Almost done on the outside

The upstairs is mostly finished and the windows have been installed.

I can't wait to get our hands on the yard. It needs some TLC. So does the brick. We confirmed today that the brick on the house is still in production and we will not have any problems matching it. I'm anxious to get the brick acid washed, power washed or whatever its called! I sure am tired of looking at those black spots on the chimney. But overall looking GREAT!

View from the garage of the upstairs addition. The addition goes really well with the house and the neighborhood. You hear addition and it makes you a little nervous. But this one fits right in.

I'm really only posting this picture so you can see where the massive pile of trash was. We, as I'm sure our neighbors, are thrilled that its all cleaned up.

Here is a view of the upstairs addition from the north side of the house. Looking good!

You can't stop progress!

Upstairs framing started Friday. The roof came off earlier in the week. These guys are good!

And how it looked by Sunday

"Open House". Every window in the place has been removed to make way for new ones.

 The stairs are in. Had a small issue with space. It's ok...I'm dealing with it (breathe, breathe)...

View of the kitchen from the dining room. We took out one window and are adding 3 side by side windows.

There was a HUGE issue with the upstairs closet. In this picture you will notice the roof line is at the top fo the closet door. That's not gonna work.

Luke worked with the guys to raise the roof in the closet to fix the situation. Thank goodness b/c this girl needs closet space!

The aftermath of the demo phase.

MORE TO COME!

Oldies...but definitely goodies

These are a few accent pieces that are in the house. Aren't they cool!!!

The pencil sharpner was found in the utility room and will most likely go back there. My grandparents had one in their laundry room too.

This amazing light may be moved to another location in the house.

The first knob is from the front door and the second from an interior door. While neither one work very well and need to be replaced, I refuse to part with them. I'll find a good use for them.

The hanging light is probably being moved into the hallway. And the exterior light has a twin. They will both be refinished and serve as coach lights on both sides of the front door.

Ring Ring no more...

I remember my grandparents having a telephone cubby in their house. When I saw the one in the new house I was so excited! There are many things about this house that remind me of my grandparents. Which is why I wanted to keep the telephone cubby. But as you can see the in picture below that didn't exactly happen. And just so were clear, I didn't know it was being removed!!!

I have been assured that all the hardware and the doors from the breakfast room built-ins are in a safe place. Just b/c I can't use them doesn't mean I don't want them. I'll find a place for them.

Always good to have a "plan"

Here are the final plans for the house remodel. But that doesn't mean that the house will look exactly like the plans when we're done. For the most part the first floor won't change much except for the kitchen, laundry room and the hall to the bedrooms where we will add stairs to the master suite.

(click picture to enlarge)

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Let's Get Ready to Rumble!!!

Demo started last week on the house and here are some pictures to show you the before and afters of the progress. Keep in mind that we haven't made the much progress but walls are missing, cabinets, tubs, sinks, etc...that's gotta mean something, right?

(click picture to enlarge photo)

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More to come...

3 is a MAGIC number

I'm not really a believer in lucky numbers or horiscopes or that kind of stuff but for whatever reason the number 3 has been pretty significant in our new adventure...aka...3rd house on the right. Here are some examples:

1. The obvious - the 3 of us (Luke, myself and Will - the 3 little birds)
2. Will is going to be celebrating his 3rd Thanksgiving and Christmas in this house
3. Is first birthday here will be his 3rd!
4. The address has a 3 in it. Seriously!
5. We are the 3rd house on the right (on the actual street. There is actually another house at the beginning of the street but it does not share the same street address)
6. We will be the 3rd owners of the house (according to the tax records - but that may not be accurate - not sure)
7. This is the 3rd contract that we signed after our house sold.
• The lot across the street from our current house...you know how that turns out
• The house down the street from our new house...read previous post...you know how that turns out too
• And then this one!
8. Our realtors name is Tri. Three.
9. It's our 3rd house together. :)

I'm sure I have other items to add to the list but that is what comes to mind at this moment.

There is just something about the #3.

3rd House on the Right

Remember that post awhile back about us building a house across the street. Scratch that! We bought a fixer upper instead!! Here's the story...

We started working on plans for the new house but the lot was very challenging so we (I) couldn't agree on anything the architect came back with. So after countless "discussions" about it I told Luke I didn't think I really wanted to build...and he surprisingly agreed. This is where it gets interesting...

The next day I started looking for houses again. I found one in an area we love and the price was perfect! After looking at the listing and pictures I knew this house was going to be a challenge but that's what we wanted. So that very night we go see the house. There was someone there before our appt and after and the house already had an offer. We loved it! Will loved it so much he told the people coming to see if after us that it was "our house". So we told our realtor we were ready to make an offer. She said perfect and that she would head back to the office to make it. This is where it goes down hill...

We didn't hear back from our realtor (who as you remember was heading straight to the office) until 10:00pm that night. We had to get the offer in before morning b/c the seller was reviewing all contracts at that point. We made an offer we knew would get us the house!! And by 11:45pm, the contracts were signed and sent over. The next day we found out that our offer was not accepted. I was shocked. How could they refuse our offer. I beat myself up about it for days!! Come to find out...the listing agent never saw our offer until after a decision was made b/c it was put in so late. I was fuming!!! Here's where it gets promising...

I would periodically pass by the house just to torture myself. But on the following Saturday, my depression turned into hope! There was a guy working on the house. I asked Luke to go talk to him. Maybe he was the seller or the buyer. We were prepared to make the buyer an offer as well. Turns out, the guy was a realtor, Tri Golthwaite! AND works with my old boss Ken who I love! So we got to talking and told him to keep an eye out for other fixer uppers. And he gave us a small tip. It was very vague but I felt like he was the guy that was going to find us our house. He kept us informed on another house on the same block that he was working on. He was able to get us permission to see the house. We quickly started working on a remodel bid and getting folks out there to see how much it would cost to do repairs, etc. Keep in mind, the house isn't even on the market yet.

Tri was great about lettnig me bug him on a weekly basis to see if he had any information on the house yet. He was prepared to make an offer before it went on the market. He presented it to the listing agent and let them think about it for a few days. That was so painful! I was so nervous I couldn't concentrate!! Then when the end of the work day approached and I hadn't heard anything I realized that it wasn't meant to be...until the phone rang. Tri on the other end "Congratulations, its yours!" (Insert teenage girl freak out here) I couldn't believe it. When I told Luke he instantly went into work mode so his reaction was a little different.

What now...plans, demo, paint, brick repair, brick wash, flooring, windows, landscaping, etc. The big enchilada!!! I couldn't be happier. I am really looking forward to our life in this house. I will be posting pictures of it as the work starts.

 Looking foward to showing you the after picture from this view.