Pre-Settlement Walk-Through: Check!

On Friday we went out to the house for our pre-settlement walk-through! We took the metro out and my grandmother/Realtor picked us up and we drove out to the house in the rain. Our great family friend, a business owner and architect, met us at the house to check it out with us. We're so grateful as he asked so many great questions that we would never have thought to ask. But the answers made us feel comfortable and knowledgeable too. Through Paul's questions and the information we received from Russel, our point person during the walk-through, we learned a lot about our house - where the different valves are for hot water, the furnace, what the switches, levers and other "stuff" is in the furnace room. During our walk-through Russel informed us of random things, and we kept saying "please tell us more stuff like this! We want to know." We know that we'll be finding out more about our house, the ins and outs, what to do/not to do on our own but it never hurts to get insider knowledge from the company itself.

Fireplace in our Living Room!
The only photo I took (and sorry it's from my phone)

We didn't quite know what to expect when we walked into the open front door (literally) of our house on Friday. There were no coverings on the floors, no tape on the appliances, the walls had been painted... this was our house. The house that we will be living in a week from that day. It was such a great feeling. It also helped put a very "homey" feeling to it when we walked into the living room and the fireplace had been turned on. The whole house was warm and it just felt cozy. I really felt at home already. I knew that feeling wouldn't last though as we started dotting the walls, baseboards, door frames, all in blue tape. We walked around and were told that any nicks in the walls, marks on the walls, paint on the floor, anything we saw wrong, mark right next to it with a piece of blue tape. And let me tell you, we marked up that house! We realized that we were just passing over things because both Mr. K and I were worried about being "too picky" but Russel reassured us time and time again, "we're here, and if you see it, mark it. They'll fix it." Russel marked things as well which was great.

There weren't any huge things except for the front door frame inside. It was way off so we're hoping that ripping down the dry wall and reframing it won't push our settlement time back. Drywall company comes today, painters tomorrow, so I'm hoping all can get finished by Friday morning. Also, we were informed that the kitchen cabinet hardware was actually the wrong ones but they wanted to put them in there anyways because the new/actual hardware wouldn't be in until Thursday, installed Friday morning (probably as we're doing our re-walk before settlement). It's funny because I didn't notice that they were the wrong ones (they had been installed when we saw the house a couple weeks ago). But when Russel told us, I immediately remembered what they were supposed to be, and I got even more excited! I think they're supposed to be a brushed bronze instead of straight silver.

I hope to get some answers today regarding what happens if they can't finish everything (aka the front door), will that push us back, will they just finish after we move in, etc. We have a good number of things to figure out this week, a lot of calls to make to ensure that our electricity and utilities are transferred, that Verizon Fios remains on our good list and doesn't charge us the higher rate to just transfer our plan to the house, order our trash & recycling bins, order washer and dryer (top loaders! That's for another post), new mattress (Tempurpedic), check in with the moving company to find out if we need any additional materials if it rains; especially to protect our floors and carpets.

We're so close to settlement and we're getting so excited! Our apartment definitely looks like SOMETHING is happening because it is a downright mess of boxes, newspapers, and just littered with stuff! Speaking of, we're trying to sell our dining room table & chairs, as well as our TV entertainment system. I've linked to the Craigslist add for both of them. Message me, email, comment if you're interested!

We Were Locked Out!

This past weekend was (edit: supposed to be) our last weekend spent together in the city. It's funny because I say this like we're moving so far away. We're not, it's just going to be a big change. This coming weekend I was going to go to NYC with my mom and her friend, and meet  her daughter in the city for a ladies' weekend. Edit: we're not anymore because who likes to spend a lot of money and visit NYC when it's 60%+ chance of rain, 50 degrees and windy all weekend? Not conducive to shopping and walking around beautiful Central Park, so we're rescheduling. We were all really looking forward to this getaway, so we're hoping we can find a common weekend between now and the end of June! Fingers crossed!

Back to what I was saying though... While we were hanging out at the apartment last Saturday & Sunday, it hit me that this was our last Saturday just laying our in this little apartment. The next time we're just "laying around" is going to be in a house with probably lots of other things to do - unpacking, organizing, making countless trips to Home Depot (good thing it's only about a 7 minute drive!) and getting settled into this new suburban lifestyle. I'll finally be getting my car back full-time and can't wait! The suburban blood in me is really starting to stir, and I'm getting super excited. My mom has been driving my car for awhile since it's been sitting at the house for the past year, and she got a new car this weekend, a pretty sweet Honda CRV, right in time for her "lease" to be up on my car (aka she had to find something before we moved out to the 'burbs because I'll need it back)! So many exciting changes happening for everyone.

So back to the house...
We went out to the house on Saturday. Did the same thing we did the weekend before, rode the metro out to where my parents had left Mr. K's car (his has been sitting at my parents' house too for the last couple of years because there was no way we were going to pay $200/mo. to park in our building and quite frankly he just hasn't needed it). Construction on the lot was pretty quite on Saturday. There was no one working on our block (there are 4 houses on our side of the block, 4 on the other). It's probably because all of the houses are just about to settlement time, so there's really not much to be done. We parked in the back of the house, entered through the garage door which was open like usual... locked. The house itself was locked. I was nervous this would happen (don't tell Mr. K) and had a slight feeling this would be the case when we drove up and saw only one pick-up truck in the back of our block. So, we went over to the model to talk to the new project manager. Our last project manager, Keith, had construction keys which allowed us to go into different style houses as they were being built to see how what some of the options were, etc. However, the new project manager said the superintendent is no longer giving them construction keys. Probably a liability. Understood.

So in our conversation with her, I said "well, that's alright. Our pre-settlement walk-thru is this Friday so we'll see it finished soon enough!" And she said, which was funny, "OH! If I had known that I wouldn't have given you the keys anyways. You can just hold your breath and see the finished product then!" It's true. We saw it almost complete a couple weeks ago, and it will be the greatest feeling when we see it on Friday. I didn't even peak inside so I have no idea what it all looks like. From the outside, we know that the sod still needs to be put down (we did see some bushes planted in the back!), the railings leading up to the front door need to be painted (they were primed a silver color this weekend, not my taste). But that's all we could tell from not peaking inside.

We are so excited for tomorrow! In the meantime, I've been busting my butt the last few days packing. There are a large amount of boxes already filled, and it's crazy to think that there's still so much to be done. I've taken care of some of the kitchen, the bathroom closet (to a certain extent, still have to leave some stuff in there), part of the utility closet which I'll finish up tonight and tomorrow. The bookshelves are empty. My bedside table is empty. Bookcases are cleaned. But there's still a lot to do! The last time we moved, we ordered this great moving kit from Amazon, Duck Brand Moving Kit.

Duck Brand Moving Kit

It comes with 12 boxes of different sizes, 1 roll of HD clear packing tape, and 4 rolls of bubble wrap. At a cost of $39.97 you're really just paying for convenience at this point because it all comes in one huge box, but it's honestly well worth it. We ordered it again and it came in yesterday! I was way too excited to see it sitting in the living room when I got home last night.

Tonight brings more packing, but it honestly feels a little better knowing that I can pack throughout the weekend now that I'm not going to NYC.

Can't wait to give more updates after our pre-settlement meeting tomorrow morning! Please cross your fingers that all goes well and that there aren't too many things to fix!

Hunting for a New Mattress

So, with a new house comes a new bed, right? Well, maybe not in all cases but in ours, it's a must. Mr. K (we, collectively made the decision) bought a new (used from Craigslist. Funny story though, it was a friend of mine who was selling it) bed when we moved into his last apartment, his "bachelor pad." His previous mattress was a bit old and it was seriously dipping in the middle. At first, this new bed/mattress was doing its job. It was a $225 frame and Ikea mattress that had two storage drawers on each side. It was genius since he was moving into a much smaller place. Since we bought it (we will have had it for two years this June I guess), we've had a 3" memory topper which we got rid of because it was too much and it was seriously uncomfortable. We now have an egg crate-type topper because the comfy mattress pad we had before wasn't enough. So we have both on the mattress and it's seriously messing with not only our backs and necks, but our sleep patterns as well. Mr. K has always had back issues so it's not helping that; I've never had issues but since moving in with each other and sleeping on the bed every night, I've had more neck and back pain than I've ever had before. The mattress doesn't even have coils. It's on slats, and we haven't found that adjusting the slats make ANY difference whatsoever. We're not saying this is a bad buy,  it's just not something we can live with for another long while.

Ikea Bed: Looks like our bed, note the two storage boxes on each side. They are a lifesaver in small apartments!

After our visit to the house last Saturday (this past weekend's visit is a story for another post..), we went to a few furniture stores to check out couches for the basement and other items (for future purchase, we're being good!). When we got to one store, we went upstairs and they had mattresses, so we had to check those out. We laid on quite a lot of them and then came back around to the Tempurpedic section. Mr. K loves the Tempurpedic options because they're the best for his back. I on the other hand am not a huge fan of them, I guess because I'm used to regular, individual coil mattresses, and we laid on a few awesome ones! I will say though, that I laid on a certain Tempurpedic mattress for about 10 minutes and felt great after getting up even after a few minutes on it. I think I'm turning the corner, but I just don't know if I can commit without learning more about them both and trying them out for longer. (In the end, I have a feeling we'll end up with a Tempurpedic, but I at least have to do my research and compare!)

Tempurpedic Cloud Supreme

The other mattresses we liked were one from Sterns & Foster and another from Posturpedic. The Posturpedic mattress had more of a pillow top which I loved, but probably because it's just so flippin' soft and comfy! But my question is, is it durable overtime like the memory foam would be? I've read it can get too soft, and it might not be as good for Mr. K's back as we're hoping in the future.

Cameron Springs

The Sterns & Foster mattresses we liked were wonderful and comfortable also. I think it comes down to durability and comfort for both of us. I've heard so many people say that some of the best sleeps they've had have been on Tempurpedic mattresses, and as I sit here with a pain in my neck and upper back, I'm likely to feel the same way. Mr. K is a back-sleeper, while I'm more of a side and stomach sleeper. I used to always fall asleep on my stomach until this bed just got way too uncomfortable. How bad is it that I can't even stay on my stomach for more than 10 minutes without having to move and feeling sore just after that short time. UGH! These next two weeks are going to be so long while we wait to order a bed for the next house.

Let me know what your thoughts are... if you weren't a Tempurpedic fan but you have one now, are you happy? Do you not have one and wish you did? Do you hate it? Let me know!!

Less than 3 Weeks Til Close! Sneak Peeks!

Oh my gosh... I was speechless walking into our house this past weekend. On Saturday we took the metro out to the 'burbs, picked up the car that my parents so graciously dropped off at a metro for us, picked up a couple Venti Starbucks drinks (Mocha Frapp Lite and a iced chai latte, lite ice) and drove out to the house. We had a tape measure in hand, knowing it was going to be a long day of measuring and looking for furniture (hence the venti coffees). Exactly 3 weeks from this past Saturday, we'll be homeowners, having spent our first night in the house! So crazy to think that. Even crazier thinking that and simultaneously looking around the apartment and realizing we do not look like we're leaving in 3 weeks... more on packing later. Let's get to the fun stuff!

We walked in from the garage, as always, and saw the cardboard coverings on the floors so we just knew they were protecting something...!! Our hardwood floors are in, and we are absolutely in love! Of course we picked up a piece of the cardboard upstairs and looked at the floors, and they're just beautiful. It's hard not to fall in love with everything Instead of starting in the kitchen today though, I wanted to give a tour from the front of the house which I've never done.

Right: Study

Left: Dining Room
That chair rail I told you about last post... Love!

Straight Ahead: Great/Living Room

Powder Room

Love how the mantel and fireplace turned out
Above the mantel is the pre-wire for the TV

Just a sneak peek of the kitchen :) 

I can't wait to share more about our appliances once they're all installed. The refrigerator itself is pretty darn sweet. Now, we didn't pick out the appliances ourselves, they were part of the "Chef's Package" we opted for, which included the 6 burner stove, the hood you see in the picture, and the upgraded appliances. Say you're making dinner and you need 1 3/4 cup of water. Choose that measurement on the touch screen on the front of the fridge, and out comes 1 3/4 cup water. Do you need it warm? It can do that too. Fill up a water bottle without you telling it to? Sure. Want to display cute pictures of your dog as the screen saver? Plug in a USB and upload those pictures to the fridge. Not even kidding. 

Anyways, we then went downstairs and it looks great. OH, I forgot to say that all the power was on, as you might have seen so far in some pictures with the lights on. So we got to step inside the bathrooms and see what they really looked like without using the flashlight app on my phone. And we turned on the recessed lights in the basement, too and were able to see what it was going to look like.

The whole basement will be carpeted

 So you see the window well in the second picture, but none on the other side of the room in the first picture. To add one more window well was going to be $2k. And we had the option to add two of them to the other side. In hindsight, we both said out loud that we wished we had at least one more, but we decided to prioritize other things in the house instead. At least we have one, and it was going to give us that basement feel which we were expecting. It's going to be our lounge-area and movie/show-watching room (cause that's all we're going to be able to afford after all this is said and done!!!) so it's a good thing we have a good space to do that in. We have plenty of natural light upstairs too, so that really makes it all okay for us.

So this is one of the unfinished rooms that will, if we decide down the road, be a bedroom. We had the window well added in case we decided to convert it, because it wouldn't be considered a bedroom if it didn't have that window, and it would be super expensive to add after the fact. We think this is what it will look like when all the construction is said and done. If I turn to my left, there's another room just like this without the window that will be storage. In between those two rooms is a roughed-in bathroom that you've seen in a previous post. Someday we'll finish that bathroom but it's definitely not in our five year plan.

Now to take us back upstairs to the bedroom level... the biggest change from last time was probably being able to see the vanities uncovered and how all the colors are coming together; also, the shelving systems in the closet. Now, to pick which one will be mine!!

Hall Bathroom

Sneak Peek :) 

 

Closet #1: More shallow with shelves on all sides 

Closet #2: Deeper 

So excited to move :) 

Fat Tuesday Tradition

I'm a bit late on this post, but I had other ones I wanted to put before it. Fat Tuesday in my house growing up was always about indulging in a great dinner, usually comprising of pancakes, bacon, eggs...breakfast. This is Mardi Gras, always falling the night before Ash Wednesday. We've always cooked this meal, so I decided to bring it into Mr. K and my house this year. I had even gone to the store on the way home from work last Tuesday and gotten fixings for enchiladas because Mr. K had made his infamous salsa (don't worry, I'll post about that very soon). Then I remembered it was Fat Tuesday and there was no way I was making enchiladas. Breakfast it was.

Since Mr. K is from North Carolina, we decided to put our own twist to my idea of pancakes and bacon. So, in comes friend chicken and pancakes. It was delicious! We had a few chicken breasts we needed to cook, so it worked out great. I looked at recipes to get a feel for what we needed to put into the batter, and then I took it from there and added in our own spices. For the pancakes, I've been making my own for a few months now after I went to cook one Saturday morning and realized there wasn't enough Bisquick. I love my homemade ones even more.

For the recipes I look at, I rarely use the suggested "4 chicken breasts" because sometimes I only need to cook one because the packs we get at Harris Teeter or Safeway are so big! I just butterfly one chicken breast and we have a decent serving for each of us. So, when I recommend a recipe, or make my own, I'll also just write it as it fits for two people. I think that's important.

Fried Chicken:
(I adapted a few recipes into my own for lack of ingredients, and/or because I didn't like them!)

1-2 chicken breasts
1 1/2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp Old Bay (I add this to anything I can, so this is optional for you)
1 tsp Thyme
1 tsp cayenne (I added this for a little spice for the breading, optional if you don't want much heat)
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp Tony's Creole (again, adding a little heat/flare to the breading)
1 tsp marjoram
1 tsp salt
3 Tb Vegetable Oil

Ingredients

1. Cut up chicken breasts into cubes, strips, or two halves - however you like your fried chicken (I cut ours up into strips)
2. Soak chicken in milk for 15-20 minutes or until you mix all other ingredients and heat your pan to fry the chicken
3. Heat pan over medium-high; add olive oil once hot enough
4. Meanwhile mix all dry ingredients in a medium bowl

4. Take chicken out of milk and toss them in the dry ingredients. Be sure to cover them well! 

5. Put strips into hot pan in oil (we don't deep fry, or add in enough oil to submerge our chicken strips, but that's our decision. Feel free to add in enough to submerge the strips in the pan) 

6. Cook until darker and crispy, 3-4 minutes on each side. *when you're frying chicken, it cooks a lot faster (thanks to Mr. K giving me this little tip). Another tip when you're frying, make sure the pan isn't TOO hot because you'll burn the outside faster than it will cook inside, but too low heat won't make it crispy. It took me 2 batches to figure out what worked best. 

My first attempt, wasn't that crispy, but we adjusted the heat (hotter) and put them back in there and they were great

So, here is when you'll have to multitask and make the pancakes:

Pancakes: 

1 egg

1 cup flour

3/4 cup milk

1 tb sugar

3 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla (I love adding vanilla to my pancakes, I think it's essential)

1 tsp cinnamon *optional (again, I love adding cinnamon to my pancakes)

2 tb oil 

I like to multi-task so I heat griddle low-medium while mixing ingredients 

1. Mix dry ingredients, then add in wet ingredients; whisk all together

2. Pour batter onto griddle 

3. Cook until golden brown, flip, about 3 minutes each side 

I forgot to add in the most important ingredient of cooking...

Wine!

I love to smother my pancakes in butter and then add syrup to cover it! These chicken and waffles were just what we needed for this Fat Tuesday meal. What are your Fat Tuesday dinner traditions?! 

Finished product: Fried Chicken & Waffles, DC style! 

Lenten Promises

So, I began this post last Wednesday but I never got around to posting it. So if it sounds a little off in terms of context and tense, that's why. I didn't feel like going through it all again because I knew exactly what I wanted to add before I posted it today.

"Lent is the opportunity to change what we ought to change but have not...Lent is about becoming, doing and changing whatever it is that is blocking the fullness of life in us right now...Lent is a summons to live anew...Lent is the time to let life in again, to rebuild the worlds we've allowed to go sterile, to "fast and weep and mourn" for the goods we've foregone. If our own lives are not to die from lack of nourishment, we must sacrifice the pride or the sloth or the listlessness that blocks us from beginning again. then, as Joel (2:12-18) promised, God will have pity on us and pour into our hearts the life we know down deep that we are lacking"

-Sister Joan Chittister

Lent began last week, and as a follower of Christ, the next 40 days are very important to me (but no, I won't be writing posts about it every week, as I want to stay true to the purpose of this blog, and I don't want to single out or keep people from returning). There are so many great things happening already over this period before Easter, and Lent just ads to the greatness of it all. There is so much to reflect on as we prepare for the resurrection of Jesus Christ. When I was a child, I "gave up" the usual stuff - candy, sweets, soda, etc. As I've grown older, some of that sacrificing has gone by the wayside, and I have focused more on making myself a better image of the Lord in certain ways. This year, I have a couple of things on my mind - I'd give up "snacking" but truthfully, Mr. K and I don't have much in the way of unhealthy snacks in the house anyways. We try to keep bananas, clementines, apples, avocados on hand instead, and it's worked pretty well.

The one big thing I find myself constantly doing is checking my phone, namely Facebook, if Mr. K goes out of the room, or if we're just watching shows. Sometimes when I'm laying in bed waking up, I'll grab my phone, check my email, then Facebook just to avoid getting out from underneath the covers! I think it's actually become a habit, and I don't like that. I love conversations, deep, great discussions, especially with my husband, and I don't like outside distractions when they're not needed. Enter: Facebook. I've done it before, and I plan to do it again starting tomorrow - Facebook is being deleted from my phone so as not not have those distractions during my  night. I plan to pick up my REAL alarm clock from my parents' house to put on my bedside table to use instead of the alarm on my phone. Cell phone stays in the kitchen/living room until the next morning. No more distractions, no more delayed bedtimes because I'm checking Instagram, and no more of Mr. K saying things like "how are your stats?" when he thinks I'm on Facebook.

I must sound like a high school teen, but really I believe that this is the way things are nowadays. We always feel the need to check up on what's going on, we never want to be late finding out that someone is engaged, or seeing what funny quiz someone posted results too. Believe me, I'm  not criticizing anyone else who does this, I just want to put it behind me. I honestly hate technology sometimes and wish that people didn't always expect me to have my phone right next to me 24/7 and respond to their text within 15 minutes. I cannot wait to start this Lenten period so I can focus more on myself, my husband, my spiritual studies and promises that I made to myself at the beginning of this year.

Another thing I'm doing for Lent is sticking to an exercise schedule and goal. The reason behind this is that I keep starting a plan, usually a 30 day squat or arm challenge, and I do really well for the first week and then life gets busy, I go out of town or the weekends come and then I get out of my routine and easily forget about it and find other things to do (like binge watch episodes of Blacklist). This Lenten promise helps me become a better person for a couple of reasons - it's important to stick to goals and it's important to keep a promise - to yourself, to your friends, and to God. I find that when I commit myself to working out, I have more energy, I'm a more positive person and I believe that carries over into all aspects of my life. I'm motivated and inspired to keep up with my plan of reading the Bible in a year. All of these things go hand-in-hand, at least for me, personally, so I feel that starting with something that I can physically challenge myself with every day is a good start to getting back on the path of becoming myself, and therefore a better person devoted to God. For instance, yesterday when I started a few 30 day challenges (squats, glutes, arms and abs), I ended up being so motivated that I cleaned the entire apartment and organized, something I've been putting off because I've been too lazy, too tired, to unmotivated. I finally did it, and it felt great. It keeps me from procrastinating, and therefore helps me reach a goal that's been impossible for years: stop procrastinating!!! I love how events, routines, challenges and attitudes in life are so intertwined, and this is one way to show how much they're intertwined in my life.

Those are my Lenten promises, among other, more personal ones. I hope you've found what motivates you to do all good things and to excel in the person that you want to become.

30 DAY COUNTDOWN!!

This past weekend we made a visit out to the 'burbs to celebrate my dad's birthday, and we went by the house since we hadn't seen it in two weeks. It's amazing the progress in two weeks, at least in our eyes.*(see edit at the end of the post) We walked over to the model to meet our new project/sales manager but unfortunately she was with another (buying) customer, so we had to table that meeting. You see, when I was out at the house for the pre-drywall meeting in early February, our sales manager told me he'd be leaving the community and heading to another one in VA with about 100 more homes. Huge promotion for him, so congrats, Keith! We were a bit bummed to learn that, selfishly, as we've really established a great working relationship with him and we've enjoyed working with him. He knew us, our home, how we worked, etc. At least the majority of the big decisions (all of them, really) are out of the way and fingers crossed it's smooth sailing from here on out.

We were absolutely overjoyed when we first walked up to the house to see it completely covered in siding, our front steps are in and the railings are even up! Upon walking in through the garage, and just seeing through a crack, a resemblance of actual walls was the best feeling! After walking in from the garage, we immediately see the island (no counter top, of course), and all of our kitchen cabinets in! I am in love with the cabinets!! They look so great, we couldn't be happier. I just can't wait to see them with the handles we picked out.

We walked through the first floor, went down to the basement and then up two floors to the top level with the bedrooms and laundry room! What I don't have a picture of is the dining room in which I'm love with the chair rail that I asked for! Really, I'm pretty sure it was only $20 to put it in, so it was a no-brainer! It looks great and adds character already.

Another thing I remember mentioning in the previous pre-drywall post is something that we had not opted to get in the beginning, but ended up getting plumbing done for accidentally: a utility sink in the laundry room. So, when I walked through for the pre-drywall meeting, we walked into the laundry room and Keith said "did you guys get a utility sink?" I said..."I don't think so" as he's looking through our paperwork, and he then said "nope, you didn't, but looks like you  have one now." There was plumbing for the sink. Then, when we walked through this weekend, there was no plumbing sticking out of the wall, or any opening for the potential plumbing of the sink. But, as my dad says, there WAS plumbing there for it, so it still should be there behind the wall. So if we wanted a sink down the road (which I do after reading so many awesome things about them), we could probably put it in. You never know though, it could still show up by the time we move in, we don't know. Anyways, things like that sometimes happen in your favor, and then other times it goes the opposite way, you don't get what you had paid for. Luckily that didn't happen for us. Knock on wood.

Let's get to the pictures, the fun stuff, shall we? And then an update we're so excited to share!

I'll start with the main level:

View of Kitchen from Stairs

View of Great Room/Backyard from Stairs
Breakfast Nook to the left of the sliding doors

View of Dining Room (you can see the chair rail!) from the stairs
Powder room is right in front of me
Front Door to the Left of the Dining Room

Kitchen from Great Room
Don't know why it's slanted... sorry!

We love the wall of cabinets!

View from Garage Entrance through to the dining room
Past the butler's pantry

Fireplace from Kitchen

Upstairs Level (4 bedrooms, two bathrooms):

Entrance to Master Bedroom
(hall bathroom to the right)

Master Bedroom
Love the windows!! 

Master Bedroom
(Door on the left into bathroom
Right door is one of two walk-in closets)

Master Bathroom
(So happy already with our choice of tiles!) 

View to the hallway from master bedroom
(stairs to the left)

Hall Bathroom

One of three bedrooms upstairs
(Again, we love the all the windows!)

 Basement:

Stairs going down to the basement

View from the stairs to the right
(to the left are the two unfinished rooms and roughed-in bathroom

Outside Views:

In the kitchen, on our way back out

Garage Entrance

Steps down into the garage

Garage

View from the Back driveway

Our Home! 

Edited on Wednesday 3/5: We received a call from our previous sales manager last night with our FINAL dates! We thought we'd be settling on April 17th, with a final walk through on the 11th. Well, looks like they've made up time from the snow, and more, and we'll be having our walk-thru on 3/28, re-walk the morning of 4/4 and closing later on 4/4! We can't even believe it. We're so excited to be moving into our home in 30 days from now! Seriously, it's like a dream. And I'm sure I'll say that 30 more times between now and then, and after that too.

So yes, we still have our apartment until April 19th, there's nothing we can do about that, but no other time in our life will we be able to say, "yeah, we have a city apartment and a country house," haha but at least we'll be able to take our time moving in and getting settled. Plus, if there's a Nationals game that we want to go to and it ends late, we can always juts keep an air mattress at the apartment and crash there! Who doesn't like empty house parties!!?

Looks like we better start packing... starting to collect newspapers and boxes!