Pictures worth a thousand words, so I don't have to blog.

A post to end speculation

Perhaps I have not mentioned that the two neighbors on either side of me, as well as the one across the street, are all retired men or couples. With that being said, no I do not expect much neighborhood romance a la Wisteria Lane. No handsome plumber that I have seen so far. Only 1 possibility...a youngish man who walks his dog. More details as they unfold.

I just wanted to throw this out there, and to set a personal record for a three-peat post in one day.

My feet are dirty

Every time I go to see my house, I'm wearing sandals. Since I don't have a driveway, walkway, or even grass yet, I have to trek through dirt on a good day, or mud on a not a good day. Today was no exception.

I picked out a very similar tile for the shower. Probably, a wasted trip, because any of the three that I chose from would have been fine. And to be honest, I didn't even really remember picking out tile in the first place.

Since I was in the neighborhood, I stopped by the house, and it was open. The painters were inside. It looks sooooo different already. The walls are a light beige and the trim is white. The mantel really stands out now. The closets shelves are up and many of the doors. The cabinets are stained, as well. Some real progress! My closet is awesome by the way! It has one of those built in shoe or pants shelves thingy.

Sorry, no pictures :( I was in a hurry, and I felt like I was intruding in my own house.

I have already established a waving routine with my neighbor across the street (he showed me his house when I was still deciding). Almost every time I come by he is on his patio or in his yard. It is weird, because I usually don't know my neighbors and couldn't pick them out of a line-up. And I'm not even officially moved in, and we already know each other. Of course, if he was in a line-up and not on his property, I might not be able to pick him out either ;)

And don't get spoiled with two posts in one day. It won't happen again. Probably.

I don't need no stinking tile

The builder called me before I left for work this morning. Apparently the tile that I picked out for the bathroom is no longer being made. There is another tile that looks exactly the same, but a different maker I guess, but it is back-ordered for at least a month. Not an option. They have picked out 3 that are similar, and I need to go and choose one of them. It is somewhat of a hassle, as the office is a good 20 minutes away, so that will be my entire lunch break. But again, if this is the worst, then so be it.

For those of you at home playing along, here is my updated problem list:
1) Brick looks the same as neighbors.
2) Tile is discontinued.
If you can name all the problems at the end of this home building exercise, then you may win a fabulous prize!

Locked Out of House and Home

I went to show my brother the house, and we couldn't get in. For the first time I've been there, the house was locked up, and all the windows were closed. I guess they are getting ready to put the fixtures and other stealable stuff in. Kinda disappointing. Peeking in through the windows, I couldn't see much progress.

I did see baseboards and the mantle up. They moved the big piles of dirt. I hope they are able to get a lot done this week. From what I could tell, the electrician hadn't dug up the concrete to put the floor plug in.

So no new pictures today :(

Champagne Wishes and Caviar Dreams

Last night after work, I took my co-worker friend to see my house. We walked into the front door of my completely bricked house (more details of the house later), and before I could say, this is my living room, 5 other co-workers jumped out from behind the kitchen counters and yelled "Surprise!" They even had a bottle of champagne to toast my new place. They had all conspired against me to leave work a few minutes before and surprise me. Sure enough it worked! They parked in the shopping area around the corner. I work with some pretty cool people.

The funniest part was that they were all sweaty because they had to wait a few minutes for me to get there. In case you are not familiar with Texas weather, it is mighty hot at 6pm in a western facing room, with no air conditioning in August. They had planned to hide in the master bathroom, but it was way too hot. So they moved to the kitchen that at least had a window opened for breeze.

After the surprise entrance, I gave them the grand tour. There wasn't much progress since Monday night. The brick looks completely finished to my untrained eye. They also finished the cabinets (still unstained). I think that was all that was done. I will be back on Saturday when my brother comes to town.

Afterwards, we went to a bar, that I was informed by new neighbor co-worker, will be my new hangout and had dinner and drinks. The bar was alright. Kinda old, but maybe it will win my heart and become like my Cheers.

A week without rain...someone alert the media! I hope they take advantage of this good, hot weather. I have locked in my interest rate, and must close by Sept. 4th. I told my apartment that I would like to stay through Sept. 8th, to give myself a cushion. Now all I need to do if finally pick an insurance agent, cancel all my utilities, set up all my utilities, do the change of address form, keep packing, hire the moving company, start being nicer to friends so the will help me move, get new checks printed, buy a fridge...and many many many other things, all the while work all week. Let the stress begin!

What A Difference A Day Makes

Or 4 days to be exact.

It took me seeing the bricks and touching the sheet rock with my own hands, but now I am a true believer that this house just might get finished before September comes. On Tuesday, I showed the house to my sister and her family. Sure, it was cool and you could tell what the rooms were, but it seemed no where close to being done in 3 weeks.

Then, bam! Sunday rolls along, I take my parents to see it, and the builder made a liar out of me. I was complaining that the brick hadn't even been started yet. But we turn the corner, and I exclaim "I have brick!". It is more than halfway done, I have a garage door, and all the sheet rock is done. It seriously is all coming together. And I even stopped by Monday night, and the cabinets were in the kitchen and bathroom. The vanity that we discussed is in - I was afraid that since we just discussed it in passing, that maybe it would have slipped the builder's mind, but no, it was there just as we had discussed. Progress is a good thing.

Why you may ask would I feel the need to go back Monday night when I was just there Sunday? Normally, I am not that interested in the day by day progress. But I had been talking to the builder, and I discussed wanting an electric outlet in the middle of my living room. I will most likely have my couch laid out in the middle of the floor, so if I want to put a lamp near the couch, I didn't want the cord to be dragged across the room. I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to do that since my dad said they probably needed to know that before they laid the concrete. But I asked. He said they could do (for a small fee, of course). The electrician would just dig a little trench through the concrete and put the wires in it. And it wouldn't put them off schedule. So I took the plunge and said yes. So to answer my original question, I had to go the house to mark the spot I wanted the plug. It was hard to do since I'm not exactly sure where my furniture will all go. But I think the vicinity will work. I'm sure I'm the only one who finds it exciting, but it's my blog, so that's all I care about.

There has been one disappointment for me though. The brick and stone look almost exactly like the house next door. The builder was supposed to guide me and tell me if it would look too similar. I guess I shouldn't trust a color-blind builder. Anyway, I think going with a dark brown trim instead of the light tan color will make the brick stand out and make a difference. If that is the worst that happens, then I will count myself lucky. But if I were my neighbor, I would kind of be mad at me.

I am supposed to go back on Wednesday to show a friend. I wonder what surprise is in store for me then? Carpet and paint? Keep dreaming.