SOLD!

As of 3pm on Friday, I am officially a HOMEOWNER!! Hooray!!! I tried to keep this one as quiet as possible, after what happened with the first two (see this post).

But now, it's official! And isn't it just adorably cute? I think so. I wasn't all that thrilled with the yellow exterior, but it really has grown on me over the last few weeks, and now I love it!

Mom (God bless her, she's amazing!) came to town and went to the closing with me, and then worked tirelessly all weekend helping me make decisions and paint the kitchen and living room. Speaking of which, I really had refrained from making any sort of design decisions, I didn't want to jinx anything this time. So when it finally came time to pick out paint, I just couldn't decide. And then we went to Target. Thank you Liberty of London, for making adorable things! I bought two of these lampshades and decided on a sage green for the living room and a buttery yellow for the kitchen.

Where did I get the lamp base, you ask? Why, it was a $4 find from Goodwill with a few coats of glossy pink spray paint. And I LOVE it.

I'm really pleased so far, and I can't wait to tackle the rest of the house. Painting first, and then I'll move on to the carpet and the gorgeous (*hopefully*) wood floors underneath.

Stay tuned for lots of before and afters, rants, raves, and overall crazy excitement over my very first house. Woohoo!

Next project: the bathroom.

Happenings

108 days. That's how long I've been on the hunt. There have been several possibilities along the way, but really only 3 viable contenders.

The first.
1400 square feet
Lovely wood floors in several of the rooms
Den with a fireplace
Workshop in the back
A giant yard

This house had so much potential. It was the ultimate DIY/Renovation. Too much to take on for my first house? Perhaps. But I was excited. But then there was the inspection, and the flooded laundry room, and the electrical problems. Sigh. Money pit.



The second.
840 square feet
Fresh carpet and paint
1 car garage
Lovely backyard full of mesquite trees
Great neighborhood with no immediate neighbors

Significantly smaller, but the neighborhood was great, it had a garage, lots of updates, AND they had yet to paint the outside so I got to choose the colors! And the backyard was just begging for a deck to host parties and bbq's. 2 weeks prior to closing she decided she was too attached to the house and pulled it. She was certifiable. And if I ever see her in public...


The third.
1100 square feet
1 car garage
3 bedrooms
Hardwood floors under the carpet
Big kitchen

Could this be THE house? The floors will need to be refinished, hopefully they're in good shape. It's bigger, has new kitchen counters, a recently redone bathroom, and the neighborhood is good, and right in the middle of town. This house could definitely be IT.

I'll keep y'all posted.

Oh, football, how I miss you...

*check out more hilarity here*

My take on the Big Game

I know this will come as a shock to many of you, but I wore a burnt orange Texas shirt yesterday. Before you freak out, let me explain.

My Mom and Grandpa are both very fiesty UT fans, and somehow I managed to be a die-hard OU fan (even through the bad years). There were many OU/TX weekends endured, and most of those (while in the Turner household) were spent apart. This was best for both of us. However, in recent years both my Mom and I have begun to root for each other. This is rather unheard of when it comes to the OU/TX rivalry. Maybe it's because my hatred has been geared toward another team, or maybe it's because I've lived in Texas so long, or perhaps it's because I've garnered a great respect for Mack Brown and the way he coaches his team.

I don't own anything burnt orange. In fact, I don't think I have anything even close to that shade in my closet. But all of that changed on Wednesday evening. I guess the cashier could see my inner conflict, because she gave me 20% off of that burnt orange Texas shirt.

Last night I went to my coworker's house to watch the game, where the mood quickly took a nosedive when Colt got hurt. There were almost immediate mumblings and grumblings about many things on the UT side, and all I could think was how quickly they turn on their own. Now granted, I was an outsider. I may have looked like a UT fan, and I am in many respects, but at this point, I don't have the emotional attachment.

I constantly reminded the Debby Downers that yes, it sucks when you lose your starting QB early in the game (take it from someone who completely understands), but you have to move on. You can't wallow. Wallowing = losing. But wallow they did. And don't get me started on that shovel pass. Seriously? Knee the sucker and take it to the locker room.

The second half proved to be much better for the Horns, after what I'm sure was a emotional and heartfelt halftime peptalk from Mack. Gilbert even got the Horns within 3 points. I thought they just might pull out a spectacular come-from-behind miracle, but then Gilbert was blindsided deep in Texas territory and that sealed their fate. He did a phenomenal job, and I'm sure will be a fantastic QB next season.

Yes, had McCoy been in the game it may have had a different ending. But we'll never know. Give credit to Alabama, they managed the win (though they didn't do it with National Champion swagger). There should be no asterisk. No more what-ifs.

Let's put 2009 behind us, and hope that 2010 is bigger and better, especially for the Big 12.

Oh, and I wore my OU turtleneck underneath the Texas shirt. Boomer Sooner.

The Holidays...

I was robbed this year. Not literally, well, kind of. Let me splain...

The great OK/TX blizzard of 09 ruined my Christmas plans. I stayed in town on the 23rd to have dinner with some friends, and when I woke up on Christmas Eve there was a lovely blanket of snow covering the ground. It worked out perfectly for a photoshoot I had that morning, but it ruined any chances of being home for Christmas. In Abilene, we had lots of rain and then snow, but further north they had a few hours of sleet before the snow hit. So...Roxie and I spent the afternoon wrapping presents and watching Christmas movies on TV. It was my first Christmas sans family!

I was determined to get home, so I packed the car and left town just after lunch on Christmas Day. It was smooth sailing once I passed the Abilene city limits, the roads were clear and dry for the first 70 miles or so. But as I neared Olney, the roads got a little icier, and about 10 miles or so from Wichita Falls they were absolutely awful. It took me almost an hour to go 10 miles. Yeah. And I was even driving behind a truck that was scraping the roads, and it was still horrible. Now, granted, I do NOT drive a very weather-friendly vehicle. Hey, it's made for it's stunning good looks and speed, OK?

I got stuck twice, but luckily there were lots of people out on the roads and a few were kind enough to stop and help push me out of the ice and snow. I managed to make it to my Aunt's house, completely exhausted and stressed out. I was SO thankful to have a place to stop and get out of the craziness. The next morning Roxie and I took off for Oklahoma, and after a slow-going 20 miles or so, the roads cleared and all was well. I made it home Saturday afternoon, we had a fast and furious Christmas celebration, and I got back in the car and headed back to Abilene on the 27th.

Last week was spent packing and moving. My parents (God bless them) came down on Tuesday and were a tremendous help. I would not have been able to do it without them. Heck, they mostly did it all without me (I only had Friday off of work). If you look closely, I'm back there in the middle...I'm looking happy because we were nearing the end. I have WAY too much stuff.


I'm staying with a friend for now (while most of my stuff is in storage). I'm not sure where I'll be going next, which is exciting and scary at the same time. Do I stay in Abilene, do I move somewhere entirely new and different? The possibilities!

So a blizzard robbed me of Christmas, and packing/moving robbed me of New Year's. Fun, right?