This is Where We'll Keep Our Stuff

Things are moving along, slowly but surely, out at the ol' homestead.  There have been a few hiccups in our timeline (which are driving me insane), but so far we've been told that our closing date is still well within reach.  I feel like I've been incredibly patient up to this point, but as we get closer and closer, I really just want things to move forward as planned!

A few weeks back they came and installed all of our cabinets (mudroom, kitchen, bathrooms, laundry). Trim was supposed to start the following Monday...two weeks later it's actually going to happen.  Rather than sit here and stew about it (which I REALLY want to do), I thought that I would share some pictures!  All of the wood that you see is still unfinished.  We opted for a shade of white for the cabinets/trim throughout--wish us luck keeping it all clean with a messy little boy in the house!

Mudroom - There will be hooks across the back for y'all to hang your coats on when you come to visit.  

Living room view from kitchen

Kitchen - I'm already planning our first home cooked meal and envisioning family congregating around our huge center island.  The kitchen is really the heart of the home, right?!

 I've never really understood the fascination with huge whirlpool tubs, so we had them remove the one originally in our plans and replaced it with a wrap around vanity for yours truly.  Call me lazy, but I'm super excited to have a chair to sit in while I dry my hair in the morning! 

 This is where our double vanity was supposed to be (before we took out the tub).  Now it's been transformed into a linen cupboard and a space for Matt to make himself all pretty.  We had ZERO storage in our old master bath, so this will be a huge change for us!

Little by little things are coming together and this frame of wood and drywall is starting to look like the place we'll call home.  Each day I get a little bit more excited and often catch myself daydreaming about the love that will fill these rooms.  We're so ready to have that settled feeling again, and to start making memories in this new place.  So close now....

Holy House!

It's been almost two and a half weeks since my last house post and SO much has changed in that time.  The last pictures that I shared were taken on 1/25 and at that point the roof was framed, but not enclosed.  Imaging our surprise when we showed up the very NEXT day and saw this...

1/26/2013

There were some pretty cold days that followed (yes, it was winter in Nebraska after all), but that didn't seem to slow the builders down.  Before we knew it they had the windows placed and the house wrapped! 

2/6/2013

 One week later the siding was going up and the roof was prepped for shingles.

2/13/13

 And as of today we have this!

2/15/13

Everything has progressed so quickly thus far, and I have to keep reminding myself that at some point it's going to slow down.  Next week they are scheduled to start working on the interior workings of the house (plumbing and HVAC), and then we will meet to do our electrical walk-thru.  I would love to hear from people about "non-traditional" places that they have outlets/wish they had outlets (ex: an outlet in the walk-in closet so that I can keep an ironing board there).  Anyone??  Thoughts??

A Look Inside

Anyone tired of house posts yet?  So much has changed in just two short weeks and my camera has been working overtime trying to document the whole process.  Last week we were thrilled to see that the main floor of our home had been framed...just imagine our excitement when one week later we pulled up and saw THIS!

We stopped out on Thursday afternoon and were surprised to see that they were working away despite the frigid temperatures.  We too braved the cold and decided to take our first official walk through our future home.  

The main floor is very open.  I'm standing in the kitchen looking into the living room.  Off to the left is the dining area (2 pictures down) and to the right is the entryway, office and stairs leading up to the bedrooms.

There are 6 large windows across the back of the house that will frame a pretty awesome view.  Now if I can just teach the dogs to keep their wet little noses off of them!  The 3 windows below are in our dining area. 

 

The remaining 3 are in the living room (boarded over in this picture). 

 My future closet...it's probably definitely a little excessive, but it's open space above the garage that would have otherwise been wasted.  I've been told that I'm not allowed to fill it up.

 Harry's future big boy room!

 I might just have to watch the sunset from my closet every night!  Beautiful!

On January 14 I posted pictures of a framed in basement.  Two weeks later we have a structure that paints a pretty good picture of things to come.  Pretty darn amazing.

Movin' on Up

Maybe a better title for this post would have been "Buildin' on Up" instead of "Movin' on Up".  There's been a whole lot of activity going on at our lot recently and every day as I drive by (yes, I detour so that I can check it out) there seems to be something new completed.

Matt and I made a trip to Omaha on Tuesday for official house business.  We picked out everything from windows, interior/exterior doors, banisters, toilets, faucets....you get the point.  It was a very productive day!  Luckily Matt and I have very similar tastes when it comes to this sort of thing.  It makes the process a whole heck of a lot easier.

When we drove by the house on Tuesday we were thrilled to see that the ground floor was starting to take shape.  This part of the building process goes SO quickly and it's fun to watch the bones of our future home being constructed.

By Friday evening there had been some major changes.  After work it's always a race to beat the setting sun, but it was just light enough for me to snap a few pictures.

This is the front view of the house.  Going from left to right you can see the front-facing single stall garage, followed by the side-facing double stall.  There will be big windows cut into that big mass of wood eventually. The first opening as you move beyond the garage is the front door, followed by a window opening to our office.  The second floor is well on it's way and with another week of "mild" January temperatures I'm sure that we'll have a framed roof before you know it!

This week we're planning another trip to Omaha to check out flooring, shower tile, countertops and cabinets.  So many decisions, but I'm loving every minute of it!

Taking Shape

A week or so ago Matt got a text from our builder letting us know that the next available house framers would be heading our way!  EEEEE I was so excited when he called and let me know.  On Saturday we were back in Omaha and decided to swing out to the lot, hoping to see that things had started taking shape.  I was secretly hoping to pull into the development and see the shape of our 2-story abode towering over us...a girl can dream, right?  

Side walk-out

 What will soon be a front porch and the main floor

With a forecast full of "warmer" temperatures and void of snow/rain for the next week, I'm sure that things will start coming together quickly.  Its hard to believe that we're already over 1/2 way through our final year as renters and that there are only about 5 months until we move!  Yay for framed basements!

From the Ground Up

foun·da·tion n. 1. The act of founding, especially the establishment of an institution with provisions for future maintenance. 2. The basis on which a thing stands, is founded, or is supported.

Can you totally picture it!?!

The Start of Home Sweet Home

Matt and I got word a few weeks back that all of the building permits needed to begin construction on our new home had officially been issued and that they were FINALLY going to be able to start working!  I feel like we have been waiting for this for so long.  We've owned the land for over a year...but lots of pieces had to fall into place before we could start this whole process.  And as long as the waiting has felt, I know that from here on out time is going to fly. 

Last week they were able to excavate the portion of the lot that the house will sit on.  There actually used to be another house there, so "excavating" included clearing out 10 foot tall weeds that had taken over and re-shaping the existing hole to fit our plans.  I've been wanting to stop out and snap a few pictures, but I don't have time to go in the morning and it's already dark by the time I can get there after work. I worked a few hours on Sunday afternoon and decided that while I was in Omaha I would brave the COLD and head out to the "farm" to check on the progress...

Looks just like home, right?!

I'll never get sick of our view.  It's so wide open and...well...perfect.

Lots more pictures and updates to come!

Dreaming of Home Sweet Home

Last November Matt and I purchased 3.2 acres of land in Gretna, Nebraska.  At that point we were still living and working in South Dakota and with no real timeline for when we would be moving...we just knew that we wanted it to happen.  Its crazy to think of just how many things in our lives were up in the air just one short year ago.

Since then we have moved, grown our family by one and both started new jobs.  We have laid temporary roots in a rental home, all the while dreaming of the day when we would once again have a place to call our own.  A place to call home.

Two weeks ago (after I finally found work in a tough pharmacist market) Matt and I were able to take the next steps forward and officially signed our lives away the paperwork needed to start the building process.  To say we are excited doesn't even touch our enthusiasm.  We're going to have a home again.

Tonight on our way home from Omaha we stopped by our lot and snapped a few pictures to capture some "before" pictures...  

Front corner of the lot looking back

The darker brown in the middle is where our house will sit

The view from the backyard

More of our view...I'm in love

 Mr. Matt and our sold/builder signs

 Haha...I can't ever be serious.  I'm just so stinkin' excited!