1 week to go!

House update for everyone...we stopped by yesterday to check out the status and have some great pics to share. Also, today is Sunday....so why am I saying 1 week to go? Because we are getting the moving truck on Sunday, 12/21. Yes, we will be done on 12/19 as promised but we wanted Saturday to make car trips and get ourselves organized. Oh, and we passed all of our last inspections and have received our Certificate of Occupancy from the county. Here are some current shots...

The hardwoods got their last coat of stain and poly. Here they are drying...

The mantel has been built and installed and the built-ins are almost done...

The rest of the appliances were installed...

Medicine cabinets have been stained and mirrors have been installed...

And the brick carriage strip is done and drying...

It's almost ready!

...and Azriel and Jack are psyched!

Walk through and the punch list

This Friday Mike and I are going to meet with the builder to walk through the house and create a punch list. This means….drum roll please....the house is almost done! They will take the punch list and wrap things up, and as promised 28 weeks ago, we will get our keys and move in by 12/19. To look back on it all, it’s crazy that the end is almost here. Time really has flown by. We’re, of course, glad that our stint with apartment living is almost over. We will not miss the madness that lives next door or upstairs. We won’t miss the neighborhood teenagers sitting on my car. Or the kids on skateboards who NEVER get out of the way of moving vehicles. We also won’t miss the woman who seems to think that Jack is going to attack her and eat her dog. Soon enough we can forget about our time spent at The Retreat and the many loads of laundry we’ve done in the community laundromat, as well as my 7 minute commute. (now I really “get it” why people live close to work). And for the better or worse, our grocery store options will quickly be narrowed to 2 within 5 miles vs. 7 (you have to love the suburbs). But beyond our cool new house being built, much has happened while we’ve been gone. We now have our very own Trader Joes in the neighborhood, which I will say is a super improvement to the zip code. Oh a West Elm moved in too. Thanks to a really crummy economy, Mike and I locked in a great interest rate. Gas prices have dropped so my old/new again 25 minute commute won’t be so hard on the pocket book. And the county has decided to forego home appraisals for another year, which is even better on the pocket book!

Updates on the house

Here are some updated pics of the house...

The front porch railing is up and will be painted to match the trim.

House numbers are up...

Brackets under the bar have been made and installed. They'll be painted this week...

Hardwoods have been stained and poly-ed. They will be sanded again and one more coat of each will happen this week...

Carpet has been installed in the bedrooms... Masterbath shower glass has been installed...

And the kitchen hardware is in...