Eggs Over Easy: One Year Ago & Downstairs House Tour

I seem to have been a bit MIA from the blog world for a few weeks. My apologies! Life has been a bit busy and there has not been much to blog about. However, today I decided to do a little flashback to one year ago at this time.

Last year at this time we were making some pretty huge decisions. At the time we owned two homes. Yes, two. We each owned a home prior to dating/getting married. We eventually moved into Matt's townhouse because it was new and bigger and we turned my duplex house into a rental property. Last summer Matt went to the gym and saw a former student/player whose father is a well known local builder. He mentioned that he had a designed a home and they had just started putting up the frame. We decided to drive by and take a look. I immediately fell in love. Not only was this the type of house I always dreamed of owning, but the location was on that could not be beat. So, I made Matt call and get a price and additional information immediately. I mean immediately!

We were far from ready to buy our "forever home", but we decided to talk to our realtor anyway. Fast forward one month. We are now married, have two homes on the market, and have a contingency contract on our forever home. Were we crazy? Without a doubt. We decided to put both homes on the market in hopes that one would sell and our tenants would live in the other. At the time, where we live the market was more of a buyers market than a sellers market. And a townhouse on our street had just gone under short sale. We had tons of showings at the townhouse we lived in and a few at the rental (which is what we expected and wanted), but no bites. Our contingency contract was good until December 31, 2012.. so we had to do something by that point because there was no way we could afford three mortgages, even with two of them being rental properties.

Right around this time a year ago (after being on the market for six full months) we had a showing at the townhouse that resulted in a second showing. And then a third with additional family members. And finally.. an offer! We were lucky enough to get our asking price and only had to pay a portion of the closing costs. (We were desperate at this point.) That meant we could close on the new house AND the old house by the end of the year.. a huge weight lifted off of our shoulders.

Our closing date for the new house was set for November 18th--three days before Thanksgiving! We were lucky enough to have a good enough relationship with the builder that he allowed us to take over the utilities a week ahead of time and move things in the weekend before the holiday. That was huge -- especially since basketball season had just started and Matt's availability was slim to none. My family spent Thanksgiving at our house. They helped us move, unpack, decorate, and even made Thanksgiving dinner.

We have come a long way in a year. The entire downstairs is done--for now. I'm sure I will eventually want to repaint some things and I definitely want to add a backsplash to the kitchen. We added a patio off of the back door and a fire pit in the back yard. We planted a lonely shrub that is surrounded by flowers in the spring and summer.

The upstairs is a work in progress for many reasons. Our bedroom is mostly done.. we still need a few things on the walls. Our master bath and closet are done. We have a guest room that is fully furnished, but I would like to paint one feature wall in the room. Our second bath is done, but needs some wall decor. And finally, we have two empty bedrooms that are just waiting to be filled!

We have hopes of finishing half of the basement in the future.. but that is in the distant future. For now, we couldn't be happier with our forever home and the progress we have made! Even though we bought it brand new, there were still things we wanted to accomplish to make it "ours". The dogs especially love the 3.5 acres they have to roam and the constant wildlife they get to bark at and chase! (We have deer, squirrels, rabbits, groundhogs a plenty, and so much more on a daily basis!)

Here is a tour of our downstairs! I promise, the upstairs will follow soon!

The lighting is bad, but this is our dining room. The table was my Grandmothers. I am so glad I get to have a piece of her in our home.

Another view of the dining room. I upholstered the chairs last summer. The painting was done by a friend who is an artist.

Last view of the dining room. This includes Rooney's "house", one of my favorite wedding pictures, and a print from my Grandma.

The current look of the front of our house. I did cut off the garage. Happy Fall!

He lonely shrub. He has doubled in size since May!

Hydrangea.. my Grandma's favorite!

Our kitchen. Not huge, but big enough.

We have an open concept floor plan. The kitchen opens right up into the family room.

Another view of our family room. It is literally half of our first floor.

The final view of the family room. We are in love with this sectional. However, we have to keep it covered with dog blankets 99% of the time. They destroy everything!

Just the boring old hallway spruced up with some wedding pictures.

Part of the powder room. I think I'd like to change this color eventually as well.

Love the pedestal sink.

The rear view of our house. A good friend does pavers and stamp concrete and we couldn't be happier with the pavers, design, and look we chose! Thanks, Tony! Stacy.. we are good bosses.