly like this:

[Softwashed wool blazer from JCrew, $198!]

Mine (and I promise I'll share pictures soon) doesn't have the flaps over the pockets and the buttons are a weird color.  I am considering replacing the buttons with something darker.  This blazer does not have shoulder pads (unlike my first find) and has a splendid fit!  I can't wait to start wearing it for the chillier months coming up!  I've been dying to shop...so the next best (and cheapest) thing is thrifting.  In the upcoming weeks, D is going to be out of town a lot.  I may start browsing some surrounding thrift stores outside of just the Salvation Armys.

Hope you've had a fabulous fall weekend!

Ah ah ah ah stayin' alive, stayin' alive.

Because I AM still alive!  I've been so busy catching up on all of your blogs, I almost forgot to update mine!  Well thanks for all your sweet comments on my last posting.  I did make it through the storm even with an additional kink.  I told you I was heading back to GA for my friend CAP's - now CAPM - wedding.  Well we made it down and back alright.  I'll even provide proof with a picture...

[Image stolen from KD since I can't upload my pics at the moment...or obv I would have included myself actually looking at the camera]

The wedding was beautiful and CAPM was gorgeous (and she's celebrating her honeymoon in Mexico as I type!!)!  I hope it was everything she wanted!  And I got to catch up with lots of old friends.  But we jetted out of there so soon to get back to NC.  I had the tingling of a sore throat coming on that Sunday which manifested itself into a big, ole, ugly cold by Monday morning after 4 hours of sleep.  Fml.  I made it through school ok only to find out that the only day D could find someone to help him move our furniture to the new house was Tuesday!  So my week turned into one long, sick, sleepless, stressful, nonstop, body aching week. 

On a positive note, we are practically all moved into our new house!  Mad props go to D, who is amazing, for doing 95% of the moving himself while I was at work and sick (which I couldn't even take a fucking day off work).  We also had like zero boxes, so D had to pack, move, unpack, and go back (got that?).  We still have to clean up at the old place, but it's nice to be sleeping in our new house so soon :)  I love it there.  I can't wait to actually start getting settled in, unpacking, and putting things in their proper places. 

Point being...I made it.  I'm currently in the NC mountains for a beginning teachers retreat.  Hopefully normal life with semi-resume next week when I return.  My goals are to 1) make it to the gym at least twice (good considering I've been once within the past month probably), 2)clean the old house and be DONE there, and 3)keeping my head above water trying to juggle everything school-related and personal life.

Sitting outside with a good book in the rain.

This is what I want to be doing on my screened porch.  It has always been a dream of mine to have a screened porch.  There is something I love about it.  You can be outside but escape from the mosquitoes (which typically eat me alive).  D is going to most likely be embarking on a variety of home projects.  One of the projects I am going to set him on is building on a screened porch.

[Not a huge deck...but totally legit for building on to...]

D is thinking we'll add it on to this side so that we can keep the stairs.  We'll see.  Hopefully that'll be a project for next spring or summer.  

Here are some porch pics that have me swooning...

[If only we lived on the beach...pretty sure this is a Pottery Barn ad but image via weheartit]

 [Oh man...I die for this porch.  The Adirondack chairs, the trees, and the puppy.  Image via design*sponge]

[So gorgeous with all the greenery.  We definitely need to stain and weatherproof our deck.  Image via weheartit]

 [I know our house isn't this big, but I could totally picture something like this.  I like the addition of the latice on the bottom.  Image via designers-choice]

[Again, we wouldn't have anything near this big, but how adorable!  I picture a comfy little couch or chair in ours with a table.  And lots of plants!  Image via weheartit]

[I know this is a poor picture, but this is my vision.  Currently, we have sliding glass doors leading out to the deck.  I could definitely see us putting in french doors that lead to a screened porch.  Then build on a deck from that.  Absolutely perfect.  One day...  Image via thisoldhouse]

Time to get cooking.

Counter space in the kitchen was a necessity when we were looking at houses.  We love our kitchen in our rental (mainly for the gas stove) but there is no counterspace.  We looked at this little house and fell in love with the hardwoods and yard...

...but the kitchen was quite lacking...

[What you see is what you get...]

Literally.  This picture is it for the counter space.  There's a corner for the refrigerator, but that's it.  No dishwasher (or room to even install one without compromising your cabinet space).  I just couldn't invest in a house with such a sparse kitchen.

I am thrilled with our new kitchen in the new house!

 

Lots of counter space...wonderful cabinets...a dishwasher :)  Eventually we'll upgrade appliances (need a gas stove!), but this is a perfect start.  Even though I don't cook too much (D is the master cook in this family), I'm still obsessed with beautiful kitchens.

[Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous.  I love the variety of colors and the barstools.  We are going to have to find barstools for our kitchen.  Ahh...  Image via design*sponge]

[I'm obsessed with islands.  We don't have room for one.  This one is a fabulous use of storage for the pots and pans.  Love.  I also love islands that have the sink in them :)  Image via design*sponge]

[Here we go!  Sink in the island.  I love the modern and clean look of this kitchen.  I may consider a more modernized backspalsh when we really start decorating.  Image via design*sponge]

[I am obsessed with chalkboard paint.  I am definitely going to find somewhere in my house to incorporate some.  I like this little kitchen.  The drawer pulls give it a modern feel without the stainless steel appliances (which seem to symbolize modernism these days).  Image via design*sponge]

[Can't you just picture your guests sitting at the table sipping their wine (or Terrapin beer in our household) while you're whipping up a delicious meal for them?  Yep.  Image via weheartit]

[I just can't take my eyes off this picture.  I think it's the green that's got me hooked.  Image via weheartit]

Any kitchen decor ideas?

Books and books galore.

I have a fascination with books and bookshelves.  I love buying books.  I am obsessed with the built in bookshelves at our new house.  Here's some books and bookshelf inspired pictures...

[Even more than the bookshelf, I adore the print over the bed.  Swoon.  Image at design*sponge]

[Too modern for me, but I love the clean white and wood burning stove!  Image via bookshelf blog]

[How awesome is this?!  I'm always amazed by others' creativity!  Image via weheartit.  I'm obsessed with weheartit!]

[I love the pictures hung on the front of the bookcase.  What an adorable room.  Image via Patricia Gray Inc.]

[I'm obsessed with color categorization.  I sort of want to frame this picture.  I almost can't take my eyes off of it.  And that couch...with the pug.  Whoa.  Image via weheartit.]

[Die.  What a great way to make this a functional, beautiful space.  Image via bookshelf porn.]

Can't wait for decorate our new bookshelves :)

Desgin & decor week.

After my big announcement, I want to focus on some design and decor.  Obviously this little girl is going to be on a budget for quite.a.while.  I need to find some creative ways to decorate.  Whenever we finally buy a house, I think I will take more pride in making it beautiful.  I don't have an eye for fashion or design, but I can't buy an entire room out of an Anthropologie, Crate and Barrel, or Pottery Barn catalog.  I need DIY!  I usually have lots of down time on weekends that I can devote to a day project.

We want a 3 bedroom house so we can have a guest room, master room, and office for D.  He says he'll stop using the living room as his office if he has a real, clean room to use.  I am not planning to put a girly, pretty desk in his office but I love this DIY with wall paper.

[Stunning!  Seemingly easy and so pretty.  I adore those drawer knobs as well!  Image and DIY via design*sponge]

[Not a DIY but so pretty!  A little more masculine.  Found at design*sponge]

[This definitely reminds me of an old school roll top desk.  My granny used to have one.  I'm going to be on the look out.  Image via weheartit]

[Omg.This is fabulous!  A cute and adorable idea!  Image via design*sponge]

[

[Not enough room for D, but I love the simplicity.  Image via weheartit]

What are your cheap DIY office ideas?

What you've been waiting for.

This is it...my BIG news.  I bet your minds have been turning (because you think about me all the time, I know!)...none of you better have guessed I was pregnant.  Come on...you know how I feel about kids.  And with the recent financial depression of summer 2010, fuck if I am bringing a kid into this family.  Ok, ok...stop teasing you.

But seriously guys (ok, mostly gals)...we found it.  Our house.  Here's the story.  We had almost given into this house...a week or so earlier:

So quaint and cozy!  

Of all the other homes we had looked at, this was fit the bill for us.  Hardwoods, all appliances (even w/d) included, three bedroom, one full and one half bath.  The rooms were a bit small, but we loved the neighborhood and knew we could resell easy there.  Conveniently the seller was considering renting the house out soon, so the pressure was on.  We felt like we hadn't seen everything we wanted to and decided to look a more before we bit the bullet.  

You know I told you we had primarily only been looking inside the Raleigh beltline.  I mean I was pretty freaking solid on NOT looking outside that.  Our realtor sent us some homes outside so we could see what we could get for our money if we looked outside.  I practically shot her right down.  The houses we were looking at in our price range inside the beltline were pretty small.  Now you know I didn't care about/want anything big.  After some googling (I love how this is now an acceptable verb), we drove by a couple of home outside the beltline.  They were relatively close to downtown too.  We set up some viewings.  When we walked in...I fell in love. Later, D and I both agreed we just felt at home there.  The map below shows the beltline and location of the house...

  [That little "A," that's us!]

In reality, this house is the same distance from downtown Raleigh as the little white house above.  It also shaves off a bit og my commute time.  We've been negotiating and came to a pretty awesome deal that D and I are so happy with.  It works out with our financial situation and meets the sellers' needs as well.  Soooooo...without further ado...meet our newest roof!

 [Ok, ok...worst pic ever.  These aren't my pics...I haven't gotten a chance to take any yet, but ahem trust me they are coming!  But note the swing on the front porch.  She looks tiny, but she has a lot more space than the little white guy above]

 [So I am sort of obsessed with this backyard.  Perfect size for the doggies.  Already made privacy fence.  And see that little extra space to the left of the side of the house?  Yep...that's where our garden and chickens are going to stay.  Right ladies!  I said chickens.]

 [I don't need no stainless steel appliances!  I'm happy that we won't have to buy any appliances immediately.  Oh and let me please note that I am ecstatic about having a dishwasher again!  It's been a long 6 months without one.  This will certainly save us some money and we can eventually upgrade when we're ready.  Adore the open kitchen.  There's a ceramic sink with disposal.  Huge cabinets.  That white table is the "breakfast room" area.  There's a little desk nook to the left of the pic]

[Adore the built in bookshelves.  We're going to knock out the ones around the TV so it'll be easier when we upgrade to a bigger TV...one day.  The adjacent wall to the bookshelves has a set of three windows to allow lots of light in the living room.  Living room is a bit small...but I'm content with that]

[Possibly the worst pic yet.  Master bedroom.  The only room with carpet, but we want to eventually put in hardwoods.  Master bathroom with a standing shower and double sinks!  I die over them.  That was seriously something we wanted but thought we'd never get.  Omg.  Love.  HAVE to get rid of the full mirrors on the closet (which we also weren't expecting to find a master with such a big closet).  I'm not ready for sex surrounded by mirrors...TMI?]

[Second FULL bath!  So cute.  It also has built in shelves behind the door.  Super excited to have 2 full baths for when guests come]

So I am not even kidding.  I love, love, love this house.  It has everything I could have wanted (ok minus a fireplace...but I'll totally deal).  It was built in 2006, so everything is relatively new in house years.  Hardwoods, the already built fence, two big guest rooms (seriously...the others were tiny in comparison!), dining room plus the breakfast room as a part of the kitchen, the bathrooms, a back deck (which we can totally build on a screened in porch too), etc. etc.  D is not showing his excitement as much as me.  He keeps talking about projects and handy-man stuff he's going to do.  We're moving in sometime in October and hopefully I'll be posting LOTS more pictures of the house and this process.  I'm looking forward to spring and having this experience with D :)  It'll be fun to watch him do projects and make our family of us and two dogs and two cats complete with our house.  Can't wait to share this experience with you all!

**Ps. I have been totally scared to share any of this with anyone (including my parents!) because I didn't want to jinx any of it.  I am totally typing this on Friday and scheduling it for Sunday so I can remove it if necessary.  I am supposed to get the official word tonight or tomorrow...but I still nervous to make the blogosphere announcement.  Here's to hoping!

House Hunting :: The realtor.

I told you guys that we had been driving around window shopping homes, and we decided to take the plunge and start looking inside some of them.  We knew this was going to be an involved process, so we figured why not go ahead and look at some.  We got hooked up with a realtor who of course asked us about pre-approval.  We hadn't taken that step yet because we weren't feeling like we would find something that day and want to put down a bid.  Then we decided to just go with it so we would have an idea of what our actual price range would be.  Much to our surprise, we got approved for more than we thought!  That still doesn't change much about our price range though. 

We're looking for something like this...

Haha...yeah right.

We're still looking at our modest three bedroom/two bath homes :)  Even though we initially tried to make our point clear that we are simply looking, the realtor loves to keep mentioning a particular house that we should "make a move on quickly" for whatever reason.  The thing is...we weren't even in love with that one.  It was one of the first we looked at and it was adorable.  It was very much like the homes D and I have rented in the past; however it has a tiny kitchen (with no dishwasher...ugh) and one bathroom.  I mean it is high on our list of "likes" but we don't see ourselves coming home to that house every day.  Realtors can be so pushy.  Then there's a home that is really close to downtown that just went on the market we want to see.  When we mentioned it to her, she almost immediately shot it down stating that since it just went on the market she "seriously doubts" we could get the seller to go down on the price and pay closing costs.  Ok, we'll call her B, get a freaking grip.  We want to LOOK at the house and keep our eye on it.  After this, we had to gently remind B that we are looking and taking our time.  We're freaking first-time homebuyers!  This is nothing we are going to rush into the first house we might moderately like.  Now we know we aren't going to find something like this...

[Although isn't it gorg?! weheartit]

We're just looking for our modest three bedroom/two bath with a decent kitchen and big yard.  We'll find it.  

**This is another reason I've been slacking on posts!  I'm trying to fit in a full day at school and leaving immediately after to view houses.  BUSY!

We're the dreamers.

On Tuesday D and I got to drive around some and look (only from the outside) at some houses for sale around Raleigh.  Not that anyone cares about Raleigh, but let me give you the run down.

This is Raleigh.  Now see that yellow 440 beltline?  That's where you/I want to live.  We live in that beltline towards the western-center side.  We are spoiled.  We currently rent in what I believe is one of the best places to live in the city.  We can see the downtown Raleigh lights from our street at night.  We live so close to the most amazing neighborhoods.  As for buying a house in this area...impossible.  No houses in our direct area are probably going on the market anytime soon.  Who are we kidding...even if they did we could probably never afford them.  I'm starting still trying to come to terms with the fact that once we buy I will not be able to walk to the Y or be ridiculously close to our neighborhood bar or Harris Teeter.

We need to start scouting out the other good neighborhoods where we'll be happy living since we can't dish out get approved for a $300,000+ mortgage (ok right...I'm just a teacher!).  The first neighborhood we checked out was over on the eastern side of Raleigh outside the beltline.

We were intrigued by this super cheap fixer upper on a corner lot and with a "lake" in the backyard!  Truthfully, it could have been a prospect yet the distance from downtown and subdivision itself outweighed the price and lake.  We aren't really looking for something that big either.  After we left driving by this house, I mentioned to D that there aren't too many requirements in a house that I am dead set on...except a fireplace.  I quickly learned that a lack of a fireplace is not a dealbreaker for me after I fell in love with a house we stumbled upon.  We just went driving and found a pretty good neighborhood with lots of houses for sale.  I'm not going to jinx anything by telling you which I fell in love with...

Even though it looks older, this one is really nice on the inside.  Beautiful hardwood floors, large fenced in backyard (yardage is pretty much a requirement for us with the doggies and love for BBQing)

Yep...it looks tiny and I don't care.  D and I have no intention of having kids anytime soon.  We have no need for anything much bigger than 3 bedroom (which this is).  I adore the hardwoods and stainless steel and granite counter tops.  The inside is crucial for me and this one has been remodeled.  Little house, big yard, happy girl.  (Oh and let's not forget less for me to clean...and I despise cleaning)

Terrible picture but big yard.  There's a little studio apartment on the property (not sure where) that could be rented out.  Nice new appliances and granite counter tops.

Also looks tiny...but it is 3 bedroom too.  It has huge front, back, and side yards.  It has a cute little deck, hardwoods, and of course stainless steel appliances.  It's been remodeled.

Since we don't have really much money saved coming off the wedding, moving, and no summer pay for me, we're scouting out our areas and saving money with our cheap rent (while continually being spoiled in our amazing neighborhood).  All of these houses were pretty much in the same general area of Raleigh which is close enough downtown that I think we could cope.  Also the houses that are a bit out of our price range, we'll keep tabs on as far a price reductions go while we save up.  I'd rather buy smaller and cheaper so I am not dishing out half my monthly salary on a house...this bitch needs travel to exotic locales more than a house!  I'm hoping this weekend we can drive out to some of the areas around southwestern Raleigh this weekend.  I'm actually starting to look forward to saving for a house and viewing the insides! Eh...well I'm still torn on giving up our international vacay next summer for a house....