It's gone. I'm almost sad. Almost. The older lady we bought the new house from had very expensive taste. Back in the 80's. Much like the St. John's knit she was wearing at the closing, the wallpaper and custom drapes had stood the test of time. Time be damned, though, we had those puppies steamed, scraped and repainted within an inch of their lives.
I really wish cameras were following us. I feel like my marriage has blossomed during this house re-do phase. And by "blossomed" I'm referring to the mushroom cloud of an atomic bomb.
Take paint choices, for instance. I'd chosen. Cho-sen. Done, finito, affirmative.I had ingeniously chosen based on the color wheel that HGTV and Sherwin Williams generously provided. Huzzband and contractor wanted me to "be sure". So instead of me just going to buy the paint like I'd wanted, with the calculated amounts, I instead went and bought half-gallon samples. Oy. What a waste.
I still knew they were what I wanted, but we diligently schlepped them over to new house. They slapped the samples on the wall. Huzzband and contractor tried to convince me in a very manly way that the paint would be much cheaper if I chose three colors instead of six. Agh! Huzzband wanted to wait another week to see if the paint would go on sale. Double Agh!
Hence, on the 4th of July, with my child recovering from hand, foot and mouth disease, I had to load up, drive across town, sans shower, to run into the house to peruse the paint colors while Kid attempted to nap off his morning snack. Sadly, Huzzband and contractor got their way. I lamented my more expensive, more labor intensive six color scheme, and handed over my girl-card to go with the less expensive neutral. I noted how much we saved and mentally bought a piece of art I've been eyeing.
We're almost done. I've tried to document the process and how much fun it's been to make choices, but mainly we're just snappy and argue over the $35 bathroom sconce vs. the $42. Wait until I tell you about tile....
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
No One Died
We finally did it. Huzzband and I managed to buy a house, together, without killing each other. Our real estate agent didn't fire us, we actually closed and now we've got two sets of keys and four garage door openers. Yes, we've still got to sell the other house and move.
This blogging is probably late in coming. Our home search should have been a reality show. We literally looked at about seventy in the span of a year. We changed our minds several times about what our "non-negotiables" were. When our kid was born, we changed our minds again.
This house, I had to beg a little to get Huzzband to actually commit to buying it. On a side note, Huzzband is a master negotiator, and doesn't feel good about the situation unless he get's a good deal. And by "deal", I mean "steal".
But it's bought. We own it. And now we're going to remodel it. Together. Without killing each other. I promise.
The name of this blog is two-fold. Most have heard the phrase, "champagne taste on a beer budget." That's us, sure. We're young professionals. We just had our first kid, who is both not cloth-diapered and not fed-from-the-boob. We want to have more. I like expensive clothes. Huzzband is built like a former Olympic swimmer (I know, lucky me!) so his clothes cost more just so they'll fit. So yes, I'm having to make this house a home while being frugal and and wanting to live in the manner by which my parents accustomed me to. So, I'll document that. I'm sure they'll be a LOT of epic Pinterest fails. I'm sure they'll be followed by me going out to just buy the non DIY version.
But, our home is going to highlight who we are as people, as a family, as a history, and a future. Which leads me to this: Huzzband and I come from two totally different worlds. He's a city boy that probably should have stopped dating me after I brought him home for the first time (more later on what my Granny made him do!). I'm farm-raised and corn-fed (not really, my mother rarely fed us corn) with multiple cowboy boots in my closet. However, I'm more champagne, and he's more beer.
I need to cultivate luxury, even on the cheap. He's probably happy with hand-me-down lawn chairs and tacky tiki-torches. Y'all, let's be real, there's no probably about this. These things reside in our current backyard. The backyard he bought without my opinion and I moved into when we got married.
This house, and what goes into it, is going to have to satisfy him, satisfy me, and not send either of us crying when Kid spills Mountain Dew (like I'd give him Mountain Dew! Stop judging). It's going to have to nod to exotic lands ('cause we love to travel, and I think I'm secretly adopted from Morocco), invaluable antiques ('cause Huzzband's family doesn't throw anything away), and the great outdoors ('cause I wasn't adopted and grew up showing goats at the county fair). Every single stitch of crap going through the doors is going to be hand-chosen with love, purpose, and budget in mind. Hang on to your butts, ya'll!
So this is our story, of how the Beverly Hillbilly married the Country Club Squire, had a kid, bought their first together house and then made it a home, without killing each other. I promise.
Here we are! Our first "official" family portrait the day of Kid's baby dedication. I know this is how the future looks, none of looking the camera at the same time.
Awesome Photographer Plug!
This blogging is probably late in coming. Our home search should have been a reality show. We literally looked at about seventy in the span of a year. We changed our minds several times about what our "non-negotiables" were. When our kid was born, we changed our minds again.
This house, I had to beg a little to get Huzzband to actually commit to buying it. On a side note, Huzzband is a master negotiator, and doesn't feel good about the situation unless he get's a good deal. And by "deal", I mean "steal".
But it's bought. We own it. And now we're going to remodel it. Together. Without killing each other. I promise.
The name of this blog is two-fold. Most have heard the phrase, "champagne taste on a beer budget." That's us, sure. We're young professionals. We just had our first kid, who is both not cloth-diapered and not fed-from-the-boob. We want to have more. I like expensive clothes. Huzzband is built like a former Olympic swimmer (I know, lucky me!) so his clothes cost more just so they'll fit. So yes, I'm having to make this house a home while being frugal and and wanting to live in the manner by which my parents accustomed me to. So, I'll document that. I'm sure they'll be a LOT of epic Pinterest fails. I'm sure they'll be followed by me going out to just buy the non DIY version.
But, our home is going to highlight who we are as people, as a family, as a history, and a future. Which leads me to this: Huzzband and I come from two totally different worlds. He's a city boy that probably should have stopped dating me after I brought him home for the first time (more later on what my Granny made him do!). I'm farm-raised and corn-fed (not really, my mother rarely fed us corn) with multiple cowboy boots in my closet. However, I'm more champagne, and he's more beer.
I need to cultivate luxury, even on the cheap. He's probably happy with hand-me-down lawn chairs and tacky tiki-torches. Y'all, let's be real, there's no probably about this. These things reside in our current backyard. The backyard he bought without my opinion and I moved into when we got married.
This house, and what goes into it, is going to have to satisfy him, satisfy me, and not send either of us crying when Kid spills Mountain Dew (like I'd give him Mountain Dew! Stop judging). It's going to have to nod to exotic lands ('cause we love to travel, and I think I'm secretly adopted from Morocco), invaluable antiques ('cause Huzzband's family doesn't throw anything away), and the great outdoors ('cause I wasn't adopted and grew up showing goats at the county fair). Every single stitch of crap going through the doors is going to be hand-chosen with love, purpose, and budget in mind. Hang on to your butts, ya'll!
So this is our story, of how the Beverly Hillbilly married the Country Club Squire, had a kid, bought their first together house and then made it a home, without killing each other. I promise.
Here we are! Our first "official" family portrait the day of Kid's baby dedication. I know this is how the future looks, none of looking the camera at the same time.
Awesome Photographer Plug!
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