House Update!!

WELL!!

I have let a week go by without giving any kind of update. SHAME ON ME! lol...

I have lots to update though and a few pictures ta boot!

For starters, I present to you my siding!!

I think it looks GREAT!

Then I moved on inside, and I found this staring back at me in the foyer!!

DOORS!! I saw DOORS.... and TRIMS!

Needless to say I was obviously quite excited!! 

So then of course I went inside (after checking with one of the builders though), and then I walked up the stairs (past the beautiful rails again that I totally ran my hands over..lol!), turned the corner and saw.....

Well of course I was crazy excited because I was thinking HARDWOOD!!

But it actually turned out to be the cedar shingles on the outside. lol... so that was kinda disappointing BUT only for a second because with the cedar shingles on, the house will definitely look almost complete, which is great!

Continuing on my magical home tour, I saw that the deck wood was already placed and ready for railings..so of course, I copped a shot. =D

There wasn't too much to see upstairs, except that they have put in the rough ins for all the closets which was nice to see, and the trim was all done throughout the upstairs as well, so it's nice to know that they have finished that aspect.

On the prepping for closing day front, things could not be busier!

I am currently getting ready for the big move and trying to nail down movers again. It's crazy trying to get the best deals, but I think I've found a good company so that's cool!! 

I'm close to finalizing my mortgage papers and making my final decision in terms of which financial institution to go with. URG! It's so not the funnest experience reading over all those numbers. And I must admit it makes my heart stop a little with a gut wrenching pang when I see the decimal after 5 digits instead of 2 or 3. Almost hurts my feelings a lil bit. :)

On the appliance front, there was almost an incident where I wouldn't be able to get my fridge BUT it looks like it's all sorted out now. It's not worth going into detail because I am staying postive...but I am also positive that if I don't get my fridge, I'm going to be a whole lotta upset!! Lol!!

AND I SAVED THE BEST FOR LAST!!

MY PDI IS CURRENTLY BOOKED FOR THE AFTERNOON OF MAY 20th!!!

Granted it took some nifty finagling by my fantastic CCR but I can't wait to see everything all done!

WHOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOO!!!

That's everything that's going on right now and I think I've officially caught you up to date. The hardwood should be going in any time now, along with the cabinets and plumbing fixtures. I'll be sure to post some pictures as soon as I can.

26 MORE DAYS!!

  

Rails and Baths...

 Well today, I pestered my poor POOR customer care coordinator, who is fantastically patient I must say, this afternoon, and she told me that not only were my railings done, but the wall tiles in the bathrooms had been completed too!!!!!!! It was a lot harder to stay at work and focus after I got that message, but somehow I survived!!

So after waiting for my friends (who took an EXCRUCIATINGLY long time!!), I finally went over to the house site today to check out the progress!!

I walked into the house and saw the railings!! OMG! I am in LOVE!! The funny thing is when I first got the rails, while I liked them a lot, I thought 'Could I have spent that money somewhere else?' and actually contemplated cancelling that upgrade!

COULD YOU IMAGINE?!?!!?

Somehow, a little voice in me said 'No. You're really going to like them when they're all done' and I tried to picture what they would look like and they seemed like they would be really nice so I kept them.

Ladies and Gentlemen...little did I know how much of an UNDERSTATEMENT that would be!!

When I walked in today, they looked like a big,clear,bubble wrapped present and I must say it took A LOT of self-control not to rip off a piece of that bubble wrap and look at those rails in all their absolute glory! I took a lot of pictures from different angles in order to try to get a true feel for them! I am BEYOND ecstatic that I kept them because it feels like it gives my house just that special little 'oopmh!' and I think I tingled inside just a little bit when I saw them! Just goes to show...sometimes..you just gotta make you happy!!

I know I know...I'm obsessed...I accept this..lol!!

This is from the foyer to the 2nd floor

This is from the 2nd floor landing to the foyer...

This is from the 2nd floor landing to have a look at the actual rail itself...

This is from the great room to the railings that go up to the third floor...

This is from the computer nook on the third floor going down to the dining room...

I finally realised that I hadn't taken a close up shot of the rails so this is that...lol...

LOVE THEM!!

But then I finally got upstairs to the bathrooms and saw the main bathroom tile!! WHOO HOO!!! It's pretty much exactly how I had imagined it and I'm so happy with this choice too because the overall atmosphere that I was gong for I think was achieved AND it was VERY well done from what I saw. I was really impressed with the handwork!!

I was even happy with the inlaid listello border which added a little bit of detail that I thought was cool.

Here's a close up shot...

Of course, right after this I scurried (Yes..I really mean scurried!!) over to the master ensuite because I had really been looking forwards to seeing what the tile would look like in this room...

I was NOT disappointed!!

The listello border in this one is a really nice funky contrast!! Like jewelery for the house, as my sister would put it!! I REALLY REALLY liked the outcome of this one as well!!

Here's the close up shot for this bathroom...

So in general, I am really really happy with the progress and finishes that Mattamy has done thus far. Now that the finesse part of the process is coming to life, I am getting more and more excited about the finished product.

Of course, as always, I will keep you all posted!!

Only 32 more days left!! AH!!!!! =D

OWWWWWW!! IT'S A BRIIIICK..(boom chicka waw waw)..HAWWWWWWWWWSE!

Ok so the Commodores were talking about a woman when they were singing that song (that lady's stacked..and that's a fact!), but in MY case, I'm talkin' bout my house!!

LOOK AT IT!!

Aint it purrrrrrrrrrrrrrrty!? lol...

I took this picture yesterday and then of course because it's me, I asked the workers and went inside to check it out.  The first primer and I 'think' coat of paint was on!!!!!! I was crazy surprised and excited cause frankly I was NOT expecting that in the least.

Here are just a few of my paparazzi shots...

Great Room from the hallway.....

Great room from the stairs....

Great Room and Kitchen from the Dining Room....

THEN I drove by today with my sister and I happened to be able to see inside my dining room through the deck doors and I HAD RAILINGS!!!!!!!!! I was wondering why the railing was so loose yesterday but I thought that that was by accident,  but I guess not!! Can't wait to see them up close cause ya' KNOW I'm going to check it out later on this week. I might try to make it until Friday so that they'll have had a chance to do a lot on the house, but let's be honest...we all know I probably won't last that long!! lol...

I can't wait to see my hardwood because I got the dark stain and on a diagonal lay throughout the second floor from the hallway through the great and dining rooms. Things are just happening lickity-split these days! It's an AWESOME (and somewhat anxious) feeling that I'm going through, but mostly it's just plain-good-old-fashioned EXCITEMENT!!! GO BUILDERS GO!!!! =D

5 more weeks!!!

Brick by Brick....

Some neighbours had mentioned that the brick on our block was being done. I stopped by today and I saw this! Granted I had to pretend that I didn't see the big blue porta-potty smack dab in the middle of my front lawn...but good thoughts, people...good thoughts...of people NOT doing their business literally in my front lawn...but I digress.... 

Looks like they've finished basically everyone's brick except for mine, but I had figured that already because most of the front of my home is brick anyways. BUT..looks like they did finish the first level already. I love the colour on it and I can't wait to see when it's completely done!! Again...ignore the porta-potty!! lol...

Drywall Install

Well it's been about five days since my last entry....I am SO sorry!! In my blog..that's an ETERNITY!! lol...

SO..I have gone by the house site in the last few days and they are starting to do the brick and siding on our block. WHOO HOO!!

As you can see, they are very much at work in doing the siding and the brickwork on my house. I can't wait to see what it looks like when everything is done. I've seen the brick..looks awesome!!

After I took this shot, I asked if I could go inside and take a quick look around. After being told to be careful, off I went to explore the progress.

I tried to keep the angles from my previous posts the same so that it'll be easier to compare so...

Foyer

Kitchen from the Great Room

K so maybe it's a lil messy but I figure since they're kinda still building the house, I can let that slide...lol.

Here's a shot of the great room from the stairs. All drywalled up and I can just see the furniture layout now... 

Here's a shot of the dining room-

Again with the mess, but at least it's all (ok mostly) building supplies, so I'll look the other way..and more on up to....

the computer nook:

This is a lil plain but it hasn't had the diva touch yet. Soon enough...soon enough...

Well that's all the pics I have for now but the whole house is drywalled and the upgrades sheets are all up on the windows so I assume that the remaining 5 (I KNOW!! ONLY 5!!) weeks are going to be insane with activity! Here's hoping I can still get in every once in a while for picture updates.

Till next time!!

Insulation Jubilation

SO!!

I must admit that I have turned into the biggest geek throughout this whole house journey because the slightest things make me REALLY excited!

I got excited about dirt. (I mean really....it's DIRT!! but by golly it was MY dirt!! lol...)

I got excited about concrete. ( Basically, a really heavy wet dirt that by all accounts I should be 'menh' about. NOT SO!)

I got excited about wood. (Wood meant framing! YAY!!)

and now..following in the tradition of getting excited over any and everything that happens house related, I am now excited about INSULATION!!

Up till now, insulation was (literally) outta sight outta mind BUT I went to the house site yesterday and I saw rows and rows of GORGEOUS bright pink insulation on the main floor and I swear I coulda done a jig right there!! IT WAS AWESOME!! Again, it made the place feel more like a HOUSE house and in a weird way, having the walls closed off made the rooms feel bigger. Go figure!

The builders had also started some drywalling from what I can see. They are really motoring along these days!! It's fantastic!!

Stay tuned!!!!!!

Also, today marks 1 month, 2 weeks and 3 days till closing..1-2-3. Just thought that was kinda quirky..=)

Update

Well I haven't been to the house site yet this week. I intend to go later on, BUT according to one of my neighbours, they've started my insulation on the house which I'm really happy about because that means that drywalling is not that far behind. WHOO!!

In other news, it is now officially 49 days until closing!! I cannot believe it is THAT close until I am actually able to move into my house! Craziness!! From all the different setbacks and everything, it feels great to be sooooo close.

 Now I'm trying to attempting to really budget all the closing costs. Everytime I turn around it's like 'SURPRISE! You owe these people money too!' Oy...not the most fun part I assure you. lol...I feel like that Capital One commercial where all the bankers have their hand in the pockets...but instead, it's the city, utilities, cable, phone.....SHEESH!! It's MY money!! You can't HAVE IT!!

But it's all for the house!!! It's alllll for the house....

Focus on the positive...Focus on the positive...

Framewalk Fun!

Kinda running out of names to call the entries about framewalks....this is the best I can think of...I thought Funky Framewalk..but that's just lame! lol...

OK people....get ready for a really heavy picture session!! I tried to pick the cream of the crop but let's be honest- You know I'm obsessed.... I know I'm obsessed... so you're going to get lots of pics!! And the random comments- I won't really put a filter on because...well... I just find it's more fun that way. =D

First, we'll start with the outside shot. See how pretty they wrapped up the first few floors for me!? Like a 'Hello, and welcome to your framewalk!!' present!! Shoulda had my own Vanna White opening the door for me...instead I got the very nice but not so Vanna-like builder. Lol...

As a side note, does anyone else wish they had Vanna White's job?!!? Touching screens, travelling and wearing dresses and getting paid that much money!? Quite frankly...The absurdity of the whole thing hurts my feelings just a lil bit..

Anywho!! House shot!!

Then I had my framewalk and it was all great and framewalkey. Went through the home with the builder and we talked about all the placements for the different switches, and fans, and plugs, and cable outlets, and phone outlets, and all that jazz so the actual process went really well I thought. I am quite happy with the progress!! I'm kinda surprised that wiring and plumbing and venting, which are all in places that I won't see soon, made my house more homey. Go figure!!!

Next, we move into the foyer area.....

 

The heater is in the laundry room and the storage room is right beyond that. It looks like there will be more than enough space for my extra things. Kinda glad that I have that space cause I know it'll come in handy.

This is the shot of my garage. It's a pretty long garage so I'll be able to put some storage in that space as well as my car.

 

Back into the house and up the stairs comes the powder room...It's a little small but really, you don't need a lot of fanfare to do your business so it's all good!

 

Moving on to the kitchen...

I took this picture from the great room. The pantry is on the far right side and there should be a lot of counter space in the kitchen which is a feature that I love!! Plus I can't wait to have an island with a sink in it. It'll be much easier and functional that way. CAN'T WAIT!!

 This is a shot of the kitchen and great room. I like the wide open space, which means that you get really good views from everywhere on the floor. I really enjoy that fact, because it'll make it easier for me to keep an eye on my niece and nephew...aka the mini-hurricanes. lol...

Here's an angle shot of the great room from the stairs so you can see the other windows. The fact that there are four is really great for allowing a lot of light into the room. I was surprised at the amount that comes in actually, but quite excited!

This is a shot of the dining room from the stairs. The brightness in the house is fantastic!! That was one of the things that I was worried about most when I originally bought because there are only windows on the front of the house, but the light just FLOODS in...it's great!! I can't wait to sit at the dining table and open up the french doors and let the breeze wash over me.

Moving right along...

This is the computer nook at the top of the stairs on the third floor. I have always loved the fact that this house has a nook that makes it possible to have a completely separate guest room.

Anywho, this my new nook..kinda bare-boned but you get the gist.

Next to the nook is the main bathroom. I don't know what I can say to liven up the bathroom...but the fact that I'm trying to liven up a bathroom commentary should be comic enough. But I digress...and move on the the actual bathroom.

Next.... the guest bedroom:

 

I really like the windows and the cathedral ceilings in this guest room. I was really scared that this room would be really small but it's actually a good size, which is perfect for the occasional guest. I do plan on taking over this closet though...just cause I can! lol... 

And last, but not least, I have....the Master Bedroom...as my friend would say...this is where the magic happens!! lol...

Again, I love the light that comes into this room!! It'll be my little oasis, and while people only see wooden beams and plywood floors, I see a nice bed with a wall-papered accent wall, a tv and myself- watching Disney movies on a saturday all day while thinking how lucky I am that I didn't get caught up in the whole Disney Damsel in Distress nonsense, but laughing and cheering at all the right parts just the same....except when Mufasa dies.... cause I still can't watch that part because a- I get really upset and teary eyed and b- because I literally want to rip Scar limb from lion-killing limb....and Princess and the Frog which had some surprising dark moments in there too...geez Disney...!

Whoa...tangent...ohh-kay.....sorry peeps! I told you that I'm not censoring...and now...back to the house tour!   

This is still in the master bedroom but facing the master ensuite, on the left (with a TUB!! I have a TUB!! =D ) and a WALK-IN CLOSET!! 

What's that I hear??? ANGELS SINGING!??! LOL!!

And THAT I do believe is the house tour!!! Supposedly the drywall is supposed to go in on Monday aaaaaaaaaaaand when I was leaving, I happened to turn around and saw my bricks!!

So of course I ran up and took a picture!! Construction people must think I'm crazy but menh!! Don't care!!

OK...I think I have FINALLY finished this blog entry!! LONG ENOUGH EH!!??

Whew...chile...I'm tired...LOL!

Until next time!!!