Sunday, October 19, 2008

The table has arrived ....

After months of waiting, we finally got our table.  Tyler and I originally bought this table from the Dump (a discount store in Dallas) in the early summer.  We didn't open the box until we moved into the house.  When the box was opened we found our table broken and in pieces.  Tyler and I set out to look for another table but just couldn't seem to find one the same style and in our price range.  Thanks to Tyler's shopping skills, he found a furniture store that would order the table but we would have to wait until October.  We waited and now we have it!  The table has a leaf that allows it to extend into a square large enough to hold our families when the come to visit.  It is pretty much perfect for us!

Saturday, October 11, 2008

Tide in Texas!

Tyler and I had to show off our school pride in Texas.  

Kitchen cabinets, fireplace, and more.

Here are some photos of the house and our handy skills.  The first photo is of the kitchen cabinet hardware.  Tyler and I spent a few hours at all the hardware stores looking for ones that were stylish and in our price range.  There were 40+ pieces that needed to be purchased.  Tyler did a great job of installing all of them.  Thanks Uncle Carl and Aunt Debbie for the Lowe's gift certificate.  It helped with the purchase.

The following photos are of my handwork in decorating.  There is still a lot to be done around the house but I have finally started getting some items on the shelves and photos in the picture frames.  :)


This photo is for my mom and dad.  They have been bugging me to take a picture of Tyler's recliner.  We got the recliner a few days after the house because that is what Tyler really wanted. After a quick hour in Lazy Boy, we finally agreed on one.  The photo doesn't really give it justice. It is material that looks like cracked leather.  Again, leather wasn't in our price range so we got the closest thing.


Saturday, September 20, 2008

Bonus Room


Surprise ... we got a pool table. Tyler and I decided that we needed entertainment for when people drive all the way out here to Wylie. Plus, pool is a sport that Tyler can play all by himself when no one is home. We are pretty excited! Basically, we have one room down / furnished upstairs. Come visit and ready to play pool!

Monday, July 28, 2008

Kitchen

Thanks to our parents Tyler and I have a newly painted kitchen along with all our kitchen items in their place. Enjoy the photos and there are more to come as we slowly get the house decorated.

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Home Sweet Home

Yesterday was the BIG day. Tyler and I moved into our new home at 2910 Preston Lane. I just want to thank our family and friends who made it happen. Tyler and I are so blessed to have our parents here to help with the move. I don't think it would have happened without them. Today the moms are painting the kitchen while Tyler and I are at work. I would also like to thank Forrest who oversaw the move. Everything arrived perfectly and so far we have not found anything broken. It was also great to have all the positive wishes throughout the day. It was a little crazy. We will be sure to update the blog in a few days with more photos of the move. Stay tuned!

Thursday, July 10, 2008

house photos

Here are some photos of the front of the house that I took the other day. We are still on to close on the 21st. Be sure to check the blog at the end of July for more photos.

Thursday, July 3, 2008

Walk Through

Tyler and I had a walk through of the house today with the builder. We went through the house looking for items that needed to be fixed. There was nothing big just minor things like paint touch ups. Luckily, the builder didn't get too bothered by me finding paint drips etc. Tyler thought I was a little too picky but he was the one that pointed out a paint bubble in the linen closet. The builder told us about our warranties and the functionality of items (i.e. air conditioner, sprinklers). I did notice that our appliances were installed and they look fabulous! We didn't take any photos though. The builder told us that he could have all our items fixed by Tuesday and the house would be ready for move in, however our mortgage person doesn't think the paper work can be done that fast. So ... right now we are looking at closing on July 21st. After the walk through, Tyler and I went to downtown Wylie for lunch. It was great to see another side of the city. We live closer to Murphy so that is where we will grocery shop, get gas, etc. but we went more East today towards Wylie. The home cooked meal was a great change from Uptown. The following is a photo of downtown Wylie and we ate at the L&L Cafe on the left for lunch.

Saturday, June 28, 2008

Near completion

I went to the house today and the house is almost near completion. We have landscaping, a fence, air conditioning, the kitchen sink and carpet. Tyler and I spoke with the builder on Thursday in which we set up a date for our "walk through." We will go through the house noting any problems on Thursday, July 3rd. In the photos you will see a few white spots on the walls because the work men are fixing odd things around the house this week to get it ready for the walk through. The carpet really did change the house and make it look more complete. I can't wait to see how much the appliances help. The first photo has the Honda parked in the driveway and I think my car looks at home. Although I am sure the Honda would have preferred to be parked in the garage since it has never experienced that luxury before. If you look at the above photo you can see that I am standing in the driveway of the newly built house across the street which has a street lamp. I am glad that our house will be near a street lamp because they usually reside on the corners. Enjoy the photos because the next ones will probably involve Tyler and me in front of a SOLD sign on signing day.

Sunday, June 22, 2008

progress update

This week it seems as though we didn't make as much progress as we have in the past. However the house across the street that started 2 days behind us has their landscaping done and seems almost complete. The owners across the street are moving in at the end of the month and I think the workers have been focusing on their property. Here are our updates:

We have a front door.
We have all the railings stained.
And our tile backsplash was installed in the kitchen.

Sunday, June 15, 2008

Lots of photos

The house is really coming along and there are lots of photos to share. I went to the house twice this weekend to see all the new things. All of the lights have been hung, the banisters are getting stained, and the granite was installed. Even the driveway was paved. Next will be the sprinkler system and carpet. Remember to see our Picasa web album for more photos.

Sunday, June 8, 2008

Tile complete

Tyler and I went to the house this weekend to see the tile completed. We were happy with our choices and can't wait to see the rest of the kitchen come together. I posted the first photo because it was the only room that didn't have cardboard covering the tile. It is our pantry and one of my favorite things about our floorplan. The tile in this photo is throughout our downstairs hall, kitchen, powder bath, and laundry room. The second photo is our laundry room. Tyler and I had additional cabinets put in for additional storage. I have learned by living in tiny apartments that more storage is always better.
I also was able to take a better photo of our railing upstairs and I hope that everyone likes it. When Tyler and I walked through the model home , I fell in love with the iron posts and so did Tyler.

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Cabinets and Fireplace Complete

Today I was in the 'hood, so I figured I go by and check out the progress, even though we were there last weekend. To my surprise, nearly all the painting is complete, a fireplace was constructed and all the cabinets were in place throughout the house. The tile on the wall was also in place in the upstairs bathroom. In the photo to the left, you can see some tile down in the kitchen. Some workers were actually there working on the floor tile on the first floor. One guy was making haste in the kitchen whilst some chick was in the WC, working of course. And some time over the past couple of days, someone decided to build a fireplace. It looks like the tile will be complete within a couple of days and then the counters will soon follow. Also, the concrete will be poured either this Friday or Monday. So all is well, although I did notice something a little off with the design of the driveway, but I'll save that for next time.

Sunday, June 1, 2008

Painting

Tyler and I went by the house this weekend and noticed that the painting had already taken place. We have a banister, doors, and painted walls now. We expect the cabinets to go in early this week. The driveway and sidewalk will also go in and I am very excited to see that part. Enjoy the photos!

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Brickwork, check. Drywall, almost check.

And so now the biggest update, in my eyes, so far. The masons have finished the brick and stone work on the outside of the house. All that's left for them is the fireplace, which obviously comes sometime down the line. It's all detailed and everything's in place for the next step to take place...the drywall. And they're actually almost done. It's all hung and they've got another day or two to finish it out. With this in place, I was finally able to see exactly how everything is going to come together with the few minor changes we made, like taking out the standard bench seating and the half-wall upstairs instead of a railing, as well as the niche above the fireplace that is larger than normal (not our request, but we like it). The garage doors are in and the whole house is definitely looking like what we ordered. Never seeing the brick and stone with our mortar choice on any other house made us second guess ourselves a few times after driving by some other houses and saying, "Hey, is that our brick and stone with our mortar? That's ugly!" Thankfully, I don't believe they were. Others were laid out all funky anyway. Seeing our choices come to life on the outside is very satisfying. They are good choices, at least to us, and blend in well with our neighbors, but still allow us to not be just another cookie cutter. You can view the full, updated album here, now with captions to explain things! Also, some good news: it appears as though the guys are ahead of schedule and we may be in earlier than we thought, which is good. We'll keep ya updated.

Monday, May 19, 2008

Address

It is amazing how much the house changes in just a few days. I went by the house after church on Sunday and realized that we have a mailbox and an address number on our house. Everything seems to be going up just fine. Also when I was at the house on Sunday there were workers putting up dry wall.



Friday, May 16, 2008

Yet even more bricks...

I got a chance to stop by the house today and saw the guys out there closing in on the finish line for the brick work. I'd say it's about 64% complete, including the sanding and other finishing work. You can see one of the guys on the scaffolding working on that right now while a few others are on the opposite side of the house laying brick. Now that the rain has stopped, they're able to get back to work and hopefully finish up here soon. Andy said he gives them 5 days to complete the job, from start to to finish. Seems a little stringent to me, but maybe that's why I'm not a contractor. This is also the same amount of time he gives the drywall guys to do the job, which should begin on Monday. Time will tell. In the meantime, enjoy the updated brick photos.

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Bricks, stone, and insulation ... oh my!

Here are some photos of the house as of 5/14. Tyler talked to the builder and the brick will be completed once it stops raining. Dry wall goes up on Friday.

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

House updates

Well sorry for such a long delay with house updates. Tyler and I have been so busy this past week with my trip to Alabama and his shoot in Plano. During Tyler's last visit to the house, they were putting on the bricks. Unfortunately, there has been a lot of rain in the Dallas area so we are not sure how far along the brick work has gone. Tyler is stopping by the house today and we will post pictures later this evening.

Friday, May 2, 2008

Super High-Tech Advanced Wonder House (almost)

I went out yesterday and grabbed a bunch of photos. So many photos that I'm not going to post them in this blog, but here you can find them all. In this album, you will find pretty much every picture we've taken having anything to do with the house. A lot of what I took yesterday was for documentary and informational purposes. Now that all the plumbing, electric, and low voltage communication lines are run, it will make it super easy [crossing fingers] for me to go in and wire everything for surround sound and TiVo. That'll be sometime early next week once I get the configuration figured out, but before my pre-drywall meeting with Andy on Wednesday. I left this past visit feeling very satisfied in the quality of the house, which is the subject of today's blog. One of the things that's standard in our house is this little product called Tubes-In-The-Wall. It's basically a system that allows a pest control service to come once every 6 months and inject a pest-deterrent chemical from the outside of the house into these small tubes you see here that are built into the walls. It's a pretty crafty idea and it's kinda nice to know that people think of these things beforehand. Why wouldn't any consumer want it (it comes free for the first 6 months)? You can see it here to the right. It's the tiny blue and green tubes that are within two feet of the slab. I'm guessing that the two different tube colors correspond to different chemicals. We also get the next "in-thing" in the plumbing industry. It's these color coded flexible plastic pipes for running water lines that are used in place of copper. It kinda makes more sense, which would be a good reason for them to switch. For one, the cost of metal, especially copper, is the only thing more ridiculous than gas. And two, these are flexible, so you/they don't have to solder elbows together or make level holes to run pipes through. Just unravel from the reel of pipe and shove it through. It makes them more efficient which would, theoretically, save us money. Plus they come in sweet colors like blue and red. We first saw them on Holmes on Homes and thought they were the coolest thing, next only to Tubes-In-The-Wall of course. So these are just a few more reasons to feel good about the new home build decision over an existing home. No home built over a few years ago would've had these features. Granted, it's not saving me any labor or anything like that right now, but these PVC pipes are way less maintenance...so I'm happy. You can see all the inner workings of this super high-tech advanced wonder house in our album.