-house hunting (exciting!)
-house hunting (not so exciting!)
-HGTV on hulu (awesome!)
-house hunting (mneh.)
-hating house hunting (ugh.)
-being sick (insert phlegmy cough here.)
-freaking out about getting our taxes done (eek.)
-getting our taxes done, and having it be NO BIG DEAL. (hooray!!)
-KC Modern Quilt Guild (awesome awesome AWESOME!!)
The sewing machine has not gone unused during this time, but the camera used to document sewn-items has. The weather here has been a mix of really miserable and stunningly beautiful. Today was the latter, and Brian came home early, so we dog-parked it up, and now I am listening to Jeopardy from the next room. Folks, Jeopardy should be ashamed of itself. A category called "drinking games"? Whatever, but it doesn't even make SENSE, and it's really EASY, and Jeopardy is just not what it used to be. Thats my old lady PSA of the day. Tomorrow, I will do how no one writes letters anymore. (Not really. But they don't!)I was a giant dork and went to Target on 8 am the day that the Liberty line came out, only to find that the two stores I went to hardly had anything put up yet, but several others in the area had put theirs out on SATURDAY! I had to really hold myself back, but I ended up getting a tray, one of the pillows, a notebook set, and then today I went back for a dress. I wasn't crazy about the women's dresses, but I read online that the girls' clothes were better made and that the XL sizes were decently sized- it's so true! I got a really lovely cotton dress for less than $17! Triumph!
I have always had this really romantic idea of what house hunting would be like, created by HGTV and looking at houses on the internet. Fun! I thought. Exciting! I exclaimed. Guess what? It is soul-killing. And EVERYONE I have talked to says the same! It turns out, everything you love online has a bad roof, or a crumbling foundation, or a wet basement, or windows that need replacing, or a rotted deck, or a neighbor with a crumbling house and a mean dog. Or, you see a really fabulous house, and then, wait a minute.... it is $10,000 more than you wanted to pay. Fab. Great. Delightful. SO, I am BURSTING with ideas about how I am going to decorate our fictional future home, but no idea if we will ever find it. Is there a house fairy? What do I need to put under my pillow? Come on, people, tell me the secrets.
20 comments:
We're househunting, too. Exciting and Blech. We are SO done.
I feel I must tell you that it's still March - so house hunting and taxes must really be getting you down! Love seeing the quilting you do - specifically the machine stichery!
I hated house hunting so much. We literally looked at at least 50 houses in person. Our agent was horrible. We bid on and lost three houses before we ended up with ours (which turned out to be absolutely perfect). Hang in there.
House hunting is no fun. We have only bought one house in our 35 1/2 years of marriage and it was in a housing slump. People had prices too high and the value wasn't there and they refused to believe it. I hope you have a good agent and that you find what you want soon. Please don't forget the home inspection and a real estate lawyer for you not your agent. Our lawyer was a friend and free, but he saved us money that the agency wouldn't ahve because it was their mistake. I am glad that the attorney caught the error because we didn't. take heart that the right house is out ther and that you will find it soon.
Oh, wow. It IS March. Where is my head? Thanks, Beth!
I love the quilting design you did. I may have to steal it :)
wanna live near St Louis? real near? I'll sell you my house..
See LOTS of houses. It took us six months of Sundays to find our current home. And every house has its issues, particularly if you are looking at anything that isn't brand-new. Those issues usually aren't insurmountable though. You just have to budget for that stuff. And $10,000 over budget? Make them an offer -- I bet they'd take it. Good luck!
6005 Buena Vista St.
Fairway KS 66205
http://www.reeceandnichols.com/KS/Fairway/66205/homes-for-sale/6005-Buena-Vista-Street-43794703
:)
My month has gone almost exactly like yours!
We've been house hunting since the beginning of the year (no luck yet). My taxes are still not done. I've got a binder started of all sorts of decorating ideas I've been keeping thinking we'd be moving into a fabulous new place any day now. And the KC Modern Quilt Guild is awesome.
After 20 years in the same house...what I would do differently:
- laundry room near bedrooms
- exterior door near a bathroom (kids track crud into a house!)
- Really DO what you think about at the viewing BEFORE you actually move in. I still don't have that shed replaced.
- Budget some $$$ every month for improvements and fixes. If you don't use it this month, it can go to that new fence or new roof or new whatever.
:)
IF ONLY I had read this blog post YESTERDAY morning! Yesterday afternoon we were coming over to the mainland and my mom's all, Want to go to the States and check out the Liberty line at Target? And I did and we did and none of the dresses were kind to my body, but I didn't know about the juniors. Alas.
House hunting is so frustrating! There are just so many variables and what ifs and everything is up in the air until the closing is finished which is a very long time. Both times we went through house hunting were probably the most stressful (especially if you have different ideas about what you want) so I wish you the best and know that it will all work out in the end....then it is time for the fun part (well in my opinion in any case)!
Love that quilting. Would you share your technique?
Good luck with the house hunting. We had a terrible time on this last move too. Eventually it worked out. HGTV is not real life unfortunately.
House hunting is a drag. What I want seems to always come with a payment that is just a bit more than we are comfortable with. Oh yeah, then there are the taxes. We found a gorgous home that WAS in our price range only to find that the taxes in that neighborhood were so high that they knocked the house right out of our league. So we have stayed in the home we bought eight years ago and just keep updating it. I figure that just about the time that this one is perfect our dream house will come along and at that point I won't want to trade up payments or won't be able to get all we put into this one back! Happy househunting!
i'm jealous your taxes are done...we're working on ours...arrrrrg! all that time i could be sewing! hang in there on the houses...it'll find you!
Boo on house hunting! I'm dreading it too.
What you need to put under your pillow is an extra $10,000 to fix the leaky roof and crumbly foundation (avoid all nasty neighbors, they can't be fixed). We bought a fixer-upper 18 months ago that was at the lower end of our budget and then spent one year (and the rest of our $) making it livable. Now it's cozy, and I call it home. (helps to have quilts in each room.. they distract guests from seeing the crappy miniblinds left over from the old owners..) Good luck!
oh, and another thing i've learned: don't go to a quilt show with excellent vendors the day after you do your taxes. I almost spent my entire tax return on quilting stuff.
We just finished house hunting & ended up with our first house! :) So hang in there, it might take looking at a few (or much more) terrible ones before you find the absolute perfect one for you. But it is so worth it once you find that perfect one! :)
Chiming in here for the first time...found your blog from somewhere, I can't remember. First off, house hunting is the worst...so many hopes and dreams dashed to pieces when you see the crap out there.
Secondly on a much happier note: Love the quilting!!
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