Days 6, 7 & 8

July 5 - Day 6
This was the busiest day since move in.  Paint, cable/internet, sprinklers and the yard mowed.  It's hard to tell in these photos, but each room is actually a different color!  The great room is "Hopsack"; a dark khaki.  The entry/kitchen/stairs/upstairs hall is "Nomadic Desert"; a dark cream/light khaki.  The master bedroom is "Down Home"; more of a milk chocolate.  The master bathroom is "Sands of Time"; slightly darker than the entry/kitchen/stairs/upstairs hall.  It was so refreshing to come home and not see the salmon, yellow cream, sunflower and sage green in the great room, entry, kitchen and master bedroom.  With the new coat of paint, the rooms looked totally different.  It started to feel more like "ours".

Master bedroom before paint.

Master bedroom after paint.

The Agent stayed home that morning to observe paint, ensure cable was installed where we wanted and to make sure sprinkler system repair wasn't going to cost us four figures.  Paint was accurate and complete by 5:30 and cable wire through the backyard (now buried).  Luckily, a handful of sprinkler heads needed to be replaced, there was one small leak and water sprayed uncontrollably from just one location.  It was much worse in the yard than it was on the invoice.  At the end of the day, we were happy homeowners.  

July 6 - Day 7

Today's productivity: clean sheets on the guest bed.  Our good friends Troy & Erin were in town this night from Houston.  We went to dinner then for cocktails.  

July 7 - Day 8

The Agent was up and at 'em by 8:30.  Today's productivity: boxes to the basement and more upstairs to be unpacked.  Slowly the sitting room floor begins to peek through!  The microwave and dishwasher were also installed.  

I. Am. In. LOVE with our new appliances.  The fridge's meat drawer is the coolest thing since sliced bread. The stove boils a pot of water before I can find the right spoon.  The oven... has three racks and a warming drawer.  The dishwasher is so quiet, I can't hear it over the cat.  The microwave senses the size of your popcorn bag.  No joke.  

While we were shopping at NFM for these bad boys, I was fairly concerned with looks and how big the oven was.  Other than that, I didn't put too much thought into their functionality.  I just wanted them to look pretty.  At the apartment, I'd "make dinner"; whatever was easiest (velveeta and shells and maybe baked chicken).  These days, I want to cook a seven course meal just for the sake of playing with our new toys. 

I really had no idea appliances would make me this happy.  Boy was I wrong.  I'm also getting the distinct feeling this won't be the last time homeownership surprises me.  A year ago, if anyone said I would be blogging at 11p about new appliances, I'd tell them they were bats*** crazy.  A) blogging is "dumb" B) I'm always asleep before 10 C) appliances?!?!

Oh the difference a year can make...  

Days 3, 4 & 5

July 2 - Day 3
First Monday.  First day back to work.  First day finding it difficult not to jump out of bed and start the day.  I absolutely did not want to leave the house that morning.  I wanted to finish bathrooms, get the closet organized, set up the office, look at paint, finish laundry...  The next 10 hours went by rather quickly and I got back home as soon as I could.  I knew The Agent wouldn't be home until after 9 so I volunteered to water the yard.

I scratched a few boxes off of my to-do list, then headed out into the great unknown (the yard).  Those garden hoses made me nervous.  The Agent had them so neatly wound and hung up, it felt like I was about to stick my finger the in middle of a wedding cake.  Regardless, I lugged them from the garage into the middle of the grass and tried desperately to figure out which way was up.  What felt like 10 minutes later, I had one end connected to the spicket, one end connected to the sprinkler and only a few kinks.  When I let 'er rip, I hopped the rock wall and dodged spraying water to move the sprinkler "just so" to ensure the neighbors cars and our front door didn't get hit.  Those were the rules: don't get the house and don't get the neighbors cars.  I broke both rules.  Barely.

I didn't time the watering, but definitely stayed out there quite awhile.  When it felt like brown patch #1 had a decent soak, I moved to manually watering the south side of our drive.  This is when I met Frank, our neighbor across the street. Frank's been in Kensington since his house had sheetrock and has a garden to show for it.  His backyard is rumored to be gorgeous and the tomato plants beside his garage appear to be taller than me.  He's from South Carolina and comes complete with both the accent and southern charm.  He was happy we were there and that someone moved in who was ready to get the place looking like new.

15 or so minutes later, I put more water on the bushes out front.  The night before, we attempted the Dawn soap wash to rid our front bed of whatever bugs and webs had grown for the past 60 days. Watering the backyard rose bushes brought quite the scene.  This is when I thought we should have spent $5 more on the "kink free" hose.  One wouldn't think straightening a garden hose on a back patio would be that big of a debacle.  But I'm the one who made it the debacle.  Again, The Agent's talent in hose winding befuddled me.  Finally, I got tired of trying for the "straight line" and began to wing it.  The roses weren't too far away so surely I could get them watered without unwinding the whole hose.  Wrong.  I fixed about 14 kinks in the 5 minutes I was watering rose bushes.  After that last kink I got so frustrated I wadded and hung up that hose so poorly I was almost embarrassed of myself.  Then brushed it off while smacking a mosquito off my ankle.  (Editor's note: The next night, The Agent saw my mess and wasn't pleased with my hose hanging ability.  He promptly gave me "Hose Winding 101".)

If we were keeping score:
The Agent - 2
Mosquitos - 9
Tara - 0

July 3 - Day 4
I was off at 2 this day; The Agent said he wouldn't be home until after 7.  Oh the joys of having four+ clients looking to buy a home all at the same time.  (Trust me, I am not complaining.  This is much better than him worrying about work.)  My afternoon consisted of running errands and preparing for great friend Karin to come stay the night.  She showed up around 5 and The Agent surprised us early at 5:30.  The three of us hung out on the couch, had a few beers then went to a client's housewarming party.

Today's productivity: clean sheets on the guest bed.

July 4 - Day 5
Independence Day is my favorite holiday of the year.  Except this year's festivities were pretty much a blur.  The Agent went boating at 7am, promising to be home by 10 and we would all (Long Ladies+) go to the pool neighborhood for the first time.  10:30 comes and goes and no Agent.  Regardless, we left the house ready to catch some rays.  We pulled up to the pool to find tiny American flags lining the parking lot and all of the neighborhood kiddos dressed in their Americana best.  At 9 that morning families participated in the annual 4th of July parade, showing off their decorated bikes, strollers and wagons.  At the end of the parade, there were popsicles at the pool.  Absolutely too cute.

The pool area in itself was quite impressive.  Two pools each 3'-6' deep, a shaded baby pool, arbors, restrooms, plenty of chairs (a few tables) and vending machines.  The Agent showed up about 11 and happily played with Little Man Aiden.  When Aiden decided it was time to go potty, Uncle Tony kindly removed his life jacket, helped him with his biz, and they were on their way.  On their way out, Aiden requested to not wear his vest because he wanted a sandwich.  Very carefully, Uncle told him not to jump in the pool when walking back to the table.  Aiden said "ok"!  Not four steps from our table, Little Man took an abrupt right and jumped straight into the pool.  Amber dove in while Uncle stood there waiting for the dude to surface.  While pulling him up for air, Amber simultaneously scolded and told him he would never go swimming if he ever did that again.  Aiden's response, "Can I have a sandwich now?"  Classic.

Later that afternoon, the Long Ladies+ came back to the house for fireworks, pizza and more fireworks.  Aiden was able to go through pops, snakes, firetrucks, dragons and cars in a matter of 20 minutes.  All with Dad's help of course.  

Uncle Booyah and Little Man working on legos.

Once the sun set, we ventured to a packed parking lot to catch a glimpse of Corporate Woods' annual show.  We saw the first 15 minutes then decided to beat traffic and headed home.  

Today's productivity: .......celebrating America.

Move, Days 1 & 2

17 days since we moved in, and so much has happened.  My days and nights have been spent unpacking, entertaining and fighting with our internet.  Hence the delay.

June 29 - moving day
This day went off without a hitch.  I woke up at 6 to find The Agent gone.  One of two options: gym (crazy man) or work (my hero).  After a quick shower and burst of energy from my new best friend (see below), I had that apartment ready to go in no time.  When The Agent got home from the office, he unhooked all tv parts and we were ready to roll by 8.

The movers showed up promptly at 8:30 and we were entirely packed by 10:45.  We could not take possession until noon so we sent those hard workers to lunch while The Agent and I went to Tanner's for celebratory beers and chicken lips.  At 11:45 I dropped The Agent back at his car and I quickly checked on the cat.  While driving to Kensington, my heart immediately began to race.  And literally, my knees began to shake.  Thinking about it now, I don't even remember which route I took from the apartment to the house, but I just kept thinking one thing: the rest of our lives are beginning today.  True, we have yet to get married or have children, but this is our first step.  I also kept thinking about the thousands of things that could go wrong with our new purchase.  That there was no turning back.  We were officially "grown ups".

Mom beat us all to the house but patiently waited until I showed up.  Lord knows she was ready to just knock down the door and get to work.  This is what I pulled up to:

Doors up and boys unloading Truck #1.  Most exciting, that is for sure.  Excitement, followed quickly by the fact that half of our yard was dead and the bushes were so overgrown I couldn't stand it.  I quickly shushed my impatience with their neglect of the yard and reminded myself those are easy fixes, walked up the driveway for a quick stroll through the house.  This walk through was a-ok. The only thing wrong was that the air was off.  Our poor movers had to go from heat outside to heat inside.  While Mom scrubbed on the washer/dryer and kitchen, The Agent vacuumed the house and I stood in the entry directing furniture and boxes.  At 1:30 sharp, trucks were unloaded, boys were paid and on their way.  We unloaded the Murano and tC then went back to #2606 for hang up clothes and the cat.

By 3:30 we were back at the house and I was trying not to lose my head.  It was starting to sink in that this was "ours".  Boxes, etc.. weren't too strung out (mostly in the sitting room) but instead of unpacking I just wanted to lay down and take a big nap.  I realized too late I didn't photograph what we were working with.  Imagine boxes stacked 5' tall, 14' wide and 10' deep.  Roughly.  There were about 10 in the kitchen and a few scattered upstairs. Thank goodness The Agent wasn't playing The Agent that day and was home to keep me calm.  Thank goodness Mom knows where my unpacking priorities lie and was able to get kitchen/laundry/bathrooms cleaned.  Thank goodness it was only Friday and we still had two whole days until back to work.

After vacuuming, The Agent did another lap and found the coolest part about the house: our laundry chute.  It is underneath our bathroom sink and falls into a cabinet above the dryer.  Genius.  We've definitely put that baby to good use.  We cleaned, unpacked, cleaned, unpacked.  Checked on the cat (she was in the basement) and put beds together. We also had our first guests this afternoon: Mike, Erin and Braxton O'Dell.  RT made to the house that afternoon in time for us to decide we were starving.  A quick dinner at Chili's then the boys went to Sam's and Mom and I went to Target.  In all honesty, I don't remember much after Target.  The skinny vanilla latte didn't do it's job.  Back at home, we cleaned, got the kitchen cabinets lined and a few boxes unpacked, I worked on more laundry then to bed.

June 30 - Day 1
The Agent and I woke up at 5:45 with things on our mind.  He had to check the thermostat.  I wanted to check on the cat.  He got up, but I rolled over and slept until after 7. 

The first full day in our new home and what happens?  The Agent works from 8:30 until after 5.  Bum. Deal.  Mom and I ran errands all morning, then back to the house so NFM could deliver our new fridge and stove.  Yay!  Happy buy of the day: material for master bedroom accessories.  I needed to have paint picked in 3 days and had to have inspiration for the master.  Back at home, we worked on kitchen boxes, swept and steamed hardwoods, multiple loads of dishes and laundry, more unpacking then finally the fridge and stove showed up.  Man, do they look AWESOME.  After NFM guys left, Mom and I headed back to #2606 to get all of our fridge/freezer items.  Since the sellers took their fridge and ours would take 24 hours to cool, we kept all necessary items on ice.  (Happy to report we didn't lose a thing.)  This was also Day #1 for sprinklers.  The in ground system hadn't been used in seven years and would be fixed the next week.  To get a jump start on the brown patches, The Agent invested in two sprinklers and two hoses.  Getting those sprinklers to hit certain spots "just right" was quite entertaining to watch.  I'm not sure who got soaked the worst: the yard, the Murano or The Agent.

Master bedroom inspiration.  Will be curtains and pillows.  

Kitchen before switch plates, paint and appliances.  We also removed that curtain.

Kitchen after appliances and paint.  Complete with dinner on the stove.  

"Just a few more inches to the left and maybe I won't hit the Murano."

July 1 - Day 2
Yep.  Awake before 6 this day, too.  I don't remember what The Agent woke up thinking about.  But I was having a dream the garbage disposal was leaking. 

The second full day in our new home...  The Agent works from 9:30 until after 6.  Bum. Deal.  Mom and I spent an hour at Home Depot and ran a few more errands.  I also met our first neighbors. Today I felt like we started to make progress on boxes.  Mom didn't leave until 6:30 that night!  Man, was she a gem.  We would have been lost without her.  We love you!  The Agent got home about 6:30 and Sarah, Derek, Amber, Mike and Aiden came over for a tour.


I was in bed by 9.  And still in shock we were finally moved in.