Starting Small

We're just getting started on all of the house projects we need to do. (And no, everything is not put away yet... But, it does look much better!)

We decided to start small and hopefully learn from our first project. We wanted to redo a small closet off the kitchen, which the former owners had used for storing old paint cans. They helpfully left us the paint cans, as well (three cans of orange paint, anyone?). I really wanted to use the closet as a pantry, but since it was so gross, I knew we'd have to start over completely. The original closet shelves basically were some pieces of wood nailed into the wall with particle board placed on top:

The walls were also very beat up, stained, and just overall disgusting. So, we tore out the shelves, patched all the holes, gave it two coats of paints, and put all new shelving up:

New! Clean! Suitable for food! ;)

Up next is painting every other wall in the house...

House!!

Sorry for the lack of posts. We've been busy moving!!

It's so awesome to finally be out of an apartment and into our own place. Of course, it's already come with some challenges (fixing the sump pump, replacing the doorbell, mowing, etc.), but it's soooo great to be here. And it's shaved off quite a bit of my commute, so I'm happy!

When other people I know have bought houses recently, I've gotten frustrated that they didn't put up pictures right away on facebook, blogs, etc. Now I know why. Our house is a MESS. Everything we own--which never has been in one place before--suddenly is. We are finally making headway on unpacking, but it has taken longer than I expected. So, no pictures for now; photos of the house when it was up for sale are below, and it still looks the same... we've only had it for two weeks! But, as we get the chance to update things (for example, painting the kitchen a color other than orange...) I will post "before" and "after" photos.

Two exciting changes we've made: a new washer and dryer, and a new stove! The house didn't come with a washer and dryer, so we knew we'd have to buy those right away. And the stove it had when we moved in was a crappy, 20-year-old no-name deal whose burners didn't light by themselves anymore. The previous owners conveniently left us a lighter on top of it just for this purpose. Thanks. We had the new (stainless steel!) one installed the day after we moved in. We're planning on rounding out the new appliances with a refrigerator and dishwasher, once our tax credit money shows up :)

So, for now, more kitty pictures:

Being cute and cuddly, unlike normal (they are quite wild!).

Marble, laying on Adam.

Jack, destroying his toys.

So close to having our house!

So, I just posted this in a reply to Becky's last comment, but figured I should put it here too. We did get the closing date moved up for our house, and it is Tuesday! We're super excited to move in and get all of our stuff down here.

Also, some kitten pictures:

Jack, on the couch.

Marble (and Jack, lost in the cushions...)

Late, late update!

I know it's been almost a month since I've updated this --sorry! I kinda forgot until Lynn reminded me today... Anyhow, tons of things have happened in the last few weeks, so here goes.

First, Becky and Sam GOT MARRIED over Labor Day weekend!! It was such an awesome wedding. The ceremony was at 11 a.m. at Becky's childhood church. The bridesmaids all wore their own black dresses and had beautiful orange wraps that Becky bought for them that really went with the autumn theme. See Anne below:

After the ceremony, we all headed over to Arlington Racetrack for the reception. We had the top floor of the facility, which was gorgeous! And, we hung out for 10 horse races. Adam and I, unfortunately, lost $10; some people did make money though! The beautiful reception facility:


Pictures of the bride and groom! (I am becoming sort of a wedding paparazzo.... )

And here with Adam and I:


We had our final wedding of the year last weekend, when Adam's cousin Paul got married. His new wife's name is Sara Julian... kind of funny!

Also, our house woes are hopefully over. Late last month, we put an offer on another house (also in Le Roy, Ill. -- halfway in between Bloomington and Champaign). We got through the home inspection on Wednesday with a few problems (not unexpected) and are working with them to get them solved to our satisfaction before we close. Our closing date is set for Oct. 9, but if things go well it's possible it could get moved up -- we're hoping so! Photos of the new house are here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/36904841@N08/sets/72157622065297931/ (these are just the ones that were listed with the real estate listing; more will come once it's officially ours!) It's smaller than we had originally thought we wanted, but it's also cheaper and in much better shape than the first one we put an offer on. So, we are excited!!

Finally, a friend of ours took in a Bengal cat that ended up being pregnant, and she had six kittens. So, we agreed to take in one... and ended up deciding we actually wanted two. They're both boys, and we get them this weekend when we visit Art in Rockford!


Sorry for the long post... We just had sooo many things to update!

House update

So, after everything, we have finally been able to officially back out of our offer on the house. Right now we are feeling relieved but a little frustrated that we haven't found the perfect one. We're going to continue looking this week and start thinking about maybe putting an addition on something smaller with our $8,000 tax credit (as long as we close by the end of November....) since everything is quite small at this point. Le Roy has several ranch-style houses, which would be fine, except they're tiny and have no basement, so you are stuck on the main floor with the washer/dryer, furnace, etc., taking up the less than 1,000 sq. feet you already were trying to work with.

In better news, Becky and Sam's wedding is coming up!! Can't wait to see everyone there :)

Seen better days...

I apologize for not posting on here in forever... hope people are still around to read it! Sorry guys.

SO many things have been happening lately that I don't even know where to start. On the house front, things have been moving quite slowly. We had a home inspection at the beginning of the month, which of course revealed some problems with the house. I guess that is what they are there for, but it still wasn't very fun. There was a foundation issue and an electrical system that was much more outdated than we had expected, so we then went back to the sellers and asked them if they would be willing to fix several (expensive) things. They finally got back to us today, and their Realtor was very vague about what they would be willing to do. It's just frustrating, because now we have to go back and ask more questions, wait, probably ask even more questions, wait, and then decide if we even want this house or not anymore. I knew these things were not easy, but this is much more complicated than I had expected.

This weekend I am heading up to Arlington Heights for Becky's bachelorette party (an all-day Saturday event!), and our wedding summer continues with weddings the first two weekends in September: first, Becky and Sam; and second, Adam's cousin Paul and his fiancee Sara. (She'll be Sara Julian! But, I was the first... ;)

Both of us have been extra busy at our jobs this week; several people in Adam's office have been out this week, and almost everyone in mine will be gone next week. They've been trying to train me on things ahead of time so I can take over all sorts of tasks while people are out. I hope I picked everything up, since there will basically be no one else to ask when I get in on Monday!

My brother Tyler and Adam's brother Bryan both moved in to Illinois State University this afternoon; they both will be sophomores this year. On Monday, my younger brother Ben moves in at the University of Illinois for his first year of college. Lots of moving lately!! Adam ended up helping a lot with Bryan, but luckily I think I'm getting out of moving either one of my brothers, since they chose to move during times that I am working :)

Unfortunately, Adam's (maternal) grandmother got very sick recently, and after talking with his family tonight he decided to drop everything and go straight up to Rockford to see her. She's not been in great health for a while, but it seemed like things changed suddenly. Right now, we're not sure how long she will make it.

I think that is about everything that has been going on lately... sort of a hodge-podge of stuff. It's been a really stressful time for both of us. We are just looking forward to a time when everything will settle down a little.

Life Update

So, lately I have been busy, busy, busy! I started my new job on Monday, and so far it is going well. The company is awesome and has some really cool benefits (like free drinks -- soft drinks, Dole juices, and those addictive cold Starbucks frappuchinos -- how amazing is that?!) I am still doing lots of training and reviewing stuff, so I haven't actually been copy editing anything as of yet. But, I'm sure I will be soon!

On the house front, we're about in the same place as last time. We've now officially applied for our loan and locked in a rate, and we've got our home inspection on Monday. I'm a little worried about this, but hoping it goes well! I've been sort of holding off on putting photos up on facebook of the house, since we know that it's not a done deal until closing. I think I'll feel much more confident once we're past the home inspection. But, I don't think many people read this, so if you missed seeing photos when they took the last link down, they are here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/36904841@N08/sets/72157621845273646/detail/

I guess that's all I've really got at this point. I'm exhausted, as I'm definitely not used to getting up at 5:45 a.m. (or... before 9 a.m. anymore...), and the two-hour round trip drive for work isn't helping. Can't wait until we live closer!!