Chicago, a party, unexpected visitors, & Grandpa Smith

I got a text from my mom last week that it was time for me to write a new blog.  I wish I would write more individual topic posts instead of these monthly re-caps, but here we are almost a month after my last post...so a monthly update it is...

I had such a great time in Chicago!  What a nice city.  Really, if I was making a list of cities I think I'd love living in Chicago would be on it, along with San Francisco...and Boston.  Megan shares a lovely two bedroom apartment with her sister in Lincoln Park, very close to lots of restaurants and the train to go downtown.  We did some touristy things, like the Skydeck on the 103rd floor of the Willis Tower (tallest building in US) and a river boat cruise, we did a lot of walking around the city, made our own pizza with supplies from Trader Joe's and enjoyed some real Chicago deep dish pizza the following night, had some beers at an Irish bar, met my cousin Ashley and her friend for brunch at a place that served fruit sushi, shared an excellent cheese board and many glasses of red wine at a bar on the river that had a much needed fireplace and much more.  Hurricane Sandy delayed my trip home (surprise surprise, I have the worst luck with flights ever), but I suppose the 2 hours I spent on hold with US Air was worth the bonus day I got in Chicago. 

Last weekend was Tom and Linnea's engagement party.  It was hosted by a couple that lived next door to Linnea when she was growing up, and they actually live in a subdivision that is literally 2 minutes away from where we live now.  There were sombrero pictures, margaritas, a fajita bar, good people and conversation, all outside on a beautiful patio/covered deck.  It was a really nice night to celebrate the happy couple.  One of my favorites of the night...

We had two unexpected guests last weekend...Rob's dad Ron and Rob's mom's dog Bailey.  Bailey came to stay Thursday night when his mom and John had to drive up to Michigan unexpectedly to be with his Grandpa who was not doing well.  And Ron told us on Friday that he would be coming down to Atlanta Saturday morning through Sunday night for Tom's engagement party.  Ron was supposed to run in the NYC marathon this past Sunday, but he found out that the race was cancelled Friday afternoon, literally as he was about to go through security!  He checked his phone before going through the metal detector, saw it was cancelled and decided not to make the trip out to NYC.  Unfortunately, his bag did make the trip to NYC without him, because it was already checked and on the plane, but it did make it back to him in Michigan safe and sound.  So once the NYC trip was off he decided to make new travel plans to come to Atlanta.  It was a short, unexpected visit, but it was great seeing him again!

Bailey is still here with me and Roxanne, as Rob's mom and John are still up in Michigan.  It's with a heavy heart that I tell you Rob's Grandpa Smith passed away Sunday afternoon.  He was surrounded by his wife, 6 children, siblings and other relatives.  He was a truly great man, and he was such a fighter this past year as he dealt with health problem after problem after surgery after surgery.  I remember meeting him for the first time at Ann and John's wedding.  I feel very lucky that he was able to travel to Boston two years ago for our wedding and I am especially thankful that we made the trip up to Michigan last Christmas, as we were able to spend one more holiday with him.  I'll never forget one time when he was visiting Ann and John here in Georgia and he asked me if I had ever been up to Michigan for a visit.  When I told him yes, I've been to Detroit and Grosse Pointe (where Rob is from), he told me, "No no no, that doesn't count, you need to come up North where we live to really see what Michigan has to offer."  Hopefully someday I will make it up there.  Rob, Tom and Linnea drove up to Michigan last night so they could be there for the viewing today and funeral tomorrow.  I'm at home on dog duty and working, but I am thinking of everyone up in Michigan and wishing I could be there with you all tomorrow.

Tomorrow I turn 28.  I honestly had to think about that for a second.  Ever since I turned 26 it seems the numbers are all the same.  I have accidentally told people this past year that I was 26 and 28.  I don't know what my problem is.  Lets just say I'm in my upper 20's.  I already got some super nice cards and gifts from Rob, mom and dad, and friends, so I'm feeling very loved! 

Double doodle trouble...

(sitting pretty for a treat)

Fall Fun

Happy Fall everyone!  This is the first week in Atlanta that it has actually felt like Fall weather, with temps in the 60s and 40s at night, so I'm enjoying it.  I'm actually writing this post outside on our deck it's so nice out.  Here is the front of our house decorated for the season...

For the first time since we moved in we don't have any house projects currently going on, woo hoo!  The family room is done, pending the new couch and coffee table we will eventually get one day though we have been discussing it ever since we moved to Atlanta.  And now the first floor bathroom is done as well! 

Before...

After...



We are really happy with how it turned out.  I can't take any of the credit on this room though, besides purchasing the mirror and helping pick out the paint colors and granite counter top.  Rob did all of the sanding, painting, changing out hardware on the cabinets, etc.  Thank you for all of the time and hard work you put in babe!  The next really big project is the kitchen, but that won't start for a while.  We originally thought we were going to paint all of the cabinets ourselves, but after project 1 and 2 we decided to actually leave it up to the professionals and get the cabinets refaced.  More money, but it will be worth it in the end.

Last weekend we went to Clemson for our first home game of the season.  We had a great time visiting with my Mom, Dad and Michelle, tailgating, and watching a really exciting game vs Georgia Tech.  Rob was secretly rooting for GT (because his brother Tom is a Tech grad), but luckily for the rest of us Clemson pulled out a win.  Next month our good friends Lindsey and Dan are coming down from PA, along with sister Lisa, to go to the Clemson vs NC State game.  I cannot wait to have them down to visit because it has been too long since I last saw them, and Dan is a HUGE Clemson fan so it is bound to be an outstanding weekend. 

A couple weekends ago Rob's Dad and Grandma Nancy drove down from Michigan to visit.  It is so nice having a house for guests to come to instead of the small apartment.  We had a really nice weekend with them and Tom and Linnea.  We went to Atlanta's High Museum of Art, which I had never been to, went out to Ted's & CPK for dinner, enjoyed coffee & conversation with Grandma each morning while Rob and Ron went running, went to the Duluth Fall Festival, cooked out on the grill and celebrated Ron's birthday. 

The only trip I have planned for the rest of the year is coming up at the end of October.  I'm super excited because I'm going to visit college/sorority friend Megan in Chicago for a long weekend!  I don't get to see Megan nearly enough, and the last time I visited Chicago-Chicago (not the suburbs where my grandparents live) was so long ago I can hardly remember, so it should be a great time!

Congrats Tom and Linnea!

Rob and I are SO excited!  We got a much anticipated yet unexpected phone call from his brother Tom on Friday that he and his girlfriend Linnea were engaged!  We always knew they were going to be engaged at some point, but had no idea it would be this weekend as Tom was very sneaky with his surprise proposal and had everyone thinking he was in Florida for the weekend with his friend, when really he was right here in Atlanta.  They are a wonderful couple, just a perfect fit for each other, and we couldn't be happier for them.  I have to say, maybe a little selfishly, how thrilled I am that Tom chose Linnea to be his wife and therefore our sister-in-law.  She is such a great person and friend, and I know Rob and I feel very lucky to have someone as special as her join the family.  Congrats you two!!

Month 1 of homeownership!

So it has been about a month now that we have owned the house and things are going great!  Of course there have been issues, like just now as I wrote that I hear Rob on the phone talking with Comcast telling them he isn't doing that great because our cable isn't working.  But overall we are very happy with our new home. 

A BIG thank you to Rob's mom Ann, step-dad John and Tom for helping with the transformation of our family room!  It was the first major project we took on because the wood paneling was very outdated and just make the room look very dark.  Along with the wood paneling, the built-in cabinets, baseboards and bathroom and pantry doors were painted white as well.  It was my first time painting anything besides small craft projects, so that was interesting.  I didn't mind the actual painting, I just always felt like I was messing up somehow, so that was frustrating.  But within about a week the family room was almost complete.  We even bought a beautiful area rug from Pottery Barn that matches the walls perfectly.  I'm not ready to post before and after pics yet because we still have some shelves to put back in the built-ins, but I will soon!

Another BIG thank you goes out to my mom and dad who helped us pack up and move all of our stuff two weekends ago!  Having 4 people to help instead of just 2 made things go much faster.  It was really Rob and my dad doing the heavy lifting, but my mom and I took care of the random kitchen and bedroom stuff and a lot of the unpacking.  After all of the moving was done they helped us finish up painting in the family room, take off the wallpaper and large mirror in the downstairs bathroom so we can re-do that room next, paint the inside of our pantry closet and sand down the door frame from the kitchen to the dining room. 

And thanks to my parents and Rob's Dad and Kimberly we now have a very nice new washer and dryer set that came today!  I've already done two loads and am really happy with the set we picked out.  A nice plus to this house is that the laundry is in an upstairs closet, so much more convenient that way. 

This upcoming weekend my mom, dad and Michelle are coming to visit for the Clemson vs Auburn game that is downtown at the Georgia Dome on Saturday night.  Michelle is turning 21 tomorrow (can't believe my little sister is 21 already!!) so we will definitely be celebrating her birthday this weekend as well! 

July 31st

This year July 31st will be an extra special day for us.  Not only is it our second wedding anniversary, it is also going to be the day we close on our first home!  And the crazy thing is that July 31st is only 2 days away!  We are very excited and can't wait to be done with the whole home buying process. 

It all happened pretty quick the second time around.  We made an offer and the next day we received a counter offer that we were satisfied with so accepted it and scheduled the home inspection for the following week.  The home was built in 1984 and has had the same couple living in it since (no kids), so we were hopeful that the couple took good care of the house and that the inspection wouldn't turn up anything too serious.  We were pretty surprised when the report came back and showed many similar problems (but to a lesser degree) to the last house we almost bought.  For a few days we really weren't sure how things were going to play out and didn't get our hopes up.  Throughout this whole process with this second home I really haven't let myself get excited about the house, which I think is the reason I still will not believe we are really getting this house until I sign the papers and have the keys in my hand.  But after speaking with the inspector more and negotiating with the sellers, who agreed to fix almost everything we asked for, we felt comfortable moving forward with the purchase.  We signed the final agreement paperwork just a week ago, so it is pretty amazing that we are still on schedule to close on the 31st.  Our realtor picked the 31st for our closing, I think to appeal more to the seller that we could close by the end of the month, but we really weren't in a rush to close because we have our apartment until the end of August.  I did take it as a good sign that our closing was scheduled on our anniversary though :)

There are a lot of things we want to do to the house relatively soon, like paint the master bedroom, remove some unnecessary doors on the first floor, paint the wood paneling and built-in shelves in the family room, install a light fixture/ceiling fan in family room, paint the kitchen cabinets, paint the wood trim white, paint some doors, update the appliances in the kitchen that are original to the house, buy a washer and dryer, and possibly take out a window that looks into the garage from the kitchen.  All of these projects are very doable, but still time consuming.  This is probably the reason why if I spoke to you about the 1st house we wanted to buy I sounded super excited and if I spoke with you about this house I sounded a little stressed out.  The other house was move-in ready, no appliances needed to be bought or updated, it was going to be easy.  But honestly from the beginning we have been saying that we were willing to paint, do updates as needed and put a little work in to make the house our own and better than when we purchased it and hopefully increase the value of the house.  So when I remind myself of that, I realize that this home is going to be worth it and will be the perfect home for us. 

The plan for Tuesday is to go to our closing at 3pm, give them a ton of money and sign our lives away in return for some keys, drive about 2 miles from the office to our new house, celebrate with some champagne (the champagne the Colonnade gave us on our wedding night that we still haven't drank actually), unload 2 car loads of our stuff we have already started to pack up today, and then go out to a nice dinner to celebrate our wedding and new home anniversary that night.  Finally, so close!

Update on the house search

The second time around, Rob and I are trying not to get ahead of ourselves.  This means trying not to fall in love with a house or deciding what kind of kitchen trash can we are going to need to buy until AFTER the home inspection is complete and gives us the OK to do so.  This is all easier said than done. Rob is already reading websites and blogs about how to paint kitchen cabinets, because the ones in the house we are in "like" with (for now) needs a major face lift.

But I figured I would give you all a little update on the house hunt as it stands right now.  We moved our search to another suburb of Atlanta further east and looked at about 10 more houses this past week.  One of those houses we have seen twice now and decided to put an offer on today.  We are hoping to hear back from the sellers tomorrow, but we are familiar enough with the waiting game now that we know it might take longer than that.  The house is pretty different than the last house we almost bought, but it's a good house and with a little TLC it could be a great house.  It's in a nice neighborhood and only about 3 miles from Rob's mom's house.  And it is a traditional brick front, two-story home with shutters, much more appealing than the very yellow house we almost bought.

Back to square one...

Well, the home inspection didn't go as we had hoped.  I said at the beginning of the negotiation process that I would much rather lose this house because of a bad inspection report than because we couldn't reach a monetary agreement with the sellers, because the reality is I don't want to buy a crap house.  I think I jinxed myself.  The inspector found foundation issues- mainly a cracked and sagging girder (which is what was making the dining room floor slanted), and there were moisture/water problems that affected some of the siding, roof and attic.  We started out thinking the inspection had gone OK, and that if the foundation/girder issue was fixed that we would still buy the house, but as we read the full report together last night my heart began to sink.  There were just too many problems.  We sent the report to my Dad, Rob's Dad and step-Dad, and everyone said basically the same thing, we should walk away.  So that's what we are doing. 

I know what people will say, because I would tell others the same thing if they were in my shoes...It wasn't meant to be, the right house is still out there, there are always new homes coming on the market and you will find one even better than this one, at least you found out about these problems now and you won't be paying for them down the road.  While I know all of those things are probably true, it doesn't take away the fact that we spent almost a whole month of time and energy on finding a house that we won't get, the $400 we spent on the inspection, the countless hours Rob spent on paperwork and phone calls with our realtor, lenders, etc. and the fact that we fell in love with the house and now have to say goodbye to it.  We are disappointed and discouraged and the last thing we feel like doing is starting all over again, but that is really all we can do.  So, back to house hunting and looking up homes online...can't wait!