Our Permit IS IN!

Yes, it's true, we received word yesterday - on our 6 month wedding anniversary - that the permit we've been waiting for for a few weeks has finally come in. And that means our house can officially begin the building process!! Seriously, how exciting is that?! The stakes have already been put into the ground, and if it wasn't raining today, they would have begun moving those dirt piles around and prepping for digging. But, it's okay because we can finally get exciting about this, and the settlement date for mid-late March is still the plan. Fingers crossed we don't have a crazy winter... really. Please. Pray. 

I had to share that great news! Let's keep this train going!!! 

See you at the corner (the corner house I can finally see being built now...), 
Krista 

House Update #1: Settlement Process

Sunday, November 10: I learned more about the settlement process today... I stopped by our "new" neighborhood and drove by our "house" or what is really the same 20 piles of dirt that were there a month ago when we last saw it. Instead of waiting for an email or call from our sales guy, I went in and chatted with him for a bit (in the model home). I asked for an update on our dirt mounds, and he looked at his new progress sheet from that Friday, and it said our lot has "not started" (obviously), but that there was "no delay" either. SO... what's the hold up!? 

He wasn't quite sure why it hadn't been started but that the finish date was still the same (late February. Note: Read the next update later this week and I'll most likely have a different answer for you). BUT he admitted that it would most likely be March, and that we would hope to settle in the latter half of the month, between the 15th and 31st. He said settling in the latter half of the month is preferable and best for the buyer because if you settle later, the mortgage won't be due until May 1, because you pay in arrears. So, we have a longer time to pay that mortgage will be awesome. Interesting fact, and I'm happy to have learned that little tid bit.

Honestly, no new pictures are worth putting up until it actually starts getting built. But I did promise pictures of some of our interior options, of which I'll only show a few... later!!

See you at the corner,

Krista

We're Building A House!

So this is really the biggest reason why we decided to start this blog, because being a 26 year old, shopping for a house is super crazy, fun and awesome. In the end though, we decided to build our first home, and I wanted to share with you the journey that we're on, from the beginning to the present and future...

Searching for the perfect home is HARD. As a couple who watched House Hunters, Property Brothers, and really all of HGTV, we knew what we wanted in a house. While I may have been more open to a slightly older home, Mr. K wasn’t. And, rightfully so - after having watched so many shows, we know what could be behind the walls of an older home and under the floorboards. We weren't willing to take the risk, put a big lot of money into it, and then have to fix it up over time. So, that’s what brought us to building.

We are in a unique position to buy a home at our age, especially one that will have close to everything we want. And that’s when the searching for our perfect home began…

A townhouse was first on our list - and for reasons now I can’t quite remember other than the fact that at first we weren't ready to commit to a full single-family home, take care of a big yard, etc. But then, logic started to settle in (for us), and we didn't want to start our family in the townhouse, mainly because of the stairs. Now, I know readers out there have town homes, you've raised your families in them, and it’s worked for you. It just wasn't for us, so we changed our plans.

A smaller yard?!

Yes, we wanted a newer, updated single-family home with a smaller yard. Yup, a smaller yard we wanted which is funny since on HGTV, you usually hear people say they want a big, fenced-in yard. We learned something from my dad though shortly before looking at houses that has stuck with us. He said to my mom one day “We've got to stop doing yard work every weekend, we need to do something for ourselves… get away. I’m sick of this.” And BAM, that’s when we stopped looking for that big yard. We love taking time for ourselves, and while we do have that corner lot with a yard, it’s not as big as homes we saw in other neighborhoods. Our house is new construction, updated per our liking with fixtures, hardwood floors, a Chef’s kitchen for my chef-husband, an infinity island, formal dining room, totally open concept kitchen and living room; a basement we've decided to finish, and four bedrooms upstairs, with a possible fifth in the basement when we choose to do that later down the road.

So, no more spoilers until we see it starting to get built. But in a nutshell, that’s how we decided to build our own single-family home...

And here are a few pictures of our developing lot:

Trust me when I say not much has changed since we signed the contract on Sept.15. Those same piles of dirt you see in the photo are basically still in the same place, maybe moved a little bit for the piping that they put in last week.

Tomorrow, I'll give a little more insight into the options we chose, why, and how in the world we actually managed to pick everything for our new home... being Miss Indecisive here...!

Are you building your own house, have any comments, pieces of advice, questions? Let me know!

See you at the corner,
Krista

Thankful Project Day 2: A Place

This is Day 2 of the 17 days of gratitude, thought of by The DC Ladies. When I think of a place I’m thankful of, I think immediately of “home.” The reason I love “home” is because it can encompass different places - my parents’ house, my own apartment/home with my husband, North Carolina (both Elon and my in-laws’ place). Not to be a huge cliche, but “home is where the heart is,” but most importantly home is where my dearest friends and family are. When I’m with my best girlfriends, I feel at home and at peace, when I’m with my family for a party, I feel myself and I feel happy.

If you’re thinking, “Krista, you took the easy way out,” then I’ll give you this answer. I’m thankful for the Shenandoah Mountains, particularly where Mr. K and I got engaged last year. I love this place because it’s quiet, it’s absolutely beautiful, and it’s where my life with my husband truly began. It’s also a destination for a camping trip we took with our friends recently, which allowed us to hike through beautiful mountains, get lost and then find our own way back, and enjoy our journey even though we didn’t quite get to the destination we had hoped: Overall Run Falls.

So… are you happy with that answer?! What place are you thankful for?

And in other news, I'm so excited to share with you (probably next week) what new creative project I'm doing for my grandfather's 80th birthday bash this weekend! As I've said before, I'm not the most crafty person, but when I immerse myself in something and really put my mind to it, I can do it... at least in my own little way!! Stay tuned :)

See you at the corner,
Krista

DC Ladies Thankful Project Day 1

"Intentionally cultivating n attitude of gratitude will change your life"
DC Ladies

While ideas for this blog aren’t few and far between - trust me, I’ve had ideas running through my head all day I can barely get them on paper - I wanted to be able to focus on certain things, besides just our house-building process and posting pictures of amazing food my husband (and I) make. So, I stumbled across this post from the DC Ladies blog about a thought-provoking blogging challenge for the Thanksgiving season. The Thankful Project is 17 days long, and encourages you to reflect on particular things (prompts) for which you're thankful. The first day’s prompt is: A Person.

As I write this, the very first person that comes to mind is my husband. I am ever so grateful for Mr. K since the very first day I met him back in February 2008. Since the day we got married, just shy of 6 months ago, I’m constantly reminded of the patience I’ve acquired, the love of learning and teaching others, and an even bigger motivation and inspiration to extend a helping hand to others.

I could say all of the cliche things, like I’m thankful to have him in my life as my best friend, my rock, my other half… but it’s much deeper than that. We have that sort of relationship that’s as close as you’ll ever get to someone. I’m open, I’m honest, I’m protective and cautious. I’m ambitious and hard-working all because of him. If only we could both become less of procrastinators then I’d be even more thankful! I’m thankful that he’s who he is, because God has accepted him as part of my life, and my family has welcomed him as one of their own, and for that, I’m the most thankful.

Honeymoon in Jamaica, May 2013

Follow the hashtag #TDCLarethankful to hear more stories and follow our 17 days of intentional gratitude and community. And be sure to check back throughout the month leading up to Thanksgiving to see what else we’re thankful for on the blog.

Is there someone you’re especially thankful for on this day? Comment and share a special story you have this Thanksgiving season!

See you at the corner,

Krista

My First Post Here - Welcome!

Thanks for visiting! There are so many reasons why I've decided to start this blog - but let me start from the beginning...

I'm a suburban girl at heart, moved to North Carolina to go to college, met my college sweetheart during my second semester Junior year, Mr. K we'll call him. He got a job in DC which was so convenient for our relationship considering we'd only known each other for a few months before he graduated (*dating an older man, you know it). I moved back home after college, we continued dating, yada yada. We got engaged in April 2012, got hitched May 2013.

We moved into the city together after getting married and are having an absolute blast, but we're ready to settle down..in the 'burbs. Now THAT is where this blog really got started! We're building a house, and learning what it's like to cohabitate, manage money, wine and dine on a budget, and design what's sure to be our dream home. Since we've been in the midst of this project for a little over a month now, there's a lot of catching up to do (sort of, because at this point on Monday, Nov. 11, there has been no movement on our lot).

So stay tuned for some design tips from a not-so-creative person, but lover of Pinterest, and determined to do more DIY projects in the house. A gal who likes to cook, but enjoys watching her husband do it more. A frugal person and a couple on a newly established, fairly strict budget. Trying to balance having fun with friends and family, and saving money for our family and life together. This is going to be so fun!!

See you at the corner,
Krista