Weekend Warriors!

We've stayed busy this weekend and gotten a lot done! We are done painting! Woo Hoo! (Except for maybe brightening up some trim.) We just have some final cleaning and straightening and a few more pictures to hang and we are totally done!

Blake got everything outside pressure washed. He will hate me for this picture :)
Ugh, our poor yard...

Finished painting the hallway and guest bathroom.
Before (remember khaki ceilings):
During:
After - crisp and clean:

This was a scary section to paint. It is 2 stories high and you dangle over the stairs. Guess who got to do it - me. Well both of us, but I was the trimmer. We found out that I was the best at that job. Blake asked "do you have a steadier hand than me", I said "of course I do - I'm a doctor" :) No tape. All by hand baby.

Our realtor came by to pick up our SOLD sign and we had to quickly get our picture taken with it, we had looked to grungy before to stop and take a picture. Well this one didn't turn out very good, but it's all we got.

And the Winner Is....

Frog Tape!

We have been doing a lot of painting; we've painted the entire house (including ceilings) except for the three guest bedrooms. Before the move my dad advised me that there is a new painters tape called frog tape that is much better than the normal painters tape. I had seen this tape at home depot and knew that it was a few dollars more than other tape ($5 compared to $3). I was skeptical - how much difference could there really be? A lot. Other tapes let paint get in behind it, tear when you pull it off, and also take the paint off the wall. We had to cut the blue and beige tape off the wall. But the frog tape came off beautifully without leaving blemishes.

Frog Tape:

The Other Tape:

What "the other tape" makes you do

The result after an hour of painting trim

Looks good now but spend a few more bucks to save yourself a lot of time!

Another

I remembered that I have not one, but TWO rooms completed - the downstairs half bath is good to go. I painted the baseboards yesterday. It is off the kitchen and is the same light peach color. I LOVE my painting, it was given to me by my sister-in-law, Isa, and was painted by her sister.

Getting Ready

This week I picked up my white coat (a long one, not a short, student one) and my badge. We're getting closer to officially being a resident!

One Room Down

Several to go.....but we are sooo happy with our living room. We have slowed down on our house-work and now have a place to relax when we don't feel like painting, unpacking boxes, cleaning, putting up pictures, moving things around, etc.

I am in love with all of the paint colors I've picked out. They were basically all guesses picked from the swatches. I didn't get them all right, my mother-in-law advised me to tone down the kitchen color (great advice), and we also had to put a second coat of a duller blue in the bathroom, it would shock you awake in the morning. I really love the brown we chose for the living room.

Here is the transformation of the living room:

Before - very khaki

During - yay for white ceilings!

After - I'm in love!

Don't look up the stairs or into the kitchen, I told you, only one room done.

Finn has picked his favorite seat :)

Wish list items include: Curtains, hard wood floor, flat screen TV, and area rug - but hey, we will make do for now.

New Beginnings

We have been Rome residents for 1 week now and it has flown by in a whirl-wind full of ups and downs.

First, we barely closed on our closing date which was May 24 @ 4 pm. SunTrust (who is in charge of our mortgage) simply dropped the ball. On our closing day, they were still trying to get information they had assured me they would get 1 week prior. They basically had not even begun the loan pass through process. It was a super stressful afternoon when they tried to tell me at 2:30 we would not close. At this point we were in Rome with cars loaded down and no where else to sleep that night but our house. My response - Yes we will close today, it's not my fault that you are totally incompetent.

We kind of closed Tuesday - we signed papers even though the loan, deed, and other things the attorney's need to get it all done had not gone through - our realtors basically took pity on us and let us in. (The process was actually finalized 3 days later - thanks SunTrust.) All that mattered is that we got into our house on Tuesday. But because of all the hoop-lah, we did not have the smile as you sign papers, finish and get passed the keys, and proudly pose for a picture in front of your new house moment. (We have still not taken a picture with our sold sign.)

Finally we are in the house and immediately get hit with the normal home-owner stuff: we set off the alarm we were never told how to operate, we find that all of our toilets are broken, the cold water nozzle on the sink doesn't work, thought for several hours that my dinner plates did not fit in the dishwasher (they actually do), had to tinker with the garage to get it to go down all the way, thought I threw away my keys with the trash (I didn't), and oh yeah, the ENTIRE house (ceilings too) was khaki - and the list goes on.

We have been working non-stop and have been very successful except for getting stuck on I-20 at midnight with a U-haul with a flat tire. The U-haul 24 hr roadside service is a crock (at least at midnight on a holiday weekend when you are stuck 60 miles from any major city). We were sent help 13 hrs later. Thank the Lord we were close enough get to the lake house so that we did not have to sleep on the side of the road.

Anyway, we are in Rome, our house is great, we are still painting and finding a place for everything. Still have a lot to do, but hopefully no more curve balls. So thankful for our wonderful family and friends who have spent countless hours helping us put our touch on the house!

Painting Ceilings Is Fun!

Welcome to the Jungle!

When you buy a foreclosure you "get" to pick out your own locks. AKA when the bank kicks out the previous owner they replace the locks with crappy ones and don't give them back.

Shredded tire on a Uhaul truck with only 5000 miles.

My pictures are sarcastic but we are having fun and feel so lucky to have this place to live and to have survived so far. I plan to show you the full transformation as we continue to get it done.

I Carry You In My Heart

One of the toughest things about leaving Augusta was saying good bye to our Youth Group at Quest Church. We have spent the last 2 1/2 years with them and they have touched us deeply. They have grown and changed so much in such a short time. Our last meeting together Sunday was very special. They are awesome kids who I will not soon forget.