BIG News!

Remember last year when I was stressing about finding a new rental and vowed never to move during the holidays again?  Well, I one upped myself.  Josh and I bought a house (new build) this past weekend and are scheduled to close, and therefore move, the weekend before our wedding.  That's right, we're crazy and are moving at one of the most chaotic times possible.  If you're counting, that's 6 weeks til we move and 7 weeks til we say I do!  I need coffee and chocolate just thinking about it.

Last year, after being disappointed by several offers that fell through, we decided to give up on buying a home and deal with renting until the right opportunity came up.  Apparently that right opportunity was this weekend and definitely out of the blue.  Saturday started like any regular Saturday with my morning power yoga class followed by running errands.  While in Target (surprise!) Josh calls asking if I got a message from his mom because he thought she was spamming him.  As it turns out, his mom had visited the grand opening for a new development literally right next to her neighborhood in Queen Creek and thought we might be interested.  They offer the USDA loan program so we thought it might be worth checking it out.  FYI, the USDA loan does not require any money down as an incentive for home buyers to purchase in agricultural areas.  Since we gave up on buying a home, we put our savings toward our wedding which made this loan that much more enticing.

We walked the models, looked at the spec houses which are scheduled to be completed next month, and designed a new build to compare pricing.  Walking away, we pretty much decided that this was our opportunity to be homeowners, all we needed was to wait until the next morning to get more definitive numbers from the lender.  Sunday morning we woke up to good news so we decided to grab brunch then head back to the builder's office and review everything just to be sure this really was the right decision for us and not just a hasty move.  As it turns out, we hadn't taken into account a potential change for me (more on that another day) that could hinder us if we went with the option to build entirely from scratch.  Because of this timing, we reviewed the spec house again that was nearly identical to what we would have chosen, minus a few more fancy details.  This home would be completed next month, would allow for us to cash in on the USDA loan, and would only increase our payment minimally.  After more number crunching and a couple nervous hours later, we were officially first time homeowners!

I remember when my parents built a house in Tucson when I was little and we would take family pictures in front to document the progress.  I'm so excited to do this with my (our) first home!  Since Josh's mom literally lives the next neighborhood over (we can see her house from ours!), she has been updating us with pictures daily.  In our excitement, we forgot to take pictures of our house, save a selfie, so I'm glad we have her to back us up.  We're hoping to sneak over when they pave the drive so we can carve our initials before it sets!

 
The excitement over our new purchase is coupled with a whole lot of anxiety over the to-do list for the next couple months!  There is so much to do in what feels like so little time.  On top of the usual moving tasks, we also need blinds and appliances.  Oh, and we need to continue planning our wedding all the while!  Not to mention my phone is on the fritz, my dress fitting is today, I have to travel to Tucson this weekend for my niece's birthday, and the list goes on and on!  I thrive in organized chaos so let's just hope this is no exception. 

DIY || Office Desk

For as long as I can remember, I've loved making.  Whether it be food, art, or projects for my home, I like the process of creating and the satisfying end result.  I'm also mildly obsessed with power tools although I may sometimes look like a monkey humping a football trying to use!

Enter my latest DIY creation, our office desk.  Josh and I needed a desk for our office and instead of buying something that would have set us back a pretty penny based on our requirements, I decided I'd make it myself.  We wanted a desk that spanned (nearly) the complete 12' width of the front facing wall so that we could both utilize the desk at the same time.  The plan was to support the ends of the desk with IKEA tressels from my work bench and in the center install a file cabinet sort of storage unit.  I probably should have measured the tressels first because as it turns out, they are a few inches too big for our desktop.  No big deal for now, but I may invest in hairpin legs later to make it more presentable.

About the before image...I have no excuse.  This room was just a hot mess!  Without a desk to use, the office was useless and quickly became the go to spot to throw things that didn't have a designated home yet.  Now that the desk is installed, things are looking much better although still in progress.

I gave myself a weekend to get the project complete and was quite proud that I met my deadline.  While this post is not meant to be a step-by-step how-to for building a desk, since I'm sure my dimensions will differ from others', I hope this shows how simple and completely doable this project is.  With just a weekend for time, $100 in supply costs (lumber, stain, screws, and liquid nail), and a few supplies I already had on hand (polyurethane and tressels), I'm able to actually use my office for more than hopeless storage.  Hooray!

Good News!

You may remember from last week's post, I mentioned my stress over not having found a rental home with just over 3 weeks left til our move-out date.  Well the stars and moon aligned just right and we found and were approved for the perfect property!  It was the last house I had found and was my last hope.  After just stepping in the front door, both Josh and I knew it was the one and thank goodness!  Now to just transfer all the utilities/bills and to pack!

Last weekend I spent some time with my family to celebrate my mom and younger sister's birthdays.  While there, my sister and I put one of my holiday pins to practice and made some festive headbands for my niece and ourselves.  It was a quick, easy, and cheap project coming in at only $4 for 8 headbands thanks to the Dollar Tree and the dollar section at Target.  Everyone got in on the festivities!  We also picked out the family Christmas tree, a tradition we hold onto whether it be chopping down our own as we did in earlier years or picking one from the Home Depot parking lot.  While I thought this little guy was adorable, it didn't make the cut!

This weekend I have plans to begin my holiday baking, starting with my favorite mint chocolate brownies for my company's holiday potluck.  I live for these brownies and I know you will, too, once you try it for yourself.  Recipe to come soon!

As Christmas approaches and I've crossed house hunting off my list of to-dos, I've also managed to cross off a few more people on my shopping list.  What a relief!  I feel like I'm able to enjoy the holiday more now.  Even Ricky is feeling the holiday cheer!