Master Bedroom.....

.... in the beach house?

I think so.

Free Entertainment.....

I'm sitting at my desk dying laughing at this site.....

http://catalogliving.tumblr.com/


The writer is the "wife" from the Sonic commercials where she makes fun of her husband.

I'm still here...

The last week has just been insane.

We officially went under contract on the beach property on Tuesday! ***squeels***

Work has been crazy busy. Between starting to do prep for our annual state convention that will be mid September, making final prep for the trip we took to DC, working on National Convention tours and booking hotel rooms for our board of directors for a meeting tomorrow and Wednesday, I haven't had time to breathe.

We left bright and early Thursday morning (yes, Jeremy went with) in Statesville... we made pickups in Hillsborough and Raleigh before we headed up to DC. We made it there, had dinner and went to bed. Did some touring on Friday at the Supreme Court, Capitol and then headed to Baltimore for the Orioles/Nationals game! (by far the highlight of the trip!)

Saturday, we did a little more touring and attended the National Grange building celebration. We then headed down to Alexandria for a nice dinner at Joe Theismann's.

We made the long trip home last night.... I was a little more than ready to be home. This was one of the most challenging/irritating/frustrating day(s) I've had on this job. All kinds of things didn't go right, and all the people I had complaining just didn't help. I was in tears multiple times throughout the weekend. Our bus driver, wasn't our normal guy, and he just didn't want to cooperate with me. That. was. super. annoying. People complained left and right about having to walk so far.... HELLO... buses can't take you up to every doorstep in DC!! They complained about the heat... well, sorry, blame God, not me. They complained when things ended early and couldn't get back on the bus instantly. They complained when the cooler was not completely stocked. You name it, they complained about it.

Thank God I don't have to think about another bus trip for a year and a half. Next November National Convention is in Oklahoma.... oh yeah, that ought to be fun... what the hell is there to see between here and Oklahoma..... and what the hell is there to see in Oklahoma?

Maybe Jeremy will get a job that relocates us somewhere else.... and we can both start over.....

It's Done.

We are officially under contract on the beach lot!!!!!!!!!!! We got them to come off their price a little more, and we are so excited!!! We made the decision to offer our cash and then do an owner financing option with the sellers. They are letting us do it at zero interest!!!!! That was the part I couldn't believe they accepted! So come January 1st 2011, we will be all paid up, and the lot completely ours! (We are scheduled to close on August 6th)

We know that money will be insanely tight until then, but it's going to be so worth it!

We talked about a timeline to build on our way home last night... I like to have a goal/direction to work towards. We decided that *IF* Jeremy can get an engineering job soon, we'll start living off his income alone, and just sock away everything I make into savings. That would mean in 2-2.5 years we'd have a very hefty down-payment on a construction loan. So maybe the summer of 2013, we'll be spending vacations in our beach home :-) I would have never imagined that before I turn 30 I might own a vacation home, within walking distance to the beach!

He is in the process of looking for part time work right now- with the way our screwed up government has unemployment set up, he can only make an additional $100 a week- after that they deduct the amount over that from your unemployment check (this does not encourage people to look for work!)

I am now in the process of looking for a part time job to supplement my income. I hate the thought of getting another job, but it will mean we can actually go out to eat on occasion, it's worth it! We sat down and came up with a pretty strict budget to be able to afford our 4.5 months of payments on our lot after we close... it's going to be rough- but we'll get through it!


Here's the timeline: (and yes, it's kinda scary to look ahead like this!!!)

Buy Beach Lot (now)
Jeremy gets a job (now)
Try for baby next summer (deliver maybe Winter/Spring 2012)
Buy Jeremy a new car (I get the Honda, and the Bug becomes a weekend car)
Start Construction on the beach house at the end of 2012/beginning 2013
Beach house done by summer/fall 2013
Try for baby #2  in 2016
Upgrade our home in 2017

Nothing New....

Nothing new to fill you in on today.... the sellers have yet to respond to our counter offer..... which is UBER frustrating. I have no doubt they'll come back with another counter.... but whhhhhyyyyyy is it taking fffffffooooooooooorrrrrrrreeeeeeeeevvvvvvvvvvvveeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrr!?!?!?!? I mean if you are selling property, you haven someone interested.... then you give them your attention! Why does this have to be so difficult?!?!?

I can't help it.....

I like pretty things.... and can't stop looking at inspirational photos for a beach house we might own one day.... :-/

We'll start with kitchen areas.... plenty of that open shelving I'm loving for beach homes!

I think these photos confirm that teal will be a major player when it comes to decorating!

I want retro appliances ;-)

On to living spaces.....

Must have a giant sectional sofa!

Love this staircase!!!!

I really love this layout... the open concept is so fantastic.... and it's not so large you feel lost, it's nice and cozy. We also hope to have vaulted ceilings in this room like the photo....

Again... love the staircase and the cozy feeling of this living room

I love the simplistic design of this next home.... very clean lines, but not stale. Again... love the layout.... exactly how I'm picturing our future beach house....

mmmmm more teal! I love the skylight/daybed area.... and the staircase coming up in the middle.... the layout isn't as open as the others, but I still love it!

I do not desire a workspace at the beach house... but I love the idea of a cozy area upstairs that overlooks the living space downstairs!

On to the bathrooms...


Love the way they made storage in the wall... clever.

if money was no object....

On to sleeping spaces....

I love how this room is decorated. It would make a perfect "master" overlooking the backyard... with french doors to a little private deck.... mmm yes I can see it now!

Love the simple design of this cozy room. The tan and yellow scream beach to me! I want one of our rooms to have 2 double beds... extra sleeping space and perfect for families/kids.

I love the idea of twin beds tucked in a non traditional sleeping space, like a hallway. I love the drawers below the beds too.... again, great for kids!

again... 2 beds in one room.... love it!

and more random twin beds... this time on a sleeping porch.... love it!

Update.....

Got an email this morning from our agent.... the sellers have countered at $46k.... damn.

She also said that the sellers agent said they are not motivated to sell since they got the other lot under contract. Well then why the hell are you listing it for sale, if you don't care if you sell it.... makes zero since to me. Our agent then informed me she really doubted the lot would go for in the $30's.... yeah well, I know it's a slim chance.... but it's one I am willing to take. I am not made of money, and I have to take into account the fact we're going to be paying somewhere in the neighborhood of $7k for the street paving assessment. 

I am beginning to really not like my agent. I need someone who will tell me that she realizes the economy is shit, and I have a chance in hell of scoring this land for a bargain price....

If the sellers agent is telling the truth and they've had "lots of interest" in the lot and that's the reason they raised the price last week.... then why the hell am I the only one making a move on it??? Sounds like sellers agent is talking lots of shit.

I'll keep you updated. Follow me on twitter for the latest......

Taking A Leap.....

Here we go folks.... sending in our offer on the beach lot.... eeeeek!!!! We decided to make a pretty low offer- $33k- (compared to their asking price of $47k). The asking price had been $40k just last week, and the listing agent said with all the interest they'd had in the lot, they felt they'd underpriced it..... well.... it's been a week, and no one has made a move on it- so I'm acting as if they never changed the price..... the town of Carolina Beach is also planning to pave the street this summer, and all the homeowners on the street will be assessed a fee for the paving... so we took an estimate of what we will be charged into account when making our offer. Here's hoping they see it our way, and will come off their price a bit!!!!

Cross your fingers for us!!!!!

Happy Monday!

Well... no word on the beach lot... it's really getting annoying that the listing agent hasn't called my agent back!!! UGH!

So.... anywho... we had our cookout on Saturday night... it was a big success! We had many people come and everyone seemed to have a great time! Yesterday was spent being very lazy.... we slept in, took naps, went to the pool and then had a maternity/family photoshoot! I am not ready for this week to begin... I need another few days of weekend.....

Weekend within reach....

Only 3 more hours of sitting at this desk before I can begin my weekend!!! Big plans include.... a family photo shoot this afternoon, cleaning our house like crazy tomorrow for our COOKOUT tomorrow night!!!!

This year, we're doing an ice cream bar for dessert.... and I AM EXCITED!!!

Then Sunday, another family shoot!!!

I also plan to do some laying by the pool in between activities! :-)

Remember....

This.... that I so desperately loved....

well, while killing time today, I discovered this girls blog.... and low and behold.... she had THIS PHOTO!!! OMG.... now I really love this space even more!

**** how great would this be for our future beach house! :-)

Beach Lot Drama

New developments on the beach lot were interested in have come about....

Basically- the person who wanted both lots backed out of the one we want... YAY..... so, I was in Greenville on Tuesday night for work, and thought, what the hell... I'm already halfway to Carolina Beach I might as well get up super early on Wednesday and go see this lot for myself. So, I did.

Arrived a few mins past 9AM.... found the lot and looked around. The fence in the listing picture had me wondering where the lot line was between the two... (there's a mobile home on one lot next door with a fence in the backyard... this is the lot the other buyer has decided they want).

Got home last night and looked up the GIS mapping on these lots.... and low and behold.... the property line runs right against the roofline of that home.... meaning their back porch, back deck, outbuilding and FENCE are all on the lot we were looking to buy.....
I sent the listing agent and email expressing my concerns with the lot lines....
Just got an email from the listing agent.... "Please have your agent call me for details, all of that issue has been resolved."

resolved how? that you made the lot I want smaller? because I saw you changed the dimensions on the MLS site... resolved how? that you are putting an easement through the property I want? AND not to mention... the seller decided to raise the price by $7000...... right.... we'll see how that shit goes over. neither of those things appease me.... but I'll listen to what you have to say....

Monogrammed Pillows!!!

Our monogrammed pillows were done a day early! I picked them up yesterday on my way home... excuse the poor iphone picture.... one is on our newly recovered bench, and one on the loveseat.... I love them!

More Pretty Things

Just came across these two lovelies....

 Love the giant orange lamp & wingback chair

Via A Perfect Gray

How lovely are these layered curtains!?

Via Coco & Kelley










More Beachy Goodness....

(still no word on the beach property.... all I know is the offer put in last Friday has still not been accepted...)

all from here

More Beachy Goodness.....

So.... the lot we decided we love, and really want.... got an offer on Friday :-(

It's part of a 2 lots that the seller was wanting to sell together (we can't afford them both, we just wanted the small one). I haven't heard back from the listing agent yet to see if the offer was accepted.... we're crossing our fingers it's not, and we can have a chance to put in a bid.

Anywho.... here's a little more love for our future beach house..... all found here.

Nearing Completion

We were so glad to have a some-what low key weekend after all the weeks madness!

We started by making a quick trip down to the outlets in Gaffney, SC.... specifically the Pottery Barn Outlet.

I saw this post, and it reminded me that the outlet has rugs.... some at great deals! So... off we went!

We got down there about 330 on Friday and hit the rug section... They had several that we liked (one that was jute that I loved, but it was oval, and we needed one rectangle and one square)... but ultimately the only one we thought would work well with our living room is the same one that Young House Love bought!! AND..... they raved over getting it for $129 (outlet price... down from $429 at the retail store) well.... this weekend was 40% off all rugs! We snagged it for $77!!!  We never did find anything for our dining room. So that hunt continues....

Here's the living room to date. We got the curtains hung, walls touched up, and NEW console table put together (another story)



After we got back to Charlotte from Gaffney, we ate dinner and then made a trip to Ikea to get our new console table and some curtains. We got the curtains, and went to get the boxes for our console table.... and dun dun dun..... they won't fit in the Honda :-( I was really bummed, but got over it. We headed back the next morning in the truck and got it.

Ikea.com didn't have it listed on their site....  but their was a photo of it in one of their rooms online....

Yesterday was a little more relaxed. We did a little cleaning and I finally got the top half of the dining room walls painted. We went to Lowes, Target, and Hancock Fabrics... We also got all the supplies to make our cornice boxes for the living room and picked out crown molding & chair rail. We got the cornice boxes all assembled and one covered. They'll get hung today!


While we were out, we also picked up a decorator remnant from Hancock Fabrics to recover the bench (bender is laying on in the photo above). It's really awesome, and soft! (and the rips are covered up!)

While we were at Ikea on Saturday morning... we walked by the pillows and I realized they sell pillow covers... so I picked up 2 gray square ones for our sofa and bench! I dropped them off at the monogram shop that afternoon. They're going to have a simple, ivory "H" on them... can't wait to pick them tomorrow!

Today... Jeremy is heading to Lowes to pick up all the crown molding and chair rail, and hopefully hanging it all today! He's also hoping to get all the door molding installed.

Now..... to decide what's going to be hung above the sofa????

YAY!!!

All the flooring is down in our downstairs! Just a few pieces of molding to be put in and it will be all finished :-)

I snapped a quick photo on the good 'ole iPhone this morning when I headed out the door.... so I appologize for the poor photo....

I stayed up till midnight painting and priming the living room a soothing gray (it's Valspar Urban Sunrise). We really love the combo of the floor, tan couches and gray paint!

When I get off today we're heading down to the Pottery Barn Outlet in Gaffney to look for rugs!

Then, maybe we'll head over to IKEA to get our new console table and curtains!

Daydreaming.....

So, with the thought of owning a beach property, I'm already daydreaming of how I'll decorate it :-)

www.shelterinteriordesign.blogspot.com


I love this cozy seating area... plenty enough rooms to entertain friends!












The following are all from coastalliving.com





I love this daybed... it's very similar to the twin version of our bed

This built in reminds me of the daybed above. I like how it most likely has storage in the seating!

 I adore this sectional, the additional sleeping space, the pops of orange (of course!) and the coffee table!

I love the idea of open shelving and bar stools!

If we could have a big dining space, I'd love this!

I love this tv nook!

.....the giant island isn't too shabby either!

On to the bedrooms..... This bed is VERY similar to the one in our guest room. I love that it's painted a beachy color, and has mismatch nightstands.

This would be if we had a place in the Caribbean... I do love the head & foot boards and the linens are awesome!