House Hunting Part 2

 

Between July 28 and September 16 We looked at seventeen houses and put in three offers. During that time we were really able to narrow down the parameters of where we wanted to buy a house.

 

 

 

We got pretty good at reading the MLS listings.  We looked at hundreds of houses online. That's where we were able to narrow down the houses we wanted to physically look at.

 

The seventeenth house we looked at had only been on the market five days. We put in an offer that same evening and the offers were presented to the seller the next day.  We found out at 10pm that they accepted our offer.

 

Then the paperwork switched to finishing up the mortgage information.  They sure want to know all the details of our lives!

 

The inspections were scheduled for October first.  Unfortunately Husband is out of the country, so our son went along to follow the inspector around while I spoke to the pool guy. And the Termite guy. And the chimney sweep. Son (he is 25) learned some tips from the inspector.

 

The inspector was extremely thorough.  I kind of had a freak out.  So many little things wrong.  But the house was built in 1953 so I guess that is to be expected. So we are still waiting for official reports. Then we can figure out what repairs to ask for and what the next move is.

 

Thanks for reading my ramblings. It's nice to be able to sort out the thoughts over the house.

 

Now I'm trying to decide on paint colors for the kitchen and dining space.  Currently they are avocado and apricot.  Eww!

The tiles are off white on the floor and counters with fairly new oak cabinets.  The appliances are mixed, black and stainless. Any suggestions?  I have a black dining table and chairs.

 

Jeannine

House Hunting Journey Begins

Husband and I have never owned a house.  We have been married twenty-nine years and have never owned a house.

The first eight years we lived in ten different apartments and cities.  That covered three states.  We always were moving as Husband was in Retail: to get a promotion, he had to transfer stores (and move.) I used to be able to pack the entire house in a day and a half.  Not any more.

Now it takes me a month for two reasons: I work as a substitute high school teacher and we have way too much stuff.

Unfortunately my mother passed away from pancreatic cancer in January. However, she left us with enough to put a reasonable down payment on a house.

So at the ages of 52 and 49, Husband and I began our quest for a house.  We started by getting our finances in order and applying for a mortgage. That is a lot of paperwork! And more paperwork.  And we bathed it in a lot of prayer.

By mid July we were approved.

on July 28 we saw our first house.  It was perfect-open concept, three bedrooms, separate laundry room, quiet cul-de-sac.  It had some drawbacks such as a small back yard with two large trees that would have to be removed immediately for safety.

But it was kind of like going wedding dress shopping.  You may know what you want, the first dress you try on is perfect.  But there are so many out there! How can you choose the very first one? 

So our hunt continued...

Stay tuned for the next chapter and thank you for stopping by.
Jeannine

Union Jack Dresser

In the middle of the summer a dear friend moving from California to the Mid West gave me this dresser.  It is super heavy and solid wood.  However, it had been painted white at one time and then spray painted black. It was in really sad shape.

 

 

 

 

It was the perfect candidate for the Union Jack treatment.  I took these pictures in my Husband's office.  Looks pretty cool. This is for sale.

 

 

 

 

A change of handles was a necessity.  It opens well and these handles don't obstruct the paint treatment.

 

 

Thanks for stopping by.

Jeannine

 

 

Lost Year! Missing in Blogland

It has been a long year.

I haven't posted since August  2012.

First, I had no more space for pictures.

 

 

Then in September, my daughter married her sweetheart of five years.  She got married in Sacramento at the Vizcaya. They were so wonderful and it included cake, food, outdoor wedding, indoor reception, bartender, security, and day of wedding coordinator.

 

My mother had been battling pancreatic cancer since February.  She was doing so well that she was able to make her dress and fly down for the wedding of her only granddaughter.

 

This is her at the wedding.

 

In January she passed away.  The cancer had spread to her liver and she just didn't have any fight left.

 

 

My husband and I are now house hunting: looking for our very first house to purchase!  We've been married twenty nine years and are just now able to buy a house!

 

 

Thanks you for stopping by and I'll try to be more consistent in visiting.

 

Jeannine

 

PS Check out my new blog at www.jninecostumes.blogspot.com

Rose Compass Side Table

I wanted to show off a little side table I painted recently.  It was a garage sale leftover that no one wanted.

I painted it black and then Daughter and I painted a basic compass rose on the top.

The handles were changed to these cute knobs that have an eight pointed star on them as well to help carry the theme. 

It came out really cute. I think it would be nice in a living room or travel themed office or den (man-cave!)

Thanks for stopping by,

Blessings,

Jeannine

Single Chair Refurbish

A couple of weeks ago Husband and I found this little old chair at a garage sale for $5! The wood was really dry and the fabric was really dusty.

It had three layers of nasty fabric,all dry and crusty and the foam stuffing fell apart on contact.  I removed all of that and finished the seat with new foam and some basic upholstery fabric.  I spray painted several coats of white on the chair and replaced the seat.  It came out alright.  

It's fairly cute and ready for sale.  Here it comes, Craigslist!

Thanks for stopping by,

Blessings, 

Jeannine

Veil into Wedding Garter Tutorial

My daughter gets married in about 30 days!  Very exciting.  

Of course, she didn't want to wear my wedding dress, although I really don't blame her.

She also did not want to wear my veil, another thing I don't blame her for.  It was all perfect in 1984! So in style.  But not in 2012!

I made the veil myself with tulle and the leftover trim from my dress. I loved it and I was very proud of making it .

Here is Daughter modelling.

I figured, why not use the veil for something she could wear?  So I went through and unstitched all the little trim pieces and detached it from the crown part. Then I flattened out the tulle and cut a three inch wide strip.

I ran two lengths of gathering stitches down the center.

Then I pulled up the threads and pinned the 3/4 inch wide ribbon down the center. 

I stitched, using navy thread, along each edge and then removed the gathering threads.

Then I measured Daughter's thigh and cut a length of 1/2 inch wide elastic, then threaded it through the opening between the tulle and ribbon.

The two ends were sewn together to secure the elastic and complete the circle.

I sewed two pieces of the saved trim onto the garter and an old earring from her great grandmother was hot glued in between.  This will be the throwing garter.

The second one will be her keepsake.  It only has a small covered elastic bit on the back side.  Hopefully neither one will be itchy or uncomfortable to wear.  

Thanks for stopping by.

Blessings, 

Jeannine