LIFE: What's goin' on?

Well. I was on a roll, writing blog posts on a pretty regular schedule. And then I had a crazy week of life events. What events are you speaking of you ask? Well.... first, completely out of no where... D asked me to marry him! So yes, I am officially engaged and in complete awe of my shinny new accessory that I get to stare at daily. Pictures below. I apologize that I am never the girl that has perfectly girly manicured hands.

 


Second, with in a week of the engagement... we miraculously found a house we loved! Yes, you read that right. I just finished posting about how house hunting is tough, and then out of no where... a house popped into our extended price range that we had to go see immediately. The deal is not sealed yet... in fact it won't be sealed till every single paper is signed, but I was too excited not to share. Once everything is final- I will share some details with you.

So- I have pretty much been crazy with house stuff. Inspections, mortgage stuff, researching boilers, (a story for another day)... and general preparing for Thanksgiving and a rush on Christmas wreaths in the shop. Sales have been picking up, I am slightly unprepared, but I can do anything when I put my mind to it and its proven that I work well under pressure.

Hopefully I will be back soon with some good news and more posts! Stay tuned and Happy Thanksgiving!

WEEKEND: Supply Shopping and House Hunting

I spent the weekend running around like a crazy person, dragging D along side with me. (actually he was nice enough to be my chauffeur and drive me around like a crazy person) Anyway. It is safe to say that I am ready for any holiday COZYmade orders. Which is great because I have already begun to sell holiday wreaths thanks to Etsy using my wreath in the Holiday Browse section for the Wreath category for a whole week.

I feel somewhat prepared- with the exception of lack of a proper work space. However- I am use to this since I haven't had a proper workspace in quite sometime. Which brings me to my second task of the weekend- House Hunting.

For those of you who are home owners, you understand. House hunting is a ridiculous process, and I am a little pickier than I had anticipated. I have been looking at houses and dreaming of a place to call my own for YEARS. This is not to say that I have been ready to buy for years, I've just been looking. I am not one of those people who can't see past the cosmetics of a house. I don't mind if I have to put in a little work to make it a home, but the process is a little frustrating and harder than I anticipated. Willing to redo a kitchen because its original to a house- sure. Willing to rewire the entire house- not so much. Taking down wallpaper form the entire house- I can handle it. Needs a new septic system and all new plumbing- I'll pass.

Photo Credit: Shop Vol25 via Etsy

I gave this print to D for Valentine's Day last year. We have been day dreaming about a new house for a while and finally are in the position of purchasing. This will be the first thing we hang when we finally have a place.

What I have learned thus far from my house hunt is this:

• Don't start looking at houses before you're ready to buy: A few years ago I went to an open house. I was just driving by, saw the sign, had always liked the house and so we decided to go in. A few years ago, the market was at a completely different place so the house was in a different price bracket. I loved it. Since we weren't ready to buy yet, it was a love from afar. Now... every house I go into- I compare to that house. Making the house hunting just that much harder.
• It's good to see everything, even if the listing looks like crap: We have been looking at houses not only with our fantastic Realtor, but also going to open houses on the weekends. A lot of the time, houses in person look completely different than their listings. This can happen for 2 reasons: The listing agent has an amazing photographer or the listing agent has a horrible photographer. I have learned not to judge a house by its listing (unless of course it says something like, house needs to be completely gutted... thats not in my plans.)
• Keep an eye on houses that are slightly out of your budget: If you have a budget of say $300,000. Expand your search slightly higher. There could be a seller willing to negotiate OR if they don't get offers the price could be reduced and you will be ahead of the ball by already knowing about it.
• Make a list of the must haves and the wants: You may already have a list of everything you want in a house. Come to find out, if your budget is tight- chances of you getting everything on your wish list will be slim. Make a 2 (or 3) column list with your "must haves", your "wants" and your "deal breakers". This helps not only you, but also your Realtor help you find the right home for you.
• Search multiple websites: If you have a Realtor, they most likely have set you up on the MLS website to view listings. I have found other sites to be slightly more easy to read. Try Zillow or Redfin (my personal favorite- but only available in some areas). You may need an account to view all information on a listing, but it's free and well worth it.

Now- take my advice with a grain of salt because I have yet to find the home I want to purchase. However, this is completely a learning process for me. Since D has owned a condo prior to this search, he is a little ahead of the game... but this is new to me. My first home. I seriously can not wait to find "the one". I can sadly report... we didn't find anything this weekend that was a contender.