Friday, April 1, 2011

Saying "Yes" (Part 2)

Grab a cup of coffee because it's a long one, then again, aren't they all...

Home Sweet Home

So after the long financing process and a promise to be in before Christmas, I finally got notification that I was going to close on our house December 23, 2010 (cuttin' it pretttty close).  I, on one hand, was extremely excited that I was going to be in MY OWN house for Christmas; but then on other hand, closing on Christmas Eve Eve also meant that I would not be able to go to Pennsylvania with my parents, sister, aunts, uncles & cousins to celebrate Christmas- it was bittersweet to say the least. 


This was the weather the day we were supposed to move.... didn't happen, obviously.
 After a full day in Kingsport, saying good-bye to my family, grabbing lunch with a friend in town for the holidays, and getting carpal tunnel from signing my life away closing on our house, I called Ed to celebrate and see if he had been able to find a Christmas tree for us (since we were going to be in our house for Christmas).  Sadly, Ed informed me that he & Nat, his twin brother, had driven ALL over town in search of a REAL tree and apologized profusely for not finding one- it was two days before Christmas & all... but he did say since we couldn't stay home to decorate our tree & celebrate closing he wanted us to go out for a dinner date with Nat & his girlfriend.

When I got home I noticed a little glitter of Christmas lights through the window and got butterflies because I love a good surprise- Ed the little trickster! I barge through the door & am so excited because, if you know me, you know my obsession with the holiday and the immense joy I took picking out all of our new decorations for our new home! I squeal as I see Ed "Yayyyy!! you tricked me! how sweet!!" he quickly points out, "Becca, I'm so sorry, but take a closer look, I couldn't find a real tree, so I had to go to the office and steal theirs!" (Side note: office tree= ancient, artificial, 1/2 the lights don't work, there is more dust in the branches than in my parents basement, which is really quite a feat in itself, fake holly berries & pine cones, and just not my cup-of-tea) So when he suggested that we still decorate it, I'm sure my look of appal was very apparent- Ed's a kitchen snob, I'm a Christmas tree snob, so kill me- again he suggested "you LOVE your new decorations, you set them all out in the floor and stare at them, common, it will be fun!" I suggested a glass of wine while I get ready for dinner (in my defense, it had been a long day, I'm really not an uber-b*tch)


Ed with the ring when he & Nat hijacked the tree from the office.
So Ed pours a glass of wine for me an in the process, knocks over another glass sitting on the counter.  If you know Ed, you also know that he is one of the most clumsy people you will ever meet, and I should be used to this by now, but I sigh and grab Bea so she doesn't cut her paws on the glass shards all over the floor.  Ed picks up most of it and then asks if I would get a wet paper towel to get the little pieces he has missed under the cabinets while he goes to get the broom.  As I bend down I see a ring lying in the floor under one of the cabinets and say (I swear I'm not an idiot) "OH MY GOSH, ED! LOOK AT WHAT THE OLD OWNERS LEFT!! I WONDER IF IT'S REAL!" as I look up to show him, he is on his knee.  Again I swear I'm not an idiot, I didn't think anything of it, I thought he was bending down to help me pick up the broken glass...

the ring, after the proposal
Ed: No, Becca that's for you....
Me: what?
Ed: I love you, will you marry me??
Me: are you serious?! are you SERIOUS?! ARE YOU SERIOUS?!?? (I really thought I might have been on a candid camera show and it was a joke- although I know Ed is not that mean)
Ed: [laughing and looking at me like 'are YOU serious, you nut case say yes' ] If I show you the box will you believe me??
Me: OF COURSE! YES! (after he showed me the box so I knew he wasn't pullin' my leg- gosh, I suck)

So there is the story, all 824 words of it, and I couldn't be happier! I love that his original plan of hiding the ring in the tree when we were decorating didn't work because the way it actually happened is so much sweeter in my opinion (although I'm obviously biased).

The first picture of us as an engaged couple!
Sadly we have no pictures from the actual night because my camera was M.I.A.

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

House Hunting in B-Town

Like I said in my last post, we starting thinking more & more about home ownership & eventually started house hunting... let me just say, "Praise the LORD for our patient realtor, Vannessa Carter Walling" through-out the Aug. - Dec. process we probably looked at 50 homes in our price range & boy, was it exhausting! (Although I totally LOVED it- Ed, notsomuch) 

We started out in quest of a 1930's brick bungalow home, a style that steals my heart and makes me envision weekend home repairs and fun trips to thrift shops like John & Sherry... However, after seeing tons of homes where entire bathrooms & kitchens needed to be gutted, central heat & air installed, and roofs replaced we realized that, while there are some things we could live with & easily replace ourselves over time...


lovely!

Cue instant buttercup glow

Ed thinking "I CAN'T WORK IN THESE CONDITIONS! (he's a kitchen snob)

There were others that made us think who the @#$* do we think we're doing even considering this...


Notice puddle in the middle of kitchen...and no, neither Bea, nor I tinkled in the floor!



 *Sadly I wound up with no pictures from the "Milly, don't touch ANYTHING house" (Ed's niece came with us on one house hunting adventure)

So, after lots of discussions on what we thought monetarily, physically, and psychologically we could handle, we opted for less work on the house= more time for play & with both of our already busy schedules plus desire for a social life, we didn't want to DIY ourselves to death or pay out the wazoo (haha) for updating everything in sight! Maybe later, but not right now... ANYWAYS here is our little 1920's cutie...

Picture taken 10/6... Keys in hand 12/23... it was a LONG process!
This was the 3rd house I put an offer on & like they say, 3rd time's the charm! She (yes, houses have genders) is just perfect for us right now! We are exactly 1 mile away from my work, walking distance to restaurants & bars (yes, Bristol does have a few), close to King College (relevant until 5/7/2011 WAHOO!), has plenty of space to grow, old home character with modern updates, and will eventually have soccer fields across from it (yay! fenced-in running space for The Weaze!). The only cons I can think of at the time are closet space (although one is in the process of being built- slowly but surely? maybe? fingers-crossed. #storyforanothertime), and I wish we had a little more natural sunlight in the afternoon, but, nothing to make me pack up and want to start the process all over again!
Here are a few shots before we moved in:


Perfect Southern front porch! All you need is a glass of lemonade & some rocking chairs!

Left 1/2 of the kitchen before our make-me-love-cooking appliances were delivered!



Please take note of the "cute" little staging items...
 

Pretty stairs going upsairs (uh-duh, Becca)

There are still a few things we want to do here & there- eventually replacing kitchen counter tops, fence in the backyard & build a back porch, build built-in's in the living room, possibly add french doors to open up the dining room, paint, add hardwood upstairs, and landscape outside.  Nothing pressing, but just some goals for the next 30 years (doubtful we will stay here that long, but hey, it's what the paper says!).


Home ownership makes us want to celebrate! (mostly I just think this is a hilarious picture)


Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Saying "Yes" (Part 1)

I should probably rewind all the way back to August- even before starting my blog- to the house hunting process.  And actually maybe even rewind back to November 2009 when Ed & I moved into a cute condo together here in Bristol....

Upon moving in together we knew our relationship would go one of two ways- 1.) We would realize that we couldn't live together, hated each others guts for never putting the toilet seat down, taking hours to get ready, or fighting over who got stuck  had the pleasure of taking our sweet precious Weezer out on cold nights
You know I like any excuse to add a picture of sweet B.B., and yes, she is wearing a tutu!
or 2.) We would figure out that we can live together, love spending countless hours watching the Food Network side-by-side, enjoy waking up next to each other's morning dragon breath & greasy hair, and continue to fall madly in love with one another ;)

I'm not gonna lie, those first two months may have been more like #1, it was tough figuring out each other's living habits and figuring out that fine line of actually being good roommates; nevertheless, strengthening our relationship when we were arguing over whose turn it was to take out the trash or unload the dishwasher.  Luckily, we weren't delusional when taking this major step in our relationship.  We knew it was going to be tough, there were going to be days when we just needed a break to spend time with friends, quiet time to ourselves, or occasionally taking a step back and saying "WOAHHH! it's dishes in the sink, NOT the end of the world" so after the transitional period, and a S.W.O.T. Analysis (no joke, I was a business major) we figured out how to make it enjoyable and agreed that we wanted to stick it out for the long-haul! (Say what you want about living together before marriage- it works for us- it may not work for you, to each their own!)

However, after a few months of paying rent and listening to the 3 & 10 year old boys next door charge up & down the stairs at all hours of the night we knew come Nov. 2010 when our contract was up, we needed to move.  We needed space to ourselves where I had the ability to paint, hang pictures, and be creative with our home (no joke, we had predetermined nails in the center of each wall as a designated picture spot in each room).  We thought about renting a house- with a more easy going landlord- but, renting options in B-town are few and far between and with interest rates at all time lows (hello 3.9%), the thought of building equity at a lower price per month than rent, plus a gracious gift from my grandparents estate, home ownership became something we thought about more and more.

Next Up, the house hunting process... more pictures...I swear!

Thursday, February 24, 2011

A Long Overdue Update...and when I say long, I mean LONG!

Not that I ever got religiously into  blogging back in the fall when I started, but it's been a REALLY long time since I've updated- like, 4 months long time! Not to mention some of the most exciting, momentous, fun things have happened since October! Now more than ever would I like to keep up with my blog so in a few years I can look back and remember the laughter, sweat, tears, and joy I felt in this period of my life!

Like I said, I've had some major changes since October (luckily all good), I have...

1.) Purchased my first house
2.) Started a second "job" with Stella & Dot (I use the "" bunny ears because I would hardly consider it work- it is so much fun to help women pick out jewelry!)

....and....last but CERTAINLY not least....

3.) GOT ENGAGED!!!


Hello Gorgeous!

I'm so excited to see how my life unfolds! I've never felt more certain about where I am and what I'm doing than now! It's a great feeling! :)

Cheers!
Becca