Room Updates...

We are working our way room by room setting up the house. Here is some of the progress we have made. There are still a lot of details like artwork, lamps, curtains, etc that need to be added, but things are starting to take shape.

Den Before (prior owner) ...

Den now...

Guest Room Before...

Guest Room now...

Master Bedroom before...

Master Bedroom now (work in progress)...

Still to come, later this week (hopefully)... Living room, Dining room, Studio, Kitchen, Laundry.

Looking Back on the Move...

Here are a couple shots from the weekend.

Loading up at Marion...

Jim and Bear testing out the new recliners...

Weekend Update...

WE ARE IN!!! Sorry for the delay in posting, we were without internet access all weekend. We are up and running now so I should be able to post some photos tonight. What a crazy couple of days we had.

On Thursday night, we found out that the buyers (of our old house) paperwork was not ready and we would probably not be able to close on Friday. With movers scheduled to arrive Friday morning, that was the last thing we wanted to hear. Well, miraculously, everything ended up coming together and we were able to close on time. I went to the closing while Jim supervised the movers. By Friday night, we were all moved in (all the furniture fit-yay!) and were browsing Ikea for more furniture:)

After 3 days of unpacking, we have made a considerable amount of progress. The living room, den, and guest room are pretty much all set up. The dining room and master are both set up but need boxes, etc moved out. The studio and office are our last 2 major unpacking areas. We made more trips to Home Depot and Bed, Bath and Beyond this weekend than I care to mention. I LOVE this house. Here are a few of my favorite things so far....

1. Having more kitchen cupboards than I am able to fill.
2. Laundry off the master bedroom. I am so thankful to whoever thought of this.
3. Having a fireplace
4. Having a downstairs closet to put cleaning stuff/vacuums/paper towels in (it's the little things :) )
5. The PEACE & QUIET. No cars speeding by the house at 1am, sirens, lawn mowers, etc. Just chirping birds.
6. The new KING sized bed!

Pictures are forthcoming tonight.... stay tuned!

Race to the Finish...

Well, I'll have to be brief today, as we are approacing final stages of wrapping everything up with the move. Today the new house will be professionally cleaned. Then later Jim will sign all the closing paperwork (so he can skip the meeting tomorrow), followed by our walk-through with the seller. After that, we have people coming over to help us move any fragile items over to the new place that we don't want the movers taking. So even though things are not official until tomorrow, we can be "in" tonight. We are so excited but at least for me I think I won't believe it until I see it. Throughout this whole process I have been somewhat skeptical because it has seemed so unreal (being that everything happened so unexpectedly). When we are really moved in and spend the night there tomorrow, a huge weight will be lifted and we can finally enjoy the reality! I'll try to post again on Saturday or Sunday once we get the internet hooked up. Have a great weekend.

Jim's "Go or Don't Go" - Wall-E

Please enjoy the first weekly installment of Jim's film reviews called "Go or Don't Go" (inspired by his favorite Frank Caliendo sketch)

WALL-E
Another great animation job by PIXAR. I found the anti-corporate message by Disney film a little ironic/hypocrytical, but a good movie nonetheless. It's mostly a cute love story between two robots. Not sure how much little kids will appreciate the storytelling style. It's no Toy Story, but I still say "Go", especially for the pre-film short, "Presto."

New Furniture for a New House...

Since we have a lot more space in our new house, we had to purchase some new furniture. I say "had to" like it was a chore. Well, it kind of was- it took us forever to choose it, but I am still excited to get it.

Those of you who remember our current dining room table probably realize that it will not "go" in our new dining room. So it is moving to the new office to become Jim's work table. This is the new table and chairs, although my mom helped us cover the seat cushions with a lighter colored fabric and they look much better now.

We have opted to not put our TV in the living room at the new place, so our current living room furniture will accompany our TV to the new Den. The living room will be outfited with the following sofa and 2 brown leather club chairs. Not sure what we will do in that room without a TV. I guess we might have to read a book :)

Taking a Break...

On Tuesday, we are taking a break from packing to go to a sneak-preview of Wall-E, the new Pixar film. Jim loves Pixar and this one looks really cute. If you haven't seen the previews, it's about a little robot. I'll let you know if it lives up to the hype after we see it.

Our Last Weekend...

Well, the final weekend at Marion has come and gone. Everything is pretty much all packed up now, except for a few necessities. Even the computer is packed so I'm blogging from the laptop. Dinner this week will consist of pasta and Lean Cuisine.

We are still waiting for the final word on the mortgage which apparently we will not receive until the last minute. I swear they just want to make you sweat. Thankfully, though, we have arranged for Jim to sign the papers ahead of time so he will not have to go to closing and can stay to supervise the movers.

Sitting in a mostly empty house, It's amazing how quickly this all happened. April 27th (2 months to the day from our closing date) was the first time we even saw the new house and at that point we really were not considering moving and our house was not on the market. We feel very blessed when we look around the neighborhood and see all the houses that are not selling. Ours sold in 5 days which in this real estate climate is pretty unheard of.

Please keep praying for our sanity this week and for a smooth closing on Friday!

Even the Cat's Excited....

Bear has been thrilled with life since all the boxes arrived on the scene. He thinks it's a cat jungle gym- jumping from one box into the next. He usually goes for the nice big ones, but on Wedensday he decided to squeeze into this one. I guess he's packed and ready to go!

A Long Time Coming...

We have been wanting this table (the stratocaster version) for years for our studio (aka music room). When I finally decided to get it for Jim for our 5th anniversary, I contacted the company, Overkill Design, only to get no response. I called Fender and they said the tables were no longer available. Well, lo and behold, I got a call from Overkill a couple of weeks ago saying that they had been moving their offices and the tables were back on the market. So we have one being shipped to us to arrive the week after we move in. Jim can't wait. Now all we need is the red leather Ikea couch (forthcoming). Rock on.

9 Days and Counting...

We are scheduled to close next Friday on both houses. Still have to work out the logistics of how we can go to closing while the movers are unloading our stuff. Thank the Lord for movers!

Our New Place...

Our new house in Edgewood Acres is a 4 Bedroom, 2 bath, 1.5 story Arts & Crafts home built in 1915. It has been lovingly restored to it's original beauty (plus a former attic turned master suite) by our real estate agent, and the home's current owner, Steve Mole. Here are a couple shots to give you an idea of the place. For all the photos, go to http://www.bevingtonrd.com/

Our Old Place...

In case you haven't seen it, this is the house we are leaving (click link below). It will be sad because it was our first house together, but we are happy to be going to a much bigger place (upgrading to 2200 sq feet from about 1100).

http://www.613marion.com/