BUY ME!!!!

Today is the day!!! 

 Our house is officially on the market!! And within 1 hour of the listing going live, I got a call that we have our first showing at 12:30 today!! Apparently that 'Coming Soon' sign worked it's magic! 

Wanna see a tour of our house? Well, you're gonna. 

 I've included some of the "Before" shots from the listing when we bought it for fun. I wish we had more, because you cannot fully fathom how much time and energy went into making this house a home. So without further ado....

Exterior

I wish that the dogwood tree to the left here was in bloom, because it's gorgeous in the spring, but when you decide to list in February, you take what you can get.

Foyer/Entry Before

Foyer/Entry Today

Kitchen Before

Kitchen Today

I wish we had more time to update this space and paint the cabinets white, but hopefully people can see past all that wood!

Living Room Before

Living Room Today

 

 

Dining Room Before

Dining Room Today

2nd Floor Hallway

Master Bedroom

I spy a beautiful baby on the armoire!! Our realtor actually discouraged us from taking it down because Emerson was so cute. So we listened to her advice ;-)

 

 

 Master Bedroom Closet

Master Bathroom

I want to hop in a DeLorean, go back to 2008, and punch myself for not taking a 'Before' Shot of this room. It was a DISASTER, and Jon did an amazing job renovating it.

Spare Bedroom

Nursery/3rd Bedroom

3rd Floor/Attic

This space has alot of potential, and we would probably would have finished it this summer if we decided not to move. But some lucky new owners will have that option! (I hope)

Soooooooo, what do we think??? Would you buy this house???

And the countdown begins...

Holy balls.

After a great meeting with a realtor last night, it's been decided. 

Our house will be on the market on February 6th. 

GULP. 

I am running on zero minutes sleep because I was up all night thinking of what I need to accomplish in the next 3 weeks. The list is long. Very long.

Did I mention I'm 23 weeks pregnant, and I have a 1 year old?!?

I feel like Rosie the Riveter right now. I am motivated. I am strong. I can DO THIS.

Please forgive me if I cry 1,000 stress tears over the next 3 months. 

I found this helpful Chutes and Ladders-type How-To, but if any of my pals out there have done this before, I welcome any tips! 

Source: wendytragerrealtor.com via Audra on Pinterest

Why does actually selling a house feel more adult than the process of buying one?? When will I accept that I'm an adult I wonder? I digress.

My newest obsession

I think I've mentioned this a few times before, but we are looking to sell our house this year. It's a lovely home that was perfect for us back in 2008 when we were childless and Jon was working downtown, but our entire lives have changed since then. The 3 bedrooms, all wood floors, and convenient access to downtown have completely lost their appeal. I want more space, more carpet, an extra bedroom, a big backyard, and to get as far away from downtown as possible.

Initially, we were going to wait until May to list the house, but, um, well, I'm gonna be kinda busy that month, ya know giving birth to a human and all. When we found out we were pregnant I was all like "Cool! Let's sell our house and buy a new one and move in and decorate it in the next 9 months! It can be done, yay!!!!!

There must have still been some residual caffeine in my system, because here I sit, sipping my decaf at 22 weeks pregnant thinking how in the fuggity fudge are we going to make this work??

No, it wouldn't be a deal breaker if we had to stay in our house. But it just feels like the walls are closing in on me. It got so much smaller once Emerson (and her toys) moved in, so I can't imagine living there with two babies.

Though we bought our house right before the economy went to shit (of course), we bought a "project" house that we have since renovated. Every single room has been updated in some way, some more than others. Though it's definitely not a seller's market, between the updates we've made, the school district we're in, and the lack of inventory in our area, I (foolishly?) think that we'll be able to sell our house in a reasonable amount of time. I can say without a doubt that we are selling a MUCH better house than the one we bought. I could kick myself for not taking more before/after pictures, because we have put so much time, sweat, blood and tears into that place and I want to show it off.

I am actually less worried about selling than I am about selling and buying a new house before the new baby comes. I am sure it's ridiculous to think that this will all work out, but that's just how I function. When I want something done, I do it. I can't control who if anyone will buy our house, but I can control everything else. And believe me I am trying to. I'm a mom. Control is my life.

Since I have a kicking time bomb (not a typo), I have become OBSESSED with home staging and HGTV (even more than usual). I am trying to de-clutter, de-personalize and re-organize to make people walk into the house and think "Hot Damn! Give me a pen so I can give these people top dollar today!"

The room I'm struggling with most is our kitchen. It's so boring. We've updated the appliances, put tile behind the stove, added a new light fixture, painted the walls, doors and trim, and added knobs and pulls to all the cabinets, but it still seems dull. We didn't want to pay to update the countertops, but I'm just not sure what we can do to make this room look a little more exciting. I've been scouring Pinterest looking for ideas, but only seem to find good ideas for our potential new house, and not our current one.

 

So other than tidying up a bit, what can I do to make this kitchen better? I'm calling all you good decorators and stagers out there! 

I don't want to spend much more money, but HGTV tells me that kitchens and baths sell homes, so I don't want to skimp on this. Help me.

In the mood for a change

I just sent Jon this text message:

Me: "I'm painting our dining room and staining the table and chairs. No work for you. Deal?"

Jon: "No problem. Do you know how to do those things???"

Hahahahahaha. Okay, so I might be a little bit of a train wreck when it comes to home renovation, but I'm learning.

For those of you who don't know, a few years ago we purchased a 100-year old "fixer-upper" at a great price in a nice neighborhood. Being married to an architect helped me see the "potential" in said home. Slowly but surely (read: verrrrry slowly), we've been making little updates here and there. And by we, I mean Jon. The poor guy has knocked down walls, hung drywall, and completely gutted our living room to make our home more livable. We still have ALOT of work to do, but we're not moving anytime soon, so we've got time.

Anywhoo, we have this great, huge dining room, and it is ugly as sin. No seriously. It's bad. We're not into the knock-down walls phase in that room yet (hey, home renovation ain't cheap), so I tried to paint over wallpaper a year ago, and the results were disastrous. Luckily, my moms stepped in and cleaned up my tornado, but the results of my first attempt at cosmetic updates were less than stellar.

While perusing the internet today at lunch, I came across some gorgeous photos that gave me inspiration for my DIY dining room makeover.

SWOON. I love everything about the dining room (especially the chairs)

I'm really feeling gray paint for the walls

Horribly ugly table, but cute wall color and I like the white trim

I think it's safe to safe gray paint is a front runner

Yep. Definitely staining the table dark. And I <3 that light fixture.

Oh, Christmas Tree

Ever since we lost Jack, I have been telling Jon that I did NOT want to put a Christmas tree this year. I love Christmas, and I love everything about the Christmas season, but this year feels.... different. It's just not the Christmas I expected it to be. We were "supposed" to be one month away from delivering our beautiful son, and I just couldn't see how Christmas could possibly feel like a time to celebrate this year. So even though I love having a Christmas tree and the way it makes our house smell, I just didn't think I could bring myself to celebrate knowing that our little one wouldn't be there to celebrate with us.

So imagine my shock and awe when I walked into our door last night and saw this beautiful sight:

I was so confused at first. Then I looked over at Jon sitting on the couch, and he had a look of terror on his face. The first thing he said was "You're not mad, are you?"

He told me that although I said it didn't really "feel" like having a Christmas this year, he knew how much it meant to me, and he didn't want me to miss out on something that has always made me so happy.

As if I don't say it enough, let me just reiterate that this man, my husband, is without a doubt the most wonderful human being I have met. He went through all that trouble just to make me happy. Instead of feeling sad, that tree brings me so much happiness. It's not just a tree that makes our house smell good, it's a symbol of love.

The best part about the tree? A few weeks ago, the new bride and I were in Target, and we found the most perfect Christmas ornament. A baby boy angel with blue eyes. I knew it was perfect, because I know Jack would have had those beautiful blue eyes just like his daddy. Even though we weren't getting a tree, I love having things that are in memory of or remind me of Jack, so I bought it. Of course, Jon had it placed front and center on the tree, and it brought tears to my eyes immediately.

Did you know that trees symbolize life and new beginnings?? I'm wondering if our tree can be both the celebration of our life together and the life of our beautiful son, but also the beginning of a new journey in our lives. Happy Holidays everyone!