Our House! The beforest of the before photos...

So this is pretty much how we have been living for the last week.  I did finish two rooms today and a hallway which I will show you later.  I had to stop to take photos so it would make my "after-ish" photos look better.

Overall Rudy and I are overjoyed to be in this house.  I am expecting again and this has the room we need for our growing family now and for the long haul.  From pre-school to college...we should be set!


Alright so on with the tour:

Here is the front porch after we moved in with our flowers.  The owner came and took those large planters today.  

 

The front needs some upgrades like dark shutters, new wooden storm door, new mailbox to replace this lovely thing and a new light fixture.

We will probably paint the front door but not sure on colors yet.

 



 

The front foyer...the light fixture has got to go!  Wow!

 



 

Living room.  Amazing how much more light there was just by taking down the heavy drapes the former owners had.

 

Dining area - I want to remove that side cabinet.  It sticks out like a sore thumb to me and it really doesn't hold much.

The dining and kitchen used to be separate but the former owners opened it all up which is nice.

 

off of the kitchen is the family room.  Lots of potential here!

 

 
We loved the fireplace!  We had a fire here the very first night.

Scary old hallway off of the den that takes you to the bedrooms.  If you go left you are back in the foyer.  Just to the right is the first hall bath.

This is the first bathroom and one of the three spaces that is done!  I need bath rugs but other than that it is finished.

The first bedroom is the guest room.  Do you like the orange walls? 

 

Next you would come to Reed's room but he was napping when I was taking these pictures so I skipped it.  That room has turquoise walls!

 

Okay then you hook a right and here is the second hallway.  This space used to be the master bedroom.  The doors you see where closets in the master and the master bath.  They took this space and made it into a hallway, hall bath and small bedroom.  Then they added on the master suite in the very back of the house.

 

This is the former master bath which was upgraded nicely.  I have to keep my toliet paper on the sink so Reed doesn't get to it!

 



Here is the small bedroom I mentioned.  Not only are the walls red and gray but yes, that is a big skater dude you are looking at.  Their son was really into skating...that along with the wallpaper will be fun to remove!
 

There is a nice closet system in this room.

Here is the master bedroom they added.  We love it!  I told Rudy I feel like we are sleeping in a hotel!

 It has a deck off of the back which connects to the back patio.

 

Here is the master bathroom.  I was sold on the tub!

Here is the back patio.  That covering is TERRIBLE!  I cannot wait to figure out what to do instead.  Obviously at this time of day it doesn't even provide shade over the entire patio.  We are going to leave it this year so we can see what it is like in the summer.  I have a feeling heat is just going to be trapped under it. 

Here is the garage.  Two hours before I typed this up our garage door totally busted and is currently lopsided and unable to close.  Comedy of errors!  Hopefully we can have someone look at it tomorrow!

There are steps to the right that lead back to the laundry room and kitchen.

There is a closet off of the laundry room which definitely could be used more effectively.

 

So it has been fun getting settled and we still have a long way to go.  Can't wait to share the progress...and have progress to share!

 

 

~Sarah

Getting Negative Energy Out Of A House

Our new house!

Okay so this is sort of a weird post...but I just had to look into this.  The house we are buying is great.  But sadly we have learned that the couple that lived there is going through a divorce and a messy one at that.  We know waaaaaay to much about this couple and what the last few years of their marriage has been like.  Let's just say their realtor did not take confidentiality seriously as he was representing them.

And I have met them several times.  They were there when we first toured the house, the second time touring the house and the inspection.  Which didn't bother me at all.  Actually I thought it might work in our favor when we wanted them to accept our offer.  Thought  they might want to sell to a young family starting out.

But I digress.

So I just sort of feel like it is still there house.  And that their issues could still be lingering.  Is that weird?  So I did some research.

How to clense your home of negative energy compliments of yahoo:

1. Set out small bowls of vinegar in every room of your house. Use white vinegar in the bathrooms and apple cider vinegar in the bedrooms, home office, living room, dining room, kitchen, garage, attic and basement. Keep the bowls away from children and pets. Let it sit out over night or for at least 6 hours.

2. Make or buy a bundle of dried sage or sweet grass. It needs to be at least 6 inches long. Light the bundle on fire and then blow out the flames. Let the smoke cover everything in your house, including closets and doorways. Use a bowl or flat sea shell to catch the ashes as you walk around. When you're finished leave the windows open for a few hours.  One site said to chant this while burning it "I see only pure reflected light, I am ridding this home of all bad luck and negative energy. O Blessed Be"

3. Leave a bowl of water outside in the sun for 3 hours. It needs to be in full sunlight, the more the better. Take a bundle of fresh basil leaves (any kind will do) and use to sprinkle the water on your window sills, doorways (all of them), fire place and anywhere else you would like.

4. Hang sachets of herbs in your house where there is heavy traffic to prevent negative energy from accumulating. A few suggestions are cloves, dill, dragon's blood, lavender, violet, thyme, bay leaf, chamomile, cinnamon, cedar, pine, eucalyptus, myrrh and frankincense. You can also use these in your drawers and closets to make them smell good.

5. Vinegar can be used to erase negative energy. Letting it sit out is one way but you can also clean with it and have the same effect. Use one part vinegar to three parts water. Clean your floors, walls, windows and surfaces.

6. Leave out bowls of sea salt which neutralize negative energy. You can use the salt in a vase and then add some pretty flowers. The salt will help them stand up and look like a nice floral arrangement. You can also mix in some dried herbs or pebbles. Change the salt once a month. Discard of the salt by throwing it outside in a place where children or pets cannot consume it.

We can't wait to move in to our new home! Tonight is the last night in our current house, tomorrow is moving day!

Hope you are having a good week!

~ Sarah

Diaper Woes

Eeerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrch!  We stop the house dreaming and excitement to talk a bit about cloth diapers.  I bought the bumgenius Freetime diapers and loved them at first.  Now not so much.  Try as I might I cannot get the stains out of them or get them completely clean.  The weird thing is that they are the exact same fabric as my BG 4.0s but those are completely stain free.

Anyone have luck in getting stains out?  If I can't find a solution I am ditching them!  I did contact Bumgenius so maybe they will have some suggestions for me.  Right now they are sitting in bleach.

Sarah

Brick Exterior Color Scheme Ideas

Brick homes with dark roofs are easy to me...meaning dark shutters and then a fun accent door in almost any color you want.  I see them all over town and they look great!  But when you have a house like the one we are buying (everything worked out with our buyer so we are moving forward on our new house!  Praying nothing major comes up in the inspection!) it leaves you with a bit of a condundrum.

Our house has an orange toned brick and a very light brown roof.  I am not wild about the white shutters at all so I have been thinking about what to do.

The first idea I came up with isvery dark blue shutters and a red door.

I also paired the same shutters with a gold door.  This was from advice from the Behr website.

I also paired the yellow door with dark green shutters.  I don't like this as much in the picture but I think it is because I didn't go dark enough with the green.

I am going to take lots more pictures of the house at our inspection next week.  What color scheme do you lean towards?

WE GOT THE HOUSE! Den dreaming...

So excited to share that we got the house!  BUT everything has to go through with our inspection and of course we need to do an inspection at the new house too.  Selling and buying at the same time is an agonizing process.  The first time I was only buying so I didn't feel the pressure as much.  I know this will all work out but man, I am on pins and needles!

I have been thinking of what I might want to do in the new den...because you know that is much more fun that worrying about the inspection!  here are somethings I am thinking...

 

1.  Charcoal gray comfy sofa.  This is the Ektorp from IKEA.  Only $699 but I am still looking.  Thought the gray would be forgiving on lots of lounging and little hands.

2.  New Rug:  This is the mystic wool rug from home decorators.  I have loved my brown rug in my current living room from them.

3.  New club chair or recovering the one I have in a fabric kind of like this.  This is the santa fe classic indigo from Calico Corners.  So basically deinm.  :)  Is denim out?  Again thinking this would be forgiving?

 

 

4.  And then accent in colors in some kind of oranges like this:

 

I would like to find one with some gray in it too but you get the idea.  These are also fabrics from Calico Corners from their orange collection.  I really like complimentary color schemes...and anyone that knows me knows I am not a huge sports fan but there is something about blue and orange that reminds me of UVA, which my whole family loves and my Dad's alma mater that makes me smile.  Kind of like a little bit of home without hanging the pennant over the fireplace.

 

I love looking at Calico Corners for inspiration and then I go to Mary Jo's in Gastonia to actually make my purchases.  Waaaaaaaay cheaper and usually has similar things!

 

But again...we have to get through all of this inspection stuff...April 4th can't get here soon enough!

Come On St. Joseph...

Work your magic because we have found a house we LOVE!

Now it needs classing up a bit but it has so many great features...updated kitchen, bathrooms, 4 bedrooms, all hardwoods, storage out the wazoo, 2 car garage, big yard, etc. etc.

 

Wouldn't the beams in this room be so cool in a different color?  And the picture doesn't really show it but the fireplace is super cool.

We are making a contingency offer today and so hopeful that they take it!  March 15th is the magic day when our buyer's due diligence is up.  If we can make it to that then we are 99% going to close.

Again just putting trust into God that he will do what is best for our family...and I know it will all work out no matter what but I really hope this house is part of the plan!

~ Sarah

St. Joseph WORKS

Have you heard of this?  I had and since there is a home that we really, really, really like I wanted to do everything I could to get our house sold.  So I am not kidding in that I went and purchased this on Wednesday, buried him in the yard at 4:30 PM and received an offer on our house yesterday (Thursday) afternoon.

I am serious y'all.  Now the kit clearly states that you need to properly clean, stage and price your home but still!  I am impressed.  I just need to keep trusting that what is the best for our family will happen.

Fingers crossed!  Stay tuned!

~ Sarah

In a Whirlwind

So the last few weeks of my life have included:

• windexing
• scrubbing
• purging
• organizing
• mopping
• sweeping
• vacumming
• dusting
• cutting
• folding
• assembling
• packing
• repacking
• flying
• walking
• sight-seeing
• staging
• decorating
• lighting
• creating
• dancing
• smiling
• hugging
• laughing
• packing
• repacking
• flying again
• resting
• sleeping
• zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz................

Our house is on the market!  And we have had a lot of showings - fingers crossed that we sell soon!

The wedding went wonderfully!  Without a hitch and the bride and her family were THRILLED with Quite The Occasion's work.

 

 

 

The next few months should be awesome...a move, more fun QTO stuff..I can't wait!

Not Nice Comments

So  I was raised by a mother who said "if you can't say anything nice, then don't say anything at all."  I agree and feel that negative and hurtful comments really do not provide any benefit.  In the world of blogging I must say that I wish I had more comments on my posts.  I have viewers which I am so grateful for but not too many comments.  So when I received a message in my inbox that I had a comment I was elated!  This person (who identified themselves as anonymous) commented on my DIY Fire pit.  When I opened it - it said this...

"looks like s***. Who stacks bricks like that."

 

 

And I want to say this girl does.  And if you have a comment on the quality of my work 1.  Identify yourself.  2.  Get over yourself - I am not a brick layer.  I am a wife who bought some paver stones to make a tempoary fire pit for her sweet husband.  3.  It is functional.  It was designed to be a fire pit and whaddya know we have had fires in it which is success to me.  4.  Correct English would be nice.

 

So with that said, I love comments.  But if you have feedback on the quality of my work, please identify yourself and give it to me in a constructive way. 

 

Now, something is up and I am having trouble uploading photos...fingers crossed that I will have a real post tomorrow.

 

Thanks for letting me vent!

 

~ Sarah

Feel Good Jar

I saw this on Facebook today on a friend's page.  If we all sat back and thought about the good things that were happening, I bet the bad things wouldn't seem so hard.  I just might try this this year!

~ Sarah