My New(ish) Home!

SO!!!

My computer is finally fixed and I am able to share new pictures of my humble abode….

It's been forever since I've written a blog entry but life has just been craziness. Moving. Getting everything set up ever so slowly. Trying to decide what I wanted and how it was going to come together. Quite frankly, it's been fun but it's also been consuming!!

But nothing beats those days when I get to come home and relax while watching TV and then I look around and think that this isn't my 'house' so much as it's my home. It's a wonderful feeling I have to say.

But enough waxing poetic, it's time for pics!!! I'll try to highlight things that I've talked about in past blogs so that you see how everything came together. Be on the look out, and feel free to ask any questions! I also tried to link some of the things I mentionned here to the blog entries where I went into more detail in case you want to find out more information.

I took most of these pictures already but it's been a crazy weekend so wherever I don't have a picture, check back and I'll put one in later.

EVERYONE READY!?!?!? Cause I warn you now...this is a LONG ride!! =D

Let us begin!

This is the new outside!

It actually looks like a house because Mattamy has put down the sod and paved the driveway. For a while, it was the mud pit but as you can see it's coming together quite well. It just looks sooooo purrty. =D

My garage is basically the same. I managed to keep it fairly clear of boxes because I really wanted to park my car inside. After 2 years of driveway parking, I wasn't about to cheat SilvaDiva (Yes I named my car; Don't judge! Lol…) out of her home. The garage is actually pretty deep. Deeper than the regular towns because I can fit my car and still have more than enough room for the (meat!) freezer and tools so I'm a happy camper.

You think I'm kidding,(as did my unsuspecting friends)... but I'm really not…I have chicken, beef and shrimp in that freezer along with freezies and ice cream…I'm a pig and I'm not ashamed…lol!!

ANYWHO! Back to the house tour….

So this is the new foyer. I say new because for a while it was just the empty space but then I (ok ok..my friend cause I can't do mirrors, but I helped!! I held the screws!!) put up my mirror and then placed my lil pier one bench underneath. Now it's a nice little spot to put shoes on and give yourself the final once over before walking out the door…It's nice and simple and I like the fact that the foyer is spacious enough that I can do this and still have plenty of room to maneuver. Then we move on to….

The laundry room

This is the laundry room. It's not completely done because the pedestals are what's on the side but I haven't been able to get my peeps in to put that part together BUT so far I love my laundry pair and I have big plans for the room. ALSO, I had to take this picture because I think this is the first time that the laundry room has ever been COMPETELY devoid of actual laundry and dangnabbit! That's cause for celebration! =D

This is a shot of the landing up the first flight of stairs. I thought putting two tall items on either side of the powder room door would be a nice way to even out the visuals. The scroll is the 'Deepest Fear' motivation speech which I love and I wanted to put it somewhere that I could see it every day. If I can find a nice representation of the 'Desiderata' poem, I'd be happy too. The sticks was just a really simple decorative touch. The vase was from Costco, sticks are from Ikea- stuck the sticks in the vase, fanned them out, bada-boom-bada-bing, you're decorating!!! LOL! (Ya ok, I'm cheesy...I'll admit it...)

This is the powder room. Thankfully, you're seeing it after Mattamy came to fix the proof of my ineptitude when putting things up on walls. I finally gave in and my friend put these up for me as well. BUT all the fixtures went well together and pretty much matches my mental picture. I haven't gotten around to calling my electrician but I'll be doing that soon enough….

Next is the Kitchen...

These are a few shots of my kitchen and I have to say one of my favorite places in the house. The dark wood is a really pretty contrast against the stainless steel appliances. This actually lived up to my expectations. And the storage space in here is INSANE! I still haven't been able to fill up all the cabinets and I've been here 3 months!!! The pantry is fantastic and really handy.One of my favorite features is that the bottom cabinet by the fridge is big enough to hold ALL my small appliances. That really frees up space on the counters and lends to a really clean look AND speaking of a clean look, I was able to find this sliding lid storage rack from Costo that I put it ALL BY MYSELF and works like a charm. (Oh yeah…that's right…I'm a handydiva badass… HA HA!) I love all the appliances that I chose and have no complaints on them. Little things I'd change mind you like the configuration of some things, but no complaints! The fridge fits in the space perfectly and I like how the freezer is a slide out because it makes it easier to maneuver and to see what's in there. The stove- ABSOLUTELY NO COMPLAINTS!! Works like a dream and looks wonderful. The convection oven is great when making lasagna or things like that. The dishwasher rocks my world. Washes everything I put in there really well and fits a ton of stuff. And it is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO quiet, it's insane! I literally forget it's on sometimes until I hear it draining. I'm quite impressed actually.

And of course, one of the best things is that the kitchen overlooks the living and dining rooms. This is one of my favourite spaces in the house so I'll give you a few shots from different angles.

Now I must say that I am using this space exactly like I thought I would. When I'm cooking, I'm usually on the island by the sink and watching something on TV. This is my besta set that I finally decided on and it makes me quite happy because it fits all my storage needs in a really nice and even decorative way. The entertainment system works well with the whole set up and I really enjoy the lines of the whole thing. I even put touches of white in the mix to break up the dark so that's why you see the vases at the bottom and if you look closely you can see the tea light trays at the top of the shelves. Really nice lighting effect when they're lit. The couch is super comfy and M.Y Home was an awesome place to deal with. One of the coolest things is that the couch arm came with these two sleeves that you can wash to nothing gets on your couch! Thought that was a genious idea. Perfect place to lay out and watch movies though.

The ottoman has been a godsend because it's worked exactly as I hoped it would- table, ottoman and storage. Fantastic buy!

The curtains I had made- supplies were from Fabricland. They were a good investment because at least I knew exactly what I was getting. I bought the curtain rod from Bouclair I believe, to play off of my fabulous lamp find at (where else?) HomeSense. It was definitely another 'YOINK!' moment in the house shopping. Though it's under constant guard from a friend who has threatened on more than one occasion that I will come home and it won't be there...

ONTO my chair deals that would make Sarah Richardson would be proud! I happened to find these chairs on kijiji that my sister and I went to go take a look at, but when we got there, we saw 3 of these chairs and fell in love with these instead. They had so much character and charm and went perfectly with the mental feel I had going. So we bartered with the lady and ended up walking out of there with each chair costing us….

(Ready??)

$27 EACH!!!!!!!!!!!

Now to put this in perspective, I have seen chairs SIMILAR to this but not as nice, retailing for over 300-400 dollars. The wood is sturdy, it's in great condition and I can customize it to my tastes…TWENTY SEVEN DOLLARS PEOPLE!!! (Geesh I get goosebumps just THINKIN' bout it! Lol!!! )

Ok….I'm back….onto the rest of the tour…

Dining room table and chairs are an older set from my brother. The round glass actually works well because it allows a lot of light to pass through the space. Might changes up the colour and such though but it's working well for now. The bar in the corner was my shelf from pier 1. It's a really handy little area and display. The boxes in the corner are my hoodfan and light fixture for the dining room…I'll get to that in the later stages.

Off the dining room I have the deck, where I sometimes leave the doors open so I can get this view…

I also have a hammock out there which is very relaxing on the warm days and the place where I had one of my top 10 naps ever. (Others include this quaint B&B in New Orleans and #1 was on a leather lounger on a quiet resort beach in on a trip to Ghana with the waves crashing on the shore- people have tapes of the ocean to sleep…imagine sleeping there live!!) Regardless, the deck was GOOD times!

Now upstairs is still work in progress in a lot of places but I'll give you the overview...

My computer nook that I have to sort out the books and then get shelves for. I'm workin' on the ideas portion for this so it's currently box central, and so not ready for public viewing, but I swear it looks A LOT worse than it actually is...=D. It's almost like the secret closet that Monica had on 'Friends' that was a mess and she didn't want anyone to see it....so I figure putting it on a blog..not exactly hiding so not doing it.. =D

This is the guest bathroom. Had a few people over and it's been really handy because they have their own space to get ready and do things AND I don't have to share! WHOO!

The guest room is a disaster so I'm not going to show it yet!! lol.. I have the temp blinds up there because I'm still trying to find the best deal since the blinds are narrow but long. Still confused but I did know I needed to do something so my business wasn't all out in the street. The boxes are run over from other places that I am gong through slowly. No real rush anymore so taking my time, BUT I'm not putting my business out there for the masses to see so you'll have to take my word for it.

And LAST but not LEAST,

This is MY room.

I am actually making some changes this weekend and switching up my dresser for some new ones but it hasn't been done yet at the time of this post. I really like how simple my room is. I didn't want too much fuss and muss in there. And the cabinet in the corner works out really well with the….

If you compare the vanity and the cabinet, it almost looks like it was bought like that on purpose because they're so similar but I just happened to like the colour. It's really handy and holds a lot of the 'necessary' products for being a girl. =D The fixtures in the bathroom were again put up by my friend (Don't worry- I paid him in food!) and the towel rack is one of my favs because since it can move around, it's quite versatile and useful.

And I do belive that that is everything in my home for now to share. The entries may not be as frequent because I'm still figuring out everything that I want so things don't change as often but stay tuned for when they do!! And for all the people out there who also bought Berryhursts, feel free to shoot me any questions and I'll try to get back to you as soon as I can.

Thanks for reading and not listening when others may have said 'Don't encourage her….'. LOL!!!!!!!

AAAAAAAAAAAAnd down the home stretch.......

SO...

with less than a week before closing, I couldn't wait until the PDI to see the house in all it's spectacular glory so I went by today.

There were so many new things, it made my heart sing.

First, I walked up to my wonderfully painted door. I won't sing 'Three's Company' again but you get the idea.

Then lo and behold, there were the new doors on my front hall closet, which were really nice to see as well. Not that I don't like the mirrored sliders, but I just didn't want anything taking away from my fantastic find of a mirror that I plan to put up in the foyer.

Closed Doors:

Opened Doors:

JUUUST enough space to fit all my coats and shoes so it'll do for sure! :D

Then I took a peek into my garage and noticed that the rails for the garage door had been delivered! My car, the SilvaDiva, will soon have a home as well!!

Then I turned towards the stairs and saw my carpets!!!!!!!

I must admit that they looked more brown than I anticipated, but I'm kind of warming up to them because they really pull in the warm look of the walls and the railings as well. Really happy I chose them. I was even happier when I took the first step onto them. OH SO SOFT!! You sink into it JUST a little bit and it's a great cushion on your feet. SO happy I did the upgraded underpadding!

So off I did mosey up the stairs to the main floor and saw HARDWOOD!!!

WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!

I've been waiting for this day for so long and the colour and look did not disappoint!! Granted there were quite a few Mattamy boxes that shielded the floor just a bit BUT I'm glad that they're being protected, and not all scratched up. Look beyond the box, I said...lol...

Here are a few choice shots of the Great Room and Dining Room...

From the Kitchen:

From the Stairs:

From the corner near the Kitchen:

I went upstairs and checked out those rooms. Nothing seems to have really changed besides the lights and the carpets so I just enjoyed walking from room to room soaking it all in and wiggling my toes in the carpet to enjoy the feel. lol..

I'll be sure to post my pictures after the PDI is completed AND once I start actually putting my own spin on the house decorating. Should be good times...I hope! =S

Right now, I'm focused on packing, setting up all my accounts, arranging deliveries and installations and just generally putting everything together that needs doing. It's a little hectic but I know it'll all be worth it.  

So my journey is almost over. Tuesday afternoon, I will be receiving the keys to my very first home....what a RIDE it's been!!

And to think, it only took 19 months and 21 days to get here...but who's counting!?!? lol...

 

5 MORE DAYS!!!!!!!!!

Pulling things together.....

Hello All!!

So I went by the house a few days ago and this is the newest outside shot! YAY!! Now all that's left is the garage, (and getting rid of the ugly UGLY porta-potty!!) and then it'll be HOME!!!

After hearing about the kitchen cabinets were completed, I HAD to go take a look. I went with a friend of mine and then I actually was able to meet some of my neighbours from across the way. They were really nice and I'm glad that I live across from some AWESOME people! I'll be drinking with them for sure! lol...

So after talking to my fun neighbours, my friend and I went into the house and walked up the stairs and saw THIS....

I literally SQUEALED because the cabinets looked better than my expectations!!! My friend and one of the workers laughed at me...but it's ALL GOOD!! Cause my cabinets look FAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANTASTIC!! lol..

Here's another shot...

WHOO HOO!! IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII LOVE IT!!!

The downside to this was that my PDI was pushed back to 8 am on the holiday Monday...boooooooooo...but at least I get a PDI soon enough...moving right along...

AND (to the delight of many of my friends who have watched me go back and forth about this...),

 I BOUGHT MY COUCH TODAY!!!

I think it's a funky couch..kinda 60s inspired. I like the clean lines but it's also really comfy because you sink into the cushion, but you are really supported in the back because it's a tight back. I'll have to share the fabrics when I get a better shot of them but the main couch is almost like the picture but a little lighter brown with almost a funky tweed colour, and the accent cushions are this REALLY fun leaves pattern with black, gold, grey and hot pink leaves all over it. Very happy and very me!

So...I have completed these tasks at least, and now it's a matter of getting everything finalised slowly but surely and then I'll be IN MY HOUSE!!

10- TEN!!!!!!-more days!!  

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!

I opened up my e-mail this morning and saw this message from my Customer Care Coordinator:

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!

This is earlier than I expected since I only thought they would be getting around to the cabinets today or tomorrow...WHOO HOO!!!

3 guesses where I'M going tonight!!! =D

Pictures to follow.....

Soooooooooooooooooooooooooo CLOSE!!

Hello All!!

So what a week this has been!!

I have been busy trying to finalize everything to do with the move. I have paid for my appliances (cried a lil bit), paid for my beds (cried a lil bit more),arranged for my home and new auto insurance, arranged for deliveries and installations up the wazoo, and then sat down and actually tabulated what everything is going to cost me...(which made me boo hoo like a new born baby! lol...)

BUT then I went by the house site today and this BE-AU-TI-FUL site greeted me like an old OLD friend... 

After taking this happy shot, I went to open the door to take a peek and....

it was locked....

My heart SANK!!

I ran over to try the garage door and it too was locked! I must have been just a pitiful sight of disappointment because all of a sudden, I heard 'You wanna take a look?!' from across the street..

Ladies and gentlemen, today my hero wore jeans and a hardhat!!

The EXTREMELY well timed and well 'keyed' constructionator (hey he's a hero..gotta give him a cool name!) let me into the house and I was able to take a look around. This sight greeted me in the great room..

My cabinets are in...=D

and here's the close-up...

I think it looks rrrrreally pretty and this is a fixed up pic because of the sun in the background.

This is the Rocky Road counter that will be going in the 2nd bathroom. You can't quite get the effect from this picture but in person, it looks really nice and neutral with a bit of pop.

This is the Suede Ash Fiesta counter that's supposed to be in the kitchen. In this light, it looks really nice and almost a lil sparkly.

One of the building supervisors came by while I was in there and it turns out that he is the spy for my Customer Service Rep for my house!! Great times meeting him because he has been EXTREMELY helpful throughout the whole process. He also hinted that the cabinets may actually be installed on Monday! YAAAY!!! Hopefully I'll have more pics in the near future too.

18 more days!!!

=D!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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